Cart: items | Total:

Where's Your Widget?

9:25 PM  Author: RAGS

Back in February of 08 I had posted about the iGoogle Darts Theme I had created, and later discovered went over relatively well as a traffic generator. I recently discovered a new and similar avenue in a Widget.

Widgets are nifty little scripts that run on web pages. They can have just about anything in them. Products to shop for, a picture of the day, the joke of the week etc... I'm sure you've seen more than one since you've been online today.

Having a web site that sells dart shirts and gifts to dart players, I discovered a news Widget that would allow me to enter any RSS feed into it for adding darts news snippets to my web site. A small effort to make the site somewhat "sticky" as they like to say. While surfing through my Google Reader for an RSS feed it occurred to me that I read darts news from several sources almost daily. By using the "Share" feature in Google Reader I could customize and generate my own darts news feed.

The result is a branded darts news Widget that dart players with web sites, blogs, MySpace Profiles, league web sites and other web pages might consider installing on their web pages. I know, now you're wondering how this may generate some traffic to my web site right?

Since I am generating the RSS feed through my Google Reader account, I also subscribed to my dart shirts blog. Now every time I post an announcement for a new product or t-shirt design I can share that news along with the other news snippets I share for the day. As a result, that simple click of the share button will broadcast my blog post to every web site using the Widget. And much like the iGoogle darts theme, this Widget will more than likely be placed on darts related web sites, where dart players can be found surfing the web.

I hope to update on some statistical data in the near future, in the meantime don't be shy. You can look at my Widget (yes, that does make me giggle), then browse around the Widgetbox web site and think creatively about making one of your own!

Read More

Alternative Search Engines

11:15 PM  Author: RAGS

Promowear Magazine, January/February 2009.

To kick off the beginning of the new year I thought I'd introduce Alternative Search Engines and CSE's to those not familiar with them. The following links open in a new window for you to explore along with the column, the comments feature here is available for questions and discussion:

Read the Digital Issue Online
Subscribe to Promowear Magazine
Read More

Tools For Email Marketing

7:17 PM  Author: RAGS

I'll be straight up honest with you when I say that each end every month I have been selling products and services online, my list of newsletter subscribers has grown and sales have increased through Email Marketing. I am using Constant Contact, the same service I recommend to my clients and most of them enjoy using regularly. Constant Contact is an easy to use third party tool that pays for itself as each and every monthly newsletter or alert I send generates WELL MORE THAN enough sales to cover the cost, and the benefit of the things I get to do behind the scenes in terms of marketing my online store and achieving success.

Email Marketing and Online Surveys build lasting relationships with your customers and keep them coming back. Not to mention having an opted in list of subscribers gives you the chance to contact those who may be browsing but buying at a later time. Email Marketing and Online Survey are the tools you need to help grow your business. They're affordable. They don't take a lot of time to use. And they're effective. In fact, more than 250,000 businesses use Constant Contact to drive their success because they know using our tools to communicate with their current customers generates more referrals, customer loyalty, and repeat business.

Email Marketing lets you connect and get relevant messages out to people who want to hear from you. Online Survey helps them tell you what they really think about your designs, products, and communications - giving you new ideas and feedback to better understand and meet their needs.

The insights you'll get with Online Survey help you focus on how to meet customer needs and deliver what they want. And with Email Marketing, you can deliver relevant, professional-looking email campaigns that get opened, measured and acted on.

  • Create professional email campaigns and online surveys quickly and easily; choose from more than 200 easy-to-use newsletter templates and 40 survey templates. Or customize your own to compliment your web site.

  • Get survey feedback and measure email campaign results in real time with instant tracking and reporting, and uncover revealing trends and patterns.

  • Use online polls to keep your website fresh and your visitors coming back. Find answers to the questions you've been wondering about!

  • Manage your email and survey lists, and reporting all in one place with your integrated Constant Contact account.

  • Create targeted email lists based on survey response, and follow up with relevant email communications. Use the targeted lists to allow subscribers to opt-in for info on multiple interests, products and services.

  • Get help every step of the way with online educational resources and award-winning, free, and unlimited customer support.


My affiliation with Constant Contact gives me the opportunity to offer by blog readers and clients a FREE 60-Day Trial. Get Email Marketing, Online Survey or both. No risk. No obligation. No credit card gets you started with the award-winning service, and support more than 250,000 customers - including mine - know and trust.

Click here to start your FREE 60-Day Trial!

Got three minutes? Why not take a Video Tour?

Note: This video tour is from August 2007 and does not cover many of the newer features and benefits. It does however give you a good look inside what Constant Contact has to offer.

Read More