With the New Year bearing down on us, it’s tempting to start thinking of all of the things you will change, do differently, do better. Whether it’s working out, going on a diet or getting started on a new project, you’re probably waiting until January 1st to actually get them started.

If there is one change that I can recommend you make right now (and I mean as soon as you are done reading this post) it’s to:

Plan for complete and total computer meltdown/disaster.

In other words, plan for the day your computer dies today. Your computer *will* die, and it will do it most likely silently and in YOUR sleep. You’ll wake up one morning and your photos, emails, and important work files will be obliterated. It’s a fact of life.

You may think you have a good system going…you occasionally burn stuff to DVD’s and store them in your desk drawer. But what happens if there’s a fire or other natural disaster? Now your computer is gone along with your backup disks.

This is a change/resolution that you need to take notice of TODAY! I highly recommend the Carbonite backup service. It’s cheap, comes with a 15-day free trial so you can put it through it’s paces and you can even earn free months for referring friends and family.

Visit Carbonite today (seriously, like right now) and get your backups backing up ASAP. I’ve lost data, so I know how horrible it is!

I’ve posted previously on how to backup your computer files, and I’ve recommended services such as Carbonite to do the job for you.

While Carbonite is a very affordable solution (less than $50 a year) I know that for some people in this economy even $50 a year is a bit expensive. Especially since, and we all hope this, you NEVER have to rely on ever retrieving your backup. I mean, it’s really an insurance policy and unfortunately when money is tight insurance is one of the first things to go.

So I’ve been researching inexpensive ways to backup files, because after the Great Laptop Meltdown of 2008, which I experienced personally this past January, I learned how important it is to backup your files. Luckily, I only lost a fraction of the over 10 years of personal and business files that I had accumulated! What a relief!

This new backup solution that I just learned about is inexpensive and easy, but because of it’s small price it’s not automatic. I know, I know…what happened to doing things automatically “Miss Automatic Mom”?!

Ok, you’ve got me…sometimes I (gasp!) do things in a non-automatic way, especially if there is potential money savings involved. While I still use Carbonite, I decided that I would test this new backup solution and see how user-friendly it really was.

In order to do this, you need to have a web hosting account with Dreamhost. They recently decided to gift each customer with 50GB of separate “backup space” that would not be visible to the world in your regular hosting account. What I mean by this is that if you were to create a separate folder on one of your websites and password protect it, it would technically be safe, but still vulnerable to a big-time hacker who knows what he or she is doing.

So to get around this issue, since Dreamhost knew people were taking part of their hosting space and using it for file backup anyway, they decided just to create a separate “backup” section of each hosting account for people to use! They partition out 50GB of your existing space that you have in your account (if you remember from a previous post, Dreamhost starts everyone out with a pretty ample amount of disk space and increases it each week you are a customer) and then they create a new “user” and “password” for you to use to enter into your FTP program. So now, you would have two logins…one to upload files to your various websites and one to upload files to your backup space.

Here’s the fine print….these backup spaces are not subsequently backed up by Dreamhost like your regular files on your server for your websites. The reasoning is that this is a “backup” of your personal files anyway so you should already have a copy. So these aren’t redundant backups of backups. Does that make sense? So basically, they are saying that they offer this service, but don’t rely on this as your sole source of backed up files. If you are currently not backing up at all, this is definitely better than nothing, and in my eight years or so as a customer of Dreamhost, I’ve never had a data loss anyway.

They allow you to use 50GB of space in that section, and if you go over 50GB they charge you just an additional 10 cents per GB! Hello cheap! So just backup your pictures and important files and leave the applications and other replaceable things to chance (or use one of the free backup solutions I’ve mentioned before to handle those).

What I like about this solution is that the backup happens at the point of usage but the files are stored remotely. This is the best setup, where your files are backed up pretty easily right from your screen (i.e. FTP program) and stored elsewhere. Backing up to blank DVD’s is cheap too, but then you have your files stored on disks likely in the same place where your computer is anyway. Unless you take the disks to a bank safe deposit box (which I highly recommend if you have a safe deposit box anyway) if there were to be a natural disaster or fire, both copies could be destroyed.

So this Dreamhost solution is a nice one for anyone who is thinking that a remote backup solution is out of their reach financially. Right now, Dreamhost is also having a sale where the first 1111 customers will receive unlimited disk storage and unlimited transfer (bandwidth) for the life of the account. It’s to celebrate their 11th year in business. Accounts start at just $5.95 a month depending on how many years you prepay. I personally recommend that you get an account that costs $9.95 per month paid one year in advance because you avoid the $49.95 setup fee for paying monthly that way. Alternatively, you can use this coupon code: AUTOMATICMOMS and receive an instant $50 credit to your account to wipe out that setup fee anyway if you would rather pay monthly! If you decide to go with one year paid in advance, you’ll avoid the $50 setup fee, PLUS you will still get a $50 credit to your account!

You’ll pay for hosting somewhere else anyway, so why not consolidate and host all of your sites together (no charge for additional sites by the way, you can host as many individual sites as you want for the same low price) and get the backup section for free too?! Plus, the $50 coupon code (AUTOMATICMOMS) plus, a free domain name registration on all new accounts! If the economy has you worried about your business expenses, this is an easy way to trim them and do the backups you need to be doing anyway!

Click here to check out Dreamhost and use coupon code AUTOMATICMOMS for $50 off and a free domain name registration to go with your 50GB of backup space.

 This one is for my fellow small business owners….and it’s going to save you a ton of money and time!

I currently operate about 30 different websites in all different niches, but I’m working on a site now that will require my ability to take payments from advertisers, so I needed a way of making the payment, verification and communication tasks easy and integrated.  

Anyone who is running a business online knows that there seem to be a million moving parts that you need to get into alignment before you can really launch a successful website. Add in accepting payments, signing up affiliates for an affiliate program and running multiple newsletters and you can see how complicated an endeavor it can become.

I was looking for a solution that would allow me to integrate everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) from payments, to autoresponders, to shopping carts, coupons, an affiliate program, a membership module, a knowledgebase, a support center, and more. Fat chance right? But guess what? I think I *actually* found what will work, and boy is it cool!

I’ve been testing TotalMarketer.Com , and at first, I was skeptical of their claim that you can run your entire business from one system. Once I poked around their site though, I saw that the developers had really thought of everything.

For many years I have pieced together a system that works pretty well….I have an autoresponder service, a shopping cart service, a payment processing service, a support ticket system and more. The problem is that it’s difficult to INTEGRATE these systems so that they work together and talk to each other. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have to troll the support forums or hire a programmer every time I want to make one script or program talk to another one. I’ve done that for years, and it’s exhausting and saps my productivity!

This system, TotalMarketer has ALL of these features (get ready, it’s a long list!):

~Unlimited Autoresponders with Unlimited Follow-Ups and Broadcasts
~Affiliate Management System (that runs 1-tier or 2-tier affiliate programs)
~Domain Name Integrator (so all emails and other references point to your own URL)
~Digital Product Download Manager (with protection and expiring download links)
~Membership Management System (password protect and sell access to unlimited directories on your site)
~Ad Tracking System (keep track of ads you have placed and track their performance)
~Customer Support Manager (with support ticket system and knowledgebase)
~Tell a Friend System
~Unlimited Shopping Carts
~Sell Unlimited Products
~Provide custom sales tools (banners, ads, links) for affiliates
~Coupon system (offer coupon codes to give discounts to customers)

…..and much, much more……this list consists of just the basics because there are LOTS of little features within these features.

I know what you’re thinking: A system like this is going to cost a bundle isn’t it? Ready for a shocker? It’s only $19.95/month! (This is where you need to start breathing again, by the way!) Seriously, twenty bucks!

The $19.95 level allows for 15,000 subscribers (meaning autoresponder subscribers and customers). If you have more than 15,000 subscribers, first of all congratulations, and secondly, it will cost you a bit more. Their most expensive package is still only $39.95 per month for 35,000 subscribers. It’s a steal no matter what!

I’m going to warn you about one thing though: These are listed as introductory prices, so I’m not sure how long these prices will still be valid. I checked with Barry Richardson, owner of TotalMarketer, and he told me that if you sign up at the lower introductory price, your cost will remain the same no matter what the price is increased to. So, in effect, your price is locked in which is awesome!

I’ve had to ask Barry a question or two as I’ve been setting up my own use of the system and he is very responsive and answers questions very quickly. The same support ticket system that is included with the TotalMarketer package is used to also handle support by Barry and it’s very user-friendly.

One thing that I really love about this system, is that you can use it on more than one site for just one monthly fee. What a savings! I also love that you are able to setup the sale of physical products that you ship to someone, digital products that are downloaded online (or a service) and also memberships. When you setup a membership site to sell access to, the system provides all the files you need to protect the folder on your site where your membership resides. You just upload three files to that folder, and your folder is protected. Then, when someone wants to join the membership site, a username and password is generated that gives them instant access to the protected area of your site. If they cancel their membership, their username and password is cancelled as well. So easy!

If you want to check it out, I highly recommend doing so quickly before Barry raises his price…seriously, even a $10 increase per month would still be a steal, but why pay $120 a year more than you have to?

Click here to check out TotalMarketer! I’ve been very pleased with their service and it will save me so much time and money this year! I’ll follow up with a regular update on how it’s working for me, but so far I am beyond pleased!

Technorati Tags: shopping cart, coupon system, affiliate program manager, affiliate module, autoresponders, membership manager, support tickets, help desk

I download a lot of WordPress themes when I see cool free ones on various sites. My problem has always been that when I add the zip archive to my WordPress Themes folder on my computer, I can never remember what the theme looks like or find a specific one later by name.  How many of you have been in that same situation? If you use WordPress for managing your blog or your business, you likely know what I’m talking about.

I thought going through the trouble of unzipping every single theme into it’s own folder would help, but I still end up opening every folder and finding the index page, opening it, looking at it, and realizing it’s not what I was looking for. The time I spent doing this over and over again made me realize that I needed a new strategy for keeping my WordPress themes organized.

Now when I download a zip file of a WordPress theme, I set it up in it’s own folder named it’s theme name as usual, but I also do a “right-click” on the thumbnail of the theme that usually accompanies the description on that page I’m downloading it from. Most sites that offer free WordPress themes also include either a demo of the theme or a small screen-shot that you can save to your computer for future reference. This has been the key to getting my themes organized.

I save it using the name of the theme in my main “WordPress Templates” folder one level up from my individual theme folders and then when I need to look for a theme I just open that folder and set the folder view for “thumbnails” and I see all of the neat little pics of the individual themes. In one screen, I can see small versions of all of the themes I have and scan until I find one that will work for a specific project!

When I find the one I need, I move down one level to the individual theme folders and open the appropriate one and unzip it for use! Easy and it saves a TON of time! Very important for any business-owning or blogging Mom!

This has saved me so much time looking for a theme that I “know I downloaded if I could just find it”. How many times have you just KNOWN you had something on your computer? Use this tip if you are a WordPress theme-addict like myself! You will wonder how you ever got along without it!

Technorati Tags: WordPress, WordPress themes, templates, WordPress templates, blog, blogging, organizing, organization, organizing tips, tips for business owners, business tips, online business tips

(Note to readers: This started out as a short post about computer backups and turned into almost a complete guide to computer backups. If you think this is something you will be undertaking in the next few months, I would bookmark this post for future reference. Even I didn’t know how complete it would ultimately become! Enjoy!) 

There is perhaps no other computer task that is more important that performing regular backups of your data. Sure, virus scanning and spyware scanning are important too, but what happens if those tasks fail you at some point? You’re going to need a backup of your important files, emails, photos and applications!

Here are some easy ways to backup your data. Some are free and some are nearly free but they are all easy and all offer a way to perform backups automatically once you have everything setup.

There are two basic ways to backup your website: you can backup to a local harddrive (such as a separate external harddrive) or to a remote location (such as a backup service or to a webserver).

Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, but you should choose the method that works best for you and your needs.

Backup to a remote location (a service or server)

Mozy: Offers both a free and paid version of their service. The free version allows up to 2GB of free backup space on their servers. The service requires a quick download of their software after which you can schedule automatic full backups or incremental backups of just the data that has changed since your last backup.

The more robust paid version is still a steal at only $4.95/month and gives you unlimited backup space and bandwidth! You can pay monthly at the $4.95/month rate or pay one year in advance and get one month free or pay two years in advance and get three months free.

Whether you choose the free or paid version, your backups are encrypted for your security and stored on a secure server. Even big files larger than 3GB can be uploaded, so program files or bulky mp3′s are no problem for Mozy.

I’ve personally used Mozy and found it to be very easy to use. The fact that I can schedule backups to be performed any time I choose, means that I can set the service to do a backup at 3am if I want when I am away from my computer. I recommend choosing a time of day when you don’t need to use your computer for many tasks so that the backup will go faster and so your programs won’t be slowed down. The incremental backup option allows you to backup just the files that have changed or been added since the last backup, which means that after one BIG backup, you will have several little ones resulting in a full archive of everything.

Who is Mozy for? The computer user who needs something simple and cheap and doesn’t have access to a large external drive to do backups to or who doesn’t want to burn backups to CDs and DVDs. It’s fairly hands-off and doesn’t require purchasing additional equipment.

If you’re on the fence about using Mozy as your main backup solution, just give their free version of Mozy a try and see if it works for you.

Carbonite: Like Mozy, Carbonite offers encrypted secure backups to their own remote server. It works constantly in the background searching for new and changed data on your computer so that it can be uploaded and added to your storage as soon as it is available. In fact their tagline says, “Nonstop unlimited automatic backup over the Internet”.

Animated online tutorials explain how the backup process works and how to retrieve your files in the event that you need to restore your files to a repaired or new computer.

Carbonite offers a free 15-day trial so you can compare it with other services. The cost is a flat $49.95 per year, which breaks down to just a little over $4 per month. There is also a two-year option that results in your average monthly cost being just about $3.75/month.

I see Carbonite as slightly different from Mozy in that Carbonite touts itself as an unlimited and constant backup source. That said, I would make sure that if you choose Carbonite that you have a newer computer with a fair amount of memory so that it can run continuously in the background without slowing the rest of your computer down. Carbonite mentions that your computer will not suffer any slowdowns during the usage of the program, but I would make sure to expect a slight slowdown all the same. Like most applications that run in the system tray, a simple disabling of the program when you are using some heavier applications should do the trick. Just remember to turn it back on!

Options that let you backup locally or remotely:

Syncback and SyncbackSE: Syncback is the free version, and SyncBackSE is the paid version of this software that resides on your computer and allows you to schedule backups to either a local destination or a remote destination.

Where the two versions differ is in the amount of features available to you. If you want to be able to do incremental backups or be able to compress the files first before you back them up to your harddrive or to a server, you would need to upgrade to the SE version. But at just $30.00 for a one-time download, it’s still a very economical solution.

The company that created Syncback and SyncbackSE also offers a free 30-day trial of the more advanced SE version so that you can test it out and see if the extra features are worth the cost to you.

I have Syncback and like it very much, but it is definitely for the user who wants to have more specialized control over every aspect of their backups.

Who is Syncback for? Syncback is for the user who has an external harddrive or webserver that they want to send backups to. Where this software comes in handy is if you want to do full or incremental backups while NOT online to an external harddrive. This means that you backups can be performed at any time regardless of your access to an Internet connection. Having the option to also backup to a webserver means that you can have a remote copy of your files that are away from your home in case of a fire or other disaster. I personally have done backups both ways with Syncback and recommend that you always have a second copy of your files somewhere other than your home, and Syncback does a nice job of making that possible.

Backing up everything, programs and all…..how to do it:

We’ve talked about ways to backup files like photos, emails, and other files but what if you want to create a complete COPY of your harddrive complete with your programs, settings and all the other goodies that you would lose if your harddrive died?

It can be done if you have the right tools available to you. I recently researched this option as I started to see that my laptop was acting funny. It’s one thing to transfer files, but after five years of having my laptop surgically attached to my fingers, I knew that transferring all of those programs and settings would be nearly impossible unless I found a solution before it became too late.

Acronis TrueImage

I purchased an external harddrive, the Seagate FreeAgent to be exact, and some really cool software that promised a perfect “image” of my harddrive that could be copied and archived on my external harddrive. The software is called Acronis TrueImage 10.0 and it works much like a program that copies a DVD movie would…..it takes a snapshot of what your entire harddrive looks like, programs and all, and copies that snapshot or “image” to your harddrive. What is really cool about the software is that once you have done a full backup of your harddrive, you can set the software to do subsequent incremental backups of just the files and programs that have changed since your first major backup.

In the event that you have to restore your harddrive or move everything to a completely new computer, you can pull those files off your external harddrive (or wherever you have stored them) and basically put them all together like a puzzle on your new computer or restored harddrive.

Luckily, I haven’t had to actually restore anything, so I can’t give any information on how well that feature works but it feels pretty good to know that there is a VERY large backup file sitting there ready to be used if needed.

The software is extremely affordable at only $49.99 and other than having a place to move your files to (like an external harddrive or a webserver) that would be your only one-time cost.

Who is Acronis for? This is for someone who is really concerned about the reliability of their computer system and worries that all files including programs could be lost. Realistically, this could happen to anyone, but if you have an older computer that is acting up and might be on it’s last legs, this is the solution for you. It’s also great if you have just purchased a new computer and you want the files and programs on your new computer to be exactly like your old one.

General tips and suggestions:

The key here, as with everything on AutomaticMoms.com is to make your life easier and the only way that you will be able to know which solution works best for you and your needs is to compare them yourself.

With all of these free trials available, I highly recommend signing up for all of them and testing them out side by side. After all, some people need a consistent backup that is always on and always working for them, while others who have less computer usage throughout a typical week may only need a one-weekly backup to an external drive.

I also recommend that you have a “backup for your backup” meaning that you utilize more than one backup solution. Obviously, having files on your external harddrive is convenient because you have the files right there on your desk, but what happens if your computer and all components are damaged in a lightning storm or a fire?

And yes, it’s great to know that your files are being hosted remotely somewhere, but wouldn’t you feel better knowing that your data, perhaps backed up to your server, also exists in a hard copy form at your home or in a safety deposit box?

Maybe the safety deposit box is a bit much for most people, but if you are running a business from home that pays the bills, you would be wise to have a REALLY safe place for your backups.

So I highly recommend finding your FAVORITE solution and implementing it immediately, and then use your next favorite as a backup to that just in case.

And about those external harddrives….they really are nice to have. I have the Seagate FreeAgent, which I bought at Best Buy for about $80 when it was on sale. The harddrive is a whopping 250GB of space (more than enough for most people, even those with videos and picture files) and it takes up no more room than the Comcast modem I have on my desk. TigerDirect.Com  sells the Seagate FreeAgent in a variety of disk sizes.

Whichever method you choose to backup your files, remember that the idea that AutomaticMoms.Com tries to promote is that your tasks, like backing up your computer, should be as automatic and seamless as possible. Once you have created a “system” for backing up your files, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without one before! And, you’ll enjoy the peace of mind that having regular backups provides you!

Today’s Technology Tuesday highlights a free online tool that allows you to compare the shipping costs of various shipping providers such as FedEx, UPS, USPS, and DHL. The tool works by allowing you to enter basic information about your package and see which provider would be the cheapest. It also saves time because you will know before you head to the shipping center what your package will cost.

The tool is located at PackBuddy.Com and it has a very simple interface where you enter the package’s origin, destination, size and weight. Then the site calculates the shipping for each of the four big shipping companies.

The site works pretty well, but be prepared….not all calculations include all of the shipping options. I’m not sure if this is because the shipping option may not be available in all areas or if this is a glitch in the software. When I tested it, I found that FedEx was the best deal for one package going to one destination and USPS was the best deal for another.

It’s definitely worth a bookmark though….it’s a handy little tool that I’m sure will come in handy during the holiday season or if you are a dedicated Ebay’er.

If you’re like me, you want to save money any way you can, but you want to do it in an easy and convenient way that doesn’t take too much time and effort. What drives me crazy is when I buy something and find it has gone on sale a week later! Did you know that at more than 35 stores, you are entitled to a “price adjustment” within a certain period of time after your purchase? This means that you can get the difference between what you paid and the price for which it is now on sale!

Todays Technology Tuesday shows you how to automatically track your purchases and find out if something you have purchased is now on sale. This free online tool is pretty cool!

The tool is called PriceProtectr.Com (yes, it’s supposed to be misspelled!) and it’s a free online tool that allows you to track your purchases automatically.

Simply enter the URL of the item on the store’s site along with your email address, and you will receive free updates on the price as they are changed on the store website.

The service currently tracks the following stores:  Altrec.com, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, American Musical Supply, Backcountry.com, Banana Republic, BestBuy.com, BestBuy.ca, Bike Nashbar, Circuit City, CompUSA, Cooking.com, Costco, Future Shop, Gap, Jenson USA, KB Toys, Kohls, Lamps Plus, Office Depot, Office Max, Old Navy, RadioShack, Sears, 6th Avenue Electronics, Staples.com, Staples.ca, Swim Outlet, Target, The Sharper Image, and Tiffany Lamps.

The service also knows how long the price protection period is for each store and will continue to send you emails during that period. After the price protection period, the emails will stop letting you know that you have passed the period when you could receive a partial refund of the purchase price.

I see this service as being great for people who purchase higher-end items. After all, if you were to spend $200 on something and find that the price dropped by 15%, that would be a savings of $30 which is not too shabby! Even if you just make a few smaller purchases, the savings can really add up.

So give it a shot! After all, it’s free!