mikemoyer

Author Archives: mikemoyer

The Asus EeePC- Nice

I bought my wife an Asus EeePC on Woot.com. I must say its pretty impressive. I paid $149 for it, which I think is pretty cheap for a laptop. I’m using it to write this post. I’m also listening to Pandora.com Radio.

The key to liking this thing is to understand it’s limitations. It is perfect for what my wife needs. Checking email, looking at the Internet and that’s about it. The EeePC is a tad slow compared to a full-size laptop, but it’s hardly noticeable. Also, the keyboard is small and takes getting used to, again, not a real biggie.

It comes preloaded with Open Office, but Anne is going to try using Google Docs.

Anyway, nice little product.

Landing Page Software

I’ve been looking for landing page software. I had a demo of Ion Interactive’s LiveBall today. It’s awesome, just what I’ve always wanted. Alas, it’s over $15K per year. Same with Marketo, it is even more comprehensive that Ion, but also more expensive. It’s about $2500 per month at the low end or $1500 per month for a scaled back version of their program. They appear to be a little more comprehensive offering lead scoring and some follow-up tools that seem pretty slick.

I also looked at Knotice.com. It is sort of confusing, but less expensive. It’s $6,000 a year plus a $1,500 set-up.

I also checked out Valtira.com. Very basic, but very cheap- $1,200 a year. This could be a good way to give it a try.

Let me know if you know of another alternative. I’ll keep looking.

Woot : One Day, One Deal SM

Woot.com is an interesting site. Everyday it has a different item for sale, usually at a pretty reasonable price. I’ve bought quite a few things from them over the years including a couple of those toy remote-control helicopters for my son for $9.99.

I recently bought a Netbook for my wife. We’ll see how it goes. She only uses email and the internet so it should be okay for a 2nd computer.

Triplets- Bootstrapping Tactics

During the dawn of ecommerce I started the direct marketing efforts for a major consumer durables company. Getting customers is always the first step in a good bootstrapping scenario so I set out to test some online advertising. Banner advertising was state-of-the-art, so I put together a detailed outline for the creative design of a banner ad that I was sure would capture the hearts and minds of Internet shoppers across the US. The ad featured a variety of animations and catchy phrases. I identified about six different design companies and sent them the spec for a quote. Continue reading

Customers vs. Consumers

It is not uncommon for the entrepreneur to have trouble figuring out which side their bread is buttered on and who is doing the buttering. I often hear about start-up companies that are “doing really well” even though they haven’t made a dime. Heck, I’ve had companies like this myself. In these days of free online services it’s easy to get carried away with the fact that your web site is getting a lot of users even though they aren’t spending any money. Continue reading

Branddaddy Longlegs

One of the great things about a start-up company it the opportunity to create a great brand. A great brand is like a club that everybody wants to be a member of. A great brand transcends the product or service the company provides and creates its own attraction. The Customers, or members, appreciate the company for the sense of belonging it provides over and above the product’s functionality or service’s quality. Continue reading

Entrepreneurial Marketing Strategy

Everybody knows that proverbial low-hanging fruit offers the best opportunity for a start-up company. However, most customers don’t grow on trees so it’s sometimes difficult to identify low-hanging fruit and, after you find it a pick it, how do you determine what to pick next? We need a simple model for segmentation that will work in any industry. Continue reading

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 10