It's been almost THREE years since iFart stunk up the iTunes Appstore. On December 12, 2008, iFart exploded on the scene and the world has not been the same. I was perhaps the first app creator to go public with statistics related to sales and rank shortly after the app came out. iFart has now become a part of pop culture and iPhone history, even worthy of it's own Wikipedia page. Celebrities such as Helena... Continue Reading

As you know, I've been building websites since 1995. I've always been a big fan of creating content-rich sites that bring value to others. That's why I have always spoken against creating spammy sites designed to game the search engines. It's not a good model for building a long-term business. I've sold a number of my sites over the years. In 1998, Yahoo! purchased my multiplayer game site, ClassicGames.com. Today you know it as Yahoo... 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

First of all, I want to wish all my family, friends and associates in the United States a very Happy Thanksgiving. I'm sure it will be filled with lots of fun, bonding and good food. I may have to put a couple pounds back on today. Now, what's with this Green Friday thing? As you know, the Friday after Thanksgiving is typically known as Black Friday. It's the day that people camp out in line... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Joel Ownby) Accepting payment online for your products and services sounds like a pretty simple endeavor, and at a low level it is. Understanding what is happening behind the scenes is an entirely different proposition. Understanding the nuts and bolts of payment processing will grant you the ability to provide better customer service, generate more accurate cash flow and projection data, help you to better understand technical issues involving payment processing... 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

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

I've been using email for a very long time. I think my first email address was an AOL.com address from version 1.0 of their software. Since that time I have had multiple email addresses. I no longer use the AOL.com address, but it is still active! I have two primary email accounts that I use today. One of them is my corporate account and the other is my personal account. Both addresses have become inundated... Continue Reading

While the modern world we live in tends to be civilized, there are still peoples in third world nations that are not plugged in to our technology-laden society. As recent as fifty years ago, the Waodani people of the Ecuadorian Amazon basin lived very primitively. Cut off from the rest of the world, the tribe was in a constant war with other tribes. By seeking revenge after revenge, the number in the Waodani tribe was... Continue Reading

(Written by guest contributor Andrew Albritton) To say they're the latest craze in online shopping would be an understatement. Groupon, Living Social, Social Buy etc. have taken the web by storm, revolutionizing how "deal of the day" type websites meet local brick and mortar business. Traditional "Deal of the day" type sites are typically affiliates that have great discounts from advertisers that have a large online presence and may not even have brick and mortar... Continue Reading

There's a lot to be said in this day and age of rabid consumerism for decluttering. There are websites and books galore that will help you declutter your possessions so that you can have a neater, simpler existence and basically get more room and space to breathe in. If you've never tried decluttering your physical possessions, you should give it a try. It can give you more energy, confidence, and free you up to pursue... Continue Reading

There is a counter-intuitive truth to monetizing websites and online businesses: the more you give away for free, the more money you tend to make. Sounds crazy, but it has proven to be true time and time again. The reason is that through giving away your knowledge and possibly even products for free, you build customer trust and loyalty and you solidify your brand. Since your readers and fans don't have to worry about you... Continue Reading

It's not uncommon for marketers to use upsells and downsells in order to gain a new customer and make a sale. Downsells typically offer the same product or some derivative of that product at a discounted price. Upsells will usually come after a sale has been made, and offer extra goods or services for an additional fee. There's nothing wrong with upselling or downselling in theory. But I do believe there are cases where integrity... Continue Reading