As you know, I've been building websites since 1995. I've always been a big fan of creating content-rich sites that bring value to others. That's why I have always spoken against creating spammy sites designed to game the search engines. It's not a good model for building a long-term business. I've sold a number of my sites over the years. In 1998, Yahoo! purchased my multiplayer game site, ClassicGames.com. Today you know it as Yahoo... Continue Reading

When was the last time you read a press release? Let's face it. The majority of press releases issued by companies are totally boring and uninteresting. Why is that? Certainly Company X is excited about their new product and they can't wait to tell the world about it. But why should a blogger or media outlet care about Company X's new product or service? Unless your company's name is Apple, odds are you will have... Continue Reading

Despite what the doomsayers would have you believe, there is plenty of opportunity to conduct business online. However, there is a big difference between trying to make money online and running a business online. The make money online pitch has unfortunately become synonymous with "get rich quick." The mentality is that you simply create a product and make money selling it. That's NOT building a business. That's trying to make a few bucks. Maybe it... Continue Reading

Can you imagine using the word "blog" ten years ago? Very few people would have had any idea what you were talking about. The word doesn't really roll of your tongue. Today, almost everyone knows what a blog is. And millions of people have their own blog. Blogging is a great form of self-expression. But it's also a great way to generate some revenue online. The biggest problem many bloggers have is getting started with... Continue Reading

Email lists are arguably an online marketer's best friend. They provide direct lines of communication to people who have already given you a vote of confidence, either by opting in to receive your updates, purchasing a product from you, or both. So how do you get a great email list if you are just starting out? And if you have been in the online business for awhile, how do you build yours and grow it... Continue Reading

Are you a freelancer? Do you have a skill that is in demand that you could use to turn yourself into one? Lots of people when they look to start an online business focus on learning the ropes in terms of various streams of passive online income such as AdSense, affiliate products, ClickBank, and so on, and while there is nothing wrong with that, many of those people could be making more money in a... Continue Reading

Death. Now there's a way to start a blog entry! It's been said by Steven Covey that we should "begin with the end in mind." Well, it doesn't get any more "end" than death, does it? At least as far as our lives on earth are concerned. We live in a culture that is death-averse. We are fascinated with concepts of the afterlife, but death itself is a horrible thing that we'd rather not look... Continue Reading

As I travel around our country, I can not help but notice the epidemic of homelessness. There are so many people on the streets of our cities. How many more are there that we DON'T see? We've all encountered homeless people in our cities or towns. My heart goes out to those who don't have a safe place to rest their heads. It's even more heartbreaking when those people are children. I recently had the... Continue Reading

The following email was sent to me by one of the creators of The Internet Marketing World Cup. I told them I would consider updating my previous blog entry based on what he shared with me. After further consideration, I thought I would just let IMWC's point-of-view speak for itself. With that said, here is the entire email sent to me. It is thoughtful and I admire the IMWC team for proactively contacting me and... Continue Reading

I started the day lacing up my running shoes, taking a breath of fresh colorado air, and setting my sights on a new chapter. Today is Day #1 of Project Fit! As I blogged last week, I need to lose approximately forty pounds. On top of that, I would like to become physically fit. And I want to do it without going to extremes. No punitive diets. No beating my body into submission. We've all... Continue Reading

Who did you vote for to be President? Do you watch Lost? When was the last time you went to church? Who has the best french fries? What's with all the questions? Continue Reading

I received an email solicitation today to take part in an alleged competition that is due to take place starting in October. It's called (brace yourself...) "The Internet Marketing World Cup" (goooooooooalllll!) It is likely you will be hearing more about this in the future so I thought it would be interesting to dissect it and share some thoughts. Continue Reading

When Google launched Wave back in 2009, it was met with a mixture of head-scratching and hand-raising. Because it was invitation-only, there was huge demand from people who wanted to try it out. (Invitations were even said to have sold on eBay for $70 each). But people -- both those who had tried it out and those who wanted to -- wondered what it was for. Continue Reading

Have you been procrastinating from getting your online business started because you can't figure out what kind of site to start? It can be helpful to take a look at some relatively simple sites that work because of a relevant idea coupled with great execution. Really all it is about is creating something that can help people solve a specific problem in their lives (in the examples below, the problems would be: what to make... Continue Reading