TO SAY Woolies shareholders were angry would be an understatement. What were they unhappy with? Take your pick.
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1OhMlib
الأربعاء، 25 نوفمبر 2015
Aussies miss out on VW compo
AMERICAN owners of Volkswagen cars with dodgy diesel engines have been given $500, but it looks like Aussies will be given no compensation.
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1PbaGaI
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1PbaGaI
Why Star Wars is already a hit
DISNEY’S Star Wars: The Force Awakens is less than a month away and its already a massive hit — and not just in ticket sales.
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1MSqDg9
Source NEWS.com.au | Business http://ift.tt/1MSqDg9
Ditch the Black Friday Crowds and Shop These 14 Small Businesses With Big Online Sales
Some people love the Black Friday experience: the crowds, the excitement, the victorious feeling of scoring a great deal.
Me? I’m not a fan of big lines or chain stores, so I’ve avoided Black Friday shopping like the plague.
But, let’s face it: That’s not going to get me any deals. Thankfully, the Internet has been a game-changer for people like me.
You no longer need to battle the crowds on Black Friday or only shop at major retailers.
Why? Because many small businesses are offering sales of their own — some you can even access from the comfort of your own couch.
If you want to skip the lines and support small businesses this Black Friday, here are 14 small retailers with big online sales. Many are offering exclusive discounts for our readers!
Black Friday Deals for Pet Owners
Are you the proud parent of a “fur baby”? These sales are for you.
Simply Stout
Simply Stout has a small — but cute — selection of handmade dog toys and accessories for your pet (or pet-obsessed friend).
Our Pick: Black and White Houndstooth Dog Bow Tie ($12.99)
Black Friday through Dec. 4, 2015: 20% off any purchase using code “PENNY20”; free shipping on orders over $40
Ruffit Dog Carriers
Want a snazzy way to bring your best friend along for the ride? Check out these doggy backpacks from Ruffit!
Black Friday to Cyber Monday: $59 each (40% off)
Pawstruck
If you wish you could find healthy food for your dog, look no further than Pawstruck. All the chews, bones, food and treats on this site are made from all-natural ingredients.
Our Pick: Merrick Turducken Chicken Bites ($7.49)
Black Friday: Free Fetchers Candy Cane dog treat with every purchase made between Wednesday, Nov. 25 through midnight PST on Black Friday
Cyber Monday: 25% off everything sitewide using code “PENNYHOARDER”; free shipping on orders over $49
Black Friday Deals for Beauty Lovers…
Beauty products make great stocking stuffers — and we won’t tell if you keep a few for yourself!
Saving Grace Hair
If you dye your hair, you know how annoying it is when your roots begin to show in between treatments. Saving Grace Hair powder is here to the rescue! It covers your roots and absorbs excess oil.
Our Pick: Dark Brown Hair Powder ($14.99)
Black Friday to Cyber Monday: 35% off any purchase from now until Nov. 30, 2015 using code “PENNYHOARDER35”
Ellovi
Feed your skin well with natural body butter from Ellovi, made from only six ingredients. (They say you can actually eat it!)
Our Pick: Vanilla Lip Butter ($5)
Black Friday to Cyber Monday: Buy one, get one free on any product; free shipping in the U.S.
New Leaf Naturals
New Leaf Naturals also offers an array of natural bath and beauty products in yummy scents.
Our Pick: Stink Stopper All Natural Deodorant ($7)
Black Friday to Cyber Monday: Buy three lip balms, get the fourth free using code “BFLIP15”; buy one gift set, get one 50% off using code “BFGIFT15”
Dec. 1-18: 10% off any order $10 or more using code “PHRDR15” (exclusively for The Penny Hoarder readers!)
Black Friday Deals for Fashionistas
Let’s face it: The dress you wore to every holiday party last year isn’t going to cut it this season.
Unique Vintage
If you’ve got vintage tastes, you might like Unique Vintage, which has everything from dresses to swimwear and shoes.
Our Pick: Red & White Polka Dot Fit and Flare Dress ($52)
Cyber Week: 25% off sitewide, including clearance items
Black Friday: Choose from a variety of dresses for $25 — up to 80% off!
Cyber Monday: 30% off sitewide
Clipa
Nobody wants to leave their purse on the floor while eating out or sitting at the bar. Clipa is an attractive purse hanger that stays on your bag so you don’t lose it.
Our Pick: Clipa 2 in Matte Silver ($15.99)
Black Friday: 10% off any Clipa using code “PENNYHOARDER”; plus a free gift bag for each Clipa ordered, and one free gift per order
Black Friday Deals for Homebodies
Whether you’re an aspiring Martha Stewart or a true couch potato, the following sales are right up your alley.
Grab Green
If you’re like me, you wish you used greener products around the house — but balk at the cost.
Grab Green has great prices on non-toxic laundry and cleaning products, and is offering a massive 75% discount for 10 minutes on the morning of Black Friday!
Our Pick: Fragrance-Free Laundry Care Starter Bundle ($23.75)
Black Friday: 75% off everything from 10 a.m. to 10:10 a.m. EST using code “blackfriday20152”; 50% off sitewide using the same code after that.
Huckle & Goose
What a cool idea: Huckle & Goose sends you curated meal plans featuring high-quality recipes and seasonal ingredients. Never let the farmers market stump you again!
Our Pick: Dinner Meal Plan ($12 per month)
Black Friday: 50% off monthly meal plans using code “PENNYHOARDER” through Dec. 31, 2015
Black Friday Deals for Parents
Expecting a new addition? Or just trying to stay sane with the little ones you have? Check out the following stores.
Preggo Leggings
I don’t know about you, but I wish I could wear leggings all the time. If I ever get pregnant — I will.
Preggo Leggings are a fun option that grow with you during your pregnancy.
Our Pick: Kiss Me Hello Leggings ($35)
Black Friday to Cyber Monday: 40% off sitewide using code “PENNY40” (Penny Hoarders get exclusive early access starting at 6 p.m. EST on Thursday!)
Wiggletot
When it comes time to change a diaper, I usually hand back the kid.
But if you’re a parent, you might like Wiggletot’s changing table vest, which attaches to the changing pad and keeps your baby in one place.
Our Pick: Wiggletot Changer Detachable Vest and Changing Pad Cover ($39.99)
Black Friday to Cyber Monday: Buy one, get one free using code “BOGO”; or get 35% off using code “PENNY” (exclusive for our readers!)
Print Art Kids
Want to keep your kids’ art for posterity? Print Art Kids is a cute site that lets you turn artwork into notebooks, cards, return address labels, etc.
Black Friday to Cyber Monday: Free sheet of 30 return address labels with purchase of $75 or more using code “TPHRAL”; or free set of eight custom blank notecards with purchase of $75 or more using code “TPHNC8”; plus, Penny Hoarder readers will get an additional 10% discount to use on a future order of $75 or more
Black N Bianco
I don’t know why a baby would need to wear a suit — but I’m all about it because they look a-dor-able.
If your child is in need of formal wear, Black N Bianco seems to have good prices. (Not sure what the going rate on a baby tux is…)
Our Pick: Baby Boy’s Wedding Tuxedo with Tail ($19.99)
Black Friday: 70% off all pinstripe suits; 50% off boy’s black suits and tuxedos; 30% off boy’s white suits and tuxedos; free shipping
See? You don’t have to wait in line or only buy from big box stores on Black Friday.
I’ll be supporting small businesses from my official station — the couch.
Your Turn: What’s your favorite small online retailer?
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. We would have shared them with you anyway, but a true “penny hoarder” would be a fool not to take the company’s money.
Susan Shain, senior writer for The Penny Hoarder, is always seeking adventure on a budget. Visit her blog at susanshain.com, or say hi on Twitter @susan_shain.
This post originally appeared on our special Black Friday site.
The post Ditch the Black Friday Crowds and Shop These 14 Small Businesses With Big Online Sales appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1kU4Def
We’re Live-Blogging Black Friday, Starting Right Now
I’m Kyle Taylor, founder of The Penny Hoarder. If you want to learn how you can save this Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you need to check out our special Black Friday site.
My team and I will provide nonstop coverage for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Think of us as your personal savings concierge. We’ll break the latest deals and provide tips for how to maximize your savings.
We will be online and available at these times:
Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 3 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 27 at 3 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 30 at 12 p.m. through Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 12 a.m.
We’ll even be available via live chat to answer any questions you may have about Black Friday shopping.
Features
Here are a few tips & tricks to navigate the Black Friday site most effectively:
Live chat: Our roster of employees will be available around the clock via live chat, Twitter and Facebook to answer reader questions about how to get the best deals.
Navigation tool: You can view “all feeds” or your feed of choice (e.g. the latest deals, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or YouTube updates).
Deals: Purple blog posts feature quick deals, while the hot pink blog posts are original articles about how to crush Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
We’re looking forward to helping you make the most of your Black Friday shopping! Come join us here.
The post We’re Live-Blogging Black Friday, Starting Right Now appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1Osmsul
Here’s What Living Cheaply in Another Country Looks Like
American retirees looking for a low cost of living and a comfortable climate are increasingly packing up for cheap, warm countries abroad. Around 615,000 Americans reportedly received their Social Security checks outside the U.S. in early 2015, an increase of 57% since the year 2000.
As Bloomberg notes, a strong dollar — coupled with a decline in other currencies — continues to play a part in the number of Americans who retire on the cheap overseas. In Mexico, for example, a devalued peso has meant lower living expenses for those who reside in the country but continue to bring in American income.
Still, it’s not just retirees who find living abroad appealing — many young people and families are living their lives overseas by choice, too. Some are drawn by the cheaper cost of living and slower pace of life. For others, it’s work, love, or family connections. For Joseph Hogue of PeerFinance101, it’s all of the above.
Hogue moved to the South American country of Colombia in 2006 for work. While there, he met his future wife, fell in love, and settled down. And when he moved back to the United States, she moved with him. But it didn’t last.
“We decided to move back because we were falling into the trap of ‘living to work’ in the States,” Hogue says. “Working long hours to further our careers and not spending the family time that we wanted.”
Hogue says the culture in Colombia is much more “work to live” than anything else, and everything revolves around family. Further, he knew that if he stayed in a traditional job in the States, he would be committing to long days in the office. At the end of the day, that lifestyle wasn’t what he wanted. Plus, he wanted to work less and save more, which is a difficult balance to achieve in the United States, he says.
“Because of the low cost of living in Medellin, Colombia,” Hogue says, “I can make more than enough to support the family while my wife goes to school full time for nursing.”
What Living Cheaply in Another Country Really Looks Like
But what does an overseas budget really look like? To find out, we asked Hogue to create a line-item budget for any average-looking month during 2015. Not only did he outline his average monthly expenses, but he converted them from Colombian pesos to American dollars as well.
Based on a monthly pre-tax income of around $3,250, here’s what living cheaply in Colombia looks like:
|
Expense
|
Monthly Cost (August 2015)
|
|---|---|
| Rent | $280.85 |
| Groceries | $154.30 |
| Dining Out | $73.25 |
| Entertainment | $70.65 |
| Health Insurance | $135.45 |
| Transportation | $60.11 |
| Travel | $158.33 |
| Travel | $158.33 |
| Student Loans | $115.35 |
| Water, Electric, and Gas | $60.34 |
| Cable & Internet | $43.50 |
| Cell Phones | $35.00 |
| Daycare | $65.00 |
| Clothes & Misc. | $50.32 |
| Savings | $160 |
| Retirement Savings | $900 |
| Investment Accounts | $891.30 |
As you can see, the Hogues’ biggest savings are in the monthly expenses that are hardest for most Americans to avoid — housing, food costs, day care, and transportation. Hogue says the savings accrued in these categories are partly due to their frugal mindset, but also because Colombia is an inexpensive country to begin with.
For example, the family lives in a middle-class neighborhood called Calasanz, which is just off a major transportation route. Their apartment has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and room for a housekeeper, but is probably more than they need.
Medellin, Colombia. Photo: Carlos Tobon Franco
To save money on food, the Hogues say they do most of their shopping at a discount grocery store. “Fruits and vegetables are bought fresh here every few days at a corner store,” he says. “Every few months, we’ll go to PriceMart to get a few things from the States that you can’t find here.” In case you were wondering, that list includes Pop Tarts.
And because they live in an area with ample public transportation, the family doesn’t need a car. That’s a huge savings, says Hogue. “We have an (elevated) train, similar to Chicago, and a huge network of buses. I love not having a car.”
Meanwhile, day care in Colombia is an absolute steal — $65? For the month? With childcare costs in the United States exceeding the cost of a monthly mortgage payment in some cases, that’s hard to believe.
“This is one of the best savings we’ve found compared to the States,” says Hogue. “We were paying $175 a week when we left the United States.”
And before you ask — yes, the Hogues do pay taxes. Since Joseph is self-employed, he pays what he owes quarterly based on his fluctuating income. But since they stash away so much in retirement and earn an average income, he doesn’t owe much, he says.
Final Thoughts
Living abroad on the cheap works well for the Hogue family. Not only can they save around half their income this way, but they get to live close to his wife’s family and enjoy an ideal lifestyle as well. And the fact that they don’t earn a ton of money means the tax burden many families face from living abroad isn’t much of an issue.
However, that doesn’t mean living abroad is for everyone. Immersing yourself in another culture for a time may sound nice, but leaving the good ol’ U.S.A. for the long run has its risks as well.
Remember, it’s possible to live on half your income in the United States, too, if you put your mind to it. The same rules of frugality apply no matter where you live; it’s up to you to make it work.
Have you considered living or retiring abroad someday?
The post Here’s What Living Cheaply in Another Country Looks Like appeared first on The Simple Dollar.
Source The Simple Dollar The Simple Dollar http://ift.tt/1HnEG0D
Google Will Text You About Black Friday Sales. But Is It Worth Signing Up? Here’s Our Take…
If you’re antsy about getting the best deals this Black Friday, you probably wish the deals could come to you instead of hunting them down all day. Isn’t there a better way to learn about sales!?
That must be what the innovators at Google thought, too, because they recently launched a new service that alerts customers via text message about sales and deals.
“People can click to subscribe to a Google service that tailors promotional messages to products they’re interested in,” Google’s AdWords team shared in a Google Plus post earlier this month. So far, the program is only available for cellular customers in the U.S.
Since I am a person who loves receiving tailored messages — the “products you might be interested in” section of Etsy was my gateway drug — I signed up.
Here’s a review of my experience, plus my verdict, so you can decide whether these alerts are worth your time.
How Google’s New Sales Text Messages Work
Notice the Google team described this new service as “promotional messages.” That’s corporate-speak for advertising.
It means Google isn’t necessarily curating the deals they send to you to make sure they’re worth your time (like we’re doing on our Black Friday live blog). Instead, they’re offering placements to companies who are willing to pay to reach consumers.
Maybe I’m a total sucker for volunteering to have advertisements sent to me. But Google knows people spend lots of time researching shopping options on mobile devices, thanks to a 2013 research study it did with Nielsen.
More than half of those people researching a potential purchase on their phones want to be able to buy something within the hour, Google learned.
So the company’s helping advertisers corner customers by cutting out the search element altogether, hoping the novelty of deal discovery wins over consumers.
What does this mean for shoppers?
Google has three numbers that send text alerts: one each for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and general holiday deals. Signing up was as easy as texting “join” to each number. I sat back, relaxed, and waited for deal offers to arrive.
And I waited.
And waited.
Giving Google’s Holiday Deal Texts a Try
More than a week after I signed up, finally I started getting text messages on the “Black Friday” line. Let’s get this holiday shopping party started, shall we?
“BuildDirect: Black Friday sale on BuildDirect floors. Up to xtra 45% off. Order free samples b4 sale starts.” The link went to BuildDirect’s mobile homepage.
I don’t need floors. Hard pass.
The next day: “PBteen: Find The Perfect Gift At The Great Gift Event! Enjoy 20% Off Your Order Until Sunday Only at PBteen.”
What the heck is PBteen? Clicking the link revealed it’s Pottery Barn for teens. But the site didn’t explain whether the 20% off was good immediately, or only during Thanksgiving weekend.
Then there’s the whole “I’m not a teen, nor do I live with one” thing. So far, these messages didn’t seem very tailored.
Next, came an alert from a store I had never heard of:
“Rep Your Team Spirit With 20% Off All Mobile Orders Over $50 On Fanatics.com! Some Exclusions Apply.”
How about some discounts I can get excited about? A sale on the new Mindy Kaling book, or maybe some bluetooth headphones.
My request was soon answered with a text reading:
“Stage Stores: Stage Stores’ Black Friday sneak peek! $19.99 Rampage boots, $96.99 Beats headphones and more.”
Headphones! But when I clicked on the link, all I got was a page that said, “Oops! We’re really busy today. Our associates will fix the problem as soon as possible.”
(I didn’t even know what Stage Stores was. I later figured out it’s a department store chain far from my home.)
One last submission for your review: A text offering half off a Sony TV. “Abt Electronics: 50% off on Sony 4K HDTV @Abt.”
Visiting the Abt Electronics site revealed, halfway down the page, the 43” TV as a featured sale item. The price wasn’t visible, so I had to click on the product to find out the list price is $1,599 and the sale price is $698.
I don’t need a TV, but I considered the deal. The price was right, and I was surprised to find that the website offered free ground shipping just like the big-box stores.
But did I want to spend $700 with a company I had never heard of, to get a product I could also get at the Target down the street? I wasn’t sure price alone would convince me to try a new retailer after learning about them through a text message.
Verdict: Skip Black Friday Texts, Keep Holiday Alerts
The big shopping weekend is almost upon us, and all I’ve gotten are lackluster Black Friday discounts that don’t seem incredibly exclusive or time-sensitive. I haven’t received a single Cyber Monday alert, although I expect my phone to explode that day.
The Verdict: If you’re looking for red-hot deals from big stores you already have on your shopping list, Google’s SMS alerts probably aren’t worth your time.
But if you’re curious, the general “holiday deals” text line might come through with some interesting deals.
The only text message I’ve received from that number so far has said, “Pottery Barn: 40% off All Robes and Slippers Only Today!”
Clicking the link in the message took me directly to the “robes and slippers” sales page that highlighted only those discounted items. The pictures were big, the text was clear, and I could focus on the sale I had come here to explore.
Now that’s a mobile shopping experience I can endorse.
Your Turn: Have you tried Google’s text alerts? Did you get better options than I did?
Disclosure: We have a serious Taco Bell addiction around here. The affiliate links in this post help us order off the dollar menu. Thanks for your support!
Lisa Rowan is a writer, editor, and podcaster living in Washington, D.C.
This post originally appeared on our special Black Friday site.
The post Google Will Text You About Black Friday Sales. But Is It Worth Signing Up? Here’s Our Take… appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1Xrmncp
This Family Makes $1,000 a Month By Renting Out a Strange Part of Their House
My husband and I bought our first house together one year ago. We had been married for three years and lived in three different rentals, and we were ready to settle.
We had a few requirements: The house needed a decent-sized backyard, three bedrooms on the main floor, an eat-in kitchen and minimal renovations. We also wanted a basement apartment, or the ability to turn a basement into a living space.
After a few months of searching, we found the exact home we were looking for. Normally it would’ve been out of our price range. But we had an unconventional plan for covering part of the mortgage: getting a tenant to rent our basement.
The money that comes in from our renter covers 65% of our monthly mortgage. That’s a lot! Imagine if you were able to offset more than half of your monthly payment!
Because this strategy has worked so well for us, we want to help others do the same. Here are five ways we’ve benefited from renting out our basement.
1. Renting Helps Us Own Our Home
As I mentioned above, 65% of our monthly mortgage is paid off by our renter. This is a huge chunk of money.
My husband and I always wanted to pay off the majority of our mortgage with a renter. It allows us to have a nicer home than we’d otherwise be able to afford and decreases our expenses at the same time — a win-win.
Before beginning the house search, we researched how much landlords were charging for apartments in our preferred area. Better yet, we tried to find out how much people were charging for the same type of apartment we hoped to offer to get an idea of what we could get for it.
Important considerations: the amount of bedrooms your apartment will have, the light in the apartment (especially if it’s a basement), a separate entrance for your renter(s) and the overall size of the apartment.
Also, we had a set amount we hoped to make as landlords. When looking at houses, we made sure the home we purchased would allow us to stick to this figure.
2. Being a Landlord Means Steady and Easy Income
The $1,000 we make each month is an amount of money we can count on. We set up a payment plan that works for our renter and for us. And, since our tenant signed a year lease, we don’t have to worry about a suddenly empty apartment.
To get this arrangement, we had to pick a renter we could trust. We carefully reviewed applications and conducted interviews to be certain we were choosing someone dependable. This effort on the front end made our job as landlords easier over time.
By “easy income,” I mean low maintenance. After setting up the apartment and deciding on utilities, we have not had to do much (if any) work, yet we still continue to get paid. While complaints and repairs are on us, we’ve found the work to be minimal for $1,000 a month.
3. I Can Stay at Home
Steady rental income has positively affected our household bottom line, allowing me to forgo a full-time traditional job and work as a stay-at-home mom.
This has always been our plan, and it would be much harder to achieve if we didn’t rent out our basement.
4. It Means a Simpler Life
In our house, we don’t have a TV room, play room or formal dining room. This also means we don’t have room for a lot of unnecessary items.
While less room might sound like a negative, for us, it’s a positive. Living in a smaller home and living simply saves us money, and makes us more grateful for what we do have. Having fewer rooms and less stuff also means we spend less time cleaning!
5. It Promotes a Sense of Community and Provides Protection
As I explained above, we carefully interviewed and got to know our renter before agreeing she could live in our basement. This is important, as this person(s) will be, in a sense, living with you.
They could be sharing your backyard or laundry room, and you’ll most likely see them quite often. You’ll want to make sure they are trustworthy, especially if you have children in the house.
Once you’ve found someone you can trust, it becomes a beautiful act to share your house. It’s easy to simply go from your car to your house without taking the time to talk to your neighbors. With a renter, you have the chance to get to know someone on a more personal level.
Plus, having someone live in our basement gives us a sense of safety. When my family goes on vacation, we trust our tenant to watch out for our house, and when I’m home alone with my baby on the late evenings my husband works, I have someone around in case anything goes wrong.
We’re happy with our living situation — for us, renting out the basement has a lot of perks. If you’re looking for ways to earn some extra money, consider looking for a house with a basement apartment!
Your Turn: Would you ever rent out your basement to make extra income?
Esther Vandersluis lives in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, with her hard-working husband and energetic baby girl. She enjoys making their house a home through DIY decorations, writing about daily life and reading during naptimes. You can find her blog at http://ift.tt/1POP4Ru, where she writes about living a life of intentionality and purpose by waking up each day with an attitude of gratefulness.
The post This Family Makes $1,000 a Month By Renting Out a Strange Part of Their House appeared first on The Penny Hoarder.
source The Penny Hoarder http://ift.tt/1Xr63IV
Autumn Statement 2015: tax rates and allowances for 2016/17
George Osborne today confirmed the income tax allowance for 2015/16 will rise to £11,000, equivalent to £212 a week of tax-free earnings for all but the highest paid.
Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1Sku3vL
Autumn Statement 2015: bad news for student loan borrowers
The Chancellor announced a series of changes to student loans in his Autumn Statement, including retrospective tweaks that have led to accusations of the government “mis-selling” the loans.
People with student loans borrowed on or after 1 September 2012 must currently repay 9% of everything they earn above a threshold of £21,000 after graduation.
Source Moneywise http://ift.tt/1Sku572
The 16 Best Pinterest Tools for Social Media Marketers
It’s easy to waste hours every week on social media, doing things that could be automated…
…or at the very least done faster with the right tools.
Add up those few hours a week, and you’ll see that the average social media marketer easily wastes over 100 hours a year.
I’m guessing you have better things to do with your time than mess around on social media.
In this post, I’ll address one network in particular—Pinterest.
The massive, image-based social media site is one of the best for finding new customers:
The average user on Pinterest has money and is willing to spend it.
That being said, Pinterest isn’t for every business. Considering that Pinterest is dominated by American women (68% female), it works better for certain niches than for others.
If you’re not sure if Pinterest is right for your business, check out my complete guide to creating a social media strategy.
Assuming that Pinterest is a good fit for you, you want to make sure that you have the right tools for the job.
Tools can help you:
- save time
- get better results (more pins, repins, and traffic)
- be consistent (less effort on your part)
I’ve compiled a list of the 16 best Pinterest tools for social media marketers. I’ve divided them into four main categories.
You won’t need all of them, but if you pick one from each section, you’ll save a lot of time and get a lot more out of your time on Pinterest.
For posting content easily and more efficiently
The tools in this section all make your life easier by helping you post images to Pinterest faster.
Not only that, but most of them also provide some sort of a visual schedule, so you know if you’re posting as much as you’d like.
Let’s jump into tool #1…
1. Buffer: Buffer needs to be included in any list of social media tools for the big networks.
While it originally did not have support for Pinterest, it does now.
Buffer does a few things and does them really well. It allows you to:
- pin images automatically – Buffer will automatically pin content to your account when you tell it to (you have to supply the content).
- create a posting schedule – you tell Buffer which times of the day (and which days) you want to make posts.
- easily add images to your queue - Buffer pulls images from your queue in the order you add them. You can add images to your queue using the tool or browser extensions.
- post to multiple networks - although we’re concerned only with Pinterest here, you can also connect your Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn accounts. Then, you can tell Buffer to post the same image to any of those accounts as well.
After you’ve created a Buffer account, the first thing you want to do is connect your Pinterest account.
All you need to do is authenticate the app with a click of a button.
Next, you’ll want to head over to your schedule tab. Here, pick the days you’d like to post, the number of times you’d like to post each day, and specific times to post.
The final piece of the puzzle is to add content to your queue. From there, Buffer does all the hard work.
Like I mentioned before, you have a few different options to do this.
First, you can add the content through Buffer itself. Go to the content tab to see your existing queue, and then add a post into the text area. Make sure your Pinterest account is highlighted (which will allow you to pick a board to post to).
If you ever return to your queue, Buffer will show you a list of any content you’ve added, organized by the time it’s supposed to be posted.
Additionally, you can install the Buffer browser extension.
Once you do, you will see a “share image” button on any image you come across on the web. Click it, and a message composer will come up, which will allow you to customize the message and add it to your queue:
Finally, on top of allowing you to schedule pins automatically, Buffer will also show you the performance of each pin as well as your account overall. You can see the number of followers you’re gaining as well as the amount of engagement you’re getting on your pins:
2. Tailwind: Like Buffer, Tailwind is a tool that allows you to schedule pins.
However, it’s a tool specifically designed for Pinterest. This is a good thing if you only focus on Pinterest for your business. It’s a bad thing if you also use other networks because then you’ll need extra tools to handle them.
It also has a few extra features that you might find useful.
First, create your Tailwind account, and let it access your Pinterest account. It would also be a good idea to add the browser extension at this point.
Just like in Buffer, you can go to the settings and set your own schedule for posting.
Once you do, you can click on “create new pin” in your main schedule tab, which will bring up a window that is similar to what you’d see on Pinterest:
This same window will also pop up on any webpage if you click the Tailwind button that shows up on an image (if you’ve installed the extension).
Pick your board and description, and indicate whether you’d like to post it to Facebook or Twitter. It does have that feature even though it doesn’t support those networks beyond it.
At any time, you can return to your schedule tab and see the pins you have in your queue and when they’ll be posted.
You can also see a nice visual schedule in the right sidebar.
Once you’ve made some pins, you can go to the “pin inspector” (using the left side menu) and see how each individual pin performed. You can sort it by any engagement metric.
You can also dig in further and let Tailwind analyze all your boards to see which one gets the most engagement for each pin.
If you see that one board has a high engagement and virality score, you should focus more of your effort on it. Conversely, you may want to delete any low performing boards.
Overall, it’s a very complete tool and can replace 2-3 smaller Pinterest tools. There’s a lot more beyond the essentials I went over here.
3. ViralTag: This is another good option when it comes to scheduling pins, but it isn’t quite as in-depth as the first two options. But this could be a good thing if you’re just looking for the bare minimum.
The first thing you’ll want to do is create an account. Then, drag the ViralTag bookmarklet into your browser.
It creates a little bookmark on your bookmarks bar.
Whenever you’re on a page with images, you can click the bookmarklet, and a pop-up window will show you all the images on the page:
Click each image to add a checkmark to the top left corner (or click again to take it away).
If an image is checked, you’re telling ViralTag that you want to share that image.
After you click Next, you’ll have the option to choose which board to post the images to as well as to set a time and provide other image information:
You can always go back to your ViralTag account and change any of that information:
This tool is best for marketers who typically post images others have created (which is fine on Pinterest with attribution).
You can quickly add several images to your queue while you are browsing other boards on Pinterest.
4. IFTTT: IFTTT stands for “If this, then that.” It’s an automation tool that you can use in many areas of marketing.
Not only is it incredibly useful but it’s also free.
Here’s how it works:
- you define “this” - specify an action. It could be a post being published or something being shared. “This” is some sort of action.
- you define “that” – another action that you specify. When the “this” event occurs, the tool will automatically do the “that” action that you specified.
The combination of both is called a recipe. Here are a few examples:
You can use IFTTT with just about any website, including most social networks.
The great thing is that you don’t need to come up with recipes yourself. Chances are other marketers have already come up with and published the recipes you could benefit from.
Here are the top IFTTT recipes for Pinterest.
Let me show you how to set up a recipe once you find one that looks useful.
If you’re on Pinterest, you might also be using another image-based social channel—Instagram.
This recipe automatically posts any picture you post on Instagram onto a Pinterest board:
First, you’ll need to connect each channel. You only have to do this once for each account.
Click the “Connect” button, and give IFTTT access to each account.
Then, all you will see is an Add Recipe button:
Click this, and the recipe will be activated. That’s it!
5. Hootsuite: Hootsuite has been one of the top tools for social media marketers for years.
It’s received some criticism for not evolving as quickly as other tools, but it still has all the core features you’ll need.
Something that’s really cool is that Hootsuite can be integrated with other tools we’ve looked at when it comes to Pinterest.
For example, Hootsuite can be integrated with Tailwind.
You get to use all the features of both Tailwind and Hootsuite.
And if there’s one thing Hootsuite excels at, it’s letting you create a great dashboard.
As you can see from the picture above, you can get a lot of useful information on your screen, like a list of your scheduled pins and your calendar.
You can control which panels are shown on your account. Click “+ Add Stream” at the top of the dashboard, and choose from the many options.
The other common option for Hootsuite integration is ViralTag. Again, you can schedule pins, see how your recent pins are performing, and edit any scheduled pins before they go live.
Hootsuite by itself isn’t a great option, but when you combine it with ViralTag or Tailwind, it can be. It’s especially useful if you like what those other tools can do but don’t like their interface.
Make the most of Pinterest
This next batch of tools help you use Pinterest more effectively (and more efficiently).
If you use them as intended, you will be able to get more pins, more traffic, and a higher conversion rate.
6. PinGroupie: One of the most underrated tactics for getting traffic from Pinterest is becoming a part of group boards.
Any member of the group can contribute to such a board.
Some boards have tens of thousands of members, and a large chunk of those are active members.
When you pin something on one of those boards, it’s automatically going to be seen by thousands of users. If you’re posting interesting images, you can regularly get hundreds of pins.
And all of this is without a following of your own.
The tough part is finding these groups. After you do, you usually have to send a request to join. As long as your account looks natural, you typically get accepted.
PinGroupie is a simple tool that makes finding groups much easier.
It’s basically a database of high-activity Pinterest groups. You can search the database for groups that fit your niche.
There are a few different ways you can use the tool:
- specify a category - using the category drop-down menu, you can pick a broad category you want to see. This is best if you have an authority site that covers many topics in a niche.
- filter by title – you can enter a word in the “title” box and then click the “filter” button to see groups with that word in the title.
- filter by description - you can also enter a word in the “description” box and click the “filter” button to see groups with that word in the description. This is better in most cases since descriptions have more words than titles.
All three ways can work, so try them all, and make a list of groups to join.
After you get accepted to them, make sure you’re not spamming them with your own content. Contribute other content on a regular basis.
7. PinAlerts: Pinterest does something neat. When someone repins something you originally pinned, it sends you a notification.
That allows you to do things like follow that person in the hopes that they follow you back. This leads to more pins in the future.
You know what would be even more useful? Getting a notification every time someone pinned something from your website.
If you’re using high quality pictures in your blog content, many of your readers will pin them.
If you knew when they did this, you could not only follow them but also repin their original pin of your image and possibly comment as well.
If you haven’t guessed yet, this is a tool that sends you a notification when someone pins something from your site.
There are three steps to set it up.
First, you enter your domain into the tool. Then, you choose what kind of alerts you’d like to receive. Finally, you press the button to create it (hard, I know).
It’s not pretty, but it works.
8. LoveList: This tool is really useful if you find yourself in stores a lot.
It was originally created when a couple was trying to put together a wedding registry but couldn’t find an easy way to do it.
So, they created this tool.
You scan the barcode of products in stores with your phone, and the tool will automatically pin pictures of those products to a Pinterest board (that you specify).
This tool won’t be for everyone. However, if you run a business about a hobby, let’s say home decorating, you might find yourself in decorating stores often, especially if you’re really passionate about it.
You might as well make the most of your time and load up your Pinterest account while you’re doing it.
9. Loop88: Some marketers are great at building social media accounts and getting highly engaged followers.
However, it’s not always easy to convert that into profit.
This tool was created to connect popular pinners to advertisers.
Fair warning: To get accepted, you will need a fairly popular account.
They work with brands of all sizes, including big ones. For example, the TV show “The Mindy Project” wanted to build brand awareness.
They paid pinners (through this tool) to post quotes from the show:
I don’t know the exact payouts from this tool, but I think a moderately popular account could make an extra few hundred dollars a month.
It’s just another way to generate some revenue with your social media efforts without too much extra work.
Get more shares and traffic with these tools
Let’s shift directions a little bit…
Now I want to share some tools that will help you get more pins and overall traffic from Pinterest.
Considering these are two of the most important metrics when it comes to Pinterest marketing, these tools are pretty useful.
10. SumoMe Image Sharer: This tool is actually a website plugin that will take you just a few minutes to install.
However, it can lead to hundreds or even thousands of extra pins over time. Oh, and it’s free.
When a reader of your blog sees an amazing picture on your website, what do they do?
In most cases, nothing.
Even if they have a Pinterest account, only a small portion of those readers will think to share the image.
Why? Because nothing prompts them to make the connection that this picture might be a good one to pin.
Additionally, some won’t pin it because they’re lazy.
You’re missing out on extra pins and traffic because of this.
The image sharer tool allows you to add floating buttons to all your images.
You’ve likely seen it before on other blogs.
Now, readers of your blog can just click the Pinterest button, allowing them to post an image in under 30 seconds.
You can also add other network buttons to your images, but typically the Pinterest button will work best.
11. Pinterest widgets: Sometimes, we look to other tools to do some extra things we need. Pinterest actually has a really useful widget creator tool that can create attractive widgets for your website.
There’s no need to find other tools to use if you’re looking to highlight your Pinterest account or recent pins somewhere on your website (usually the sidebar).
You can pick from a variety of different widgets in the tool. Click one of the boxes to select a widget.
In the example below, I picked a board:
You add the URL of the board and pick a size, and then you can see what it will look like in the preview.
After, it will generate a code that you can copy and paste into your website.
You can also feature your Pinterest profile as a whole or as a single pin, or you can create pin and follow buttons.
The default design will follow the standard Pinterest color scheme, but you can always edit the CSS to create a custom display.
12. Rich pins validator: On top of regular pins, it’s also possible to create “rich pins.”
These pins stand out among regular pins and typically get extra shares and engagement (Target got 70% more traffic with rich pins).
These pins consist of an image and also have useful information for users.
Here’s an example of a film rich pin:
You can see why that would stand out from just an image of the movie cover as a regular pin.
On top of movies, you can also create rich pins for:
- Places
- Articles
- Products
- Recipes
In order to get rich pins to show up when you pin content from your site (or someone else does), you need to have open graph (OG) schema markup on your articles.
Once you do, Pinterest will pull information from those meta tags to use.
The easiest way to do this is by using the SEO plugin by Yoast.
Go to the social settings tab in the plugin, and then go to the “Facebook” tab first. Check the “Add open graph meta data” (both Facebook and Pinterest use the same ones).
Next, go to the Pinterest tab in the settings.
Here, click the link to “verify your site with Pinterest.” This will take you to Pinterest to get a meta tag to add to your site. Add this tag into the space here, and save changes.
Some meta tags will be added to posts automatically.
However, you’ll also want to go into your posts (in the WordPress editor) and scroll down past the content.
You’ll see a box for “Yoast SEO” and a tab for “Social” with a few meta tag fields:
Fill them out for Facebook, and Pinterest will take them when appropriate.
Now back to the tool: I suppose we’re looking at two tools together here. On top of the Yoast plugin, you can now use the rich pin validator.
This will allow you to input a URL from your site into the URL debugger, and it will tell you if everything is set up okay or not.
If all is well, you’ll get a success message:
Create high quality images that get more pins
The final category of tools can help you get even more pins.
To get pins and repins, the main thing you need is great images.
These tools will help you create those images even if you’re not much of a designer.
13. Snappa: You are a marketer, not a designer. While it’s good to have some design skills, chances are you don’t have the time to master Photoshop.
With modern tools, you can still produce awesome pictures perfect for Pinterest.
Snappa is one of them. It’s actually designed specifically for marketers.
When you create an account, you’ll see that you can pick from different image sizes:
In this case, we want the Pinterest pin size, of course.
This will bring up a new screen with different templates on it. You can either choose one of these or create an image from scratch:
This will bring you to the actual image editing window.
Using the menu at the top, you can control what shows up in the left panel. When you click something in the left panel (like a background or graphic), it will be added to your image on the right:
The beauty of this tool is how easy it is to edit the image.
You can click any element and then drag it to move it, drag a corner to resize it, or press Delete to delete it.
If you use the templates, you can easily make your own custom images in less than 5 minutes each. And they look great.
14. Canva: Canva is a lot like Snappa, but it came first. It’s not specifically designed for marketers, but it still has a fair number of templates that will be useful to you.
For pins, click the “More” button under the “Create a design” section on the home page (once you’re signed in):
Then, click “Pinterest Graphic”:
Again, when you’re editing your image, you’ll see two main parts: your image on the right and options on the left.
Start by going to the “layouts” tab on the left, which has a bunch of great templates to choose from:
In addition, you can add text and graphics or change the background using the other tabs.
Of course, you can edit the image itself on the right. Refer to this guide for more detailed instructions on creating your own images using Canva.
15. Pablo: Canva and Snappa are both amazing and simple to use tools. Pablo is even simpler.
If you doubt your design skills and want the easiest option possible, this is it.
This tool was created by the Buffer team, who obviously understand the needs of social media marketers.
On the side menu, choose the “Tall” picture size, which is the perfect size for Pinterest.
Then, pick a background from the left side menu:
Click on the text, and add a custom quote or message your audience will like.
Obviously, this tool is a bit more limited than the others, but it’s a great way to make beautiful pictures with quotes on them, which often get a ton of pins and comments.
16. Picmonkey: Sometimes, you will find a picture you’d like to share, but it doesn’t look good enough to pin.
That’s where a tool such as Picmonkey can be useful. You can change all aspects of the picture such as:
- contrast
- direction (rotation)
- sharpness
- brightness
- color
On top of those useful editing features, you can also add filters to enhance the look of pictures (just don’t go overboard with them).
Click the little flask icon on the left menu, and you’ll get a list of different filters. Click on a filter to apply it to the image on the right:
Conclusion
Pinterest is one of the best platforms for social media marketers.
However, you want to make sure that you’re getting the best return on your time and effort.
I’ve shown you 16 awesome tools you can use to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your Pinterest marketing.
I don’t expect you to use them all, but it’d be a good idea to try a few at a time until you determine which ones fit well into your marketing.
I’d also like to hear about any great tools I missed in this post, so leave me a comment below and let me know about them.
Source Quick Sprout http://ift.tt/1Hn4auY
الاشتراك في:
الرسائل (Atom)