The holiday season can be pretty intense -- presents to buy, social events to go to, cookies to eat, and through it all you are still running your online business. But don't forget to take some time out to sit down and reflect on the year that's passed and the one coming up. Doing so can bring your business and your efforts into sharper focus and help you know what you want to shoot for... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Tim Golen) This article is for three primary audiences. It's for the business owner who does his own programming and development. It's for the business owner who has hired or contracted a developer to work for him. It's for the developer doing the work. I will be discussing the single piece of software that can increase your efficiency more than any other investment. Yes, it is an investment in your business... Continue Reading

It's easy to become married to the work of building your online business, and in one sense, this is as it should be. Building anything from the ground up takes work and dedication, especially if like many fledgling entrepreneurs you are trying to budget your money wisely and do many things yourself. But the impulse can become detrimental. Many times you are so busy working in the trenches that you can't see or don't have... Continue Reading

There's a lot to be said in this day and age of rabid consumerism for decluttering. There are websites and books galore that will help you declutter your possessions so that you can have a neater, simpler existence and basically get more room and space to breathe in. If you've never tried decluttering your physical possessions, you should give it a try. It can give you more energy, confidence, and free you up to pursue... Continue Reading

I'm a big fan of guerrilla marketing. I think that marketers should be using all of the most effective channels available to them to put their products and services in front of leads. Continue Reading

WordPress and AdSense can be a little tricky, especially when you account for how much things can change with every new theme. We are going to show you a fool-proof way to get your AdSense code into your WordPress blog. (If you are looking for a really fool-proof way, check out the Socrates Theme, which comes with AdSense already built in.) Some of you will already know an easier way. The problem is, those easy... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Kevin E. Houchin Esq.) Let me get right to the point. The reason our economy is in the tank today is that too many people are focused on creating money instead of creating real products and services. To correct this problem, we need to get back to the basics of creating products and services that people need or want, and let the money come as a result. That's the business of... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Tim Golen) WordPress is by far the most popular content management system on the Web right now. Every day new plugins are being developed, improved, or added. Plugins are a way for you to add additional functionality to your blog according to your needs. I will be discussing some of the most beneficial plugins that you should install on your WordPress site. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Tim Golen) Confession: I'm a lazy person. I have to continuously work on making myself active and staying productive. I've gotten quite good at that over the years, but there are still areas that I recognize that I need to improve on. One of those areas is the passing on of my knowledge to help others. My boss Joel Comm has been able to master this. He sells books full of... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Andrew Albritton) Search engine marketing (SEM), sometimes referred to as paid search, is the practice of bidding on keyword strings to increase a website's visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs). For Internet marketers SEM can be a highly effective means for promoting and driving traffic to a website or sales page. In fact, when optimized and managed effectively, a well-performing SEM campaign is one of the most sought-after and... Continue Reading

I've been blogging since 2003. I started JoelComm.com as a personal site where I could write articles about whatever I wanted. I wrote about my family, my travels, my dog, movie reviews, computer games and whatever else crossed my mind. But as I began taking my blog more seriously, I began creating more original content that brought value to others. My expertise in online business, site monetization, iPhone applications and other areas proved valuable for... Continue Reading

There has been a lot of discussion and controversy related to tactics marketers use to get people to take action. Much of the controversy is related to a method called "forced continuity." This is where buyers will sign up for a trial or shipping-only price offer, and end up in a monthly billing program that they may or may not be aware of. Over the years I have seen it all. There's nothing wrong with... Continue Reading

I meet two kinds of entrepreneurs at conferences. The first are the people hoping to get rich quick. They listen to the speakers and they make notes but what they're really hoping is that someone will let slip a giant secret that will enable them to make a huge sack of cash. Their aim is to retire within a year and spend the rest of their life on the beach. Those are the people who... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Andrew Albritton) No, it doesn't have anything to do with armed agents kicking down doors. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and doing a SWOT analysis on your business is an essential step in the process of branding and marketing your product or service. It also helps you come up with business strategies. SWOT analyses help you to identify and capitalize on your strengths, and they can help... Continue Reading