How to Generate Free QR Codes for Personal and Business Us

QR Codes stands for Quick Response Codes and they were originally used as replacement codes for traditional bar codes. Traditional bar codes consist of stickers and labels that often get damaged during manufacturing of products and parts; which is the reason why QR codes have become the new craze in manufacturing industry. The use of free QR codes has saved a lot of businesses and corporations advertising money and they have allowed consumers to get easy and convenient access to information.

QR codes popularity has extended and exploded especially since some Smartphones have built in with QR code scanners. Other mobile phones offer the option of downloading and installation of QR code software scanning programs.Generating your own QR code may seem a little mind-boggling.

But with some assistance and knowledge on the issues, the process is actually very simple. All you
will need is to use QR code generators, known by most as QR code makers or creators, and you can easily generated your own QR codes for almost any item you are selling. Using QR code technology gives businesses great advertising boost for very low capitals.

For small business though, which are still on the trial and error period, use of free QR codes is very much advisable. If you are vigilant in doing internet browsing, there is a big chance that you are going to find a lot of sources for free QR codes creation.

Some websites may require you to register while some offer their services for free. Basically, these free QR code service providers work similarly like paid QR code generators. The difference between the two is that, paid QR codes are the best option for businesses while free QR codes are ideal for business newbies and for personal use.

So, if you want to try how to generate QR codes, you can do so for free; just find a reliable QR code generator that offers free service. Some free QR code generators offer linking options to SMS, URLs and phone numbers. Others feature QR decoder while some sites have blogs and forums that help beginners gain better understanding on how to effectively generate free QR codes.

What Are QR Codes and How They Can Be Excellent Marketing Tools

QR codes (Quick Response codes) are two-dimensional codes with larger storage capacities compared to the usual barcodes. Visually, this code will have black square dots forming a square pattern on a background of white. Originally QR codes were used by an automotive industry in Japan; however, their versatility for storing almost any type of data have made them universally applicable in any industry or business for a variety of purposes.

Almost any type of smartphone will be able to scan a QR code and reveal what is inside. Generating these codes is also quite easy, and there are many websites where you can generate these codes free. These codes are quite new, but they have become quite popular and many businesses use them as effective marketing tools.

Whenever people come across a code, they are quite intrigued and are at once interested in knowing the contents hidden in the code. Secondly, it provides a seemingly intimate form of communication, as only a person having a smartphone can read the code. This makes the message seem important and exclusive, which prompts people to scan QR codes.

When people encounter ads, they usually ignore them, and at the most, people usually glance at the photos and hardly notice the text. However, with QR codes, people will be intrigued to read what the code contains and what message it unravels. Here people are in fact making an effort to read your advertisement or marketing message.

QR codes can appear virtually anywhere, ranging from actual prints on billboards and flyers, to being hosted on websites, or even shown on TV ads. Since they have a higher storage capacity, you can pack quite a bit of information, including contact info, product details, coupons, special offers, website links, and social media ids. QR codes are excellent tools for advertising or marketing campaigns, and can be placed in any kind of visual media. QR codes are here to stay, and even though their novelty might wear out after some time, their effectiveness in delivering content will never diminish, as people will be always intrigued to know what a code contains.

You Could Win A Free iPad Monthly

The ICANetwork, thru one of it's sites is now sponsoring a monthly drawing for a free iPad with no purchase necessary, and it's so simple to enter… Everyone who requests a free QR code for any one of the three QR code products featured on the home page is awarded a point, and each point is worth a free entry into next month's drawing.

The drawings are held on the first business day of each month and one new winner will be selected each month!  Entering the drawing is as simple as visiting www.FreeQRcodes.mobi.  Get a free QR code for any one of the three products - all three if you like - and tell the world about them using the free tools provided at the site, and receive points for each. 

The three QR code products are: 

   - A QR code for any website or any page at any site
   - A Virtual Business Card with QR code - which may also be used just for personal use. Your contacts will be able to scan your Virtual Business Card QR code and automatically load your contact information right to their phone with no typing!
   - A QR code for any phone number, which The ICANetwork calls their "speed dial" QR code product.

In fact, each time a free QR code is requested for any of the three products, you are given a point for next month's drawing…  But if that's not cool enough, check this out...

On the 2nd page that pops up after you select your QR code, the system automatically generates your QR code right before your eyes, AND more importantly, on that same page FreeQRcodes.mobi provides you with all of the marketing tools you could possibly use to announce to all of your contacts, your new QR code.

You can access your favorite social media accounts simply by clicking on the appropriate icon, you can even allow the system to send a brief email on your behalf to your email contacts. And guess what? 

Each time any of your contacts come in and request any one of, or all of, the QR code products, you earn an additional point to be entered into next month's drawing.  Conceivably you could have hundreds or thousands of points which would dramatically increase your odds of winning each month.

So, not only do you get the finest QR code products guaranteed to work on any smart phone platform, but for each one of your own QR codes and each one of the QR codes obtained by those you refer using the marketing tools, you are entered into the monthly drawing again and again and again.

The ICANetwork makes these tools available because they believe having these tools in place make it
convenient and essential for all of their customers to market their QR codes to everyone they know through email and social media accounts.  It's an amazing system!

Sign up to free a free iPad Now!

Benefits Of Free Virtual Business Cards

Utilizing free virtual business cards is an effective way of attracting people that become potential clients or customers. Not only are these free but they are easy to customize, easily distributed and an eco-friendly alternative to conventional cards. The real advantage with using free virtual business cards is that once you give it away, the recipients will not lose it. Unlike conventional business cards that can be easily misplaced or thrown away.

On top of being able to choose how your card looks like in terms of font, design and layout, you can change the information anytime there are updates. Take for example a change in phone numbers or the addition of a website, you can easily input these into your existing virtual business cards and the new information appears in all the cards you have already sent out and will still send out. Your clients are always updated no matter how many times there are changes to your contact information. You no longer have to waste money in reprinting and giving away new batches of conventional cards whenever there are changes to your information.

The best way to widen your network of potential clients is to be really accessible. Today, almost all businesses take advantage of the various social media platforms to reach their customers. With free virtual business cards, you can list all the social networks your company belongs to. This gives your clients free reign on how to contact you. They will not feel restricted with their options whenever they want to contact you for inquiries or comments.

Another great benefit of free virtual business cards is its accessibility. You can give this out to anyone anywhere in the world without having to spend money sending them out. You will not be limited in distributing it nor will you have to rely on face-to-face encounters just so you can physically hand out your card.

Reaping all these benefits from free virtual business cards is really simple. All you have to do is to search online for workable templates so that you can customize your own cards before sending them out. This is a great way to reach clients that were once impossible to do with conventional business cards.

What Is All The Fuss About These Things

First, these things are called a QR code.  It's kinda like a barcode, only that square box holds a lot more information then a barcode ever could.  And QR stands for Quick Response.
Pay attention to the world around you.  You are starting to see them everywhere.

The beauty of a QR code is, once scanned by a smart phone QR code reader, you can be taken instantly to their website or webpage or really any other information on the internet that their QR code is designed to take you to.

For example, you can have a QR code for a Virtual Business Card, where scanning the QR code will load your contact information immediately and automatically, downloaded to that smart phone contact database with all the fields filled in. For anyone exchanging contact information this can be a life saver from having to type it in on a tiny smart phone keyboard.  Boy, times are a'changing fast!

Talk about a time savings tool.. Now you never have to give out your information the old fashioned clumsy way by email or worse yet by phone, so someone can type it in to their tiny keyboard and get it on their phone.  Now it's breeze.. Scan a QR code, press enter, boom! Your info is in their database.  This is cool stuff!

Think this is a passing fad?  Think again.

The internet is becoming fragmented. No, it isn't broken - it simply means that there are more ways that people can access the internet now then every before.

Fifteen years ago from a desktop PC you clicked on or typed in a URL and you went to the internet. 
These days you can get there of course via the PC, but also laptops and iPads and tablets and of course now the smart phone.

In fact, it is estimated that by the end of just this year - and we are almost at this figure already - more than 50% of ALL internet traffic will originate from a smart mobile device..  This is stunning and amazing.  You need to pay very close attention to what is going on in the world around you if you are to survive and prosper in this new Web 3.0.  The learning curve is not substantial, it's just about mobile.

You simply need to be mobile enabled.  And all that means is this...

First, your website needs to be viewable on that little tiny 3-4 inch screen.  So when those smart phones scan your QR code to get there  or otherwise do a search online and find your link or otherwise click on a link in an email they are reading on their smart phone, they can actually "see easily" your webpage.  And one or two webpages is all you need.  But a warning: be careful, don't load it up with thick rich graphics.  Remember, smart phones are connecting to your webpage wireless and those heavy graphics will take a long time to load - if they load at all.  You'll lose the prospect before they even get there when this happens.

Second, be careful not to use more than eight or nine words per line.  More than that, the font shows up so tiny on that smart phone screen it's almost impossible to see without a magnifying glass.

Let's talk about those QR codes.

You will see the day, and not in the too distant future, where just about every product on a retail shelf will have a QR code on it, that takes a customer to a simple page that explains more about the product.. How it's made, where it's made, product information, operating instructions - you get the idea.

And of course...

You are already beginning to see them if you're paying attention.  In direct mail, post cards, newspaper ads, magazine ads, you name it, they are perfect for print media.  If you don't have a QR code leading prospects to your website, you are about to if not already losing ground to your competitors.

Think about it.  As I already said we are already almost at the point where 50% of all internet traffic is originating from a mobile device.

So be sure to get yourself a QR code.

Set up a mini page, talking about you, your business, and how you can help people.  Get that QR code out there in the marketplace.  All of your print media including your old-fashioned paper business cards, and including your website, because a QR code can be scanned by a smart phone from a monitor.

Have fun with it, get creative!  You can have your QR code printed on your T-shirt, on your magnetic signs on your car, anywhere and everywhere.  They can be blown up into just about any size, or shrunk down small enough to accommodate even a small ad in the yellow book directory or be placed on a business card.

It's time to get with it.  The internet is changing faster than it did when social media hit the scene.  This thing is a thousand ton freight train coming down the tracks at all of us at 70 miles an hour and there's nothing you and I can do to slow it down let alone stop it. Might as well jump on board and enjoy the ride.  Prosper, and not lose ground to our competitors.

And the QR code in the headline of this article is a live sample.  Scan it on your smart phone, press enter, boom, you will be taken to my personal app.

There is so much that can be done, this technology is really cool.  Engaging in this technology can grow your business. Give your customers, your prospects the easiest way possible to interact with you, to find you, and you will outsmart and out market your competition every time.

You can get your free QR codes at www.FreeQRcodes.mobi.  And you can also get a Virtual Business Card there, again, free.  I highly recommend the site.  And if you need your current website made mobile friendly see www.ICANGoMobile.com.

Michael T. Glaspie
CEO & Founder, TheICANetwork.com

How to Get Free QR Codes

QR codes are those little black squares full of more squares which North Americans have started to see more of lately in all kinds of media. They are printed on vacation brochures. You will find them on posters. Cash registers carry them, magazines, and more. Even educational institutions and city councils provide QR codes for students, parents, and citizens where they can learn more about what is going on at college or around town.

The great thing about a QR code (quick response code) is that it condenses extra information into a little symbol. This means that, instead of being hit with lots of information all at once, a consumer's curiosity is peaked by just the most tantalizing tidbits. With his or her interest raised, the company can then satisfy that person's curiosity with more thorough information provided, thanks to the QR code. You might think that something so complicated and handy would be expensive to make, but it is not.

In fact, making free codes is easy. You can make free QR codes just by going to the right websites. Here, the software lets you type in whatever information you wish to 'qurify' (the term for condensing details into the QR code). This could be a website, some words, or images. There might be the dates and times of a show and the cost of tickets. Instead of cluttering a poster with lots of writing, an advertising company can focus on the main points and bright visual stimuli to get viewers' attention.
Later, with the code 'dequrified,' consumers browse further details at a convenient time. They did not have to write anything on their hands. Anyone with a mobile phone and an app for reading these codes can make use of these symbols.

If you are promoting a not-for-profit organization and plan to host an event, this is a good way to get attention. You spend no money increasing your accessibility. Meanwhile, with so many people carrying mobile devices, the chances of more individuals exploring your simple advertising poster and checking out the QR code expand your audience and fundraising potential.