“Recently, when a client had a script permission issue on her server, I was dreading contacting the hosting company. I’ve had bad experiences with tech support personnel in the past, and was not looking forward to a long day of emails and phone calls before (hopefully) finding a solution.

Then she told me her sites are hosted at Mom Webs. What a relief!

I knew immediately that our issue would be resolved quickly and without hassle. Most importantly, though, I was relieved to know that I wouldn’t have to struggle to explain the problem to multiple levels of support personnel before finally reaching someone who could fix it. Other companies talk about providing good customer service, but Mom Webs actually does it.

Thanks Mom Webs for the outstanding service you provide!”

- Cindy Bidar

You’re welcome Cindy!

Softaculous is better in many ways and we’re always looking for ways to give our clients the best so it was an easy decision.

See it in action, watch me install WordPress with Softaculous here:

http://connectpro44205256.adobeconnect.com/p67phjy7r1z/

My video is just a little more than five minutes long, it doesn’t really take that long to do an install but I’m explaining the process as I go

We also wanted to show our appreciation to those of you that took the time to come and vote for your favorite entries by running a little ‘behind the scenes’ contest. We have randomly chose a voter to receive a $100.00 gift certificate to use at Mom’s Talk Biz.

The voter that won the gift certificate is Beth Jones!

First, I want to thank all of you for taking the time and putting forth the effort to enter the contest and round up votes. I appreciate all of you entering the contest and I hope you had fun with it.

The competition was pretty close with the first place winner taking it by only four (4) votes! So, now without further ado the announcement you’ve all been waiting for – the winners!

• 1st Place: Staci Jansma: Top 5 reasons for using MomWebs! #3 Do you know your Hosting Support by First Name?
• 2nd Place: Tracy Zdelar: What I Love About Mom Webs Hosting

Congratulations Ladies!

Eight Very Cool Bloggers stepped up to the call and here they are:

• Sherry Frewerd of Blogging Success Secret: My 72 year old Mama Wants to Learn How to Blog! Mom Webs is the Only Web Host I’d Recommend to Her.
• Staci Jansma: Top 5 reasons for using MomWebs! #3 Do you know your Hosting Support by First Name?
• Courtney Chowning of Faithful Bloggers: A Must Have Blogging Tool
• Lois Graham: Find Direction and Help
• Tracy Zdelar of Hall of Fame Moms: What I Love About Mom Webs Hosting
• Stephanie Fish of BuckeyeVA: Why I Love MomWebs.com
• Shera of Skrap Happy with Skrapper Digital:  CU Freebies and a Thank You

They’ve all created some really great posts sharing their reasons for loving and recommending Mom Webs Hosting, now it’s your turn to get involved.

We want to know which of these posts you found most compelling!  Which posts did you enjoy reading the most?  Remember, this isn’t a grammar competition, nor a contest to use the most words.  Just pick what you liked best!

You don’t have to pick just one either – you can give your thumbs up to as many three competitors.

Voting Rules: There are Two Ways to Help Your Choices Win

Voting Here at Mom Webs:

• You will leave a comment on this post to place your vote.
• In your comment, tell us WHO you’re voting for by name.  (Give a maximum of three names)
• One vote per household (We check IP addresses and disqualify duplicates)

Comment on the Competitor’s Post

• You can leave an encouraging comment on their blog post telling them what you love about what they’ve written.  Who knows, maybe you’ll influence others to give them a thumbs up too!

On July 29th we’ll tabulate votes & determine our winners!  Remember what they’re up for:

First Place Prize Package:

• Six Months of free Mom Webs Hosting!
• Lifetime Membership to Mom Masterminds ($500 Value) (IF you already have one, you can gift it to someone else.)
• Special Guest Appearance on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio
• 30 Minutes of Free One on One Coaching with Kelly McCausey ($50 Value)
• A free copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms (Featuring Nicole Dean!)
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Gift Certificate to Easy PLR ($50 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation ($29 Value)

Second Place Prize Package:

• Three months of free Mom Webs Hosting!
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation (Value $29)

Extra Fun for Voters:

Every voter in the competition will be entered in a secondary drawing for a $100 Gift Certificate to Mom’s Talk Biz!

In January we ran an awesome Video Promo Contest and had a ton of fun checking out all of the cool entries.  As fun as that was, some of our clients expressed sadness over their inability to create a video entry.  SO, to make this contest more accessible for all of our clients so this time it’s a Blog Post Promo Contest!

All you have to do to enter is create an KILLER post on your blog that tells everyone why you think Mom Webs is Hot, Hot, Hot!

Some topic starter ideas:

• I Will Never Choose any Web Host but Mom Webs because…
• Mom Webs is the Hot Choice of Work at Home Moms because…
• This is how Mom Webs helped me in a pinch…
• Why I would have quit by now if it hadn’t been for Mom Webs…
• How Mom Webs helps me to make money online as a WAHM…
• The Only Web Host(ing) that I’d Recommend to My Sister is…

Tips for creating a great blog post:

• Tell your own story.
• Share specific advantages that Mom Webs clients enjoy.
• Include images.
• Use good post formatting. (See this video for tips)

The Blog Post Promo Content officially begins on July 1st and we’ll be accepting your entries through July 15th.  All you have to do is post to your blog and then leave a comment on this post with a link to it.  When we see your link, we’ll add you to the official list.

On July 16th we’ll publish the official entry list for the community to review and choose their favorites – they may give a thumbs up to three entries at the most!

Finally, on July 29th we’ll tabulate community opinions and identify our first and second place winners who will win the following…

First Place Prize Package:

• Six Months of free Mom Webs Hosting!
• Lifetime Membership to Mom Masterminds ($500 Value) (IF you already have one, you can gift it to someone else.)
• Special Guest Appearance on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio
• 30 Minutes of Free One on One Coaching with Kelly McCausey ($50 Value)
• A free copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Power Moms (Featuring Nicole Dean!)
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Gift Certificate to Easy PLR ($50 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation ($29 Value)

Second Place Prize Package:

• Three months of free Mom Webs Hosting!
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation (Value $29)

• One full year of free Mom Webs Hosting! ($220 Value)
• Box of Godiva Chocolates! ($32 Value)
• Lifetime Membership to Mom Masterminds ($500 Value) (IF you already have one, you can gift it to someone else.)
• Special Guest Appearance on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio
• One Hour of Free One on One Coaching with Kelly McCausey ($60 Value)
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Gift Certificate to Easy PLR ($50 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation ($19 Value)

Congratulations to Second Place Winner, Ponn Sabra   You won:

• Six months of free Mom Webs Hosting! (Value up to $116)
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation (Value $19)

Thank you to all video promo creators!  If you missed any of the videos, you can see them here:

• Courney Chowning
• Adriana Copaceanu
• Linda Stacy
• Marie Ynami
• Laurie Ayers
• Stephanie Fish
• Ponn Sabra
• Alaina Frederick
• Lana Elfstrom
• Tishia Lee

Submissions are complete – the videos are awesome – and we are ready to begin accepting YOUR VOTE for your favorite Mom Webs Promo Video!

Our Videolicious Submissions are…. (click to view video on YouTube)

• Courney Chowning
• Adriana Copaceanu
• Linda Stacy
• Marie Ynami
• Ponn Sabra
• Alaina Frederick
• Lana Elfstrom
• Tishia Lee

To place your vote, leave a comment below that clearly identifies your favorite by name!  Feel free to tell them what you love about their video.

The rules are simple:

• One Vote Per Household  (That means that we will delete any votes from duplicate IP addresses.)
• The Voting Deadline is Midnight, February 15th
  

What Will They Win?

First Place:

• One full year of free Mom Webs Hosting! ($220 Value)
• Box of Godiva Chocolates! ($32 Value)
• Lifetime Membership to Mom Masterminds ($500 Value) (IF you already have one, you can gift it to someone else.)
• Special Guest Appearance on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio
• One Hour of Free One on One Coaching with Kelly McCausey ($60 Value)
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Gift Certificate to Easy PLR ($50 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation ($19 Value)

Second Place:

• Six months of free Mom Webs Hosting! (Value up to $116)
• Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
• Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
• Access to WordPress Orientation (Value $19)

As great as it is to hear, we want to know WHY you love us and if you will take the time to tell us in a creative promotional video, you’ll be entered to win a full year of Mom Webs Hosting at no cost!

How to create a video?  You can do it anyway you like.  Web cam, flip cam, screen capture, animation… it’s entirely up to you.  What should your video say?  Feel free to choose one of these topic starters or make up one of your own:

• I Will Never Choose any Web Host but Mom Webs because…
• Mom Webs is the #1 Choice of Work at Home Moms because…
• This is how Mom Webs helped me in a pinch…
• Why I would have quit by now if it hadn’t been for Mom Webs…
• How Mom Webs helps me to make money online as a WAHM…
• The Only Web Host(ing) that I’d Recommend to My Sister is…

The main idea is to tell others why you love Mom Webs and have fun doing it

Submission Rules!

• Make your video between 45 and 60 seconds in length.
• Publish your video to YouTube and be sure to tag it with ‘Mom Webs’ and ‘Web Hosting’.
• Leave a comment on this post letting us know about your video (include a link) and be sure to provide a good email address and your full name.
• Submission Deadline: Midnight, February 8th, 2010

What Happens Then?

We will publish each video submission on our site and invite votes from the web community.  Voting will start on February 9th and end at midnight on February 15th.

One vote per household. (We track this by IP addresses – so votes from duplicate IP numbers will be deleted.)

What Do You Win?

First Place:

One full year of free Mom Webs Hosting! ($220 Value)
Box of Godiva Chocolates! ($32 Value)
Lifetime Membership to Mom Masterminds ($500 Value) (IF you already have one, you can gift it to someone else.)
Special Guest Appearance on Work at Home Moms Talk Radio
One Hour of Free One on One Coaching with Kelly McCausey ($60 Value)
Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
Gift Certificate to Easy PLR ($50 Value)
Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
Access to WordPress Orientation ($19 Value)

Second Place:
Six months of free Mom Webs Hosting! (Value up to $116)
Nicole Dean’s Blog World Tour Guide ($17 Value)
Yummy PLR – Your Choice of Any Past Pack! ($16 Value)
Access to WordPress Orientation (Value $19)

P.S.  Feel free to use this graphic in your video

Mommy Bloggers – they’re multiplying at a dizzying rate and they’re having a blast!

Whether they’re blogging for family fun or blogging for profit, they’re making the blogosphere a cozier place bringing a wonderful sense of warmth and community.

Have you thought about starting your own Mommy Blog? Grab our totally free, no strings attached special report. It’s a quick nine page introduction to mommy blogging, complete with three Mom Blogger profiles.

Right Click here to Download the PDF file.

Of course we think Mom Webs is the perfect place to host your Mom Blog so when you’re ready to start we hope you’ll come right back here to sign up

‘But WordPress is for blogs!’

Yes, WordPress is a popular blogging platform but it is also a feature rich content management system with capabilities that can grow with the right scrip plugins and that is what makes it a popular web tool of choice.

If you want to build a blog or a full website with WordPress, you’ll need to choose your website hosting carefully because WordPress cannot be installed on all kinds of web servers.  To learn more about hosting requirements, visit the WordPress site.

Even if a host offers the right tools that allow you to install and run WordPress, I just discovered today that other bumps can show up on the road.

For example, Yahoo hosting allows for the installation and hosting of WordPress, but you cannot upload an ‘.htaccess’ file so that means no ‘pretty permalinks‘ for your blog.

Since using permalinks is an important aspect of making your site search engine friendly I consider this lack of support a deal breaker.

So before you choose your web host, make sure you know what you can and cannot host on your account.

FYI: MomWebs hosting is just right for WordPress

Left Click to View or Right Click to Download to your computer

Five Ways To Kick Your Site Into Gear (PDF)

The audio is below!

Nicole Dean joined us to share more about the MomWebs Affiliate Program and give you some ideas on how you can promote an affiliate link and earn referral fees for years to come.

Topics covered…

Managing a large email list when using Amember for a membership site.

MomWebs has an hourly email limit to prevent spammers from taking advantage of us. If a legitimate client needs to send more email than that they can request it. For this client, she uses Amember, which is a great membership site solution but a bad email manager. (It doesn’t deactivate dead emails or manage bounces at all.) We recommended that this client add ListmailPro or PHPList to Amember as a plugin to manage her email list.

Working with a WordPress Theme ‘Privately’

A client wants to ‘sandbox’ her WordPress installation and be able to see it in a sub-directory, then have it appear in the main directory when finished.

This is completely do-able. See detailed instructions here.

WordPress Comment Form Plugin Problems

Our client was having trouble with a comment form plug in. Turns out to have been a corrupted file issue that Scott was able to help her through after the call.

Have questions about this week’s call? Feel free to leave it in the comments area.

Listen to the call right here:

Thanks to everyone who called in and to those who participated with questions and comments.

We’ll be offering these calls on a bi-weekly basis. If you’re a client you will receive an email reminder. If you’re not currently hosting with MomWebs but are interested in knowing when we hold these live calls, please visit our main page and subscribe to our mailing list.