Yelp |

Marketing Your Business with Zero Budget

August 16, 2010 by Elias Shams 8 Comments

Having launched and operated a few start-ups since 1999 and now Awesome DC, here are a few tips I’d like to share with you on how to promote your business with ZERO budget. Read more of this post

Filed under Business & Finance, social media, Web Tagged with Ad-Funded Payment Options, Angie’s List, Blog, Blogging, business, dailymotion, Donate Button, facebook, Foursquare, FREE listing, Genius Rocket, GeniusRocket, google, Google Local Business Center, how to start a business, LinkedIn, liveleak, MerchantCircle, metacafe, minimum budget, no budget, online video sites, Q&A writing technical, repeatable marketing, SearchLocal, Share expertise, social media channels, social media strategy, SuperPages, twitter, using Web, Vlogging, Yahoo! Local, YellowPages.com, Yelp, YouTube, ZERO budget

Couponing: The Web’s Hottest Business Model

August 2, 2010 by Elias Shams Leave a comment

I’ve been following the online coupon companies like Groupon and LivingSocial since March of this year. I started even paying more attention to such a new hot space, when noticed both Google and Yelp were also gearing up for online couponing last month. Not to mention our beloved DC-Based Living Social who just landed another cool $10 mil investment on top of their previously $49 Mil raised so far. The space is certainly HOT and getting very crowded. Read more of this post

Filed under social media, Web Tagged with about, about.com, CouponChief, Couponing, daily coupons, Daily Deals, Digital Coupon, Ginny Byrnes, Going, going.com, Grotech Ventures, Groupon, Heather Harde, HomeRun, Lightspeed Venture Partners, LivingSocial, local restaurants, MyDailyThread, News America, Social Currency CrunchUp, social utility, SocialBuy, Steve Case iPhone notifications, TownHog, TwoBuckDuck, TwoBuckDuck Yelp Eats, U.S. Venture Partners, We Give To Get, Yelp, Yelp Drinks, YouSwoop

The World of Digital Coupon about to get more Crowded

July 27, 2010 by Elias Shams 1 Comment

No, it’s not another digital coupon company like Groupon or LivingSocial, I am talking the user generated review company, Yelp and soon about.com, and going.com, etc.

I spent about one hour a day on Yelp. I noticed this comment thread today that began late last month when one of their user Cam H noticed a deal running for $20 for $45 of services at a salon and other users have been yapping about it since then. Read more of this post

Filed under Web Tagged with about, about.com, CouponChief, daily coupons, Daily Deals, Digital Coupon, Going, going.com, Groupon, HomeRun, LivingSocial, MyDailyThread, social utility, SocialBuy, TownHog, TwoBuckDuck Yelp Eats, We Give To Get, Yelp, Yelp Drinks, YouSwoop