May 2012
1 post
News Flash: Advertising Isn't Dead
I would love to get back the handful of hours of my life that have been wasted reading sensationalist headlines about the end of advertising as we know it. I’ve got news for you folks: advertising is not dead, display ads are not dead, and THEY’RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE.
Every time I hear someone say that advertising is dead, I picture them looking like Harold Camping, the guy who has...
August 2011
2 posts
An Analytics Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
We’re in the midst of a pretty large project at BuySellAds. The new product we’re working on has the potential to be disruptive to our current business - for better or worse, and we’re dedicating the majority of our resources to it right now. This morning, I was doing some research on which browsers and versions are most valuable to us. I’m putting together a list of...
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking...”
– Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement speech, June 2005
June 2011
2 posts
I think I'm experiencing entrepreneurial burnout....
The best way to recharge your creative batteries is to change your routine. Take your dog for a long walk, skip out on work one afternoon and meet a friend for a beer or play some golf, work on something unrelated to your business for an afternoon, or work different hours one day (9pm - 5am vs. 9am - 5pm). Change your routine.
Read...
When Should You Give Yourself a Paycheck?
Pay yourself enough for ramen noodles — and nothing more
Take only what you need from the business and nothing more. Focus on growing revenue for the business without thinking about how it gets back into your personal bank account. This doesn’t mean that you should reinvest every cent back into your business, what it means is that you shouldn’t take money OUT of the business until necessary....
March 2011
5 posts
Fabulous Friday's at BuySellAds
… consist of stuf like this:
Identities removed to protect the unfortunate
Well, the clueless. Not sure what to say.
How we deliver value
At BuySellAds.com, our success depends on our ability to deliver high value experiences through succinct and intuitive interactions. In other words: we do what we say we do and then give you what you came to get.
1 tag
February 2011
3 posts
4 tags
WatchVideo & Slides from my talk at PlusConf 1
1 tag
Had to post this again. This song gets me pumped...
3 tags
Users paying for content, ppfffff
Point #1: Distribution channels will be taxed.
Apple’s business model isn’t anything new. They taxe the music transactions that flow through their distribution channel, they tax the apps the flow through, and now they will tax the content that flows through. Taxing a distribution channel is what aligns the two parties incentives: Apple is incentivized to grow...
January 2011
1 post
1 tag
Hhhmm, I wonder why this site has high search...
… because it’s a cash cow. I count 5 Google AdSense ad units, 1 Chitika unit, an Amazon affiliate ad, and a Commission Junction affiliate banner (160x600). Oh, and there’s more if you scroll down… this is just what is above the fold. The categories links could be considered original content, so this gives the page a ~ 95% ads to 5% content ratio. Nice algorithms Google,...
November 2010
1 post
Best Reminder Ever: No Meetings
In an effort to get stuff done, I blocked off the entire week this week. No meetings, no calls, no nothing. The only thing that’s left to do is get stuff done. When I fired up my mpb this morning the best reminder ever popped up (sorry, I still use Entourage): No Meetings. As an introvert who prefers to code and not talk on the phone, this made my day:
September 2010
4 posts
Interviews
This may sound a little vain: I love doing interviews. I have done a ton since launching BuySellAds.com, and each and every one has been lots of fun. It’s great for me because it helps get the word out about BSA. It also helps potential users see that the person running BSA (hopefully) isn’t a jerk and is someone they would want to do business with. So many companies are mysterious...
3 tags
WebInno 27 Breakout Session - Self-Funded Success...
When I received an email from WebInno organizer David Beisel asking if I would like to be on a panel featuring local “Self-Funded Success Stories” for WebInno 27 I was immediately psyched. Last summer, BuySellAds.com was a main dish presenter at WebInno; winning the audience choice award that night did great things for our confidence, and I have always enjoyed WebInno’s as...
Epiphany
Maybe it’s a bit presumptuous for me to call my own idea an “epiphany”, especially if I’m not going to get into any detail about what said “epiphany” is. But damn this feels good. An idea for BuySellAds.com came to mind late yesterday afternoon while working through an issue. We’ve been on an acquisition spree of very specific domain names that play...
3 tags
Dyn FTW
One of the things I love most about running BuySellAds.com is that I get to play with servers and cool software. These things get me excited. One piece of software that I love to play with especially is the Dynect Enterprise Platform. The best part about Dyn isn’t that it feels revolutionary or anything, it’s just really really powerful, and it does what is says it does. In my...
July 2010
1 post
2 tags
BuySellAds.com write-up in the Boston Herald
BSA received a nice write-up in the Boston Herald yesterday (link below). This is the first time we have received coverage from traditional media, so it was a nice milestone for us. The ad business isn’t a sexy one, and it’s hard to get coverage. The angle they took on the story was our size:
“Lean is the word these days for start-ups, and it doesn’t get much more lean than...
June 2010
2 posts
2 tags
My company's secret sauce: getting turned down
I’m begging you, please tell me my company/idea/me/whatever sucks. I don’t want your money, I dont want you to tell me you like the company/idea/me/whatever, I need you to tell me it’s stupid, that it will never work, and that you’re not interested. That’s what I need, please give it to me.
I remember when I was starting BSA, 100% idea stage. I would pitch the...
Watchthis was a while ago, but here’s my interview on Mixergy.com
April 2010
4 posts
“We invent software, not problems. Real problems will find you; you don’t...”
– Jason Fried
1 tag
“Customer service is easy, all you have to do is care.”
– Me
1 tag
At last, the release
We finally got the new BSA release out today. This was one of the most challenging releases we have done since we launched the complete re-write on April 14th, 2009 (I’ll never forget that date). It was one of those releases where no matter how much we tested there was always something. The great part is that it’s live now, and the release went fairly smooth. Most of what people...
“Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them...”
– Leon J. Suenes