By Karen Post, on March 12, 2010

1) FREE Books delivered to your email.
dailylit.com, over 1,000 books, for many titles the entire book is FREE, others provide generous sample chapters.

DailyLit was created because the founders spent hours each day on email, but couldn’t find the time to read a book. Sound familiar? Now great books come by email and they are FREE. It’s simple.
1. Find a book you want to read
2. Enter your email address
3. Click subscribe

DailyLit has many other features. Some require creating a profile.
* Follow a group reading the same book together, on Twitter (and RSS).
* Take part in the discussion forums.
* Give ratings and reviews.
* Manage BookLists.
* Give DailyLit books as gifts.

Read the rest of this page »

By Karen Post, on March 10, 2010

Logoease – Free Online Logo Maker
http://www.logoease.com

With Logoease, you can design a professional logo for your business or product at no cost. Using the intuitive online interface, you create your own logo from a selection of high quality images and fonts. There are hundreds to choose from. Manipulate the images, colors and layout anyway you like, and the design is uniquely your own. Then you can download and save the file in multiple formats such JPG, TIFF, and PNG for web and print purposes. There isn’t a catch—no ads on the logo or memberships. The logo is yours for free to use where you want.

Cost: FREE

Oddpodz Review: Add a visual to your business card, at the beginning of your presentation, on your blog or homepage—it’s your design. . With the ease of use, you don’t need to be a graphic artist; you can start design your logo in seconds, and there are many logo samples to give you a few ideas and get you started. Logoease claims it’s as easy as blowing bubbles.

(contact page: http://www.logoease.com/ContactUs.aspx)

By Karen Post, on March 9, 2010

www.linoit.com

Lino It is Online Stickies. Face it; using sticky notes is simply more fun than writing on a boring legal pad. This is a Web 2.0 take on those old-fashioned, canary-yellow sticky notes. Using drag and drop features, you can organize ideas, plot your story, arrange talking points, even post pictures and videos, all on a virtual board. You could also manage to-do lists, or remind yourself of future appointments, all made simple by the calendar structure of the site. You can share this board with colleagues, friends, family, or choose to keep it private. Others can even subscribe to an RSS feed of your virtual stickies. The site has user-friendly, intuitive use, and yes, you can even choose the color stickies you want to use.

Cost: FREE

Oddpodz Review: This isn’t for people who thrive on organization. It’s for those of us surrounded by notes on scrap paper and distracted by shiny objects. And hey, we like it that way. Thumbs up for LinoIt for making organization less dull.

By Karen Post, on March 9, 2010

www.scribd.com/

Scribd began with the observation – “that there’s a writer in all of us.” Scribd is a social publishing site, the YouTube for document sharing.  It provides a central storage place for others to publish and discuss original writings and documents.  Scribd uses it own document reader, making it simple for anyone to access documents without downloads or compatibility issues.  Here you’ll find not only free eBooks, but much more as well—Scribd is a platform for many types of writings—from class syllabuses to sheet music to brochures to novel-length works of fiction. With Scribd groups, you can share documents within your circle of friends, your organization, or your online network.  Documents can be made private and secure, or shared with the world.

Cost: FREE

Oddpodz Review: There are a lot of uses for Scribd—as it’s an innovative new platform for reading.  Maybe you have the first chapter of a novel you want to put out there to gauge a response; maybe there’s an old college essay on your hard drive that you want to share; it can help you run your business by liberating your hard drive and helping you organize your documents with tags and categories.

By Karen Post, on March 9, 2010

I apologize for being light on the blogging this past month.

I have been very focused on the new Oddpodz Web site, which is scheduled to relaunch in just a few weeks. And I’ve been working on a new, green brand for a global industrial company, plus playing tennis and a good bit of travel; some for work, some for play, but all fun!

A few years ago I saw that movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson called “The Bucket List.” I thought the movie had a weak script and was overhyped by good trailers, but I liked being reminded of the value of having bucket lists. And making sure, I knock off as many as possible things while I can.

I don’t have cancer, I’m not old by most standards, and I have not seen a bus running me over in my crystal ball. But I do believe that life is not a dress rehearsal and there is no guarantee for tomorrow.

I operate my life in a goal-achieving and list-driven fashion. For me, it helps keep my eye on the rewards and experiences I want and it also feels good to cross something off and say “I did that.”

My bucket list is ambitious. It includes meeting some people I admire, like Richard Branson and Steve Jobs; owning a share in a professional sports team, watching “Oprah” from the studio audience; and spending quality, fun time with my Mom, who is 74. There is a lot more to the list, but that’s for another blog post.

I look at my bucket list monthly. And I take decisive action to make things happen.

My mom had never been to Chicago and wanted to go, and both of us had never been to “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” This seemed like a doable bucket list adventure. So I mentally went through my network of pals to figure out how to get tickets. Bingo! One of my very good friends came through. FYI, without a connection for tickets, anyone can go to the show’s site, and sign up for the lottery. I know this works because many of the people I met at the show got their tickets this way.

Read the rest of this page »

By Karen Post, on March 8, 2010

People with strong personal brands earn bigger bucks, get more opportunities and really enjoy life.

What are you waiting for?
We are all brands. An image, a mental mark planted in the minds of our markets. You can leave your personal brand up to others to create, or you can take charge and consciously take actions so your brand works to achieve your goals.

If you polled your peers, your clients, employers or prospects and asked them what they thought of when they heard your name, What would they say? Is there a pattern of perception about who you are? What you stand for? If not, it’s time to give your personal brand a jumpstart.

Here are 4 FREE (and 1 low cost) personal branding tools to fast track your success.

1) FREE Online Reputation Management and Business Promotion for Professionals
Lookuppage.com
LookupPage is a free online service that provides personal visibility, online reputation management and business promotion for professionals. It is focussed on enhancing presence across all leading search engines using SEO and PPC. LookupPage enables you to manage yourself online, be visible when looking for a job, as well as promote your business and generate valuable new leads. Users benefit from an individual domain around their name (www.yourname.com), sophisticated visitor tracking tools and inclusion in the LookupPage index.

According to studies carried out by Execunet, 83% of candidates are researched online by recruiters and employers with the aim of finding out more about the person’s professional or personal background. Being visible on the web is now more important than ever for anyone who is looking for new opportunities and needs to be visible to potential employers or business partners.

How It Works
Create your personal LookupPage (standard page is FREE)
Your LookupPage gets you prominent positioning on all leading search engines including Google, Yahoo, Live, etc. when people search for your name. (Prominent position is guaranteed for users who upgrade to one of the following packages)

Pro: $15.95 for the first month and $7.95 thereafter or $88 per annum
Basic: $3.99 per month

By upgrading your account you have access to LookupPage analytics dashboard, where you can gain valuable insight by monitoring who is visiting your LookupPage. Learn where your visitors come from (i.e. where they search for you – Google etc), what search term they used to find you and more.

Cost: standard package is FREE.

Oddpodz review:
We all know visibility; especially concerning your online footprint is a key piece in any new business development program. This tool not only helps on search results tied to your name, it’s got some very cool tracking features to see who and where your viewers are coming from. The company is based in England, so their reach is international. I started with the 100% FREE level and it’s definitely got value. Then I upgraded to the Pro level, it’s around $8 bucks a month. I find the added levels of monitoring well worth the investment.

LookUpPage is giving members of the Oddpodz community a 15% discount when they upgrade to the annual pro package. Have a look here www.karen-post.com - I have my own unique named-domain, full of information about me and my business, a sponsored listing in Google, my logo and links with detailed information about my business and partners, my contact details, a daily, weekly or monthly statistical report telling me who has visited my page, and additional search engine optimization to ensure maximum effect for marketing on the internet.

If you want what I have, i.e., the LookupPage Pro, click here and register your details, then log in and go to My Account to upgrade to the Pro package, but don’t forget: you need to enter this promotional code on that page: HXuUek to get your 15% discount.

Read the rest of this page »

By Karen Post, on March 6, 2010

http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html

The Free File program provides free federal income tax preparation and electronic filing for eligible taxpayers through a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Free File Alliance LLC, a group of private sector tax software companies.

By Karen Post, on March 4, 2010

www.Marketsplash.com

Starting a new business and need cards. Here are 100 FREE business cards. There are no processing or shipping fees. You’ll receive 100 full color, professionally printed business cards delivered to your door in 7 business days or less. Offer limited to one free order per address or user. To prevent fraud, a credit card is required to order the free business cards. Your card will be authorized but not charged.

Cost: FREE

By Karen Post, on March 4, 2010

goreadgreen.com

The Read Green Initiative is asking you to make the switch from glossy magazines to eMagazines, and they’ll give a free 1 Year online subscription to a magazine of your choice.  Choose from hundreds of well-respected publications, including Reader’s Digest, US News, and Popular Science among them. Cost: FREE

Oddpodz Review: Going green saves you some green when you get your favorite publication for free.

By Karen Post, on March 1, 2010

Struggling to make sure your headline emotionally connects with your audience?
As you know, reaching your customers in a deep and emotional way is a key to successful copywriting, and your headline is unquestionably the most important piece of copy you use to reach prospects.

Here is a FREE tool that can help.
The Advanced Marketing Institute provides the free headline analysis tool. The Advanced Marketing Institute is a group of researchers, educators, and developers who have come together to provide real tools and knowledge to businesses and individuals who are tired of struggling to control their chaotic systems.

How does the Headline Analyzer work?
Simple go to: Headline Analyzer
Type in your headline. It must be under 20 words. Hit analyze.
Your headline will be analyzed and scored based on the total number of EMV words it has in relation to the total number of words it contains. This will determine the EMV score of your headline. Score over 50% and you are a gifted writer!

In addition to the EMV score, You will find out which emotion inside your customer’s your headline most impacts:

Intellectual
Words which are especially effective when offering products and services that require reasoning or careful evaluation.

Empathetic
Words which resonate in with Empathetic impact often bring out profound and strong positive emotional reactions in people.

Spiritual
Words which are especially effective when offering products and services that require reasoning or careful evaluation. Words which resonate in with Empathetic impact often bring out profound and strong positive emotional reactions in people. Words which have the strongest potential for influence and often appeal to people at a very deep emotional level.

Cost: FREE