Tools and How To’s - Angela Paige | Simple and Effective Online Marketing

Free Software Like Photoshop

Posted on 10/01/2012 Written by Angela 1 Comment

If you can’t spend a fortune on photo editing get this free software like Photoshop

I am a Photoshop junkie but I recently ran across a great free software like Photoshop that I have been having a lot of fun playing around with. I know if you are like me and you spend any amount of time online you want to share photos with friends and family or for business. While Photoshop is awesome maybe you don’t want to invest that amount of money to edit a few photos or you can’t spend the time learning all the ins and outs of the program. Now you don’t have to worry because you can do some cool stuff with this free software like Photoshop. I love this site because it is free, there is nothing to download and there is nothing even to sign into.

What can you do with this site?

With this site you can edit your photos with similar tools to Photoshop but I think it is a lot easier to use. It is a very intuitive platform, you click the buttons and it makes the changes for you. You can do everything from simple cropping to much more advanced things like artistic filters, borders, changing photo coloring and much more.

The site allows you to do more than edit single photos. You can also make collages and create Facebook timeline images. So it really is a great option if you want to use if for personal or business use.

Here are a couple before and after images of a couple photos I was playing around with on the site.

These are just a small sample of tons of things you can do with the software. I suggest you head on over to Pic Monkey and play around with your own photos. I do also suggest you do this when you have a little extra time because I warn you it can be fun and addicting. I think you will love this option if you are looking for a free software like Photoshop.

Angela Paige
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Filed Under: Tools and How To's Tagged: free software like photoshop

How to Advertise For Free

Posted on 06/27/2012 Written by Angela 7 Comments

Advertise for free

If you are in business you need to get that business in front of a lot of people, a great way to do that is through advertising. Advertising can get spendy so why not choose one way to advertise for free and get your business in front of more eyeballs?

The site where you can advertise for free

When I first stumbled upon this site I thought it was a great place to network and I did not realize the amazing tool I had in my hands to advertise for free. As I got a bit more involved I was very impressed with the power of this platform. This business platform is called IBOtoolbox.

IBOtoolbox is full of great features all aimed at helping you build your network and your business. IBOtoolbox is a social network where you can create great relationships with other business owners, a place for media sharing where you can share your videos, a great SEO friendly blogging platform, and a way to advertise your business by placing text or banner ads.

IBOtoolbox gets between 140,000 and 150,000 target visits a day so you are putting your business in front of a lot of interested people.

Here are some screenshots of the site and how you can take advantage of each of them to advertise for free.

When you log on to IBOToolbox the first thing you see is the wall. This is where people interact and get social. It is similar to the Facebook wall or a Twitter stream only this is a social network for independent business owners.

The wall is the great way to share helpful and valuable information. When you blog within the system all your blog post are sent directly to the wall where other IBOToolbox members can comment and share your post. This is one of the great short term benefits of IBOToolbox, in a very short time you can get lots of views and shares on your wall posts and blogs.

Videos you post within IBOToolbox get posted immediately to the wall for people to view and comment. The great thing about posting videos on the site is people are brought back to your social profile to see the video. This way not only do people see your video, they learn more about you and your business.

The second way to advertise for free is by placing advertisements. There are several types of advertising you can do. The first is text ads like you see to the right. They look similar to Google PPC ads.

You place ads for free by getting credits for various things you do on IBOToolbox and then converting those credits to advertising impressions. You get credits by posting blogs, commenting on blogs, logging in to the site once a day, reading the newsletter, attending the Webinars or referring people to the system.

If you use the system regularly it is easy to earn credits to be converted to impressions so you can advertise for free. Using the system on a regular basis also helps build your brand recognition and it is a great way to build relationships with other people who are in business.

Another type of ad on the site is banner ads. Banner ads can be placed by converting your credits to impressions. Banners can either be placed at the top of the site for everyone to see or on your own profile page.

I think this is a great site to place ads on because it is such a large volume of targeted traffic. I find it is a great place to place my ads to test them to see what kind of click through rates I get on them. I can test and tweak here and then take my advertising to more places.

Here is a video I made walking you through advertising on the site.

If you want to advertise for free I highly recommend this site. Join here and then come connect with me and say “hello”.

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Creating A Facebook Landing Page Step By Step with a Free Swipe File

Posted on 10/20/2010 Written by Angela 11 Comments

Creating a Facebook Landing Page Step By Step with a Free Swipe File

When you create a Facebook page you want to make sure you have a landing page to greet people. A landing page for your Facebook Like page serves several purposes. It tells people who you are, what you are about and what they are going to get by joining your page. It should also make people take action like joining your page by clicking the “like” button, signing up for your list or sharing a free item with them.

So I am going to walk you through how to create your Facebook landing page and I have a PSD swipe file at the end of this training so you can take the file and modify it if you have Photoshop. Be sure to check out the video training I did on how to install your Facebook landing page.

The size I have found works best for me is 530 pixels by 430 pixels. This width is the best and you can play around with the length if you want and make your page longer.

So here is your blank canvas at 530 x 430 pixels

Start by making a small bar at the top of your page. You could fill it with a solid color, photo or pattern. I chose to use part of the background to the header to my blog to make it cohesive with my brand.

Next you will want to add the “like” button to this section.

Then you can add an arrow that will be pointing up to where the actual “like” button is on your Facebook page. This helps clarify what you want people to do. You want to be clear about what you want people to do and call them to action.

I filled in the arrow with a matching color. I then add text with my name and tagline. I also added text to emphasize clicking on the “like” button by adding text to encourage people to join my like page.

I then added my photo so people can see me, know who I am and feel a deeper connection with me.

I then added my blog URL under my photo.

I then create another small bar on the bottom of my page.

I like to also include a free gift to get people to not only join my Facebook page but direct them to my blog. I have used a free ebook but if you have a product you have created this would be a great place to share this. So I put in the Ebook image and text to be sure to tell people where to go.

The last thing I did was to include a short summary about my page and what information people are going to get from my Facebook page.

I hope this tutorial helps you to easily and quickly set up your Facebook page. If you want to use the swipe file go ahead and take this PSD that I created and change it to fit your Facebook site. Download the PSD file hereand make the necessary adjustments. If you need help with how to install it on your Facebook page be sure to check out the video I did.

Check out how this looks live on Facebook and be sure to “like” my page while you are there.

If this was helpful to you please feel free to pass this on to your friends on Facebook, Twitter or your favorite social networking site.

Filed Under: Social Media, Tools and How To's Tagged: create facebook page, Facebook, Facebook Landing Page

A Free Screenshot and Screencast Software

Posted on 10/07/2010 Written by Angela 1 Comment

If you are looking for a great free screen recording software to share photos and videos from your computer without spending a fortune I have a great solution for you. This is a free or low cost option that will get you great results. It’s a great option if you are on a budget or just starting out but want to share valuable content with your blog readers, social network or friends.

The software I am talking about is Jing and it is what I use to do all my screen capture videos as well as still photos to be able to share valuable knowledge with my blog readers. Jing can be used for Screenshots or Screencasts and it’s user friendly and easy to use.

So what do you get with the free version of Jing?

Screen Capture and Editing (files will be PNG format)
5 minutes of screen recording
screencast.com free account where you can upload and share your files
Output to SWF video file

If you want a little more flexibility, a few more options and the ability to upload your screencasts to YouTube you can upload to Jing Pro which is $14.95 a year. That cost is very cheap and well worth the price. Here is what you get with Jing Pro

Screen Capture and Editing (files will be PNG format)

5 minutes of screen recording

Screencast.com free account where you can upload and share your files

Output to SWF or MPEG-4 Video

Unbranded Videos (Do not include the Jing logo)

Send your Videos Directly to Youtube

Recording from a webcam

So as you can see this is a tremendous value if you are looking for a inexpensive video solution. To learn more about Jing you can go to the site and learn more and download the software here-http://www.techsmith.com/jing/.

I would love to hear if you use this software and what you think of it. Leave me a comment and let me know.

Please feel free to share this with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or your favorite social media site.

Filed Under: Tools and How To's Tagged: Screencasts, Screenshots

How to Install a Custom Facebook Landing Page

Posted on 09/30/2010 Written by Angela 18 Comments

How To Install a Custom Facebook Landing Page-

A Facebook Page is a great way to create a presence for your business on Facebook. A nice landing page can really help you standout, share what you are all about and create a professional look for your brand. I created a video below to show you how super simple it is to install a custom page on Facebook. First I want to discuss a few important elements you might want to include when designing your page.

The first thing I highly suggest is to have a nice photo. I recommend a photo of yourself if your page is for your personal business so people know who they are connecting with. If you page is for a larger business I would suggest a nice photo or logo that reprents your brand.

The second thing I highly recommend is to write a description about who you are and what you page is about. Give people a general sense of the information you like to share, that way if people don’t know you personally they know why they should “like” your page and what to expect.

The third thing I suggest is having several calls to action. One call to action to suggest people who visit “like” the page. The second call to action is something to get people to visit your website or blog. So give them something valuable to visit your website or blog such as a free ebook or product you have created.

I hope those quick tips are helpful, now be sure to check out this video on how to install your landing page.

As you can see it is super simple. I had this installed in less than 5 minutes. It is a very quick and easy way to create a professional look for your brand on Facebook. If you didn’t undertand something or don’t know how to get your html code be sure to connect with me on Facebook and I can walk you through it.

If you found this post helpful I would appreciate you sharing it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or your favorite social media network.

Filed Under: Social Media, Tools and How To's Tagged: Custom Facebook Page, Facebook Landing Page

A Cool Free Seo Tool For Your Blog Posts and Articles

Posted on 07/20/2010 Written by Angela 53 Comments

This is a Free SEO Tool you will want to check out

If you are working on targeted keyword research or need a SEO tool for your blog or article writing this is an awesome free tool. It allows you to write your blog posts and do your research right on the same screen at the same time. You don’t need to do be looking at separate websites to do your research as the word tracker will be open on the same screen that you are writing your post in.

Here are the steps to get your free SEO Tool-(you can also check out the video below where I walk you through it.)

To get the tool you need to be using Firefox as your web browser.

Go to http://wordtracker.com and find the SEO tool under free tools toward the bottom right of the page. Once you navigate there you will see a green button where you can install this tool.

It is super simple, just follow the instructions. When installed it will add a very small W on the bottom right of your computer screen. Just click on that to pull it up on your screen while you are writing your blog post or articles.

As you are writing your post enter the keyword or phrase you are targeting and it will pull up that keyword and related keywords. It will show how many searches that keyword gets. Select the keyword you wish to use by clicking “add” and it will bring it down to the chosen keyword section. From there it will track how many times you use it in your post, show you how many searches that word or phrase gets and the density percentage of how much you have used the keyword.

Check out the short video below to check out this cool Free SEO tool and how to use it.

I hope you find this free SEO tool as valuable as I have. It saves a lot of time if you are working on SEO for your blog and article writing. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about Wordtracker.

If you found this to be valuable please feel free to share this with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or your favorite social media site.

Filed Under: Social Media, Tools and How To's Tagged: blog, Blogging, Keyword Research, SEO