Archive for July, 2010
Deals for 7/28, as suggested by you
It’s seemed like a pretty slow deal day, so I asked our Twitter followers if they’ve seen anything good today. Here are some of their suggestions. Thank you for your help, everyone!
- @cbowers21 says: JCPenney has a big sale going on plus 15% off both in store and online. Also free shipping for orders $49 or more.
- @ElChileCafe says: 1/2 price house pizzas +$1 off drinks at The Red House Pizzeria [in Austin, TX] daily!
- @DailySaving says: This one was great, I used it today… RT: @thisfrugal_life 1-Yr Subscription to Shape Magazine Only $2.99!
- @doofard says: Breakthrupcb has 40% off all clothes.
- @asevans13 says: I heart this dessert company: RT @sweetstdesserts Take 10% off your New & Featured Product purchase w/code 498NWFTR010P
- @luischinea says: Check this one out: [printable coupon for $2.99 lunch at Quiznos]
- @heartsabustin2: 30% off my Christmas in July section until August 1! www.heartsabustin.etsy.com
- @CoupTessa: 65% off X-Treme Rock Climbing [in Miami, FL]!
- @Bestlaminate says: Roberts Harmony Silent pad – just $29 w/FREE s&H (at Lowes $63)
@Earlybird’s first deal a little wormy: Some thoughts on using Twitter for deals
Twitter posted its first @earlybird deal today. We haven’t written or said much about @earlybird yet, partly because we wanted to see it in action before discussing it. But we’re really excited that Twitter is participating in the deals space and we’re honored to be among their suggested users for Deals and Discounts on Twitter.
The first @earlybird deal was a ticket offer for @DisneyPictures‘ new film The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. While we think @earlybird is a good idea, their first deal attempt hit some rough spots. They had to repeat (and reword) the deal a few times because redeeming it was a bit tricky.
If even Twitter can trip up a bit, then of course it will be difficult for all the merchants out there to get it right. We thought now seemed like a good time to revisit some of the things we’ve learned running CheapTweet. Posting deals in a real-time, short-form channel like Twitter is actually quite different than announcing deals in email newsletters, blog posts, or even Facebook.
Lots of people tweet about coupons and discounts; the CheapTweet search engine finds about 40,000 deal tweets every day. And each day, we tweet about a handful of these deals to @CheapTweet Twitter followers. We’ve seen every kind of deal you can imagine – the good, the bad, and the oh-so-spammy. And since we find 40,000 new deals every single day, there’s a lot of data to learn from.
We’ve written a few times about how to effectively tweet deals. There is our original post on Twitter Tips for Retailers and its updated companion, More Twitter Tips for Retailers. These posts are based on our experience aggregating and filtering the millions of deals we’ve seen on Twitter the past two years.
What we’ve learned is that tweeting deals comes down to three things:
- Keep it simple
- Don’t repeat yourself
- Offer something people want
Take a look below for some more info on these three things and some examples of where @earlybird tripped up.
Keep it simple
Deals must be simply worded and easy to redeem. The first @earlybird deal required several steps and a coupon code to actually redeem the deal. Ideally, there should be only one click to get to the product for sale. Don’t send Twitter users to your Facebook page before routing them on to your website. Don’t make them fill out long forms, remember complicated coupon codes, or take multiple steps to save a few bucks. Above all, make sure customers can quickly and easily purchase. Don’t make them ask you what to do.
The simpler the redemption process is, the more redemptions you’ll get.
Don’t repeat yourself (much)
On Twitter, it’s easy to miss a tweet. Things move so fast and many of us follow hundreds of other people. This means tweeting a deal a few times seems like a good idea, just to make sure everyone has a chance to see it. In fact, we often encourage that – over a period of hours or even days. But posting a deal a bunch of times in a row is overwhelming and unnecessary. Especially if you have to tweet multiple times to clarify what the deal is or how to redeem it (see previous point). This definitely tripped up @earlybird.
Offer something people want
Finally – and most important of all – a deal simply must be relevant to its audience. If it’s not relevant, it’s spam. Figure out what your customers are looking for and give it to them. Sure, there’s no way to tweet something that absolutely everyone will like, but you can definitely avoid tweeting a deal no one wants. For example, we know that if we tweet about a deal from Starbucks, it’ll get retweeted dozens of times – lots of people like Starbucks.
When choosing what other deals to tweet about for our followers, we think about ourselves, our parents and our kids (well, our friends’ kids, but you get the point). If any of those groups would like a deal, then we’ll tweet it. If none of them would like it, then we won’t tweet it. You can’t really blame Twitter for this one, since Disney’s usually a pretty good bet, but the Sorcerer’s Apprentice hasn’t exactly gotten rave reviews.
Really, what we’ve learned is that, like other interactions on Twitter, posting deals is more than just tossing out 140 characters of text. We’re happy that Twitter is posting deals through @earlybird and we can’t wait to see what tomorrow’s deal will be. Social media channels like Twitter are a great place to post and find deals. And even with today’s hiccups, today’s @earlybird deal worked and saved people money.
If you post deals to Twitter, you want our search engine to pick up your deals and post them on CheapTweet.com, make sure you’re following our deal tweet guidelines. Or just ask us! We’ve seen it all and can help you figure out the best way to make sure your deals are clicked on and retweeted. Find us on Twitter at @cheaptweet.
Best baby iPhone and iPad apps, Happy Hatchling #13
In this edition of Happy Hatchling, Heather – mom and CheapTweet blogger – shares some of her favorite kid-centered iPhone applications. Be sure to follow Heather on Twitter!
My family travels a lot, mostly because both sets of grandparents live far away. My parents are three hours by car, while the other set is four hours by plane. 
We also enjoy attending sporting events and eating out with friends. Co-workers, friends and family wonder how we are still able to do so much with a toddler who is not yet two (but already experiencing the terrible twos). My secret is our iPhone. Four hours forced to sit in my lap on an airplane? iPhone. Three-hour drive? iPhone. Two hours at non-baby-safe friend’s house? iPhone. One-hour dinner at resturant? iPhone. Now don’t get me wrong, my child doesn’t just play with my phone all day long. We use it almost exclusively for times when we’re out of the house and on the go. That makes it fun and exciting for her and keeps her occupied for short spurts of time.
I have spent a great deal of time searching and purchasing kid iPhone apps, and let’s be honest, there are a lot of apps that are duds and a waste of 99 cents. However, there are also some educational apps that I am proud to let my child play. Here are my picks for apps that are both mommy and baby approved. (Note: I am not sponsored for this post and these are my honest-to-goodness favorite apps.)
Baby’s First Apps (6 months and up)
1) Itsy Bitsy Spider
Love, love, love this app. This is a great first app for babies because it’s not complicated and everything on the screen is interactive. When you touch the spider it moves to a different scene, the flowerpot blooms, a window opens and shuts, or a banana slug eats a banana. Very entertaining and if your little one loves this app, they make others such as “Wheels on the Bus”, which is fun but not quite as easy or interactive.
2) Balloonimals
This game is fun to show off because it surprises people with its creative cuteness. Kiddo loves it, but there are not limitless options so she tires of it more quickly than other games. It may also require some parent help to play. My own mother sometimes fights my daughter for playing time on this game.
3) Elmo’s Monster Maker (pictured)
Who doesn’t love Elmo? This is app was made by IDEO, the same company responsible for Balloonimals. The graphics are amazing… It’s like watching Sesame Street. In this app, you create your own monster muppet.
4) Peekaboo Wild
Another great first app for babies. It is a peekaboo game with wild animals (they also have a barnyard version). Your child taps the screen and the next animal is revealed. The animation and noises are cute and not annoying compared to other animal games.
5) Baby’s Animal Show
This is a basic flash card application with pictures of real animals and animated animals. It’s not very flashy, but my daughter likes to see the animals. This one is good for when your kid is learning animal noises.
Apps for Tots (1 ½ years and up)
1) Monkey Preschool Lunchbox (pictured)
Many different puzzles with many different concepts. Although, your child may not be ready for some of the games, they are designed to be solvable even if answers are chosen at random by your tot. This way your child can learn the concepts over time without getting frustrated.
2 ) Shape Builder
Simple puzzle game where your kid drags the puzzle pieces into the correct shape. Very simple, but there are lots of different puzzles and it helps with your little one’s hand-eye coordination.
3) AniMatch
This is a simple matching game. This game makes the list due to the cute animal noises and animal faces. This app is for an older tot (2 to 3 years old) because there are lots of puzzle pieces to match. There is also a free version of this app available.
4) Monkey Preschool: When I Grow Up
Similar concept as the Elmo game, except here you select an occupation for your monkey. It has unlimited play with many options.
5) Alphabets in the Zoo (pictured)
There are four parts to this app. The play mode is actually a video of the animal alphabet song. The graphics are sometimes blurry, but the creativeness and the song makeup for it. The other nice feature is flash cards of the animals that were in the song. The flash cards have four buttons, which tell your kiddo more about the animals featured in the song. There is also a karaoke option, which is totally pointless because it the same video without sound, and finally there is a poor quality matching game with annoying sounds. All in all, the alphabet video is adorable and the flashcards are informative.
A big list of official stores on CheapTweet
To make it as easy as possible to find the deals you want when you want them, here’s a list of the official pages for some of the most searched-for brands and stores on CheapTweet.