Category Archive 'Tools'
13.01.06

Product Review: XSite Pro

Tools

Everyone Gets “XSite’d” with XSitePro!

There’s a buzz floating around the internet about a new web design software called XSitePro. Its target market? Affiliate marketers.

While I dabble in affiliate marketing, it is not my main focus, so at first glance I didn’t think this program would be for me. However, my nine-year-old son, Matthew, was working on developing his own site, and I didn’t have the time to create it for him, nor did I have time to sit there and teach him the basics of FrontPage. He’s nine. I never thought this idea he had would come to fruition, but here he came with not only research, but excitement.

I began to look for a way he could build a site on his own. I once used a really great site builder through InternetBasedFamily.com, but the monthly fee was on the pricey side – more than I wanted to invest in my nine-year-old’s venture. For all I know, this site idea could be like last year’s wrestling. He was all geared up about it, so I went out and invested all this money in a singlet, shoes, and head gear. He never finished the season. It just wasn’t his thing, and now we have all this wrestling gear that we’ll never use again.

I went back to look at XSitePro. I watched the “7 Reasons Why You Need XSitePro Now!” video, and the program looked easy enough to use. I liked the fact that you could use their templates or build your own. I liked that if you wanted to change the layout of the page, you can do it in one place and have it change all your pages for you.

I downloaded the free trial and told Matthew to check it out. I printed out the user’s manual that included easy, step-by-step instructions and screen shots and let him play. Sure he had questions, but in the end he had a nine page website built just by going through the tutorial. What’s even better? He had nine optimized pages. He doesn’t know about targeted keywords, but I can help him with that later on.

XSitePro is a very simple program to use. To add an article page, simply click on “Add Article” and a box pops up for you to add your title, description, resource box, and any other additional information you have. Click okay, copy and paste your article, and voila! You have an article page. XSitePro even indexes them on your main page and automatically creates a site map for you, as well.

The same is true for product pages – very simple forms to fill out and the page is created for you. No html or design skills required.

Matthew can even add Google AdSense to his pages with out copying and pasting code. He simply right clicks, selects “insert Google AdSense”, chooses the color scheme and size of his ads, and hits okay.

After I saw how easy it was to use, and knowing that I could still put this program to use if his online venture falls by the wayside, I invested in XSitePro. Matthew now works on his site every night. I tinkered with it and put up a 45-page, content-based site in 3 hours.

There are two types of people for whom I would recommend XSitePro: affiliate marketers and those who have little web design experience but would like to set up a site of their own. It is half the cost of Dreamweaver and ten times easier to use. The best feature of this program? It comes with a 365-day money-back guarantee. You have a whole year to decide if you’ve made a wise investment. I didn’t need a year, only a few hours, and now I’m XSite’d about the many things I can do with this program in the future.

And let’s be honest…if a nine-year-old can operate it, so can you!

Click here to view the “7 Reasons Why You Need XSitePro Now!” video

About the Author
Heather Jacobson is the owner of Valley Virtual Assistants, providing marketing support and services to entrepreneurs and small businesses. She is also a business coach with VATraining.com, speaker, and author of “Making Dollars Out of Cents: 101 Tips for the Frugal Marketer“.  Heather has over 12 years of sales and marketing experience from multiple industries and uses this expertise to custom tailor the perfect marketing avenue for each client. For more information visit www.valleyva.net or www.inexpensivemarketingideas.com

12.01.06

Product Review: Spy Sweeper by Webroot

Tools

Over the past few months I have become quite adept at manually removing the endless amounts of spyware and adware received on what seems like a daily basis. For about a year, Virtual Accuracy has used Spybot Search and Destroy as its main spyware/adware removal system. While the program is good, it seems to leave something behind each and every time it is used.

A few weeks ago, I had enough. The computer was crawling (brand new by the way) and the pop-ups were endless (even with two pop-up blockers running in the background), so I decided to go on the hunt. I started with a simple Internet search about spyware and adware removal and one tool was recommended time and time again – Spy Sweeper by Webroot. Prior to visiting the webroot website, I decided to check out the trusty old PC Magazine. Wouldn’t you know they won an Editor’s Choice Award? Of all spyware/adware removal products tested, they ranked the highest for ease of use and removal. Ok, I was sold. I didn’t even download the free trial version, I went to pay right away and let me tell you I wasn’t disappointed at all. During the first scan, Spy Sweeper found 65 spyware/adware pieces and 524 traces of spyware/adware. After the spyware/adware was removed, my computer ran 100% faster and acted superbly. I highly recommend this product for your spyware/adware removal. You can download a free trial copy (full version, good for 30 days).

Reality check, no one program is perfect. In fact, I still have one piece of adware on my system that is giving me headaches and have yet to find out where the little bugger is hiding. But know that the “bad boy” is getting out of there, sooner than later.

Becki :)

06.01.06

Product Review: Making Dollars Out of Cents

Marketing, Tools

Dale and I love Making Dollars Out of Cents: 101 Tips for the Frugal Marketer!

My brain is reeling with new ideas! Simply put Making Dollars Out of Cents truly makes sense. Written in plain English, Heather captures the reader’s attention from the beginning with simple, true to life ideas that are easy and almost effortlessly able to be put into practice. Not only will you read this entire ebook in one sitting, you will use it again and again as an everyday resource for your marketing. Whether you are a coach, consultant, real estate agent, internet marketer, virtual assistant or something in between, this book is for you! However if you are looking for an ebook about hype, this definitely is not the book for you. But if you ARE looking for rock-solid, money-making principles then you better snag Making Dollars Out of Cents and snag it quickly. If you are ready to kick off the new year with a new marketing campaign, head on over to InexpensiveMarketingIdeas.com today! Becki :)