Category Archives: Tech

November 6, 2017 · 11:43 pm

Epson’s Expression Photo XP-8500 Small-in-One Printer is the Ultimate Family Gift — #Giveaway

Do you give family gifts for the holidays? Many families do, gifts of smart TVs, gaming systems, special trips, trampolines, cameras, etc. make great family gifts. The Epson XP-8500 Small-in-One Printer is a really great family gift. This printer has such a small footprint, but don’t let that fool you, this printer will allow you to wirelessly print, scan, copy and fax and so much more!

Quickly print high-quality photos with top-of-the-line performance in a compact, space-saving design. You can share all those great shots with everyone easily, print borderless photos up to 8” by 10” with six-color Claria Photo HD inks for smooth gradations and amazing skin tones. Since you only need to replace individual ink cartridges as they run out, it makes it much more affordable.

This printer is perfect for all kinds of projects , you can even print on heavyweight card stock by loading it through the rear specialty paper feed. You can also print to a CD/DVD. Talk about ease of use, you can edit your photos right from the printer to remove red eyes, restore old photos and more. This printer has so many fun features, like the ability to make coloring pages from a photo.

The Creative Print Mobile App lets you easily create custom borderless photo collages from Instagram, print stationery and more. This printer is a gift that keeps on giving because with it, you can make great gifts for others!

This printer is your ultimate wireless solution, you can print from anywhere using and iPad, iPhone, Android tablet and smartphone, it includes Wi-Fi Direct for network-free printing. Scan and share automatically to Facebook and the cloud with the bonus software.

Check out our unboxing and demonstration video below:

This printer is the ultimate family printer and a great addition to any home office. We think it makes such a great gift, we have added it to Mommy Ramblings’ 2017 Holiday Gift Guide.

Giveaway:

Epson is sponsoring a giveaway on Mommy Ramblings! One lucky blog reader will win their own Epson XP-8500 Small-in-One Printer! Thank you to Epson for the review printer and for sponsoring this amazing giveaway on Mommy Ramblings. Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Open to US residents.

Epson Expression Photo XP-8500 Small-in-One Printer Giveaway on Mommy Ramblings Rules:

Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below. Good Luck!!!

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38 Comments

Filed under Gifts, Giveaway, Holiday Gift Guide, Review, Tech

Tagged as Epson, Gifts, giveaway, Holiday Gift Guide, Photo Printing, photography, Printer, Projects

October 30, 2017 · 1:26 am

How To Start a Facebook Page for Your Blog or Business-Step-By-Step Guide

If you have a blog or business and you want to create a Facebook Fan Page but don’t know where to start, we can help. If you still have not started a blog and need help, go to our, How To Start A Blog Tutorial first.

You might wonder if you really need a Facebook Page for your blog or business. Social media is one of the easiest ways to connect with your target market or audience. A Facebook Page allows you to bring targeted content, promotions, sales and giveaways in front of hundreds of thousands of potential customers, clients or readers who are looking for what you have. It also gives you a platform to showcase photos of your work. We know a picture is worth 1,000 words. If you are an artist, photographer, restaurant owner, contractor, decorator, DIY blogger, crafter and more, post fabulous photos of your best work to attract your audience.

Bloggers should use a Facebook Fan Page to interact daily with their audience. They can do this by posting call to action posts that ask a simple question like, what is the last book they read or what is their favorite classic movie. Beyond that, all blog posts should be promoted on your Facebook Page. There are many plugins or widgets that will automatically post to your page as soon as new posts are published.

Businesses can use their Facebook Page to connect with clients and customers and improve customer service by engaging and answering any questions or concerns they may have.

So, now that you understand the importance, let’s get your Facebook Fan Page up and running. I promise, it will take only a few minutes.

The first thing you need is the name of your page. If you already have your business or blog, it is easy, just use that name. If you do not have anything and are just starting, think of a name.

Once you have your name, you might want to check on domains for that name if you don’t already have one. The reason I am saying this, is because you may be thinking small now and just want the Facebook page. However, if you decide to start a website for your business or blog later, and want a domain with that name, you might be very disappointed to find it is not available.

You can research domain names on BlueHost , if you sign up for their low-cost hosting for your website, it includes a free domain! If you do find an available domain for your business or blog, it is a good idea to purchase it while it is available.

Step one, go to Facebook. Click “HOME” on the top of your page. On the side You will see pages and then on the bottom something that says “create a page” and you click that.

After that, you will be directed to a page where you pick a category for your blog. For bloggers, photographers, musicians etc. you should choose the Artist, Band or Public Figure. If you have a cause, choose Cause or Community and so on. Just pick the best category for your page. Then, you can choose a sub-category and add your page name.

Next, it will take you to where you can enter your “About” information. Let everyone know what your page is about. You can also skip this, but the more details you have, the more people will find your page.

Now, you need to add a profile photo. I am also going to cover the cover photo here too. To add photos, you can use your own photos.

If you don’t have any that will work, you can try free photo sites like Pixabay.com. These are royalty free and can be used without any attribution. Type a word or two into the search bar and search for images. When you find one you like click on it and then save in your files.

You can then upload the images to Facebook to customize your page. If you want to add elements to your cover photo you can use FotoJet. Just upload your image and customize.

To add a title you can choose an overlay or just add text directly. Many of the features are available for free. Anything with a special icon is only available if you have a subscription. This screenshot is from PicMonkey which has a free trial or you could use FotoJet or any other photo editing software you like.

You can change colors, sizes and more to really make it your own.

When you are happy, save it to your computer and then upload to your page.

Add your page to your favorites so you can find it easily.

You can customize who the ideal audience for your page is. Do not limit your audience too much.

At this point you are ready to go, you can learn more about promotion and adding buttons etc. but the basic page is done.

So what are you waiting for? Write your first post. Good luck guys, any questions you can ask them in the comments.

Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links, if you purchase through these links, I may earn a commission. All of the links in this post are products or services that I recommend because I truly believe they are the best and would recommend them whether or not I earn a small commission from them.

5 Comments

Filed under Blogging, Tech, Tutorial

Tagged as blog, Blogging, Facebook Fan Page, social media, Step by Step Guide, tutorial

October 5, 2017 · 9:32 am

Why Even New Bloggers Should Never Work For Free

As a professional blogger, social media influencer and digital marketing strategist for almost 10 years, there is something that really gets under my skin. I rarely see it myself, because I nipped it in the bud many years ago. However, blogging forums are peppered with posts from new bloggers sharing how they received an email from a PR rep asking them to promote a service or app without any mention of compensation. Even over the internet, I can see the quivering lip of the new blogger, as they meekly ask, if this is okay. Some will try to justify it by saying they really have no right to ask for compensation, because their blog is brand new.

It isn’t just bloggers, who are routinely asked to “donate” their services. Photographers, Magicians, Vocalists, Graphic Artists and DJ’s are often asked by friends to provide their services for free. These well meaning friends will even go so far as to tell them it will be great experience, they will make new contacts and build their portfolio. The way they spin it, they should be so grateful to provide their services for nothing. When people get something for free, they don’t put much value in it. By accepting the gig, they are putting a nail in the coffin of their career. The bottom line is, if they want to be treated like a professional, they need to start acting like one!

Even the newest blogger needs to quit acting like their work has no value, and their time is not precious. This is easier said than done because many newbies have a hard time standing their ground. They may even try to justify taking the job for free, telling themselves it is a portfolio builder.

I tell new bloggers they are going to need a strong backbone. Next , they need to respond to the email with confidence. Their response should let the PR rep know that they think the app or service sounds like it would be a great fit for their blog audience and social media followers. Further more, they need to explain they are skilled at creating buzz worthy content that will drive targeted traffic to the brand’s website and social media accounts. Lastly, they need to ask what the compensation is for promoting this content on their blog and social media channels, I guarantee Gloria from XYZ Media is getting paid to find the bloggers and social media influencers to promote this, so why shouldn’t they?

I also prep them about how to respond if they receive a reply from Gloria stating the client has a very small budget and while they are not able to provide compensation for this campaign, they have many other clients and may contact them in the future for paid promotions.

Now, they say that for a reason, they want the new blogger to think, if they throw this away, they will never hear from this agency with any other opportunities. It usually works like a charm, and the rep gets free promotion that they then charge their client for. To make it worse, the blogger goes on the agency’s “Will Blog For Free” List. Their name will never make it to big budget clients, because by accepting the free gig, it showed the rep they are not a professional blogger.

The bottom line is, if you want to be taken seriously, you need to respond confidently, that you can definitely create buzz worthy content to promote the product or service, but you don’t work for free. Go even further, turn the tables and ask them if they work for free? Don’t be afraid, let them know, you are well aware they are not a volunteer at XYZ Media.

I’m not saying you should never volunteer for worthwhile things, but make sure you are not being taken advantage of. The perception some have of bloggers, is that what we do is so easy, or of such little value, we should be glad to have some content to post. They want us to think, they are really doing us a favor.

It is the exact opposite, bloggers are powerful influencers brands can plug-in with to have their product or service promoted to the blog’s audience which likely is their target market. Bloggers have the power to create and amplify stories, experiences, services, images and ideas through their posts as well as ingniting a social media fire storm of tweets, pins, posts, likes and shares on every major social media channel.

Start valuing your work! The next time you get an email from any rep or agency trying to make you feel special because they picked you to promote their client for free, just ask what the blogger compensation is. Go on, you can do it. Be proud of your work. When you feel the butterflies, just ask yourself if the client they are pitching you about is paying them for their services. You know the answer is yes, so why would you let them take advantage of you?

Have you ever dealt with someone asking you to do your craft for free like they were doing you a favor? How did you respond? Please share your stories, I would love to hear them.

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Filed under Blogging, Education, Life, Main Page Post, Mommy Ramblings, Resources, Tech

Tagged as Artist, blog, Blogging, free, Influencers, Mommy Ramblings, professional, Resource, work

September 23, 2017 · 1:50 pm

How To Start A Blog In 15 Minutes

So, you want to start a blog, this step-by-step guide will get you started with your domain name, blog server and website in about 15 minutes.

What Kind of Blog?

Think about what kind of blog you want to start. Maybe you already know, and that is good. If not, the first thing to consider is, the type of blog you want to start. Do you want to have a niche blog that will limit you to one topic or do you want a more general blog that gives you the freedom to post about different topics?

There are pros and cons to both. A niche blog on a subject you are knowledgeable about can help build your credibility as an expert. Some say they rank better and are easier to make money with than a broad subject blog. However, others will say that a broad subject blog allows you to appeal to a larger audience and get more new readers from search engines thanks to the wide range of topics.

In the end, I believe if you are sharing great content, your followers will come whether you have a niche or broad topic blog, so blog about what you like to write about. It is always easier to write about what you know and are passionate about.

Own Your Domain

Next, you need to think of a name for your blog and register your domain URL. You might think you would rather skip buying your own URL and start blogging on a free site like Blogger or WordPress.com. If I can offer my first piece of advice, it would be to start with your own domain name on self hosted site. I speak from experience as someone who started on wordpress.com. Within 6 months of my blog taking off, I switched to a self hosted WordPress.org blog for a number of reasons.

First, it allowed me to add sidebar ads and affiliate links to monetize my blog as well as being able to use plugins which helped me to customize my blog easily. When you switch platforms, you have to transfer all your content from one platform to another. Many bloggers are not comfortable moving their content over, and so they have to hire someone to do the transfer for them.

Luckily, I am tech savvy and performed the transfer myself or I would have had to shell out a few hundred dollars to have my site transferred. Beyond that, when you do switch, you have to build up your stats again. All of that could have been avoided had I just started on a self-hosted WordPress.org site in the first place.

Register Your Domain

After you chose your domain name, you have to register it. The first step is to make sure your domain name is available. Go to BlueHost and click GET STARTED.

You will then be taken to a page that shows you the plans. I know you will be thrilled to see that it is not going to cost you an arm and a leg to get started when you use BlueHost. They have some amazing deals on their already low-cost hosting.

The great thing is one domain name is included with any hosting package you pick. The thing I love about BlueHost is that for their Plus, Prime or Pro hosting plans you can host an unlimited number of websites with them for the same price.

That means you pay the same low price a month to host 10 sites as you would 1 site. If you want to branch out in the future and add more sites, you will not have to pay any extra. Right now, the Prime plan is the same as the Plus and so, it is a no brainer to go with the Prime.

Choose your plan and it will take you to the next screen where you can check to see if your domain is available. Just type the name in the new domain box and click on next. If your name is available, you are golden. If it is not, they will give you some alternatives or you can think of something else.

Once you have a name that is available you can advance to the next page where you will fill in your information.

There was a nice surprise on this page. As I was scrolling down, a pop up appeared with an offer to save even more. It said I could get 3 years for the price of 2. The new price was $4.95 a month, and as you can see, it is quite a savings.

The other great thing is with the Prime membership, many extras other companies charge you for things like domain privacy protection, site backup pro and domain registration are FREE. You can add SiteLock security for just $1.99 a month, and I would recommend it. Okay, you are all set, just hit submit and we can move on to the fun part.

Install WordPress

Once you have checked out, you will get an email from BlueHost that will have your login information. Once you have that, you are ready to log on to your BlueHost CPanel.

The second icon on the first row under the heading WEBSITE is what you will click to install WordPress.org.

You will be advanced to another screen where you will click the down arrow to select your website and it will show up as the domain for installation. Click NEXT.

On the next page, you will fill out your site name which would be the name of your blog, your admin name that you will log on to WordPress with and your WordPress Password as well as, your admin email. Acknowledge the terms of service and click NEXT.

While WordPress is installing, you will see a bunch of themes on the page. Don’t worry about those and just wait until the installation is complete. I will go over themes once you log into your WordPress site. There are many free themes available as well as some like Genesis that many bloggers use because it is so easy to work with.

When the installation is complete, you will get an email with everything you need to log on to your new WordPress site.

As you will see in your email, the address for your login will be http://www.YourDomainName.com/wp-admin. When you enter that address, you see the log in screen below.

Choose A Theme

Log in and look at the sidebar, you will see a paint brush icon and the word APPEARANCE. Click it and you will see THEMES. When you click that, you can have fun browsing themes for your blog. There are so many to choose from . There are many free themes you can choose from or you can go with the very popular Genesis Framework.

Genesis is very flexible and makes it easy to customize your blog easily whether you are a novice or advanced developer. The Genesis theme provides a secure, search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go, for a one time purchase price of $59.95. Once you purchase this theme you can use it on as many sites as you have, at any time. That is a super value!

You can then get a return customer discount on a Child Theme that works with your Genesis Framework. There are Child Themes for Lifestyle Blogs, Food Blogs, Business Blogs, Real Estate Blogs and more.

If you are looking for a low cost logo or custom blog theme etc, check out Fiverr. You can find some great graphic artists on there as well as virtual assistants or any other services you need to help you build a great income producing blog.

When you start making that income and need some user-friendly accounting software to help you manage payments, send invoices, manage projects, track time and so much more, try the free trial of FreshBooks. They are helping the self employed and small business owners, including bloggers to easily manage and run their business.

See, that was easy wasn’t it. We will cover more about customizing your blog and the best plugins to install but the hardest part is done! Give yourself a pat on the back, I am really proud of you!

Some of the links in the post above are affiliate links, if you purchase through these links, I may earn a commission. All of the links in this post are products or services that I recommend because I truly believe they are the best and would recommend them whether or not I earn a small commission from them.

14 Comments

Filed under Blogging, Resources, Tech

Tagged as Affiliate Income, Blog Income, Blogging, Bluehost, Genesis, Hosting, Passive Income, Start A Blog, Tech, Themes, Wordpress

December 23, 2016 · 12:32 am

Print and Share Photos Easily with Your Own Personal Photo Lab!

Do you take a lot of photos? I sure do! I love my DSLR and how easy it is to share, save and edit my photos instantly. While it may be ideal to share your photos through email, social media and online photo sharing sites with your family and friends, there are benefits to being able to print and share photos at home.

Imagine taking a rare family photo with all your aunts, uncles and cousins at your holiday gathering. Sure, you can tell most `you will post the photos to Facebook and that will be good, but what about Aunt Harriet who does not have a computer and thinks if she tries to use one her identity will be stolen? Wouldn’t it be nice to send Aunt Harriet, Uncle Earl and Aunt Ethel home with that rare group photo? It sure would be, and it can be hassle free!

All you need to do is insert your SD card or use Wi-Fi Direct and print from your smart phone with the Epson PictureMate PM-400 Personal Photo Lab.

This unit was so easy to set up, we inserted the 1 ink cartridge and let it go through a 4 minute set up. Then I inserted my SD card and it was so easy, my 7 and 9-year-old were able to select their favorite photos and print them. The pictures were great quality, the colors vibrant and the image was clear and sharp. Check out our video review below:

This compact unit is small on size and big on features! It uses MicroPiezo inkjet technology to create detailed prints at 5760 x 1440 dpi at up to 5 x 7″, ideal for snapshots and family photos. You can also set the layout to print multiple photos to one page. You can use 3.5 x 5″, 4 x 6″, and 5 x 7″ paper, as well as No. 10 envelopes, for producing your most common and convenient photo sizes. It is fast, capable of producing a 4 x 6″ photo in about 36 seconds.

Have a big family? No worries, everyone can go home with a copy without having to reload the printer because it can hold 50 sheets of plain paper and 20 sheets of gloss photo paper. It is versatile and will power up with the conventional power plug included or you can use a USB 2.0 cable to connect to a USB port.

You can do some photo editing directly on the printer like cropping, removing red-eye and more. There is only one ink cartridge to install and the dye based ink is rated to last up to 200 years in album storage. The photos are scratch, water, smudge and fade resistant.

I will be inserting a video review of this printer so you can get an up close and personal look at the unit. While you are waiting, would you like to enter our giveaway for your chance to win one of these awesome units of your own? You can enter by using the widget below. We added the PM-400 to our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide at Mommy Ramblings!