A free domain name?

Register.com sent me and unsolicited email about free domain registeration that they are giving away till 3/25/08. I thought it looked like an interesting deal so I headed over to the site to read the find print.

It is actually free for 1 year from the date of registration (you will need to buy your own hosting plan separate from the domain if you wish to use it), the catch is that they want your credit card information on the account so that when the free year is up they can charge you for a second year and so on. They charge $35.00 for 1 year domain registration!! What a rip off!

I actually do not recommend register.com’s hosting plans to anyone who wishes to have control over their site/ SEO. I used them back in the day and was grossly disappointed. I don’t even recommend them for domain registration because it is way over priced but with a free domain why not use them?

The key is to transfer the domain to another registrar at the end of the year and THEN pay for the next years registration. This is what I plan to do!

I got my free domain registration for customgiftsbytalina.com, I will redirect it to my business site (www.craftedcustomgifts.com) thus reserving my business name as a domain so nobody else can use it and misrepresent the business.

A free domain name could be benificial to you as a blogger. Getting a domain registered and buying a hosting plan means you own your blog. It wont be hosted at a free blogging site (like blogger.com, wordpress.com or MSN spaces) which increases your chance for making money off that blog, plus you have more control!

Free blogs often cannot use all the nifty little plugins (like comment luv) that exist because they are unable to edit template files and so on. Free blogs are free so the capabilities and benefits are often limited. If you are a serious blogger this free domain name offer can launch you into the world of professional blogging/ owning your own site!

If you want ot claim your free domain head over to their promotion page (http://www.register.com/promo/acquisitions_lp_1.rcmx?trkID=EMAoFkNb1W) and get started.. The offer is only good for the week so don’t wait if you want one.

Then mark your calendar and remember to transfer the domain registration to another registrar of your choice before it expires next year!

Filed under Blogging, craft businesses, info for small business webmasters, recommendations, small business owners, technology | Comments (3)

“I can hack your computer” shirt or “Future CEO” shirt…

Ever felt like those cutsie t-shirts reading “princess” or “babe” were just not for you? I know I am irritated by the stereotypes and expectations for young girls and those shirts are a perfect example.

I know some girls can identify with the words princess or babe but others cannot. I found a t-shirt company called Girl Mogul, their mission is to encourage girls to dream big. “GirlMogul is an attitude, a way of approaching life that says you can be and do what you want. It’s defies convention and stereotyping and is inspiring and encouraging”.

The idea behind the company and their mission was interesting to me and I headed over to the site to learn more about them and I discovered I had a lot of Girl Mogul in me!

The shirt I like best was this one… The Future CEO one. It identifies with me and my big dreams even today after I have out grown the wide eyed dreams of my childhood. Some of you know that I am small business owner, I started a craft business up a few years ago and am now making money solely off my writing, freelance teaching and my craft business. Going to work for yourself is a scary and empowering journey. The cute Future CEO shirt kind of illustrates my ambition do you think?

Well, I just wanted to share this with ya. I totally believe it’s important to encourage young girls to reach for the stars, to break free of the stereotypes and to live their passions and so does this company. It’s refreshing and now I want one of their shirts.

Filed under craft businesses, personal stories, product/ service review, recommendations, small business owners | Comments (3)

Mail marketing- sending postcard ads

The holidays have come and gone and things in the retail world have started to calm down. Now that the winter/ end of year rush is over businesses are starting to think about generating sales in 2008 and Valentines day is just around the corner!

I am a small business owner and am always looking for affordable good quality ways to market my business offline. Ever since I started my business I have been using Vista print for my business printing needs, I first heard about them from a friend an was drawn to try them because of their “free business cards” offer. I have purchased many beautiful business cards though them and I also just tried their postcards. Vistaprint always has great specials on their printing services and they do a great job making cheap postcards and other products so I have been referring friends and family to them. My own mother even ordered some business cards through them!

I had my postcards made up to market my business for Valentines Day through the spring and they looked fabulous when the arrived! I ordered 100 for under $24.99 and was very pleased. Also, we used Vistaprint this winter to print our holiday cards up and were very satisfied with them.

If you have a printing job to do consider checking out vista print, chances are they can help you and make the job a bit easier!

Filed under craft businesses, product/ service review, recommendations, small business owners, sponsored info | Comment (0)

Choosing a webhost is now easier!

Many readers have inquired about website hosting plans and services. There are a number of options to choose from and often times the choices can seem overwhelming. I have found another helpful resource for those shopping for web services. If you visit http://www.webhostingchoice.com you will find a very easy to use tool that allows you to search for plans and services that fit your needs. I believe this tool is helpful and will save time with it’s side by side comparisons of services within your search range. If you are looking for information on a number of hosts and services and would like to see them all in one place you would benefit from following the link posted above.

Also, if you are new to site building or if this is your first website you would also benefit from the informative articles the have posted on the site. These informative articles can help to make sense of buying hosting service and a domain.

Filed under craft businesses, info for small business webmasters, recommendations, small business owners | Comment (0)

Blog marketing idea- blogger business cards

I just found a great deal for bloggers who wish to market their blogs outside the realm of the internet. You can get 100 FREE business cards, you just pay the shipping cost! These blogger business cards are a great way to market your blog in the “real world”! On ooprint.com you can design your blog business card with their user friendly site, the blogger specific templates allow you to list your blogs main keywords & tags on the business card along with your preferred contact info.

If you are looking for ways to grow your blogs readership real world marketing through blogger business cards is a great idea that you may want to look in to!

Filed under Blogging, craft businesses, info for small business webmasters, small business owners | Comment (0)