Showing posts with label mom blogger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mom blogger. Show all posts

Thursday, May 3, 2012

May Extreme Cash Giveaway (Blogger Sign Up)

Bloggers, come see why the Extreme Cash Giveaway is one of the most popular monthly giveaways and watch your numbers go up! Cost is only $3 for first link and $2 for each additional link.
Sign up for the Extreme Cash Giveaway here and be sure to say that Gumdrops & Groanings referred you!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Bright StartsMom to Bed by 8 and Iowa-Mom is excited to present the Baby Shower Event from May 7th to May 28th. This is a free blogger event and accepting signups now.
Join the Bright Starts Ultimate Baby Shower Giveaway event today, grow your readership and offer one amazing baby shower gifts giveaway!

Saturday, December 4, 2010

I'm Living My Moment. How 'bout you?

As a mompreneur, I am always on the lookout for legitimate inexpensive (preferably FREE) way to promote my business. I take customer service seriously because keeping a customer is a lot cheaper that advertising to acquire a new customer. And word-of-mouth from satisfied customers referrals are more valuable than a printed ad. Don't you get the opinions of others when shopping for a product or service? I know I do. Social networking is paramount! It's time consuming but worth it.


When I stumbled upon the website Living My Moment, I thought their offer to list parent-owned businesses for FREE was truly too good to be true. But sure enough, I submitted my info and now I have a content rich feature page there with links to my site, this blog and all my social accounts. What's that I hear? My Alexa and Google rank rising? Uh huh. Mama likes! So, now it's your turn. Go to my link to see how sweet it is. Then, submit your business for FREE. Want to thank me? Just mention, you heard about Living My Moment on Gumdrop Swap's blog when you submit and I'm sure some good karma will flow to all of us. Now, that's social networking!

Gumdrop Swap Online Clothing Swap Club & Boutique

Save up to 80% on custom printed products at Vistaprint. Order today!
Get Paid to Tweet! http://ad.ly/publisher/refer/251902558

Sunday, October 17, 2010

For Those Who Like GIVEAWAYS!

Do you like entering or hosting blog giveaways? It's an easy why to win cool schwag, products, and services for free! The companies that giveaway the product or service get exposure and hopefully some word-of-mouth advertising and you don't spend a dime. Those bloggers that host the giveaways usually get the equivalent to write the initial post and more followers once the word gets out that they are hosting a cool giveaway. So everyone is a winner!

Whether you are someone who likes to enter or the blogger that hosts, you need to know about the "Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion" November 1-5! I have been a subscriber to Bev's newsletter for about 6 months now. It comes about once a month and has great offers from mom-owned businesses. She lets people post announcements about their blog, coupons, events... whatever. She's all about promoting each other to each other. I think this Giveaway Explosion is a great idea and if you are new to the blogosphere its a great way to meet other blogger moms and network with businesses! Have fun!

The purpose?
- To provide an explosion of giveaways

- To provide an explosion of new subscribers/clients/fans for all who provide giveaways

- To provide an explosion of new opportunities to connect with each other

- To provide an explosion of fun!!

How does it work?  You host giveaways on your site and Mom Audience will provide great exposure for your giveaways, as always. Team up with Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion and get your site in front of thousands!
Mom Audience will send out a special email each day from November 1 through November 5. Each email will list giveaways unique to that day, so each email will be different from the others, with different giveaways for each day.

To enter to win giveaways, simply subscribe to Mom Audience, and you will receive our five Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion emails, November 1-5, listing the new giveaways for that day. Peruse the list and enter the giveaways that look appealing to you.

To offer giveaways:

- Display our Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion button on your site now to ramp up traffic for your giveaways. See below.

- Subscribe to Mom Audience, if you haven't already.

- Create the giveaways on your site. Include subscribing to Mom Audience as an entry, please. (If you need help creating a URL for a future post see this help section).

-
List your giveaway(s) on Mom Audience now - you don't have to wait until November. In fact, the earlier you list your giveaways, the higher on the list you'll be. The deadline to list your giveaways is midnight (Eastern) October 28.

- You can offer as many giveaways as you like. If you have multiple giveaways, spread them out over several days to get more exposure. But each giveaway may only be listed on one email, not repeatedly on several emails. 
- Blog, tweet, facebook, email, even call (gasp!) everyone you know to tell them about the Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion - the more exposure we get the more exposure you get.

- Announce your winners and enjoy your new subscribers/clients/fans!

To get even more exposure:
Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion emails will display sponsors' buttons at the top of the Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion emails. These will be exclusive to the Giveaway Explosion and will not carry over from the regular Mom Audience emails. So here's your chance to get top billing and place your site's button at the top of the email.

Choose the day you want to get increased exposure. Or place your button on two, three, four or all five emails! You'll get noticed as soon as our subscribers open the email!

To sponsor Mom Audience Giveaway Explosion emails, click here.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

She Shoots, She Scores!

Last month I asked for help styling my upcoming photo shoot. Many things have happened since then. I booked and been canceled by two photographers. The weather has cooled so I changed my mind about the styling. I've purchased some cool wardrobe items. And I managed to find a local photographer through the Make-up artist (MUA) I found (well, she technically found me through this blog). The MUA is Nasheikah Bennett. She is new(er) to the blogging world and was so happy to find another blogging mom (me) that was local. And we have similar interests (namely fashion photography/modeling). She has been working with a photographer as she builds her portfolio and recommended (another blogging mom if you can believe it!) Jefferine Kerr. She has a photojournalistic style and is amazing with kids! I must have her shoot my Butterbean soon. I'll give you a few images to whet your palette. Wardrobe credits: Fashion to Figure zebra cowl neck dress, olive boots with wedge heel I bought on Endless.com and all else from my personal wardrobe. I'm sure you will see more from this threesome soon.

















Monday, August 30, 2010

Take my BUTTON... Please! (in my best Rodney Dangerfield impression)

I always see other blogs boasting the buttons of their sister bogs. I wanted to get in on the sharing and supporting, but was completely clueless as to how to make the text box with html language for people to "grab". Designing the 125x125 pixel button was easy enough. Although, I'm not sure how happy I am with it. It's hard to get creative in that tiny of a lo-res space. Or maybe my creative juices weren't flowing. I wanted the words to "jump up" at you but didn't want a solid background either. You can see what I ended up with on the top right. Then, my trusty friend Google led me to this blog post at Oikology 101 with explicit instructions for making a Blogger button. So, please, take it and post it on your blog and leave a comment with a link to you and I will return the favor. Oh, and I added my blog to "Top Baby Blogs" so if you would be so kind to clink the bar at top to cast your vote and improve my rank, I appreciate it! Thanks in advance!

Get Paid to Tweet!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Another Positive Review!

When your run your own business, it's always validating to get positive feedback. I stumbled upon a blog last month named "This Mama Works It" and mom blogger, Tammy, shares how she sells her kids clothing on ebay. She has a following and I thought her audience was similar to my target demographic. Maybe her readers are unsure if ebay is the right option for them to get rid of gently used kids clothing. Let's face it, posting those auctions take time which is a limited commodity for most parents. Gumdrop Swap is a guaranteed sale as opposed to waiting for a possible sale by online auction end. 

Tammy was excited to try the service. And she posted her review today. I gave her a free month to try this service and I am allowing her to give away the same offer to a lucky winner. Go read her review and giveaway rules.

Get Paid to Tweet! http://ad.ly/publisher/refer/251902558

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Review & Giveaway: Sprounce Natural Cleaner Ends 4/30/10

***random.org was used to generate the winner and the number given was #10 so thriftymommy@verizon.net is the winner! Congrats! Thanks to all who participated." 

I am always on the search for natural or "green" products to promote or sell in my kids boutique (Gumdrop Swap). So I read about this all-natural cleaner on another site (forgive me, if I remembered, I would mention it here). Gimme a break people, I do most of my online communication and blogging in the wee morning hours. But I digress, I contacted the makers of Sprounce about being a wholesaler and they were nice enough to send two 4 oz bottles. Zoom. They were in my hands in days. Gotta love enthusiastic small businesses!

The website is easy to navigate and use. The product comes in a handy, diaper bag friendly size (4 oz) for only $4.99. Is is safe to spray on pacifiers, teething rings, etc. That's exactly why it was developed.  It contains a blend of oils that have been proven to naturally kill germs. Sprounce was developed to have safe contact on skin. It contains Canadian Willowhereb extract, which provides anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory properties on skin. Another great reason to keep it handy is Sprounce was designed as a “no-rinse” formula. Just towel or air dry. Rinsing with water is not necessary!

Since my butterbean is 2yo now, we are passed that phase. I wish I had known about this cleaner back then. I cringe to think how I "sanitized" things for my daughter when I was desperate. I plead the 5th amendment for fear of incriminating myself. But thank God she is happy and healthy today! So far I have used this to sanitize her toys that touch the floor or if they get sticky from pbj hands. And I use it to clean off her activity/dining table and chair. NOTE* it is made for non-porous surfaces and not intended for removing stains from clothing or to clean stuffed animals, cloth dolls, etc.

I cannot describe the scent. My olfactory memory tells me it's something I have smelled before. Kind of eucalyptus like? Then I read the FAQ's on their site and found this "The scent is from a combination of tea tree oil extract and lavender oil extract. " Any way... I know I will get a lot of use at the store sanitizing the surfaces that kids touch and the toys in the play area. But I thought I would share my good fortune by giving away a bottle. This is awesome for a new mom worried about the chemicals in cleaners used for baby items. With Sprounce, you can rest easy knowing you are not harming your child with toxins when you clean off their sippy cup tops and what have you. It's made by parents for parents.

Okay, here are the rules for the giveaway.

I will use random.org on April 30, 2010 (*extended from March 31) to find a random winner from the total number of comments. So the more comments (entries you have, the better your chances). C'mon you all know how this works :-)

  • 1 entry for following me on Twitter (specify you Twitter name in your comment) 
  • 1 entry for following Sprounce on Twitter 
  • 1 entry for tweeting about this giveaway with a link to this blog entry (tiny url is http://tinyurl.com/yhlxeyd
  • 1 entry for becoming a fan of GumdropSwap.com on Facebook
  • 1 entry for becoming a fan of Sprounce on Facebook  
  • 1 entry for mentioning my blog in a blog entry of yours (include link within your comment)
That's six chances! Good luck everyone!
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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Better use of my Blackberry

I used to work for a furniture company which I will not name and unintentionally advertise here. Let's just say, it was a less-than-amicable departure. But I am grateful in hindsight, because being terminated for "lack of work" inspired me to launch my own business. But, as the Design Production Manager for this company, I was on-call and it was very demanding. You would be surprised how many "art emergencies" there are for retail companies. This particular company aimed to be cutting-edge and was always meeting with potential investors and new distribution channels. That last minute presentation meant me pulling an all-nighter. I believe that's part of the reason I wasn't afraid of starting a business. Long hours are something I'm used to. I still freelance as a graphic designer and illustrator occasionally. You can see my online portfolio. I do a lot of logo and branding identity for fellow entrepreneurs. And I save money by doing my own marketing materials. Here is my latest flier!

Because, I would often miss urgent emails if I dare try to have a personal life, I felt warranted to buy a smartphone. I was perfectly happy with my crappy, no-frills phone for personal use. No need for texting or being on the internet for personal use before. So, there was a sale at my cell phone service provider and with rebate, I paid about $80 for my Blackberry Curve. At the time I didn't realize Id have to pay $30/mo on top of my cell phone plan for unlimited internet use but I was too far in by that point. A few months after my purchase, I was let go from my duties at that company. Now, I had this device that I had to make worthwhile. I must admit here that I am bad about reading manuals. I find them boring and repetitive. Give me a few bullet points and illustrations and I'm set! I figure out how to use most things by trial and error if they have buttons with labels. I fear that I even today I am only using my smartphone to about 70% of its potential. That's embarrassing.

Well, this post is for you other impatient people that don't read manuals and instructions. I just figured out how to use my phone to email blog post/drafts and text photos to my blog. You never know when I'm going to be in a doctor's waiting room or hour and a half train ride and get a genius (I use that term loosely) post idea. Now I can use my mini-keyboard to type it out and send it to save as a draft to perfect later. Here's how (Blogger users) under Dashboard, select Email & Mobile tab, scroll down to "Posting Options" then select your secret word within your unique email address to which you will email your posts. I set mine to be saved as a draft but you can choose to directly publish (aren't you daring!) Then, if you prefer, you can text to your blog. You set this up by clicking "Add mobile device" and texting a special code provided to the number 256447. Now, I can MMS msg photos from my phone instead of searching for my USB cord and backing my pics on my computers hard drive. That delays posts by days.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Rave Reviews for GDS

The business was featured in the Connecticut Post newspaper on 12/14/09 http://www.connpost.com/ci_13996370
 
GumdropSwap has also been reviewed by mommy bloggers with rave and reviews! http://musingmainiac.blogspot.com/2009/11/gumdrop-swap.html


http://madamedeals.com/2009/11/16/gum-drop-swap-online-childrens-clothes-swap/


I am expecting to more reviews in the upcoming weeks. It is very exciting to know parents are finding this business useful and affordable. I am learning daily about being a “momtrepreneur” and trying to find a balance between that and being a wife and mom.