Each generation of technology seems to enable us to edge closer to using what the pros do for a smidgen of the cost. What used to require an Avid studio and monstrous computers ($$$$$) can now be done in Final Cut Pro on a Macbook ($$). Same for audio as well.
If you’re like me, you probably bought a headphone/microphone combo at some point to upgrade from the dollar store mic included with most computers. Today, I want to take a look at a kit that’s several levels above that, and won’t set you back too much.
So I was browsing my latest issue of Inc. Magazine (The Handbook of the American Entrepreneur) when I came across an 8-page spread in the back with the tag “Special Advertising Section” at the top. While this advertising section looked like most others you’d find in the back of a magazine… this advertising section amazed me (In a bad way). The ads looked liked they had been thrown together from the kind of crappy banner images you might find advertising on cheap sites. Some of the ads were so stretched and pixelated that the domain names were nearly illegible.
See the AD below for the Yale MBA… How well is their domain shown??
Notice that the text in the ad above is clear.
After following a little bit of Joseph Jaffe’s Fatblogging, I thought this would be a good time to profile a recent friend of mine who’s passion for what he does is so strong that it really needs to be shared.
If you’re ever having trouble getting motivated or inspired, talk to Adam Gilbert (warning: link contains corny montage). I recently met Adam (well…virtually met) and his passion for what he does is a welcomed breath of fresh air. You’re always told as an entrepreneur to do what you love, yet so many people disregard it in search for the almighty dollar. They end up just creating another “job” for themselves.
Today is a great day to share some tips on using some green strategies to save the little green pieces of paper in your wallet (multicolored pieces for our international readers). It isn’t 1988 anymore and Kermit the Frog would be happy to know that it is no longer hard being green. Our society is opening a lot of doors to green and sustainable solutions for our personal and business lives. Here is a short list of tips for how you can use earth friendly solutions to save money as you create your start-ups.
Upgrade to LCD: Obviously these wouldn’t be money saving techniques if the first thing I’m asking you to do is spend money, but if you find yourself in the market to upgrade your CRT monitors… go LCD. Prices are getting pretty low these days and an LCD uses about half of the power a CRT does. Lower power usage means a lower power bill.
Reuse Your Printed Mistakes: I recently printed 40 two-page press releases only to realize I had a spelling error in the title of my release. Since the press release was only printed on one side of the paper, I folded all the sheet in half and tore them into two. I then stapled about 10 sheets together giving me great little scratch paper bundles for scribbling numbers on at my desk or for throwing in my bag to scratch ideas on when out and about. If you use all your printed mistakes and the junk mail you get in this method you’ll never have to by scratch notepads ever again.
For the internet astronauts and fellow online business owners… Here is a list I found of classic geek terms from the 90’s that I’m sure you’ll appreciate.
Adminisphere:
The rarefied organizational layers beginning just above the rank and file. Decisions that fall from the adminisphere are often profoundly inappropriate or irrelevant to the problems they were designed to solve.
Alpha Geek:
The most knowledgeable, technically proficient person in an office or work group. “Ask Larry, he’s the alpha geek around here.”
Assmosis:
The process by which some people seem to absorb success and advancement by kissing up to the boss rather than working hard.
Blamestorming:
Sitting around in a group discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
Blowing Your Buffer:
Losing one’s train of thought. Occurs when the person you are speaking with won’t let you get a word in edgewise or has just said something so astonishing that your train gets derailed. “Damn, I just blew my buffer!”
Bozone:
The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking
down in the near future.
Cashtration:
The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
CGI Joe:
A hard-core CGI script programmer with all the social skills and charisma of a plastic action figure.
Crapplet:
A badly written or profoundly useless Java applet. “I just wasted 30 minutes downloading this stinkin’ crapplet!”
If you don’t, today would be a good day to start. Sarah Needleman asked to interview us for the SJ a couple weeks ago and the article went live today. You can read “What Small-Biz Owners Can Learn From Blogs” here.
The other blogs featured were:
WorkHappy - “His two-year-old blog provides advice, ideas, inspiration and resources he’s accumulated through his own experience as a consultant to entrepreneurs and owner of four Web-based ventures.”
Franchise Pundit - “The blog, which is updated daily, also reports on emerging franchises, relevant legal news and various industry happenings.”
Escape from Cubicle Nation - “…she focuses her blog posts on the emotional aspect of leaving the corporate world to start a business.”
BizzBangBuzz - “He blogs about legal issues pertaining to entrepreneurs and says he often cites lessons he’s learned through his work.”
Venture Capital Cafe - “Mr. Vidra profiles early-stage ventures in his blog by describing their business models and products.”
Marketing Blog - “Mr. Cook blogs about the marketing strategies he advises his clients on and any topic that ’strikes a nerve,’ he says.”
Small Business Trends - “…focuses on major developments that affect small-business owners”
The Invent Blog - “Registered-patent attorney Stephen M. Nipper has made a hobby out of scouring the Internet for articles on the subject and related topics and summarizing what he finds on the blog.”
Guy Kawasaki’s How to Change the World - “One of the most well-known blogs in the small-business space, How to Change the World aims to do just as its namesake suggests via the art of ‘entrepreneurialism.’”
A great list if I may say so myself. A huge thanks to Sarah for including YGG.
Darius did a fantastic job illustrating the issues in the world of online advertising from a publisher’s position. I’m going to try and look at what I believe the issues and opportunities are from an advertiser’s (client) viewpoint.
There’s no question, paying for the effectiveness of your ads as opposed to the impressions or clicks is the ideal scenario. As mentioned, Jim Coudal is on the right track with The DECK and a Cost Per Influence deal.
No matter the model of cost or optimization of website, the effectiveness of your ads is in the hands of the creative behind them.
A very long time ago, way back in the past… like 10 years ago, people started getting on this crazy thing called the World Wide Web. Somewhere in a dark room filled with crabby old men, it was decided that advertising online would never make sense… “nobody is really going to spend a lot of time in front of the computer. They have books & magazines to read, movies & television to watch, music to listen too…” (I guess they never thought we’d end up doing that ON the computer.)
It was this lack of faith in the internet that kept online advertising from being seen as a legitimate way for companies to reach their markets, so the key to the internet’s chastity belt was left right out in the open. With no set rules, people looking to make boon with online advertising established the game. Web pages could have several if not a dozen forms of advertising on a single page. (Can you imagine a 30 second TV commercial that pitched 213 different companies?)
How Do You Measure the Madness?
As it it is now there is no practical and meaningful standard of measuring a websites true value from an advertisers perspective. Let’s examine the following methods currently used to measure a websites attractiveness to advertisers…
