I decided to introduce him to the world of social media marketing & word of mouth! Here is what Connor did on his own:

• The Problem

Connor realized that there are many hungry children in our world.

• The Vision

He decided he wanted to partner with the food bank & make a difference. Connor decided to put a twist on his fundraising.

• The Execution = www.PopcornForKids.org

Using Network Solution’s WebBuilder Image Cafe software to create a website for people to purchase popcorn for the hungry children.

• The Dream

Connor’s goal is to give each of the 35,000 hungry children in the US a tin of popcorn.

A Winning Combination

Network Solutions is matching donations up to $500!!!

So your contribution will be doubled. Help Connor achieve his dream.

You are also helping Connor learn about the power of Social Media & word of mouth.

How else can you help? Blog it, spread the word on Twitter by changing your picture to popcorn.

How to change your photo in Twitter:

Click on Settings | Picture Tab | Browse to your image & Save

(take a screen shot of popcorn & save it to use – here is the one we’re using in Flickr)

Web site builder ImageCafe is software that Network Solutions has which makes it easy for anyone to create a web site. You can read my review here. It’s intuitive & easy to use. And the best part is that you can create a complex site fairly quickly with little or no technical knowledge.

That’s exactly what a ten year old Boy Scout did! His father was familiar with website builder by Network Solutions & said this about his experience using it:

“I am a Network Solutions customer, using your website builder software to host and build websites. I’ve found your service to be very intuitive and easy to use. The second website I built was an instant success, generating enough sales to pay for itself within two weeks of going live.”

He goes on to tell how his son came to decide to use Network Solutions to host & build a web site to support hungry kids:

“My 10 year old son recently learned that there are thousands of kids in America that go home hungry every day. This sad fact both amazed and troubled him. So he decided to do something about it. My son is a Cub Scout, and Cub Scouts sell popcorn every year as their annual fundraiser, much like Girl Scouts sell cookies. He has been a top popcorn seller since he was in second grade. Last year he sold over $3,000 when most kids sell an average of $200.

But this year he announced he was doing something different. He wants to get people and businesses to donate money and buy Cub Scout popcorn so that he can give it away to the thousands of kids nationwide that go hungry every day.”

So his father helped him set up an alliance with a nationwide food bank called “Feeding America” that is distributing the popcorn. Then he showed his son how he used Image Café to build one of his websites “FreeEasyGreen.com”. His son was intrigued and set about building his own web site, PopcornForKids.org. It is a simple website, but an effective one. He said,

“Website builder ImageCafe is so easy to use, a 10 year can do it!”

Website & Goal Receives Recognition!

The fifth grader’s mission to feed hungry kids using www.PopcornForKids.org has become an overnight media sensation!

Newspapers around the country have been printing stories about him. We managed to get some of them listed on the web site. He did a television interview last week, and has two more scheduled already for this week.

But, time is of the essence, because the fundraising efforts end on October 18th. So pop on over to PopcornForKids.org & put a smile on a child’s face!

1. Choosing a domain name

2. Hosting packages

The next step is the exciting part. You probably have lots of great ideas for the pages of your website. Doing some planning in advance will be helpful as you put content up for your customers.

Network Solutions has three options that span every level. If you’d like to do it yourself you can no matter whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned programmer.

Website Builder

This is a great option if you’d like to do it yourself. Website Builder has a simple to use interface that makes it easy to customize your site. This is a site that I’m working on:

It allows you to add lots of great features to your site such as:

Paypal buttons so you can sell your products

SuperStats Performance Reports give you statistics on how many visit your site

Mapquest maps & directions help customers find you

And you get $50 Yahoo Search Marketing Credit, $25 Google Adwords Credit & a 60 day trial for email marketing.

Web Design Services

If you’re just too busy then Network Solutions has talented people that will do it for you! There are various packages to choose from depending on what your needs are.

Specialized Services

Network Solutions also has specialized building tools for e-commerce applications & building sites that are optimized for mobile devices.