Using Pinterest for Business

Do you use Pinterest  to help build your business?  I am experimenting with it myself.  I find Pinterest to be very fun, but it can also be very beneficial.

Ninety percent of the information transmitted to our brains is visual.  This is a big plus when it comes to using Pinterest, being that this platform mostly deals with images.

More than twice as many people buy from Pinterest than Facebook.  The average order value of a products purchased on Pinterst is $179.36, compared with $80.22 on Facebook and $68.78 on Twitter.  As you can see Pinterest can be a profitable tool.

70% of people visit Pinterst for inspiration compared with 17% on Facebook.  80% of pinners buy within 3 weeks of a products being pinned, and 85% of the content shared on Pinterest comes from users instead of brands.

As you can see, having a Pinterest business page is a good idea.  Make your page professional.  Optimize it by using keywords in the username, about section and board title.  Fill your boards with engaging original content.

The most popular types of pins are:

Infographics

Teasers

Checklist

Tutorials

Videos

Do's and Don'ts of Pinterest

Do's

Create tall pins with lots of pictures

Use compelling headlines

Use thirty or more terms for keyword targeting

Include a call to action

Don'ts

Design ugly ads

Waste caption space

Pay for traffic without a strategy

I know that this is very brief, but I hope that it helps you increase your engagement on Pinterest.  As with anything consistency is the key, and remember that inspiration sells.

From Hopeful WAHM to Entrepreneur: How This Mom Did It - WAHM.com

From Hopeful WAHM to Entrepreneur: How This Mom Did It - WAHM.comFrom Hopeful WAHM to Entrepreneur: How This Mom Did It - WAHM.com

7 Small Businesses You Can Start From Home - WAHM.com

7 Small Businesses You Can Start From Home - WAHM.com

Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

With so many busy parents on the web and IBOtoolbox, I just wanted to share an easy recipe that may help some of you out in the kitchen.  I got this recipe from a cookbook that I have had for a long time.  I was looking through it last night trying to find easy recipes to accommodate my busy schedule. This particular recipe itself belongs to Cheryl Bartel of Hillsboro, KS. I have not tried it myself yet, but I have heard that slow cooker macaroni and cheese is delicious.

Ingredients:

8 oz dry elbow macaroni, cooked

3-4 cups (about 3/4lb) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

13 oz can evaporated milk

1 1/2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

chopped onion to taste

1. Combine all of the ingredients, except for 1 cup of the cheese, in a greased slow cooker.  Sprinkle the reserved cup of cheese over the top.

2. Cover and cook the  mixture on low for 3 -4 hours. Do not remove the lid or stir until the mixture has finished cooking.

Variation:

For some extra zest, you can add 1/2 tsp of dry mustard when combining all the ingredients.  You can also add thin slices of cheese to the top of the cooker mixer.  These variations are courtesy of Dorothy M. Pittman of Pickens, SC.

I will definitely be trying this recipe out the next time that I decided to make macaroni and cheese.  I hope that this is very helpful to you and that your family enjoys it as much as I know that mine will.

Quick and Easy Meals for Busy Parents

I know that a lot of us are trying to balance our businesses and careers with our family lives.  This can be sometimes hard.  Just having enough time to prepare a home cooked meal sometimes seems impossible. As soon as I get off from work my kids are calling me to ask what we are going to have for dinner that night. 

Being that I am so busy and often tired, I pick up something from a restaurant at least a couple nights a week.  Plus we sometimes eat out on Saturdays.  Eating out so much can be very unhealthy and quite expensive. I have been looking for a way to fit a home cooked meal into my busy daily schedule and wanted to share the links to a few easy recipes that I found.  

These are not my recipes.  I found them by searching the internet.  I hope that they will be helpful to all of you busy parents out there.

You can find Simple 5 ingredient recipes at http://www.myrecipes.com/quick-and-easy/5-ingredients-or-less/simple-dinner-recipes-for-the-family-10000001823014/

Here are some great 15 minute meals that are very affordable  http://www.allyou.com/food/family-meals/easy-and-quick-dinners/simple-salmon-recipe

Here is a link to chicken dinners under $2  http://www.allyou.com/food/family-meals/cheap-chicken-dinners

The Busy Moms' Recipe Box is a blog started by two busy moms.  They share recipes that they have found over the years and that work for their families. http://www.busymomsrecipebox.com/

Here you can find 10 Shortcut dinners from Food.com  http://www.food.com/slideshow/10-shortcut-dinners-for-busy-moms-170

There are some great pasta meals under $2 at http://www.allyou.com/food/supercheap-meals/cheap-pasta-meals

Just in time for Easter Allyou.com shares some easy and delicious Easter Dinner recipes athttp://www.allyou.com/food/recipes/easter-meal-recipes

They also share easy (but fancy) finger foods  http://www.allyou.com/food/celebrations/easy-finger-foods

I hope that this list makes cooking easier and more affordable for all of you.