My Startup Blog

admin — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:17:08 +0000

If are thinking to outsource your next web project, check this article published at entrepreneur.com to find the top 5 questions you should ask before sign the contract.

Below are the top questions to ask:

What web standards do they follow?

Do they design for SEO best practices?

How do they plan for change or growth?

How do they test their work?

How do they handle support requests?

Apple iPhone 3G Prices reduced, as low as $49

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:45:50 +0000

AT&T just lowered the prices for iPhone 3G Refurbs for another $50. The new price is:

Please note you need to sign a 2-year agreement in order to get this price. Also, data plan for iPhone is required for the life of your iPhone service and cannot be removed in the future.

26 Tips For Successful Outsourcing

admin — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:22:31 +0000

Sitepoint.com has a few good tips regarding outsourcing. Credit goes to Alyssa Gregory. I just copy few tips here for quick reference.

Here are 26 tips to make your outsourcing experiences as smooth as possible.

Come to an Agreement

1. Use a contract
2. Make sure you agree on payment terms up front
3. Don’t pay in full until the job is complete
4. Be clear on how and when you plan to pay the subcontractor
5. Agree on a timeline for the work
6. Include a non-disclosure/non-competition provision in your contract
7. Determine how you will receive project updates
8. Clarify confidentiality expectations
9. Build in a “de-bugging” provision that identifies a specific period of time the subcontractor will be on call to fix potential problems that arise
10. Clarify the ownership of the project in writing

Protect Your Business

When you outsource, you are giving up some of your control over the project. Consider these tips to help you protect your business, interests and reputation:

11. Check references
12. Review the subcontractor’s portfolio
13. Verify skills
14. Consider a small test project first
15. Be prepared to review all work before turning it over to the client
16. Be very clear about expectations
17. Don’t leave any details out when relaying the project request to the subcontractor
18. Send all work requests in writing
19. Schedule an initial call and regular check-ins, if necessary
20. Be available throughout the duration of the project
21. Track all payments for your books

Aside from the Work

Remember the importance of the personal side of your subcontractor relationship. Here are some ways to do that:

22. Don’t overlook the importance of complementary personalities
23. Respect the subcontractor’s time
24. Make sure there are no communication gaps
25. Give praise and appreciation for a job well done
26. Ask the subcontractor how it went at the end of the project and provide feedback

DimDim – Free conferencing and screen-sharing application

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:50:24 +0000

Dimdim is a free, open-source conferencing and screen-sharing app. It’s a simple tool for sharing presentations, collaborating on projects, or having meetings between people in multiple locations.

You can use most of Dimdim’s features without having to pay, or install anything on your computer. However, with a small plug-in you can share your entire computer screen with other meeting participants

Webware 100 Winners – 2009

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:25:04 +0000

Below is the list of Webware 100 Winners for 2009.

Audio & Music

Browsing

Commerce

Communication

Infrastructure & Storage

Location-based services

Photo & Video

Productivity

Search & Reference

Social & Publishing

Editors’ Choice

5% Coupon Code off Interspire Products

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:35:36 +0000

Interspire sell a number of products, including Interspire Email Marketer, Shopping Cart and Website Publisher. If you subscribe to their newsletter, you will receive up to 30% off coupon. They send such coupon to newsletter subscribe only. You can join its e-mail list by visiting its homepage.

If you need a coupon right now, there is 5% off coupon: FOORC74049HLUER

If you need a free one, try PHPList. It has a lot of nice features and it is FREE.

Free e-book: $7.95 Marketing Plan

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:45:48 +0000

Jim Kukral has published a new, free ebook called The $7.95 Marketing Plan. The tagline is “Build your brand for less than the price of a pizza.”

If you trying to give your next website a good name, go ahead and read this book. Best of all, it’s FREE.

The $7.95 Marketing Plan at http://www.795marketingplan.com/.

Actually, Jim should change the name of the book to: The $7.19 Marking Plan. Why, because you can always register a domain name for just $7.19 at GoDaddy.com. Here’s how:

1. Go to Google.com and search “Godaddy”.

2. On the top of the search result, you can find a Godday sponsored ad: $6.99 Domain w/ Email Free #1 Overall Best. Click on the link and register your domain name for $6.99.

Affiliate learning resources

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:14:55 +0000

ABestWeb Affiliate Forum
Affiliate Classroom
Affiliate Dinner
ARC’s Affiliate Manager Certification Seminar
Affiliate Summit
Book: A Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing by Evgenii “Geno” Prussakov
Blog: 5 Star Affiliate Programs Blog
Blog: an Affiliate Marketing Blog by Shawn Collins

How to Find your affiliate IDs

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 19:05:15 +0000

This article is from Popshop.com.

How to locate your LinkShare affiliate ID (”tracking code” or “encrypted code”)

LinkShare encrypts their affiliate IDs AND is case sensitive. To locate yours, you will need the LinkShare link that you generated from your LinkShare account.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your LinkShare username is NOT YOUR affiliate ID and will result in broken links. Also note, you may have more than one LinkShare profile. Make sure you change the profile ID dropdown in the upper right-hand corner of your LinkShare account to generate the correct ID.

Log in to LinkShare.com.
Generate a link and grab the code
Take a look at a the URL in the link that you have generated. For example:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=GIcLtectcIw&offerid=170389.10000207&type=3&subid=0
Your encrypted link ID is the 11-character alpha-numeric string that follows “click?id=”.
Do not include the “&” in the ID. In this case the encrypted link ID is “GIcLtectcIw.”

How to locate your Commission Junction affiliate ID (”PID”)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Your CJ account number is NOT THE SAME as your PID (but they both are multi-digit numbers, and thus easily confused). Please follow these instructions carefully.

Log in to Commission Junction.
Click on the Account tab (between “Home” and “Get Links”).
Click on “Web site Settings”.
If you have more than one site, set the “Select Web site” dropdown menu to the correct profile. (Each site has a different PID.)
Your PID is listed under your site name (PID XXXXXXX).

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: CJ product links work as long as you have a number in the PID field, but you won’t get credit if you don’t input the correct number (i.e., your PID). In addition, you need to have an active relationship with every merchant that you want to add products from. To see your list of active merchants, log in to CJ, click “Get Links”, then click “By Relationship”.

How to locate your Pepperjam affiliate ID (”Source ID”)

Log in to pepperjamNETWORK.com (if you’re not a member, then you’ll need to join Pepperjam Network).
Click “Generate Links” in the menu.
Click “Program List”.
Click any program banner.
Now, click the radio button that says “Non-encrypted”.
Look for a field that says, “Non-Encrypted Tracking URL”.
Note the numbers that look like this “N-NNNN-NNNN-NN”.
Your affiliate ID is the THIRD set of numbers.

WE STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT YOU WRITE PEPPERJAM NETWORK CUSTOMER SUPPORT AND CONFIRM YOUR AFFILIATE ID BEFORE PUBLISHING.

How to locate your LinkConnector affiliate ID (”User ID”)

Log in to LinkConnector.com.
In the upper-right corner you will see your username and a five-digit ID in brackets: [XXXXX]
This User ID is your affiliate ID that you need to enter into PopShops.

How to locate your ShareASale affiliate ID (”User ID”)

Log in to ShareASale.com.
On the upper-left corner look for the phrase “Your User ID: XXXXXX – Logoff” (there will be a six-digit number instead of the XXXXXX)
This User ID is your affiliate ID that you need to enter into PopShops

How to locate your Google Affiliate Network (formerly Performics) publisher ID

Log in to Google Affiliate Network (GAN).
Scroll to the very bottom of the web page.
You will see your username and your 17 digit publisher ID number that starts with “2100″
Copy the entire 17 digit publisher ID number that starts with “2100″ and paste it into PopShops.

List of Affiliate Data Feed Aggregator

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:47:56 +0000

Below is a list of the affiliate feed provider.

Datafeedr.com: Datafeedr is a system which enables you to create & embed an affiliate shop into your WordPress blog. Datafeedr has aggregated over 101 million affiliate products from 15 affiliate networks. A monthly subscription fee is required in order to use this service, starting from $27/month.
GoldenCAN.com: GoldenCAN has two types of merchants from which affiliates can choose: (1) “4th Click Merchants,” or those who pay via a 4th-click ID swap (2) “Free Merchants” or those that are free of the 4th-click commission share.
PopShops.com: is free for merchants. Affiliates must pay the cost of business but can choose from several different plans; from a free option to a $30 per month
Enterprise version.