Entries Tagged 'All Articles' ↓

 Homemade gift certificates for MOM – thoughtful and easy on the budget!

Okay, Let’s Face It — How many of you are scratching your heads on what to get Mom this year? 

I have to admit, I’ve been stumped.  I’ve been looking for something a little practical.  My mom’s not one to soak in the tub with bubble baths or enjoy the luxury of a pedicure.  She prefers to choose her own clothes and she doesn’t overindulge with jewels.  She’s got enough nick nacks collecting dust, kitchen utensils and any other household item one could want to fill up space.   For her birthday, I knew she wanted a new purse so I sent her a gift card.  (I knew it was best to let her choose her own purse because she likes lots of pockets, zippers and storage.)  But, Mother’s Day really is special and I’m wishing I could give something to really commemorate the day.

I came across a site while searching for gifts online called, Regiftable.com, where you can share your stories of regifting.  By the way, you can read some funny stories about people who received or gave recycled gifts.  I know I’ve been victim myself on occasions.  Read some funny regifting stories here: http://regiftable.com/RegiftingStories/Default.aspx

Anyway, they have a link where you can create your own gift certificate to print out.  I wish they had more templates, but template #5 can do for practically any occasion.  Here’s the direct link: http://www.regiftable.com/DontWantToRegift/Default.aspx

Here’s some homemade gifts and gift certificate ideas for Mother’s Day:

• Clean her house
• Bake her favorite dish
• Take her to a favorite location: lake, park or place where she grew up
• Offer to record her favorite book or poems on tape (if it’s not already available on tape).
• Invite her for a special movie night at home with just the two of you
• Help paint a favorite room in her house - fresh paint and new colors can do wonders for a room
• If your mom loves pampering - give her a personal pampering party.
• Plant some flowers in her yard
• Do something she’s been begging you to do for years

Please share some homemade gifts and gift certificate ideas that you may have used for Mother’s Day: 

Do you have an interest in earning more income as an online tutor?

Online tutors are in great demand.  In some locations (such as small towns), it can be difficult to find tutors on certain subjects.  Being able to utilize resources online gives students and their parents an abundance of options.  Still, some people hesitate at hiring online tutors because they feel that they can’t provide the same level of service as they could if they were there in person.

Some students also learn better by hearing information rather than just reading text on a screen.  So how can online tutors overcome these obstacles?  By using a simple tool called video conferencing.

Video conferencing is the next best thing to being there and can increase income potential for online tutors. 

* Video conferencing allows tutors to utilize visual demonstrations to illustrate their points.  This is a huge benefit in almost any subject.  Science tutors can conduct experiments for students to watch and learn from.  Math tutors can show math students how to solve equations step by step, instead of trying to put it all in written form.  And English teachers can easily show students how to diagram sentences.

* The audio component of video conferencing is great for those who retain information better when they hear it than when they see it.  Studies have shown that there are a great many students who fall into this category.  Even students who do better with information presented visually can benefit from the reinforcement provided by hearing it as well.

* If the student has a webcam as well, the tutor can benefit from a higher level of interactivity with him.  It is often easier for people to express themselves when they can be both seen and heard, as opposed to just sending text messages through chat or instant messaging.  As a result, the tutor can better address the student’s individual needs.

* Online tutors can usually record their sessions with students.  They can then make them available for the student to use in the future.  The opportunity for repetition of a lesson is a great benefit to students.  The capability to record sessions easily also benefits the tutor by giving her the opportunity to post sample sessions for prospective clients to watch.  It is advisable; however, to obtain the parent’s permission (or the student’s if he is an adult), especially if you’re including any audio, video, or text from the student’s end.

Offering video tutoring can give you an edge in the competitive tutoring market.  The equipment you need can be purchased at a low price, and you can easily recover the money spent in just a few sessions.

==============================================

==============================================

Did you know?
Every website has a lot more shoppers than buyers!  Yea, LOL, I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you.  Oh, but we’ve got to fix that problem!!! (smile)

If you’re an online business owner, then you can probably verify your visitor statistics are considerably higher than your number of purchases.  Below are some of the top reasons visitors don’t always become customers and suggestions for improving your online sales conversion:

Top 5 Reasons Why Customers Fail to Make an Online Purchase:

1•  Confusion and Frustration.  Shopper’s don’t spend time trying to navigate a site that is confusing, difficult to use, or requires too many clicks to complete a transaction. 

FIX:  Optimize Ease of Use - Business owners can encourage shoppers to finalize sales by simplifying the process.  First, require few clicks as possible to the final checkout where your customer actually pays for the products or services.  Buttons, especially “add to cart” and “proceed to checkout”, are best displayed prominently, preferably above the fold.  Changing quantities, colors, and adding and removing items or changing shipping method should be easy to accomplish.  Check-out instructions should be clear and simple.  Customers appreciate the efficiency and respect for their time that a smooth purchase experience provides.

2•  Misbehaving Webpages and Shopping Carts.  Websites that don’t work the way they should will not only lose sales, but discourage future visits from potential customers. 

FIX:  Increase Funtionality - It may be worth the investment to hire a knowledgeable web master to design and maintain the storefront and shopping cart.  A smooth-running website not only increases sales, but also frees the business owner to focus on other activities that can ultimately lead to more traffic and more conversions.

3•  Lack of Product information.  Ever put an item back on the shelf because you weren’t clear about the price, size or other necessary details?  Triple that dilemma with online shopping.  Your customers can easily be frightened away with the lack of necessary details.

FIX:  Add Specific Details on Products -  Is an item in stock?  How soon will it ship?  What is the cost?  What shipping and payment methods are available?  Consumers are more likely to complete a sale when they are provided with sufficient information to answer all their questions about a product or service. 

*Extra Tip: Providing an FAQ page is one way to provide quick answers as well as a means to cut down on extra email communications involving answering customers’ questions.  A convenient link to detailed information about specific products also helps.  Many websites also include a contact form or live-help telephone number for customers with additional questions.

4•   Lack of Confidence and Trust.  It’s scary handing over your money and personal details to a new (unknown) online store. 

FIX:  Provide Credibility and Security - The online business owner’s website is her one means of instilling confidence in the buyer.  Some ways to do this include:
    -  providing a physical address, telephone number, and email address
    -  displaying the VeriSign or other certification authority logo
    -  clearly communicating the website’s privacy policy
    -  providing a customers’ testimonial page
    -  publishing an “About Us” page that explains the company or business owner’s background, objectives and accomplishment.

5•  Lack of Payment Options.   Have you ever wanted to purchase something online and realized that you did not have that form of payment option?  Or, perhaps, you simply have a preference of how you like to pay online and the online store did not offer that method?  Disappointment can surely lead to a loss of sale.

FIX:  Offer Multiple payment options - Businesses that accept multiple forms of payment show significantly higher sales.  Accepting credit cards, whether by setting up a merchant account or by using a third-party service such as PayPal, is crucial.  The benefit of using PayPal is that it also allows customers to pay by direct transfer from their checking accounts, providing yet another option.

*BEST TIP: Business owners who put themselves in their customer’s shoes will develop insight and be positioned to make positive changes that can lead to higher conversions, increased revenues, and greater profits.

================================================

Dramatically Reduce your Shopping Cart Abandonment
and Increase Your Website Conversions up to 20-40%
in as little as 2 weeks!

Click Here: http://mommyrevenue.com/virtualsmartagent

=================================================