It was early September 2010. At over 225 pounds and sporting a size 40 waist, I decided it was time to make a change. After all, at 46-years old, I wasn't getting any younger. In order to hold myself accountable to my desire to get fit and lose weight, I went public with my goals. I wrote about the changes I would be making extensively on this blog. My first entry was posted 9/14/10. By... Continue Reading

Over the past couple years, information marketers have come under greater scrutiny by the United States Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has taken several companies and individuals to task for deceptive Internet marketing practices. As the largest seller of information products online, Clickbank.com is now issuing clearer guidelines for the types of products and/or marketing practices that will be more closely scrutinized going forward. In other words, they are going to be working harder to... Continue Reading

One of the questions I'm most often asked is how to do search engine optimization properly. Very soon, I will be revealing our turnkey solution that you have been waiting for. But in the meantime there is something very simple you can do if you blog on Wordpress. This is especially powerful if you use the Socrates Theme, but it works great for all themes. While we have optimized the Socrates layout for better indexing... Continue Reading

"To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1 Nothing lasts forever. Change is inevitable. Over the past fifteen or so years I have created dozens of websites, products, services and applications that run the gamut of new media. Content sites, information products, member sites, web-based software, iPhone applications, mobile marketing platforms, entertainment sites and more. During that time I have had some tremendous successes and some... Continue Reading

If you're not regularly reading up on ways to make your online business grow, you should be. And while blogs and ebooks are extremely valuable, don't overlook reading the old-fashioned way: print books. While some in the Internet world might argue that books are out of date the minute they hit the shelves, there is still a lot to be said for exposing yourself to ideas that stood the test of editors and publishers and... Continue Reading

Twitter can be a great branding tool. If you are not already using Twitter to get the word out about your business, you probably at least know that you should be. There are lots of benefits to using Twitter, and some things that you should definitely avoid. And in the end, everyone needs to decide for themselves what kind of role Twitter will play in their lives and businesses. It's perfectly fine for your Twitter... Continue Reading

One of the perennial questions in online marketing is how to get more traffic to your site. Whether you are just starting out, having just launched your site and are now wondering who's going to read it, or have been in the business for awhile and would like to improve your numbers, there is always something you can do to get more readers and site visitors. Here is a laundry list of our favorites. Don't... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Tim Golen) The other day I was asked by a colleague why developers in general have a hard time setting firm deadlines. I thought it was a valid question. I am by no means an authority on this issue, but I can speak for myself and for others that I have witnessed and talked to. I think that there are several reasons why developers find it difficult to set a firm... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Tim Golen) I'm going to get up on my soapbox for a little bit here. You see... I consider myself to be a good programmer. Now, I don't mean the BEST programmer, just a good one. I know there are so many things that I have yet to learn out there. In my days I've come across both good and bad programmers, and I could probably write a decent book on... Continue Reading

WARNING: What you are about to see may traumatize you. Parents of small children are cautioned from letting their kids see the photos on this page. I will not be held responsible if they have nightmares! As you may know, I have struggled with my weight the bulk of my adult life. (See how I used the word "bulk" in a sentence? I'm a punny guy...) There are two reasons this has been a problem... Continue Reading

Someone recently sent me a link to an information product suggesting I look at their sales letter. It was a typical "make money online" pitch with a well-dressed guy sharing his story of how he went from zero to hero using strategies and methods that he would share with us at the designated price. There was the big house, the pretty girlfriend and the sports car. Ooh. I'm impressed. (Note the touch of sarcasm, please... Continue Reading

There is a new job description out there, one that probably wasn't around when your grandfather was crafting his career: life coach. What exactly is a life coach, and why would you need one? First of all, the term is somewhat fluid. You can call it what you will, but a life coach, mentor, personal consultant, etc. is someone who helps you with some aspect of your life that you can't quite see clearly and... Continue Reading

Have you ever gotten your car stuck in a ditch? Your rear tires desperately try to find traction only to spin deeper and deeper into the mud. The more you step on the gas, the worse your situation becomes. And now you are spraying mud everywhere. It can even end up on other people and their vehicles. You can keep trying to get out of the ditch. Or you can realize that what you are... Continue Reading

Failure. The word is laced with negative connotations. That's why I think failure gets a bum rap. Failing at something is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means you are trying. And it means you have found a way to not succeed. Thomas Edison went through thousands of experiments before his first lightbulb was illuminated. Ben Franklin is quoted as stating, "I didn't fail the test, I just found one hundred ways to do... Continue Reading