I’m not sure if this is good blogging judgement, but I’m going to take a blog-vacation for a few days. If for some reason you need me, feel free to comment/contact me via JoshuaRussak.com. I’ll be hitting the slopes in Utah and wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Posted under Blogs

I was recently invited to present in front of a panel at the Ultra Light Startups in January. I’ve been to these meetups in the past (ie Open Source CMS),  but this is one is different. I’ve been selected among 5 other presenters to the Revenue Model Workshop. At this event they selected 5 startups to give a brief presentation of their business, focusing on their revenue model. A panel of experts will provide insights, suggestions, and helpful alternatives for the entrepreneur to consider as methods to generate more revenue from their business more efficiently.

This is a great chance for me to learn how to monetize it RezRedo.com (advertisement to the left of this blog). VC Fred Wilson said on his blog, “Most web apps will be monetized with some kind of media model. Don’t think banner ads when I say that. Think of all the various ways that an audience that is paying attention to your service can be paid for by companies and people who want some of that attention.” The question is which model to choose?

Chris Anderson of Wired.com, put together a strong Media Business Model list of revenue models you can find in the media industry, all based around a core of free or almost-free content:

• CPM ads (“cost per thousand views”; banner ads online and regular ads in print, TV and radio)
• CPC ads (“cost per click”; think Google ads)
• CPA ads (“cost per action”; pay only if the customer performs a certain action)
• CPT ads (“cost per transaction”; you pay only if the customer brought to you from a media sites becomes a paying customer.)
• Lead generation (you pay for qualified names of potential customers)
• Subscription revenues
• Affiliate revenues (think: Amazon Associates)
• Rental of subscriber lists
• Sale of information (selling data about users–aggregate/statistical or individual–to third parties)
• Licensing of brand (people pay to use a media brand as implied endorsement)
• Licensing of content (syndication)
• Getting the users to create something of value for free and applying any of the above to monetize it. (Like Digg or our own Reddit)
• Upgraded service/content (ed: aka “freemium”)
• Alternate output (pdf; print/print-on-demand; customized Shared Book style; etc.)
• Custom services/feeds
• Live events
• “Souvenirs”/”Merchandise”
• Co-branded spinoff
• Cost Per Install (popular with top Facebook apps who can help others get installs)
• E-commerce (selling stuff directly on your website)
• Sponsorships (ads of some sort that are sold based on time, not on the number of impressions)
• Listings (paying a time based amount to list something like a job or real estate on your website)
• Paid Inclusion (a form of CPC advertising where an advertiser pays to be included in a search result)
• Streaming Audio Advertising (like radio advertising delivered in the audio stream after a certain amount of audio content has been delivered)
• Streaming Video Advertising (like streaming audio but in video)
• API Fees (charging third parties to access your API)

A lot of your revenue model choices depend on B2B vs. B2C. Some work for both, while others are particular to the type of regular transactions that will be taking place. At this point, I have narrowed down my choices based off of this list and I hope this helped you do the same.

Posted under Events, Online Marketing, Social Networks, Ultra Light Startups, Viral Marketing

President George W. Bush Celebrates Hanukkah (Photo By: Shealah Craighead)

Living in New York City, it’s natural to feel overwhelmed by the Christmas spirit. It’s very easy for Hanukkah to feel like the underdog. A lot of apartment complex and building managers will make a point to include both a menorah and a christmas tree. Besides that you would think Hanukkah’s marketing efforts were at an all time low. Adam Sandler hasn’t done a Hanukkah song in years, Dreidel hasn’t made it to a single casino yet and The History Channel keeps covering the history of Jesus and the New Testament.

You would think that Hanukkah wasn’t getting equal and proper respect in America?  WRONG!! In the White House on December 15th, President George W. Bush hosted a Hanukkah reception in which he delivered remarks during the lighting of the Menorah. (Though the holiday actually started last night, at least they tried.)

Following the lighting, President Bush had a surprise appearance for the audience, Jewish A Capella Group Kol Zimra. They put together a harmonious collection of Hanukkah classics and combined them to create the following…(watch video)

President George Bush was the first president to have a Hanukkah Menorah lit in the White House residence (source). He started this tradition in on December 10th, 2001. Here’s a little history as to what the US Presidents did before 2001:

• President Jimmy Carter walked to Lafayette Park in 1979 and lit one candle or shammash (the candle used to light other candles) in the 30-foot electric silver menorah.
• President Ronald Reagan visited the Rockville Jewish Community Center in 1983 and gave remarks following the lighting of the menorah.
• The Synagogue Council of America gave President George H.W. Bush a menorah, which was displayed at the White House in 1989.
• President Bush participated in a Hanukkah celebration for staff in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in 1991 and also celebrated with children and local Jewish leaders.
• President William Clinton lit a menorah in the Oval Office in 1997 and joined Israel’s President Ezer Weizman in lighting the first candle of Hanukkah in Jerusalem in 1998.

Posted under Events, Viral Marketing

This is one of the most heartwarming Viral Marketing campaigns I have seen. Global document management company, Xerox, is among a group of companies (GalleryCollection.com, Hallmark Cards, Pitney Bowes, and more…)  supporting American troops overseas by mailing them greeting cards. Xerox runs a year-round program which hosts a Web site, LetsSayThanks.com, to provide a way for individuals across the country to recognize U.S. troops stationed overseas.

By submitting a message through this site you have the opportunity to send a free personalized postcard greeting to deployed servicemen and women. According Carl Langsenkamp, director of public relations at Xerox, about 10 million cards have been sent overseas since the website went up about a year and a half ago. “All the companies are donating time, money and/or services directly or in partnership with nonprofit organizations to spread Christmas cheer to soldiers far away from their loved ones at Christmas time.” (BtoBOnline.com)

With LetsSayThanks.com, you don’t have the ability to pick who receives the card, but it will go to a member of the armed services. I originally found out about this opportunity in an e-mail from my girlfriend’s father Leo Catallo. “Regardless of how one personally views this war, rather amazing it would be if more of the population spoke in this manner. It has to pretty much suck big to be over there right now. Sometimes I believe we tend to forget that.”

Featured on local and national TV outlets, newspapers and other blogs, this has gained a lot of attention. MSNBC’s Consumer Man, Herb Weisbaum,  outlines the entire process in his article, “Want to send a card to a soldier? Here’s how“:

There are 53 postcards to choose from, all drawn by kids from across the country. They’re bright and colorful — lots of bald eagles, American flags, hearts and the Statue of Liberty.

Click on a card and you will see the first name and age of the child who drew it, plus the city where they live.

Once you find your favorite design, you can write a message or choose one of 10 pre-written greetings, such as: “Sending you big hugs and cheer from home. Thank you so much for your service and bravery. Come home soon!”

Xerox prints the cards. A non-profit group, Give2TheTroops, puts them in care packages and ships them overseas.

Now it’s your turn to go ahead, click on the link LetsSayThanks.com, and donate 1 minute of your time to make a big difference!

Posted under Online Marketing, Viral Marketing

My company, AC Lion, just had their Holiday Party and it was a blast! It seems we’re not the only ones out there doing it. “Secret Santa” is a big deal for many companies:

“Secret Santa is a Western holiday tradition in which members of a group are randomly assigned other members to whom they anonymously give a gift. Often practiced in workplaces, or amongst large families, participation in it is usually voluntary. It offers a way for many people to give and receive a gift at low cost to those involved.” (Wikipedia)

The issue is how complicated it can get from re-gifting, to trading, to other stupid rules that make the game last forever. In order to clean up this process, I found 2 companies that’s major business was built around making Secret Santa more efficient. First off there is SecretSanta.com, the free online Secret Santa gift exchange event planner! It breaks down 3 different versions of gift giving. (I imagine this is the only time of year they see any traffic.) Then there’s Elfster, labeled as the Web 2.0 of Secret Santas, they are the premier online provider for group-generated gift exchanges.

It seems they’re monetizing a rather small niche in the holiday marketplace. I also stumbled upon the Mashable.com article “CHRISTMAS TOOLBOX: 20+ Tools For A Merry Christmas” in which they’ve gathered together a small taste of what’s out there on the web to help you make this the merriest holiday season ever. XMas is just a very monetizable holiday…why else would I be blogging about it? Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

Posted under Events, Online Marketing