It's been quiet on the site here for a couple of weeks for a few reasons:

#1 Software problems

#2 Server problems

#3 Being ill

#4 Getting ready for a full on launch

#5 Being away in the US at a conference - The System Seminar

#6 Knowing I'll have to update the site as a result of the conference (there's plenty!)

#7 I want to conduct a series of interviews as bonuses for JointWinWin businesses to sign up

Expect to see this happen in a couple of weeks and a "full launch" take place…

Remember, you can sign up right now and test things out, everything is fully functional and I do want your feedback.

There is a great array of signup bonuses already (and if you signup now you'll receive all the new ones too, no worries).

All the best,

Tom

I mentioned last week how I was putting together a competition for JointWinWin businesses during pre-launch.

The Competition Prizes

I have put together a big list of incentives below (and if you'd like to get publicity yourself and have a prize you would like to donate, by all means get in touch).

In total the prize fund right now is a whopping $3894 and growing….

First Prize:

$1000 donated to a charity of your choice (legitimate charities affiliated with the Charities Aid Foundation)

Your own copy of Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula 1.0 (my own personal copy) worth $1497 (no longer on market )

Second Prize

$500 donated to a charity of your choice (legitimate charities affiliated with the Charities Aid Foundation)

Your own copy of Jay Abraham's Mr X book (Real title: Money-Making Secrets of Marketing Genius Jay Abraham and Other Marketing Wizards) - worth $397 (no longer on market)

Third Prize

$250 donated to a charity of your choice (legitimate charities affiliated with the Charities Aid Foundation)

Your own copy of Anthony Robbins 7 Day "Get The Edge" program (my own personal copy worth $250 approx - no longer on the market)

Prizes To All For Entry

Any JointWinWin business can always have a free listing to a category of their choice. However, paid listings for categories will rise to the top in search results and category listings.

Just for taking part (i.e. being one of the first 1000 businesses to sign up - see eligibility below), you will automatically qualify for a very special offer when the paid listing service comes into effect - see JointWinWin Pre-Launch blog post for more info.

Eligibility

First up, the competition is open only to JointWinWin registered businesses - see the link at the end of the blog post for registration (it's free btw). Once registered, you will automatically qualify for the paid listing special offer.

To qualify for entry into the main competition you have to also

1. Create a video detailing

#1 What spurred you on to become a JointWinWin business

#2 What your favourite idea to change the world is (can be your own or someone else's)

#3 The video should contain the phrase "Change The World" in the title

2. Submit your video to Youtube

3. Submit your entry to JointWinWin.com using our contact form and use the following format to submit your entry:

JointWinWin Link Listing: YOUR JOINTWINWIN BUSINESS LINK LISTING GOES HERE

Youtube Video URL: YOUTUBE URL GOES HERE

The Winners

60 Days after the 1000th business has joined JointWinWin, the winners will be announced. The winners are determined simply by who has the highest number of video views for their video. The sooner you join up, the quicker you can produce your video and the more time you will have to accumulate Youtube views.

To register as a JointWinWin Business

Check here to see the benefits of becoming a JointWinWin business

All the best,

Tom

Just so you know, JointWinWin is officially in "Pre-Launch".

What does this mean I hear you say?

Eventually, the JointWinWin business directory will be opened up to paid listings (so as to improve listing visibility at the top of search listings and category browsing). This is what constitutes the real launch of JointWinWin.

To clarify one point prior to moving on, JointWinWin business listings will ALWAYS REMAIN FREE.

What is Pre-Launch

Starting up any business takes a huge amount of time and effort as well as capital outlay. JointWinWin is no different. "Pre-Launch" to me is getting the site into "industrial strength" shape. For example, at the moment, there are over 30,000 category listings available for you to list your business web site in. And if you don't see a category you think fits well enough, I'm open to suggestions.

Pre-launch is all about positioning the site in readiness for an actual launch - this is why I have created the pre-launch competition for the first 100 JointWinWin businesses as outlined here in the pre-launch competition.

In getting the site to "industrial strength" - this also means honing the message of JointWinWin so you as an entrepreneur / business owner understand the value of the listing and also the message must be clear to consumers who visit the website looking for businesses who care about their future rather than those out to make a "quick buck".

I have put a lot of time and effort into this concept already but I am absolutely clear I have a helluva long way to go. My to-do list is huge and I know there are lots of things which need to be improved upon which is why this "pre-launch" process is so important.

I'm look for your help and your advice to help get JointWinWin into the site it needs to become.

Please give me your comments and feedback as to what needs to be improved upon and changed - contact me here.

To register as a JointWinWin business click here - its FREE

To find out all the benefits of listing as a JointWinWin business - click here

All the best,

Tom

JointWinWin.com has at it's heart an online business directory for small businesses and large businesses alike.

Payment for a listing is not and will never be required (at a future point, post pre-launch, you will be able to improve your listings position with paid options).

What's the catch?

No "catch", but like any good directory, you have to agree to

• The JointWinWin Terms of Service
• The JointWinWin Business Code of Ethics

Pretty standard stuff but  there is one thing which sets JointWinWin.com apart in a small and BIG way:

You as a JointWinWin business agree to donate a minimum of 0.8% of your gross revenue to charity every year. By doing so, this means you in effect as an entrepreneur or business owner are helping to change the world for the better one purchase at a time.

You and your customers can change the world for the better one transaction at a time.

 

Why Join?

Do the following appeal to you:

• An increase in sales?
• An increase in customers?
• An increase in spending from your customers?

If you'd like to find out in more detail how the above (and a whole host of other benefits too) will happen for your business, check out why you should join JointWinWin.com here.

Right now there is also a competition where you can win some great prizes - only JointWinWin businesses will be eligible for these prizes.

Remember, this is another way for you to differentiate you and your business from the competition. This is another way for a prospective customer to find a business in your business category - i.e. you.

 

• To register as a JointWinWin business click here - it's FREE
• To find out all the benefits of joining as a JointWinWin business click here

 

All the best,

Tom

You've seen heartwrenching images like these before:

 

It doesn't get any easier to watch but we are now in the year 2008 and there must be something we can do to make a difference.

You're reading this post because you want to make a difference in this world.

I know how grandiose this sounds but you have at your fingertips, at the end of a keyboard a way to help change the world…

How?

JointWinWin.com has a business directory at it's heart you can search to find JointWinWin businesses - every Joint WinWin business gives a minimum of 0.8% of their gross revenue to charity every year. This means whenever you buy from a JointWinWin business someone, somewhere less fortunate than you or I benefits.

Raising money for charity is not a new idea, but making it part and parcel of all your purchases is.

There's also another good reason to shop with JointWinWin businesses as JointWinWin businesses agree to give JointWinWin visitors special offers - indeed you can sign up to the deal of the day.

What if every business was a member of JointWinWin, how long do you think it would take before issues like poverty, homelessness, famine were consigned to the history books forever…

You can help build momentum

The idea behind JointWinWin is a simple concept but what it has against it is its "newness".

Like all new ideas, it needs momentum, it needs people like YOU to say - "Hey this is a great idea, I would buy from businesses like that". The more people who put their hands up and make a stand the more people will want to - it's a virtuous circle.

So how can you change the world?

Well, I need your help to get the ball rolling - I need you to make a stand and say this is a good idea, when you do, others will follow. This is IMHO too big an idea to stall at the starting gates, the potential to help so many people and change the world is HUGE. Just think, it's possible in the future if you buy from JointWinWin businesses only, you will be in a position whereby:

Whatever, whenever, wherever YOU buy, YOU make a difference.

So, please take some time to change the world for the better by doing as many of the following simple, easy steps as you can.

I know YOU care and want to change the world for the better as much as I do:

 

• Join the JointWinWin Facebook Group and make a comment/post
• Become a fan of the JointWinWin Facebook Page and make a comment/post
• Make a comment to this blog post saying "Yes, I'd buy from a JointWinWin business" (You'll need to register with the blog first)
• Tell your friends here
• Bookmark JointWinWin or one of it's pages at the social bookmarking sites - see the bookmark image to the left of the page
• Make a post on your blog if you have one saying how you
• Sign up to the Deal of the Day RSS
• Sign up to the Deal of the Day email service
• Join the JointWinWin World Community Grid team

 

 For a full listing of all the things you can do to help change the world for the better with JointWinWin, visit here.

I'm asking for your help to help build a better future for all.

All the best,

Tom

Well, I'm glad I haven't gone "mad" with marketing as of yet, have discovered a couple of problems which need to be put right.

It would appear some servers out there just don't like email from JointWinWin.com (all to do with hostnames, MX records etc…)

Have found some promising info on the subject here:

http://www.ozzu.com/hosting-forum/email-problem-550-verification-failed-t20812.html

 

In touch with my hosting company so hopefully we'll be good soon.

Just goes to show you, it's better to iron out the kinks in your site/ideas before you get cracking.

Or going back to the original inspirational quote from Guy Kawasaki:

"…It's not how great you start, it's how great you end up"

So, will probably hold fire on the blogging front till next week as I have a few things to clean up.

One thing though - I'm going to announce a competition next week for the first 1000 JointWinWin businesses who register - you'll like it

And if I haven't already mentioned it (and I will next week in a full post about it), JointWinWin business directory listings are free.

All the best,

Tom

Perhaps you've heard of Malcolm Gladwell's book "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference"?

Find it an interesting read?

I'm sure you did, but have you also read the research published by Duncan Watts which seems to put paid to the ideas behind this seminal piece of work?

Whether you have or you haven't, how would you like to be able to get to a point in your viral marketing campaigns when they really take off?

Well, as part of signing up to the JointWinWin Journal (as an email subscriber - click here) you'll receive a brand new report called:

Tipping The Point

In it, you'll learn

• How Duncan Watt's research has caused such controversy
• How the classic book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini has a key insight you have to know
• How the Watt's "Big Seed" marketing approach can help give reliable viral results
• 23 Step-by-step tactics forming the Tipping The Point strategy you can employ for your business

Signup now to improve your viral marketing RESULTS…

[Editor Update 02 May 2008] The eBook "Tipping The Point" is now free to download from this page (no signup required) [End Edit]

Scam, fraud, con, sham, fake, phony, bogus, scheme, rubbish, hype, hoopla, the real truth…

This may seem like an odd post especially as it's written by JointWinWin. Instead it's a way to communicate with people who have reservations about the ethos and execution of JointWinWin.

There is a comments section at the end of this blog post which can be used to pose a question (you need to register using the link on the grey bar at the top of this page) in a very public way. If anyone does have issues with the site or general idea behind JointWinWin, please use the comment section below to raise your concerns - of course there is an ever growing FAQ which might already answer your question.

From a general marketing point of view, this post has been made in an effort to get JointWinWin's point of view across should criticism (hopefully undeserved mind!) take place.

No matter how squeaky clean your business is, it is almost inevitable to face criticism from someone, somewhere, sometime.

It's best to be prepared.

This blog post will hopefully rank well for the terms

• JointWinWin scam
• JointWinWin fraud
• Etc…

by virtue of the fact it is indeed the very first mention of such terms on the Internet (given we've just launched).

This is something you should anticipate and use in your own marketing of a new website, it gives you the opportunity to foster debate rather than FLAME wars and gives you the opportunity to rank on the first page of search listings should you be so unlucky as to encounter these problems.

Wishing you the best of success,

Tom

 

JointWinWin started as an idea several years ago.  This idea rattled around in my head and was summed up by the following one liner:

"To make a charitable donation an integral part of a commercial transaction"

It was all about Business Giving Back, indeed this was the name I originally was going to go with but after a lot of brainstorming and idea evolution, I settled on the name JointWinWin (long story…)

The one liner above which is at the heart of the site has also changed to reflect a consumer's point of view:

"Whatever, whenever, wherever YOU buy, YOU make a difference"

Why didn't it launch sooner?

You may be thinking why I hadn't launched this idea sooner given I had it a good few years back. Good question. Looking back there are a number of reasons, not the least of which was "fear" on my part. I knew how big this was and how much of an undertaking it would turn out to be. As a result I meandered hither and tither on a number of online projects before finally getting around to it.

The tipping point for getting JointWinWin launched was when I read a book called  "The Art of the Start" by Guy Kawasaki in November 2007. In it a line resonated with me: "…It's not how great you start, but how great you end up".

This finally got me to thinking, the time was right.

It's taken a lot of hard work since then to get to this point (I have a day job as well I am very busy with and thoroughly enjoy) and I hope we are now at the point where echoed by the famous quote by Victor Hugo:

"Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea  whose time has come…"

How does it work?

At the heart of JointWinWin.com is a business directory. JointWinWin businesses agree to a number of business best practices and a code of ethics but the fundamental requirement a JointWinWin business must agree to is to donate a minimum of 0.8% of their gross revenue to a legitimate charity.

In so doing, this is how anyone who buys from a JointWinWin business is changing the world one purchase at a time.

Or put another way:

Whatever, whenever, whereever YOU buy, YOU make a difference!

As you might have gathered from the website name, JointWinWin is all about "win-win business", on each detailed listing page of a JointWinWin business consumers can find a special offers section. Each listed business will have a special offer for JointWinWin visitors so not only is the directory a great business to business (B2B) resource but also a business to consumer (B2C) portal.

So businesses win  in a number of ways, for example:

• Increased sales
• More customers
• Happier Customers

and consumers benefit as well from

• Special offers/Discounts/Bargains
• Peace of mind buying from ethical companies
• Satisfaction knowing each purchase is making a difference

I like to think of the idea as an innovative approach to cause-related marketing and corporate social responsibility. It's not just a single cause which will benefit but a myriad of good causes with  each business deciding how to allocate the monies they raise themselves.

Individuals can also create listings in the directory in a special "NonBusinessListings" category, these listings can act as a hub for all of your personal charitable efforts too.

Monies Raised

Toward the top left hand corner of every page there is a section called "Total Raised". This will give the headline total of how much money has been raised by JointWinWin businesses to date. First  goal is to see this total hit the $1M as soon as possible, after that, the sky is the limit…

Monies raised by individuals will be reported upon in a separate fashion but we may also combine the totals  (bigger totals mean better PR!).

Deal of the Day

One of the primary features JointWinWin will provide to consumers is a simple way to keep up to date with the newest and best deals coming from JointWinWin. As a consumer you can subscribe to the Deal of the Day via RSS or email - check the links in the "Special Offers" section on the right hand side of any page.

The frequency of the communications will eventually be daily as and when enough businesses have joined up for a regular daily feed to be viable.

Business Growth Strategies

If you're a business owner or entrepreneur, there's even more "win-wins" available to you. In the "Business Growth" section,  this blog "The JointWinWin Journal" can be subscribed to and will  provide regular strategies/tactics to help you and your business  grow. There is also an email subscription service you can join here which will cover the same subject matter as well as deliver extra tips and information which are not publicly available through RSS syndication.

Far from finished

Referring back to Guy Kawasaki's inspirational, "…It's not how great you start…"

With this in mind, I am putting JointWinWin out for the world to see and looking for your comments and feedback as it's far from finished. There's still so much to do so please bear with me as I put all the pieces together.

What Next?

Right now, the site is fully functional - it may be a bit rough around the edges but it is good to go. So if you have a business and you'd like to help change the world - you can register here and submit your free listings. Bear in mind though, you must also agree to the JointWinWin terms and conditions found here.

This is a website a long time in the making and I sincerely ask for your input to improve it so together, we can make a difference and change the world for the better.

Let me know your thoughts, your advice is welcome - click here.

Wishing you the best of success,

Tom O'Brien

Editor

JointWinWin.com

PS - This post has served as a simple introduction to JointWinWin, for more information, please visit the ever growing JointWinWin FAQ

PPS - More information on how to use JointWinWin and what it's all about will be coming very soon. This includes an introductory video found here (the link should be live within 24 hours of this post hitting the airwaves)