Making Money on the Internet Blog

Designing a Digital Portfolio

The world has gone digital–which means that a paper portfolio is no longer good enough. These days, as a creative professional, you’re expected to be able to show your work on demand–whether that means emailing it to a client, displaying it on a Web site, or delivering it on CD or DVD. This book shows you how. Using a combination of step-by-step instructions and inspiring examples, veteran author Cynthia Baron takes you through the entire process of designing a digital portfolio–from developing a concept and choosing a medium, to scanning work created with traditional materials; optimizing digitized art; repurposing digital material; creating a portfolio Web site, CD, or DVD; producing a portable portfolio; and avoiding technical pitfalls when digitizing, organizing, and delivering the final product. You’ll also find loads of insights from the professionals who evaluate artist portfolios everyday–agency heads, art directors, and designers–plus handy checklists, a run-down of dos and don’ts, case studies, and tips.

It isn’t easy finding a job these days and for those working in the creative fields like graphic design, illustration, photography, filmmaking, and music, a digital portfolio is just the shiny object you need to catch the attention of a prospective employer. But you can’t just slap a few files on a CD and call it a night. As Cynthia Baron points out in Designing a Digital Portfolio–a thorough guide to digital portfolios–your first impression is critical and good preparation will pay off.

The books begins with soul-searching: what work are you hoping to get, who’s your audience, what style of presentation should you choose, and what technology–Zip, CD, DVD? Effective portfolios from various fields are analyzed, for example, one for an industrial designer or a flash animation artist. If you happen to do both or are otherwise a jack-of-all-trades, Baron outlines your strategy for targeting your audience and deciding how to focus your presentation.

There’re several great chapters on prepping your work, collecting it (do you have your process materials, like pencil sketches?), digitizing the non-digital and cleaning it up (like stitching together scans or effective cropping), nitty-gritty items like optimizing and encoding (crucial if you don’t want your future boss frustrated by large files), and dealing with that neglected cousin of the visually creative: good written content.

Next, the book considers delivery (for example, Web versus a portable portfolio on CD or DVD), a presentation metaphor (for example, gallery or diary), and the navigational master plan. The chapter on copyrights and attribution are worth the cover price alone. (For example, do you know who owns the artwork you just created for that latest brochure? Do you know how to present a large project on which you worked as part of a team?)

Throughout the book, Baron profiles some stellar examples of digital portfolios, most of which are viewable online, for example, illustrator Michael Bartalos’s Web site at bartalos.com. And the appendices offer even more resources to help and inspire you. –Angelynn Grant

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Great beginners guide
This handbook is targeted at beginners in designing portfolios to submit their artwork or photos when job hunting. It is filled with information, however most is very basic and will only be a review for most readers.

5 Stars Superb resource for a wide variety of portfolio formats
If you set can aside the near 100% focus on digital media (though it is excellent for that kind of format) and not hyperventilate in feeling like you need to come up with Flash or DVDs after reading this, it offers solid points on portfolio content, whatever format you choose.

It covers what should go in, what should not go in, how much should go in, how/if to deal with process pieces, storyboarding,

thematic ties to pull a disparate portfolio together, and sage advice on basics like the kinds of written copy you want to include, such as design briefs, problem statements, and tag lines. It’s my favorite book for this effort right now. My husband’s, too. I have to pry it off his desk.

It’s also savvy when it comes to marketing, so I think it will have a long shelf life in my library for the days when I need to market myself on other things besides landing a job, like marketing my firm.

It has some printed web site design examples which offer visual eye inspiration for printed page layout. It even has great image workflow tips, towards preserving the best image quality with the least needed resolution, that are comprehensible to the lay person as well as meaningful to someone with a high degree of digital photographic processing background.

3 Stars Good for designers
I found this book to be helpful but to be a bit to much for me. It was a bit technical and has a lot of jargon in it for me. This would be a great book for someone that has a bit more digital design experience than me. It really tells you how to create great portfolios, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to do all the technical stuff.

I would recommend this book for someone that’s familiar with web design, especially flash. Great tips if you want to create websites professionally.

5 Stars Comprehensive
I read through this book once, just to get an overall feel. I was totally delighted with the quality and the depth of material. I’ve read many books on portfolios and many more on website design, but all of them together couldn’t do what this one book did. I was finally ready to create my portfolio (months later) and prepared to go through it again making detailed notes when, to my deep consernation, the darn thing went missing.

So I just bought another one, started skimming through it and then reading it carefully, making notes. I am again wowed by the sheer amount of information pertinent to what I am trying to do. From detailing what types of pieces make sense for which type of designer (and even helping you figure out which type you really are), to resumes, to how to present yourself and your material, to desiging the site, it’s all in there.

Along the way, she sprinkles comments from some of the greats in the field on what they expect. On top of that, there are so many great examples of sites in the book, that it can serve simply as a top notch idea book when you’re done building your portfolio.

I can’t say enough about how helpful this book has been. Every few sentences, I get a great idea and have to go work on it, so it will take me a while to get all the way through the book a second time. But I know I’ll have something that really represents me and what I do best, and what I want to continue doing.

5 Stars comprehensive material.
Most artists can’t do everything - usually they are somewhere in the middle of a chain of production responsiblities that don’t include the skillsets involved with presenting a portfolio, digital or otherwise. Many points of insider knowledge are invaluable - I was on the cusp of using PowerPoint for my CD portfolio (my wife has strong skills with this) before being warned that this bussiness presentation software’s would be viewed with derision by art directors, and that a high resolution version of a website format is the way to go here - this one parcel of knowledge was worth the price of the book alone, but it is far from the only lesson imparted. Highly recommended - it doesn’t stray into realms of esoterica for the sake of pagecount.

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Viral Explosions!: Proven Techniques to Expand, Explode, or Ignite Your Business or Brand Online

“Peggy is a one-of-a-kind dynamo. She walks the talk and YOU WILL TOO.”
Paul Montelongo, international speaker and author of 101 Power Strategies

“I have known Peggy McColl for years. She is an amazing woman who has spent years developing herself…. The lady is powerful and her information should be taught in schools.”
Bob Proctor, author of You Were Born Rich

Internet growth has surpassed all projections and continues to expand every day. Those who are adapting to the online medium will reap the rewards for years to come and have the potential to grow their businesses and build their brands exponentially.

Peggy McColl tells her story of discovering the power of online marketing to break through the clutter, capture a global customer base, and build her business. Using many examples and stories,
Viral Explosions! gives you:

A specific, proven program that even those who aren’t techno-savvy can follow and tailor to their own goals.

The vital differences and similarities between offline and online marketing that every marketer needs to know to be successful.

The critical steps needed to build a global customer base, generate additional revenue, and foster customer loyalty…without having to leave the comfort of your home.

User Ratings and Reviews

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Web Application Design Handbook: Best Practices for Web-Based Software (Interactive Technologies)

“Susan and Victor have written the ‘Junior Woodchucks Guidebook’ of Web applications: Everything you need to know is in there, including tons of best-practice examples, insights from years of experience, and assorted fascinating arcana. If you’re writing a Web application, you’d be foolish not to have a copy.”
–Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

“Web sites are so nineties. The cutting edge of Web-design has moved to Web applications. If you are, like many Web designers, struggling to create dynamic, highly-functional Web-based applications, you need this book. It describes how Web applications differ from Web sites, and provides excellent guidance for common Web-application design problems, such as navigation, data input, search, reports, forms, and interactive graphic output.”
–Jeff Johnson, Principal Usability Consultant, UI Wizards, Inc., and author of Web Bloopers and GUI Bloopers

“User interface designers have been debating among themselves for years about how to design effective Web applications. There were no comprehensive references that covered the myriad topics that emerged in these debates until Fowler and Stanwick took on the challenge and wrote Web Application Design Handbook, the first comprehensive guide to building Web applications. This book tackles design problems faced by every Web development team with uncommon wisdom, clear prose, and detailed examples. Key topics include: modifying the browser interface to meet application security and efficiency requirements, searching, sorting, filtering, building efficient and usable data input mechanisms, generating reports, preventing errors, and using creative visualization techniques to optimize the display of large sets of data. This thorough work should be a primary reference for everyone designing Web applications.”
–Chauncey E. Wilson, Principal HCI Architect, WilDesign Consulting

“Every so often you run into a book and say to yourself: ‘It’s so obvious that this book should be read by every developer, so why wasn’t it written years ago?’ This is one of those books.”
–Scott Ambler, author of The Object Primer: Agile Model Driven Development with UML 2

The standards for usability and interaction design for Web sites and software are well known. While not everyone uses those standards, or uses them correctly, there is a large body of knowledge, best practice, and proven results in those fields, and a good education system for teaching professionals “how to.” For the newer field of Web application design, however, designers are forced to reuse the old rules on a new platform. This book provides a roadmap that will allow readers to put complete working applications on the Web, display the results of a process that is running elsewhere, and update a database on a remote server using an Internet rather than a network connection.

Web Application Design Handbook describes the essential widgets and development tools that will the lead to the right design solutions for your Web application. Written by designers who have made significant contributions to Web-based application design, it delivers a thorough treatment of the subject for many different kinds of applications, and provides quick reference for designers looking for some fast design solutions and opportunities to enhance the Web application experience. This book adds flavor to the standard Web design genre by juxtaposing Web design with programming for the Web and covers design solutions and concepts, such as intelligent generalization, to help software teams successfully switch from one interface to another.

* The first interaction design book that focuses exclusively on Web applications.
* Full-color figures throughout the book.
* Serves as a “cheat sheet” or “fake book” for designers: a handy reference for standards, rules of thumb, and tricks of the trade.
* Applicable to new Web-based applications and for porting existing desktop applications to Web browsers.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Stars Very Disappointed - Design or Development?
I bought this book because Krug’s book (Don’t Make Me Think) recommended it and because my main concern was web-based business applications not public web sites.

I was extremely disappointed by Web Application Design Handbook:

1) It doesn’t say much more than what any Windows developer has known

for the past 10 years

2) It is full of discussions about software DEVELOPMENT but it is

supposed to be a DESIGN book

3) It is supposed to be a book about WEB design but half of it is

about reports, graphs, diagrams, and maps

The first half of the book concentrates on what was advertised: design/usability of web-based applications. But it doesn’t offer many new ideas. Most of the recommendations are well-known to Windows developers. It doesn’t give enough attention to what’s different about web-based applications.

The amount of useful, thought-provoking information in this book that could help a Windows developer create better web-based applications is no more than 50 pages. Not very good for a book of 600 pages.

The book does not inspire confidence that the recommendations are based on real usability testing. There’s a lot of conventional wisdom followed by a lot of suggestions to figure it out yourself with your own usability tests.

The book has a maddening tendency to slip into development issues. Why on earth are there JavaScript code examples in a design book???!!! Why are there discussions about the impact of client vs server-side code on network bandwidth? Not only are these discussions distracting, they are also full of half-truths, oversimplifications, obsolete information, and some outright mistakes.

Almost 2/3 of the book is about topics that are beyond the scope of web application design (ok they’re at least straining the limits): reports, graphs, diagrams, maps. That material would be handled better in a separate book, dedicated to those topics. As it is, most of the book is irrelevant to my needs.

If you are concerned with usability/GUI design of web sites or web applications forget this book and get Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think instead.

5 Stars Nice and Solid GUI Design Handbook
This book helped me a lot as in my day-to day work. I used it as powerful guide for the construction of the “nice and pleasant” presentation layer for our applications. Our customers were happy - and it is the best feedback somebody can give.

I would definitely recommend this book to the wide range of Software Designers, Developers and Managers. Profession GUI always makes a difference!

5 Stars Excellent
It is very hard to find books that go beyond ABC. This is one of a few.

2 Stars Not for the experienced enterprise web techie
My viewpoint: I am a user experience specialist and UI designer with a development background. I bought this book in hopes that it would address some of the complicated data issues I run into on a daily basis.

The bad:

Despite saying how cheap it is to print in color now, most of the sample images were 1 or more pages away from where it was referenced. I could have gone without the color if it meant I got the referenced image under the text referencing it. (Don’t make me think while I’m reading books either, please.)

Commerce sites were deemed web applications. In some cases, I would agree. But for the samples given, I would generally disagree.

A best practice would be described, then in the next best practice’s sample image, that best practice would be broken. Most best practices mentioned in this book can easily be found at Nielsen or Spool’s websites. There was very little new to learn here. Also, some best practices given in this book are directly opposed to those given by Nielsen or Spool, without any supporting documentation or testing results. I’d be more apt to give those consideration if they were supported.

Almost the entire second half of the book was spent on displaying data (graphs, maps and more) and very little spent on forms for capturing data. Data capture was only lightly touched and did not even begin to touch complicated data capture.

If you are beginner, DO NOT PAY ATTENTION to the data base design “tips” given in this book. It was obvious the authors have never heard of data views and you will screw your database design royally if you follow their advice. Do the homework you might need on real database design.

The good:

If you work with a small to medium-sized website and you are new to, this book could be helpful to you. It does cover most of what would be considered best practice usability guidelines and I did glean a new one or two new things from the book.

If you work with Dashboards, you might also find one or new twists in the book. But most of the data display will be beyond what anyone will need for a smaller data-related sites.

1 Stars Complete waste of money for me
If you are looking something technological like I was or even theories, this isn’t the book. And usually I think the pictures and examples are a good thing, but in this book it seemed that they were there to fill space. Can’t recommend. But then again, it might be just because I misunderstood what the book was about and expected something more concrete.

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eBay’s Secrets Revealed: The Insider’s Guide to Advertising, Marketing, and Promoting Your eBay Store - With Little or No Money

This book is for those already operating on eBay who want to know how to make more money using online auctions. You will learn the secrets that have made a new breed of entrepreneurs very wealthy. Uncover closely guarded strategies for selling products like the pros on eBay. You will learn dozens of methods to automate your business including inventory, preventing fraud, payments, accounting, taxes, and fulfillment; learn new ways to find products and get positive feedback. This book contains marketing tricks that will help you to create interest in your product, tips about taking photos, managing e-mail, and shipping. You will also learn pricing strategies, creative methods of writing powerful ad copy that really sells, how to obtain products below wholesale, and ways to make your business work smarter while decreasing your work load. This is your resource guide for knowing just what products are in demand, how to attract lots of bids on every single auction, how to create stunning listings that grab attention, and how to bring back customers again and again. You can eliminate eBay headaches and drive bidders to your auction listings. Get started today and discover secrets for increasing your auction sales, customers, traffic, and much more!

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Ebay Secrets Revealed Review
Ebay’s Secrets Revealed

By Dan W. Blacharski

5 out of 5 stars

In the 21st century, almost every American with internet access has either searched Ebay or at least heard of Ebay. There are multiple books out that have a reoccurring theme, which is “make money, make money,” but that is about all that is to them. This book not only is a guide to making profit, but it takes you through the in depth steps to get there. It even goes into all of the different branches of information that will answer any almost any question imaginable that has to do with Ebay.

I have found that this book contains an abundance of valuable information to both current and future Ebay sellers. Meta tags are a key tool that are commonly over looked by Ebay sellers, but in this book Dan Blacharski not only covers the topic, but gives examples and even basic tutorial information on the subject. This book truly is revealing the secrets of Ebay.

Reading all of the advice and informative stories from actual accounts is another benefit of this book that gives the reader a personal connection. I also like how the author even gives resources as to sites that are similar to Ebay. I think that any person that needs guidance about Ebay should most definitely read this book. You are enlightened on every subject such as the history of Ebay, how to promote, shipping and handling, and even the legalities.

This book is magnificent, because once you finish reading it, you are truly educated on all of the possible in’s and out’s Ebay. I have stayed on the side of being a buyer on Ebay, and have never bothered with the selling aspect of Ebay, because I have always thought that the entirety of being a successful Ebay seller was too complicated. After reading this book I feel like I have gained not only a complete understanding of how to be a successful Ebay seller, but I have also gained the confidence to pursue being a seller, because I was finally able to comprehend how easy it can actually be.

5 Stars An Easy Read!
These days, it seems that everyone’s had an experience with buying or selling on eBay. In the book eBay’s Secrets Revealed, Dan Blacharski gives the reader everything he or she needs to know the set up and run a successful eBay business. Competition is fierce in the eBay business, states Blacharski, and any edge can translate into bigger profits for a business. This book gives you the edge that other successful eBayers may not want you to know - the secrets of the trade.

Blacharski starts at the beginning by describing the origins of eBay, and gives a comprehensive look at all aspects of running the business, from finding products through business accounting. Blarcharski also describes the technology that will make your business a success, such as anti-spam software, auction tools, photography editing software, and working with search engines.

The step-by-step guide is so encouraging that it seems easy to get started selling. There can be many pitfalls to running a business where the customer and seller never meet, and the product isn’t seen until after it is purchased. Blacharski reassuringly addresses common problems and helps the business owner avoid trouble through proper planning.

The book has a colorful, attractive layout. Sidebars offer interviews and tips from the pros, checklists, and warnings. A logically-arranged table of contents steps the reader through the process. The chapters are clear and free of jargon, and the reader can easily jump to the topic he or she needs the most. Cute graphics are sprinkled throughout the book, and crisp photos end each chapter.

A new eBay business owner, or someone considering the business, will need this book. All you need to learn to start selling is addressed within the pages, and at less than 300 pages, it is an easy read.

5 Stars Useful and Insightful
Whether you are starting your own internet business or just in the midst of cleaning out your basement, you have probably asked yourself how much you could make if you sold your inventory on eBay. The online auction site has largely become a household name and given thousands of entrepreneurs a platform for starting an online business. Regardless of the size of your business, eBay’s Secrets Revealed provides numerous tools and insights that will undoubtedly help you find success.

Blacharski provides detailed step by step instructions to guide you in the most important aspects of making your business succeed. Aimed at the new or existing entrepreneur who wants to add eBay to his or her web-based marketing arsenal, eBay’s Secrets Revealed provides specific insight to most concerns that can emerge when using eBay, such as various costs and expectations of customers. The detailed descriptions are especially useful for the newly initiated making the process of getting started less intimidating. Although the book may seem like more information than you need if you just plan to sell a few items, it is still a valuable resource for helping to make sure you do not encounter any of the most common pitfalls.

Full of advise from those who have made their eBay business soar, eBay’s Secrets Revealed covers all of the business owning fundamentals as well as special sections on specifically eBay related topics such as protecting yourself from fraud and web-based marketing strategies. In addition to useful eBay information, Blacharski provides an overview of other similar websites as well as their comparative strengths and weaknesses. With concise and well written explanations of all tools and services eBay offers to facilitate smooth management of your auctions and easy transactions, eBay Secrets Revealed is highly recommended to anyone starting an eBay business.

2 Stars No secrets revealed.
I was impressed by reading reviews on amazon for this book. Therefore, I decided to read it my self and did not find that many revealing information.

The book is a GENERAL overall review of ebay selling process.

Book literally have no special information. As example, it tells you that u should use (freely available) software when your sales increase, but do not mention what softwares, how to use them. Taxes section tells you to keep books, and not how to do it especially when u get loaded with fees and cost of goods sold and paypal fees, shipping cost…. etc calculations.

Nevertheless, book discuss very briefly sources of products and do not warn reader about potential problems when searching for source of goods to sell on ebay.

Overall, u may get some ideas about selling on ebay if you are beginner. But if you are seller with experience scan this book quickly or find better book.

Book though touches many aspects of ebay that may teach you something new.

Thank you and I apologize if my review was too long.

5 Stars eBay’s Secrets Revealed
eBay’s Secrets Revealed

by Dan W. Blacharski

I laughed the first time a buyer sent me postage stamps for a payment. I returned the stamps and told them I accepted money orders or payment through pay pal. She did not laugh. She wrote a negative comment about the transaction and then filed a complaint against me. The litigation lasted for months and I was frustrated and confused. For several years I struggled with my site on eBay. I learned a few tricks on my own through trial and error.

Many powerful eBay sellers were reluctant to pass along any of their secrets. My site was floundering. I decided this enterprise was not for me. If only Dan W. Blacharski’s book, `eBay’s Secrets Revealed’ was available to me way back then, my business would have been a success.

In the very first chapter Dan discusses name recognition. This is an extremely important concept in eBay auctions. Studies show that consumers feel comfortable with items and locations that are familiar.

Dan’s information contains simple information regarding keywords that a first time seller may not even consider. The in depth chapter on accounting and taxes can literally save your business. Dan takes a step by step approach on how to succeed in your eBay business.

Make no mistakes eBay is a business and a livelihood for many individuals. Dan lets you know about security, customer service, fraud, payment methods and everything one needs to know to be a success in this burgeoning enterprise. Even the images you post reflects whether this item will be looked at and possible purchased.

Chapter 10 states the importance of positive feedback. This is not something you can shrug off. It can mean quitting your day job or failure. If terms like, second chance, reserve price, buy it now, absentee bid and insertion fee are foreign words to you, purchase this book.

This book can direct a novice, inform a buyer and lead an entrepreneur to success. The money invested in this book will ensure an easy and attainable transition in the art of selling on eBay. This information can also be applied to any other business project. After reading Dan’s book, `eBay’s Secrets Revealed’ I feel confident to once again try my hand at selling and buying on eBay.

I give this book a rating of 5.

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How to Use the Internet to Advertise, Promote and Market Your Business or Website with Little or No Money

Interested in promoting your business and/or Web site, but don t have the big budget for traditional advertising? This new book will show you how to build, promote, and make money off of your Web site or brick and mortar store using the Internet, with minimal costs. Let us arm you with the knowledge you need to make your business a success! Learn how to generate more traffic for your site or store with hundreds of Internet marketing methods, including many free and low-cost promotions. This new book presents a comprehensive, hands-on, step-by-step guide for increasing Web site traffic and traditional store traffic by using hundreds of proven tips, tools, and techniques. Learn how to target more customers to your business and optimize your Web site from a marketing perspective. You will learn to target your campaign, use keywords, generate free advertising, search-engine strategies, learn the inside secrets of e-mail marketing, how to build Web communities, co-branding, auto-responders, Google advertising, banner advertising, eBay storefronts, Web-design information, search-engine registration, directories, and real-world examples of what strategies are succeeding and what strategies are failing. **Award-Winning Finalist in the Business Category of the National Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards **Bronze Winner in the Computer/ Internet Category of the 2007 Independent Publisher Book Awards

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Excellent, but becoming slightly dated
I found this a most useful collection of various components to internet marketing. I like that the author generally gives a number of (often free) resources that are useable. There is great breadth and some depth on these topics. I recommend this as one of several books on this topic for someone starting out. It is my hope that this will be updated. I’ll buy it!

Mike Miller, PhD

[...]

5 Stars Lots of good stuff in this book but it can be had elsewhere as well
But well worth 5-stars. I read it from cover to cover, even though most of the material I have already absorbed from other sources - this one didn’t bore me even when going over old ground.

4 Stars Clearing up the Confusion: Bruce Brown’s Steps to Success
“How to use the Internet to Advertise, Promote, and Market your Business or Web Site with Little or No Money” by Bruce Brown was a pleasant surprise. Before reading this book I was a little worried that Bruce would be just like every other entrepreneur who thinks they know what they are talking about, but he is much more than. Bruce sets out easy steps to follow when first using the Internet for your business. Each chapter is broken down as follows:

* E-Commerce and Web Sites

* Starting Your Business

* The Importance of Internet Advertising

* Generating More Traffic to your Web Site

* Branding

* Automation of your Web Site

* E-Zines and Newsletters

* Using a Successful Auto-Responder

* Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

* Banner Advertising

* Business Directions

* B2B Web Communities and Portals

* Google, Yahoo!, Overture, and Froogle Advertising

* Affiliate Programs

* Promoting Your Business Offline

* Unlocking the Secrets of eBay

All of these chapters are important to follow when starting a business or web site for your current business or starting a new one. I followed this book while creating the web site for my family business and it is still a work in progress, but it is definitely coming together with the use of this book. Each chapter is broken down into steps to encourage the success of your website. Learning the ins and outs of how to use the Internet properly greatly improves visibility to current customers and increases ability to generate new customers. The in-depth explanations of banner ads, online auctions, search engine optimization and affiliate programs can and will take your business to the next level. Not only does it explain the secrets of Internet advertising it discusses online business concepts and how to apply them to your online business.

Throughout this book Bruce talks about potential customers very frequently. Being able to reach new customers is what will grow your business. Going into an Internet business blindly is basically setting you up for failure. Understanding all of the Internet lingo and what to focus on will dramatically help you out. Even if you currently have a Web site for your business, this book will help you connect the missing link within your concept or how you place your ads. Connecting this link can be the difference of a tremendous amount of revenue from potential customers out there on the Internet.

Simply having a Web site for your business is not enough these days. It seems like every business has a Web site with the new push towards Internet marketing. You have to be able to set yourself apart from every other Web site out there. You have to remember that your competitors also have Web sites and are taking customers away from you. You can steal those customers away from your competitors by having a well thought out marketing plan by using this book. Placing your ads across the Internet is not going to be the quick simple fix to increasing revenue. It is about placement of these ads and how often they appear. Making sure to connect your marketing strategy and your business objectives are very important to the success of your business. Bruce Brown tells you where to place your ads and what to put in them to attract customers. All customers are different and need to be attracted to your company in different ways. Having multiple techniques shown in Bruce’s steps will help you reach these customers.

On the negative side of things, this book did have a few down sides. I did notice grammatical errors throughout the book. I was able to understand what was being said, but it was still very annoying for a published book with great reviews to have grammatical errors. Also, I felt like there was a lot of repitition on several things, which was a bit unnecessary. In addition, when discussing the use of keywords they simply suggest that you “guess at the words or word combinations for which your potential customers are searching when they look or services using a search engine on the Internet.” I did not like this at all because there is a tool on Google called Wonder-wheel which helps you find the most popular words searched for your business type. Lastly, the book mentioned e-zines earlier in the book before actually discussing what they were until chapter 7. This was a bit confusing since I didn’t have a full understanding of what an “e-zine” was until later in the book.

In conclusion, I felt that this book could unquestionably turn your business into a thriving moneymaker. At times it is very repetitive, but if you think about it Bruce may just be trying to drive home his main points by repeating them throughout the book. Simply being able to see the potential within your business is not enough. You need to take action into making it a reality. I believe that this book is the difference between seeing possibilities and making them come to fruition.

4 Stars Useful reference to get started
This book is a very useful reference for any individual who needs to learn how to promote their business or website and has little funds to do so.

I was surprised by the number of opportunities to do just what the title of the book claims. My copy is now well thumbed, dog eared and written in.

My one complaint with the book is that I would like to have had some step-by-step instructions included for some of the ideas presented. This was in the case of some of the internet based suggestions. While I have come a long ways in learning how to use a computer and the internet, I am still not the most tech savvy person in the world and would have liked to have had just a little guidance in what to do.

Still, this is a very useful reference and a good starting point for ideas.

Kevin Sivils

3 Stars Very good overview, but not enough meat.
The book provided an excellent overview of e-commerce in general, but it didn’t give enough “hands-on, how-to”. I wanted to see more code. It also had far too much repetition. It seemed like every time a subject was mentioned, the author was compelled to explain why that subject was important. I’ll refer to it for the checklists and the many recommended free web sites, which are the books greatest benefit.

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