TrishaLyn

Free Toolsday 11/18 - Giftag.com

Trish — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:45:27 +0000

This is a great tool for the Holidays - Giftag. It’s brought to us by the same team that developed Best Buy’s internal employee social network Blue Shirt Nation. Giftag is a wish list on steroids, an add-on for your browser that allows you to add any product to your wish list while browsing the internet with minimal clicks.

Since a lot of the things I usually put on my own wish lists don’t just come from Amazon and other popular mega online retailers, I’ve been using a different third-party website to collaborate my wish lists for Christmas and my birthday for a couple years now. While it was a good free option, it was sort of a hassle because you have to enter in the manufacturer, website URL, retailer, price, category, and a description to get a well organized list. And you had to have multiple windows or tabs open to do so, entering in these details on their website while looking at the product in another.

Sure it was easy enough to share via email, and easy for anyone to see it. But it was very plain.

Not Giftag. The added benefit of it being a browser add-on is phenomenally convenient. As I’m browsing, should I click on a link randomly and be taken to a product I desire to add to my wish list, I simply click the icon in my Firefox toolbar and a window pops up, allowing me to select what part of the image I want to include on my wish list. In essence, what the add-on is doing is taking a screen shot. Now, in the demo video on the Giftag website, they show the user dragging a square over the entire item picture and description, but for my tastes I just drag the box over the picture of the item. A footer bar expands in the browser window to allow the user to edit the name of the product, add tags, and add a description.

Screen shot of my List

I’m a bit anal-retentive about how organized my lists are, so I usually copy the description from the website before I click the Giftag button and paste it into this area, along with any specifics to my gift, such as what size or color I want. And remember, I can add products from any site; no Best Buy embargo here. The best thing about Giftag is that you can share the list using the ShareThis service, so sharing it through e-mail, MySpace, SMS texts, AIM, blog posts, and other social networks is all available! From the home page you can also see recent items that other users have added to their wish lists, and friend up users with similar tastes or friends to share wish lists directly through the Giftag site. This truly is the wishlist of web 2.0!

The demo videos they’ve put up are the best seller to this amazing free service, just in time for the holidays, so check it out at www.Giftag.com!

Mayor Cory Booker on Real Time with Bill Maher

Trish — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:00:57 +0000

I’m sure I’m not the only person that’s really taken note of Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker since his moving keynote at Affiliate Summit East 2008. Last week, Booker appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and gave a great interview on what an Obama presidency means to him and to America. It was very reminiscent of the keynote speech - inspiring and motivating - so I felt it best to share. Remember that his words can inspire you on a number of levels - which can boost your motivation to chase your own American dream and work harder to reach your goals in both business and pleasure.

I’m a Bill Maher fan from way back in his Politically Incorrect days, and I was glad that he seemed to really appreciate what Mayor Booker had to say and, apart from the occasional jabs about not having to ask a question before Booker spit out an answer, he was a really gracious interviewer. Among some of the inspiring things he had to say, here’s one of the better nuggets:

We, as Americans, drink deeply from wells that we did not dig. This generation that I live in had so many sacrifices of those who’ve come before us, and the best thing we can do is show some measure of sacrifice to honor those people who bled on beaches from Normandy to Midway for us, or who stood on line to register people to vote back in the day that you could get killed for doing that. So, I’m not about a position. I’m really about a purpose, and I think we are a purpose-driven country. And I think it’s time that we exalt all of the spaces of our nation, that we honor the sacred nature of human dignity and human life, and try to make the idea of democracy more emboldened and more inclusive, so that all of us enjoy the fruits of this great nation.

You can listen to the entire episode (140) as a podcast through iTunes. Here’s the video clip of the segment with Mayor Booker via satellite on Real Time with Bill Maher:

Saturday Shopper 11/15 - Workin’ for the Weekend Edition

Trish — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:00:54 +0000

Some people aren’t just working for the weekend - they’re working on the weekend. Remember the next time you head out to the mall on your time off that while you may be doing some leisurely shopping, the people helping you in stores, ringing up your purchases, and serving you at dinner are working hard (usually).

One of my favorite sayings is “Work Smarter, Not Harder”, which is just a good way of reminding people to use their brain more often. Many people first think of Affiliate Marketing as a way to make some cash quickly and easily, but in reality it’s a lot of tiring work. In the spirit of working smarter, not harder, here’s some selections on making your life more efficient.

Cribbed Content for November 14th

Trish — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:00:44 +0000

I hate to say it, but I feel like I’ve been slacking on this blog for some time now. Ever since the beginning of October after my whirlwind trips to CJU, BlogWorldExpo, and then the Social Media Marketing Summit and the notes I was able to post from there, I’ve kinda let things go into auto-pilot, with only a few really good posts that were original content.

I also tried to work on a new blog, Beach Front Office, a chronicle of working at home and telecommuting. However, I’m not so sure if I should be separating that information into a new blog or including it into this one. My original intent for TrishaLyn.com was to be a whimsical look at marketing and my career as a young woman. I feel like I really do have a unique take on most things as I am learning as I go and don’t have a marketing degree - just a theatre arts dramatic writing one. So, I ask of those kind readers - which would you prefer? I keep my work at home stuff separate at BFO, or integrate it here into my whole experience as a young woman in Affiliate Marketing who telecommutes? Any opinions are welcome!

All that said, I feel better! And here’s a recap of some of the more interesting articles around the blogosphere that I read this week.

Lisa Barone live blogged the Effective Affiliate Strategies session at PubCon this week. Good notes!
Another take on PubCon from an affiliate standpoint was the faithful Shawn Collins with his PubCon 2008 Recap. I’m sure either Manda or Brandy will post a recap of their PubCon experience once they get back to Texas next week.
For my blogger buddies out there, DailyBlogTips posted a handy article 50 Simple Ways to Gain RSS Subscribers. I need to work on this myself, I admit.
Black Ink Project 2.0 is now available for the low price of $97.
Back to Lisa Barone, she also posted a recap of her entire PubCon Liveblogging Coverage.

TheBizWebCoach.com Launches Today

Trish — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:44:24 +0000

That’s right, at noon EST Jim Kukral launched his latest joint, TheBizWebCoach.com. Jim’s mission is to help you make your online business better, through social media, online advertising, and other proven online marketing tactics.

Jim’s an innovative guy, always on the bleeding edge of internet marketing. He’s dedicated and will do what it takes for your business to improve. His evangelism is infectious for your brand, and he really knows how to get a buzz going.

Besides all that, Jim is a totally nice guy! I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with him a bit at the last Affiliate Summit, and anyone would be lucky to have Jim on the side of their brand.

So check it out and see what TheBizWebCoach.com can do for your brand!

Saturday Shopper 11/7 - Political Polka Edition

Trish — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:19:07 +0000

This week, history was made with a historic election here in the United States. Our first African-American man has been elected to the highest office in the country, and change is in the wind. At the same time here in California, the state constitution is officially being changed to define marriage as a union of a man and a woman, and minors will no longer have to notify their parents when seeking an abortion.

No matter how you feel about these issues, you’ll have to agree that they’re monumental decisions, some of which the battle may not be over and finalized. In an effort to get political without getting partisan, I’ve been looking at some ways to improve our knowledge as citizens of this country, getting informed in the political process (I finally learned how the electoral college worked!). Hopefully you’ll take this opportunity to learn more and do your civic duty and work to be the change you want to see in the world.

The Process

The Candidates

For Laughs

Cribbed Content for November 7th

Trish — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:14:06 +0000

Welcome to November! I can hardly believe we’re in November already… it seems like it was September just yesterday! Do me a favor and remember that there’s Thanksgiving to think about before Christmas and stall on decking everything out in red and green for a month, will ya?

Recently I wrote an article for the New Edge Media blog, Top 14 Tips for Affiliate Success. Check it out and be sure to follow New Edge Media on Twitter!
Scott Jangro wrote a good post on Affiliate Marketing Network Blog Scorecards. The comments are interesting as well, so be sure to read the whole thing.
Affiliate Summit now has a Fan Page on Facebook. Join up for updates.
37Signals now offers an affiliate program for their super awesome products, one of which is Basecamp, a great project management system that we proudly use at New Edge Media. Sign up for their affiliate program at http://affiliate.37signals.com.
There’s a great informative post on the PrintPlace.com Blog on Why and How to Advertise in a Tough Economy. Good stuff that should help a lot of small businesses.
An interesting note about branding and your personal brand, Jim Kukral is going to re-brand himself next week. I’m very interested to see what he does and how this is executed, so stay tuned.

Online Marketing Glossary: Interactive Agency

Trish — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:30:34 +0000

Interactive Agency:

An agency offering a mix of Web design and development, Internet advertising and online marketing, or e-business/e-commerce consulting.

Speak of the devil, we finally come to a definition that describes my new company, New Edge Media! We offer PPC, SEO, Affiliate Marketing, and Email Marketing. Some stop by and take a look!

This actually concludes this series of glossary items! Huge thanks to Alexandra Wharton for having written this article and to Lisa Picarille for allowing me to republish them!

Have a series you want to see? Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know!

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Glossary Definition From ABC’s of Online Marketing by Alexandra Wharton, Issue 22, Revenue Magazine

Online Marketing Glossary: Residual Earnings

Trish — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 16:30:05 +0000

Residual Earnings:

A program that pays affiliates not just for the first sale, but all additional sales made at the merchant’s site over the life of the customer.

It’s my understanding that not many programs offer this anymore due to the incredible expense it could lead to if the customer is a good customer. More often programs are offering second tiers and giving commissions to the affiliate on the sales affiliates they’ve referred to the program are making.

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Glossary Definition From ABC’s of Online Marketing by Alexandra Wharton, Issue 22, Revenue Magazine

Online Marketing Glossary: Widget

Trish — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:30:54 +0000

Widget:

A small application designed to reside on a PC desktop or within a web-based portal or social network site offering useful or entertaining functionality.

These also appear on many blogs, even having a few in my sidebar. WordPress refers to any sidebar module as a widget, and there are millions of widgets out there. A great blog I read that keeps me up-to-date with what new widgets are coming out and what new released versions is Widgets Lab.

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Glossary Definition From ABC’s of Online Marketing by Alexandra Wharton, Issue 22, Revenue Magazine