I remember the first time I encountered an "easy button" at Staples. Push the big red button with the word "easy" printed on it and the family "That was easy" voice was played. I loved it and had to have one. A couple years ago I came up with an idea for another button which I thought would have great appeal to business people around the world. A green button with a dollar sign on... Continue Reading

You've heard the old philosophical riddle "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Raising questions about reality, this question has undoubtedly claimed countless hours of debate in the halls of our colleges and universities. I find it relevant today as I make changes in my business and life. As I pull back from my business, I begin to wonder what would happen... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Tanner Bennett) Printing used to be the cool kid in school. Then one day a new kid showed up. He brought with him Facebook, Twitter, blogs and lots of other new tools for communication. Print was suddenly so last week. Continue Reading

What's the real secret to getting things done? While much of the answer lies in things like motivation and daily habits, you also can't ignore the value of the tools you use every day to do the work. We polled our staff to find out what's running on their machines here at the office and at home. What we found is that our office has some universal solutions, and then seemed to split departmentally. So... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Fletcher Groeneman) It can be said that consumers are persuaded to purchase by their perception of the product and not by the actual product itself. What promotes the idea that every need can be satisfied with the goods or services from a given company? Effective and creative advertising is a skill that every corporation desires yet few succeed in mastering. What makes some ads so successful and others just pathetic? A... Continue Reading

Last week we talked about the importance of typography and some things to think about when choosing and using type on the Web. This week we'll talk about various aspects of using type for print pieces. Continue Reading

If text is your message, then your use of text is your tone. Typography is the art and technique of arranging type, type design, and modifying type glyphs. In fact, the aesthetic you create through the use of typography often goes further in creating an atmosphere of professionalism, credibility, and organization than the content of the text itself. This article and next week's will be focused on helping you achieve better results in your designs... Continue Reading

The world is changing. But you don't need me to tell you that. The Internet of today is a far cry from the one I launched my first site on fifteen years ago. Technology has made major advances, meeting needs of many, and exposing other needs yet to be met. Just in the past few years, the way we market products and services online has changed. Continue Reading

Get your idea noticed by using this clean design principle. Advances in media have created the most ad-resistant breed of consumer to date. Recent studies have found that consumers are, on average, exposed to 3,000 commercial messages per day in one form or another, from the boring copy-laden radio commercials to the flashing skyscraper ads on my favorite websites, from the cluttered newspaper coupons to illegible billboards on the side of the bus and... Continue Reading

Everywhere I go, people ask me how they can make money online. Every time I show up at a conference, I am swamped with people interested in owning their own Internet business. My Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts receive contact from people on a regular basis. Emails, tweets and submitted forms are always asking what tips I can provide for those who want to learn my strategies. Yes, even my email box is regularly under... Continue Reading

I was all set. Today was going to be the day. I knew from the pre-orders on my new book, "Click Here to Order: Stories of the World's Most Successful Internet Marketing Entrepreneurs", that we were on the verge of making history with an instant best-seller. And then... it happened. I received a call from my publisher, David Hancock. David is not one to be given to overexcitement, but there was something in the sound... Continue Reading

Just got a fun email from the Google AdSense team. They have printed up a batch of AdSense stickers and are offering them for free. All you need to do is send a self-addressed stamped envelope to them and they will drop a sticker or two in it for you. AdSense has been good to me, so I'll probably find a good place to put my sticker. Would it be sacrilege to deface my Macbook... Continue Reading

Do you ever go to Google to search for your name? A search for David results in 719,000,000 web pages. Zoiks! A search for Brenda presents 31,500,000 results. And search for Fred will get you 120,000,000 results, including a stock chart for Fred's, Inc, whoever that is. Last year, I Googled my name to see where I came up in the results. Continue Reading

Here's a hot tip... Actually, TWO hot tips! First... If you want your website to have lots and lots of traffic, you need... links. Okay, that didn't sound so hot, did it? But it is hot, because so many people ignore it. I'm not talking about incoming links. Everyone remembers that they have to work their fingers to the bone to get those. I'm talking about outgoing links. Continue Reading