QuickWebCreations - A Review of this New Web Graphics Software

Earlier this week I received some email about a new web graphic software site, QuickWebCreations. and since I don't own any of the expensive web graphic software packages and have yet to figure out how to use some of the free ones, I was very interested.

After reading the sales page and seeing how inexpensive it was I decided to try it out.

Now I have to admit that this graphic software service doesn't do everything you can do with a professional graphics package like layering or inserting images and placing them where you want however, for a lot less than $10 you can design some pretty neat Web 2.0 graphics with this online graphic software tool.

Using the QuickWebCreations web graphic software you can create headers, buttons and backgrounds with some Web 2.0 effects like:

• Filling your text or background with up to 4 different solid or gradient colors. For instance, if you chose to use 2 gradient colors you could have part of your test change from red to yellow in the top half and from yellow to orange in the bottom half.
• Outlining your text with 1 to 4 solid or gradient colors.
• Reflections. That's the mirror like effect you see on many of the Web 2.0 graphics.
• Shadowing.
• Adding directional lighting so things appear brighter in 1 area and darker in another.
• A Gloss Overlay. (I'm still playing with that 1 to understand it.)

Now unless you're already familiar with some of the terminology used in a web graphic software package there is a learning curve to using QuickWebCreations to produce the results you want. But the learning curve is minutes rather than days, weeks or even months.

All in all Quick WebCreations does a lot more than expected, is very easy to use, priced so anyone who really wants to put some Web 2.0 graphics on their site can afford it and produces some neat Web 2.0 images.

I'm very glad I checked out this new online resource and joined. In fact, I've already added a new header image to my newsletter using this super tool.

So if you're looking for an affordable and easy to learn tool to produce some shiny new graphics I highly recommend the new web graphic software, QuickWebCreations.

To Your Success,
Susan

Tags: web graphic software, web 2.0 graphics, make web graphics, make web 2.0 graphics

Word Stormer VS Word Brander

For several months I've been providing a free advertising word cloud for FriendsWhoCare subscribers and have been using Word Stormer.

Unfortunately this free advertising page came under attack by some hackers and it took a couple of weeks to get things straightened out and working again.

It was because of this attack, the assistance I received and how Word Stormer performs after I made some modifications to prevent future hacking that I decided to test Word Brander and write this comparative review for the 2 php word cloud scripts.

Since both scripts are written in php and the basic design of the cloud page and the submit a word phrase are very similar, I will only list the major differences.

Differences Between Word Stormer and Word Brander

• Word Stormer allows word submitters to enter any number of words in a single submission while Word Brander provides the cloud owner to administer the maximum number of words that may be used in a single submission.
• Both use PayPal for payments, Word Stormer always sends the submitter to a PayPal payment page while Word Brander only sends submitters to a payment page when a payment is actually due. In other words, Word Brander does not send submitters to a payment page if the cost is 0.
• Word Stormer provides a color palette for selecting the submitted words color while Word Brander lists a few color choices and allows the submitter to enter the hex code for a color not on the list (no palette available).
• Word Stormer provides a way to send email to word submitters while Word Brander does not.
• Word Stormer allows the cloud owner to limit the number of words on the cloud while Word Brander does not.
• Word Stormer allows changes to the site design through the admin area and Word Brander does not.
• Word Stormer is a larger script which takes more hosting space and understanding of how the script works.
• Word Stormer does not allow the cloud owner to submit words except through the cloud submission page while Word Brander allows the cloud owner to submit 1 word or a list of words through the administration area.
• To get Word Stormer to function properly, 2 of it's folders must be given 777 permissions. Word Brander does not require any changes to the its folders' permissions and none of them are set to 777.
• Word Stormer costs more and the affiliate program pays less than Word Brander.

As you can see from the above list, these 2 php scripts provide similar but different capabilities.

Now as for why my word cloud page was hacked into.

According to the technical support on my web host, folders with 777 permissions are an open invitation to hackers and once 1 finds that door, they post it to hacker forums so everyone can have a good time at the site owners expense.

With that information I contacted technical support for Word Stormer and asked if there was a fix for this security hole and here's a copy of their reply:

-----

HI Susan
Sorry to hear this. Unfortunately there are no more updates to the script at this time. We have not developed it any further. You could get a php programmer on elance or one of the freelance sites to ammend your own personal version if you wish, but there is nothing else we can do at this time about people hacking on your server.

Many thanks and all the best to you.

Alison
Customer Support

------

Needless to say the response from Word Stormer was less than expected.

Fortunately the technical support for my hosted account was much more helpful and worked with me to find a somewhat working solution and since it was free and easy, I'll share it with you.

If you're using a php script and have some folders with 777 permissions and get hacked into you can do what I did with Word Stormer and see if it will work for you too.

1. Delete the entire script, including the database if it uses 1. This will remove all the hackers files and changes.
2. Re-install the script and the database but do not change any of the folders to 777 until you are ready to go in to the scripts administration area.
3. When you're ready to use the scripts administration area, change the folders that state they need 777 permissions to work to 777. Do your administration and then change the folders to 755 permissions. Your space will be open to hackers while you've got the folder set to 777 but it should only take a few minutes to do your administration.

After doing the above with my Word Stormer script the cloud page has not been hacked. Also, I am now able to make changes through the admin area without changing permissions and although I sometime get an error page when I make a change, the change does actually get made proberly.

The only other problem I've encountered with Word Stormer is that some of my subscribers do have some difficulty making submissions. I will be investigating this further but do not know what causes this problem yet. (1 subscriber thinks it may be an interaction problem with MS Vista.)

My recommendations:

• If you want an easy to install word cloud script, know how to edit php files that only contain html code, and don't require the capability to email your word submitters then I recommend Word Brander. Since I've not had a problem with this script I can not comment on their technical support.
• If you want a cloud script where it's easier to make changes to the page design, allows you to email your submitters, provides either some flaky administration or a security issue and no technical support then you can try Word Stormer.
• If you don't want to mess with either of these you can just submit a word on my free advertising word cloud page and let me worry about the problems.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Comments about either of these products or my review are welcome.

Tags: wordstormer, word stormer, wordbrander, word brander, wordstormer review, wordbrander review, word cloud, free advertising

Article Architect Update

Back in May I did a comparison of 2 article writing tools and wanted to give you an update for Article Architect - the 1 I use.

Recently the research-keywords part of Article Architect stopped working. This was not the tools fault. Article Architect uses the Overtures keyword tool to return results and the online Overture tool quit working.

Today I was pleasantly surprised, again, when Jay Jennings, the tools creator, sent out an update for Article Architect to all it's owners. Now I don't know if other people had submitted a ticket about the research-keywords part not working but know I didn't. Whatever his reason, Jay sent out an update to provide a type of work-around until Overture fixes their tool and this work-around provides another feature even when Overture is fixed.

With the latest update, it is now possible to import your own keywords into Article Architect.

Now I am even more impressed with Jay Jennings and Article Architect. The tool does more and still less expensive. Jay provides fixes and upgrades freely and when necessary. In addition, Jay creates video tutorials on how to do everything from installing the tool, using all it's features and installing the updates. He makes everything as easy as possible.

So if you're still writing articles without a tool to help you or if you not writing articles because you're afraid to try, I highly recommend you get Jay's Article Architect and watch his tool's tutorial videos. Not only will they show you how to use the tool but they'll show you the easiest way to create a unique, keyword rich article. His sales page may look like junk but his tool is top-of-the-line.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Feel free to leave a comment about this update.

Tags: article architect, article writing tools, write article, ezine article

Viral Marketing Giveaway 7

Viral Marketing Giveaway 7 started on September 5th and runs for 5 days. As of today, September 7, there are over 300 gifts available.

Since giveaways are getting rather common, I know a lot of people have quit checking them out. And I can understand why since there's usually a lot of old gifts, a lot of duplicated gifts and of course you have to sign up to both the giveaway and the giver's list to get the items you choose.

With that being the case, I thought I would give you an idea of what's inside Viral Marketing Giveaway 7 so you can make a more informed decision about whether or not you want to join and get something you want and may not have.

Here are just a few of the gifts included inside the Viral Marketing Giveaway 7 member area:

In the Hottest Item List (currently 80+ gifts):

• Succeed In 30 Days Marketing Course
• Instant Content Creator software
• Murder Your Job
• Install Your Own Scripts
• List Bandit Expert
• $7 Profit System
• And Lots More

In the General List (currently 260+ gifts):

• Lazy Internet Marketing - Home Study Kit
• Your Can't block This (1 of the newer popup packages)
• Ribbon Ad Generator
• Audible Store Generator PLR
• Bum Marketing - The Traffic Generator
• Web Elements E-Z Tools
• Your Own Instant eBay Info Store
• 36 3-D Opt-in Templates - with Master Resale Rights
• The Elite Graphics Package
• Several Membership Sites
• And Lots More

The above listed items are just a sample of what's available inside Viral Marketing Giveaway 7 and I hope it helps you.

And if you've already joined and would like to post a comment about some of the gifts you've gathered please do.

Also, if you decide not to join and want to let your list know about this event you can use my link... http://www.friendswhocare.us/recommends/viralmarketing7.html

To Your Success,
Susan

Tags: viral marketing, giveaway, viral marketing giveaway, free gift, ebooks, videos, software, internet marketing

ListandTraffic

You may already know that Jimmy D. Brown has a membership site, ListandTraffic. And, being the skeptic I am, I didn't join right away.

Not to say I never join paying membership sites because I do. But usually I wait to read some reviews. Then, if I do sign up, I don't stay very long since most membership sites don't keep adding enough content to make it worth what they're charging.

You know the drill...

Get all this valuable information (tools, products, etc) for 1 low fee and receive this extra stuff when you sign up!

Normally the extra stuff is why everyone joins and then after being disillusioned with the monthly offerings they quit after just a few months.

Well, Jimmy Brown's membership site, ListandTraffic, is different.

True, he offers some really good information on his sales page but...

ListandTraffic keeps adding more and more valuable information, not every month, but several times a month.

Now I have to admit that I don't get a chance to go into the membership area as often as I should. But when I do, there's always so many new articles and teaching material that I am overwhelmed.

For example, today I checked in to find that these had been added during the first couple of weeks in July:

• 7 new information articles (4 on getting traffic with ezine articles, different kinds of mailings to make money, 7 ways to model your business for success and Homepreneur Habits)
  
• 17 new audio articles to download to our MP3 or iPod.

Even I can't believe how much Jimmy overdelivers - the content is full of meaty information, includes dozens of ideas you can use immediately and is explained in a simple, easy-to-follow style that anyone can begin applying today.

Now when ListandTraffic was first started he sold memberships for the unbelievably small price of $10. In fact, his price was so low that even I thought it couldn't be worth much.

How wrong I was!

And now that the site has proven itself, he's raised the price to $20. And it's still under priced for what's inside!

Now I don't recommend many membership sites, free or paid for, very often but for ListandTraffic I'll make an exception. This is 1 membership site every serious online business person can use, it's always being updated with lots of new and current marketing information and it's still within most people's budget.

Don't believe how good it really is?

If you already have your own web site here's what I suggest:

1. Check out what he's says he's offering.
2. Invest $20 in your business to try it for 1 month.
3. Try to get through everything inside the membership area that can help your business during that month.
4. If you think you can use what's inside and want to keep learning more then stay a member.
5. If you don't think having all this information available is worth $20 a month, drop out. You'll have still gotten more than your moneys worth.

If you don't have your own web site then you may not be ready for ListandTraffic because it won't help you build 1 - it teaches you how to build your list and drive traffic to your sites. True, you can still benefit from some of the information, but to put it to full use, you'll need to have a web site.

I only wish I hadn't waited so long to join ListandTraffic because it's 1 membership site I intend to stay in for quite awhile.

To Your Success,
Susan

Warning - The Latest Buzz Could Sting You

Last week there was a lot of buzz on the web about a product that launched yesterday, "Project Black Mask". And of course yesterday when it did launch there was a ton of email buzzing into your inboxes telling you how great it was and that it was now available. Oh, and don't forget the part about how you need to get it now because the price would probably be going up unexpectedly.

Well I for one don't rush to buy the latest product when it carries a price tag of more than $50. I usually wait a day or 2 to see if I can get more information than is available on the sales page. Oh sure I get a lot of follow-up sales pitches but sometimes...

I get honest reviews of the product.

For "Project Black Mask" I didn't have to wait that long because on the day it launched I received 2 emails giving me the type of information I needed to make the decision to buy or not. Both emails came from well known internet marketers who were invited to be affiliates for this launch.

Today I'll share what these 2 joint venture affiliates for "Project Black Mask" had to say about it plus what people are saying on the "Warrior Forum".

Detlev Reimer (The Ethical Internet Marketer) wasn't favorably impressed and you can read his review at: http://www.quickanswers.info/Blog

Rosalind Gardner (The Super Affiliate Handbook) won't be using the techniques contained in "Project Black Mask" but did find 1 section worth reading. You can read her review at:http://www.netprofitstoday.com/blog/project-black-mask-review/

And while some of the discussion on the Warrior Forum was written before the product was launched, there are postings about the material written after the launch.

After reading the above reviews for "Project Black Mask" I've decided to not to get it. Creating hundreds of page with irrelevant stuff, spamming and wasting my time with methods that won't work in the future doesn't sound like a good investment, no matter how much buzzing is going on right now.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you found this tip useful please leave a comment.

Tags: project black mask review, project black mask, google, adsense, adwords, black hat, blackhat, black mask adsense

Instant Article Wizard vs Article Architect

Recently I've been getting a lot of email promoting 1 of Jonathan Leger's new products, "Instant Article Wizard". Now Jonathan Leger does create some good products and I've even purchased some like his $7 Secrets.

However, I haven't gotten a copy of "Instant Article Wizard" primarily because I already own an article wizard ... a wizard that I think has more features and costs less.

So today I thought I'd give you a chance to see what "Instant Article Wizard" by Jonathan Leger and "Article Architect" by Jay Jennings can do so you could do your own feature/price comparisons.

First, lets look at the sales pages:
Instant Article Wizard
Article Architect

Personally, I think Jonathan did a much better job for the sales page. And, by putting more work into the sales page, he's helped his affiliates make more sales.

Second, the products:

• Both products claim to help you write articles quickly, even if you don't know how or what to write.
• Both allow you to do keyword research.
• Both allow you to have multiple projects for your articles.
• Both have a text area to work on your articles.
• Both have a copy and past function to grab things from other websites.

Here's what I've seen as the differences - remember, I only own 1 of these wizards so there may be more.

• Instant Article Wizard allows you to write in several languages while Article Architect only supports English.
• Instant Article Wizard pulls the introduction and conclusion sentences from the sites it finds while Article Architect allows you to read through the sites' contents and copy and paste whatever you want.
• The Instant Article Wizard videos show that you can move text up and down however they don't show if you can actually edit the words. And because the video shows you how to paste the article into a word processor, I doubt that you can. I know Article Architect allows you to edit the words because that's what I am using right now to write this review. Plus, version 2 of Article Architect has a spell checker built in so there is no need to use a word processor at all. (While I won't take credit for having the spell checker built into version 2, I did make the suggestion when I posted to Jay's blog.)

In addition to the above features, Article Architect also:

• Shows the number of times a search term is searched on Overture and how many pages exist for the term on Google.
• Allows you to research your keyword on 14 different search sites.
• Shows your keyword density for every article.
• Shows the number of words in your article.
• Allows you enter a keyword list for every article
• Allows you to create multiple bio boxes for each of your projects and stores them along with your keywords and articles.
• Includes an article submitter that comes with 6 article directories listed and allows you to customize this list by adding more and removing the ones you don't want. (It's not meant to be an article submitter but it works just as good as the 1 I was using previously.)
• And there's more stuff that I haven't even tried yet!

OK, I've sold myself, Article Architect wins the competition when it comes to features.

Third, the cost:

Instant Article Wizard sells for $67 - Article Architect sells for $49.95 - almost $50

$50 is smaller than $67 so Article Architect wins again!

To sum it all up:

Instant Article Wizard is probably worth the $67 price tag however ...you can't always value a product by it's cost since I think Article Architect is of greater value than Instant Article Wizard even before saving $17+ (Let's just hope Jay doesn't find out about Instant Article Wizard and raise his price.)

To Your Success,
Susan
P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment and vote for the 1 you think is best.

Tags: article architect, instant article wizard, writing articles, writing wizard, writing tool, article, writing, ezine article

Article Directories Aren't What They Used To Be

Since I write several unique articles every month I try to find the time to submit some of them to a few article directories because it's a great way to get some free traffic and links to your site. And because I use a tool to help me speed the submission process, I've been submitting my articles to the same directories.

Well tonight I thought I'd expand my horizons and add a few more directories to my list since I was going to be setting up my new Article Architect to assist me with the submission process. And because the search engines are always changing their algorithms I figured I'd see who they thought the best directories were.

You won't believe what I discovered while searching Google and Yahoo!

First, some of the oldest and largest article directories are not on the 1st page of either Google or Yahoo. In fact, they didn't make it onto the first 5 pages.

Second, some of the directories who are now on the first pages have very few features to assist those who are either searching for or submitting articles. They don't allow you to search for authors or keywords. Some don't even list all the authors if you try to find an author by going to their "Top Authors" page.

Third, most of the directories have very few articles when compared to the older directories who used to hold the top 10 positions on Google and Yahoo. In fact, 1 of the top 10 directories on Google has so few articles that when you go into their listings of articles on some high volume topics, like internet marketing, all you find is Adsense ads.

Forth, I couldn't find any of the authors I read regularly listed on any of the now higher ranked directories even though I knew they had recently submitted articles to the older directories.

Fifth, and the reason I am writing this post, at least 1 article directory listed on the 1st page of Yahoo states in their article submission guidelines that no affiliate links can be contained in the articles submitted. However, when I checked a couple of the articles, they had ContentAds with affiliate links embedded within them. I thought this was strange so I checked a couple more articles and discovered that different articles by different submitters contained the same affiliate link to 1 particular product.

Now I understand that certain types of sites are created strictly to get high volume traffic by offering a service and earn income by using ads but...

Putting your affiliate link in someone else's content is hitting below the belt!

I will admit that I didn't read the rules for using any of the articles on any of these sites however I know that the older directories I've used in the past state that the articles can be used only if they are not changed and must contain the authors byline. (In 1 of the directories I saw 1 article that didn't even include the author's byline but maybe the author forgot to use 1?)

Submitting articles is a good thing. And some of newer, small directories are legitimate directories and will grow and add more features to assist the users. And yes, getting into them at the beginning is good since you may easily gain top submitter status with just a few articles.

However tonight I didn't expand my list. I didn't even get my articles submitted to my old list. Instead, I wrote this post to warn you.

Article submitters beware. Don't just go to the first article directories listed by your favorite search engine and submit your work. Check out some of the authors and articles. Read the submission rules and the rules for those who may want to use your article. Don't be fooled into thinking that the search engines always know what they're doing and are listing the best directories first.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you agree or disagree with any of the content in this article please let me know by leaving a comment.

Article Architect

Jay Jennings latest product, Article Architect, became available to the general public today and now I can finally tell you about this amazing new product.

I got an early copy last week and decided to try it out since it was suppose to make writing articles easier.

You won't believer everything this product does!

First, it helps you research niche topics and find the best keywords.

Second, because you may working on more than 1 niche, it lets you create multiple projects so you can store everything for your niche topic in 1 of your projects.

Third, it helps you find online information for your topic and lets you save the addresses for those information sites within your project.

Fourth, it has a built in editor so you can write your article. This editor lets you select the keywords for your article and tells you the frequency for those keywords in your article.

Fifth, it has a built in wizard that will help you write an article title that gets attention.

Sixth, it has a built-in article submitter so you can speed up the process of submitting your articles to article directories.

Seventh, there's a video tutorial that demonstrates all the features available.

Since getting this tool, I've used it to write newsletter articles, ads and blog posts. In fact, I was so impressed with everything this tool does I even wrote a testimonial about it for 1 of Jay's blogs.

If you're writing articles to generate traffic or you're doing bum marketing, I can not recommend this tool highly enough because it helps you do everything you need to do and stores it all in 1 place. I personally have a few tools I use regularly to assist me with my business and, after using it for 1 week, Article Architect became the tool I used the most.

Writing articles for traffic and income just got a lot easier and faster with
Article Architect.

Check it out today and let me know how you like it.

To Your Success,
Susan

Tags: articles, ezine articles, traffic, writing for traffic, words into traffic, article traffic, keyword, search engine optimization, seo

Hot Vault Downloads

I've just taken a look inside "Hot Vault Downloads", a new giveaway that started April 18th, and there are a lot of good free products available inside the member area. I haven't gone through all 12 pages of gifts yet but can give you a hint of what's inside.

Within the first 3 pages I saw a tool I purchased just last week, "Simple Sales Copy." This is great tool for helping you come up with the words for a sales letter or ad because it includes professionally produced: Headline copy, Subheads, Openings, Bullets, Guarantees, Closes, PS’s, Similes, Copy Connectors And Power words. You simply select the components you want to use, add some basic information and press a button to create sales copy.

Going a few pages further into the giveaway I found Impact PopUps. This is a tool I've used several times on my own site since it's a great way to bring attention to something you don't want your readers to miss. When you use it, it looks like you have put a sticky note on your site.

And of course, if you go further into the giveaway pages you'll find my gift which I think is pretty good too. I won't tell you what it is but will say that I don't usually give it away since I get income from it every month.

Soooo, if you're looking for some free products and services you should go to Hot Vault Downloads, join and start downloading what you want - today.

To Your Success,
Susan

Tags: giveaways, free products

Easy Blog Traffic

Recently I made a $7 purchase of "Easy Blog Traffic" and it included the resale rights. However, I don't recommend you get this product and here's why:

• The product is written for WordPress bloggers so if you are using Blogger.com or any other blog service or software, most of the recommended plug-in won't work for you.
  


• The author highly recommends WordPress as the best blogging software (this may be true, I don't know) but has not kept current on the new features of any of the other blog services available. With the new version of Blogger, many of the features that did not work before, now do.
  


• The author freely admits that installing and using WordPress is not the easiest thing to do and even gave up trying for awhile. I guess he finally went back and tried again because he now points to his blog at: http://www.whoisandrewwee.com/. While his blog shows a good page rank, I am sorry to say that I found it too difficult to read to be of any value.
  


• All 6 ebooks contained in this package continually promote both his and another fellow blogger's products along with some recommended resources (affiliate links of course). After seeing his blog I wasn't convinced that any of his other products or recommendations were of much value.
  


• While he states several times that blogs on Blogger won't draw much traffic, he uses this blog to show the value of having a lot of traffic to make money selling advertising space:
  http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/
  


• 1 of the ebooks is a PDF version of Louis Allports Blog Traffic video ebook. While there is some good information in these videos, at least half of it will be of no use to the average blogger.
  


• The ebook "Blog Profit Machine" states that it has "The basics of blogging and setting up your blog, perfect for even the most clueless newbie." (Statement taken from the sales page.) While it does have some high level information about search engine optimization, writing content and traffic resources, it won't help anyone who doesn't know how to set up a blog. There are no instructions to assist in setting up the options on Blogger or to install WordPress.

I could go on and mention a few more reasons why I don't recommend this product however I hope the above 7 are enough to convince you to keep your money.

Now even though I don't think you should "buy" this product, I will give you my affiliate link. If you're not going to take my recommendation, I'll gladly take your money for Easy Blog Traffic. Also, if you are a member of the Prudent Resellers Book Club and can wait until next month for this product, you will be getting it free as a member. Then you can review this product too and add your comments to this review.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. There was 1 positive thing that came from reviewing this product and I'll freely share that piece of information with you. Post to your blog frequently and keep it interesting.

Feel free to make comments about this review or the product discussed.

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Do You Use Free Advertising?

Since all online marketers are looking for more traffic and most don't have an unlimited advertising budget, many use free forms of advertising.

To help each other out let's share what we think works the best.

If you use a free form of advertising that you would like to share with others please add a comment with your vote to this article and include a link to the free advertising source you are recommending.

If you do not use free advertising, please add a comment voting no and include a link to the advertising resource you think works the best.

Remember, this is to share places where we can all advertise. If you post a link to a site where we can not advertise or get traffic I will have to remove your vote. (Affiliate links for the advertising resources are allowed.)

Thanks,
Susan

P.S. If you see the advertising resource you wanted to recommend already listed, please go ahead and post your comment and link again. The more comments for a single resource means it must be really good. Right?