I’m always on the lookout for useful Web sites, tools, software and products that benefit you. My friends have come to rely upon me as their trusted secret source for the latest and greatest productivity tools and resources. Without further ado, here are this week’s gems for you.
SpotRunner
SpotRunner has created thousands of pre-done TV commercials across hundreds of industries — you can use them on TV or on your Web site. At the time of writing this, the cost was just $499, which is an incredible value. Each promotional video is fully customizable, with the voice over, logo, and your company details inserted according to your preferences. SpotRunner also facilitates getting your commercial on TV in regional or national markets by negotiating the best possible deals on remnant advertising space.
WordPress
WordPress is considered to be the industry standard blogging platform — it’s free, it’s reliable, and it’s relatively easy to use. It’s also search engine friendly, which helps you to get more visitor traffic. You’ll discover lots of WordPress related resources in this section, including design templates and numerous handy plugins that extend the features of WordPress.
Blist
Blist is an online list-management system that can be as simple or as complex as you need it to be. I like the fact that it’s so simple to use, the interface is very intuitive, there are lots of pre-made list templates to choose from, and it’s free!
Here’s how you can benefit from Blist. First visit the site. Next, click on the Create Your free Account button on the home page, or use the Get Started button located at the top right of the page.
Now enter your name, e-mail address and contact details as requested on the form, and submit it. Once you’re registered, you’ll be directed to the main interface. The What’s Hot and Featured Blists columns are a good place to start, because they allow you to open a Blist template that someone else has created. Try it.
The Discover button allows you to see even more templates from others. The Help button is useful if you have any questions about the service – you’ll also get access to a host of free training videos, which are enormously helpful. Blist is a really useful tool for all kinds of list management.
Google Insights
Google is truly prolific at coming up with cool, useful online applications. You may have missed this one because it’s still in Beta at the time of writing. It’s called Google Insights, and it allows you to see trends with search terms, including which regions of the world have the highest incidences of search for specific terms, and also how popular searches are over time.
Step 1: Visit Google Insights
Step 2: In the box labeled Compare by, select whether you want to compare a number of search terms to see the relative differences, search which locations have the most searches, or view the search history over time.
Step 3: Enter your search term or terms. If you have a single term just enter that term and move on to the next step. If you want to compare multiple keywords or phrases, enter them one by one by clicking the add search term button.
Step 4: This step is optional. You have the ability to narrow the search to a specific country or date range using the drop down menu choices.
Step 5: On the far right hand side of the page, click the Search button.
Step 6: You can now analyze the results in the chart that will appear. At the top is a visual indication of interest in the keyword(s) over the last five years or so. Regional interest is shown using a color code. In this example, Australia has the most searches for the term fitness instructor. Below that, you can discover other keywords that might be useful to you.
Andrew Lock is a self-described maverick marketer and the creator and host of Help! My Business Sucks, a free, weekly Web TV show full of practical marketing tips, advice and resources to help small businesses “get more done and have more fun.”
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