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Archive for May, 2010
$182 FitnessUWear Wearable Workout Giveaway! Women over 45
YOUR WEARABLE WORKOUT! FitnessUWear
Contest Closed–Winners initials are KH. She has been notified, waiting for confirmation. I wish I could have awarded a prize to all of you!
Our Giveaway today is for FitnessUWear product line which features low impact resistance wearable exercise bracelets, anklets, and skirts! Check out our Post on FitnessUWear here: http://www.stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/2010/05/may-26-is-national-senior-health.html.
Women over 45 and their younger friends will really love these products. A great way to sneak in exercise!
Included in today”s Giveaway:
½ lb Everyday Banglz – comfortable weighted bracelets can maximize muscle tone and burn more calories during your daily activities with a slight, ongoing resistance. Banglz most Popular item! Colors: Black, Brown and Variety of Colors, One Size: Adjustable with expander!, Set: $24.95
Walker 1 lb Fitness Banglz – Designed for an extra push during low-impact exercise.1lb- Soft, Inspiring, Comfortable Hands-Free Walking Weights To Add Some Muscle Work To Your Walks! Colors: Variety of Colors, One Size: Adjustable with expander!, Set: $27.95
1 lb Ankle Banglz – Designed to be worn throughout the day like an anklet, strengthening lower body and working legs, hips and glutes.Colors: Black, Denim and Pink $36.95
Simple Skirt – made of draping, stretch fabrics and are carefully selected to be sophisticated yet fun. The slight a-line flair looks great on all body types either worn up on the waist or lower on the hips. Sizes: XS-XL Colors: Black, Brown and a Variety of Prints Price: $44.95
Smartslip – made with a special fabric that adds slight, ongoing resistance in every step, targeting hips, glutes and legs while you go about your normal day. Sizes: XS-1x Styles: Full and Low Rise Colors: Black and Neutral Price: $46.95
You can find all the products on www.Banglz.com.
THE PRIZE: 1 Winner–You will receive
- 1/2lb wrist Banglz (set)
- 1lb ankle Banglz (set)
- 1lb wrist Banglz (set)
- 1 Simple skirt
- 1 Smartslip
Contest May 27- June 4, 2010
THE RULES:
Super Simple Main Entry: Answer AT LEAST ONE or all the questions below and email your entry to stillblondeafteralltheseyears@gmail.com. If you answer more, than that counts as extra entries! YIPEE! (it’s okay to put all the answers in one email)
1. Go to this link and email us at the address above: Look under the FitnessUWear logo. What does it say they are the Makers of…(Hint: the logo is at the very top center): http://www.banglz.com/
2. Go to this link and email us at the address above: How does the Smartslip give you a workout? (Hint: 3rd sentence http://www.banglz.com/ShowCategory.aspx?CatId=16
3. Go to this link and email us at the address above: You can buy Banglz and FitnessUWear items on line, where near you can you buy them? http://www.banglz.com/ShowPage.aspx?PageId=7
4. Go to this link and email us at the address above: What was May 26? http://www.stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com/2010/05/may-26-is-national-senior-health.html
5. Go to this link and email us at the address above: What your favorite Simple Skirt color? http://www.banglz.com/ShowProducts.aspx?PTypeId=38
6. Go to this link and email us at the address above: What can fun little item can you buy on this page? http://www.banglz.com/ShowProducts.aspx?PTypeId=42
7. Go to this link and email us at the address above: What parts of your body can you Trim, Tone and Tighten with Ankle Bands? http://www.banglz.com/ShowProducts.aspx?PTypeId=34
8. What’s the latest place Banglz have been featured? http://www.banglz.com/ShowArticles.aspx
Bonus entry:
Leave a separate comment for each BONUS entry in our comment section below.
–Subscribe to our feed burner. You must accept the email in order to get your 5 entries! I will check when drawing the winner! LEARN ABOUT ALL OUR OVER $50 contests by getting our feed!
–Become a Fan of our page on Facebook–Click HERE (2 extra entries)–My facebook fans will have at least one special contest per year just for them!
Giveaway ends June 4, 2010 at midnight. Pacific Time.
Contest open to U.S. residents in the continental US with a valid street address. Item will be shipped to your home. No PO Boxes please. Winner(s) are selected randomly. To claim your prize(s), Stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com will contact you within 48 hours of the contest closing. You must contact Stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com within 48 hours after that with your mailing address so companies can mail your prizes. Prize(s) not claimed by (48 hours) will be forfeited and a new winner will be selected in a live giveaway. Please provide a valid email address to be informed in case you do win a giveaway. Good Luck!
Blog Note: Chief Blonde and Blogger was provided a review sample. No compensation was provided. The opinions are her own.
What do Bloggers get paid for Sponsored Posts? Preliminary Study
Averages Range from $15-60
Did you ever wonder how much to charge/ask for Sponsored Posts? I have recently connected with Still Stacie (a blog for Reviews and Giveaways) and we have worked together to develop this preliminary article. As part of Stacie’s Build a Beautiful Blog Week and the Chief Blonde’s desire to inform her readers who are bloggers, we have decided to tackle some questions that are kicking around out there in blogger land.
This article is a preliminary look at what bloggers are charging for sponsored posts.
Factors Considered when Charging for Sponsored Posts
The major conclusion we have been able to draw from the 42 respondents is that the price they charge “DEPENDS” on a number of factors. These factors include:
· Length of article
· Pre-written Press Release or Inpreted Press releases
· How many link backs required
· What extras are included—Tweets, Facebook postings, etc.
· How many of my blogs do I post it to?
· What is the product/service?
· How relevant is it to my readers?
· Level of complexity
· Pictures required
Factors Affecting Pricing or Offers:
As is typical in any market, the prices charged for sponsored posts vary widely. Factors contributing to this variance include:
· Age of the blog
· Popularity of the blog
· Audience of the blog
· Competency of the Chief Blogger
· Reputation of the blog
What Bloggers are Charging or Getting Paid:
Preliminary results indicate that bloggers are commanding between $2-200 per sponsored post. While the $2 AND the $200 appear to be exceptions, it appears that $15-35 for a short (200 word) 1-2 link post is quite typical, with prices ranging from $30-60 and up, for longer more detailed posts.
Let’s Expand the Study!
We would like you to continue to email us both please (simplystacieblog@gmail.com and stillblondeafteralltheseyears@gmail.com ) with your input so we can do a more extensive article. All we want to know is:
· What you charge for sponsored posts?
· What additional extras do you provide?
We will compile the results, without any reference to your name or your blog, and post the results on our blogs so that you can see exactly what the blogger market is saying you are worth. Information sharing is good for all of us as bloggers. If we have a comprehensive study to point to, we can all validate our worth to advertisers and PR professionals.
For additional thoughts on this topic, please refer to Still Blonde after all these Year’s article on: What’s A Blogger’s Worth–Mini PR Guide–When or What Should a Blogger be Paid?
You can view the article that I co-authored with Simply Stacie here: http://simplystacie.net/what-should-you-charge-for-a-sponsored-post/ ..
Stereovision PCs at the Tipping Point
Jon Peddie Research says S3D PCs will thrive if there is good content to feed demand
| There just might be a stereovision PC in your Christmas stocking this year. Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry’s research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia just completed an in-depth look at the emerging Stereo 3D (S3D) PC market. Titled, “Stereovision in PCs,” The report finds that the S3D market is poised for rapid growth in the immediate future. Close to one million dedicated S3D PCs will ship in 2010. That number will grow to 75 million by 2014 as S3D becomes ubiquitous. |
Table 1: Growth rates from 2010 to 2014
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| Although most PCs will be S3D capable due to the GPUs that are in them, not all PCs will be S3D PCs because they need a special monitor, glasses, and appropriate content. However, S3D PCs will be very attractive to several important market segments. JPR’s report provides forecasts for the unit sales of the seven major applications that will take advantage of S3D on the PC: 1. PC: Games |
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“Gaming will be the vehicle for kick-starting the S3D PC market,” said Jon Peddie. “The gaming segment has the largest inventory of content and the most vocal enthusiasts who will spread the word and show their friends and families what it looks like and what it can do.”
Pricing and Availability
The JPR S3D PC Market Study is available for $2,995. www.jonpeddie.com Women over 45 take note–in a couple of years, this will be the technology that you will have to stand outside of TARGET for before Christmas! You might as well be informed about it now! Blog Note: Chief Blonde did not receive compensation or product for this post. Information provided by the company.
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May 26 is National Senior Health & Fitness Day! Women over 45
FitnessUwear features Resistance Training!
Attention Readers: We will be having an awesome giveaway tomorrow from Banglz! Come back for this great Giveaway! I have been wearing Banglz in the car on my recent trip in to North Carolina. So awesome. I can constantly do arm rotations, raises, curls. These banglz are so cute, you’d have to look twice to realize they aren’t just a fun bracelet. More details tomorrow!
National Senior Health & Fitness Day is May 26, 2010. Resistance training could be one of the most important things seniors can include in their daily routines to ensure a healthier, happier life. In addition to preventing osteoporosis, arthritis and other injuries, research shows that consistent resistance training improved memory performance and verbal concept formation among seniors.
In commemoration of this day, FitnessUwear wants to help seniors find an easy way to incorporate low-impact resistance training into their daily lives with no hassle – introducing Banglz (www.banglz.com), the comfortable, stylish wrist and ankle weight bands you can wear during the day with serious health and fitness benefits.
Banglz are comfy half-pound weighted bands wrapped in different stylish interchangeable sleeves. Just strap them on to match your outfit, and head out the door! By adding regular resistance training to your daily routine – running errands, gardening, walking, doing chores, or chasing the grandkids – you can help create muscle health that supports your overall strength, balance, bones, heart, metabolism, stress levels and more.
In one easy step, seniors can improve cognitive abilities, prevent chronic illnesses and lead an all-around healthier life for themselves and their families. Because women after the age of 50 will lose one pound of muscle a year,
Banglz is the perfect addition to any daily routine to strengthen, burn and energize the body from the inside out.
May is National Salad Month–Recipes for Women 45 and over!
Yummy Salad Ideas from Wellspring Camps!
| White Bean Salad |
We all know how important it is to keep our kids and families eating healthy, but Wellspring has made it easy with these delicious salads that the whole family will enjoy! Women over 45 can really appreciate this simple and tasty meals when they are on the GO.
- White Bean Salad: A tasteful mix of seasoned white beans and peppers that is only 77 calories and 0.3 grams of fat
- Grilled Asparagus & Sweet Pepper Salad: A colorful delicious dish with only 64.2 Calories, and 0.78 grams of fat
- Egg Salad: Everyone enjoys egg salad, and this recipe will keep you guilt free with only 30 calories and 0.6 grams of fat
Keeping your family happy and health is important, and at Wellspring, they make is easy to enjoy a delicious meal without the guilt! This May for Salad month, try these healthy salads, or visit the Wellspring website for more delicious recipes!
White Bean Salad
Serves 7
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
Serving Size: 1/2 cup
1-15 oz can navy or cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
4 oz Red Bell Pepper, diced
2 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp Scallions, sliced
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Clove Garlic, minced
Salt to taste
4 oz Red Bell Pepper, diced
2 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp Scallions, sliced
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Clove Garlic, minced
Salt to taste
Mix all ingredients together. For the best flavor, let salad sit in refrigerator for an hour.
Calories: 77
Fat: 0.3g
Fat: 0.3g
| Grilled Asparagus and Sweet Pepper Salad |
Grilled Asparagus & Sweet Pepper Salad
servings – (4)
Ingredients
1 pound of fresh asparagus spears
1 medium orange bell pepper
1 small or medium red onion
1 lemon
1 lime
1 orange
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
1 pound of fresh asparagus spears
1 medium orange bell pepper
1 small or medium red onion
1 lemon
1 lime
1 orange
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard
Method:
· preheat grill to 375 degrees
· prepare vegetables for grilling by trimming off rough ends of asparagus, cutting the pepper in half and removing the seeds, and slicing the onion.
· grill asparagus for only 2 or three minutes. (you still want it crunchy).continue grilling the onion and the pepper until they are flavored but still crunchy. place in refrigerator to cool down.
· zest the lemon, lime, and orange and set aside.
· squeeze juice from the lemon, lime, and orange and set aside.
· combine vinegar ,dijon mustard, salt, pepper, citrus juices.
· chop the onion and pepper then cut the asparagus into thirds.
· combine dijon vinaigrette, citrus zest, and vegetables, then toss until evenly coated.
64.25 Calories
3.18 grams Protein
.78 grams Fat
3.18 grams Protein
.78 grams Fat
| Egg Salad |
Egg Salad
Ingredients
8 ounces Egg Beaters
2 ounces Fat Free Mayonnaise
1/8 tsp White Pepper
½ tsp Red Wine Vinegar
2 ounces Fat Free Mayonnaise
1/8 tsp White Pepper
½ tsp Red Wine Vinegar
Method:
1. Scramble egg beaters according to package directions
2. Cool eggs for 30 minutes
3. Combine egg beaters, FF Mayonnaise, white pepper, and red wine vinegar.
Yield: 5 – 2 ounce servings
Nutritional Information:
30 Kcalories
4 grams Protein
.06 grams Fat
2.75 grams Carbs:
4 grams Protein
.06 grams Fat
2.75 grams Carbs:
$70 Agrolabs Naturally Pomegranate Giveaway–3 Winners!
CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! Winners announced today!
Chief Blonde Remarks: We have previously reviewed and provided a Great Recipe for AgroLabs Naturally Pomegranate at this link.
We gave the Naturally Pomegranate and the Pomtini recipe a solid two thumbs up rating! Check it out.
Below we provide two more fantastic recipes both of which I personally made and used on Skinless Chicken Tenders. Both recipes were top notch and very inventive mixtures of tastes. Super for your next summer barbecue!
Summer season is equated with relaxation, fun in the sun, and plenty of gatherings with friends and family. But with the warm weather cheer comes BBQs and beach parties nearly every weekend, and even in a season when the layers are peeling off, the pounds can still come on! This time of year can be as hard on your body as the holiday season. http://agrolabs.com/home.html
MAPLE-POMEGRANATE GLAZE
1/4 cup Naturally Pomegranate™
5 tablespoons pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1 medium apple, peeled, cored, seeded and diced
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Whisk the Naturally Pomegranate™, maple syrup, vinegar, soy sauce, Dijon mustard ginger and cayenne in small bowl to blend. Transfer to a small saucepan, stir in the apple and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook until the apple is very soft and the sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Calories: 124, Protein: 1g, Fat: 3.5g, Sat. Fat: 2g, Choles: 87mg, Dietary Fiber: 1g
Makes 4 servings
Tastes MUCH MUCH better than it looks!
POMEGRANATE-LIME DRESSING
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup Naturally Pomegranate™
1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
Salt
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add canola oil and whisk to blend. Season with salt to taste. Can be used as a dressing or marinade!
Calories: 52, Protein: 0g, Fat: 4g, Sat. Fat: 0g, Choles: 0mg, Dietary Fiber: 0g
Makes 4 servings
THE PRIZE: 3 Winners–You will receive one bottle of 32-oz Agro Labs Naturally Pomegranate Juice valued at $23-25!
Contest May 19- 26
THE RULES:
Super Simple Main Entry: Answer AT LEAST ONE or all the questions below and email your entry to stillblondeafteralltheseyears@gmail.com. If you answer more, than that counts as extra entries! YIPEE!
1. Go to this link and email us at the address above: Other than Pomegranate Juice, what’s your favorite product? http://agrolabs.com/products.html
2. Go to this link and email us at the address above: What’s interesting about “The Box”? http://agrolabs.com/naturallyorganicpomegranate.html
3. Go to this link and email us at the address above: What is the last place on the bottom row where you can buy Argo Lab products? http://agrolabs.com/whereToBuy.html
4. Go to this link and email us at the address above: What’s the slogan under the Argo Labs logo? http://agrolabs.com/aboutUs.html
Bonus entry:
Leave a separate comment for each BONUS entry in our comment section below.
–Subscribe to our feed burner. You must accept the email in order to get your 5 entries! I will check when drawing the winner! LEARN ABOUT ALL OUR OVER $50 contests by getting our feed!
–Become a Fan of our page on Facebook–Click HERE (2 extra entries)–My facebook fans will have at least one special contest per year just for them!
Giveaway ends May 26, 2010 at midnight. Pacific Time.
Contest open to U.S. residents in the continental US with a valid street address. Item will be shipped to your home. No PO Boxes please. Winner(s) are selected randomly. To claim your prize(s), Stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com will contact you within 48 hours of the contest closing. You must contact Stillblondeafteralltheseyears.com within 48 hours after that with your mailing address so companies can mail your prizes. Prize(s) not claimed by (48 hours) will be forfeited and a new winner will be selected in a live giveaway. Please provide a valid email address to be informed in case you do win a giveaway. Good Luck!
Blog Note: Chief Blonde and Blogger was provided a review sample. No compensation was provided. The opinions are her own.
FREE to all Our Readers! Texas Travel Guides!
HERE SOMETHING WONDERFUL AND FREE FOR ALL OF YOU!
(No–it’s not this great pin!)
Since this little blog started seven months ago, we built to 11,000 page views/month, 560 people on our email list, a 91 score on Website Grader, $4000 worth of giveaways, 174 posts, 210 facebook fans and many learned lessons!
I have been hoping to find something that I can give to all of you for a thank-you! Though not a $1000 like you all deserve–it is a nice resource if you decide to travel to Texas this summer. (Hey–it could happen!)
All 10 of the Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) heritage region travel guides are now complete and beckon you to experience the real places telling the real stories of Texas. The great state of Texas, known for its big heart and welcoming people is inviting Texans and non-Texans alike to experience the vastness and wonder of the Lone Star State year round. Travelers can learn more about Texas history and heritage through the THC’s Texas Heritage Trails Program’s (THTP) travel guides.
The THTP provides helpful resources for those looking to get out and explore Texas history. A key marketing component of the THTP is a series of heritage travel guides designed to enhance visitors’ experiences at local attractions.
“Our travel guides are unique in their focus on regional destinations relevant to Texas heritage and culture. The state of the U.S. economy has many travelers rethinking upcoming vacation plans. The
THC encourages vacationers to discover the historical treasures right here in our own back yard,” said Dr. Terry Colley, THC Deputy Executive Director. “Our diverse state offers a variety of historical experiences and the THC captures some of those best kept secrets in our travel guides and historic sites, allowing everyone to immerse themselves in the Texas mystique.”
THC encourages vacationers to discover the historical treasures right here in our own back yard,” said Dr. Terry Colley, THC Deputy Executive Director. “Our diverse state offers a variety of historical experiences and the THC captures some of those best kept secrets in our travel guides and historic sites, allowing everyone to immerse themselves in the Texas mystique.”
The THC now proudly offers 10 heritage travel guides –– Texas Brazos, Forest, Forts, Hill Country, Independence, Lakes, Mountain, Pecos, Plains and Tropical Trail Regions. Each guide gives travelers a valuable opportunity to personally experience what makes this state so extraordinary, while providing maps and historical information related to specific regions. Collect all 10! For free heritage travel guides, please call 866.276.6219 or visit www.thc.state.tx.us/travel for downloadable copies.
Blog Note: The Chief Blonde was not compensated in any way for this post. She did it because she loves TEXAS and she thinks her readers do too!
What’s A Blogger’s Worth–Mini PR Guide–When or What Should a Blogger be Paid?
Mini PR Kit for Bloggers–Helping You to Blog with Thought
 |
| Watch out! I’m on my Soapbox! |
I recently had a pitch from the very large company (seemingly reputable) and at first I said–yes, that I would do the pitch, however, I never wrote it…because their approach seemed creepy. They wanted me to do a Pre-post. When I offered to do a giveaway/review instead of a “Prepost with embedded links” –here was the guy’s exact response:
” All I need from you is a post prior to your review or a post announcing the giveaway, depending on which you would prefer to do first. When you are ready to do the initial post, please link the term“????” to http://www.?????.html as the first link in your post. I would just ask that you have it flow as naturally as possible within the context of the post. I am currently responsible for improving traffic to that site, so it would be greatly appreciated if you could do that. Below is an example of a giveaway and a post prior to a review I recently helped set up that you can use as a point of reference.” (edited to remove company identifiers)
Unbelievable right? So I developed this little Mini Media Kit that I email when I get ridiculous requests, outright blatant ones offering up “Links” or “Cool Images, or requests that want to capitalize on an initial informational post. HERE’s my Still Blonde after all these YEARS–MINI PR Kit, Feel free to copy and use if it feels right to you:
STILL BLONDE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS–MINI PR Kit.
–We do not charge for reviews of products or giveaways that We host by choice. We carefully choose our reviews and giveaways based on what we believe would be interesting for our readers!
–We do not charge for posting of PR related to subject areas and causes that We wish to highlight.
–The staff here consists of educated professionals with Graduate level degrees in Marketing. We can help your company plan a great marketing campaign to the blogging community, blondes, and beyond!
–The Staff here fits the target market for this blog and is uniquely qualified as such to make comments about the target market.
–We OCCASIONALLY do accept paid placements, paid giveaways and advertorials. When we do accept them, they will be clearly labeled as such.
–We require payment for consulting, acting as a spokesperson or hosting/providing content for corporate sites.
–Our hourly consulting fees are on a project by project basis starting at $xx/hour.
–Our hosting fees for paid articles and links are $xx and up based on a case/case basis.
Bloggers and Mommy Bloggers–Stop giving it away for Free! We are NOT advocating avoidance of review, comment or giveaways. We are saying, when you review, comment or giveaway–remember you are not a slave, you have worth. You are worth more than a link, image or package of stickers!
This post and Mini PR Kit was inspired these excellent posts by Mom-101, Thetamom, and Scarymommmy. Please read them along with the wonderful comment sections. Also, please be aware that our very first post ever was our Disclosure Policy.
