Promotional Pens

I know the usual purpose of a custom promotional pen is to promote your business, but I'm thinking these would be kind of cool for a college student.  We could get Cory some with his name and whatever else he wanted on it, and then everybody would know that those were his pens.  That ought to cut down on 'lost' pens, right?  Either that or everyone will grab them because they're so cool.  And some day, when he's famous, they might even be worth something.

Honestly, I'm just looking for an excuse to get some of these engraved pens because they look really nice.  They're not your ordinary, boring stick pen.  I got some of those once, even though I didn't have anything to promote, and they were just ugly and didn't work very well.  These are very nice looking pens, can have custom text and/or a logo engraved on them, and write very nicely.  They are a bit more expensive than the back-to-school sale or clearance pens I usually buy, so I probably won't get any - unless I can think of something I need to promote. 

While I'm at it, I'll need some custom stationery and custom envelopes too.  Maybe if/when I ever start my own business...  Or if I ever go to a big blogging conference, I can use them to promote my blog.

How to Be Remembered

I think all the pens in my purse are custom promotional pens from the bank or a hotel.  I love picking up those pens, mostly because they're free, but also because I always have the information for the bank as close as the nearest pen.

I thought about ordering some personalized pencils or pens of my own one time, but I wasn't sure what to put on them, and I didn't really know who I'd give them to.  So I didn't.  If you have a business, I think they're a good way to get your name and information out there, where people will see it on a regular basis.  For an individual like me, I'm not exactly sure what I'd use them for.  It might be a good way to advertise my blog if I ever go to one of those blogging conferences I'm always reading about.  They say you definitely need business cards printed for something like that, and some of these custom pens might be nice to go along with that.

There are lots of other interesting promotional items to choose from too at sites like GOPromos.com.  I guess the key is finding something people will hold onto and use - that also has your information on it.

Dropping Entrecards

I signed up for Entrecard a little while ago, and I've been meaning to say something about it. I started noticing it on some of the blogs I was visiting, so I just had to check it out. I love the way it works. Once you sign up and create your Entrecard, you can start visiting other blogs in the network and 'dropping' your card to let them know you've been there - even if you don't comment. Other people see your Entrecard on the site and visit to drop their card. I have definitely seen some increased traffic since I signed up.

Have you noticed the daily blog ad there on the left? I hope you're clicking, because it's a good way to find new blogs to visit. That's another great thing about Entrecard. Every time you drop a card or have someone drop a card on you, you get a credit. Every blog in the system has a value, based on card drops each day, and you can use those credits to purchase a 24 hour ad spot on any blog you choose, pending the blog owner's approval. Advertising on the right blog can bring extra traffic, too. Besides, it's kind of fun to see your card on someone else's blog! For me, anyway.

I like to return the drops I get - visit the blogs of everyone who visited me and dropped their card, but so far I haven't quite accomplished it. It seems to take more steps than it should - visiting a profile to get to a blog to drop a card, and then returning to Entrecard to do the same thing with the next card. Of course, while I'm visiting and dropping, I'm busy reading, commenting, entering giveaways, etc. It takes a while!

I recently ran across this script on oblife.com that gives you the list of the latest bloggers who dropped their Entrecards on you. The script reads your Entrecard XML feed, reads all the listed profiles, and gets the real blog URLs of those users. Just click the blog url on the page, and it opens in a new tab so you can visit and drop your card, then close that tab and return to the list. I think it will make it easier to return card drops - instead of going through the inbox at Entrecard, visiting each Entrecard profile page, and then clicking the link to visit the blog. Of course, it can't help speed up the reading, but that's OK. I have found some really interesting blogs through Entrecard - like I didn't already have plenty to read.

If you haven't already signed up for Entrecard, do give it a look.

Backlinks and Exposure for your Site

I saw this on Heart of Rachel so I thought I'd check it out. You know me, I'm always signing up for everything. You never know when it might come in handy.

It's a brand new site called Quassia, and it's supposed to help you get backlinks and exposure for your website, on the condition that you share your knowledge. Write articles and get credit or money. The more credit you earn, the more exposure your blog gets - and, for the first twelve hours after you sign up, you get $500 credit for everyone you refer.

As Rachel said - no harm in trying, right?