The Product Watch Satellite (image: cristimatei / iStockphoto)

Product/Service Name

WorkingPoint

Brief Description

There are a lot of administrative tasks that go along with running a small business. Finding an integrated solution that handles everything from inventory management to tax reporting is tough. Harder yet is finding such a tool specifically meant for small businesses, but WorkingPoint fills that niche. You can keep track of every part of your business’ finances with one online tool that you can access no matter where you are.

Target audience: Small businesses who need to get a handle on their finances.

The Inspiration

We are committed to providing you with a single point of access for everything you need to make your business work successfully. We think that juggling multiple software packages to manage your business is expensive, time consuming, and simply a hassle. ~ WorkingPoint’s mission

Key Features

• Invoice clients. Set up both one-time and reoccurring invoices to send to your customers and track their payments.
• Manage expenses. Track your business’ expenses, both for client projects and your own expenses.
• Create tax reports. Speed up tax preparation by printing reports specifically created to complete tax returns.
• Manage inventory. Track every detail about your inventory down to the average costs of products, so that you can better handle inventory costs and issues.
• Keep books. Keep your business’ financial records without needing to call in an accounting professional.

Future enhancements: WorkingPoint is partnering with tools like VerticalReponse to integrate marketing tools in WorkingPoint’s contact management options.

Benefits

Reduce the amount of time you spend on processing and analyzing your business’ finances, without having to resort to bringing in a bookkeeper or accountant. WorkingPoint can also help you identify weak points in your company and improve upon them.

Costs

There are both free and premium versions of WorkingPoint. The premium version is $10 per month.

Similar Products/Services

Many small businesses rely on software packages like QuickBooks. There many web-based applications geared towards small businesses, but most of them have limited tools, offering only invoicing and expense tracking.

Opinions from around the Web

• Positive: “WorkingPoint has the tools to do the job of invoicing and managing bills. Those who want time tracking included in their invoicing app won’t find that here. Instead, you can count on the web-based app to let you do your billing tasks without frustration.” (WebWorkerDaily)
• Positive: “I’m drawn to WorkingPoint because of its clean and easy to understand interface. I don’t feel overwhelmed with financial jargon and ugly design like with most bookkeeping programs.  It’s easy to get started with WorkingPoint — it can import your contacts from Outlook, Yahoo and Gmail (by exporting your contacts as CSV or vCard files), and its invoice template is attractive and clean. After signing up for a free account, I made my first invoice in minutes, which I could save locally as a PDF or send via email.” (BNET)
• Positive: “If I were just starting a new business, I would think very seriously about this solution. It has almost all of what you need to manage your company’s finances in an easy-to-use interface, plus the added benefits of contact management and a marketing profile that you normally don’t find in free accounting or bookkeeping packages. The first user is free, forever, which makes it hard to pass up and, at least, try it out.” (SmallBizTrends)

Company Background

Ridgley Evers, the co-founder of WorkingPoint, worked for Intuit on QuickBooks. He came to the conclusion that QuickBooks is too complicated for small business. WorkingPoint’s chairman, Tom Proulx, co-founded Intuit and programmed Quicken, before joining the San Francisco-based company.

Smartlife’s User Advice

If you’re just starting out with a new business, WorkingPoint is ideal. The software is easy to learn, even without the special training that tools like QuickBooks always seem to require. It’s also easy to grow with your business: if you start out without any employees, it doesn’t make sense to pay for multiple license of a piece of software. But you can slowly upgrade your WorkingPoint account as needed. The fact that WorkingPoint is starting to integrate the other tools necessary to operate a small business just makes it more worthwhile.

The tax reporting tools make WorkingPoint stand out in particular. You most likely work with a tax preparer, but these reports  will prove useful whether or not you do your taxes yourself. Printing off these reports will provide a tax preparer with all the information he needs.

That said, if you already have a bookkeeping solution in place for your business, making the switch may not be worth the time. You can easily import your contacts into the online application, but importing the rest of your books may prove to be more hassle than it’s worth.

Smartlife’s Recommendation: USE IT

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Product Watch is part of an on-going series that cuts through the sales propaganda and marketing hype, and reviews products and services from the standpoint of the user and how they actually help us get more out of life.

The Product Watch Satellite (image: cristimatei / iStockphoto)

Product/Service Name

PriceTrace

Brief Description

Comparing prices is necessary if you want to get the best deals on your purchases, but it’s a time-consuming process. PriceTrace is an online shopping tool that allows you to look for better prices, without hunting all over. You can all set alerts for price drops and check a price history chart for each product.

Target audience: Shoppers who are interested in getting all their price information in one spot.

Stores included: Tracks more than forty major retailers, including Amazon and Walmart.

Key Features

• Toolbar. If you install the PriceTrace Firefox toolbar, you can see product price information wherever you’re shopping with just one click.
• Current prices. See prices for individual products across many online stores.
• Check history. Look at past prices for the product you’re shopping for and get a sense of when there will be a sale or a price drop.
• Set alerts. Subscribe to alerts so that you can get notification whenever a product drops to a certain price.
• Find filler. Since some sites offer free shipping as long as you spend a certain amount, you can look for filler to bring your shopping cart up to that amount.

Benefits

You can save a lot of time, as well as money, by using PriceTrace to shop around for you. The ability to set price alerts is particularly useful. If you know that you don’t need a particular product immediately, you can make sure that you get the best possible deal.

Costs

PriceTrace is free to use.

Similar Products/Services

There are several similar services out there, including comparison toolbars from Dealio and Shopping-Bargains.com.

Opinions from around the Web

• Positive: “Firefox Add-on of the Week: Pricetrace…With Firefox extensions, most users want to avoid adding more bulk to their toolbar and prefer browsing the Internet in a minimalist manner. However, for the frugal bargain hunter, PriceTrace.commakes the clutter worth it with a nifty Firefox add-on that helps users find the best shopping deals online.” (Maximum PC)
• Positive: “So you’re all set to buy that Widget Pro from Amazon, but just before you add it to your cart, you stop and think: “Am I getting the best price?” PriceTrace, a new add-on for Firefox, aims to give you a one-click answer.” (PC World)

Company Background

PriceTrace was founded in March 2009 in the Bay area. Its toolbar was made available on Firefox at the beginning of November, 2009. It’s become fairly popular, with regular downloads and positive reviews.

Smartlife’s User Advice

I try to keep the toolbars at the top of my web browser to a minimum — it’s easy to clutter it up with toolbars you won’t ever use. However, the PriceTrace toolbar makes sense as an addition to your browser. With comparing prices for a product across multiple sites a matter of just one click, it’s actually likely that I’ll do it. As much as I like saving money, the time it takes to research prices is often not worth the lower price I might get.

I’d love to see more sites added to PriceTrace, however. The site has most major online retailers, but there are some smaller sites out there with great prices that just aren’t listed and don’t look to be any time soon.

Smartlife’s Recommendation: USE IT

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Product Watch is part of an on-going series that cuts through the sales propaganda and marketing hype, and reviews products and services from the standpoint of the user and how they actually help us get more out of life.

(Image source: jeffmorinart.com)

To give a naturally personable and approachable feel to your marketing efforts, it can be valuable to make use of cartoons and cartoon-like visuals. This can be very effective both online and offline, making good use of humor and caricacture to lighten the mood. However, most people are not very skilled in this style of illustration.

Thankfully, just as there are freelance writers who specialize in different types of written content, there are artists who are cartooning experts. They can be great for the creation of mascots, single-frame comics, and so much more. Here is a selection of 20 such freelance cartoonists that can accept your outsourced design projects.

1. Jeff Morin
Website: Jeff Morin Art
Specialties: Humor, cartoony comics, vector art
Samples: Portfolio

2. Geoff Olson
Website: Geoff Olsen Words and Pictures
Specialties: Political commentary, social commentary
Samples: Portfolio

3. George Coghill
Website: George Coghill Illustrator
Specialties: Bold cartoons, mascot design, commercial illustration
Samples: Portfolio

4. Kevin Duffy
Website: Kevin Duffy’s Cartoons
Specialties: Public relations, advertising, newsletters
Samples: Portfolio

5. Joel Watson
Website: HijiNKS Ensue
Specialties: Full color cartoon-style illustration
Samples: Portfolio

6. Denis Blandford
Website: Denis Blandford
Specialties: Portraits, business cartoons, satire, caricature
Samples: Portfolio

7. Kev Brockschmidt
Website: Kev’s Cartoons
Specialties: Science fiction, comic strips, religion, humor
Samples: Portfolio

8. Dan Gibson
Website: Daily Cartoons
Specialties: Caricature, humor, boldly colored cartoons
Samples: Portfolio

9. Kenny Velez
Website: Kenny Velez
Specialties: Comics, illustrations, storyboards, detailed realism
Samples: Portfolio

10. Kevin LeBlanc
Website: Ink Monkey Sweatshop
Specialties: Comic strips, humor, murals, logos, animals
Samples: Portfolio

11. D.J. Coffman
Website: Will Draw Anything
Specialties: Caricatures, greeting card art, spot illustrations, avatars
Samples: Portfolio

12. Jamie Sale
Website: Jamie Sale – Cartoonist
Specialties: Character design, comic strip art, general custom cartoons, modern style
Samples: Portfolio

13. Starline Hodge
Website: Candi Comics
Specialties: Comic strips, simple drawings
Samples: Portfolio

14. Sergio Ordóñez
Website: SOS Factory
Specialties: Logo design, mascot design, comic characters
Samples: Portfolio

15. Richard Deverell
Website: Richard Deverell
Specialties: Greeting cards, children’s books, politics, humor
Samples: Portfolio

16. Jim Huber
Website: Jim Huber
Specialties: Editorial cartoons, humor, political cartoons
Samples: Portfolio

17. Dan Danglo
Website: Dan D Toons
Specialties: Character design, gag cartoons, comic book penciling
Samples: Portfolio

18. Lee Healey
Website: Freelance Cartoonist
Specialties: Comic strips, caricature, funny characters
Samples: Portfolio

19. Jerry Emerson
Website: Emerson Art
Specialties: Caricature, magazine cartoons, gag cartoons, character creation
Samples: Portfolio

20. Vicky Liu
Website: Vckystxx.com
Specialties: Stick figures, comic art, comic strips
Samples: Portfolio

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The Product Watch Satellite (image: cristimatei / iStockphoto)

Product/Service Name

5pm

Brief Description

5pm offers a flexible approach to project management, by creating a central online location for everything from task management to time tracking. While there are a variety of project management web applications available, 5pm offers custom plans so that you can find a perfect fit for your organization’s needs.

Target audience: Any organization with a project to manage — and anyone who wants to get everything done by 5 p.m.

Volume of business: Users have been managing projects with 5pm since November 2007.

The Inspiration

Easy enough for workers, so they adopt it, and sophisticated enough for managers to use it.

Key Features

• Enterprise-level project management. Beyond basic task management tools, you can use Gantt charts, task trees, and other management tools.
• Client logins. You can let your clients log in and see progress.
• Reporting tools. You can generate a variety of reports, as well as export them to other software.
• Open API. You can integrate 5pm with RSS and iCalendar, as well as import data from Basecamp.

Future enhancements: An iPhone / mobile version is in development. 5pm is also working on a desktop time-tracker widget.

Benefits

Keep multiple team members on the same page, no matter where they’re located. Even if you’re out of the office, you can ensure that tasks are completed. Even your clients can check in on progress.

Costs

Plans start at $18, but custom plans and payment options are available. You can try out 5pm for free for 14 days.

Similar Products/Services

Basecamp is probably the best known online project management tool.

Opinions from around the Web

• Positive: “5pm provides a bunch of convenient project management utilities which can be of great interest for professionals, entrepreneurs, small business owners etc. The application specifically recommended for small business owing to its relatively moderate cost, ease of use and no requirement for any IT infrastructure.” (AppAppeal)
• Positive: “5pm is for you if you like the web-based interface. It is a great tool for those who need more features than Basecamp or Central Desktop offer. Because QG Software maintains a blog and videos for how to set up 5pm it is user friendly and technical support for the program is easy to find.” (Brighthub)
• Positive: “…I found the software much simpler and easier to use than some of the others (including industry leader Basecamp, which I use). You don’t have to hunt for your projects and tasks; everything’s right there, pretty much one click away.” (VentureBeat)

Company Background

5pm was launched in November 2007 by Quatre Group LLC. Located in Cincinnati, Ohio, Quatre Group LLC also offers consulting and web design services.

Smartlife’s User Advice

If you just have a small project that you need to get out the door, 5pm may be a little too much software for you. This is enterprise-level software, on a freelancer’s budget. The feature list is long and it can handle just about any project management problem you throw at it. That can be a little intimidating for people used to something more along the lines of a glorified task list.

Once you get used to it, though, 5pm is ideal for managing large projects, especially if you are working with a distributed team.

5pm continues to grow, adding features at an impressive rate. It’s a project management tool that can definitely keep up with a growing business.

Smartlife’s Recommendation: USE IT

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Product Watch is part of an on-going series that cuts through the sales propaganda and marketing hype, and reviews products and services from the standpoint of the user and how they actually help us get more out of life.

The Product Watch Satellite (image: cristimatei / iStockphoto)

Product/Service Name

BargainJack

Brief Description

BargainJack.com is a gadget deals site focused on computers, electronics, and other guy-friendly items.

Target audience: Gadget-loving guys, age 18-55.

The Inspiration

We fill a void in the deal site genre by presenting only the best deals.  In our world, more is not more. We are picky so that our readers don’t have to weed through mountains of ‘5% off’ coupons or ‘free shipping with $500 purchase’offers. Simplicity is key and we take the same approach with the deal-finding tools on the site. We aimed to make our site as easy-to-use as possible so that sweet deals are accessible to people that wouldn’t normally feel comfortable on a deal site. ~ Sharon DeVries, co-owner of BargainJack

Key Features

• Find exclusive deals. See deals exclusive to the site for products such as Blu-Ray players.
• Get updates on sales. Get information about sales and deals on a variety of tech and gadget sites, such as TigerDirect, all in one place.
• Compare prices. Find the best price on gadgets you’re considering purchasing.
• Ask for help with sellers. If you have a problem with a merchant featured on the site, the site’s owners will act as consumer advocates on the issue.

Benefits

Get the best deal on any gadget that you’re considering buying. You can also get news about the deals on a variety of sites, without having to sign up for the newsletter from each of those sites.

Costs

Free.

Similar Products/Services

There are a lot of different sites for finding deals and comparing prices, from CouponMom to NexTag. Few sites, however, focus primarily on gadgets.

Opinions from around the Web

• Positive: “The site does a good job of finding and organizing bargains. Especially convenient is the Top 21 deals section; helps readers find the best deals without having to wade through lots of content. Also like Jack’s deal of the day, his input is informative and yet not too technical.” (KillerStartups)
• Positive: “Bargain Jack has recently added a list of his favorite a One Deal a Day sites to his excellent bargain collection. He’s got discussions too, and the Alexa rankings for each site.” (Squidoo)

Company Background

BargainJack was founded in 2006 in Austin, Texas. The company also runs a deals site for women, BargainJill.com.

Smartlife’s User Advice

The one point where BargainJack particularly stands out from other sites focusing on connecting buyers and deals is the fact that it’s focused on technology and gadgets. If you find yourself shopping for technology on a regular basis it could be useful, but if you need to shop beyond that niche, it may be better to go with a more general shopping site.

If you’re the type of shopper that winds up subscribed to a whole list of newsletters from different computer and tech sellers online, BargainJack can also be useful on cutting down on what’s in your inbox. Because its newsletter picks out the best deals from different sites, it allows you to unsubscribe from all those other newsletters.

Smartlife’s Recommendation: USE IT IF YOU ROUTINELY BUY GADGETS

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Product Watch is part of an on-going series that cuts through the sales propaganda and marketing hype, and reviews products and services from the standpoint of the user and how they actually help us get more out of life.

(Image: Franck-Boston / iStockphoto)

The purpose of a press release is to bring a piece of news to the attention of the media: typically, you’ll send out a press release to promote your business or organization with the hopes of creating awareness as well as increasing your income.

Press releases can be very effective tools to bring the media’s attention to a particular event or topic. However, it’s easy to send out press release after press release, yet feel like you have nothing to show for it. You need to know how to effectively use a press release to market your business with press releases.

Guidelines for Good Press Releases

There are companies that send out press releases every week as a matter of course. Over time, the number of responses that company has received from members of the media have declined. Part of the issue is that it has worn out its welcome with some of the recipients, but another issue is that there simply isn’t something newsworthy going out in each of those press releases.

A press release has to tell a story that a member of the media will see as worth picking up: if your press release seems at all boring or even simply not relevant to the audience of the publication that has received it, that press release will immediately wind up in the trash can. Furthermore, some publications receive thousands of press releases each week — you’s must stand out to get the necessary attention.

Writing a press release is a specialized skill, as can be getting it into the hands of someone who can actually get your press release in to the news. In the past several years, your options have changed as far as press release writers you can work with. Some now specialize in crafting press releases that will specifically appeal to bloggers, for instance. However, across the different options for creating and distributing a press release, there are some things to keep in mind:

• Make sure your press release is newsworthy. Many press releases can have important news for specific niches, but aren’t newsworthy for a more general publication.
• Target your press releases carefully. Don’t try to send your press release to every publication, radio station, and blog under the sun. Focus on those publications that reach your target market — and personalize your press release as much as possible to each individual recipient.
• Offer resources along with your press release. If a publication does pick up your story, they’ll need photos, quotes, contact information for sources, and more. Put together a media kit to send out with your press release and you’ll improve your chances. And while you may not be able to recycle a press release over and over again, you will be able to reuse your media kit.

The Format of a Good Press Release

A good press release starts with a cover letter, explaining why you think the story in question would be a good fit with a particular publication. Depending on how well you know your contact, that cover letter can range from casual to formal.

The press release itself is written like an article: it needs a headline, a clear explanation of the story or news you want coverage for, and a demonstration that the story in question is interesting. That sounds simple, but your press release needs to be polished and well-written. Considering that some publications will run press releases as they come in, it’s important that your press release is in good shape. More often than not, it makes sense to work with a professional press release writer to ensure that your press release truly showcases your business.

At the end of a press release, you’ll need to include further information for interested parties. Not only should your contact information be listed, but you should also direct your readers to further resources on the topic of your press release, such as photos they can use.

Measuring the Success of Your Press Release

Determining the success of a press release can be difficult. Depending on how timely a press release seems to its recipients, they may wait to write about it for a few weeks or even a month. And if you’re working with a large publication, the editorial calendar may be decided months in advance. On the other end of the spectrum, a blogger might publish a summary of your press release minutes after reading it.

In order to better evaluate the reach of your press releases, it’s important to make sure that you’ll see any references to your business. Since many reporters will not let you know that they’ve written about you, using tools like Google Alerts is a critical step to ensuring that you see any articles written as a result of your press release. It’s also worthwhile to follow up with the reporters and publications that you’ve sent your press releases to, although if there is not response, it’s best not to push too hard.

Keep track of any articles you see that cover the topic of your press release: the more articles, blog posts and other reporting you see, the more successful your press release is. Furthermore, keep track of the reporters responsible for that coverage. Many reporters write about fairly narrow topics and, if you have more news in their area down the road, will be more willing to look at your press releases.

Choosing a Press Release Writer

Working with a press release writer can significantly simplify the process of getting your press release ready to go. Some press release writers will not only write your release, but also will handle getting it out to reporters in your target market. It’s just a matter of choosing a press release writer who is a good fit for your business.

You have two options when it comes to deciding what type of press release writer to work with: you can hire a freelancer or you can choose a boutique PR firm. Having a lasting relationship with a PR firm can be very helpful, especially when the firm specializes in your industry. A firm also may have a wider reach when it comes to distributing press releases.

In contrast, a freelance press release writer often comes with a less expensive price tag — and may have just as in-depth a knowledge of your industry. It’s worth looking at both options when you’re ready to hire someone to handle your press releases. Either way, there are several questions worth asking when you’re considering a particular writer or firm:

• Can I see samples of your work?
• What publications have picked up a story from a press release you’ve written?
• Will you handle distributing the press release?
• Can you also put together a media kit?
• Have you worked in the industry before?

Freelance Press Release Writers

1. Jennifer Mattern
2. Nicole Nascenzi
3. Andrew Weitsman
4. Katie Kemple
5. Meryl Evans
6. Kristen King
7. Shonali Burke
8. Charlene Rashkow
9. Karen Kefauver
10. Leslie Joy

Boutique PR Companies Who Can Handle Your Press Releases

1. Ballantines PR
2. Abelow Public Relations
3. Cascade Communications
4. rbb Public Relations
5. AMP3 Public Relations
6. Allison Dawn PR
7. K & Co. Media
8. Push the Envelope
9. Dukas Public Relations
10. FireCracker PR

A Few Press Release Tools

There are many online tools meant to make the press release process easier. There are a number of services that will distribute your press releases, often to millions of potential reader. It’s worth noting, however, that these services rarely target specific recipients and may actually offer a lower ratio of articles written about press releases than if you were to send out your press release just to relevant recipients. Such services include PRWeb and PRLeap.

If you’re interested in learning more about writing your own press releases, there are also many resources that will help you learn the skill. Jennifer Mattern, one of the freelance press release writers listed above, has put together a free ebook that will introduce you to the process: Press Releases Made Easy.

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