Providing your audience, customers, and potential customers with free, valuable information is a cornerstone of running an online business. If you give enough stuff away for free, and make sure that that stuff is high-quality and indicative of your high standards, then enough people are going to want to pay you to get to the rest of what you know that you will be able to make a nice living from your online income. One... Continue Reading

Consumerism has a way of telling us what we want without really knowing who we are. It's safe to assume that most of us want to be healthy, have significant relationships and not carry any debt. But that doesn't mean we all want to have a six-pack, bed as many people as we can or be incredibly wealthy. You would think that those are the ultimate goals for life, according to Madison Avenue. It's just... Continue Reading

I wasn't always a fan of roller coasters. When I was a little boy they terrified me. I think my mother took me on one and in my mind that would be the last time I would ever ride one. I remember seeing Space Mountain at Walt Disney World and thinking to myself "no way!" Sometime around fifteen years old that changed. I was at Marriott's Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, with my best friend... Continue Reading

The year is 2010. More and more people are getting their news from the Internet. And many traditional media sources are greatly suffering as a result. It's no wonder. Fresh information is constantly at our fingertips. I am puzzled why anyone would watch television news or read newspapers any more. I NEVER watch television news. I NEVER buy a newspaper. But I happened to be in front of a television the other day while waiting... Continue Reading

There are certain aspects of web design that you should make absolutely sure you are getting right. Here is a short list of the most important ones: Continue Reading

So much of building an Internet business is simple. You don't need to know HTML any more. You don't need to mess around with ftp uploaders or hire designers. These days you can buy a ready-made template, plug in the ad systems and just paste in the content you need. And that's where things start to get tricky. Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor David Nour) In my last several prospective client meetings, a consistent conversation has centered on the need for a social media policy. Whether you work for a progressive organization or a conservative, risk-adverse one, it seems that everyone has an opinion on the best approach. Here are some prevailing camps: Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Chris Harper) Unless you're some super creative genius who's trying to keep your work pure of outside influence (aka a liar), then you're always on the lookout for some new inspiration. Inspiration is a funny thing. It seems to hide itself in different places, waiting for someone to stumble upon it at just the right time. Oftentimes, it's not even where you'd expect to find it. And other times, it seems... Continue Reading

Where do I find a web designer? How do I ensure I've found the right one? How much will it cost? Continue Reading

Last month, two of my team members had an opportunity to go to Monrovia, Liberia to work on a project intended to save lives of those in the malnourished and HIV-stricken country. Chris Harper, my Video Producer, and Sarah Jane Griesemer, VP of Project Management, accepted the call to go to Liberia and meet the needs of people through a project called The Peanut Butter House. What they experienced during their week-long trip was undoubtedly... Continue Reading

It surprises me how many people are afraid to create an info product. The social proof that info products are profitable is everywhere. The biggest proof is ClickBank. ClickBank, which is essentially a portal for digital info products, has paid out over $1.3 billion to product creators in the last 10 years. That's $130 million every year, and the average person has never heard of them, which is just crazy. But this article is not... Continue Reading

So you've hopped on the bandwagon and set up a Facebook and Twitter account for your business. Congratulations! You have officially arrived at the cocktail party that is the 21st century. But there remains plenty to do. You can't just hide in the corner nursing your drink. You have to get out there and establish a presence, and in order to do that you're going to need a plan. Here are five steps to... Continue Reading

With all the talk of the "world wide" Internet and globalization, it can be easy to ignore the profit potential of people living in your area. People are still people, and they still prefer to buy things from people who they know and trust. So why not make sure those in your physical vicinity are able to find you and your website? Continue Reading

I grew up in northern suburbs of Chicago. You know all the John Hughes' films like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science? They were either filmed or supposed to have taken place in the region where I was raised. In fact, there is a scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off that was filmed outside my old high school, Glenbrook North. Ferris' sister is outside the school and a bunch of kids are running... Continue Reading