CheapTweet Blog

As you’ve probably seen over the past few days, Twitter has done a massive rollout of its new lists feature. If your account doesn’t have access to it yet, it will soon. Twitter Lists allow anyone to create a list of their favorite Twitterers in any category they want, and follow those people’s tweets in one place. These lists can be public or private.

As a business on Twitter, you’re probably already using it to talk with customers, share deals and news, and stay up-to-date with your industry. The Twitter List is another feature that can be incredibly useful for you and your customers. You can use public lists to curate collections of helpful resources that both engage and support your customers. Here are five types of Twitter Lists a business should make.

1. Company Accounts.

Make a list of your employees and other corporate accounts, if you have any. This makes it easy for customers to find the rest of your Twitter accounts. This is particularly useful if you have a number of corporate accounts or a group of employees on Twitter. This gives your brand a more well-rounded personality and gives customers multiple points of contact with you. As an example, here’s a good list of Dell employees and corporate accounts.

2. Complementary Businesses.

Make a list of other merchants your customers might like. What other products might your customers be shopping for? Make it easy for them to find those products. If you sell carpet and flooring, for example, you could create a list of other home decor retailers  (think paint, window treatments, furniture, etc…). We made a list of brands offering deals on Twitter.

3. Industry Thought Leaders.

Who are the big thinkers in your industry? Are there publications and media outlets writing about important industry news? Think of what resources your customers might want that relate to the kinds of products you sell. For example, if you own a bar, you might want to create a list of beer bloggers to help your customers learn more about beer and brewing. @AllGoodBeer has a great beer news list.

4. VIP Customers.

Say thank you to your biggest customer advocates by including them in a list. Customers love to be heard, and being included in a Twitter list makes anyone feel valued. Recognize your best customers and most vocal supporters with a list. Keep in mind that as of right now, Twitter lists have a limit of 500 people. To say thank you to the people who have helped make CheapTweet succesful, we’ve made a list of CheapTweet Stores and a list of Etsy sellers with popular deals on CheapTweet and are working on more.

5. Local Friends.

Wherever your headquarters are, whether it’s a big city or a small town, make a list of some your area’s most interesting Twitterers. Include both businesses and people, and try to get a representative but diverse sample. Lists of local must-knows will be helpful for Twitter newbies and interesting to even the oldest Twitter veterans. A good list of local Twitterers could even attract new customers, as well as reciprocal listings. For example, we love the Austin American Statesman’s list of 50 people to follow in Austin, Texas (CheapTweet’s home base).

Twitters Lists are brand new and we’ve already seen a number of creative uses of this feature. What can you do with it?

If you’ve waited until the very last minute to plan your Halloween costume (like a certain someone in the CheapTweet office, but I won’t name any names), we’ve gathered up some ideas for you. These are fast and inexpensive ways to get in the Halloween spirit. If you have other suggestions, please leave them in the comments!

Ghost. This is the old standby. Just cut eyeholes out of a white sheet and you’re done, Charlie Brown-style (pictured to the right). Make liberal use of the word “Boo”.

Zombie anything. Dress in any kind of outfit (e.g. prom queen, business person, pajamas), paint your face with white makeup, use gray and purple makeup to make bruises under your eyes, and cover yourself and your outfit in fake blood. Now you’re the undead. Be sure to moan about brains all night.

Yourself from another time. Dress up in an outfit appropriate for another decade (past or future). Fix your hair and makeup as appropriate for that decade. Now you’re you from that time. Thanks for the idea, @JenHarris09!

A friend or family member. Borrow clothes from a friend or family member and dress and act like that person. This is particularly funny if that person doesn’t look or act at all like you, and if you’re going to a party where many of the guests know both of you. The key here is to do a good impression – pick out one or two unique mannerisms or catchphrases and repeat them throughout the night.

We asked our Twitter followers for other ideas. They had some great – and funny – suggestions:

• @jayv: I grabbed a werewolf wig, cut out the sideburns, and got cheap eyeliner. Voila!!! I’m Robert Pattinson!
• @Goodgoth:  Bag of jelly beans – make bag of clear plastic around torso – stuff with colored balloons
• @LSUCait: saftey pin dryer softener sheets to your clothes and you can be static cling
• @Goodgoth: Tea Bag Halloween costume – sheer fabric formed into bag around yet torso – stuff with leaves – make cardboard “tag” hat
• @MetzyMom: Eddie Munster: Black pants, white shirt, a stuffed doll, makeup. Herman Munster: Black shoes, wrinkled suit from thrift store, black shirt, green makeup, silver makeup for bolts in neck
• @LollyBopBaby : A tutu!
• @couponbootcamp: Quick easy costume: monkey backpack harness, put on a safari hat and khakis = zoo worker
• @pumpkinpetunias: This skirt from Children’s Place makes the perfect witch skirt and can be worn again!

Here are a few more lists of creative, but simple and cheap, Halloween costume ideas.

• Scary cheap last minute Halloween costumes
• Last-minute quick costume ideas
• 10 cheap last minute Halloween costume ideas
• 50 last minute, easy Halloween costume ideas

And though it’s too late to do your Halloween shopping online, this year’s leftover Halloween merchandise will be deeply discounted starting on Sunday. Check out all the Halloween discounts and sales on CheapTweet.

Have a fun and safe holiday!

This week, Heather – our Happy Hatchling guest blogger and mom – has her top pacifier recommendations.

Pacifier, binky, soother, or whatever you call it, if your child uses pacifiers then you need a lot of them!  Three near the crib, two in the car, two in the diaper bag, one in your purse, and three or four at daycare… the list goes on. A family friend with twins used to joke that the only way to keep her multiples happy was to have six pacifiers (one in each mouth and one in each hand) because if one of the twins had a free hand she was always stealing her sibling’s binky.

Luckily, parents and companies have spent loads of time perfecting the pacifier – making it easier to find in the dark, more accessible, and even better for teething. Now, if only companies would sell them in economy-sized packs instead of the standard two-pack!

Here is a list of smart pacifier options.

1) Avent Night Time Pacifier (pictured)

Why these are awesome: the handles glow in the dark so they are easier to find during nighttime crying spells. Furthermore, they don’t cost more than the average pacifier. My biggest problem with this product is that many Avent pacifiers are clear and utterly impossible to find in the dark. Why they would not make them all glow in the dark is beyond me.

2) WubbaNub Pacifier (pictured)

A genius and exhausted mother created the WubbaNub. It’s a pacifier that is literally attached to a stuffed animal (and there are lots of animals to choose from).  The stuffed animal provides additional cuddling and makes locating a missing pacifier much easier. It’s also machine washable and was featured in the Academy Awards giveaway bags.

3) Personalized Pacifiers from Cool Pacifiers and My Pacifier

Personalized pacifiers are fantastic, especially if your child goes to daycare, if you have multiples, or you want a unique and memorable baby shower gift.  It also allows for some creative freedom (up to 20 characters) for fun expressions like “plug it up”, “little princess”, and “mute button”.  The only bummer is if your baby’s name is Huntington Sullivan III, you might have to abbreviate it or resort to using a nickname.

4) RaZbaby Razberry teether (pictured)

For those babies, like my own, who never really loved their pacifier for anything more than an object to chew on during times of teething, this is the product for you. Put it in the freezer for additional teething relief.

Finally, here are two not-so smart pacifier options: Little Vampire Baby Pacifier and Pacifier Bronzing.

For more pacifiers and all the other things you need for your baby, check out the Babies”R”Us and drugstore.com CheapTweet Stores.

Shop.org published a report yesterday about their expectations for the holiday shopping season.

There’s good news for those of us looking for deals – it looks like we’ll see tons of free shipping deals this holiday season (more than 79% of retailers plan to offer free shipping at some point this season).

The report also says they expect shoppers will do more of their shopping online this year. And, shoppers will be using social sites like Twitter and Facebook more, to assist with their shopping. The reasons they cited for the increase in online shopping are interesting (emphasis mine):

Reasons behind why people will spend more online range from the ability to shop at all hours of the day (41.9%) to shoppers feeling it is easier to compare prices (34.0%) to Americans’ insatiable appetite for free shipping (33.1%). Others said they will spend more online because it’s simply more convenient for them (32.4%), they don’t want to fight crowds in stores (24.9%) or because it’s easier to find items (16.7%).

In addition, the reasons people don’t – won’t – shop online are interesting for other reasons:

The small percentage of people (5.7%) who plan to spend less of their holiday budget online said that they’ll pull back due to expensive shipping charges (22.8%), because they like to see or handle items before they buy (12.5%) or because they prefer a store experience (10.8%). A fraction of shoppers said they hesitated to shop online due to concerns about security (1.1%), credit card theft (0.6%), privacy (0.1%) or concerns about retailers tracking online activity (0.1%).

What do you think – will you do most of your shopping online or in stores? Why do you choose one or the other?

We’re so excited about and honored by this! CheapTweet is in the November 2009 issue of InStyle magazine. We’re on page 228, in the Best of the Web section. They list their top five ways to save money and we’re one of them (#4 – Twitter Scoops)!

We want to thank you all for your support!

Halloween is a few weeks away, and it’s definitely time to start thinking about what you’re going to do to celebrate. We’ve already seen tons of Halloween deals on CheapTweet.com. Here are a few resources to help you save some money this Halloween.

Amazon’s Halloween Store is filled with savings on costumes, candy, accessories, decorations, and more. There’s still plenty of time to order and have your items delivered before the 31st.

And be sure check out all the Halloween deals and coupons in our special CheapTweet Halloween section. We’ve found more than 4,000 discounts on Halloween items over the past few weeks, and we’ll find lots more before the holiday’s over. Before you buy anything online or in-store this season, do a quick CheapTweet search first to see if you can find a coupon or discount for it.

WalletPop has a useful list of ways to save money this Halloween, including buying candy in bulk and making your own costumes. And Deal Seeking Mom has some other good ideas about how to save money on costumes.

Speaking of making your own costumes, here are a few of the funniest and most adorable homemade – and cheap – Halloween costumes (this post is fine, but the site has a few links that are NSFW) we’ve ever seen.  We completely support making costumes at home, as it allows you to be creative and save some money, and we especially support it if your kids look as cute as these kids do. My favorite is the little lobster in the pot.

Thrifty Mommy has a list of tips on how to save money on candy. For example, stay away from chocolate; other candies are less expensive and just as tasty.

So, what are you doing this Halloween to save money? If you have any tips, we’d love to hear about them!

This week we talked to Sarah Reidy, owner of The Austin Parenting Coach.

Sarah is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. After graduating with her Master’s Degree in Social Work, she has worked in a variety of places, including the court system, a domestic violence shelter, and several non-profits doing counseling with children and families. You can find her on The Austin Parenting Coach website, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

What is The Austin Parenting Coach?

It is my private practice, which focuses on in-home parent coaching and consulting in Austin, Texas.

What kinds of services do you specialize in?

I go to the family home to work with the parents in order to help them make the changes in their children’s behavior, rather than have them bring their children to me.  I have found that this is easier on the parents, has longer lasting results, and feels more natural than bringing their child to counseling.  I primarily see babies and children under the age of ten, but also do family therapy with families of teenagers.

Many of the families that I work with are families in transition (divorce, new baby, death in the family, a big move) but I also see many families where the parents are at the point that they don’t know what else to do about their children’s behavior. I have been called “The Austin Supernanny” before, as my services are similar to hers and everyone seems familiar with the show.

Tell us a little bit about your experience. How did The Austin Parenting Coach get started?

Due to the nature of the agencies that I have worked in (domestic and sexual violence non-profits) I was usually unable to work with both parents.  However, many of the children that I work with will continue to see both parents, even if one is abusive, and it began to feel frustrating to not be able to work with both. If the parent’s behavior doesn’t change, it will be difficult for the child’s behavior to change.  I also found that it wasn’t very empowering for a parent to bring their child to me to “fix” and leave them unable to do anything in the future. So I shifted my approach and began to to parent coaching as a part of my therapeutic intervention with parents. My hope is that with private practice, I can work with families to prevent them from experiencing the trauma that my previous clients had. I can also empower the parent to make the changes in their family, not do it for them.

How do you market or promote your business?

I have a Facebook page and I Twitter as well. I also do speaking engagements for parent groups, pediatricians, day cares, and family law attorneys.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced with The Austin Parenting Coach?

The economy! It has easily been my biggest challenge.  Our society is much more reactive, rather than preventative. Although I can and do work with many families who are calling because of an issue, I’ve had many people express interest, then not be able to follow through because of finances.  However, if they don’t take care of the issue now, it can end up causing bigger issues later in the child’s life that may be more costly. But when money is tight, it’s hard to keep that in mind.

What about the biggest successes?

The biggest successes have been seeing the immediate and simple changes in families that made huge differences in the family’s functioning. It is so rewarding to see a parent feel proud about their parenting and their children.

Just keep trying!

We’re all about saving at CheapTweet. Usually it’s money, but this time we’re saving you something that may be just as valuable: characters in your tweets. If you follow @CheapTweet on Twitter (and you should!) then you’ll notice that today Jenn started sharing URLs that start with http://chpt.me – like http://chpt.me/250fr5h. We used to use URLs like http://cheaptweet.com/t/250fr5h but these just weren’t short enough – you can only do so much in 140 characters – so we’ve shaved off 9 characters with these new links.

But it’s not just us… You can use the new short links too. Check out how below. Now whenever you share a link to a tweet from CheapTweet, you can use these 9 extra characters for anything you like. Enjoy!

Use our Share on Twitter tools to, well, share on twitter

Share any deal on CheapTweet just by clicking "Share".

Happy tweeting! Use your 9 new characters wisely.

Today, we’re starting a new regular feature here on the CheapTweet blog: The Happy Hatchling, a monthly post about shopping for and saving on items for children.  We’ve enlisted mom and guest blogger Heather Ishak to share her experiences keeping her baby and her budget in line.

For this edition of the Happy Hatchling, Heather made a list of the top five items that help keep her baby happy and healthy when they leave the house.

Happy Hatchling Vol. 1: Taking Baby Out

1) Kiddopotamus Tiny Diner Placemat – comes in several colors (pictured)

YES! This product is the best! It is a must have if you enjoy taking your baby out to eat. You don’t have to clean the table surface or worry about what germs you baby is eating off of. Just plop it down and the suction cups keep it locked in place. It even has a roll that extends beyond the table to nicely collect food that falls off or is dropped. I don’t even worry about cleaning it at the restaurant I just roll it up and wash it at home.

2) JJ Cole Essentials Pacifier Pod – Cocoa Tree

You need one or two of these.  I always keep one on the car seat and one on the diaper bag and never leave the house without them filled. I like this one in particular because it has a Velcro opening that allows for easy one-handed access versus zippered holders, which require two hands to open.

3) The First Years BPA Free Suction Blue Bowl with Lid

Suction cups are a good thing.  Unfortunately, these bowls do not work with the Kiddopotamus, but we still use them all the time. We use them to pack snacks in the diaper bag and when visiting friends who don’t have high chairs we just suction the bowl to coffee tables, kitchen tables, floors, etc…

4) Floppy Seat Shopping Cart Cover (pictured)

We use this everywhere on shopping carts and over high chairs when eating out. Soft and plush, it has rings for a toy attachment and folds up into an easy carry-on bag. My baby is so comfortable in it that she often takes a nap on the extra-long shopping excursions. The black giraffe cover is $10 more than the blue or pink floppy seat because it folds into a more elegant looking purse.

5) Go Baby Outmat

This is an outdoor water-resistant blanket that folds into a bag that you can just keep stored in the trunk of your car.  I don’t have one, but I want one. Great for playtime outdoors or, in my case, Dad’s sporting events and football tailgating.

So, these are Heather’s top five must-haves for taking her baby out of the house. What are yours? We’d love to hear your opinion! Please share your thoughts in the comments. And if you’re shopping for your children – or someone else’s – be sure check out the great deals in the Toys R Us and Babies R Us CheapTweet Store.

This week we talked to Lois Stifel, creator of Foxy G. Knits.

Lois is originally from Chicago, IL, but has spent her adult life living in both the Midwest and southeast. She received a B.A. degree in English from Roosevelt University in Chicago, and for that, according to her, she can get a cup of coffee for about $2.00!  Knitting was a passion that had its roots in her childhood. Check out her Etsy store, read her blog, and find her on Facebook and Twitter.

How did Foxy G. Knits get started?

For a long time, knitting was an avocation and not a vocation for me. Friends and family finally convinced me to open a store on Etsy.  I am sure that they were getting so tired of receiving scarves, shawls, baby blankets and hats for birthdays and every other special occasion!  In September 2008, I took the plunge and opened Foxy G. Knits where everything is knit by hand – from my heart to yours.

Tell us a little bit about your store. In what sorts of pieces do you specialize?

Foxy G. Knits features hand-knit, one-of-a-kind shawls, wraps and scarves that are versatile and designed for today’s woman.  My items encompass comfort and style, and you don’t have to give up one for the other.

Where do you get your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from colors and textures in the everyday world around me.  My favorite part of the creative process is coordinating and blending various yarn colors and textures. I have the ability to conceptualize and see various colors, textures and designs before they are actual completed items.

How do you market or promote your store?

I know that many artists and artisans do not like to promote themselves, and I truly understand.  However, if you don’t promote yourself, it is like throwing a party and not sending out invitations.  I bet no one shows up.  But there are ways to promote yourself that are not distasteful.  I use a variety of methods to market or promote Foxy G. Knits, and they all involve building relationships and trust.  I am a member of three teams: Etsy North Georgia Street Team, Etsy Twitter Team and Etsy Bloggers Team and share useful information with them at every opportunity.  I generously heart sellers whose work I like. I have a blog and promote members of my teams, as well as other Etsy sellers. I am also on twitter.

Recently, I wanted to build a Facebook Fan page and get to 100 fans so that I could secure my vanity name. So, I offered to knit a children’s scarf for the local homeless shelter for every new fan I received from July 15 – August 15.  And I posted that information on my Facebook page as well as tweeted about it.  I thought that it would take me a month to reach 100, but it took only four days.  By the time the promotion was over, I owed the shelter more than 200 scarves!

How do you use Twitter to help with your business?

I follow my entire Etsy Twitter Team, and we are very active in promoting our team as well as each other.  I also follow many Team North Georgia members. I try to follow people who don’t only push their items because that gets really boring really quickly.  I follow people who have good senses of humor.  And if all someone talks about is what they had for breakfast, I know where to find the unfollow button! I tweet and retweet regularly and share useful information at every opportunity.

Do you have any tips or advice for someone just getting her/his own business started?

Run your business like you are the customer – be that customer.  What makes you want to shop in a particular place – service, attention to detail? And do get comfortable with promoting yourself.