"When you are through changing, you are through." - Bruce Barton Change is inevitable. Apart from death and taxes, change is the only thing in this life that we can count on. This past year has found me in the midst of much change. After a number of years as an author, speaker and entrepreneur, I have spent the last year quietly reassessing my life. Taking some time away from work, I've been tending to... Continue Reading

In order to be successful online, you have to put yourself out there. Running a business online is a very public endeavor, and it differs from running businesses in the past in that you can't just hide behind your storefront or LLC. These days, people want to know exactly who they're dealing with, and social media marketing works best when there is a face and a name. So you steel yourself and start making your... Continue Reading

In the world of smartphones, you definitely hear the most news about the iPhone. Whether it is because of Apple's enigmatic CEO or a collective obsession with the iPhone's sleek design, for some reason, that is the phone that the media loves to talk about the most. But recent reports on Google Android's market share indicate that it in fact is in the lead, with around 32% of smartphones users using an Android. So what... 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

When was the last time you called your congressman to weigh in on an issue? When was the last time you participated in one of those surveys conducted by the national chain restaurants? You know the ones where they ask you to call in and reward you with a free appetizer or dessert. And when was the last time you left a comment on a blog? The truth is most of us never take the... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Chris Harper) When I was about nine years old, my parents won a drawing for a $1000 shopping spree at a local store in my hometown and decided to use the money to buy a camcorder. As I recall, there were only about six to choose from, and they all recorded onto VHS tapes. The only differences to consider were brand, size (though none were small), and ease of use. Needless... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Joel Ownby) If you are serious about starting an online business, then you should realize that just like a traditional brick-and-mortar company, an investment of time and money is almost always required. We aren't talking about going to the bank and taking out loans here, but we are talking about a lot of sweat and small monetary investments over time. The strategy discussed in this article is one avenue that you... Continue Reading

Interviewing prospective web designers is often a difficult task. Some candidates might be design rock stars but unable to develop the essential business features for your site, while other applicants will have portfolios filled with high-ranking sites that look like ghosts from the late 90s. Continue Reading

A well-planned project is the essence of efficiency and cost effectiveness. I am assuming with this article that you have already done the first phase of planning a project, which is a laundry list of things that you want your project to contain. I will be using the example of setting up a personal website. In phase one, I determined that I wanted a blog, a photo gallery, and a contact form. Phase two... Continue Reading

On January 30, 2005, website owners all over the world rushed to pick up a copy of Google AdSense Secrets. It was the first edition of the ebook that has now become the definitive guide to making money with AdSense. That summer, I released a second updated version of AdSense Secrets. In March 2006, the much-demanded third edition hit the virtual newstand. Checking in at 199 pages, it is the bible of the industry and... Continue Reading

My new blog has been up for over 24 hours now, and the verdict is in! Visitors to this site overwhelmingly approve of the look and feel of the new JoelComm.com. In fact, many people are asking me questions as they want to know how I put this new site together. Well, I've got nothing to hide and I will tell all... Continue Reading

Cost-per-click advertising, contextual advertising, cost-per-mille advertising, domain name investing, affiliate networks, joint ventures, resell rights, floating ads, banner ads, video ads... It's enough to give anyone a headache. There are so many ways of monetizing a website these days that it can all get a bit overwhelming. How can you tell which ads would best match your content and which system you should be using to squeeze the most out of your pages? Continue Reading

I recently received an email from a reader. May I share it with you? "Joel, I appreciate your newsletters and great tips. Out of all the so-called gurus, I feel like you deliver more real value in your email than anyone else. But I am feeling very confused about all the different ways you discuss to make money. You tell us about a new software tool that is the supposed answer to our problems, but... Continue Reading

I regularly receive email from people wanting to make money online, but aren't sure how to go about doing it. Building a website can be a daunting task for someone who has never done it. Learning HTML, search engine optimization, affiliate linking, marketing and all the other areas of the business can be complex and overwhelming. Continue Reading