3 Quarters Today

My Life, my photography, my passions

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Use Twitter to Shop on Amazon with #AmazonCart

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Anyone who knows me knows I like Twitter, ok, I’m a little bit obsessed with Twitter (@3Quarters2Day) and I also like hashtags. Combine this with the best online shopping experience and you have a three-way WIN-WIN-WIN.It was just announced today that Twitter and Amazon launched their new social shopping experience and I’m pretty excited to give it a try, both as a customer and an affiliate.

Now if you see an Amazon product on Twitter all you have to do is REPLY with the hashtag #AmazonCart and the item will be added to your shopping cart. I haven’t checked this out myself yet to see if it works, and Amazon has all the details. So just click below for more information.


  Shop Amazon – #AmazonCart – Add to Your Cart Directly From Twitter This does not mean you have purchased the item, or it has shipped. It only places it in your cart for future review and a reminder you wanted to order the item. You still need to go to Marine Corps and moved away from home. They kept their own Amazon Wish lists up to date and I always have a wide variety and choices of what to get them for birthdays and Christmas. Likewise the reverse is true. They start asking me in October if I have updated my wish list.

Amazon is the go to shopping site for many military personnel as they can get items shipped to APO addresses overseas when on deployment. Gone are the days of going without when in country. Order through Amazon and they will ship it anywhere. (just don’t expect their drones to deliver it…sorry had to include that) I’m interested to hear what you think about this new way to shop on Amazon.

Will you give it a try, or have you tried it yourself? Or is social shopping too transparent and an intrusion? So celebrate the new Twitter Amazon partnership by stopping by Amazon and creating a new wish list. Don’t worry I won’t tell.


News About the Amazon Twitter Partnership

 

Amazon Steps Into Social Selling On Twitter With #AmazonCart

While you’re scrolling through your Twitter feed and a product with a link to an Amazon product pops by, simply reply to the message and add the hashtag #AmazonCart. The item will be placed in your cart so you can purchase it later. The service is only …
#Amazoncart and Twitter’s commerce problem

Amazon and Twitter’s new retail partnership, #AmazonCart, will have to overcome a major obstacle in order for it to become a meaningful sales generator: Most people are not in a shopping mindset when they’re on Twitter, according to retail experts.
How #AmazonCart Works On Twitter: Amazon Launches A New Way To Shop …

Before #AmazonCart works for Twitter users, they will have to authorize the retailer to access their accounts – which allows Amazon to read tweets from their timelines, see who they are following, follow new users on their behalf, update their profiles …
Amazon Launches #AmazonCart to Shop Using Twitter

Amazon is today rolling out an interesting new feature called #AmazonCart, which lets you add Amazon products to your shopping basket without leaving Twitter. To use the feature, you first have to connect your Twitter and …
Add items to your #AmazonCart directly from Twitter

As if you need more temptation to spend, Amazon has now made it possible to put items aside for purchase using Twitter. To start with, you need to connect your Twitter and Amazon accounts from your social settings page …
 

 

 

Yearly Goals and Accomplishments

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I feel it’s important to set goals in life, no matter if they are personal or business goals. During the past year I finished a private online experiment to see if making money or a residual income on the internet is feasible. Was it successful? I would say yes. Did I get rich? No, but I by the end of the  year to pay for my monthly gas bill to drive to my regular full time job at Hamilton Color Lab.

It was successful enough that I have decided to take it to the next level and set a more ambitious goal for this year.

CafePress is my most successful income stream in the past year. Since both my sons are US Marines I started designing Marine Corps items in Photoshop I created to sell my Marine and military themed apparel and gifts. (click on the image below to go to my store)

CafePress Marine and Military Store

My YouTube account is still generating a change (ok a few dollars, two months of gas) not as much as 2012 but then again I don’t have any new Marine Corps videos. The demographics are males between the age of 18-27, you can imagine who is watching. I also  started writing for Squidoo, which is another blogging site. Squidoo shares the click through Adwords income with their successful writers and any Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Zazzle or CafePress purchases generates a commission. (You can sign up for Squidoo here)

Yearly Goals to Making money on the internet

My biggest social media accomplishment was growing my @3Quarters2Day Twitter account from about 1,800 followers in the spring to 20,000 in less than nine month. Yes, I have 20,000 30,000 people who follow me at @3Quarters2day and it’s been a lot of work to get it there.

Many hours spent on my Twitter phone app following people, responding to tweets and being real. It has paid off though, Twitter is responsible for over 60% of my referral on my internet platforms. (Pinterest is a close second.) 

I have learned a lot about Twitter, how to write tweets that get responses, how to use #hashtags successfully, and how to free up my time for responding to followers by using paid social media tools such as SocialOomph and JustUnfollow

In addition I have learned more about Photoshop, shortcuts, design, layout and multiple other tips and tricks that have helped with creating templates and military designs for CafePress.

This year I also started doing some free-lance graphic design and marketing for a few clients. One of which is for a  jazz musician, Steve Raybine and 2014 holds a lot of promise on a new venture of Music Motivational posters. We are currently looking for nationwide distributorship in the music industry. Currently the designs are for sale on Fine Art America where I also have a small presence selling my photography. (I didn’t do much with my own photography this past year, however that will soon change.)

Music Teacher posters

As with anything marketing and developing an audience and following takes time and although my income curve is definitely on an upward trend I spend many hours a week nurturing the various channels. In fifteen years I would like to retire, travel around the country (or world) in an RV and generate enough online income to live comfortable and enjoy life sitting on a beach chair with my laptop.

2014 Yearly Goals

(I refuse to call them resolutions)

  1. Increase @3QuartersImages Twitter followers to 5,000
  2. Increase @PetsNCritters Twitter followers 10,000
  3. Create a Military Pride store on Zazzle (mirror CafePress to a point)
  4. Write an average of one Squidoo lens (article) per week
  5. Increase backlinks from WordPress to Squidoo
  6. Increase Twitter feed on SocialOomph to reflect WordPress content
  7. Move to WordPress.org and add affiliate partners (DONE)
  8. Use the WordPress scheduler to post on a regular basis (at least twice a month)
  9. Increase monthly revenue stream an 50% by the end of the year

Are these goals achievable? I tried to make them S.M.A.R.T. goals (specific, measurable, attainable, reachable, and trackable) and although I haven’t written out how they will be achieved I know where I’m heading.

Have you created goals for your personal or business life? It helps to become accountable by either writing them down or  telling them to someone. My co-worker was my accountability partner this past year and my pocket book, the empty one with dust bunnies, reminded me to stay on track.

Part of the WordPress journey will be providing updates on the goals, how the social media platforms function, and continued photography posts with more Photoshop tips and tricks. I may even learn how to video the steps and create a YouTube channel. Notice I didn’t put that on my goal. I’m staying realistic. Who knows what the year will bring!

Squidoo Monthly Payouts

CafePress income for the year
CafePress monthly revenue.

Above are monthly revuneu graphs of income streams from two of my internet platforms. As you can see, I’m not getting rich. The number of hours to maintain this growth I can’t even begin to count. For example just today (Saturday) I’ve been on the computer for ten hours photo editing, creating reoccuring tweets, creating new Squidoo backlinks, creating the graphic for this article, writing this blog and gathering the links.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask, I’ve received a lot of advice and it’s my turn to pay it back.

Related Articles

Shamrock Shake Facts & Trivia

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I do believe I’m one of the first people to ever try a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake. I grew up in East Hartford Connecticut and my Dad loved mint, everything mint. As a little girl going to McDonald’s was a treat, not an every day occurrence. Until we were ten we were not allowed to drink pop or soda so my parents ordered shakes for us at McDonald’s.

I Love Shamrock Shakes
My third shake of the season…

Normally I got strawberry, but I have vague memories of drinking from my Dad’s straw a tangy green shake, and later it was a yearly trip to get a green shake. There was a pony ride in Enfield during the 1970’s and we would stop at the local Mickey D’s for french fries and a shake.

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Shake Your Shamrocks cute and sexy t-shirt for men and womenShake Your Shamrocks cute and sexy t-shirt for men and women

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Shamrock Shake Facts and Trivia

  1. Invented at an Enfield Connecticut McDonald’s  in 1966 (although the McDonald’s website claims 1970)
  2. First called the St Patrick’s Day Green Milkshake
  3. Started selling nationally in 1970 in response to a Ronald McDonald House fundraiser
  4. Calorie Content: 420, Small, 740 Medium, 820 Large (but who really cares?)
  5. Large Shamrock shake provides up to 60% of your daily calcium requirement (oh yeah!)
  6. Available only for a limited time around St. Patrick’s Day
  7. A Shamrock sundae was proposed and tried in 1980, but was a failure (wonder why?)
  8. You can post  Shamrock Shake sightings and  reviews at  Shamrock Shake Locator

If you can’t find a Shamrock Shake at your local Mickey D’s, or it’s not  St. Patricks  season, here is a recipe to make your own minty shake. But, it’s not the same memory or experience. There is just something about those McDonalds straws and sharing with your Dad when you’re six you can’t duplicate.

Shamrock Shake recipe

* 2 cups vanilla ice cream
* 1 cup milk
* 1/4 cup half & half
* 1/2 teaspoon mint extract (spearmint, not peppermint)
* 8 drops green food coloring

Who remembers the old McDonald commercials from the 1970’s, they were a lot more fun back then. McDonalds was a rare treat, they weren’t on every corner, their food was fresh, hamburgers grilled, buns toasted and real chicken in their chicken McNuggets, without the over processing.

Going to Mickie D’s was a destination, and they were the king of fast food. It is still a guilty pleasure of mine and I even have a Grimace glass.

Ladies Mighty Fine McDonalds Do The Shamrock ShakeVintage 1977 McDonalds 6 inch Grimace Glass

Eat and Drink Irish on St. Patricks Day

Ok, I get it, Shamrocks Shakes are NOT irish and not traditional Irish food to eat and drink on St. Patricks Day. My husband loves Corned Beef, but I’m always on the lookout for something a little sweeter, more dessert themed and of course “green” for the Luck of the Irish flair.

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A Catered St. Patrick's Day (A Mystery With Recipes)A Catered St. Patrick’s Day (A Mystery With Recipes)St. Patrick's Day Recipes: 43 Fantastically Fun, Entertaining and Super Tasty St. Paddy's Day Foods!St. Patrick’s Day Recipes: 43 Fantastically Fun, Entertaining and Super Tasty St. Paddy’s Day Foods!IRISH TREATS - 30 Dessert Recipes for St. Patrick's Day or Whenever You Want to Celebrate Like the IrishIRISH TREATS – 30 Dessert Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day or Whenever You Want to Celebrate Like the IrishIRISH DRINKS - 27 Cocktail Recipes for St. Patrick's Day or Whenever You Want to Celebrate Like the IrishIRISH DRINKS – 27 Cocktail Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day or Whenever You Want to Celebrate Like the Irish

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More Information About McDonalds Shamrock Shakes

What’s really in McDonald’s Shamrock Shake?

With more than 60 million sold, it generates almost as much buzz as the popular McRib sandwich. The Shamrock Shake–the bright green sweet treat that signals that St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner– is another long-time McDonald’s cult …

How To Make A Shamrock Shake Faster Than You Can Drive To McDs

Planning to get your green on for St. Patrick’s Day? Don’t stop with your head-to-toe solid color ensemble. Take all that bright green fun into the kitchen too. This holiday is the perfect opportunity to play with your food, and the fact that you have …

Shamrock Shake 101: The popular St. Patrick’s Day drink wasn’t always minty …

Millennials know the Shamrock Shake only as the McDonald’s minty vanilla concoction that it’s been since 1983. Things weren’t always so creamy and dreamy. The Shamrock Shake dates back to 1970 and started out more like a thick 7Up, flavored with …

When Will The Shamrock Shake Be Available? Get Ready For Some Minty Amazingness

Long before the introduction of the Pumpkin Spice Latte, there was one seasonal drink that was eagerly awaited every year: the Shamrock Shake. Released around St. Patrick’s Day every year, this minty vanilla confection with its pastel green hue is one …

We tried McDonald’s classic Shamrock Shake next to its biggest competition …

The Shamrock Shake has amassed a cult following since its inception in 1970; the sight of the minty green shake is a sure harbinger of spring and vaguely Irish themed kitsch. But with Burger King’s release of the Oreo Irish Mint Shake, McDonald’s reign …

Shamrock Shake Dupes: How To Make McDonald’s Famous Green Milkshake At Home

The return of McDonald’s beloved Shamrock Shake usually signals that spring is just around the corner, and it is finally that time of year again! McDonald’s announced the return of the shake on Feb. 9. The Shamrock Shake is one of the fast food chain’s …

Shamrock Shake: Delectably delicious or deceivingly dangerous?

Each year during the St. Patrick’s Day season, McDonald’s brings back that heavenly green minty milkshake called the McCafe Shamrock Shake. These delicious milkshakes are only around for a few short weeks; meanwhile the claims of why you should not …

20 Plus Years Experience In Social Media

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“Social Media”, a buzzword that people flock to and yearn to understand in business.  Entering “social media business” in Google yields over 796 million results.  Wow, just a little overwhelming?

The term “social media” is relatively new, however I have been participating in social media for almost 20 years, beginning in the early 1990’s. Anyone remember CompuServe? That is where I jumped on and I haven’t left.  I spent hours searching online forums, even during the days of limited internet participation and topics. The history of social media “technically” goes back to the 1970’s, although the audience was limited.

In 1997 I started using social media for marketing and business purposes as a marketing consultant for a niche pet supply company,  Oxbow Animal Health (aka Oxbow Pet Products). Social media was really responsible for the start of a very successful world-wide company. We were in the right place at the right time. They were one of the first pet companies in 1995 to have a website with a shopping cart and I believe one of the first companies to use and leverage social media.

Twitter Mascot Ollie the Bird Mini-FigureTwitter Mascot Ollie the Bird Mini-FigureInstant Fines Tin - Facebook AddictInstant Fines Tin – Facebook AddictHashtags Party GameHashtags Party Game

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Although we didn’t know really what to call it at the time we were often amazed at the power of online networking. UseNet groups,  typically using university servers,  spread information across the country and the world in seconds. Groups such as Etherbun, HouseBunny, and PetBunny had over 1000 passionate well-educated subscribers who received messages in their email box about pet care, news and where to buy the best hay, or toys for their house rabbits.

Many of these communities transferred to e-groups, then to Yahoo groups. Now, organization and social members use Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc.  Social media ADHD is now endemic. A few target portals with thousands of participating members has now fragmented into many smaller portals with less effective message streams. There are now more social media groups that you can keep track and manage, many ineffective for your business.

The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power UsersThe Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power UsersInstant Social Media Marketing with HootSuiteInstant Social Media Marketing with HootSuite

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Although a lot has changed, the basics and core values that made social media powerful  20 years ago still apply today.

Basic Social Media Rules:

  • Learn where your customers live online. Visit, listen, and learn
  • Don’t try and be all places at once, be picky, choose sites wisely
  • Provide information, not just advertising
  • Participate socially and often with community leaders
  • Have something valuable to say
  • Give references on facts  (opinion is nice but everyone has one)
  • Apologize and be humble
  • Develop relationships with people
  • Read before you post, once it’s there, there is not taking it back
  • Flamers are still not welcome
  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Integrate your internet efforts with “real life” marketing.

I’d like to hear your early years in social media and how it affected your business, product or brand, especially if you really didn’t know what you were doing at the time.

3Quarters2Day Marketing Add a comment, send me a tweet, let me know what you think.

Photo from Deviant Art (a little known social media site)

The History of Social Media

The History of Social Media | Digital Trends

Aug 5, 2014 … Social networking didn’t start with Facebook. We examine the history of social networking, from BBSes to Friendster to Diaspora.

The History of Social Media | History Cooperative

Jun 16, 2015 … The History of Social Media. Today, social media is a term that everyone knows. Even the most remote areas of the world have at least heard of …

The Complete History of Social Media: Then And Now

May 8, 2013 … The roots of social media stretch far deeper than you might imagine. Check out the complete history of social media. You might be surprised.

The Unabridged History of Social Media

Nov 10, 2015 … Facebook wasn’t the first social network. In this post we take a look at the history of social media and make some predictions on the future.

A Brief History Of Social Media (1969-2012) [INFOGRAPHIC …

Jul 4, 2013 … But here’s the thing: the history of social media actually goes back a lot further, and its roots can be found in blogging, Google, AOL, ICQ, the …