If you are trying to decide which eBook cover program to buy or you need a program that makes retail box images for you then save your money because here is a free resource that does the same thing as those expensive photoshop addons.

I don’t remember how I found it but the site is called 3d-pack.com and it is an online box generator that can make an ebook cover, cd box, dvd box, and a 3D dvd box. The 3D box is still in beta, but then just about everything is labeled beta these days.

The final result from this site is pretty good. It might take you a little bit of “tweaking” to get the exact look and feel that you want. But I have used the paid for photoshop templates before and they require some trial and error as well. So for the price tag of zero dollars, it’s not a bad deal.

If you are still interested in using a professional grade tool then consider using the one I use to create ebook covers. It is simple to use and it comes with complete tutorials to show you how to use everything. The package includes the ability to make ezine covers, ebook covers, vhs tapes, membership cards, report covers, gift boxes, box sets which is good for different types of sites.

I know some people think these things are cheezy or that they may have been over used, but when used properly they can add an attractive element to the page and give the buyer at a sense that there is something tangible behind the buy now button.

So there you go. Two very useful tools on a Friday night.

Bargain hunting,

Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com

Related Tags: dvd covers, ebook cover generator, free tools, membership card generator, report covers

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Here are two extremely useful tools that I am using in 2008 to help manage the information and media content I am producing and consuming.

Anarchy Media Player - for adding video to your WordPress blog posts. This WordPress plug-in is extremely easy to install and use. I just uploaded the player folder to my WordPress plug-in folder and activated it. Now when I link to a video the player is automatically inserted for me when the blog post is viewed. I can control the styling and placement and I don’t have to hassle with the code

“Anarchy Media Player 2.0 for WordPress, WordPressMu and Standalone Javascript will play any simple href link to mp3, flv, Quicktime mov, mp4, m4v, m4a, m4b, 3gp as well as Windows wmv, avi and asf files, in the appropriate player on your web page. The WordPress versions also add buttons to the Rich Text Editor for embedding Flash swf and Director dcr movies as well as YouTube, Google Video, iFilm, DailyMotion, Revver, Metacafe, MySpace, Apple iTunes iMix, and GoEar players.”

SendMeRSS.com - for keeping up with your most important sources of information. I use this RSS to Email service to put important blog feeds in my email.

I know there are other ways of doing this same thing with feedblitz, feedburner, etc, but SendMeRSS works on any feed so you can pull all your feeds into something like Google Reader and then only get email updates when there are new items added to that feed. Or, you can use it to watch affiliate program notices, spy on competitors, you name it.

To keep things focused I am only using it on feeds I really want to hear from and not just the ones I am “following” in my feed reader. It helps me stay on top of new information without the information overload.

Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com

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Before yet another day goes by in 2008 I wanted to update you on what’s in the works and what’s coming next for OpenSourceMarketer.com

Download Here’s what’s coming up on OpenSourceMarketer.com.

Like I said in the video update, I am working on an article series that will explain how to build niche market stores that actually make money for you every single day.

In addition to the article series, I am also working on a much large and more in depth e-lesson series that will be part an upcoming membership site I am launching. The e-lessons will take you and other members through the step by step process of setting up niche stores, setting up related affiliate accounts, generating visitor traffic, and ultimately making money nearly every day.

I have been setting up sites for several months now and I have had great success with them. The best part is I don’t have to carry inventory or worry about customer service issues. Don’t worry, I will explain every thing more in the articles series and the e-lessons.

For now, just know that I am still here and I am working on something great for you. Starting today I plan to post twice a day to the blog, so look for very short posts. Hopefully you will find some real value in regular updates.

Speak soon,

Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com

Looking for a great source of high paying CPA offers? Then Click Here!

Related Tags: Affiliate Marketing, e lessons, membership sites, niche sites, video updates

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Do you want to know what your customers think? Well, ask them.

Recently PollDaddy.com released a new version of their polling service. The new features are awesome and the service is still stupid simple to use.

If you read my previous post on using polls to increase visitor trust, then you will know that I recommended using polls as a way of getting close to your site visitors. Posting polls on a regular basis gets regular blog readers accustomed to interacting with you and your site. It can also get them in the habit of answering questions which comes in handy later when you really want to ask them some serious questions.

PollDaddy Version 2

If your not familiar with PollDaddy it is a very simple service to use. Just register for a free PollDaddy account, and then walk through the simple step by step process of creating a survey or poll.

Polls and surveys are hosted on PollDaddy and all you have to do is paste code into your blog for everything to show up. You have the ability to edit the poll/survey, change the look and feel, add or subtract questions, etc without needing to change the code on your page. That means you can manage all your polls and surveys from one central location without the need to tweak the code on each of your sites. This is a huge time saver and with PollDaddy’s new advanced reporting features you can get a clear view of the feedback you are getting from your visitors and community members.

With the introduction of Version 2, PollDaddy is also offering a paid version of the service that allows for larger poll samplings. By default the free version is limited to 100 responses. This type of limitation is similar to the one applied by at SurveyMonkey.com as well. If you have the need to take in more than a 100 responses then the $20 a month PollDaddy charges is a good option at 1000 responses per month.

Some of the other paid features are:

• PollDaddy link removed from your polls and surveys
• Track individual votes in your polls
• Track your voters location
• Easily detect and remove multiple poll votes from the same IP
• Unlimited Questions per Survey
• Priority Email and Phone support

Overall, PollDaddy is a fantastic option for creating polls and surveys super quick and with just a cut and paste code snippet to put in place it is good for bloggers who are using a third party blogging platform like Blogger or WordPress.com.

Take The OpenSourceMarketer Survey

Take This Short Survey to see how the survey feature of PollDaddy works.

Loving Web2.0,

Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com

Related Tags: community building, getting feedback, PollDaddy.com, SurveyMonkey, visitor polls, visitor surveys, web2.0 services

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A few really good questions about how to get blog traffic have recently come in my email so I thought I would share the answers with you.

To answer the questions I am drawing from my own personal experiences so if you have other suggestions or ideas, please share them in the comments for this article. I am sure others will appreciate the community feedback and my blog doesn’t use the nofollow tag so your comment link will benefit you as well. Here it goes.

Question: How did you build up visitors to your site? You have a lot of readers, and I was wondering if you actively went to other blogs and added comments or if MyBlogLog or BlogCatalog served to help with this.

Answer: I use blog commenting, forum posting, forum signatures, Meetup.com profiles, del.icio.us bookmarks, StumbleUpon submissions, email signatures, blogCatalog and MyBlogLog listings, and I joined Yaro’s Starak’s BlogMasterMind Course. That is all I can think of at the moment. There might be a few other things, but I think that is most of it. I use all of these methods in combination with offline events, and blog search engine optimization techniques. That helps me get search traffic as well as link traffic from multiple sources.

Question: Your content is a good reason for visitors to return, but how do you get them to show up in the first place?

Answer: I always suggest writing good articles that have attractive headlines and high value to the reader. Then link to that content in as many places as possible. Also, be sure you have multiple ways for the reader to stay connected to you when they get to your blog. For example, make sure you have options for RSS subscriptions and email updates. Then just keep pushing out value.

It helps me to think of blogging as one long continuous conversation. Each person I meet and each place I go is part of the collective voice of the reader I am writing for. It helps me to stay focused (though some days are easier than others). Overall I want people to find real information on the blog and not just filler. The idea being that this will keep them coming back and encourage them to spread the word. That’s what keeps me motivated during the journey.

I hope these tips help. It really is a lot of work to make an overnight success. So try to stay motivated and keep your focus on enriching the lives of others. It really is more about the journey than the destination. Even a ride on a first class flight can stink if you drop an engine along the way.

Aiming high,

Charles McKeever
OpenSourceMarketer.com

Related Tags: blogcatalog, blog commenting, del icio us, email signatures, forum signatures, meetup, mybloglog, offline events, search engine optimization, search traffic, stumbleupon, yaro

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