These free tools and services have been piling up in my inbox, waiting to share with you. I hope you find them as valuable and interesting as I did:

1. Twenty Buzz-Monitoring Tools
Find out what is being said about your brand by checking out the list of media tools on the Vanksen|Culture-buzz blog. The freebie tools don't deliver the results of paid professional services, but it's a great place to start to monitor, as Vanksen says, "your e-reputation." Part 2 of the series is here.

2. Ten+ Web-based Services for Site Stats and Analytics
Explore these sites to track and monitor your Web site traffic and patterns. Each will deliver a different perspective. The collection can be found at a recent VisionWidget blog posting.

3. Press Release Distribution Companies
Here's a list of 40 (!) companies that distribute press releases on the Web at no charge. Compiled by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases, the services do not guarantee results, of course. Find the list at the eReleases site, here.

4. Seth Godin's book, Tribes, on audio
Seth is known for giving away part, or all, of his books for free, as a way to generate broader interest in his work. His book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, was named the Best Business Book of 2008 by 800-CEO-Read. This promotional audio download from Audible.com is not found by searching on their main site (where it will cost you up to $14.95), but by this link. (Caveat: You may need to set up an Audible account to download it by creating a user name and password, which should be at no charge. This is difficult for me to test, since I'm a long-time Audible member.) Once downloaded, it is easily ported to your iPod or other MP3 player. And yes, it's the full version of his book, nearly four hours in length.

Thanks to all these companies and sites for these offerings!

That's it for this week -- I'm packing for Florida, and my day-long workshop on Creative Entrepreneurship at the University of Florida this Saturday, October 10th. There are still a few spots available, so if you're a soloist in the area (or up for a road trip), come join me! All the details are here

-- Terri Lonier
Founder, WorkingSolo.com