Are You LinkedIn or Linked Out?

Yesterday I was looking up some information for Reena’s sister because she has an interview for a new job today. I was specifically looking for information on some contacts at a companies that she is going to be working with. While searching through Google, I noticed that one of the searches was listed on LinkedIn. I took a look, then logged into my account to see what was new. It’s been a few months since I last logged into my LinkedIn account, so I had a few networking requests.

I then went to Twitter and made a tweet for anyone interested in linking up with me on LinkedIn. Soon enough, I had several requests for networking. The best part of seeing all of these new contact requests was that a good majority of them were from old friends and contacts from over the years. In addition to networking with old contacts, it’s already brought in some new business for me. The internet business is unlike any other, and people jump in between companies like it’s nothing. Like Twitter, LinkedIn is a great source to keep in touch with your contacts, which they can also update and change as they move into new markets or work at new companies.

How many of your old contacts are still out that, but have just lost contact over the years? Setup or renew your interest on Twitter or LinkedIn and see where some of your old friends and contacts might be today! It might just be that extra contact or motivation you need to bring your business to the next level.

- Network with me on LinkedIn
- Join me on Twitter

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The Rise and Fall of HandHeld Entertainment

Several months ago I reported on eBaumsWorld.com being acquired for several millions of dollars. A month after that post, I made another one about how the company that was purchasing eBaumsWorld.com, saw a huge increase in their ComScore figures. The company that acquired eBaumsWorld.com and multiple other high traffic entertainment sites is HandHeld Entertainment and their stock symbol is ZVUE. Why is this relevant to affiliate marketing? It’s completely relevant, because all of the acquired web sites made their money from Affiliate Programs and CPM based advertising. Let’s take a look at the RISE and FALL of ZVUE.

The two year high for ZVUE, was back when they first announced they were acquiring Dorks.com for a million dollars. ZVUE went on to acquire several other sites such as FunMansion.com, YourDailyMedia.com and PutFile.com. In my previous post I did a break down of how much each site was acquired for, but based off their earnings and traffic levels, I would say ZVUE overpaid on all of them. Unfortunately for many of the site owners, their deal included a large portion of STOCK, instead of complete cash deals. Now their million dollar deals have dwindled in size to multi-hundred thousand dollar deals. (Yet another deciding factor to think about when deciding if you should Sell or Not to Sell.)

Before YouTube & 2.0 Sites, EBaumWorld.com was King.

Today ZVUE stock is at a miserable .39 per share and down 71.59% on the year. To make matters worse, ZVUE was issued a Delisting Warning Letter from NASDAQ today. I can’t imagine there is much hope for this company should they get pushed down to the pink sheets. It’s amazing how badly their numbers and stock price has dropped since the acquisition of eBaumsWorld.com, which is still a powerhouse in the entertainment area. With the stock price now as low as it is, an acquisition from another company could make sense, even just for the amount of volume of traffic it’s network of sites produce.

What do you think of ZVUE’s performance with it’s network of web sites and have you ever attempted to make money in the video/entertainment niche area?

(Disclaimer: I do not recommend buying or selling this stock. This is simply a write up based on a company that deals with web sites and affiliate marketing. This post is in no way intended for action on your part based on making money or stock trading. You are responsible for any actions you take, whether it is affiliate marketing or through the stock market.)

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Joel Comm’s Screw Up is Your Gain

A few days ago I profiled Joel Comm’s new ebook, “Adsense Secrets 4.0” on the blog. Along with many other well known bloggers promoting the book, we were previously sent the ebook before it went live for sale. I assume the majority of us only looked at the landing page, but didn’t go through the full ordering process as we already had the ebook. It wasn’t til Mark made a post and called out Joel for “scamming” users by telling them the ebook would be $9.95, then to have them billed for $29.95 a month.. It wasn’t so much that the users didn’t know, it clearly said you would be billed $29.95 a month if you didn’t cancel, but how many of us read everything on the order form page. I didn’t realize this additional monthly fee either, until I looked through the site and went to the order form. Not only did Mark win by getting a ton of attention from the post, but Joel is looking to clear everything up and give everyone that orders the ebook a bit more.

Today I got an email from Joel along with his apology version of the site and how he wants to make good on his ebook campaign and the misunderstandings of his ordering process. To make good on the ebook, not only has Joel corrected his landing pages to make it EASY and CLEAR for subscribers to choose if they just want the ebook for $9.95 (or $29.95 monthly package), but Joel will also be donating 100% of the profits for the next two weeks (starting today) to the Hearts and Hands International foundation. Joel has also added a few “Fast Action Bonuses” to anyone that orders the ebook. This was a good move on Joel’s part and as a personal friend, I don’t believe he was out to get (or scam) anyone, it just wasn’t setup the way it should have been.

To make things even more exciting and beneficial to my readers, I’ll be giving away FIVE FREE COPIES of Joel’s Adsense Secrets 4.0 ebook all of this week. A winner will randomly be selected from the comments made on the post. Simply make a relevant post (no spam or trash) and each day come back to this post and the winner will be listed and contacted. One entry per person.

If you don’t want to wait, simply click here to buy Joel’s Adsense Secrets 4.0 ebook.

UPDATED WINNERS:
Monday’s Winner - The Manager
Tuesday’s Winner - Kerry
Wednesday’s Winner - TrishaLyn Fawver
Thursday’s Winner - Not John Chow
Friday’s Winner - James Seligman

Comments on this post are now closed as the promotion has come to an end.

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Super Heroes, Celebrities and More at ComicCon NY 2008

ComicCon is the elite convention of the year for geeks, comic fans, sci-fan fanatics and anyone just looking to have some fun. The event was held at the Jacob Javitz Center in New York City, so you know it’s going to be a huge event. This was my first ComicCon, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thought it was pretty cool and would definitely visit again. Here are just a few pictures and events from the show.

Comics, Movies & Entertainment
ComicCon isn’t just about comics, it also focuses on gaming, entertainment movies and more. There were hundreds of exhibitors and vendors, with the majority of them selling comics and collectibles. One of the premiere booths at the event had an Action Comics #1 issue on display, which is the first appearance of Superman. This comic is currently valued in at $1,380,000 in mint condition. The picture of the Action Comics #1 issue shown here is rated a 8.5 out of 10, which is pretty amazing and extremely rare to find.

Everyone’s a Super Hero!
One of the highlights of ComicCon is seeing attendees show up in their super hero outfits. While some were kind of horrible, others were amazing. Just two of the awesome costumes I saw was one for Hell Boy and Mr. Freeze & the Joker.

Fans with Dedication: Hellboy, Mr. Freeze & The Joker Costumes

Alex Ross Autograph and Meet & Greet
One of the more famous and well known artists for both Marvel and DC is Alex Ross. At ComicCon they have several autograph sessions, but you need to get a ticket in advance to get in line and meet with the artists and celebrities. I was near the line and a kid had to leave and wanted to sell his ticket, so I gave him $10 and went to buy a book illustrated by Alex Ross.

Lou Ferrigno was right next to Alex Ross, and stayed at his table from 11am-7pm through all of Saturday. There was no ticket required to see the original HULK star, just $20 for a signature! Not a bad deal just sitting back at ComicCon all day, pushing $20 in your money bag all day.

Alex Ross & My Signed MARVELS Book

Frank Miller & Eva Mendes blow of Awaiting Fans
One of the most anticipated meet and greet of the whole event was one with Frank Miller and Eva Mendes. Frank Miller is the creator and director of the super famous movie 300, and Eva Mendes is a well known celebrity who will be starring in Frank’s new film “The Spirit”. After getting to meet and have Alex Ross sign my book, I bought a $30 limited edition “300″ book for Frank Miller to sign. So about an hour before Miller and Mendes were supposed to come out, people were starting to get in line and once again, you needed a ticket or you would get to see them. Long story short, barely anyone had passes and they were being thrown out of the lines, I finally found someone to buy a ticket from for $30 (others were selling for $200!). Finally it was time for Miller and Mendes to come out, then there was chaos. For some reason apparently Mendes freaked out and left and Miller just stayed behind the curtain and signed a bunch of posters. Instead of meeting them, we walked to the front of the line, got the signed poster and left. It sucked and everyone was super pissed off! Apparently they both attended their movie premier party, but dissed all of their awaiting fans.

Attend “The Spirit” party… blow off ComicCon Fans!… Not cool.

I have a new blog starting up soon which will be dedicated to the comics niche area and being able to attend ComicCon really got me motivated to get that going. In the end, ComicCon was lots of fun pretty cool. I’ll try and make it again next year, maybe even ComicCon in San Diego which nearly 4x larger!

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Pay Your Taxes with a Credit Card?

Even though everyone’s favorite day of the year was just a few days ago, we can still talk about taxes and cover another option for you to next year, or for any of you last minute filers who had to file for an extension. Did you know you can pay your taxes with a credit card? As crazy as it may seem, it’s true. Unfortunately, like all things, there are pros and cons and paying your taxes with a credit can swing both ways. Here are just a few things you should look out for if you ever want to pay your taxes with a credit card.

First you might as, why would I even think about paying my taxes with a credit card? The first and most obvious answer to the question, is that you don’t have the necessary funds to pay towards Uncle Sam at the moment. If you delay your payment for taxes, the monthly late fee is 1% of balance due, which comes out to $10 for every $1,000 owed…. or you can pay on time with a credit card.

Here are the PROS and CONS to paying your taxes with a credit card:

PROS - Put it on the Card!

EARN REWARDS
I’ve talked about how awesome American Express is with rewards and customer support for their members, especially business card holders. If you had several thousands of dollars to pay in taxes, you could throw that onto your credit card and rack up a decent amount of rewards points. Some credit cards have restrictions on what type of purchases qualify for rewards points, so be sure to read the fine print.
(American Express also offers 5% back on all Yahoo Business Solutions. Yes! That includes Yahoo Search marketing)

LESS PAPERWORK
If you pay your taxes with your credit card, you can pay it off past the April 15th deadline, by paying your credit card company directly. This option is also available through the IRS, but there is a decent amount of paperwork you will need to file and fill out.

CONS - Keep the Plastic in Your Wallet!

MASSIVE INTEREST
Depending on your current credit card, you may have a decent or very high interest rate. If you throw a large chunk of owed taxes onto your credit card, you could end up paying a lot more than you actually owed in taxes. Interest can rapidly build up on you!

CONVENIENCE FEE
Uncle Sam is always going to get his money somehow. If you pay your taxes with a credit card, not only will you have to keep an eye on your interest rates and late payments, but the IRS will also get you for a 2.49% convenience fee! If you owe $10,000 in taxes, you are looking at an extra $250, just for using your card!

Credit cards and rewards programs are awesome, but I would stay away from paying your taxes with them. Just like regular purchases on your credit card… interest rates, late payments and your credit score can all be affected by your decision to pay your taxes with your credit card. (if and when you can pay it off) Unless you really want those rewards points and/or have a stash of cash to pay off your credit card tax bill right away, keep the plastic and taxes separate next year.

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