JoelComm.com

Starting a New Business Venture

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:00:00 -0700

The start of any new business always contains the scariest moments. On the one hand, you're never going to feel more enthusiastic about your idea than during those first few months. You'll get to see your plan take flight and discover whether it really does have wings.

On the other hand, you also have to cope with the fear that it's going to fail -- that what you thought was going to bring you a giant sack of cash is actually going to drink your savings and waste your time.

Like I said, it's scary stuff.

Don't worry, I won't quit my day job

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:13:18 -0700

Yesterday I posted a video of my brother-in-law's legendary karaoke performance.

Many have asked if I was going to post my performance.

Being a high-profile marketer, I should no better than to do that. After all, why would I want people to see how badly I sing?

But I thought about it and decided that transparency is a good thing. In fact, the more you share your life with your customers, the more they have an opportunity to like you. Hopefully, this will endear people to me and I won't get a barrage of emails asking for refunds. ;-)

So what the heck. If I could sing for a couple hundred total strangers in a cruise ship lounge, why shouldn't you get to enjoy it as well?

After all, If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at.

So laugh if you want. I know I did. :-)

Led Zeppelin - Whole Lotta Love

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:55:57 -0700

I just returned from a one-week cruise to the Mexican Riviera with my extended family. We enjoyed a wonderful week aboard the Norwegian Star.

I'll be providing more details of the cruise in the future, but for now I want to focus on the first video that I've uploaded.

In what can only be described as a legendary performance, my brother-in-law Michael Costantini dominated the Karoaoke floor one evening with his rendition of this classic song on our NCL Mexican Riviera cruise.

The house was packed and he brought it down.

Keep watching. It just gets better as it goes on!

All Change Please

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0700

It's all changed. It happened so fast, we hardly even noticed.

But looking back, it's incredible how different everything is today.

When I started out in Internet Marketing, no one had any idea who I was. No one needed to. All they had to do was know where my websites were and enjoy the content I was putting up.

It was impersonal and it worked both ways. My users might only have thought of me (if they thought of me at all) as some publisher who put up interesting stuff for them to read. I could only see them (although I did think of them a lot) as a list of IP addresses on my Web log.

Where Will Your Idea End?

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0700

You know what I like best about Twitter?

It isn't the fact that it's easy to use and a ton of fun (although those are important).

It isn't the fact that I can communicate with some fantastic people, get answers to questions and pick up information and advice that I couldn't have learned any other way (although those are important too.)

And it isn't even that it's a fantastic marketing tool that drives traffic, builds brands and increases sales (although that would be a good enough reason alone.)

More exciting app store news

Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:56:19 -0700

I said I was going to go into silent mode regarding our sales, but so many people have asked me what happened through Christmas Day that I have decided to release stats just one more time.

We left off December 23rd with stats current from our release date on 12/12 through 12/22.

Everyone is curious about what happened next.

You may be shocked. I know I was when I saw the numbers.

Can You Turn Pictures Into AdSense Profits?

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0700

AdSense has a weakness.

It's not very good at handling images.

Fill your blog or your website with pictures of your cat, your family or your vacation in Yosemite and you might please your readers, but Google won't know what to make of it. Unless you have a sizeable amount of text on your Web page, its robots won't be able to decide what you're talking about. You'll get Public Service Ads that don't earn you a dime instead of nice, profitable AdSense ads that give you big checks.

That's a shame because almost everyone these days has a digital camera. And almost every hard drive is stuffed with pictures that would look great on a blog.

The Twitter Night Before Christmas

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:28:46 -0700

'Twas the night before Christmas and all across Twitter
Tweeples eyes were lit, they were all a-glitter.

The tweets they were flying with speed and delight
as each one made plans for that great winter's night

"I'm traveling", "I'm eating", "I'm hanging with family"
"I just wrapped the presents, I can say now so happily"

The news it broke fast, from Mumbai - attack
we all were there to say "we've got your back"

And then from our Denver in U. S. of A.
a plane crash, one of us trapped, as it burned on that day

Relevant, crucial, our beloved site
The world it gets smaller with each tweet we type.

From lifecast to business, from profound to sublime
The Christmas Eve tweets that I made, they were mine

The new water cooler, I dubbed it this year
and people are flocking in droves, should we fear

that our site that's so precious, so real and so true
will end up like myspace, then what would we do!

The fail whale, oh the fail whale, now please go away
if we can't tweet right now, it won't be Christmas Day!

Dear Santa, please Santa, here's what we want most
Just to help Twitter find a better web host!

On Brogan, On Wheaton and on Kawasaki
Please keep it real, and reply to me

On Zappos, on Shankman and on Vaynerchuk
keep moving that Twitter sleigh so it don't get stuck.

And that's when I saw it, a light oh-so bright
a gift just for me that I'd open that night

A 30-inch monitor, inviting to me
larger than ever my tweets they would be!

Reply, direct message, tweetdeck and tweetie
addicted we are to this web 2.0 genie

to grant us our wishes, interacting with others
we're all here... you best friend, your mother, your brother

The future we've seen it, it's right here on Twitter
we'll stay and we'll tweet, we won't move, yes we'll sit here

The future is now as we enter o-nine
Our hopes they grow brightly, I hope all will be fine

But Twitter stopped suddenly, oh what could it be?
I had something important to say can't you see?

as we looked to the sky and saw the hope that is Christmas
a baby, a Savior, could help us with this mess

A mysterious presence took over the site
a moment of silence seemed to be right

For our hope's not in web sites or people or things
our hope is in Jesus and the hope that he brings

To cast down our pride and to lift up our brother
let's all band together and just love one-another

Then Twitter returned to it's normal tweet-tweeting
but something was different, it's as though it was beating

and pulsing with life and with brand new excitement
as though Tweeple aplenty knew what this day meant

With the glow of the monitor surrounding my room
I tweeted one time to say "I'll be back soon"

I turned to my tree with it's light lit so brightly
to be with my family and hug them so tightly

'Twas the night before Christmas, and it's this that I pray
Peace and joy will be yours on this Christmas day.

Merry Christmas to all!

@joelcomm

Updated iPhone App Sales - The Final Post

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:00:53 -0700

Well, we've done it.

A combination of marketing, timing, quality and providence has landed our application as the #1 best-selling app in the iTunes app store.

I appreciate the coverage we've received through media outlets and blogs.

Now that we've hit #1, I am going to post one more set of stats to add to those previously posted here.

And The Real Secret Of Success Is...

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0700

I love meeting people who are just starting out as Internet entrepreneurs.

I love their enthusiasm, I get a thrill out of hearing their plans for the future, and I pick up a buzz from their energy.

They've got J-O-Bs that they often H-A-T-E. They've got every motivation they need to swap their spare time for marketing time, and they absolutely believe that it's only a matter of hard work and patience before they'll be working for themselves and doing something they love.

Updated App Store Data 12/20/08

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 10:18:57 -0700

A few days ago I became the first app store developer to reveal sales-to-rank data.

Some other sites have confirmed an interest in this data, such as The UnOfficial Apple Weblog.

With iFart continuing its move up the charts, I want to continue sharing data with you, especially since something very interesting has happened since we broke into the top ten apps in the world.

The Truth About Passive Income Online

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0700

I've seen it. It's a glint in the eye, an intensity in the look, a feverish scribbling of notes during a talk.

It's the desire for passive revenue - to set up a system that produces money while you spend the rest of your life on a beach in Cancun, occasionally checking how much you made today while doing nothing.

I love to see that desire because, frankly, I have it too.

That's why it's so hard to pop the bubble.

Top 100 Most Influential Marketers of 2008

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:25:20 -0700

Invesp Consulting has been taking nominations for their list which includes one-hundred marketers from around the world. Based on the number of votes received, they have ranked from one to one-hundred.

I ended up receiving an award and coming in as #62.

Thanks to all who voted for me. I didn't even know it was taking place.

They even gave me a cute little badge... aw....

Click here to see entire list of winners

App Store Rank-to-Sales Revealed

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:04:12 -0700

Since the iTunes App store launched, many developers have been wondering exactly how app store rank relates to actual sales. I haven't seen anyone release this data as of yet, and while mine is incomplete, it can give you a glimpse into how ranking translates to units sold.

Our application, iFart Mobile (app store link) , was finally released last week, alongside other novelty apps that had been rejected or placed "in review."

Pull My Finger vs. iFart? The iTunes App Store Battle for Global Flatulence Domination is Explosive

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:34:59 -0700

It's been an interesting week in Apple-world.

A few months ago, a news story broke that Apple was rejecting certain applications based on their "lack of utility."

The application that made news was a fart app that allowed the user to simulate flatulence noises on their iPhone. Like most guys, I have to laugh. I don't know why. It's in our genes, I guess.

Anyhow, at the same time, similar applications were submitted to Apple, but they were placed "in review" in the App store, not facing outright rejection.