I came into Internet marketing from two businesses that couldn't have been more different to the work that I do today. Continue Reading

I recently enjoyed a meal with my daughter at Hu Hot Mongolian Grill in Fort Collins. It's our favorite place to enjoy build-your-own stir fry. Very tasty. As we were leaving the table, I heard my name called out. "Joel"... I turned around to a gentlemen looking at me. I didn't recognize him so I am scanning the recesses of my brain very rapidly to try to recall where I know him from. As it... 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 occasionally recommend products to people. I don't recommend anything like the number of products I'm asked to recommend, but when I see something that I think is useful, I'm happy to pass it along to others with my endorsement. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Brian Means) Attending conferences is a great thing to do for your business. However, it's easy to get in the bad habit of over-commitment, attending too many conferences when you don't even have a solid game plan for attending one. Too many people do not have a clear end in mind when attending conferences. You need to create a strategy for your conference season. Continue Reading

It happens at least two or three times a week. I'll check my tweets to see who's talking to me and I'll spot it. Continue Reading

Staying current in mobile development can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there is help out there. You may be asking yourself, "What exactly is 'mobile development?'" The answer is simple: mobile development is developing software for mobile platforms. Aside from this "duh" answer, examples of mobile platforms are: Apple's iPhone, Google's Android, the BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile devices. I will provide you with a framework for educating yourself about the mobile development world. The information... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Sarah Beek) Meetup.com is the perfect confluence of online social networking and in-person social networking. Social networking websites are great, but they really can't compete with the power of meeting and connecting with someone in person. Actual social networking solidifies relationships and often seals real business deals. That is why we recommend conferences so highly. But if you don't have a couple of grand lying around to attend a conference right... Continue Reading

I use social media for a whole bunch of different reasons. I use it mostly because I enjoy it. The principle behind my business has always been to do what I find fun, and playing around with social media is fun. But I also do it to build a community. Continue Reading

Social media has changed everything. When the Web first took off, it wasn't clear how anyone could make money by putting words on a Web page. Then Google brought out AdSense, competitors rushed in with their own programs and people who produced good content, paid attention to their ads and worked hard and patiently at building their sites got to see their incomes take off. But it was all pretty impersonal. Early websites provided information... 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

It's great to see how Twitter has grown in the time I've been using it. But what's really impressive is the way that people are using it. Sure, there are spammers leaping on hashtags and trying to attract attention but they're a minority. And they're easily blocked. For the most part, people are using Twitter the way it should be used: as a way of building a community, broadcasting a brand and making valuable connections. Continue Reading

WARNING: Today's post is going to rattle cages and put a spotlight on a potentially dark side of Internet marketing. Yeah, I'm probably going to tick some people off. That's life. I'm more concerned with speaking the truth. This is #2 in a series called The Truth About Internet Marketing. Part one was called "The Long Form Sales Letter. For some time it has been suspected that there is a "secret cabal" of Internet marketers... Continue Reading

Social media is a revolution in marketing. It allows businesses to identify their most important leads, understand what interests them the most, and talk to them en masse while still making each person feel like an individual. If that sounds like the kind of thing that a good speaker does, there's a good reason for that. Social media and conferences have a great deal in common. Social media marketing doesn't deliver the kind of depth... Continue Reading