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Stretch With Me Anyone?

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

I’ll admit it. I feel so stretched right now.

When Wendy first spoke with me about Sparkplugging I felt both a thrill of excitement and a stab of fear. The idea of stepping up to the role of General Editor was appealing on so many levels but one small part of me was really freaked out about it.

Why? Why did something so wonderful seem so scary to me?

An issue of Peer Comparison.

I admire Wendy so much and I had a hard time imagining myself in a position she has filled in such a unique way. I think about everything Wendy has accomplished in such a short time and I wonder if I have what it takes to boost Sparkplugging to the next level?

Finally, I resolved my hesitancy by realizing I don’t have to try to be like Wendy to do well in this position - I only have to be ME.

Of course this is also an issue of Self Confidence.

Do I believe that I can do this? For a little while, I just wasn’t sure and that’s scary! If I don’t believe in myself, who else will?

This isn’t the first time I’ve felt stretched in my business. It is a very familiar feeling.

I felt stretched when I launched Work at Home Moms Talk Radio in 2003.
I felt stretched when I partnered with Alice Seba on Mom Masterminds in 2004.
I felt stretched when I quit my day job in 2006 and relied 100% on my business income.
I felt stretched when I took over Mom’s Talk Network (and took on significant short term debt in the process) in 2007.

Every time I reached out to a new level I felt the same bubbly combination of excitement and fear - and did it anyways.� The results were great!� My business has grown and prospered.

This won’t be any different.

I’m a little unsteady on my feet. I feel awkward and out of my comfort zone. But I’m doing it anyways.

Would you like to join me?

Surely there’s a next level waiting for you right now

Wendy, thank you again for this awesome opportunity to work with you and the other incredible Sparkplugging Authors. I hope this season of transition will see both of us growing in amazing ways both personally and professionally.

Blog Network 2.0: The Good, the Really Good, and the Ugly

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

So. There’s good news and bad news. Mostly good news.

What’s good? Actually, plenty. I’m pleased to announce this week that Kelly McCausey from WAHM 2.0 is now the Sparkplugging General Editor. This means that Kelly is going to be moving her wise words from that blog to this blog, she will be working with the Sparkplugging writers, and she will be helping me to grow this site and offer more resources than I ever could have on my own. WAHM 2.0 is now in the perfectly capable hands of Leslie Truex and Laurie Ayers.

I’ve known Kelly for almost as long as I have been blogging, which is now a full three years as of this week! I’ve admired her a-plenty, and she has grown to be not just a great Sparkplugging contributor, but also a key person that I have turned to for advice on more than several occasions.

Probably the most exciting part is that Kelly is going to be heading up a new Sparkplugging Internship program (I’ll post about this separately so that it doesn’t get lost in this announcement). This is going to be a FREE internship program where both she and I� (mostly she) will be taking on a group of people and mentoring them on how to run an internet business. In this economy, we really wanted to find a way to give more to the community, and I couldn’t be more pleased to finally get this idea off the ground!

So, you may be asking why is Kelly taking on such a big role with Sparkplugging? What am I going to do?

Well, funny you should ask!

Last fall, I started up another blog network - this time, for kids, parents and educators. Woo! Jr. Websites for Kids started out as a bit of a whim (don’t all the good ones start out that way?!). Less than 6 months later, the network sites at Animal Jr., Craft Jr., Fantasy Jr. and Space Jr. are already outperforming Sparkplugging on several metrics. So I really needed a bit more time away from Sparkplugging to grow this new blog network that is kicking butt and taking names.

So the bad news?

Well, I’m not really good at saying this kind of stuff in such a public way, because it’s just not my style to talk about bad news until there is some kind of resolution to it. And it’s really, really hard for me to admit that I’m not super-woman and that my life isn’t perfect. But there’s no way around it, because I’ll be at SOBCon this weekend and Mind of Moms next week, and then it will be out.

I’m having some health issues. It’s not just a cold, but it’s not cancer either. We don’t really have a diagnosis yet, so I wish I could say more. Indications point to a thyroid condition that would be fairly easy to treat if that’s what’s going on, and I get to go swallow radioactive pills this morning to find out more. And I hope and pray it’s this simple. Because the last month or so has been hell.

So after three years of working my ass off to support you, I’m asking you to support me. (Don’t worry, I’ll make this easy for you!)

Please give Kelly a warm welcome and make her feel at home here on Sparkplug CEO.

Please help to spread the word about Sparkplugging and all the free advice we offer here for people who want to start a business.

Please visit my new sites and tell people about the Woo! Jr.� network for teacher resources, kids crafts, coloring pages, and games for kids.

And lastly, please don’t worry too much about me. My body is telling me to cut back, and I’m listening. This is why I haven’t been blogging or Twittering very much. I really think I will be ok. But for the next month or so, I’m going to be taking it easy. And when I’m back up and running, I’ll hope you haven’t forgotten about me.

*Hugs*

- Wendy

Uncle Sam can help you Find Opportunity in Today?s Economy

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Business.gov helps small businesses understand their legal requirements, and locate government services supporting the nation?s small business community. It is an official site of the U.S. Government. For resources specific to microbusinesses and home business owners, check out the Business.gov blog on Sparkplugging.

Whether your small business is feeling the economic pinch or not, it’s hard to avoid the bleakness and fear mongering that proliferates the news, the Web, and the streets of our country.

The goal for any business is to ride out the storm and plan for eventual economic recovery. In fact, riding out the storm - or, just plain old planning ahead - is an essential part of any entrepreneur’s tool kit. Still, preparing for the better times while in the midst of a recession can seem daunting, particularly from a financial perspective.

Whether you are upping the marketing ante to keep your brand visible, growing your business through acquisition, or building your skill base, you will need capital. For the “disciplined optimists” among you there is financial help available, not least of all from the U.S Government.

Helping Main Street

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has put together a one-stop-shop Web portal - Helping Main Street - that has a whole host of host of funding, training, and mentoring resources to help small businesses navigate the credit crunch and prepare for recovery.

Here are three areas in which the SBA can help you plan for an economic rebound:

1) Funding - Freeing Up Capital for Small Businesses

The SBA recently announced that it has enhanced its loan programs to help the agency’s lending partners (i.e. banks) increase access to capital for small businesses. With a new alternative base interest rate and improved flexibility in loan pool structures, the SBA hopes to re-energize the lenders and ease small business access to capital.

If you want to take advantage of these enhancements, refer to the SBA’s online training guide for a quick finance primer to determine which SBA loan program is right for you. You can also learn more about available small business loans and grants here.

2) Small Business In-Person Assistance

Navigating available loan options can be made easier just by talking to someone who knows their stuff. This is where free in-person training, counseling and advice from one of many nationwide SBA District Offices can come in handy. Alternatively you can seek out the services of SBA local resource partners who specialize in business counseling for small and women-owned businesses.

3) Online Training

If you need help preparing a loan package or putting a new marketing plan in place there are lots of government online training resources that can help you implement these growth strategies. From videos, to podcasts, to at-your-own-pace courses, you can also view lessons learned from other small business entrepreneurs with these online video case studies.

Other excellent resources are Entrepreneurship.gov and SCORE, which offer online tools, events and free mentoring for small business owners.

Finding new opportunity in a time of economic crisis is no easy feat. As blogger Thomas Nelson writes in his “10 Benefits of a Recession” post, recession can be brutal, but if you channel your mental focus you can find the benefits.

His musings on recession have an analogy in the process of natural selection, i.e. the tough times thin out the competition and make entrepreneurs more creative and resourceful, among other things.

So now is the time to put on your armor and channel that tough inner-entrepreneurial spirit. Keep knocking on doors, trimming the fat, and looking for smart, targeted ways to invest your capital that will keep you in the game for the long haul.

Be the lion not the dodo.

The Three Kinds of Sponsored Conversations: Paid, Trade & Straight

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

As more advertisers move into social media, you may have noticed that the blogosphere is all abuzz with posts about “Sponsored Conversations”. When the medium first emerged years ago, a thriving economy cropped up around paid posts, with companies angling to help match bloggers with paid writing opportunities.

But in the fall of 2007, Google came down hard on the practice, lumping sponsored conversations with the practice of paid text links and labeling them as ‘unethical’. Flagship A-list blogs as well as trusted news sources such as Forbes and the Washington Post all saw a Google Page Rank drop. It was a strong warning from Google: stop the link selling, or we will drop you from our search engine.

Whether you agreed or disagreed with Google, in order to get their traffic, we now had to play by their rules. They even encouraged people to ’snitch’ on sites by telling people how to report paid links. Matt Cutts, the most public voice of Google, reiterated Google’s position again recently, in response to the release of Forrester’s report that Sponsored Conversations are here to stay.

The problem with Matt’s post isn’t that there is something unethical about selling links or posts. The problem is that the world of social media marketing has evolved faster than Google’s policies have evolved. Sponsored conversations come in three main ‘flavors’, yet it is Google’s position to lump all of them into the first kind, “Paid Posts”.

The First Kind of Sponsored Conversation: #1 - Paid Posts

Google has a problem with people paying bloggers to put up a post with organic links to other websites. Specifically, if a post is paid for, then Google considers any link in that post to be influencing the search engine unfairly. It doesn’t matter if you truly endorse the product or service or not, any link in a paid post is subject to disciplinary action (i.e., getting your site dropped out of search engine results).

Matt cites a great example as to why Google would have a problem with this in this image and post:

Example of Paid Posts Done Wrong

On this blog (more like a ’splog’), random posts are thrown onto a blog with no disclosure that they are paid, and they cover unrelated topics from ‘colon cleansing’ to ‘auto loans’.

I have to say that I don’t think any self-respecting blogger would ever stoop to this level of Paid Posts.

Why they are wrong:

The links pass page rank
There is no disclosure that the posts are paid for
Their intention is to truly manipulate search engine rankings
None of this is in line with the ethical standards set out by WOMMA, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association

Now, a blogger might write a paid post without the intention of gaming the search engine, they might actually only write paid posts that fit in with their topic, and only about products or services they believe in. To Google, they are all the same. Paid Posts = Bad.

The Second Kind of Sponsored Conversation: #2 - Trade

“Trade Posts” are somewhat different yet similar to Paid Posts, and are somewhat self-explanatory. Instead of giving a blogger money, they give them something in trade to put up a post on their blog, which almost always includes links. Examples include:

Guest posts (trading free content for links)
Contest posts (trading a contest prize for links)
Link swaps (trading a link for a link on another site)

All of these seem fairly harmless, and I’ve not ever seen an instance in which Google has penalized a site for engaging in these practices. But Trade Posts can become a slippery slope in a number of ways. Giving 10 bloggers a free book to give away to their readers is pretty dang cheap compared to trying to buy links from these blogs. In other words, Trade Posts can be exploited. But since it is incredibly difficult to track, Trade Posts are flying under the radar for now.

In the past, Google has even encouraged these practices. Link exchanges date back to the beginning of the web. Yet ultimately, people are still trading something of value for a link. This is why I personally don’t understand why Trade = Good and Paid = Bad. And I’d love for Google to weigh in on this answer, but they have a vested interest in keeping people guessing.

The Three Kinds of Sponsored Conversations: #3 - Straight

A “Straight Post” is a term I made up, but I think it’s the right meaning for what true social marketing is all about - being straight with your advertisers, with your readers, and with the search engines. This means disclosure to your readers as to how you are being compensated, only picking advertisers that can add value to your readers, and putting a “nofollow” tag on your links so that the search engines aren’t fooled into thinking this is an uncompensated endorsement.

In Straight Posts, bloggers are extraordinarily picky about what kind of Sponsored Conversations they are willing to engage in, because they know full well that their name is on the line. They are walking a fine line between ensuring readers’ interests come first, maintaining their integrity, and being compensated for the value they bring to their advertisers.

What value are they bringing to their advertisers? Quite simply, Straight Posts are in a sense a ‘Co-Branding’ campaign. Companies align themselves with bloggers who have their own brand with which they want to be associated. Bloggers, in return, are selling access to their readership. And finally, Straight Posts create separation between sponsored and editorial content.

Great examples of Straight Posts are usually not limited to a single blog post, either. Rather, they are more frequently an ongoing relationship between bloggers and advertisers, or part of a larger campaign. Some recent ‘Straight Campaigns’:

WalMart’s 11Moms
Sparkplugging’s Epson Campaign
ReadWriteWeb’s Advertorial Posts (written by advertisers, not bloggers)

Now, Marshall Kirkpatrick from ReadWriteWeb would disagree with me on characterizing his advertorials as anything close to a Sponsored Conversation, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Marshall has clearly stated his love for his Advertisers in unpaid posts, and everyone who knows Marshall and his reputation know full well that he wouldn’t sell Advertorial spots to just anyone. So, Marshall has met the criteria I outlined above, in which he has associated the ReadWriteWeb brand with a product he loves, and he has sold access to his readership to this advertiser. It isn’t a Paid Post, but it is a Straight Post.

Why Google Wants to Lump us all into the Paid Post Category

Now, I could go on for pages and pages as to why I don’t think it’s Google’s place to be regulating bloggers. But I do understand their obligation to keep spam out of their index.

The problem is this - there is a fourth factor in these three categories, which I’ll call the Fade Factor. This means that not all Sponsored Conversations fall neatly into these three categories.

What if a blogger doesn’t even know what NoFollow means?

What if a guest post on a blog links to a site that is later turned into a porn site?

What if a blogger wants to talk about a sponsor in a random post as a natural part of the conversation?

Now you might understand why Google wants to treat all of us the same way. I think most of us can agree where it’s OK for Google to say “hell no’, but we might not all agree on how that Fade Factor makes one link right and one link wrong.

Getting on the Today Show, Thanks to Twitter

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Last summer, the Today Show decided to change their Twitter strategy. They had been using Twitter for over a year, but were simply pushing out links to their content. But after the Olympics, they put a real person behind their account, and they started interacting with the community.

Of course, the Twitter community responded - who wouldn’t want to talk to the people behind the nation’s largest and longest running morning news show? I suggested they do a Today Show segment on Twitter, and kind of flipped when they actually responded back and asked what I thought would be interesting to their audience. I mentioned the breaking news stories, Obama’s savvy election strategy, & how Comcast and Dell were offering faster customer service than someone could get if they picked up a phone. Oh, and by the way, I said, I certainly would be an appropriate guest to talk about it on your show!

I never heard from them again on that idea, but we did tweet back and forth a bit every now and then. I pretty much forgot about that conversation until the morning of February 24th, when I got a Twitter Direct Message from @TodayShow:

“Hey, when you have a chance, call me at xxx. Thank you.”

After I picked myself up off the floor from falling off my chair, I called up Ryan, the show producer. He reminded me of our Twitter conversation, and then told me they were doing a segment on Digital Moms.

And I almost couldn’t believe it.

I had just landed a spot on the Today Show because of a Twitter conversation.

It was a perfect story of social media done right. A company on Twitter with a real person behind the profile. A mom with a good story to tell. And both of us on Twitter for all the right reasons - to not only market ourselves, but to build real relationships, add value and be part of the conversation.

I suspect that the Today Show is going to get a lot of new followers and story pitches thanks to this post. And I bet a few other news shows might, also. But here’s my advice: Don’t expect to land on national TV if you spam these shows with your ideas. Remember, again, that there are real people who run TV shows, and real people don’t like spam.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Watching the Whole Social Web Become Greater than its Parts

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

This last weekend, my husband Dave decided he wanted to start a blog. He’s been watching what I’ve been doing with Sparkplugging, and has been talking about doing it for over a year. This meant that I, of course, was doomed to a weekend of WordPress tinkering. *sigh*

I think he was jealous of my daughter. She’s actually been blogging for a couple of years, but because I get all freaked out about internet creepies, I wasn’t comfortable shouting out about it until she got older. Her passion is animals (especially ocean animals) and her blog is at AnimalCrazed.com. But two weeks ago, she was hired through IZEA to write on SeaWorld’s new Dolphin Bubbles blog - and I really don’t think my hubs could stand the thought of two women in his house earning a living through blogging without getting in on the action.

Here’s me breaking the news to her that after two years she’s now officially a professional blogger:

Click here to view the embedded video.

OMG could I be more proud???

Anyway, Dave is following his own passion - music. He’s a seriously talented singer-songwriter and has 30 years of excuses as to why he never did anything with his talent. So I have to say that even though I spent all weekend working on his stuff, I’m uber:proud of him, too for finally getting up off his butt and doing something with his songs. And he’s even got some friends who are writing on it with him.

I’ve spent many, many years teaching people to follow their dreams. Even before I started this blog, I was coaching both friends and colleagues to do what they were put on this earth to do. And I think I’ve done a pretty good job of leading by example on that one…

But to see both my daughter and my husband pursuing their own dreams - and it’s because I’ve pursued mine that I can help them pursue theirs… holy cow, it’s almost too much to put into words. It all started with this little hobby blog that I never thought would go anywhere - and today the power of blogging and social media is touching every thread of my life in such a powerful way.

Wow. Just wow.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that some software on a web server and a few words on a blog could have so much power to do good.

I’d love to hear your stories of how blogging and social networks are changing your lives for the better, too - please share them in the comments! I’ll highlight the best stories in a future post.

Welcome Today Show Viewers!

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Thanks for visiting Sparkplugging!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I am so happy to have you here at my little humble abode. I’ve poured love into this site for nearly 3 years, and there’s a lot of information buried all over the place. Lucky for you I’m here to point you in the direction of our most popular content of all:

Very Popular with People New to Internet Business:

Top 10 Internet Home Business Ideas You Can Start and Run in Your Underwear

10 More Work at Home Internet Business Ideas You Can Do in Your Fuzzy Bunny Slippers

The How Do You Make Money from a Blog series

Great Learning Resources on the Sparkplugging Network:

Business.gov writes a blog on this site specifically for people who work out of a home office. They are a branch of the Small Business Administration that helps business owners understand what government resources are available to help them succeed.

Freelance Parent has been voted two years in a row as one of the top ten blogs for freelance writers.

WAHM 2.0 is written by Kelly McCausey who has been making a living online way longer than I have!

Susan at The Marketing Eggspert helps normal people understand and use Web 2.0 technology.

Stay productive and organized with Brandie from the Home Office Organizer.

CraftBoom is for the artsy and crafty types that love creating yet hate selling their work!

SOHO Tools, News & Technology is written by Lynette, and she’s great at translating ‘geek’ into English.

Seasonal Kids Activities helps you stay sane while you need to get work done.

And Momsational has great giveaways and freebies every week!

We’re on Twitter Too!

Follow @Sparkplugging on Twitter, or say hi to me there @eMom. And if you aren’t already, you’d probably like to follow the @TodayShow there, too!

More About Wendy Piersall

Wendy Piersall, Sparkplugging founder and CEO

If you’d like to know more about me, the work I’ve done with brands like Epson and Kmart, or the history of Sparkplugging, check out my business site at WendyPiersall.com.

I’d also love to know what you thought of the Digital Moms series on the Today Show, so please leave a comment and let me know!

Check out the Business.gov Small Business Toolkit Google Gadget

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Business.gov helps small businesses understand their legal requirements, and locate government services supporting the nation?s small business community. It is an official site of the U.S. Government. For resources specific to microbusinesses and home business owners, check out the Business.gov blog on Sparkplugging.

One certainty about running a small business is that each day presents new challenges.

Market shifts, employee issues, competitive threats, and regulatory requirements all combine to keep the small business owner on his or her toes.

Getting access to the right tools and resources to help you proactively keep pace with change can be time consuming and costly. The good news is that the U.S. government has developed a handy little Web gadget - the Business.gov Toolkit - that connects your business directly with government services and information that can keep your operation running and growing.

If you enjoy customizing your Internet home page with useful tools and gadgets then this one is perfect for you.

The Business.gov Toolkit

The Business.gov Toolkit is a Web gadget (powered by Google and developed by government’s Business Gateway partnership) that can be easily added to your iGoogle homepage or other Web site, much like an RSS feed.

Essentially, the gadget gives interactive fingertip access to government resources from the convenience of your home page.� The toolkit includes:

A search field for information, forms, and government contacts (administrative and support)
Access to topics of current interest to the small business community
Access to a listing of all the licenses and permits that apply to you
Videos featuring expert advice from successful entrepreneurs and small business owners

Download the gadget here.

More Gadgets to Come

The success of this toolkit should lead to more gadgets from Business.gov. If you have an idea for a gadget that you’d like to see, Business.gov is soliciting ideas here.

Other Small Business Online Productivity Tools

Other online applications from the government that can help you increase your business productivity include:

Grants and Loan Tool - This online tool matches your business to available government financing options.
Permit Me Tool - Find out which permits and licenses your business needs with this handy tool.
Business Search Engine - Connect to the right government information easily, from regulatory forms to financial and technical assistance programs, without visiting multiple agency Web sites.

Join me in NYC on the Today Show, Tuesday March 10!

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

I’ve had some really amazing things happen since I started blogging. Though I have to say that few compare to what is going to happen next Tuesday, when I am going to be on the Today Show!!!

Quick details:

Show airing on NBC, Tuesday March 10th 2009.

I really don’t know what time I will be on, but it will be between 7am and 9am EST.

I will be speaking with someone from AvenueA/Razorfish of the (really fascinating) study put out them and CafeMom on Digital Moms. We’ll chat about creating online businesses based on social media and blogging, and how advertisers are in hot pursuit of us so-called “Digital Moms”.

Also, since I’ll be in NYC Monday and Tuesday, I’m hoping to do a impromptu Tweetup while I am there, so let me know if you are there!

It’s all a little ironic and funny - while simultaneously restoring my faith in the fact that God/the Universe/Whatever-you-want-to-call-it always has everything under control.

For those of you who didn’t see this post, then you wouldn’t know that just about one month ago, I almost gave up on Sparkplugging. I had a Very Big Business Deal completely fall to pieces due to the economy. I admit I was devastated, crying myself to sleep for several nights in a row. I quite honestly wanted to simply walk away from all of this, but I really didn’t feel I could be that hypocritical. I’ve spent nearly 3 years blogging about being an entrepreneur and one of my most stuffed categories is “Overcoming Obstacles” - how could I face all of you if I couldn’t follow my own advice on bouncing back from disappointments?

So the funny thing is that in the last 30 days, besides landing the best publicity of my career with the Today Show, I’ve also started working on a HUGE project with Rockfish Interactive. They are the brains behind the hugely successful 11Moms Walmart campaign. And the whole reason that this happened was because when I was at SeaWorld with GeekMommy, I told her about the deal debacle and she put me in touch with them.

To say the least, the last month has been a little overwhelming - I’ve lost a Deal, landed a Deal, and also landed an appearance on the biggest morning show on the planet. Gulp.

I kind of want to shake my fist at the sky and say something like, “You could have let me know you had this all covered when I was crying myself to sleep last month!” But I don’t want to sound ungrateful, because I feel totally blessed right now.

So you know that saying that goes “No door closes without another one opening?“.

Um… YEAH.

By the way, now that the cat is out of the bag, there are several other moms being featured on the Monday installment of the Digital Moms series, Alli from AlwaysAlli, Shannon from CouponPrincess, and Melissa the ConsumerQueen will be there, and Lisa from Crazy Adventures in Parenting is getting her vlog featured as well. Congrats to these fine mommies too!

Viral Marketing Case Studies: Epson & Kmart

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Many of you know that last year, Epson sponsored the Sparkplugging team’s trip to the BlogWorld Expo conference. Many of you may not know the extent of the entire campaign that we worked on with the brilliant Barbara Jones from One2One Network. And I bet even fewer yet know of the fantabulous results that Epson saw at the end of our campaign.

I’ve written up a word of mouth marketing case study on the project from start to finish over at my finally-revamped WendyPiersall.com.

Another project that is a hot topic lately is the Kmart / IZEA campaign that was done last December. Ted Murphy released a fantastic case study on it a few weeks ago, but I decided to take it one step further and dissect the differences between the bloggers that participated in the campaign, Chris Brogan, Loren Feldman, Julia Roy, Jeremy Schoemaker,�Michelle Madhok, and myself. Thus, my post is a true case study of how different influencers bring different assets to every campaign they work on. And most importantly, it does pay to find the right influencers with the right following to match your campaign goals.

Both of these campaigns had strong viral components that created significant buzz - buzz around the brands, buzz around the agencies, and even buzz around the bloggers. I’m very proud of the work I’ve been able to do with these campaigns thus far, knowing they were great brands that I would put my own name on the line for without hesitation.

Being Paid for One’s Influence

With the furor around paid posts and sponsorships of late, I’d also like to make a very important point to those who think that mixing money and content are somehow immoral or bad. Besides the fact that these kinds of sponsorships date back to Olympians in ancient Greece, and besides the fact that these campaigns were all run with the highest ethical standards recommended by WOMMA, and besides the fact that we’ve been asking brands to do ‘Conversation Marketing‘ for years… there is one more thing I would like to add.

If I were to add up the amount of money I have turned away over the three years I have run this site due to my unwillingness to endorse the companies for whatever reason, I’d guess it would easily add up to $50K, if not more than that. And although many people think I am getting rich off of Sparkplugging, for the first two years I didn’t make a penny, so I certainly could have used that $50K at some point along the way.

The fact of the matter is, the bloggers that took part in the Kmart campaign aren’t people who really needed $500 in Kmart merchandise. We did it because we believed it would add value to our readers first, and to the brands, second. But most of all, it is completely unjustifiable to judge a blogger?s ethics based on what they are paid for, unless you also know how they are unwilling to be bought at any price.

I’m going to shut up now on this subject, because I will go on a never ending rant about people who think their self-defined “morals” should be everyone else’s morals too… and neither one of us wants to go there.

4 Quick Tips to Securing FREE Publicity

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Times are tough, advertising budgets are low, yet your small business needs some exposure to stay alive.� So what?s a penny-pitching small business owner to do?

GET FREE PUBLICITY.

That?s right.� I said free.� Now mind you, scoring free publicity for your small business will require a little bit of time and effort, but the rewards are unspeakable.

First of all, your company?s mention in a magazine or other media outlet is important because it boosts your ?expert? status.�� It also puts your products and services in front of a larger audience without spending a dime.� Finally, it builds on the credibility factor, as consumers are more likely to check out a product mentioned in an article as opposed to a blatant advertisement on the side of the page.

So for those that could use a little free publicity, here are a few quick ways to secure a mention in a newspaper, magazine or TV segment:

1. Sign up for HARO:� HARO stands for Help-A-Reporter Out.� For you, the small business owner, HARO is the sacred cow.� Basically, HARO is an email that gets sent out 3 times a day full of queries from journalists, editors and producers that need sources for their respective media outlets (and let me tell you, these sources are HUGE).�� If your specialty, company or service fits what the query is calling for, you simply email the contact and pitch yourself.� No PR representative required.� And did I mention it?s FREE?

2. Create and Distribute Your Own Press Release:� Now, this suggestion isn?t as passive as HARO, and will require a bit of work and creativity on your part to be effective.� But if you can write a ?newsworthy? press release and submit it to a few key journalists or editors that write on that particular topic, you have a decent shot of getting your work covered by the publication.

Just a few off-the-cuff tips though.�� Make sure the blog, writer or producer that you are sending your press release to actually covers stories along that line or it will get tossed right in the trash.� Also, be sure to address your target by name when pitching instead of ?Dear Webmaster?.� Finally, put yourself in their shoes before you send off something irrelevant.� Think ?how would this information help them or their audience?.� That thought alone should help you craft a more relevant release.

And if you still feel overwhelmed with the concept of a press release and want some further instruction from a pro, download this disgustingly cheap e-course on SparkplugU by Susan Payton, the Marketing Eggspert.

3. Utilize Social Media: As I explained here, Twitter is EXTREMELY valuable in promoting your small business.� When done right, your message, products or services can get in front of thousands of people without costing a dime!� And if you?re a professional blogger and rely on traffic to generate advertising dollars, Twitter is a great way to get people coming back to your site.� In fact, Twitter is one of our largest referrers of traffic here on Sparkplugging.� But beware?if you decide to promote your business in the realm of social media, BE SOCIAL.� Shameless self promotion 24/7 will not be tolerated

4. Write ?How To? and Other Informational Articles- Writing articles is another free and easy way to make yourself an expert and get in front of a larger audience on zero budget.� Sit down and think about things you know or specialize in that would be helpful to other people.� Then start writing.

Here?s a personal example of what I?m talking about.� I used to handle SEO/marketing for a personal injury law firm.�� I wrote a really good article about elder abuse and things a caretaker should look for when checking a loved one into a nursing home (i.e. patient to staff ratio, waivers in the contract).� We then sent the article to a few publications and it was picked up by our local newspaper.� And one week later, that simple little article brought in a huge personal injury case to the firm and a dozen more phone calls to boot.

So take that example and apply it to your business.� Do you sell health products?� Write an article offering 5 tips for increased energy.� Do you design Wordpress blogs?� Write an article on how having customized site is essential to branding.� You get my point.� Then once it?s done, submit it to local publications, offer it as a guest post on a relevant blog or pitch it to the big guys if it?s really good.

As a final note, (and this applies to all the tips above)?the worst a person can do with your pitch is say no.� (OK, I lied?if it?s really bad, you may end up on the Bad Pitch Blog?which is not good.)� And best of all, these suggestions are free and won?t set you back anything if they don?t work.

But I encourage you to stay patient and keep trying with the free publicity outlets listed above– as it only takes *one* big break or mention to sky rocket your business to levels you?ve never dreamed of before.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons Artist Kevincole

About Amber Watson-Tardiff

Amber Watson-Tardiff is a freelance writer, virtual assisant and solopreneur.� When shes not writing or teaching people how to start their own home business, Amber can be found starting trouble here on Twitter or hanging out on her own blog, jerseymomma.com. To contact amber, email ambertardiff at gmail dot com.

Intuit?s Stimulus Package :: $300K in Small Business Grants!

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Deadline has been extended through April 24th!

Intuit Small Business United Contest Entry

Financial software maker Intuit recently reached out to us to let us know about a completely cool new program they have launched to help small biz owners get through the economic mess we are in. Personally, I’m hoping they thought I would be a shoe-in for the grand prize. But honestly, this is such a great program I really wanted to share it with everyone, as I think all of our businesses could use a little ’stimulation’ right about now!

Intuit recently unveiled its own version of a ’stimulus package’: one that gives America’s small businesses the chance to redeem about $1,000 in products and services from the company. In addition, Intuit is giving away more than $300,000 in small business grants, as well as $50,0000 in donations to nonprofit organizations committed to the health of small businesses including The Latino Coalition, National Black Chamber of Commerce, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and Women Impacting Public Policy.

Instead of waiting for the government to give entrepreneurs a bailout, the company put their own plan in place, calling it “Small Business United.” Some of the products Intuit is offering include QuickBooks Simple Start, Intuit Online Payroll, and a really cool Web site building service called Intuit Websites. You can check out all the specifics at www.smallbusinessunited.com.

On top of the free products the company is offering small business stimulus grants of up to $25,000. To apply for a grant, small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs may submit and share their success stories and advice to an online forum. They provided us stats that said that nine out of 10 small business owners surveyed said they rely on peers for support and advice. Fifty-one percent of small business owners said they feel a special bond or connection with other small business owners, while 53 percent believe they can learn from their peers mistakes and successes. (To which I say, DUH, because that’s how Sparkplugging started and why we continue to grow!!)

To enter, just go to Small Business United to share your experiences and survival tips. Judges will select 50 finalists to receive $5,000 and a Pure Digital Flip Video^TM camcorder. These finalists are eligible to supplement their story with a video that will be posted on the site for public viewing and voting. This group will be narrowed down to four first prize winners, who will each receive $10,000 plus $2,500 worth of Intuit products. The grand prize winner will receive $25,000 and $2,500 worth of Intuit products and services. Entries are due by March 23 and finalists will be selected by April 1 April 24. Winners will be announced in May.

The Do?s and Dont?s of Promoting Your Business on Twitter

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

If you have an online business, you?ve probably been told at least once to get on Twitter.� Maybe you?re already on Twitter but don?t feel like you?re getting anything out of the space.

Truth be told?Twitter can be great for promoting your small business.� And while proponents of social media like to say ?anything goes, there really are no rules??that?s not necessarily the case.

There are a few unspoken etiquette rules when promoting your business on Twitter and if you don?t pay attention to some of the tips mentioned below, it can cause people to ignore your friend requests or unfollow you all together.

Just remember, Twitter is a community?not advertising space.� People will accept the promotion of your business in balance.� Don?t expect to sign up for twitter, put out a few of your links and have whopping sales or clients pouring in overnight.

Seriously– not gonna happen.

But, if you work to make relationships and connect with your target audience, you?ll be on your way to getting sales or clients in no time.

And I do say this from personal experience.� As a freelance writer, all of my well paying writing gigs have come as a result of the connections I?ve made on Twitter.� Same goes for my network marketing business. While the venture is relatively new, I?ve been able to speak with prospects and sell a few products because of my connections in the space.

So without further adieu, let?s get started with some basic do?s and dont’s in promoting your business on Twitter:

DON?T sign up for twitter and follow hundreds of people all at once.� Instead, sign up and follow people sloooowwwly (You don?t want to be mistaken for a spammer).� If a person follows me and they have one update, 500 friends and 2 followers, I just assume it?s a spammer and won?t follow.
DO follow a manageable number of people and try to keep your followers to followee ratio relatively equal until you get the swing of things.
DON?T make all of your updates about your company, blog or service. Instead, have REAL, friendly conversations until people get to know you as someone they can trust.� This requires you following what other people are saying and engaging in conversations that go beyond yourself or your business.
DO post links to your latest blog entries, sales, etc.?but KEEP IT BALANCED.
DO share (or Retweet) links to other people?s giveaways, blog entries or sales items.� By paying attention to what other people are saying, those people will be more likely to give your stuff a look when they see it come across the screen.� It?s called karma and it works.
DON?T auto DM! Auto Dm?s are those pesky little personal messages you are probably sending out to your followers that say ?Hi! Thanks for following!� Here?s the link to my site _______!?� If that?s you, STOP.� Again, get to know the people you are following before you hit them with your links.� Anything a person needs to know about you can be found on your bio line.� Keep it that way.
DO DM someone about something that relates to THEM (again stepping outside yourself).� For example, I followed back someone today that wrote how she had 50 some followers and her husband was impressed because that was more than Jesus.� Well of course that made me laugh so I DM?ed her to say hi and that I was cracking up over her comment.� Friendly conversation in a DM is A?ok
DON?T announce to the world how many followers you have!� I know it gets exciting when we feel like we are finally connecting to our target audience and people want to hear what we have say, but keep your numbers to yourself!
DO use twitter to invite people in your target audience OFF the space and onto your blog.� From there you can be more promotional of your products, your services, etc.� On twitter you?ll make and foster the connections?but you?ll actually convert sales, clients, etc. on your own turf.� Keep that in mind before you spam

And to help the Twitter newbies out there, please weigh in below with the Twitter habits that annoy you the most.� By nicely telling people what NOT to do, we can have a much better experience in the world of social media.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons Artist wisleywoven

About Amber Watson-Tardiff

The Deal that Almost Broke Me

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

I know. I’m a professional blogger. And you all have been wondering why the heck I haven’t been writing lately.

So, there’s been this Deal. The Deal I’ve been working on for 3 months.

It was going to be a ‘Really Big Deal’ kind of Deal. A ‘Putting My Name on the Big Time Map’ kind of Deal. The kind of Deal that I can’t talk about because you don’t talk about this kind of Deal unless the Deal is Done.

And thanks to a few factors, mostly the economy, there is now No Deal. Suffice it to say, I cried myself to sleep about three times over the last week.

And now, I’m picking myself back up from the hardest fall I’ve ever taken as an entrepreneur.

I almost couldn’t do it. But then I thought of you. And I couldn’t face you if I gave up.

So, thanks. You readers have saved my ass. And now I’m back.

And I’m even able to think about finding a New Deal.

*HUGS*

Learning the Ropes of Network Marketing

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

If you?ve followed the information from my last post, you?ll know that I?m one week deep into my network marketing experiment. So what exactly have I been doing in my endeavor so far?

Well, I?ve been doing the most important thing that ANY network marketer should do, and that is trying the products for MYSELF.

Most network marketing companies give you a field test order, or a sample of their products when you sign up for your business. And while you may be eager to just get the show on the road and start making money, take the time to really use what you?ve ordered and make sure it?s something that you can get behind.

I personally am not the type of slimy saleswoman that is going to lie and say my products are delicious when they really taste like cardboard. While that may work for an initial sale, you will forever blow the potential of having repeat customers by selling a product that isn?t what it claims.

So before I told MY customers that a certain natural weight loss product tastes like cake batter, fills you up all day and produces super fast results (like I was told from a few people in the company), I needed to try it out for myself and see that it really does taste like cake and made my jeans fit awfully loose in just a little over a week.

Similarly, before I put natural, green cleaning products in the hands of people that were skeptical to give up their disinfectants and bleach, I needed to make sure they were effective in my own bathroom first (and again, I was pleasantly surprised that they worked better than all of my toxic stuff put together!).

Get my point. You shouldn?t start a business around something you don?t believe in.

However, if you do start a network marketing business and think the products are misleading or possibly lawsuit worthy, seriously make an attempt to get your money back. This is especially the case when asking people to fork up their hard earned money to start their own business under you and your venture. As you can see, this is where the difference between a scammy MLM income stream and a true network marketing income comes into play.

Once you educate yourself on a network marketing company?s products and services and try them out for yourself, then you can start making a business plan and thinking of creative ways to sell your product and bring new business owners into your organization.

But until then, don?t sacrifice your integrity and reputation for a dollar. Make sure what you are getting ready to sell to your friends, family, co-workers and trusting strangers isn?t a gimmick or a business plan that will ultimately drain their bank account of precious dollars.

Put the needs and wants of other people first, and like any legit business person- you will succeed

Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons artist Cyancey

Join Me at TotallyHer For a Very B.A.D. Day

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Ever wanted to pick the brain of a leading woman in business?

For free?

Well, on January 20th, 2009, TotallyHer is teaming up with me and some of the smartest business women on the internet to bring you a community service project in honor of President-Elect Obama?s Inauguration Day.

Liz Strauss, Anita Campbell, Kelly Phillips Erb, Jessica Smith, Kelby Carr, Susan Payton, Miranda Marquit, Elizabeth Potts Weinstein, Kelly McCausey, Lucretia Pruitt, Char Polanosky, Barbara Jones & Wendy Piersall.

No matter what your burning question is, these 13 experts are here to help and give you answers. And yes, I?ll say it again:

For free.

Tuesday January 20th from 10:00am to 5:30pm Eastern, we will feature one expert and one topic every 30 minutes, with a one-hour break for everyone to watch the Inauguration Ceremony. It will be in a simple chat section of TotallyHer, in a laid-back casual environment where there are no big presentations, no boring material to read, just access to business experts where you get to ask questions directly with the experts who can help you.

Want all the details? Check it out on TotallyHer. You can also RSVP on Facebook (suggested but not required).

My Money, My Risk and Your Behind the Scenes look at Building a Home Based Business

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Before I even touch on the challenge behind this title, I wanted to introduce myself to those in the Sparkplugging community that don?t ?officially? know me yet.� My name is Amber Watson-Tardiff and I am Wendy?s behind the scenes assistant.�� I occasionally write on our SOHO News, Tools and Technology blog, answer your burning questions via email and stay connected with most of you on Twitter.

Now that we?ve been introduced, let me explain the purpose of this post (and the posts to come).

Basically, I am about to become your guinea pig.

Many of you have expressed a desire to start a home based business but are scared to do it.� You wonder, ?Will I fall for a scam?? or ?Can I really sell enough products/recruit enough people to make an honest living at home??

I?ve actually had the same questions myself so I decided to use my own money, take my own risk and start a home based business (otherwise known as network marketing or MLM) to give you an open and honest look at what it takes to succeed (or fail miserably) in this field.

An Overview of Why I Choose Network Marketing

I?ve been following network marketing for 7 months now and I know the opportunity to make A LOT of money is there (meaning $200,000 to 1 million dollars a year).� But I wanted to know if these companies can really back up their claims that ANYONE can do this with NO EXPERIENCE necessary.� I also wanted to know if it was possible to make my monthly quotas without annoying the crap out of my family and friends, or whether I would be forced to put up my own money to float things along in a down month.

I may not have the answers to those questions yet, but I?m actively pursuing them on a daily basis.� After spending a few weeks on training sites such as Danijohnson.com to brush up on my skills, I began to compile a list of companies that I thought I?d like to get started under.� I figured it would have to be a company that sold something I liked or one that was doing good things in the world so I could sleep at night knowing I put something helpful in the hands of a client.

After days of research, I finally ended up with a super reputable company in the health and wellness industry.� Without naming names, their green cleaning products are one of ?Oprah?s favorite things? and the high profile/scientific endorsements behind these products are a mile long.� I figured if I was really gonna do this, I might as well start out with PR on my side

I will admit that googling ?Network Marketing Companies? and ?Home Base Business? turned up some very shady results.� The companies looked cheesy, spammy and borderline fraudulent- so much so that I was afraid they?d take my money and vanish in a few months.� In fact, as I scrolled through the google results, I almost changed my mind about the project in general- but in the end, I was determined to give network marketing a fair shot.

So like any good consumer, I asked my business coach friends (including our very own Marla Tabaka) where to turn.� I let them know that my goal was not to ?get rich quick? and I needed a legit company in which I could naturally grow a home based business.� I was then put in contact with my current ?upline? (or the network marketing term for the person one level above me) and just started training today to become an independent distributor.� (Ahhh ..the power of ?word of mouth? marketing.� Don?t underestimate it folks.)

What?s to Come

I am going to blog with as much detail as I can on this endeavor without getting myself in trouble with the company?s legal department.� I will tell you how much it cost me to get started and my continued monthly investments.� I will tell you how hard or easy it is to meet my monthly goals, and I how much I?ve honestly made at the end of each month.

I?ll also reveal the top marketing and sales tips I learn along the way to help you grow your home business right along with me.� From this information, you should be able to gauge whether or not network marketing is the right business for you and whether you could ultimately succeed if this happened to be your work at home job.

At the end of the day, that is the true focus of this site and Wendy?s vision.� Sparkplugging teaches and equips people to work at home.� You?ve already heard the ups and downs of freelancing from Lorna and Tamara, running a crafting business from Lisa, virtual assisting from Teresa, marketing from Susan and the truth behind blogging for dollars and life as a solopreneur from Wendy.� Now it?s time to find out what?s really behind those claims of ?Make Millions Working from home? once and for all!� (Note: The person I am training under does happen to make a 6 figure income doing this thing, but scouts honor I am starting from scratch!).

So I hope you join me on this wild (and scary) journey I?m about to take.� I want to be as open as possible, so if you have additional questions or want more information about the business (I?d rather name names or help you get started privately), then please email amber @ sparkplugging.com.

Stay tuned and welcome aboard!

Newspaper image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons Arist liewcf

Money at hand image photo of Flickr Creative Commons Arist d79focus

What?s Your Life Plan?

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

Entrepreneurs have many wonderful qualities; one is that we’re dreamers. Some may prefer the term visionaries. Whatever your preference, this quality is at the heart of nearly everything we do and is the heartbeat in a growing and changing company.

It’s probable that you see your company growing beyond where it is today, financially at least. I wonder if you see your life outside of work growing and changing as well? It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day work as well as the company dream, but do you dream for YOU? I know it’s difficult to separate from the company and that our work is a part of our dream, but how do they support one another and where do we separate?

During a conversation with a friend this weekend, I realized that my dream is missing some important key elements. I know that my life purpose includes helping others achieve their dreams; it’s what makes me happy and it brings joy to my heart. Goals and targets for my company are in place and there are some things I’d like to do outside of work, but what about 5-10 years from now? Where do I want to be personally? Sure, I have a vision of the future, but suddenly I see that there are some pieces missing.

So, I’ve decided to devote the month of January to identifying those missing pieces. After all, a part of what makes us tick is the dream, right?

I’ve put together this list questions as a partial guideline for getting in touch with the bigger picture of my personal life. For the purpose of this blog, I’ve added some more global questions. I hope you find them helpful. Please contribute any helpful thoughts and insights as you explore your big dreams.

At what age do I wish to retire?
What does retirement mean to me?
Will I engage in any revenue-generating activity after retirement?
Is there anything I can do now to ensure a passive revenue stream for my retirement?
Do I want to be in the same house in 3, 5, 10 years from now (or beyond?)
If I move, do I know where I’d like to be and what my surroundings will look like? What’s most important to me about my physical surroundings?
What kind of people would I like to meet this next year?
Am I surrounded by people who support me? Where else in my life would I like additional support and what could I do to meet the right person/people?
Am I happy with my health and weight? If not, what small and manageable steps could I take to change that?
Am I happy with the way I spend my “free” time? If I don’t have enough free time, am I avoiding something? How can I achieve greater balance in my life in the New Year?
Are there any new hobbies or activities I’d like to explore in the New Year?
Do I plan on changing my career focus someday? If I don’t want to do this “forever” when is the right time to begin laying the groundwork for change? Can I identify those steps and a time frame for them?
If money were no object and I had all the support I need, where would I like to be in ______ years from now? What steps can I take to begin visualizing and embracing that dream? What can I do to increase my belief that I will bring that dream to fruition?
Currently, I’m single: Do I want to change that? If so, what qualities would I look for in a mate? What could I begin to do now to increase the odds of meeting that person? Hummmmm.
If you’re married or in a committed relationship, is there anything you’d like to change or improve in the relationship?
As my revenue grows, I could possibly find more free time on my hands. How would I like to spend that time?
What feeds me the most? Am I satisfying that hunger? If not, why not? What steps can I take to change that or increase my level of satisfaction?
At the end of a typical day, do I feel satisfied with what I’ve done/achieved? If not, what can I do differently each day?
What charities, causes, organizations, might I feel passionate about and how would I like to contribute?
Helping others is important to me. How can I continue to do that if and when I am no longer coaching?
I would like to travel more. When and where will I go?
If you have small children, do you have enough time of your own? If not, how can you change that?
What are my material goals? Is it time for a new mattress, computer, yacht?
Is my relationship with my kids where I would like it to be? If not, what can I do to change it?
How far have I gone on my spiritual path? How would I like to change/enhance my spirituality or religious commitment?
If I had to describe my frame of mind, as it is on most days, what word would I use? Is that who I want to be? If not, what steps can I take to shift my frame of mind to a more desirable state?

Just Because I Haven?t Been Posting Here?

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

…Doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing.

Lots going on behind the scenes here everyone! I heard that people were asking if I am OK - I can gladly say I am, and doing quite well, thank you very much! I’ve been immersed in doing some work for my friends Lee Dodd and David Adams from Escalate Media, a large network of community sites for women. I’m particularly fond of getting to work on helping them grow the TotallyHer women’s magazine site, the A Full Cup coupon community, and the well established DiaperSwappers moms forum, though they have 12 sites in their family network.

But in case you have been missing my Sparkplug CEO “prose”, you can find my latest writings sprinked around the web:

Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy

2008 has given us all a shakeup. We have a fragile economy unlike anything we have seen in 80 years. And the online advertising and technology industry is in for a rough ride in 2009. But 2008 was also the Year of the Woman online. Over the last 18 months, the number of ad networks targeted towards moms and women exploded.

2009 is a make-it-or-break-it year for nearly every business in existence today. And as for women?s websites and communities, I think this industry is also in for a bit of a shakeup…

Read Article

Really, Tell me How to Be a GeekMommy

Weigh in on my guest post at Lucretia’s GeekMommy blog on how you balance being a geek and a mom.

Read Article

Marketing on the Cheap for the Mompreneur

Most moms who start businesses do so with a budget of next to nothing. While there’s nothing wrong with this (it’s actually how I started Sparkplugging), I’ve learned that it isn’t always the best foundation for a big, booming business. If you have visions of being acquired by some big company someday, I’d make the recommendation that you find a way to give yourself a healthy budget so that you can give your company what it needs to grow. But honestly, most moms aren’t even interested in that route - they just want a business that fits in with their busy child-centered lifestyle. If that’s you, then everything you do is all about spending as little as possible and making as much as possible as a work at home mom.

Read Article

The Ten Lamest Gifts You Can Buy for a Woman

It may be after the holidays, but it is never too late to make sure you aren’t buying lame gifts for the woman in your life!

Read Article

And I’ve written a few articles for a new writing gig with Monster.com’s WomenCo, a women’s career networking community:

5 Reasons Why Professional Conferences Are a Must

5 Ways to Have Many Eggs in Many Baskets

It?s Not a Glass Ceiling, It?s a Sticky Floor

Dell XPS One Review

Sat Jul 4 15:23:54 CDT 2009

I am not being compensated for this review in any way, shape or form. Dell sent me a loaner XPS One that I will be (sadly) returning to them now that this review is published.

So, @RichardAtDell reached out to me a few weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their new machine, the XPS One. Never one to turn away a chance to play with new gadgets, I said yes immediately. Had I known what I was getting into, I’m not so sure I would have said yes anymore - because I’ve completely fallen in love with this thing and I do. not. want. to. send. it. back.

Dell XPS One 24"

First of all, this has got to be the sexiest looking machine I have ever laid eyes upon. I guess I really didn’t realize just how big a 24″ monitor is - it’s BIG. Big and SEXY. (I am going to use that word a lot in this post. Just warning you now). But it’s not just a big flat screen monitor - it IS the computer. That’s it - all of it - right there.

What’s funny is that Richard had asked me to review this machine from the perspective of a mom with kids, and talk about how we use it as a family.

I have a confession to make.

My kids haven’t gotten a whole heck of a lot of time to use it. We seriously fight over who gets to use it next.

I do think it’s mostly because it’s so big, the monitor is so bright and the colors are so saturated, it’s kind of hard to look at any other computer in our house and be happy about having to be stuck with it.

But this thing has capabilities we haven’t even been able to use yet because of wiring issues in my office. The XPS One is also capable of being a HD TV. If I could let this go, it would be a brilliant addition to my kitchen so that I could keep my kids entertained during snack time and I could use it to find recipes right there instead of printing them out (my *dream kitchen!*). For now, we’ve been at least using it as a DVD player and MP3 player - thanks to Dell I’m a new Amazon MP3 store addict.

So besides being sexy, looking great, being sexy, and us fighting over who gets to use it, what’s so great about it? In the end, isn’t it just another computer? Well, kindofbutnotreally - it’s one freaking fast computer that can handle pretty much anything I can throw at it - I always have 5-10 Firefox windows open, am playing music on iTunes, using Skype or AIM to chat or make VOIP phone calls, and always have Word, Excel, and either Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop open all at once. Plus it’s WIFI ready and Bluetooth enabled.

Ginsu Knives

On my old laptop, it can handle all of this with my 2 GHz processor and 2GB RAM - but it slows things down a bit. On the XPS One, with a 2.33 GHz Intel� Core? 2 Quad Q8200 processor and 4 GB RAM, having all these programs open at once is like slicing through butter with a Ginsu. I think I could be doing serious multimedia development and this machine wouldn’t bat an eye.

So, normally in a review I try to find something that the company should improve upon - as far as the machine is concerned, I honestly couldn’t ask for anything else. I probably wouldn’t normally buy something so big, as it seems like more machine than I would need. But now I’m hooked. I guess at a price tag of $1599, if I were actually going out to purchase a desktop computer, I’d probably try talk myself down to a lower priced machine because I’m cheap and it’s the holidays. If you wanted to add a Blue Ray DVD player, tricked out video card and triple the size of your hard drive to 750 GB, it would set you back $1899. But considering this thing is cable-tv ready, it’s like you’re getting a TV, sound system and computer all in “One” (OMG - I didn’t even plan that pun).

If you’re interested in the machine, be sure to check out the 3D view and the photo gallery. It comes in a few colors (wishing they sent me the Product RED version, personally). And I am seriously considering just sending Richard a check and keeping the darn thing…

So this is how they pump up holiday sales - tell us to just “try” it knowing they will never see the thing returned again.

Update :: Since several of you asked, here’s a picture of the Dell in my office:

Dell XPS One

Sparkplug CEO. Brought to you by Feed2Podcast.com

Stretch With Me Anyone?

Blog Network 2.0: The Good, the Really Good, and the Ugly

Uncle Sam can help you Find Opportunity in Today?s Economy

Helping Main Street

1) Funding - Freeing Up Capital for Small Businesses

The Three Kinds of Sponsored Conversations: Paid, Trade & Straight

The First Kind of Sponsored Conversation: #1 - Paid Posts

The Second Kind of Sponsored Conversation: #2 - Trade

The Three Kinds of Sponsored Conversations: #3 - Straight

Why Google Wants to Lump us all into the Paid Post Category

Sponsored Conversations Aren’t Going Away

Getting on the Today Show, Thanks to Twitter

Watching the Whole Social Web Become Greater than its Parts

Welcome Today Show Viewers!

Very Popular with People New to Internet Business:

Great Learning Resources on the Sparkplugging Network:

We’re on Twitter Too!

More About Wendy Piersall

Check out the Business.gov Small Business Toolkit Google Gadget

Join me in NYC on the Today Show, Tuesday March 10!

Viral Marketing Case Studies: Epson & Kmart

Being Paid for One’s Influence

4 Quick Tips to Securing FREE Publicity

Intuit?s Stimulus Package :: $300K in Small Business Grants!

The Do?s and Dont?s of Promoting Your Business on Twitter

The Deal that Almost Broke Me

Learning the Ropes of Network Marketing

Join Me at TotallyHer For a Very B.A.D. Day

For free.

My Money, My Risk and Your Behind the Scenes look at Building a Home Based Business

What?s Your Life Plan?

Just Because I Haven?t Been Posting Here?

…Doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing.

Women Online in 2009: 9 Trends to Watch in a Down Economy

Really, Tell me How to Be a GeekMommy

Marketing on the Cheap for the Mompreneur

The Ten Lamest Gifts You Can Buy for a Woman

5 Reasons Why Professional Conferences Are a Must

5 Ways to Have Many Eggs in Many Baskets

It?s Not a Glass Ceiling, It?s a Sticky Floor

Dell XPS One Review