Here’s a new Swagbucks offer for you!

If you shop at Target a lot, you can get $6 in gift cards (paid out in SB points) when you get approved for the Target REDCard. When you use that card, you also get 5% off, free shipping & 30 extra days for returns when you shop with your REDCard. The 600 SB points will credit immediately!

This is a limited time offer – to get the $6 bonus, you need to complete the offer before Saturday, October 22nd!

Click here to get started. If you’re already a Swagbucks member, be sure to use the same info that you have in your Swagbucks account when you apply. If you’re not a member yet, sign up for Swagbucks using the link I gave you and when you complete the offer, you’ll earn a $3 (300 SB) bonus that will be applied to your account in the beginning of November. That means you’ll have at least $9 worth of SB points!

Haven’t heard of Swagbucks? It’s a site where you earn points (called SB) for doing things you already do online, like shopping, watching videos, and discovering deals like this one. Then you turn those points into PayPal cash or gift cards from places like Target, Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, and more!

As you know, I love points.  So I figured I’d share this offer with those of you who also love points!

Swagbucks, the online rewards site that puts cash back in your wallet, has an AMAZING offer through FreedomPop where you get $5 (paid in the form of 500 SB) when you buy a SIM card for just $0.99!  FreedomPop’s Global 3-in-1 SIM gives you free voice, text, and data in the US *and 25 other counties). Buy the $0.99 SIM card, get your first month of FreedomPop for free, and earn 500 SB. If you stay subscribed for 3 months, you’ll get an additional 1000 SB!

This deal is running for a limited time, so use this link and get yours before Saturday, October 22nd! It’s a zero-risk offer that pays you to try out a new, less expensive way to use your mobile phone.

Haven’t tried Swagbucks yet? This is a great way to do it, and when you sign up through me using the link above and get your 500 SB, you’ll get a bonus 300 SB at the beginning of November. So that’s $5 for trying FreedomPop, which gets you 800 total SB, which you can turn into $8 worth of gift cards! That’s in addition to all the other SB you’ll earn as you use the site.

Good news for wine lovers! You can get paid to build up your collection through this special offer from Winc and Swagbucks.

Winc is a great site that matches wines to your palate. Don’t like a bottle they send you? No problem – they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. You can get new wines delivered to your door every month, or skip a month if you feel like it. Plus, if you order 4 or more bottles, shipping is free!

On top of all that, Swagbucks wants to give you up to $40 for checking them out (paid out in the form of SB points)! Sign-up & earn 2,000 SB on your first order. Stay subscribed for a second wine shipment & earn an additional 2,000 SB. Please click here for complete details and to get started!

If you haven’t tried Swagbucks yet, this is a great time to start! Signing up through me and then completing the first half of this offer and getting the 2000 SB entitles you to a bonus 300 SB. If you complete a survey through Swagbucks before November 1st, that’s another 100 SB bonus. That means you can get a total of $44 worth of SB for trying out Winc, then turn those SB into gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, and Target, or get PayPal cash!

I freaking love Swagbucks!

Swagbucks (the online rewards site that puts cash back in your wallet) has an AMAZING offer through Bluehost where you get 3500 SB (which is the equivalent of $35 in gift cards) for signing up.

Bluehost is a leading web solutions services provider. You can try it out for 12 months at a special discounted price of $2.95/mo AND get a free domain in addition to 3500 SB by using this link before Friday, October 14th – that means you get everything for just $1!

It’s the perfect opportunity if you need to make a host change to your website or if you’ve been thinking about starting a website or blog.

Haven’t tried Swagbucks yet? This is a great way to do it, and when you sign up through the link above and get your 3500 SB, you’ll get a bonus 300 SB at the beginning of November.

So that’s $35 for trying Bluehost, which gets you 3800 SB, which you can turn into $38 worth of gift cards!

As someone who LOVES points, it would be remiss if I did not share this points earning opportunity!

Swagbucks, a cash back rewards website, is hosting a Swagenger Haunt starting today! It’s essentially on online scavenger hunt where you follow clues via their search engine to earn points called SB which you can redeem for gift cards! It’s a great opportunity to try out Swagbucks if you haven’t already.

Each day, for 5 days, 10 winners of 500 SB will be chosen! Come back each day at 10am PDT/1pm EDT for new clues because you can win more than once. Have fun participating in this spooky Swagenger Haunt!

Happy Searching!

Things You Should Never Post on Facebook/Social Media

Some information is just nobody’s business. People post tons of personal information about themselves online, including photos and email addresses to get free promotions or download discount coupons.

Even if you correctly configure your “privacy settings,” your friend’s account could be hacked – which, in turn, affects you.

Here are five things that the pros state that should NEVER post on your Facebook page:

1. Your full birthdate – while we all love to get Happy Birthday wishes from family and friends, the problem is that with just 3 or 4 pieces of information, you could become a victim of identity theft. It’s suggested that you list your birthdate a day before or a day after the REAL date and never post the year you were born. Even if the “date” is off by a day or two, your true friends and family will know your actual birthdate.

2. Your relationship status – Stalkers love to know that you just became “newly single” or list yourself as “single,” since it’s a sign that you might be home alone. If they know who you are (or where you live or work) , they might follow you home from work.

3. Your current location – Lots of people tag themselves to let others know where they are—on vacation, at a concert, a restaurant—which lets the world know that you are NOT AT HOME. It gives thieves time to rob your home. The pros state that you should post how awesome the concert was, or upload your vacation photos, AFTER you get home.

4.  That fact that you are home alone – I’ve read Facebook posts where a person says “my family is out shopping for the day and I finally I’m alone and can finish my book.” You may think that your friends are the only ones that have access to your status, but you really have no idea who is reading your posts.

5.  Tagging your children’s pictures with their names – This type of information can be used by predators to lure your child, since they already know their name, including names of relatives or friends on your Facebook page. Your child may think this person is “safe” because they know details about their family that they use to try to build rapport with your child.

These are just a few of the “never’s” that I am sharing with you.

Question: What other things would you recommend NOT posting on Facebook so I can add them to my list?

So I made a bet…

A few months ago, my elaborate plan to gain Twitter followers consisted of this one mantra – DO NOTHING. (Well, except tweeting randomly, of course.) I then gave myself tiny homework assignments to learn more about social media engagement.

Ideas evolve, and this one morphed into my Personal Guide to Increasing my Twitter Followers! Instead of just doing nothing and waiting for organic followers, I’m testing out some of the tools available and learning new ways to engage with my current followers, while increasing visibility of my profile to attract new Twits.

I started with Strategy #1. Follow Your Followers.

Now it’s on to Strategy #2: Using an Account Manager.

Let’s talk about BUFFERING posts.

This one really blew my mind. I don’t know how I ever posted on social media without using Buffer, a post management tool for social media that has freed me from the whirlpool of content management! Yay!

For my sanity, this is the best tool I have found since I started counting Twitter followers. I’m all about saving time, and this does this trick. Buffer is a great way to increase engagement and save time on social media.

Note: I upgraded from the free account to $10 monthly because Buffer lets you manage 12 social profiles, have unlimited posts in your buffer, and even add two team members to help manage it all.

This is what you need to know:

1.Buffer is a Time Saver – and can manage multiple Twitter,Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.

In short, Buffer schedules your updates to post at optimal times, whether you’re around or not. You can schedule posts for DAYS across different accounts using this tool. Instead of logging into my accounts every hour to post something new, and endlessly searching for content and new ideas, I can buffer my tweets and posts and uploads so they post at scheduled times (or whenever you want) across all platforms! I’m talking Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. (Pinterest is available, but that costs money).

2. Re-Buffering is a great way to make sure your post is seen.

You can RE-Buffer previous posts to ensure that everyone sees them (on Twitter, for example, where timing is everything). It also stops you from re-buffering a post too soon, so your feed doesn’t get clogged or look spammy.

3. Buffer shows what Tweets get the most engagement.

One of the best features is the ability to measure your post performance using social analytics. Buffer Analytics shows you the most retweets, mentions, clicks, potential audience exposure, and favorites.

This is not only a time saver, but a great way to flesh out your voice on social media. Discover which tweets get the most engagement, what topics your audience likes most, and who is interacting with your tweets.

You can see what works, and what falls flat. Re-buffer the good ones!

4. Buffer Integrates! You can use it everywhere with Apps, Extensions, and Extras.

Buffer offers lots of apps, extensions, and extras that will allow you to use Buffer in a variety of different places online. Start by installing the Buffer extensions for Google Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Once you have installed one of these extensions, you will get a convenient button to use to add updates to your buffer at the top of your browser (usually to the left or right of your browser’s address button depending on which browser you are using).

Clicking the Buffer Button will allow you to update one or more of your social media accounts with a link to the webpage you are browsing.

And that brings me to the Breakdown:

I learned that everything I was doing was WRONG, because I didn’t have this amazing tool working for me! How many hours did I lose, glued to my screen day in and day out?

If you want to get ahead in your Twitterverse, you need a post management tool.  Although I chose Buffer, there are other options available, including Hootsuite.

For my next trick, I will be moving on to Strategy #3: Make Some Twiends. Why Twiends? Well, Twiends is completely free to use. The concept is that the more you participate the more others will connect with you. You are not paying for followers or trying anything shady; instead, you are making your profile available to people who are looking for interesting people to follow. If you want to tag along with me, you can either email me directly or tell everyone about your experience in the Comments!

It’s Twitter count time!

August 8, 2015: I began with 426 Twitter followers. I did nothing out of the ordinary, just happily tweeted away per the usual routine.

If you have read my earlier posts, you know that this number represents my total lack of effort at actually forming a Twitter “presence” – no effort, chemicals or preservatives added.

March 4, 2016: my follower count increased to 503.

As of March 30, 2016, I now have 669 followers (a HUGE increase from past results). In 26 days, I gained 166 Followers. That makes a total of 243 new Followers since I made this darn bet, in case anyone is counting – which I AM.

This was taking too long. I decided to stir things up a bit. It was time to research and test out some Twitter strategies and see if they make a difference. (Answer: they do.) And I promised to share my results with you 🙂 So, here goes nothing.

Strategy #1. Follow Your Followers.

Do people really care if you follow back? To find out, I followed each and every follower I had on Twitter. I also did some research, as was required along the way. (I’ve learned a lot on this little adventure!)

This is what you need to know:

1. There is a follow limit on Twitter. And yes, they have an algorithm.

Twitter doesn’t cap the number of followers you can have. However, they do monitor how aggressively users follow other users.  If you don’t follow or unfollow hundreds of users in a single day, and you aren’t using automated methods of following users, you should be fine.

Twitter does limit the number of people you can follow. Every user can follow 5000 people total. Once you’ve followed 5000 users, the number of additional users you can follow and that is based on your TFF ratio. What is your TFF Ratio? It stands for Twitter Follower–Friend Ratio.

Your TFF Ratio is the ratio the number of followers to the number of people followed by a particular account. To figure out a Twitter account’s TFF Ratio all you have to do is divide the number of followers you have by the number you are following. Try for a ratio of 1 or higher. #themoreyouknow

2. Your feed can get cluttered real quick.

Reading through a cluttered time line is like sifting through a mountain of garbage while looking for treasure (it can be a real waste).

There is a reason that Twitter allows people to opt-in or -out of receiving a person’s updates. Because following everyone leads to a feed full of tweets that are not relevant to you. Just because someone finds your tweets interesting does not mean that you feel the same about theirs.

Result: I started skimming through my feed instead of reading to avoid all of the junk tweets. Frankly, you will stop reading your feed if you follow every follower.

3. Following and DM’ing can be automated.

Social media tools are everywhere, so use them to your advantage.  I focused on Crowdrise.  With Crowdrise, you can manage and track your followers (including who unfollowed you). You can also automate your Twitter account to auto-respond to new followers via direct message.

Recommendation: Try not to automate your DM’s to your new followers. At first, I thought it was really cool! Then I realized (after there were no replies to my auto DM and my inbox was clogged with messages to each follower) – it’s annoying!

And that brings me to the Breakdown:

Good idea: Following your followers.  Bad idea: Following ALL of your followers.

The downside of following everyone was that my feed got clogged. I learned that auto-DM’s miss the mark. The upside was that only a few people I followed decided to leave me, and I learned some new Twitter trivia (TFF ratios, anyone?).

I’m excited to be moving on to Strategy #2: Using an Account Manager. I decided to use Buffer, if you want to tag along with me.  You can either email me directly or tell everyone about your experience in the Comments!