I Need Your Help! Shape the Future of erica.biz…

If you haven’t taken a look at erica.biz recently (especially if you’re reading this in an email or in your RSS reader!), come take a look now! I have a new design!

A Quick Tour of the New Theme

There are a few new items on erica.biz that I wanted to point out:

• A new email list option. Over on the right, there’s a new email list option. When you sign up here, you’ll not only receive new post notifications, but you will also receive additional behind-the-scenes tips, interviews, giveaways, and other cool stuff that will only be available to email list subscribers. I’ve already had many people sign up — don’t miss your chance! Go to erica.biz and sign up now!
• My Twitter feed. I post pretty much every day on Twitter, and it’s a way for you to see what’s going on in my personal life. I’ve added my Twitter feed to the sidebar, and you can see my latest posts there. Add me on Twitter to get to know my “real life” better.
• An ad section. On the bottom right, you’ll see some ads. No, I haven’t “sold out.” These are actually products I enjoy and use! Check them out; they have great deals.
• I’ve also added an ad policy page that explains why I pick the ads I do. Finally, if your business is interested in developing a long-term relationship by advertising on erica.biz, there’s a new page all about that here – the advertising page.

I Need Your Help!

One of the reasons I have been rather quiet lately on this blog is that I have been working behind the scenes to launch both my new blog theme and Inspiring Innovators. Now that I have the new theme for erica.biz launched, though, I need your help!

I’ve received lots of emails and Twitters with your questions, comments, and thoughts about this blog, and I sincerely appreciate them all. I know that there are thousands of you subscribed and reading, so I wanted to give each of you the opportunity to tell me what you want.

To that end, I’ve created a short 8-question survey that should take you less than 5 minutes to complete. Please take my survey now!

erica.biz is about me, yes, but it’s also about you. I have many interests that I could ramble on about for hours here, but I know not all of those coincide with your needs and wishes. I will never know what works for you and what doesn’t unless you take 5 minutes and do the survey.

As an additional incentive, I have 3 books that I will be giving away to random survey-takers: two copies of Seth Godin’s Tribes and one copy of Steve Pavlina’s Personal Development for Smart People. To enter, just put your email address in on the last “question” of the survey, and I will email you if you win. Winners will be randomly selected, and I won’t use your email address for anything else.

Take the survey now and tell me what you want me to write about!

Special Deals

There are a few great deals that I wanted to mention while they’re still going on…

• A lot of you who read this blog still have your money in a savings account that earns practically no interest. Some banks even charge fees for savings accounts! Forget all that nonsense and open an account with ING Direct instead. They offer a 2.75% APY (way better than your local bank!) Plus, transferring money to and from your regular checking account is as easy as clicking a mouse. I do have an ING Direct account and recommend them. Open a savings account in less than 10 minutes today!
• For the month of December only, the Entertainment book is offering $10 off and free shipping. The Entertainment book offers 2-for-1 discounts in most major cities at restaurants. Don’t eat out? Use the drugstore and grocery coupons to save big bucks. For instance, here in San Jose, the Entertainment book offers $20 in Safeway coupons for groceries, and $20 in coupons for Longs drugstores — easily enough to pay back the book! I do buy at least one of these every year; last year I had two. You will definitely save money if you use the coupons. Get $10 off the 2009 Entertainment book if you order by December 31!
• Need a fax line or a toll-free number for your business? I use RingCentral. RingCentral offers a fax line or toll-free number free for 30 days. You can send and receive faxes directly from your computer and email. It’s easy! I continue to be their customer. Try RingCentral today for free!

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to take the survey!