Using free business cards for offline advertising

I was recently reading through an article that was discussing various methods of advertising your online business. One of the things that the article said majority of people who are successful with their online business do differently to those who not successful is that they advertise offline as well as online.

This got me to thinking about how I could advertise my business in a cost effective manner offline.

Of course the first thing I did was go to my search engine and started researching various options for offline advertising. That was when I came across VistaPrint. VistaPrint are an online printing company that allows you to design and order your business cards, flyer's and various other promotional materials all from the comfort of your own home.

The thing that attracted my attention first up though was that they were offering to produce 100 business cards for me for free! All I had to do was pay for postage and handling and they would ship me a package with my cards. So I figured I'd give it a burl.

The process was simple. I picked a design from their catalogue (if you want the free ones you have to use their designs), added my text and selected the layout. Added them to my cart and hey presto, about a week later my cards arrived in the mail.

Now to test the offline advertising concept. The cards I had ordered had a unique URL on them so I was able to easily track the number of hits my site got from the cards. I the placed the cards on community notice boards, I asked some of the local business' if I could leave a small hand full with them and kept a few to hand to people I talked to during the normal course of my week. Three orders of cards (that's 300 cards) later and I have had a hit ratio of about 39%. Considering I was going to consider it a success if I got 10% return on the cards I have to admit I was pretty impressed.

The hit rate from my cards actually beats most of the online options I have used to advertise my websites in the past, and because they haven't gone there by clicking on some obscure link, or to get credit's from a safelist (not that I'm knocking safelists, very successful form of advertising) you know that they have come to your site because they're interested.

So, if you would like to take advantage of some free cards or any of the other free items on offer from VistaPrint click on any of the hyperlinks in this article to be taken straight to their site. The item they are offering to supply for free are:

• Free Business Cards
• Free Rubber Stamps
• Free Sticky Notes
• Logo Design
• Caricature Design

VistaPrint claim to be used by over 11 million people worldwide and offer a wide range of other promotional materials for your business as well as the general business cards etc. You can design your own T-Shirts, brochures, flyer's - you name they probably have or can get it. Have a look today at VistaPrint.

What, Why, Where & How | Professional-Promotion Campaigns

Traffic Links, web based adverts and a bucket load of downloads as part of the package. This is what you get when you join with http://www.p-pcs.co.uk/ Professional-Promotion Campaigns (P-PCs) is not just the general safe list setup that you have probably seen a million times before and pass over because there's nothing to separate it from anyone else.


When I started reviewing this site I advised it's owner that I would have my review completed within 48 hours, my standard time frame to review a site. Sorry Lee I took a lot longer going through all the options you have to offer and looking through the software that you have available for your members. I hope I can do this site of yours some justice in this review.


I think the main thing that separates this safelist from the others I have looked at in the past is the amount of assistance that the owners of this site give you in an effort to ensure your online business is a success. I mean it stands to reason that they would, but 200+ titles of software and information to assist you is going to go along way to ensure your business get the boost that it needs. Even if you don't use the safelist (and please make sure you do) the software alone will make joining worthwhile.


OK. Down to business. What exactly are you offered with this package. Well there's the standard features such as the ability to post your ads to the list. Lee has opted in this case for web based ads rather than filling your email inbox with messages that are just going to be clicked and deleted. To ensure that your messages are actually read though, this site uses a credit system for each email, which in turn allows you to then post your own ads. No credit, no advertising. It's a simple formula, but one that means that your ads are sure to be seen and not just deleted.


To ensure that you aren't sending emails out to the list and being deducted credits just because someone put their name in 6 months ago and has never been back, credits are only deducted from your account when your ad is actually read by someone. So if only 10 of the 242+ members of this site read your ad, then you are only deducted credits accordingly. Again, it gives you the freedom to place as many ads as you like knowing you are only being "charged" when your ad is read.


The site only boasts a small membership at present, but I do not see this as a major drawback. My experience with smaller lists is that they tend to be a little more responsive than a list of say 10,000 people. I guess when you only have a couple of ads to read through each day, then you tend to actually take the time to read them, when you are getting 10,000 ads a day, then you tend to just highlight and delete, or not go back.


http://www.p-pcs.co.uk/ offers two levels of membership, a free no cost version as well as a Pro membership. An upgrade to a Pro membership will set you back $10 for a lifetime membership and offers you the following:

• 1,000 Credits on Sign Up
• 500 Credits Monthly
• 1 FREE Solo AD To All Members
• 1 FREE Banner AD
• 5,000 Impressions
• Post An Unlimited Amount of Ads Daily
• Earn 100% Commissions For Referring New Paid Members
• Access To The Pro Downloads Gallery
• Access To The Pro Benefits Area
• Earn More Credits Referring New Members
• Earn More Credits Viewing Ads, Traffic Links & Solos

In addition to this though, you will also receive access to an additional 70 items to download from the downloads section of the site. So, what's the go with this downloads section you may be wondering?


Free members are treated to over 200 different titles of software including (but certainly not limited to):

• Site Submitter
• Auto Responder Unlimited
• New Ad Tracker Tool v2.1
• Website Toll Booth
• Web Radar
• Banner Buddy
• Back Up Pro
• eZy Ezine Ad Formatter
• 114 Flash Banners
• Domain Alarm
• And the list just goes on and on and on. Like I said over 200 titles.

I was also impressed to see that not only do you get a copy to download for yourself, but the full resell rights are included, so you can start making money from these very same titles, and the Pro membership includes an additional 70+ titles.


This is a site that I will be making sure goes into my permanent bookmarks and will be using often in the future. After all, you can never have to many people reading ads for your product or service can you? Go to http://www.p-pcs.co.uk/ now and join this safelist, I think you'll be glad you did.


Don't forget to post you comments back here once you have to let people know what you thought.

Google Myths Exposed

Google is without a doubt one of the most used search engines on the net. So it stands to reason that we all want to make sure that we are indexed and ranking well in this search engine in particular for our desired key words and phrases.

The problem is, no one outside of Google really has any understanding of how the algorithm they use works. As a result a lot of myths and uncertainties have sprung up over time on how various behaviours may effect your ranking in the search engine as well as how it may effect your sites individual Page Ranking (PR).

If you've tried to read through the various methods prescribed in the numerous forums and email products on this matter then you may have found it as confusing as I have. Not to mention that you probably came to the same conclusion I did that it was just impossible to get decent traffic from using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques, backlinks etc.

That was until quite recently. It appears we are not alone in trying to understand the confusion. Jonathan Leger has been trying to unravel the advice given by the guru's of SEO and traffic creation, as well as the information you read in all forums. His conclusion: There are several myths surrounding this topic that are just being perpetuated with each new post, email or product released.

So Jonathan has decided enough is enough. It's time to expose these myths for what they are and to get a better understanding of using the Google search engine (among others) to start generating traffic to your sites. To this end Jonathan has created a free report that exposes these myths and explains the facts using evidence from Google themselves. To take it further, this is not just theory that has been derived from reading Google's blog entries or an article written on the subject by someone else, but something that Jonathan has tested multiple times and as such is able to offer real examples that you can verify yourself as you go.

Myths covered in this report are:

Myth #1: Google Knows All and Sees All
Myth #2: Google Will Not Rank Duplicate Content
Myth #3: You Must Get Links From Related Subject Sites to Rank
Myth #4: Your Site Must Focus On One Subject To Rank
Myth #5: High PageRank Means Good Rankings
Myth #6: To Maintain Good Rankings, You Must Add New Content
Myth #7: THE BIGGEST MYTH: Ranking In Google Is Hard!

With this being a free report (about 49 pages) you really can't afford not to at least have a read through it and see what it has to say. And just in case you are wondering, this free report is not just a single chapter from a larger volume that you will have to pay for to get the complete picture. It is a complete report that will explain and dismiss the myths about Google.

What, Why, Where & How | 9 Dollar Safe List

Safe lists. Do they work, or do they just fill your email inbox with authorised SPAM?

Well, I have to say I have used safe lists for a little while now, and have found that they have received a reasonable response. I get clicks on my Google Adsense ads, and people are starting to leave comments, so I have to say I am happy with them. So when I was asked to test drive a relatively new safe list site - 9 Dollar Safe List - I was happy to give it a go.

The first thing I noticed upfront is that, unlike some of the lists I have joined, 9 Dollar Safe List is actually managed by a real person who responds to your enquires, quickly. This is an important aspect to me of any site I join.

The other thing I noticed is that the site is easy to navigate. There are a few that I have tried to use where by the time you’ve posted your free ad about 8 windows have opened and if you’re new to safe lists you are left wondering if you have set everything up right. 9 Dollar Safe List is all contained in the one window with easy to understand labels.

9 Dollars Safe List offers a variety of options for you to advertise. Included are:

• Banner Ads
• Free Ads
• Solo Ads
• Traffic Exchange
• Referral Builder

Banner Ads:
Each page you visit on 9 Dollar Safe List has a banner on it, so if you buy some banner impressions, you’re sure to see some reasonable results.

Free Ads:
Rather than bombarding members with safe list emails, 9 Dollar Safe List have created an environment where members log in and read the ads to receive advertising credits. This ensures that your ad is being read by people and not either going to some free email address such as hotmail and being ignored, o being deleted the second that the email is received by the list member

Solo Ads:
Solo ads can be purchased for $5 per ad, or alternatively you can trade credits for solo ads. For each solo ad you receive and read you will earn 99 credits and for each free ad you read you will receive 10 points. When you have accumulated 15,000 points you will have the option of cashing them out for solo ads.

Traffic Exchange:
Another feature that 9 Dollar Safe List offers is a traffic exchange. Add your site and people are able to auto surf for points. If you are after some additional points yourself, you can have a surf and accumulate some extra points. Pro members are credited 0.8 credits per page view and free members are credited 0.4 credits per page view.

Referral Builder:
This section of 9 Dollar Safe List allows you to enter your referral ID into several programs such as other safe list programs and traffic building sites. The upshot of this is that is people you refer don’t belong to a site listed then they have the option of joining under you. You can be sure that I have added all of my referral codes in to this section.

OK, that about does it for features, and if you ask me that’s not a bad list of features. There are two membership choices on offer, a free membership (which will cost you nothing) and a Pro membership (which will cost you $9 - hence the name). The main difference that you will find between the two options is the Pro gives you more of the great features that are listed above. For example, if you are a free member, you get to post a free ad every 3 days, if you are a Pro member there is no limit to the number of free ads you can post. Also if you are a free member you can earn $5 per Pro member you refer and if you are a Pro member you earn $9. Sorry, had I forgotten to mention this as a benefit / feature of this site?

Ok, here’s the deal. For every member you refer you get paid a commission. The commissions are paid on the first of each month directly to your Paypal account - so make sure you update your details once you have clicked your confirmation email by clicking on the edit button. The rate you are paid depends on your membership. Like I mentioned above, you get $9 if you take the time to spend $9 on a lifetime membership (not a monthly rate, but a once off payment) and if you stick with the free membership you can still earn, but it’s only $5 per Pro member you are responsible for referring.

So, that’s 9 Dollar Safe List. I suppose the only left for me to comment on is the response rate of the ads. I posted a solo ad on a Wednesday night. A night that I typically find to have the lowest response rates of any one day of the week. I’m not sure why this is, but every time I forget and post on a Wednesday I get poor click through rates for my solo ads (let me know if you have had similar experience - perhaps you have found a different night to be slower). Within the first 10 minutes I had 5 people visit the site, and two of them clicked on the links within the article I sent them to. 24 hours later 43 people had clicked through (that’s about 25% - there were 191 members on 9 Dollar Safe List when I sent the ad). Given it was a Wednesday when I posted I decided to give it 48 hours to see what the total number of clicks was that I received. I have to say I was impressed. I usually only see about 10% click through rate AFTER 48 hours, let alone 25% click through within the first 24 hours.

Overall I found the site to be easy to navigate, the webmaster to be attentive and helpful, and the response to be higher than expected. The site currently only boasts about 200 people on the list. I feel that give it a little time and this will expand to considerably more and may even rival some of the more established safe list sites. I give site a thumbs up and encourage you to do as I have done and join and have a good look around. If you have the same experience I have in the short time I have been a member then I am sure you will feel the $9 for the pro membership is more than worth it.

Please click on any of the hyper linked text’s in this entry to be taken to the 9 Dollar Safe List site.