- All
- No categories
-
Apple’s iBooks Author App Creates Controversy – DesignTAXI.com
About the Client:
When I first heard about iBook Author I was so excited. I’ve been wanting to publish an eBook for a long time, and now it’s so easy. I immediately went to the App Store on my Mac and started reading about it. “This is awesome!” I thought. Then I ran into this article at DesignTAXI.com.I read the headline “Apple’s iBooks Author App Creates Controversy” and I though “how could anyone have a problem with this? Oh, it’s just annoying people that complain about great things to create controversy”. But then I saw this “IMPORTANT NOTE: If you charge a fee for any book or other work you generate using this software (a “Work”), you may only sell or distribute such Work through Apple (e.g., through the iBookstore) and such distribution will be subject to a separate agreement with Apple.”
So if I write an eBook with this software I can’t use the content of that eBook anywhere else. How sad.
At least I still have an excuse as to why I haven’t written an eBook yet. LOL!
Apple’s iBooks Author App Creates Controversy – DesignTAXI.com.
Services Provided:
-
Do you have to spend money to make money?
About the Client:
People always say you have to spend money to make money. It might be true in some cases. But I don’t think it’s true about the internet. Sure you can spend a ton of money with Adwords, Facebook and others. You’ll spend about $3 per click for a ton of people hunting for the best price. If you want to compete on price and you have a huge marketing budget this is your ball game.
There is an alternative. It doesn’t take much money, but it requires a lot of time. It’s called social media. Social media is much harder than traditional advertising, but it’s free and (in my opinion) it works better. You’ll still spend some money, but it will be on discounts and free offers for your customers. Your biggest expense will be your time.
Social media should be used with a pull and stay strategy. You pull people in and get their contact info or get them to follow you. Then you send them updates to keep them thinking about you.
Advertising works, if you have a good strategy, but it costs a lot more and you have to pray a lot harder. Advertising is a push and pray strategy. You push a bunch of ads out and pray that people buy from you.
Now this isn’t to say you can’t use advertising with a pull and stay strategy. You can do that, but it doesn’t work as well.
The biggest gap between you and your customers is TRUST. It isn’t price. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking price is the only thing that matters. Yes, price is a factor. It’s usually the first thing we think about when looking for a service. But we are only looking for that service because we don’t TRUST anyone that offers it. If we already knew someone that offered that service we wouldn’t be looking for it in the first place. Think about that for a while.
So how do you get people to TRUST you? One great way is word of mouth. People will take a recommendation from someone they know. Another great way is to teach people. This is where social media, email marketing and a blog come in handy.
Jason Fried talks about teaching people to trust you in his book, REWORK. I’ve read this book 5 times. Seriously. According to Jason Fried, the more you teach, the more people will come back to learn more. The more they learn from you, the more they will trust you. And, here’s the best part, the more they trust you, the more they will buy from you.
Now how do you get started? The best social media book I’ve ever read is UnMarketing by Scott Stratten. I would read that first. Then if you still need help send me an email.
Services Provided:
-
UnMarketing
About the Client:
A friend just recommended a great book to me. I’ve only just started reading it and already I’m rethinking my online marketing strategies. If you are trying to market a business online read UnMarketing by Scott Stratten.This book is full of many must do tips to help you generate more business, but be prepared to be put in your place. Stratten doesn’t just tell you what to do. He also tells you what not to do. And he’s a little harsh about it. But personally that’s what I need.
Services Provided:
-
Copy Text From Kindle Desktop [VIDEO]
About the Client:
One of the neat things about eBooks is that you can copy code straight out of the eBook and paste it into your project. But Kindle’s desktop app won’t let you copy the text. Here is a nice work around.
http://vimeo.com/27859393
Services Provided:
-
Open Source Software and American History
About the Client:
It amazes me that open source projects can be so productive and profitable, while many commercial based software companies can’t make software worth using or turn a profit.Let’s take ASP for example. Only businesses with big bucks use Microsoft’s commercial programming language. Microsoft charges licensing fees and they require you use a Windows server.
Most developers don’t pay licensing fees. They also don’t use Windows servers because they cost to much. Instead most developers prefer free. Free programming languages and free operating systems for their servers.
Why would you pay money to use ASP when you can use PHP, Python, Ruby and others for free?
I was telling a client about WordPress, the content management system we use for our websites. He didn’t like that it was open source. He said, “since it’s open source can’t hackers find vulnerabilities just by looking at the code?” If you had a detailed map of the Pentagon, wouldn’t it be easier to break in? But open source software isn’t like a map to a building. It’s more like a bill that goes to congress. If bills were open source, you and I could pull them up online and read them from front to back. And since most of us want whats best for our country, we could call our congressman and give him feedback on how to fix the bill. If you don’t want what’s best for the country, it doesn’t matter because they don’t have to use your feedback.
Think about it this way. WordPress is free. All that Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress, asks is that you contribute to the project if your are able. There are millions of developers that contribute to the WordPress project. Not only does this mean that WordPress gets better and better. It also means as soon as vulnerabilities are discovered they are patched with automatic updates.
The concept of WordPress is just the like the history of America. We all work together to create this great country so we could use it to make our lives better.
The corny, sappy truth is that open source software is freedom.
Services Provided:
-
A New Hope
About the Client:
The MyModernWeb team destroys the Deathstar and saves the Universe.
Services Provided:
-
Ferrari Working On Mind Reading Technology? – MotorAuthority
About the Client:
Respiration rate, blood pressure and heart rates, eye movement and blink rates, brainwave activity, body temperature and the conductivity of the driver’s skin are what Ferrari is using to prevent accidents resulting from a loss of control.
What the car will do when it realizes you’re spazzing out no one knows.
Ferrari Working On Mind Reading Technology? – MotorAuthority.
Services Provided:
-
Email Newsletters with Tiny Letter
About the Client:
Does your email newsletter need to be an elaborate design with pictures and ads? I don’t think so.
I think you need great content. And that’s it. If you have great content then everything else is just a distraction.
I have this great application on my iPad called Instatpaper. Instapaper lets me bookmark articles on my computer so I can read them later on your iPad. Later when I read the articles on my iPad all the pictures, color and especially ads are stripped out. I can focus totally on the words with no distractions. The words have so much more impact this way.
When you send out your newsletters you shouldn’t be trying to blow your customers away with design and photography. You want to capture them with your words. Pics and design will just put your email in a spam folder. If you have a picture you must show then put it in a blog post on your website and link to it.
When you’re ready to take this advise checkout Tiny Letter. It’s the way email newsletters should be. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Services Provided:
-
The New Highrise from 37signals
About the Client:
37signals made many improvements to Highrise that were long over due. It feels so much cleaner now. It’s amazing how they can make the very boring task of managing your clients almost fun.
Most of all I like what they have done with tasks. I really like that the new tasks page puts my scheduled tasks above things that simply needed to be completed today.
Also, the deals section is much more appealing. I’m actually using now.
I feel like 37signals played a joke on me though. The Highrise iPhone app still has some serious problems. When I opened up my app store I saw that there was an update for my Highrise app. I was so excited because I thought iPhone app was going to get an over haul, too. But no. Highrise on the iPhone still sucks.
Learn more about the new Highrise here:
http://productblog.37signals.com/products/2010/12/preview-highrise-redesign-for-2011.html
Services Provided:
-
Old Spice Man
About the Client:
Old Spice gets it!
Their marketing has gotten so funny it doesn’t even seem like an ad anymore.
Why? Cause Old Spice is freaking awesome, that’s why!
Services Provided:
