Meet Certifikid, Baltimore's Best Resource for Family Deals!

As I was looking over the Economoms Facebook page this morning, I was SOOOOO excited to see that we're up to almost 1,550 fans. I love our little community of Baltimore moms and dads who are on this journey with me to play local yet live frugal.

However, I was SOOOOO surprised to see one of the stats that the Facebook gurus provide business page owners .... Only about 100 of the 1,500 of you are fans of Certifikid, our newest partner. How can this be?! 

Certifikid is hands down my favorite daily deals site. Not only is it local, but it's targeted specifically to families. Unlike Groupon or Living Social, Certifikid has real moms just like us securing deals for their subscribers, not some Joe Schmoe that works halfway across the country and doesn't know anything about Baltimore family life.

My favorite Certifikid deal I've scored so far is half off Port Discovery tickets. I can't wait to take Macy for the first time! You can find deals for other kiddo favorites like Cartoon Cuts, Urban Pirates, and Irvine Nature Center too. Camps, music and art classes, photographers, and family-friendly restaurants are also featured regularly.

Plus, Certifikid offers deals that helps to make parents' lives a little easier .... like carpet cleaning and car detailing. If your car is anything like mine -- baby bottle spills and Cheerios galore -- I know these are services that us parents could really use but don't want to spend a lot of money on (hint, hint Certifikid!!).

So if you're one of the 1,400 Economoms that aren't yet following Certifikid, do it now! Click here to sign up to have their deals delivered to your inbox every day. And click here to follow them on Facebook.

November 2010 Survey Results

Happy Holidays Momanistas!

We're now up to 730+ fans, which is just so exciting because the more followers we have, the bigger and better the deals Economoms can land you from Baltimore area businesses! Please keep passing the word about Economoms! We truly appreciate it! And we can't wait to unveil some great specials for you in the New Year.

You might remember that in November we launched a survey to collect info on our fan base and learn more about your interests. We thought it would only be appropriate to share the results with you. Do you agree with the results? Do you have other feedback to share? We welcome you to add to our survey responses by completing it here: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BJSQXTJ5F Or, please feel free to comment on this blog post or send an email to bmorefamilydeals@gmail.com.

The following responses were related to demographics:

• 100% of respondents were female
• 52% were aged 35-44
• 93% have children under age 18 living at home
• Respondents' children fall in the following age groups:
• 37% of kids are aged 0-3
• 29% of kids are aged 4-6
• 17% of kids are aged 7-9
• 7% of kids are aged 10-12
• 4% of kids are aged 13-15
• 4% of kids are aged 16-18
• 68% of respondents live in Baltimore County
• 12% live in Baltimore City
• 12% live in Harford County
• 8% live in other Maryland areas or outside Maryland

For the following, respondents were asked whether they completely disagreed, disagreed, agreed, or wholeheartedly agreed:

• 62% wholeheartedly agree that deals should be published daily
• 67% agree that the retailers and services featured are appealing
• 45% disagree that the deals offered are big enough to entice them to make a purchase
• 55% wholeheartedly agree that the Baltimore areas in which deals are offered apply to them

For the following, respondents were asked to select the categories that they were most interested in getting deals for. They could select as many choices as they liked.

• 83% selected children's apparel/accessories
• 83% selected local events/activities
• 76% selected food and restaurants
• 59% selected mom and dad "me time" products/activities
• 59% selected toys
• 52% selected parents' apparel/accessories
• 52% selected fitness/sporting goods
• 52% selected educational materials
• 52% selected vacations
• 48% selected consignment goods
• 38% selected services like babysitting or event planning
• 34% selected eco-friendly products

The following responses were related to purchasing habits/preferences:

• 86% of respondents said they have not made a purchase through Economoms yet but they expect to in the future
• 61% said they prefer receiving a coupon that they can print off, save for later, and use in-person at the store
• 81% said they'd be happy with Economoms moving to a Groupon-like format (e.g., fans have a limited time period to spend $20 on Economoms' web site to get a certificate for $40 worth of toys from a local shop)

Again, we'd love to hear your thoughts! Complete the survey here: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22BJSQXTJ5F; email us at bmorefamilydeals@gmail.com; or comment directly on this post.

Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season,
Amie Voith
Founder, Economoms

Things that make you feel goooood!

Morning Fans!

Since Economoms was launched a little over three months ago, I've gotten so much joy from landing awesome deals for you guys and passing on tips for budget-friendly events in the Baltimore area. Saving money is just as important as living a fun, style-filled life, and I sincerely hope Economoms is helping you to that end.

Lisa with her Daughters

But it wasn't until just a few days ago, that I felt TRULY proud of Economoms, and it was all thanks to fan Lisa Berg Joubert and partner Physical Therapy First. You might recall that Lisa was the winner of our Halloween photo giveaway. She posted adorable photos of her daughters dressed as Dorothy and Minnie Mouse for Halloween. Courtesy of Physical Therapy First, we drew Lisa as the random winner of a thirty minute massage.

The idea was to give a local mom a relaxing experience. After all, holidays can be more exhausting than anything else! Between decorating, making costumes, buying candy, and trying to get your kids not to gorge on said candy, we figured a parent could really use thirty minutes of pure relaxation.

But Lisa took it to another level ...... upon winning, her immediate thought was not to keep the massage for herself, but to pass it on to someone who needed it much more than her. Lisa thought a good friend in her book club would appreciate it much more. Why? She was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this fall.

Lisa was concerned that Physical Therapy First's gift certificate wouldn't be transferrable. Economoms response? We'll make it happen, no matter what!! We were truly touched by Lisa's generosity and experienced that warm, fuzzy feeling that you can only get when you give back. The deal was sealed when Physical Therapy First let us know they loved the idea too. And now a voucher for a relaxing massage is on its way to Lisa's friend. We sincerely hope the massage will be a little slice of bliss for her amidst this trying time.

Call for Charities
Lisa's generosity made us realize Economoms needs to give back a whole lot more! In honor of the upcoming holiday season, Economoms would love to spread the word about the charity events and drives that you're participating in. There's 569 of us on Facebook (so far!) and if just 10% of us could give back at least once, it would make a HUGE difference. To that end, Economoms will publish a weekly log of your charities throughout the holiday season. Here's what we need from you in order to be featured:

1. The Name of the Charity You'd Like to Promote
2. Brief Description of Charity
3. What and How People Can Donate
4. Web Address / Email Address / Phone # of the Charity
5. Any Applicable Dates
6. Photos are Encouraged but Optional!

Email the above information to bmorefamilydeals@gmail.com to be included!

Cheers,

Amie
Founder, Economoms