I live in Michigan, US where we have pretty cold winters. This is the time of year that I do most of my reading since it’s too cold for many of the things I normally to outdoors. That’s probably why it was right at one year ago that I posted ‘The Extreme Ezine Recommends Website Magazine‘. I like to think more people visit this blog now so for those that are not aware of Website Magazine I’ll blog about it a little.

Website Magazine is a print and digital magazine focusing on the issue of running a business website. Website Magazine is free for many subscribers. You can get 4 issues a year FREE if you live in the U.S. or Canada. Other countries are $49.00 per year for shipping. There is also an Interactive Digital version accessible online FREE Worldwide. Personally, If I lived outside the US or Canada I would subscribe to the digital version. You could probably print them out yourself cheaper than the shipping cost.

You can sign up for a Website Magazine Professional Membership to receive 12 issues per year for just $44.95. This is the option I choose but I went with the standard complimentary/FREE version for the first couple of years.

Don’t let the cost, or lack there of, mislead you on the quality of the Website Magazine. It’s a professional, top shelf publication that is well worth the time it takes to read. I look forward to each issue and enjoy every single one. It’s nice to have something physical to hold other than a mouse and keyboard every now and then. Request your free subscription to Website Magazine today.

I would like to thank Earl Braxton for giving this interview. Mr. Braxton has an amazing history and after talking with him I know his future plans are just as big and just as amazing. Mr. Braxton owns the Porta John® portable toilet company. Notice I said ‘The’ and not ‘a’ Porta John® company. The next time you hear someone going to the Porta John you will know that is a brand that Earl Braxton built and owns. Mr. Braxton owns and runs the website Toilets.com.

Earl Braxton is also the president of the Michigan-based Pharmaceuticals.org where he, with no formal research training, developed a system to recover medicines from waste and preventing them from entering our water systems, a patented process that can easily isolate many over-the-counter and prescription drugs from urine. Mr. Braxton seen the need and a business opportunity for such a process back in 1991 simply by watching a doctor dispose of a needle.

Interview with Earl Braxton, Porta John’s founder and president of Porta John Systems.

(EE): You own the brand ‘Porta John®‘ which, according to Google, is searched for 1300 times a month. Your site, Toilets.com is at the number one position in the search results. How were you able build such a strong brand that the name in itself became the industry standard?

(Earl Braxton): “We average 21,000 page views per day.”

(EE): It looks as if you have owned the domain Toilets.com since 1997. Were you the first to register that remarkable domain or did you purchase it.

(Earl Braxton): “We were the first to register this and many other related domains.”

(EE): I understand you own well over a thousand domains acquired as far back as the nineties. How did you have the insight to build your domain portfolio?

(Earl Braxton): “Yes, we do own many domain names. We will use these Internet Addresses in the preparation to franchise and license our business model.”

(EE): There is a rumor that you had a little run in with the late Johnny Carson, TV talk show host. Would you care to elaborate?

(Earl Braxton): “We were sued by John W. Carson regarding our trademark “Here’s Johnny” and lost on the right to publicity claim by the late Mr. Carson.”

“Mr. Carson subsequently abandoned all “Here’s Johnny” trademarks for use on portable sanitation units and we applied and received the trademark, “Here’s Johnny” from the United States patent office. The Estate of John W. Carson has opposed the issuance of the Trademark to me. I am currently awaiting the decision of the Trademark Office.”

(EE): What forms of online advertising do you use, if any, to drive traffic to your site and what do you find is most effective?

(Earl Braxton): “We have been receiving E-mails and phone calls from all over the world for more than ten years at a rate that is very gratifying.  We are now preparing to expand our manufacturing plant to meet the demand for our new proprietary Comfort Station products.”

(EE): You have run roadside billboards with the single word ‘Toilets.com’ as the entire ad. This has been coined a “marketing masterpiece”. What gave you the idea to use such a simplistic approach for that campaign and what were the results?

(Earl Braxton): “My good fortune was to have been alive and in business during the onset of the Internet Era.  This is a marketing gift of titanic proportions.  If any business can take advantage of this phenomenon and fails to do so “Shame on Them”.”

(EE): Most men of your generation have never been online or have used a computer. You are using up to four computers at a time in any given moment. Have you always been open to changes and new trends.

(Earl Braxton): “My good fortune was to be blessed with a wife, friends, co-workers and  family members who let me do my own thing from the very beginning.”

(EE): Your portable toilet company ships worldwide. I understand you have shipped hundreds of portable toilets to Iraq. How difficult was it to break into the global market?

(Earl Braxton): “Until the advent of the Internet it was very difficult.  Now it is much easier if you make products that meet the customers’ requirements.”

“Since 12/01/06 we have sold products in all 50 States, 3 Commonwealth Territories and 33 countries.”

(EE): You have many registered trademarks and patents. What advice would you give up and coming entrepreneurs in regard to obtaining their first patent or registering a trademark?

(Earl Braxton): “Make sure your concept satisfies a need.  The best person to get your money from is your customer because you don’t have to pay it back.”

(EE): One last question. You have had the foresight to recognize new trends and the confidence to act on them. What do you see coming next? What’s the next big trend we should watch for?

(Earl Braxton): “There is a trend toward eliminating portable toilets for safer and cleaner sanitation stalls.  Thus we have received patent #6721697 for our Comfort Station that has no waste storage in the lavatory stall, no chemicals and no steps for greater handicapped accessibility.”

“Time may be running out for the ubiquitous portable toilet. Our latest E-mail exchange with the Center For Disease Control can be seen here.“

Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a website out there that looks at how the top brands are using social media and how effective their campaigns are? Let me introduce you to ENGAGEMENTdb. ENGAGEMENTdb is developing the first database measuring online engagement for the top brands.

It would be irresponsible, as marketers, to ignore what the top brands are up to. Even though we can  barely comprehend their marketing budgets we can learn a lot by watching what works and learning why. Are they on Linkedin or Facebook? Do they have a blog or a discussion forum? Do they have a YouTube or Flickr presence? Hey, do they Twitter? If they do ENGAGEMENTdb has will not only let you know but will actually give you they links to each and rate how well they are doing. Now you can track favorite companies online. You can even add add your company to the this comprehensive social media database!

You can download the free 2009 ENGAGEMENTdb report (.pdf) and get details on social media efforts of the top brands. For example, see how Starbucks obtained the highest engagement score with just a six person social media team. See the best practices that build brand engagement.

ENGAGEMENTdb is just starting out yet their content is very impressive. ENGAGEMENTdb has no Google PageRank and an Alexa rank of 289597 and I’m certain we will witness a top ranked site emerge very soon. I know they make my bookmarks.

It is nice to get details like this without buying expensive white papers. What do you think? Can we learn from a site like this?

Extreme Ezine subscribers know that Niche Marketing has been of interest to me for a while. I’m always researching various ways and methods to effectively put my niche domains to work. Just today I came across an Opt-in page that impressed me in a couple different ways. I went ahead and joined the list to access the free Micro Niche Finder videos and I’m glad I did.

First of all, the videos in themselves are a product worth having [See A Sample Video Here]. Obviously the videos are designed to promote the product but they offer several eye-opening methods of using niche marketing without buying a thing. Methods such as using article marketing on Ezine Articles with a resource link pointing to a free blogger blog which in-turn drives traffic to a ClickBank affiliate product. How about using Squidoo and Yahoo Answers pointing to your ClickBank affiliate product links? There’s nothing new to these free marketing methods but the videos are so simple it can clear up the whole idea of micro-niche marketing for those new to internet marketing. I recommend at least watching the videos. They can show you how to get started in micro niche marketing without buying niche domains.

The second thing that impressed me with Micro Niche Finder is that James Jones pulled all the stops when setting up this simple sales strategy. The first thing we see when following the sales link is a nicely written squeeze page with an audio message offering five free videos just for opting in (list building). The videos offer something of value to the viewer while also demonstrating effective uses of the product being promoted (generating interest and possible referrals). Access to the videos are on the actual sales page itself (watching the videos is actually part of the sales process). The sales page even incorporates a popup when detecting you’re about to leave the page (increasing conversion rates) offering free copies for your other computers via a physical product mailed to you if purchased now (sense of urgency). Combine all that with a ClickBank affiliate program and I think James Jones has shown us a classic example of internet marketing at it’s best. What do you think?

Along with the free EzineArticles email newsletters and new article email alert service did you know you could sign up for EzineArticles.com Training? You will find four Article Writing Training Series ebooks to download as well as the free EzineArticles.com email training course. I’ve been subscribed for a while and it’s top notch!

Article marketing is a very powerful way of directing targeted traffic to your sites and building back links. The EzineArticles’ email training course will educate and motivate you like not other resource. Get started today – EzineArticles.com Training

Just as a side note, here’s a cool Coffee cup from EzineArticles.com that I received in the mail a while back. I didn’t order it, or even ask for it, EzineArticles.com just sent it to a bunch of us as a ‘Thank You‘. How cool is that?

You can see my author’s Bio here.

It is an honor to interview Blogger turned Internet Marketer Yan Susanto. Yan is very well known and liked by many and his main blog, ThouShallBlog.com – a Blog for Beginners, reflects that success. Thou Shall Blog is only 9 months old yet Yan has well over a hundred posts, around 5000 comments and over 750 subscribers.

Brian: A little over a month ago you announced you were branching into Internet Marketing. What influenced the timing and how is it working out?

Yan: To be very frank, most bloggers make nothing from their blogs so naturally passion is the driving force behind them. Otherwise, they will fade away pretty fast. Since monetary gain doesn’t come first, passion is the hook that keeps me longer in the game and I attribute my little success to it.

Didn’t they say, “If you love what you are doing, you will never work a day in your life“?

Fortunately, I came into the world of blogging, albeit unplanned,  knowing for a fact that to be truly making money online, it takes more than just writing quality contents, selling private ads and adsense.

Then somehow it dawned on me that it was no longer about blogging, It’s about business. And It’s time to go beyond my blog and dive into the business of internet marketing. So it’s all about changing my mindset as part of my 2009 resolution.

How is it working out? I’m satisfied with the progress. Though it’s still under the radar, most importantly I’ve found a new passion and that matters most to me right now.

Just to spill the beans a little, among other things, I’m now focusing on niche marketing.

Brian: Your gracious and respectful personality make you a very likable person and I suspect that has a lot to do with your online success. What tips can you offer other marketers and bloggers that find those traits a little harder to demonstrate?

Yan: The jury is still out as to whether I’ve achieved online success. I guess each of us looks at success from a different angle.

There isn’t any secret formula.

Let me just quote what Yaro Starak once said,
“If you have a passion for a topic that you can translate into benefit for other people, then you should be blogging.”
In business, the rule remains the same.
“If you have a passion for [.......] that you can translate into benefit for other people, then you should be [......].”
A simple yet powerful tip and that’s exactly what I’ve learned – and what I strongly advocate – as a graduate of the “University of Life”. (Mind ya, I dropped out of high school so that was the only U that accepted me…)

Brian: A lot of people may be surprised at how wide spread your online activities are beyond that of blogging. You must have a good grip on time management. Can give us a method or two you have mastered that allows so many projects while still keeping your sanity?

Yan: Who says I don’t lose my sanity?  Some days I lose it when everything goes past the deadline but most of the time, the other half who loses it…..;).

OK! Behind every successful man, there should a woman who fully supports him in everything he does in times of ups and downs and the opposite is true.

So having the support of a significant other is the key. Does it make sense to you?

Brian: It makes all the sense in the World Yan, I’m lucky enough to have the support of my lovely wife of twenty five years. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it without her.

Where do you see Internet Marketing five from now? Blogging? Are there any trends you think we should be looking for?

Yan: I foresee the emergence of young bloggers dominating the internet in the next 5 years. Being more techno-savvy than we adults combined with an attitude of “what have I got to lose“, the kids are quick to embrace the internet and succeeding in what seems to be far-fetched for most adults who tend to “over-complicate simple things in life“. Speaking of which I’m guilty of it too.

Do we adults have a place on the internet? Yes, if only we could rediscover “the child in us” and find those traits we left behind when we became adults. Go figure out.

Brian: One last question. Is there one person that you consider a mentor and do you think mentors are important? Ok, I guess that was two questions but I combined them to look like one

Yan: I guess I have a strange perspective of what mentor is. Everyone that I meet, be it online or offline, is my mentor. Thing is I grew up as an orphan (no shame about it) so naturally I learned every single thing from the people I came across in my life journey and it’s only later in life I discovered the fine art of filtering the good from the bad.

So today I’m only picking what’s good and ignore what’s not. Just like I learn how to combine the two to look like one, so to speak

I would like to personally thank Yan for taking the time from a very busy schedule to do this interview. You can see more of Yan’s expert views and advice on ThouShallBlog.com. You can also find Yan writing for Sponsoreview.com, CommentLuv.com and in the comments of quality blogs throughout the Blogosphere.

It’s been one year since I received my issue of the Website Magazine. The Website Magazine is an actual print magazine that is delivered to your home or office absolutely *FREE.

There is very little for our industry in the form of a physical printed publication so I look forward to every issue of the Website Magazine. Website Magazine covers all of the bases with articles on topics such as search engine optimization, online advertising, affiliate marketing, website design, web development, e-commerce and more! The Extreme Ezine recommends Website Magazine.

*Print via Postal Mail (U.S. and Canada: FREE, Other Countries: $49.00 per year). Interactive Digital Edition accessible online (FREE Worldwide)

Are Decent Dot Coms Still Available? Most of us would prefer a dot-com domain over another extension. There are exceptions of course such as exotic extensions like .TV and .MOBI but for the most part we prefer a .COM.  As a ‘part two‘ to my post back in October ‘Searching For The Perfect Domain Name‘ I have listed several free online tools you can use to find your perfect domain.

Free Online Domain Name Tools

• Instant Domain Search is a free service that instantly checks .com, .net, and .org domain name availability as you type.
• NameTumbler lets you search for and check up to 500 domains at a time.
• It looks like Yahoo! domains uses this same service as DomainTools’ Domain Suggestion Tool
• Search for 3, 4 , 5 or 6 letter random domain names at Domain Name Soup
• The NameBoy Domain Name Generator is similar to the one by DomainTools but with different results.
• Domain Exposer is a very fast and easy domain name search tool.

Get Paid
Are you good at finding great domain names? Get paid to do it at PickyDomains.Com by becomming a contributor.

Protect Your Find
Protect your brand with DomainTools’ Domain Typo Generator. I used it to find that ExtremEzine.com/ (missing an ‘e’) and ExtremeEzines.com (plural) are already registered by other people – bummer. ):

HURRY - Grab these up: Feel free to register these if you like. While playing around, I mean researching I found that FreeBloggerTools.com and TopBlogTools.com were available at the time of this post. Please leave a comment below if you take one or both so I can cross them out.

Related Posts:

• Searching For The Perfect Domain Name
• Domain Name Tips From Experience

Do you know how easy it is for thieves to steal your product downloads? The are a number of advanced techniques that online product thieves use to find your download links and thank you pages. Even a very simple search can yield thousands of downloads for the taking without paying a dime. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if a large percentage of those reselling digital products today have no legal or moral right to do so because they stole the product.

Free Report: “How To STOP Digital Product Theft”. . .

Grab a copy of this important and authoritative report and discover how to prevent your own digital product from being stolen.

14 PAGE MINI-REPORT…

I love Akismet. Akismet is a WordPress plugin that saves me a ton of time sorting out real blog comments and comment spam. Our comment spam was on the rise in the first half of October but hopefully it will level off for a while. Akismet saves me the trouble of getting excited about such increases. With a 99.35% overall accuracy rate, it’s just a simple matter of scanning the ‘Akismet Spam‘ page and deleting all the spam with a single click. This cool plugin allows me to concentrate on the legitimate comments.