Spread the Word... get a $100 Gift Card!

At CWS, we're grateful that people say wonderful things about us. In fact, almost all of our business comes from either referrals or existing customers. To show our appreciation, we want to give back to our friends and customers with a new referral program. When you refer someone to us and they complete their first order or project, you'll receive a gift card. It's that easy!

Simply tell us about your "web ready" friends using this new referral form. We'll send them our latest information and follow up to see how we can help.

You're probably thinking to yourself, "just what do I get for a referral? A big juicy steak? Guitar Hero III?" The answer is simple -- YES! You choose the merchant and we'll personally get you a gift card to your favorite place. Based on the product or service that your referral uses, you'll receive the following:

- RapidNewsletter ($25 gift card)
- GroupLoop ($25 gift card)
- Hosting ($25 gift card)
- Search Engine Marketing/Optimization ($50 gift card)
- Web Design or Programming ($100 gift card)

To get our new program started with a bang, we're going to DOUBLE the value of all gift cards for the first 5 referrals we receive. That's right, this means you can receive up to $200 in gift cards... if you hurry.

In order to qualify, your referral:

1. Must be received before the person contacts us.
2. Must be new to the CWS mailing list.
3. Must be a first-time CWS customer.
4. Must be submitted via our online referral form.

Thanks again for your support and we hope you enjoy this new program.

Secret Santa Dead at 58

America lost an inspirational hero on Friday. His name was Larry Stewart and he gave away a total of $1.3 million by roaming the streets and anonymously handing out money in December of each year. He gained international attention in November after he revealed himself as the Secret Santa. He was diagnosed in April with cancer, and wanted to use his celebrity status to inspire others to make random acts of kindness.

His private holiday giving started in December 1979 when he was at a drive-in restaurant nursing his wounds from having been fired. It was the second year in a row he had been fired the week before Christmas. Hmmm, does that sound like some local folks who experienced a similar problem last month?

"It was cold and this carhop didn't have on a very big jacket, and I thought to myself, 'I think I got it bad. She's out there in this cold making nickels and dimes,"' he said. He gave her $20 and told her to keep the change.

I find it interesting to see how different people react to similar adverse situations. As the saying goes, "Things can always be worse, so be thankful for what you have". If you think to yourself that things can't get any worse, spend some time volunteering at a hospital. There are plenty of people there that would love to have your good health.

It's a shame that we often don't hear about people who make a difference until they are gone. In his memory, do something nice for a co-worker today or consider becoming a Secret Santa member yourself.

Win $$$ w/ CWS and MyBlogLog

MyBlogLog.com continues to amaze me. You know they're hot when rumors about being aquired by Yahoo start after only a couple of months. Our community has grown from a handful of people to over 50 in a matter of a few weeks. I have even been the "Featured Member" on the members page for a couple weeks now. Thanks to the staff at MyBlogLog for doing this, especially Scott Rafer.

We've had so much success with MyBlogLog that we decided to reward our new members. We thought long and hard about what we could do to "give back" to the people who had put faith in our blog. And then we decided to have a contest! Yes... a contest to give stuff away. Everyone loves free stuff, right?

To show our appreciation, we're going to randomly give away $50 to a member of our community EVERY Friday (through January 1st). All you have to do to be eligible to win is be a member of our blog community. We'll randonly pick a new winner each week and let everyone know you're the big winner. It's really easy, fun, and only takes a few seconds to sign up. As an added bonus, you'll probably meet lots of other cool people from all over the world too! Check it out today.