Angel's comments

Hi Folks,

I find Twitter super useful as a:

1) Real time information tool
2) Where is everybody at the conference tracking device
3) Keep an informal discussion going with multiple people prior to something official device
4) A great way to get recommendations about places you have never been to, especially restaurants, device
5) As entertainment

My twitter handle is my last name: djambazov

Furthermore Alex forums take a lot of moderation. In order to keep the forum spam free and on target you will probably need to hire someone to monitor it or perhaps find interns. Either way it can be a resource drain on a startup. As it grows some of the "regulars" on the forum will become moderators naturally but it is better to leave this to internal sources at first.

One option is to open a sub-forum in a larger fully operational industry forum. This will help lesson the the need of having your own active moderators.

Hi Jessie,

Setting up an affiliate program to drive sales, if done right, is an extremely high touch indevor. It is not one I recommend for small business unless the product you are promoting is in an exclusive niche.

Not that you won't get people signing up to be affiliates. You will. Not that incremental sales won't occur if you just throw a software like Direct Track or join a network like CJ. You will gain some sales that way.

It is attracting professional affiliates that is difficult. They are the ones that drive real growth. The question professional affiliates will ask is why should they take time on your program when they can promote merchants with large inventories like Overstock or specific to your niche Guthy-Renker. The product you are offering will have to compete for the same space on their sites as larger merchants.

To be successful you need to: 1) Offer a great product 2) Be able to convert customers affiliates send you to sales at a high rate 3) Be flexible in terms of technology requests affiliates may have (custom landing pages for example) 4) Be competitive in your commissions 5) Have a dedicated staff focused on this channel

I highly recommend ABestWeb.com as a good resource for questions on the affiliate channel.

Feel free to field other questions if you have them.

I agree that Stacy summed things up perfectly. Online communities like Facebook are just that, communities. Your level of genuine interaction with the community will dictate how the members look at you and thus your business. Seeing how you can enrich the community and engage the people who share similar interests to yours is the best way to "talk" about your business.

People do not enjoy feeling like their community area is being spammed or pitched. People do enjoy taking part in discussions and that is the key.

Hi Tara,

Happy to answer your questions over coffee. Integrating into the affiliate industry is an easy step and SEO is really about knowing how your potential customers are trying to find your business. Neither should be an expensive proposition for you to incorporate into your business activity.

I am looking into hosting something in the near future.

In the meantime I highly recommend WebMasterWorld.com it has a plethora of information on SEO and a slew of other knowledge ranging from site building tips - legal considerations online. Great resource.

Aside from using Google to monetize your site I would recommend the following:

• Linkshare
• Commission Junction
• Performics/Double Click
• AdBrite

I would also recommend checking out programs from companies like:

• Shopping.com
• Mpire
• Yahoo
• Miva
• Digital River

All of the above are always looking to expand their publisher base in order to increase their ad inventory. Once your traffic and audience retention improves there is also a slew of top tier ad networks that will approach you about CPM placements. To augment income from any of these you should post a rate card on your site in case advertisers want to work with you directly.

Also be aware as Bobbi mentioned above that running ads successfully on your site does require regular management. If you are serious about the process purchasing an ad management solution is highly recommended.

Now that's a nice speaking engagement! Congratulations Michael, thanks for posting the video.

Leif, You can get anything at CafePress.

Hi Shae,

That's rough.

As a bit of a workaholic I am sure my dedication to my work has negatively impacted many of my relationships although I don't believe it was ever the primary cause of a break up. The main problem of course is balance and insuring your partner knows that your devotion to your work does not supplant or cheapen your devotion to them. And sometimes that's hard to do.

I think that is why currently I have altered my work hours so that I wake up at the odd hour of 3am. Although I would naturally be inclined to work until that late at night I altered my schedule slightly to spend time in my relationship. It also helps that my wife has a shirt with a keyboard across the chest that she puts on when I am not paying enough attention to her.

Ultimately though I feel you have to follow your passion and although you should compromise you shouldn't give up the things you love to do.

Good luck, I hope things get better.

Hi Brian,

Although I am not working directly on either project, I have ties to Terrapass out of New York and a Second Life Converseon project in association with American Express that is letting people buy virtual trees which will then be planted in real life.

I have had a good experience with Nikko Media. For the last four years I have run custom oversized postcards and newsletter print jobs through them. They are fast, efficient and in several cases have saved me from my own mistakes. They are located in downtown Seattle near the ferry terminal.

Keith covered it pretty well. To his suggestions I would add: -Posting a bio of yourself and a link to the SW article so search engines have more information to index you by. Be sure to include meta information, currently since you have a place holder until your site is built you only have the meta title tag. -There are plenty of areas on the SW website where you can post comments. If the article appears in one of those areas, post a comment with your contact information in your signature. -Refer to and link to the article on your MySpace page.

HI Tom,

Depending on where you are buying the business from make sure it is an actual sustainable business model. I know many people who simply resell template based sites that are peppered with "non-owned" content. In other words, make sure that the products/services you are selling on the site really become yours with ownership.

Some sort of NDA and non-compete is essential as well.

Angel