New types of "spam"
There are now more "bots" than people on the Internet. Why are they here? To search and advertise.

Cobbler's Cold Feet - 5 Clues It's Time For a New Website
It's time. The honeymoon is over. You used to feel so proud of your website, but now what...? Remember gleefully checking the traffic logs? How about just quick click through for fun?

Art As Marketing
What is Art today? Barely 100 years ago, Marcel Duchamp shocked the world with "ready-made" art such as a bicycle wheel bolted to a stool or a snow shovel labeled "In advanced of the broken arm". Today things are different. We live in an era of images. Instead of hiring a painter, we can buy a print from Ikea for less than $6.

A View from 10,000 Feet; Your Business in 2006
Invisible Gold is 5 years old this month. Ok, well maybe 4. The date is fuzzy and you can't count the first year when I asked questions like "Do I need financial software?" or "What should the company be called?" I also work with other businesses that got started the same time. It's like friendships from raising children of the same age. Regardless, I heard a similar comment three times this week: "I really need to work on my 2006 marketing plan."

Achieving Balance in 2005
Few things in life are as difficult as running your own small business. You've got freedom and responsibility, but you've also got all of your fears and bad habits. Without a commute to work or boss setting hours, you may find it hard to focus.

Blogs, Advertising, and the Stranger on the Bus
Have you heard about blogs yet? Just kidding, they're just the latest craze on the Internet. They played a role in the last presidential election and just this month, Newsweek is publishing a great article as their cover story (May 2nd).

Transferring and Managing Domain Names at Invisible Gold
This article describes the process of transferring a domain name to Invisible Gold.

Don't Get Tricked By "Domain Registry of America"
The Domain Registry of America has recently sent out a countless number of letters and emails in a campaign to get you to switch to their domain registry service by using language that suggests that your domain will expire, and that in order to prevent losing it, you must register with their company. The email is disingenuous at best and fraud at its worst.

Embed Your Facebook Page On Your Website
Do you want to tie your website and Facebook page together?

Learn Marketing From An Old Fisherman
Business and life lessons from fishing.

Let's All Plan To Have a Fun Year
Are you with me? Most of us run a small business, and well, some months aren't as fun as the others. Right now it's flu season and time for cold fingers. Just going outside can be tough.

It's Not About the Bike - Supporting Modern Day Heroes
Pop Quiz: What do Greg Lemond and Lance Armstrong have in common? Answer: They are the only two Americans to win the Tour De France. Extra Credit: They both recovered from near fatal setbacks to achieve international success.

iBrand: - Creating Excitement In The Perception Economy
There is a major change going on in your market. It doesn't matter what service or product you provide; the cost of production is dropping. At the same time, the business of creating perception is getting smarter. It's time to enable your small business to compete. It's time to learn about branding.

Hackers at Your Door - Protecting Yourself and Your Business from Identity Theft
OK, I know you are tired of hearing about Identity Theft. I am too. It's just another modern affliction that we'd prefer to ignore. But, I own a business that accepts credit cards and figured there was more I could do to protect my clients. When the local Chamber of Commerce asked me to do a presentation, I jumped at the chance to learn more.

What's Your Lifetime MPG?
Invisible Gold's owner gets a new ride, and discovers a community of car "hackers". Do you know that feeling of "How did I get here"? I had it yesterday. Picture a row of 9 silver and red Honda Insights lined up with their hatchbacks open.

Guerilla Marketing Is Dead - Long Live Small Island Marketing
In the old days media was expensive. Print, television, and radio all involved a heavy investment in technology. Families would sit around the television starved for content and advertisers would put together big budgets for limited airtime.

Making a List and Checking it Twice
If there was something you could do today to increase business, would you try it? Seriously, I think I have an answer. I talk with quite a few small business owners every year and one thing always amazes me. The really successful businesses have good mailing lists, and many of the others don't know where to start.

Can You Really Make Money While You Sleep?
Online Marketing And Get Rich Schemes

What Can You Do To Avoid Online Fraud?
It's time to develop some online street smarts...here are four tips that can help.

Taking Better Photos For Your Website
Achieve professional results with just your digital camera and some special techniques.

Planes, Corn Flakes, and Automobiles - Non-Traditional Marketing
"Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way." – Edward de Bono, Maltese-born Psychologist and Authority on Creative Thinking

The Truth About Search Engines
Learn how to make your website stand out from the rest.

Why Am I Getting All Of This Spam Email?
This article discusses 10 things you can do to improve your business communications by reducing spam.

Understanding Website Traffic
This article introduces Invisible Gold’s traffic charts. The same concepts apply to any website, though you need to use a third-party software to get the same results.

Several Useful Tools
Free (or almost) Tools and Utilities

Online Strategies - Different Types Of Websites
This article dicusses some of the main types of websites and introduces a delivery truck metaphor.

Website Performance Testing
Two tools for testing website speed

Zen and the Art of Website (Technology) Maintenance
40 years ago, a motorcycle was a relatively simple machine. Things are more complicated and change faster today. You need a computer to work on your car, an expert to tune up your computer, and a hacker to make your digital camera work. AND, all three of these will be "obsolete" two summers from now. Old rules don't apply so we're at risk of getting stranded.