Search-engine and affiliate marketing expert Kris Jones, along with a cast of like-minded Pepperjammers & guest bloggers, offer free internet marketing advice, including buzz marketing and money making tips.
Kris is President & CEO of Pepperjam, a full-service internet marketing agency recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States.
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News broke across the internet earlier today that MediaWhiz (parent of Text-Link-Ads) purchased AuctionAds for an undisclosed sum of money.
Congratulations to Shoemoney and Dillsmack on this absolutely incredible accomplishment. In my opinion, AuctionAds was the most impressive new product launch of 2007 – in less than 5-months the product, which is an eBay ad network widget, gained over 25K users, served nearly 1 billion impressions, and sold for what I imagine is millions of dollars.
I have to admit, I am honored that I’m in Vegas for this weekend with Shoemoney and Dillsmack for my bachelor party (more on that in a future post….maybe!)
Best of luck to MediaWhiz on this very intelligent acquisition.
Welcome folks to this weeks edition of Meet The Pepperjam Team, herein after referred to as MTPT.
This we week we interview Derek Traver. Derek has been with us for 3-4 months now and has consistently shown that he is a quick learner and a great web designer. I am often blown away by some of the work that he puts out there.
Derek is a hometown boy, he lives a few towns over from the Pepperplex, he attended Penn State and has a background in Computer Information Technology. Derek is into many things athletic, but especially video games and he has even won a few Halo 2 Team Tournaments!
Here’s Derek’s’s vid:
For those of you who don’t know the “rules” behind the Meet the Pepperjam Video Series, here they are:
Every Friday Pepperjam will post a new video interview of a member of our staff – everyone will be included – affiliates managers, executives, search-engine marketing managers, directors, software engineers, assistants, online media buyers, and interns. The person being interviewed won’t know he / she has been chosen until about 30 seconds before the interview – this way you’ll get an unrehearsed, real world look at the employee…hopefully, this will make it interesting and non-corporate, which is what we are known and respected for across the internet marketing industry.
Why are we doing this? Well, I am proud of our team and I think you’ll find them as interesting and intelligent as I do. Also, I’m a student of viral video and the social media space and I want to test the waters as it relates to what corporate america is doing (and not doing) to spread buzz and build next generation work places.
Finally, I just thought it would be cool to put some people in front of a video camera that have never done so before, have a little bit of fun, and see if Pepperjam can spread some additional buzz about why we are the leader in online marketing.
FYI – all videos will also be posted to YouTube. If you think what we are doing is outside-the-box and interesting please blog about it and share the story with the world.
It looks like Robyn
isn’t the only one here at the pepperplex losing her tagging virginity!
With the help of my friend Kat Dempsey (Seen here in photo), I have now
lost not only my tagging virginity, but also my pepperjamblog virginity. That’s
right – Kat got me twice! I am very excited about being able to share a little
bit about myself and I will do my best to keep this short and sweet…not exactly
my strong suit, but we will see how this goes.
1- I have one tattoo that I love. I get happy
every time I look at it. It is on my foot, even though I happen to think feet
are gross. Can anyone say walking contradiction?
2- I really did graduate college magna cum laude.
And I almost dropped out my sophomore year.
3- I am in the process of changing departments
at Pepperjam. After a brief stint in affiliate and a longer one in
Search, I am heading over to another Pepperjam department. I am thrilled about the move and
I plan on being the biggest cheerleader for my new team (any questions about my new top secret project feel free to shoot me an email or give me a call – you’ll just have to sign an NDA before we talk!).
4- Music and Food have the ability to make me
happier than I could possibly express in words. One day I would love to open a
restaurant with my Mom and Sisters where I could plan the menu and name dishes
after some of my favorite tunes and artists. (A Don’t Drink The Water Martini,
Bens Fold Five Dollar Friday, G-Love’s Special Sauce Chicken Sandwich,
Taste(Phish) Seafood Gumbo, a Jimmy Buffett’s Last Mango In Paris for
Desert…)
5- I am one of 5 children- I loved growing
up in a big family.
6- I met Dave Matthews while he was on a jog
in Wilkes-Barre
before a show. And while we spoke for several minutes, I was so star
struck I honestly hardly remember any of it.
7- My guilty pleasure is The Girls Next Door on
E!, My favorite episode is where Hef gets peacocks and names them Casa and
Blanca, romance is alive and well my friends!
8- My Claim to fame in the Pepperplex is
that very soon after getting my job here I drank three redbulls and one mt. dew
in fifteen minutes for a crisp $100.00 bill from Kris Jones. And I would do it
again without hesitation.
This is a trailer for a movie either titled 1/18/08 or being released on 1/18/08, it is also code named Cloverfield. It is from producer J.J. Abrams, the creator and director of Lost. This trailer premiered as a “preview” in the opening trailers of Transformers. As you can see it is pretty nondescript as far as what is happening. All we know is that a guy named Rob is going to Japan, next thing you know there is a loud roar and what seems like an earthquake, followed by explosions and The Statue of Liberty’s head rolling along the ground.
This is perhaps the best marriage of buzz and viral marketing that I have ever seen. I found this quote from AdAge that sums it up perfectly.
From the moment the trailer hit YouTube, thousands of bloggers, vloggers and alternate-reality gamers started dissecting it, byte by byte. Some conducted spectral analyses of the audio in the trailer in order to spot clues in what the characters were saying and compare the roar of the monster to the roar of Godzilla. Others used picture filters and facial-analysis tools to find clues in the video that might hint at more detail on plotlines or websites where more clues could be uncovered.
What is great about this is that not only is it generating buzz by having people pick it apart piece by piece but it also has a viral component because people want to pass it on and get other peoples opinions. There has been speculation that it is a new Godzilla movie or a Voltron movie. The fact remains though that it is a powerful piece of film. It is calling viewers to action, in fact I would go as far as to say that it actually gives the viewers a sense of duty to try and figure out what is going on.
John Miller, CMO of NBC Universal is quoted as saying “today you need to let people feel like they’re part of something because they discovered it.” Well Abrams has planted the seed and whether intentional or not he has led all viewers down a path of discovery, it is something on people’s minds and they want to know so they are going to speculate, participate in discussion and forums and further help build the buzz of this already high profile trailer. It is pure marketing genius and once again the perfect marriage of buzz and viral. Lets hope that he is able to hold our interest to the release date and that all the rest of the trailers and the movie itself are just as engrossing.
So I’ve been tagged by Dean Karasinski. I never much cared for the game of tag – I find it to be a game heavily skewed towards fit, quick little kids – thus making all the little chunks of the world be eternally “It”. I swear I’m not bitter….
1. My favorite movie of all time is Dirty Dancing. “Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner”
2. I was an accident. After having 5 kids already, my mom cried for 2 hours when she heard another little dempsey was on the way.
3. I only Karaoke to Mr. Big’s “To be with you.” And, I will only Karaoke this song if my sister MF is w/ me. Our stage name is Lead Foot.
4. I am only 2 degrees of separation away from Kevin Bacon. (my sister dated Jason Patrick’s brother. Jason Patrick starred in the movie “Sleepers” along side of Kevin Bacon.) Beat that suckers!
5. I have an obsession with TV – I’m not ashamed of it; it is something i live with. I would not survive without my DVR.
6. I once out ate a 250 lb dude at Rivellos Pizza. 13 pieces of pizza to his poor performance of 11. yesssss! [fist pump]
7. I was pile driven into a keg, got up, and went right back to my game of flip cup – concussion and all. I’m so hard core.
8. I lived in London for 8 months and fully expected to have an English romance with some handsome bloke who had a hot accent. Instead I dated an American Marine… Men in Uniform! Can you blame me?
I now tag:
Tara Lynn
Jeff Moisey
Matt Bradley
Here are the tag rules:
* Each player must post these rules first.
* Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
* People who are tagged need to write about their eight facts on their blog.
* At the end of your blog post, choose eight people to get tagged, list their names, and link to them.
* Don’t forget to contact them telling them they’re tagged. Also, point them to your blog post so they know what to do.
For those of you who don’t already know Jeremy he quit his day job a few years back after becoming a millionaire through affiliate marketing. Aside from being a proven affiliate marketer Jeremy has created several informational products on how you too can cash in and quit your day job – learn more HERE.
Affiliate Summit – Miami was probably the best conference I’ve ever attended. The venue was superb and it seemed like everyone and anyone who has succeeded in affiliate marketing was there to celebrate.
If there was “1 Thing I Learned at Affiliate Summit” it was that the affiliate marketing industry is extremely healthy, yet it continues to change and diversify. In terms of “talk” and “excitement” the Linkshare’s and Commission Junction’s of yesterday are being replaced by a new generation of affiliate networks and ad networks that present enormous opportunity. For instance, I met at least a handful of massive affiliate marketers who don’t even work on Linkshare or Commission Junction and swear that there is more money to be made on the ad networks – while I don’t know about that, it is revealing that the industry is diversifying as quickly as it is.
I was thinking it at Affiliate Summit – Vegas, but after Affiliate Summit – Miami now I’m declaring it:
If you’re an affiliate marketer and you aren’t taking advantage of all the new affiliate marketing opportunities that have emerged over the last 12-months or so, you are missing out.
Welcome folks to this weeks edition of Meet The Pepperjam Team, herein after referred to as MTPT.
On this weeks adventure we hit the dusty trails with a cowboy from the old west, OK, he is actually a web and graphics developer, the FIRST ever interview from that department. We opened up the dark cave that they work in and dragged one of them kicking and screaming into the light.
The first thing you will notice about Nick is the hat he is wearing. It is actually a defining feature, in fact, I bet this will be the first time people know his name is Nick and not “The guy in the cowboy hat”
Nick is originally from Tunkhannock which is a town just outside of Wilkes-Barre. He is a huge metal fan and loves to play guitar. When asked the question “Whats with the hat?” I got this answer: “…well I went on a trip to Wellsboro with my fiancee a few months ago, saw the hat in the store.. put it on and asked if I looked awesome in it. She said I looked ridiculous, so I bought it I just like hats in general though. Its funny because now she thinks it looks good, go figure.”
You can learn all about Nick right now!
Here’s Nick’s vid:
For those of you who don’t know the “rules” behind the Meet the Pepperjam Video Series, here they are:
Every Friday Pepperjam will post a new video interview of a member of our staff – everyone will be included – affiliates managers, executives, search-engine marketing managers, directors, software engineers, assistants, online media buyers, and interns. The person being interviewed won’t know he / she has been chosen until about 30 seconds before the interview – this way you’ll get an unrehearsed, real world look at the employee…hopefully, this will make it interesting and non-corporate, which is what we are known and respected for across the internet marketing industry.
Why are we doing this? Well, I am proud of our team and I think you’ll find them as interesting and intelligent as I do. Also, I’m a student of viral video and the social media space and I want to test the waters as it relates to what corporate america is doing (and not doing) to spread buzz and build next generation work places.
Finally, I just thought it would be cool to put some people in front of a video camera that have never done so before, have a little bit of fun, and see if Pepperjam can spread some additional buzz about why we are the leader in online marketing.
FYI – all videos will also be posted to YouTube. If you think what we are doing is outside-the-box and interesting please blog about it and share the story with the world.
I’ve been tagged by Kris Jones, he is my fiancee, no wait thats not me. Anyway, this is the first time I have ever been tagged by anyone so I am in the same boat as Robyn here. I do find these interesting, a little viral, and always entertaining. So here goes!
1. I still read comic books on a weekly basis (Wolverine and Batman are my favorites)
2. I am a huge fan of conceptual and street art (Graffiti)
3. I drink about 100 oz of water a day
4. I love Video Games and am currently addicted to Guitar Hero (Until Rock Band comes out)
5. I love to travel and have already been to Singapore and Malaysia
6. I have three tattoos, one which I designed myself
7. I am the oldest of 5 children
8. I love Cowboy Bebop and other select Anime
I now tag:
Black Beard
Mike Jones
Brock Siegel
Katharine Dempsey
Here are the tag rules:
* Each player must post these rules first.
* Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
* People who are tagged need to write about their eight facts on their blog.
* At the end of your blog post, choose eight people to get tagged, list their names, and link to them.
* Don’t forget to contact them telling them they’re tagged. Also, point them to your blog post so they know what to do.
Forbes.com broke a story today entitled, “Click Fraud Goes Viral.” The article was written by Andy Greenberg.
The article is based on a recent study by Click Forensics that revealed that the percentage of clicks on online ads that were fraudulent climbed to 15.8% in the second quarter of 2007, an increase of a full percentage point in just three months. And the volume of fraudulent clicks found on online content networks like Google Adsense and Yahoo Publisher Network is more disturbing: 25.6% of those clicks were bogus, compared with 21.9% at the end of last quarter.
I was quoted and Pepperjam was referenced several times in the Forbes article. Check it out HERE.
Thanks to Andy Greenberg for using me once again as an authority in his excellent articles!
Today’s article comes off the heels of an article earlier in the week featuring Pepperjam on CNNMoney.com – that article delt with making money from search arbitrage.
Text-Link-Ads Parent Company – MediaWhiz – Purchases AuctionAds
