Pixels Anyone? owners "lose it" on the air...

Yeppers! It's all over the net... Phil Basten (aka Joe) and Jane Mark (aka Mable) have succumbed to a really strange problem...

Seems Joe and Mable are plotting a takeover. At least that's what I heard from their compatriot, the Irish bartender turned announcer.

Mable has created this silly jingle... and somehow there are clues to the takeover.

Give it a listen and see if it makes any sense to you.

CLICK HERE!

As for me, well, you know I'm in this thing too... so I guess I'll be working more with Joe and Mable than Phil and Jane... gonna be a hilarious ride for sure.

Here's how you get front row seats for all the shenanigans... go to PixelsAnyone.com and order up a block or more of pixels. Draw up your favorite icon, and attach your best slogan.

Jane and Phil are "packing the house" for tons of laughs and thousands of eyeballs on your little icons.

Vote for PixelsAnyone? at ThePixelWars

7 Very Important Reasons for why you've got to vote for PixelsAnyone at ThePixelWars ranking site.

1. PixelsAnyone delivers the tons of traffic to our advertisers. You've got to have thousands of eyeballs on your ads every day!


2. PixelsAnyone provides three price points (two on content-rich pages). At 25 cents, 50 cents or a buck per pixel... We're very affordable!


3. PixelsAnyone is launching a humongous e-mail campaign. Our 13 JV Partners are mailing to over 10 million subscribers starting now and during the next 6 weeks.


4. PixelsAnyone has staying power. We're the committed joint venture of an 8-year old online ad agency and a content-rich "infopreneuring" site.


5. PixelsAnyone is focused on creating 1000's of raving advertisers and millions of very excited and loyal consumers. "You ain't seen nothin' yet, baby!"


6. PixelsAnyone puts you first, whether you're the advertiser or the consumer. We know our role, and it isn't just to make a killing the easy way like over 300 others.


7. Giving PixelsAnyone a "6" rating lets the world know you believe in what we're doing... even though we've not told you all our plans. You know how it is in a "copycat" market...

While there, we welcome your comments. Just remember, we may be "late to the party", but we've been getting all "gussied up" and laying all the really serious party plans. It's all about you... the advertiser, and the consumer!

Anatomy of PixelsAnyone.com Launch

Thought I'd share this story with you...
It's Jane's perspective on launching PixelsAnyone.com, written while she was entertaining her 2 1/2 year old grandson.

Jam on the carpet

© 2005 Jane Mark

Phil and I just got back from visiting my 2 and half year old grandson. If you ever want joy and delight in your life-have a grand child. I highly recommend it! :)

Sometimes you need it to give you a break from your busy, internet life. Especially when trials and problems, all businesses go through at times, appear on the scene.

There is an old Irish saying...

The possibility of bread landing jam side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.

It's based on the the principal that... Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.

Whenever you undertake a new project on the net, you need to have nerves of steel and a hearty constitution. It takes guts and determination to endure the birth of any new program, especially when that program involves complicated programming.

Two weeks ago Phil and I decided to get into the Pixel business. We loved the idea of driving people to one site with a lot of links on it and where our advertising clients can get continual click through's to their sites without any effort on their part. We also wanted to provide an effective advertising program for a one time cost that would let our clients advertise forever.
The concept was a pretty simple one. Kind of like baking a cake.
You take a pile of traffic, a splash of links and dollop of intrigue and you have a winning formula for your clients.

And so, Pixels Anyone?... was born.

But...like many births, the route is not as simple as it looks.

If you look at the site, it looks like a Picasso painting, but to get it online was something of a tech nightmare.

First all of the images had to be placed on the site manually which took over 30 minutes an image. It quickly became apparent to us that it was not the ideal way to run a site like this.

So we decided to automate everything.

The other thing we considered was tracking. Unless an advertiser put their own tracking link in their url, there was no way to track the hits people received to their site and even though we had our own test sites up the site which were getting lots of traffic, we had no way to track the hits for all our clients.

We instructed our programmer to automate the whole process and that is when the nightmares began.

The way scripts are born

Scripting can be a very messy process.

First you need a good idea.

Next you need someone who can describe that idea in detail so that a programmer can fully follow your idea and put in into coded form. This is called specking the script.

Then you need a good programmer who can follow your specs and...

Lastly you need to test and retest your script to make sure it is working as you envisioned Each step along this process can be hazardous.

For an example, not every idea can be put into code and even if it could, it may not be cost effective to develop it so when you have a new idea, you need to ascertain the cost and the time required to turn your idea into a reality.

If you decide an idea is worth pursing, you need to design spec pages for your programmer so that your idea is clear in every detail to him or her.

This is not just writing down a bunch of words which approximates your idea, it is actual html pages that walk the programmer through each and every step the end user will see when the script is finished.

For example you need to set up an admin area and list every function that you want the admin area to perform-every link must be listed on the page.

If there is a members area, you need to design that in precise detail.

Accompanying your html detailed pages, are a set of instructions to the programmer that tells him/her what function follows what-what the script does first and second and third and so on.

This can be a lengthy process and, if you have a number pages involved on your site, each page must be described with the same level of specificity. So, for example, if you have a home page, a login page, a contact page, a privacy page, a bio page a logout page and an order page. You must deliver all of these pages to your programmer so he/she knows how they all fit together.

Once you deliver the specs, the programming can begin but inevitably as your script begins to take form, things you did not consider in the beginning crop up and you have to make decisions as to how to change or modify your original concept in order to make it work effectively.

For example, on Pixels Anyone, when we decided to automate the script, the first attempt at it had the page loading to slowly and a way around that had to be found.

Things like this crop up no matter how careful you are in preparing your specs.

As the script begins to develop new ideas will present themselves to you and you will need to improve on your original idea. When they do, and they always do, you need to revise all those original specs to incorporate your new idea or changes. Then comes the extensive testing phase.

The result is a script you think works right and you release it to the public.

It's only when you present it to the public and place the script under load that you discover all the hidden flaws that did not come to light before.

One of our Partners, Shari Thomas, calls this "launching with your shorts down."

But here's where you are faced with 2 business choices.

1. You can hold your script from public scrutiny and keep testing it until it is perfect, or...

2. You can release it to the public, put it under heavy load and fix the bugs as they present themselves.

The second way is the most profitable way but it's also the most hair raising...

The alternative is to never release a script because you are afraid it will have some flaws in it. That is death in any business, particularly on the internet, where this happen instantaneously.

Through experience we found it works best if you launch it and then ask your subscribers or members to help you debug it. Most people are more than willing to help. Otherwise you will find that all your good ideas remain on the drawing board forever

There are time you need to bite the bullet, plunge into the deep end and swim fast. If you have a good programmer working with you, like we do, they will be there to correct all the errors as they present themselves.

It's okay to spill jam on the carpet occasionally as long as you are willing to spend a little time and effort cleaning it up:)

Jane

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jane Mark is CEO of JPE Advertising, a Full Service
Professional online Ad Agency. Together with her partner,
Phil Basten, Jane has written numerous articles for the
WebPro Times and has helped develop some of the most
popular advertising programs on the web.
http://jpeadvertising.com

Ah, the joys of launching a program...

We've slaved for 20 days, putting together a script, developing strategies, creating ad copy, contacting and wooing JV partners...

It's been a "fast track" launch, for sure.

Now it's Sunday afternoon... a little over 24 hours since the automated script went live. Results are very encouraging. Traffic is up over the last 48 hours. The script is performing adequately, only a few minor bugs to squash.

Orders are being placed, sales are finalized. Life is good!

And then... just when you least expect it, your 3rd party mailer takes a dive. That's exactly what happened to me last night. I had an awesome killer announcement all set to go to my list... it was even scheduled. When I didn't get my copy on time, I sensed trouble... Sure enough! Dead mailer! They're doing "database maintenance", unnannounced again.

To spare me the embarrassment of not having sent the mailing... I'll share with you. Do enjoy...

PixelsAnyone.com Automates Pixel Purchasing! Zowie! Twenty days from start to finish! Select your ad space by highlighting the squares you want. The script will calculate your payment due and step you through the entire process. You may choose to advertise on our "master Picasso" for $1 per pixel, or on one of our "content rich" pages for .25 or .50 per pixel. What does this mean for you as our advertiser? It means you can EASILY select your ad location and much faster service! Just as soon as your payment is processed, your space is reserved for you. Even more importantly, it means PixelsAnyone is steam rolling the stats! Mailings are prepared and being delivered as I write. Your ad will be seen by millions for 5 years to come. What does this mean for you, the startpage owner? It means you'll see more ads to click on each time you open your browser. You'll see every time someone reserves a space. You will see the "Picasso" unfold before your very eyes! Advertisers have been contacting us begging to be added. Watch for these new ads to arrive shortly! For everyone, this is a win-win program. You, the viewer, gets quality offerings in a non-obtrusive manner, and the advertiser has an extremely affordable advertising platform getting only highly targeted clicks. Tell your friends! Set PixelsAnyone.com as your default browser homepage. The show is ON THE ROAD! Hmm... Pixels Anyone? Shari Thomas Mover and Shaker PixelsAnyone.com AskShari.com PS. Got a list? Want to make some money? We're looking for a few more jvpartners. Use the "contact us" form and Jane will get right back to you.

The early results on Pixel Advertising are coming in...

Since going into pre-launch on October 5th, it's been a whirlwind of activity. Just a short 48 hours later, PixelsAnyone.com was live on it's own server, attracting incredible attention in the process.

Sales have been awesome with over $22,000 in pixels sold. We also have orders for another $6000 or so. Those are awaiting icon submission and then upload to the server.

Press releases have been picked up by over 430 media outlets just since Saturday. Ya' think Jane's gonna be busy answering the phone and e-mail?

Our Alexa rating is very strong. In fact, I found a site which is tracking the Alexa ranking of over 100 "copycats". Within 4 short days, we've jumped to #8 in the list. Goal is to challenge for #1.

You can help with that by making PixelsAnyone.com your default browser page.

Here's what you get when you do that...

1. You get a colorful, frequently updated page that's becoming a virtual Picasso, or Rembrandt.

2. You will soon find neat little things hidden under those many icons. If you like treasure hunts, you're gonna love what we're cooking up.

3. You get access to awesome programs, products and services at the speed of mouse. No more hunting through search results. Watch for a directory of contributors in the not too distant future.

As an advertiser, what do you get?

1. You get thousands of "eyeballs" seeing your logo each and every time PixelsAnyone.com is seen. That means tons of traffic for you.

2. You get qualified, targeted clicks. Your logo and text message serve as your own personal billboard. When someone sees you logo and your text message, then they choose to click through to your site.

3. Your advertising cost is ridiculously low. Your 10x10 square for $100 works out to $20 a year (your ad is up for a full five years). That's $1.66 a month. Per day, it's .055 for your ad to be seen by thousands. Much less expensive than Google and no bidding process.

Reserve your space today while there are still choice spots. "Above the fold" click-through rates are 3 times higher than lower on the page. As usual, upper left and center tends to generate the most clicks.

So, what are you waiting for?

Make PixelsAnyone.com your default home page today.

Get your own ad seen by millions over the next 5 years. You'll be in very good company!

Shari

Pixel Advertising, Fad or Trend?

Pixel ads, the one's made famous by young Alex Tews, of the UK... There's no middle ground, you either love pixel ads, or you hate them!

Is it possible to separate your emotions from reality here?

The technical term for pixel is picture element, a pixel is a single point in a graphic image. Graphics monitors display pictures by dividing the display screen into thousands (or millions) of pixels, arranged in rows and columns. The pixels are so close together that they appear connected.

This means that for years, we have been in the "pixel advertising" business!

First came those big clunky, in your face banners. It got even worse when animation became the norm.

The most famous call to action "CLICK HERE" screamed at you.

Today you still find web pages chock full of nothing but big ugly low converting obnoxious 468 x 60 banners.

Over the years, the average banner size has really changed size. As Google and other search engines are providing ways to monetize pages with things like Google AdSense, things like the vertical banner and the leaderboard banner have become very popular.

I've got one question, though...

What if you could create room for even more ads while actually giving up less precious cyber-estate?

I really believe that what Alex has created with his collage of advertising ranging from 10 x 10 pixels to whatever size you can afford at $1 a pixel is providing a new platform.

In the short time (just over a month) no less than 100 "copycat" pages have sprouted like weeds. Some are total rip-offs, right down to the actual web design. Others are more subtle attempts at creativeness. There are even some which are very creative, with unique scripting.

Alas, many are also fading quickly into the big bit-bucket in the sky.

Those few with the staying power will have a say in how graphic advertising is delivered in the not-too-distant future.

For an example of what one company with "staying power" is doing, visit http://pixelsanyone.com.

_______________________________________________________________

Shari Thomas, owner of AskShari.com and co-author of "Setting Up Affiliate Showcase.com" is a leader in discovering and reporting about innovative programs and solid internet marketing concepts. She writes about these programs in "Shari's Golden Nuggets".

PixelsAnyone.com... the clear winner for pure exposure

You want your ad seen?

You've got to put it on PixelsAnyone.com, the revoultionary new traffic driving strategy just launched this last week.

Here's what we're doing for you.

1. You choose where you want your ad to show up.

2. We're driving 1000's of page views per hour to this site. Our Alexa ranking reached 4987 just 24 hours after our site was indexed.

3. Our jv partners, who are mailing to their lists as we speak are encouraging their readers to make PixelsAnyone.com their DEFAULT browser page.

4. Major press releases have been sent out and picked up by Yahoo! News and others.

What does that do for you?

It pretty much guarantees that your ad will be seen EVERY TIME those people logon to the world wide web. Your little ad will be seen many times a day by the same person. It takes hundreds of "touches" on the Internet to move your would-be customer to action.

Over the next five years, your icon will be seen countless millions of times in ways I can't yet discuss. Let's just say that living on the homepage is only one option.

Get your icon on PixelsAnyone.com now while there are still prime locations. In this case, it really does pay to come on board early.

Then, help us help you by changing your default page to PixelsAnyone.com and by asking everyone you know to do the same thing. Watch for frequent updates to the page as new icons are added. Within the next few days we'll have an automated script which will speed the uploads... the only thing consant will be change!

Shari,

who's now caught up on her sleep in Forest Grove...

Yahoo! PixelsAnyone.com Drives Alexa Rankings Crazy!

We did it! Proven, beyond reasonable doubt. PixelsAnyone.com delivers the traffic!

Check our our pre-launch Alexa Stats. In just 4 short days, using a subdomain at JPEAdvertising.com we drove the Alexa rankings sky-high. From a 3 month average of 64,895 to a one week average of 34,829 and now... today to 18,236.

To check our Alexa rating forJPE Advertising, just go to Alexa.com and enter http://jpeadvertising.com. Click on the number where it says Traffic rank and scroll down to today.

Watch us do even better at PixelsAnyone.com as we blast this baby to the top.

Things only get better from here on out. Within the next day, watch for our very own PixelsAnyone blog. I'll be inviting advertisers to share their results as we've made it possible for our advertisers to track their stats in real time.

Oh, and this IS a profitable project. We've had so many advertisers clamoring to grab the prime spaces, Phil has barely had time to do the "three 's'" (truck driver talk...****, shower, and shave).

Jane, bless her little cabbage patch heart has been keeping track of every penny coming in, and ensuring the advertisers pixel requests are handled promptly.

Me? I'm slowly getting caught up here... ready for the next round when we all move to the new blog at PixelsAnyone.com

If you've not checked it out, hurry on over. I promise you're little ol' eyes will just bug right out of your head.

Oh, and just think... this is only the first generation of pixel ads delivery. I can't wait for the next generation.

Shari Thomas
somewhat less sleepless in Forest Grove

Pixels Anyone is moving on up even before it's launched!

Wow, Monday was pretty much a blur...

Spent the day doing "critical competitive analyis". Rule #3 in my marketing mind is "know thy competitor". No, I'm not sharing what I found just yet.

Let's just say that 12 hours of staring at a computer screen can make you a little groggy.

Talked with my zany partners, Phil and Jane yesterday. They're both moving along at warp speed, clearing their schedules of anything exept this all-important launch of Pixels Anyone. Mark your calendar. Set your watch... I'm holding their feet to the fire. Launch is Oct 5!

So far, we've sold over $12.2K in ads! Those have been sold to savvy marketers who are also on board to help us promote our baby. Market reach is what sets us apart from all the competition.

Check the JPEAdvertising.com Alexa rating if you're not really sure. They have a solid 8 year track record with a long-term average traffic rank of 64,895 and the daily rank has now dropped (that's the way you want it to go) to 38,913. This ALL on the strength of the pre-launch push of PixelsAnyone.com.

On another note... I'm still kind of sleepless in Forest Grove. After all that analysis yesterday, I thought what a great time to crash early. Both Jane and Phil were so far ahead of schedule that they took the rest of the night off, too.

I hit the sack about 9pm only to have the phone ring at 9:30. Got no idea who it was... I don't get up to answer phones. But it did jolt me just enough to start the pixel parade in my head... not good.

For 2 more hours, I tossed and turned unable to stop the pixel parade... until the power went off. Yeah, the power went off all over town. That's extremely unsual here. We've not lost power in over 3 years.

Now, you'd think the total darkness and quiet would lull me to sleep. It would except for the incessant "beep, beep, beep, beep" of the UPS for the computer. Up to crawl around under the desk and shut it off... Back to bed.

OMG, the pixel parade starts again, and this time, there's nothing I can do. Can't see to make notes. No juice for the computer. No nothing. Just me, total darkness wanting to go to sleep and dealing with a pixel parade.

Some 4 hours later, the pixel parade has passed in review and I peacefully drift off to sound sleep... no longer sleepless in Forest Grove.

One step closer to launch date...

It's me... the sleepless one in Forest Grove

We're one step closer to the full launch. Pre-launch of PixelsAnyone.com happens on October 5,2005.

You need to be a part of this.

History is in the making here. PixelsAnyone.com created by JPEAdvertising.com is the first true heavyweight (but very light-footed) advertising agency to wake up to this new rage... ads by the pixel.

Really it's something that is inevitable.

What worked just 6 months ago in online advertising is old, stale, out-of-date and out of touch with the most important group on the Internet... the kids!

In your face advertising, billboard style just doesn't cut the mustard with these savvy mobile youngsters. Ahh, but art backed by a very creative message is absolutely unresistable...

It's like putting a "Do Not Touch" sign on the cookie jar. You know what's gonna happen.

Anyways, I've got to catch a few hours of sleep before my other zany partner comes to life and wonders if I've been working.

Oh, results? You're expecting results already? Check out http://jpeadvertising/pixelsanyone/ and see our results... over $4K in ads sold, 2 press releases and within the next 48 hours, on a dedicated server, with our own built from scratch script... fully launched.

When you want your pixels professionally promoted... you go with JPEAdvertising.com/pixelsanyone/

Radical Ad Concept Blows My Mind... and makes money

Whoa boy! Here I am... sleepless in Forest Grove!

That's right. Sit a spell while I bring you up to date. You're gonna love this, for sure...

Last Sunday (9/25/2005) a business associate of mine called wondering if I'd like to co-op an ad with him. Seems a young college dude in the UK had come up with an awesome way to pay for his university education.

Here's the link. You'll either think the kid's a genius or a flash in the pan... there's no middle gound.

As usual, I immediately began talking it up amongst my network. Most folks said... what, you're gonna advertise with him? Why don't you just copycat him?

Well, long story short, I am advertising with him.

But, here's why I'm sleepless in Forest Grove...

You see, my intuition is really powerful. It's rarely steered me wrong, whether it's been "get involved" or "run for your life". This sucker has kept me awake nights. That means I MUST take action!

Hmm, who you gonna call when you can't do it by yourself?

I know... my whacky friends in New York. Joe and Mable, this could be the deal that gets Mable her trip to Paris. Me? I'd be happy with retirement to a golf course, but that's another story.

Sleepless... I found Jane (that's Mable) online. It was 2AM here... 5AM in New York. She's an early bird. (I've been to New York, and it's already noisy by then. I'd be up, too.)

Anyhow, I showed her the kid's link and waited for reaction.

Just as I expected... Mable didn't get it! "I don't get it. It's just a bunch of logos."

Awesome!

You see, there's so much more to this whole thing than just the homepage with a bunch of little tiny ads. It's all about the entire marketing system. Put together correctly, it unleashes the most powerful ultimate linking strategy in the world.

And, the really good news... it's truly affordable for everyone!

So, with less than a full week under us... here's where we are now. You're gonna want to get on board really fast as we've got HUGE JV partners screaming at us to include them. I'd tell you who, but I'm sworn to secrecy until after Oct 5. That's when "all hell breaks loose". Sure glad we've got some awesome programmers and a ton of server resources.

You can get a preview of the site here...

Now, if you're someone who has an extremely responsive list of a few thousand folks... contact me and we'll talk. I'll monitor for comments.

Ok... more tomorrow. I'm so tired I can hardly put one finger in front of the other...

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Shari... sleepless in Forest Grove