Did you feel it? It was just a tremor, but the effects are global. In fact, I'll say this... The world just got smaller. Alright, Joel. WHAT are you talking about? Continue Reading

I'm fed up. I've really had enough. I've just seen it too many times. Again and again, I meet people who wonder why they aren't Internet millionaires yet. When I ask them how long they've been online, they say "Three months, and it's just not working!" It takes about ten minutes to buy a computer and another two minutes to turn it on. Continue Reading

I usually visit my extended family in the Chicago suburbs over the Thanksgiving holiday. This past weekend, we left the kids with their aunt and uncle, and spent a couple nights downtown. Mary had never been to a Morton's steakhouse before, so it was a great opportunity to share a fine dining experience with her. Many have never been to Morton's, so I shot a video of our server, Matt, presenting the menu. Watch out... Continue Reading

Whenever I attend a conference I always try to listen to as many of the other speakers' talks as possible. I can't think of a single talk that hasn't taught me something. But some of the most powerful and valuable information that I've learned at conferences didn't come while sitting in front of a professional marketer. It came while sitting in the café afterwards and chatting with my students. Continue Reading

I recently had the opportunity to do a book signing at our local Barnes & Noble store in Loveland, Colorado. The team at the store was very friendly and accomodating, setting up an area for me to do a couple presentations, interact with customers and sign books. They ordered plenty of copies of Click Here to Order and The AdSense Code, so there was enough for everyone. They placed a nice sign on the table... Continue Reading

Life must be hard for television executives. To decide how much to charge advertisers and whether they should commission another season of a show, they have to know the size of their audience. The only method they have to do that is by using a survey. The Nielsen ratings track what television viewers watch and then, based on demographics, make certain claims about what everyone else was watching at the same time. Those figures could... Continue Reading

I got an email from someone the other day asking me which "gurus" they should listen to. There are SO many people teaching how to make money online. How DO you know who to trust? Here's a checklist for you to help you determine the answer to this question: Continue Reading

Online publishing is a business. Like any business it requires work. It requires paying taxes. And it requires investments of cash to keep going. That last hurdle is the one that many people stumble over. They think that because the only equipment they need to set up an online publishing business is a computer, that's the only expense they'll ever need to pay. Wrong. Continue Reading

What would you say if I told you that you can boost your profits by typing just 140 characters? (That's about the length of this paragraph.) If you're smart, you might say "Which ones?" If you're really smart though, you'd say "I know." That's because the power of Twitter isn't a secret any more. CEOs are using it. Bloggers are using it. Marketers are using it. Everyone's using it (including me) and not only are... Continue Reading

It took me a while to figure it out. It took me a little longer to accept it. (My wife, by the way, was way ahead of me on this one. She'd been telling me this for years...) I'm not... Continue Reading

There's a reason that online publishing is profitable. It's a fantastic reason and it's one of the things that makes earning income as an online entrepreneur so enjoyable. People want to learn. They want to know how to be a better gardener, a better dad, a better soccer coach, a better entrepreneur too. Anyone who can provide that information can make some money -- and help others too. And anyone can do that. You might... Continue Reading

Did you ever walk into one of those old mom-and-pop hardware stores, the sort of place where piles of dusty boxes filled with metal things are stacked from floor to ceiling and nothing's got a label on it? You walk up to the counter, explain what you're trying to do and the store owner nods, starts bringing down boxes and in no time at all finds exactly the widget you were looking for. Those people... Continue Reading

Just because the economy is suffering doesn't mean you have to. Thousands of people are supplementing their income by learning how to make money online selling ebooks. I've been selling my own ebooks for a few years. But I've been selling OTHER peoples' ebooks for a decade! How do you find out what ebooks sell? Continue Reading

I don't go to the movies much. I enjoy movies, I just don't enjoy the theater experience. Why pay top dollar to sit in a crowded cinema with chatty teens and people noisily crunching popcorn and nachos when I can buy or rent the DVD for less and enjoy the peacefulness and comfort of my home theatre. I choose to go to the Metrolux today in order to get a glimpse of An American Carol... Continue Reading

If you do your job well, you shouldn't get paid anything at all for it. That doesn't sound fair, does it? But as an online publisher, that's exactly what should happen. Your job is to provide information to your readers. That could be information that educates them. It could be information that makes them think. And it could be information that just makes them happy to read it. If the information that you're offering is... Continue Reading

Want to know the difference between a successful entrepreneur... and an entrepreneur who wants to be successful? It's really very simple... An entrepreneur acts. An entrepreneur who wants to be successful thinks of acting. But successful entrepreneurs don't just act. They act at the right speed. Continue Reading

It's been a long time since I optimized my first AdSense ad. Many things have changed since then. Some things have stayed the same. The principles of AdSense optimization have stayed the same. You still have to blend your ads into your site. You still have to produce good quality content. And you still have to bring in traffic to look at that content. The content itself has changed though. Videos are now an important... Continue Reading

I'm amazed that there are people out there -- somewhere -- who aren't making money from AdSense. It's not as though you need a doctorate in computer studies and a professorship in literature. You just need a website and an AdSense account. And ever since blogging came along, the website bit has been a breeze. It takes all of about five minutes to sign up on Blogger and it's a perfect match for AdSense. Continue Reading

I've got some pretty exciting news. I've been asked to write the definitive book on Twitter for business by a major publisher! I just got done with the launch of Click Here to Order, but I have already begun writing this new guide. There's a great demand for it and the time is right. So, would you like to help in my research? I am looking for stories of how you have used Twitter to... Continue Reading

If you were publishing a newspaper, you wouldn't care who read it. As long as the number of readers was nice and high, it wouldn't matter too much to you whether they all read one article or absorbed everything from cover to cover. That would be true even if you were publishing a free newspaper. Continue Reading

There are easy ways of bringing traffic to your website, and there are hard ways. Most people focus on the hard ways. They spend hours playing around with their keywords and their Search Engine Optimization. They spend vast sums on AdWords and other forms of advertising. And they send out email after email in an attempt to swap links and create exchanges. That's fair enough. It's all part of the job of being an online... Continue Reading

Everyone was talking about the Beijing 2008 Olympics this summer. Phelps and others stole the headlines with victory after victory. However, in the midst of this global competition, another competition was completely ignored by the mainstream media. It is now my pleasure to bring you exclusive coverage of the InfoMedia, Inc. First Annual Flying Monkey Office Olympics. The sporting world will never be the same... Continue Reading

Here's a cool find. Do the books your fellow countrymen are reading indicate which way their vote may be leaning? You'll be fascinated as you explore Amazon's Election 2008 Interactive map. Simply visit the site and you are presented with a United States map color-coded to the current political leanings, based on the titles that are being ordered by people living within each state. Red is for Republican. Blue is for Democrat. Continue Reading

It's always a thrill to see your new book on the shelf of a major bookseller. Mary and I went to dinner at Hu Hot last night (yum!), and then made our way to the Barnes and Noble on College Ave. in Ft. Collins. Lo and behold, there I was on the business shelf. I asked Mary to shoot a snapshot, and we were subsequently reprimanded by one of the employees. Apparantly store policy says... Continue Reading

I've got no idea how many blog posts, articles and pages of content I've written for the Internet. I've been doing it for years, so if you're wondering if there are ever times when I sit in front of the computer and wonder what I can write about today, the answer is... Yes. Continue Reading

I'm always going on about the importance of networking at conferences. That's because I don't know of any strategy that can improve an online publishing business's success rate faster. Networking puts you in touch with opportunities that you can't find any other way. It builds the sort of business relationships that can last for many profitable years. It really does make running a business fun. And there's just no better place to do it than... Continue Reading

Oh, now this is a RIOT! Sarah Palin has taken the political world by storm. Whatever you think of the woman, Conservatives are pumped-up about her being on the ticket. So check this out. Sarah Palin is now an action figure. Yes, you heard me correctly. An action figure! Continue Reading

There's nothing better than welcoming a new child into the world and your family. Being a father of two, I can tell you that the health and welfare of your children is the utmost priority. We had a bit of a scare when our daughter was born and spent the first few days of her life wondering when she would be able to come home from the hospital. It all turned out well, but some... Continue Reading

What a fantastic book launch day! My book, Click Here to Order, took Amazon.com by storm on Tuesday, September 2nd, moving up the charts at record pace! As of this writing, the book has taken #1 in several categories, including Movers & Shakers, Web Marketing and Ecommerce. The book is currently sitting at #18 of ALL books available on Amazon.com! Continue Reading

With all the speculation that John McCain would select Mitt Romney to be his running mate in the 2008 election, I find it rewarding to see that he has chosen far wiser. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has been thrust into the limelight as McCain has selected her to be his Vice President should he be elected in November. I am very pleased with this selection for a number of reasons. Continue Reading

Amazon.com recently reported that they had sold nearly 250,000 Kindle units since the digital book reader launched in November 2007. This beats many analysts estimates and perhaps an indicator of where the book industry is headed. I am excited to announce that several of my books are now available in digital format for Kindle users! Here are the titles you can now enjoy on your Kindle... Continue Reading

We had a great time in Glenwood Springs. From taking a Segway tour of the area and a day at the world's largest hot springs pool to downtime for rest & relaxation and a trip to a rain-covered Snowmass, my family and I enjoyed our brief vacation. I may put up some video once I get the chance. But I've had a lot of people curious about how the return train ride went on Amtrak... Continue Reading

When it came time to plan a summer vacation with my family, Mary and I decided we would just do a local Colorado trip rather than fly somewhere. I researched places that would be within driving distance and came upon Glenwood Springs, a popular tourist destination smack dab in the middle of the Rockies. They are famous for having the world's largest Hot Springs pool and it is a beautiful location. Instead of driving, I... 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

"You're a social media expert", he said on the conference call. I guess I hadn't thought of myself in that manner before. He went on to tell me that I have provided him with tons of advice on using social media to leverage his brand and increase traffic to his sites. I pondered for a while and realized that I had gotten so used to sharing my knowledge that I didn't recognize just how much... Continue Reading

Social Media is all the buzz right now. It started with MySpace, continued with YouTube and has brought about Facebook, Twitter and a host of other sites promising the help people interact in new ways. These sites have become very popular and two were purchased for a tidy sum. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp purchased MySpace for $580 million and Google bought YouTube for for $1.65 BILLION. I'm sure the boys from Facebook and Twitter have... Continue Reading

While attending an Internet marketing conference in Chicago, I spent a lot of time networking with my peers. As I sat at the dinner table last night, I noticed that a bunch of us were twittering on our handhelds. Simon Leung, Donna Fox, Eric Farewell, Anik Singal and several others had their PDAs or phone out and were twittering away... sometimes to each other other, even though they were sitting across the table from each... Continue Reading

What do you do if you are 38 years old and told by a doctor that you have just one year to live? That's exactly what happened to my friend Sylie Fortin. Shortly after getting married, Michel and Sylvie were face-to-face with the horrible diagnosis of breast cancer. But if you know Sylvie, you would know that this is not something she would take lying down. She pursued radical treatment and is alive two years... Continue Reading

Do you know which Internet marketer used to be a vacuum cleaner salesman? Which one was a car salesman? Who was a youth pastor in their previous vocation? What was the first spam email? Who wrote the first ebook that taught people how to make money online? These and many more questions are answered in my new book, Click Here to Order: Stories of the World's Most Successful Internet Marketing Entrepreneuers. Continue Reading

Thor Schrock is catching a lot of heat over his online reality program, The Top Affiliate Challenge. I remember when Thor first told me about his idea for the show. I encouraged him to do it, but I warned him that it would take a miracle to pull off a quality show on a daily basis. When Eric and I produced The Next Internet Millionaire, we filmed for two weeks straight and had a two-week... Continue Reading

I was in San Francisco last week and I had a great opportunity to visit with Sterling Valentine. Sterling is an former DJ who has become a great friend. And on this trip I also discovered that Sterling is a man of many talents. He is a singer/songwriter. So I asked him to pick up his guitar and play for me. He did. Here's a portion of Sterling singing "Someday". Oh, and somehow he got... Continue Reading

What is hype? From dictionary.com, one definition is "exaggerated publicity" For example... "The amazing super-duper fantasmagorical stapler can save thousands of dollars each year in lost time and help you lose 30 pounds in three minutes!" Ok, that IS over-the-top hype. What about where Internet marketing products are concerned? Is there hype? Continue Reading

Growing up, I did a lot of things with my older brother, Michael. He's got two years on me, so I was frequently wanting to hang out with him and his friends. We don't see each other much since he lives in Illinois, but he just came to Colorado for a visit. What do you I do with my guests when they come to town? Invite them to join me on my show, of course! Continue Reading

Have you ever wondered what people did BEFORE they become Internet marketers? It's pretty cool to see that the greatest success stories are people just like you and me. I will tell you this about me. I used to be a DJ. Yup, I worked in the nightclubs to begin with, but then the entrepreneur in me discovered that there was more money to be made in playing music at private events. So I started... Continue Reading

Question: What is the one of the biggest obstacles that people have to creating an online business? Answer: Building a web site! I have a confession to make. I am NOT an expert at building websites. In fact, I hire out all website design and creation. I am just not good at it. But what if you can't afford to pay someone to do it? Continue Reading

I've been frustrated lately. Here's the thing... As you know, I speak at a number of conferences. At these conferences, I teach people how to make money online and many of them purchase one of my products to help them build their online business. I know that what I teach works and that the products I offer have value. I know this because I receive testimonials from people all the time. But its the ones... Continue Reading

I need to back up a bit because I left out Sunday from my journal. On Sunday, I spoke at Chris Howard's "Ultimate Wealth Symposium" on the grounds of the Sydney Olympic Park. I had a fantastic time sharing my story with 800 or so people. I've got to say, the Aussies are a bit difficult to get moving, but I think everyone had a good time and learned a thing or two. I also... Continue Reading

I'm currently in Los Angeles for the annual Book Expo America, otherwise known as BEA. Why BEA? I have a book coming out on August 1st and I showed up to support my publisher and do some networking. Now I must confess. I am a trade show junkie. I love the vast conference centers with aisles and aisles of vendors hawking their goods and services. I'm especially a sucker for the freebies and swag. It's... Continue Reading

What is it that makes successful people stand out from the crowd? Or perhaps I should ask the question this way... What are the things that successful people DO that everyone else does not do? I believe we are all dealt a hand in life. On very rare occassion that hand is stacked with a full house, but in most cases we're fortunate if we are dealt a pair of twos. And whether or not... Continue Reading

I love giving things away. I know, I'm supposed to be a marketer. I'm supposed to know how to get the full value for everything I supply. But every year, I give away tons of fantastic freebies. I give away content, e-books, videos, training sessions, teleseminars and all sorts of other wonderful things. If I had to calculate the total value of the goodies that I pass out for nothing every year, I'd need to... Continue Reading

Several years ago, I had the privilege of meeting a gentleman who I have sinced dubbed "The nicest guy in Internet marketing." His name is Ken McArthur and he is the chief architect behind the highly successful JV Alert Live conferences. You see, Ken is incredibly successful because he continually pours himself into the lives of those around him. Whether it launching careers of other marketers or freely sharing his knowledge and expertise with anyone... Continue Reading

I am a PC user. I am also a Mac user. That's right. When it comes to computers, I enjoy the best of both worlds. In fact, I have used BOTH Apple and PC-based computers since they became available almost three decades ago! I am leaning Mac-heavy these days, but my home computer is still a PC. But when it gives up the ghost I will probably make the switch to Mac. Continue Reading

I've been blogging since 2003. That seems like an eternity in Internet years! If you aren't blogging yet, you are missing out on a KEY component of your Internet business and online presence. The thing is, many people are totally and completely intimidated by the thought of blogging. You may even be reading this and thinking, "I'm too embarrassed to tell Joel that I don't even know what a blog is!" Don't sweat it. You... Continue Reading

When Mike Filsaime visited last week, he suggested that I get a the DVD documentary, "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters". It is the story of a the men who are completely dedicated to owning the world record for the highest score in the videogame, Donkey Kong. Yes, you heard me correctly. There are people who obsess about having the high score for a videogame. After all, there is an entry in the... Continue Reading

I was helping my wife clean out the closet yesterday and I've got a feeling I didn't pick up a box correctly. Yesterday afternoon, my lower back began hurting... all the way down at the base of my spine. I tried heat. I tried ointment. I tried advil. I managed to sleep through the night without any trouble, but man am I hurting today! Continue Reading

Everyone has heard of Chicken Soup for the Soul and the zillion titles that were derived from this massive best-seller. What you don't know is that I am friends with the man who helped make that series so huge! His name is Rick Frishman and he knows a few things about getting attention. ;-) Rick has just released a new book of his own called "Where's Your Wow?" that reveals 16 ways to make your... Continue Reading

I remember seeing Ben Stein for the first time in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Who could forget the monotone deadpan teacher repeating "anyone... anyone... Bueller... Bueller". And then there was "Win Ben Stein's Money", a campy television quiz show that demonstrated Ben's ability to stand toe-to-toe with the best of them. I sure would have liked to have seen him go up against Ken Jennings. As a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a... 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

I recently posed the riddle on Twitter, "How many Internet marketers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" I think pasoderholm and FunDivaCristy tie for the best reply. What do you think? Do you have a funny answer to this riddle? Continue Reading

While I'm still enjoying my family vacation here in Hawaii, I wanted to take a moment to let you know about a ground-breaking new tool that is guaranteed to increase your sales. Part of the reason I am able to enjoy vacations like this is because I've leveraged technology and employees to keep my business running, even when I'm away from it. Most people understand the concept of hiring employees, but many people don't understand... Continue Reading

What would you do if you were able to come to my home and office and ask me whatever you wanted? Would you have some questions for me? Dave Woodward did. A few months back, Dave contacted me and told me he was putting together a brand new series called "Legendary Marketers", and he asked if he could come visit with me at my home and office to find out what made me tick. Of... Continue Reading

Ah... Kauai. We were here two years ago and had a great time. I think we did all the touristy stuff that week. Helicopter ride. Driving around both coasts... etc. Last year we went to Maui, and although beautiful, it doesn't match Kauai for beauty. Maui was also way overpriced and I can't see going there again just for a vacation. Anyhow, I don't think I've ever been in such need of a vacation and... Continue Reading

What is the definition of true success? Is it having a large bank account? Is it having a garage full of cars? Is it having a mansion with so many rooms you can't fill them all? I would say that all of these material things are an indicator that a person may have succeeded in business, but without one key component I don't believe a person is truly successful. Continue Reading

It was fall of 2005 when I was scheduled to speak at Robert Puddy's Focus 4 the Future Internet marketing conference. It was the first time I had spoken at an event and I was on a roster with Mike Filsaime, Gary Ambrose and Craig Perrine. Yes, I was nervous. But why should I be? My AdSense ebook was a huge success and my name had begun to spread in the Internet marketing community. The... Continue Reading

I recently had the privilege of spending time with Mike Filsaime. The guy is one of the most brilliant marketers in the world, and he told me how he is "moving the free line"... again! Mike knows viral marketing unlike anyone else and he understands the power of providing free high quality information to people. He also understands the power of branding the reports and allowing others to give them away for you. Continue Reading

In March of 2006 I attended Yanik Silver's Internet Marketing Underground seminar in Washinton, DC. It was a life-changing date with destiny, for it was there that I met my future JV Partner, Eric Holmlund. I was also impressed by the high caliber of people who attended this seminar. It seemed that there was an awful lot of success in the room filled with over 300 people. Two years later and Yanik does not disappoint... Continue Reading

There are those who start at the bottom of a company with the aspiration to rise to the top, and there are those for whom the words upwardly mobile do not apply. I encountered Mr. Latter attending to the United Skycap station in LAX today. My associates and I bring our bags to the guy and we go through the regular procedure. "What is your destination?", "Show me your identification" and "How many bags will... Continue Reading

If you were publishing a newspaper, you wouldn't care who read it. As long as the number of readers was nice and high, it wouldn't matter too much to you whether they all read one article or absorbed everything from cover to cover. That would be true even if you were publishing a free newspaper. You'd just want know how many people your publication reaches so that you can charge advertisers the right price. Online... Continue Reading

Be careful... If you don't add the right amount of each ingredient, you could ruin the entire meal. Easy now... If you mix those chemicals incorrectly, it could be explosive. Watch it... If the calculations aren't perfect, the shuttle may never make it off the launching pad. Many things in life demand precision. There are some absolutes that do not allow for the least bit of give. One wrong step and the greatest ideas can... Continue Reading

I was at a conference recently and someone asked me if I had anything in the works. I had to laugh. Ha! When I think about how many projects we've got in the works, I can't help but laugh! Seriously, me and my team are projectaholics. We just love creating and coming up with new stuff that people will like. Continue Reading

I've got a pretty colorful past. I got my first job when I was fourteen-years old, working behind the counter of a fast-food restaurant at Northbrook Court shopping mall in Northbrook, Illinois. After all, I needed to save up money to buy a TRS-80 Model I computer from Radio Shack! Once I acquired my driver's license, I worked in the health & beauty department at Venture. Yes, I was a stockboy. At the age of... Continue Reading

I am a victim of BSOS. What is BSOS, you might ask? Bright Shiny Object Syndrome. Yes, I am easily distracted by whatever amuses me. A few weeks ago, Dan Nickerson came to me with an idea for a new product. He pointed out that the product would require a domain and began seeking out the domain. I'm always on the lookout for new domain names. Continue Reading

I've long been a proponent of using contests, sweepstakes and giveaways to drive traffic to web sites. In fact, if you do it correctly, you can get others to provide all the prizes in exchange for a link back to their site! Gyutae Park of WinningTheWeb.com has done just that. Gyutae has pulled together over $7600 in prizes and I am guessing that the amount will grow as more people catch wind of this contest. Continue Reading

I'm currently in Atlanta for Matt Bacak's Marketing Madness conference. I'm set to speak to 150 or so people tomorrow. So Dan Nickerson and I are in our hotel room right next to the airport. I mean DIRECTLY next to the airport. Our balcony overlooks all the runways, so we've enjoyed the sights and sounds of planes continually taking off and landing. But as we were coming back from dinner tonight, I noticed lightning in... Continue Reading

So I've got this great idea for a screenplay. The story goes like this... Due to severe beatings she had received as a child, a thirty-something year old woman develops a strange phobia and doesn't leave the bathroom for two years. I know, bizarre, yes? It gets more interesting. The woman spends the majority of her time on the toilet. Yes, on the toilet. In fact, she spends SO much time on the toilet that... Continue Reading

I try to be very transparent about the ways I make money on the web. It's really no secret and I've nothing to lose by sharing this information with you. I don't like to hold back as that doesn't contribute to your success at all. So I'm about to reveal one of my biggest secrets for profiting online. Ok, it's really more along the lines of "incredibly obvious", but I'm amazed at how many people... Continue Reading

Google is a behemoth that continues to swallow everything in its path. Back in April 2007, Google offered Doubleclick over $3 BILLION to buy them out. Today the transaction is complete... I received this email from Kim Malone at Google today... Continue Reading

I'm about to share a hard truth with you. I hope you are sitting down, cause here we go... Most of the people reading this newsletter will never make money online. Ouch. Sure, read it again. You heard me right. Now before you go questioning me, calling me insensitive or flat out cursing me out, let me say this... Continue Reading

I have a confession to make. I love shopping online and I love using online coupon codes. I've been doing online shopping online since Amazon.com launched in 1995. In the early years, merchants would regularly offer fantastic discounts on merchandise in order to get new customers to their stores. For example, Reel.com (nbow defunct?) used to offer $10 off coupons on a regular basis. So I would buy DVDs for approximately $5 each. What a... Continue Reading

I regularly receive joint venture proposals from people. A small percentage of them have some really good ideas and products, but the majority of them are not good at all. Today I received an email from a couple gentlemen in Australia. I hope the email and my response will be instructive for the recipients and for others as they seek to do joint ventures. Continue Reading

You can have a great idea for a web site. And developing the site can be a very rewarding experience. But without one thing, it doesn't matter how nice your site is... That thing is traffic. Traffic is really the "life blood" of our business. Without traffic you can't make sales, you can't generate affiliate commissions, you can't build a list... (you get the picture). So today I want to focus on traffic, and tell... Continue Reading

I've just spent an incredible three days in Las Vegas at the Affiliate Summit. This gathering of nearly 3000 people was one of the largest concentrations of affiliate marketers in history. While I did enjoy some of the workshops, the greatest benefit was from networking with others in the industry. I finally got to meet famous bloggers such as Amit Mehta, John Chow, Andrew Wee and Zac Johnson, just to name a few. All these... Continue Reading

I've been wanting to meet Jason Calacanis face-to-face for some time. For those that don't know, Jason is the co-creator of Weblogs, Inc., which was sold to AOL for $25 million. I'm at Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas where Jason Calacanis delivered the keynote address this morning. I really didn't know anything about Jason as a person, so I was looking forward to an insightful talk with fresh ideas. Wow, was I in for a... Continue Reading

I'm in Las Vegas for Affiliate Summit and am looking forward to the a few days of networking and learning. And while I have nothing to say about the conference yet because it hasn't started yet, I do have an experience to share with you. As you know, I enjoy blogging about my customer service experiences... especially the bad experiences. Why do I do this? I place a very high value on customer service and... Continue Reading

What are people talking about when they talk about RSS feeds? Let me make it simple. In fact, let me make it REAL simple. RSS stands for "really simple syndication". Basically, it is a format for distributing and gathering content from various sources across the web. This can include newspapers, magazines and ablogs. Using something called a "news reader", you can monitor headlines and summaries from many of your favorite sources without having to go... Continue Reading

Admit it. You are passionate. Oh, I don't know what you are passionate about. But I guarantee that you are passionate about SOMETHING! You may be crazy about parakeets. Or perhaps you know more about bonzai trees than anyone on the block. Maybe you are one of the world's leading experts on Mt. Everest. Or it could be that you make the best french silk pie in the hemisphere! The point is that everyone is... Continue Reading

A few months back, I launched this groundbreaking Internet marketing course to the world... The Secret Classroom ... and the feedback has been fantastic! I regularly receive emails from people telling me what an impact this course has had on their online business. I wanted to take a moment today and share one of these emails with you. I think it says way more about the value of The Secret Classroom than I could ever... Continue Reading

I get a lot of questions from people who are eager to start Home-Based Businesses. They wonder if they can afford office equipment, pay for outsourcing, purchase expensive courses, and go to Internet Marketing Seminars. What many people don't realize is that having your own home-based business offers many tax advantages that will really help you with these expenses. Whether you're joining a Network Marketing Company, starting a commercial website or plan on being a... Continue Reading

I am finding Facebook to be a great tool for networking and connecting with people. Since I started using last fall, I have connected with old friends, family members, new associates and some pretty big names. With Facebook, you can make contact with people who might otherwise be very difficult to reach. I've added over 1000 friends, started a handful of groups and have discovered how to post items so others can see what I... Continue Reading

Last week, I sat down in my office with several members of my team and we began doing a brain dump of all the great ideas for sites, services and products that we had. We filled my fairly-large whiteboard in no time at all. The fact of the matter is that we have more ideas than we have time or manpower to accomplish! But ideas are not exactly in short supply, are they? There are... Continue Reading

World of Warcraft has now occupied a part of my life for three years. No, I am not one of those people that plays hours each day, let alone every day. But I do enjoy the game and am eagerly anticipating the next expansion set titled "Wrath of the Lich King". Apparantly I am not alone. There are now over 9,000,000 people around the world who play World of Warcraft. 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

I'm a big fan of Amazon.com. I spend far too much money there but they also give me a fair bit of money too through book sales and affiliate links. I think they've done a fantastic job of selling products online and helping website publishers earn from their content. They might be the Walmart of Internet retailing, but they're definitely not the Apple of whiz-bang gadgetry. Their new Kindle book-reading machine is a great idea... Continue Reading

I'm glad I broke it. I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't broken it. No, I'm not talking about a vase I won in a church raffle. And I certainly don't mean the world 100 meter sprint record. I didn't break a nail, though I could probably use a good manicure. And I didn't break a vow of silence. I'd have to be silent for more than ten minutes for that to take place... Continue Reading

Psst... want to know a way to get tons of free users to your website instantly? And when I say tons, I mean the sort of numbers that will crash your servers, send your page views spiking through the roof and make you dizzy when you look at your AdSense stats. Here's how to do it... Just get your Web page on the front page of Digg.com. I didn't say it was an easy way... Continue Reading

I wish I had thought of this. It's so simple, yet it's brilliant. If you are like me, you own a few domains. Ok, you may own a LOT of domains. I own approximately 400 domain names. The problem is that most of the those domains do not have a web site on them. They are "parked" pages. Continue Reading

I've had several people ask me what I'm going to be up to in 2008. I'm very excited, because this is going to be a breakthrough year for many people who will increase their online revenue. AND, I am excited because I am going to be doing several things that have never been done before! That's kind of a mantra with me. I don't like to do what everyone else is doing. You have to... Continue Reading

In November of 2005, I went to Armand Morin's Big Seminar for the first time. My eyes were opened to brand new possibilities, and I can say without reservation that it was one of the most significant events of my life. Since that time I have gotten to know Armand as a friend and a mentor. I've been a guest speaker at Big Seminar, he has been a guest teacher on The Next Internet Millionaire... Continue Reading

Does American Airlines have good customer service? Once again, I find myself on the "I can't believe this is happening" end of a telephone conversation with a customer service rep. Here's the story. I had booked a flight using reward miles to fly someone from Dallas to Denver in a couple weeks. As it turns out, he is going to drive here a few days early and won't require the initial leg of the flight... Continue Reading

Have I mentioned that I love living in Colorado? Yes, I guess I probably have. I finally got around to resizing some photos that I have taken with my iphone since we moved here last year. Continue Reading

I love living in Colorado. Ever since I moved my family here in February of 2007, I really can't imagine living anywhere else. I love the mountains. I love the change of seasons. I love zero humidity. And I've met some really great people here. But there's one thing that is still lacking... Continue Reading

I make no secret of it. I am a 43-year old man who loves playing computer and video games. And why not? I was a teenage when Space Invaders, Asteroids and Centipede took over the arcades. I was sixteen when I bought my first computer, a TRS-80. It was great for primitive gaming. And I've got a great collection of old computer software in a special room in my basement. Perhaps I'll do a video... Continue Reading

I love quick and easy changes that make a significant difference. A few months back, I learned of a contextual advertising service that was compatible with Google AdSense. It took me less than 15 minutes to place their code on my pages. In my first month, I made an additional $1000 just from that fifteen minutes. Not bad! And it gets better... Continue Reading

I've been paying close attention to customer service wherever I go these days. In my business, I tell my support team to go the extra mile when assisting customers. I believe this pays off big time in the long run. But I am amazed at how many businesses do not pay attention to the simplest of customer service details. In the past few days, I have made observations at Best Buy, Gamestop, Qdoba and... my... Continue Reading

I'm at a loss for words. I've started this newsletter half a dozen times trying to find the right way to share some information with you. Sometimes the words don't come. Eloquence doesn't seem to be in the cards for me today. It's not that the topic isn't interesting. It's just that I've got writer's block. Has that ever happened to you? There are days that I am able to create new content for my... Continue Reading