Tuesday, July 22, 2008

 

Joe's Upgrade Syncs With NYT Coverage

When opportunity comes knocking – in our case, a business and economics columnist for The New York Times gathering information for an article about online barter companies – one doesn’t beg off, saying, “Sorry, I’m not ready for my close-up. Could we wait a few weeks?”

So, in the midst of a major upgrade of our website, Joe Barter sat down with Jim Flanigan of The Times to discuss its strategic direction for 2008. The resulting article, published July 17 in the Business section, also covered the lineup of Joe Barter’s online barter competitors.

The good news is that barter, which generated some $6.5 billion in commercial barter transactions in 2007, is growing slowly.

Two years after its launch, Joe Barter has some 2,500 registered members who can buy, sell or barter products and services freely on our website’s Trading Post. It’s not a huge number, but we’re the new kid on the barter block, still learning.

And we’re thrilled with the publication of The New York Times article that gives Joe Barter more than just a passing mention.

What we’re excited about, though, is the website upgrade, which, when completed, will see a new Joe Barter -- Web version 2 -- partnering with 25 to 30 other online businesses that will “power” its website.

Registered members will be able to access apartment and rental listings, job opportunities, vacation and travel offers, discounts at local retailers, free music downloads, free e-mail and an array of other resources and services.

One new feature in the works, a bulletin board, will allow members to post content and photos that highlight important events in their lives.

Another new feature, a free forum for members who want to communicate with one another, marks Joe’s first steps into the social networking arena of the Web.

Our vision is to become the “Lexus Nexus” of the online networking arena, where members keep coming back to our website to buy, sell or barter products and services, and to take advantage of an expanding pool of resources and services that will help them enhance their professional and personal lives.

We’ll talk at you later, when the upgrade is complete.

To read The New York Times article about barter in its entirety, click the link below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/17/business/smallbusiness/17edge.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Saturday, March 01, 2008

 

All Aboard With Joe for 2008

Where's Joe Barter heading in 2008?

A series of new partnerships and other developments in 2007 have set the stage for what could be a breakout year for the online barter business that was launched in the late summer of 2006.

In fact, founder Tom Daley noted in a recent article, "This is the moment we've been waiting for."

Last year the Joe Barter team focused on establishing new partnerships, acting as consultants to generate revenue, and keeping members and supporters informed via our "Networking News" online newsletter.

That three-pronged approach has positioned Joe Barter as a promising online barter and social networking business ripe for investment. We expect it will also attract the kind of media coverage that can rocket a dotcom into the stratosphere. Wouldn't that be sweet?

Some of the developments in 2007 that helped strengthen the Joe Barter brand include:

* Partnering with FROG (“Fulfilling Requirements of Growth”) Business Services. The Newport Beach firm operates an umbrella company called FROG Staffing whose target audience consists of business professionals looking to change jobs and college students seeking to jump start careers. FROG Staffing advertises on Joe Barter and became the first company to post its clients’ job listings on Joe Jobs.

* Redesigning the home page to spotlight the Trading Post with its listings of product and service categories and allow users to initiate the trading process immediately. The redesign also helped optimize search engine results and emphasized Joe Barter’s signing with Google Ads to leverage its target audience reach and generate an additional revenue stream.

* Appearing as an exhibitor at Orange County’s Largest Mixer IV in Costa Mesa. Our display unit, set up in the Baja Blues bar, allowed relaxed visitors to test their basketball free throw skills to win Joe Barter branded T-shirts. The team collected more than 300 business cards from attendees interested in receiving the Joe Barter newsletter.

* Appearing at the “Proving Grounds," the first Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition hosted by the No Limits MMA & Fitness Center in Irvine. Joe was the only sponsor from outside the world of MMA. Event attendees and viewers watching its live streaming on the Internet saw our logo prominently displayed in two corners of the ring. Joe's likeness also appeared on large cards held aloft by ring girls between each round.

* Partnering with Formula Drift, Inc., which owns and operates the only sanctioned professional drifting circuit in North America and is a partner company of Slipstream Global Marketing, which introduced the popular sport of drifting -- high-powered vehicles sliding with speed and precision through a marked course – to North America in 2003.


* Partnering with OWL (Ones We Love), a full-service event consulting and promotion company. Our two companies teamed up at the Fox Sports Grill in Irvine, where Joe Barter hosted a mixer for Joe Barter members and supporters while OWL provided the entertainment for the evening.

* Partnering with MessageBroadcast.com, a recognized pioneer and policy maker in the voice broadcasting industry. The company delivers millions of targeted personal messages monthly to the answering machines of its business clients’ customers. This year, Joe Barter will work on several other projects with MessageBroadcast.com that will take advantage of the company’s cutting edge technological expertise to provide additional services to our users.

* Introducing JoeFREETunes on our web site. Users can now enjoy more than 2 million songs in more then 350 categories, from African to Zydeco, absolutely free of charge.


* Designing web sites and logos for clients that include Cal South Soccer and the Boy Scouts of America - San Gabriel Valley Council. Joe Barter will be a featured sponsor at two BSA events this year: the Scout Expo to be held June 7 at the Santa Anita Race Track and the San Gabriel Valley Council - Valle Del Sol District 2nd Annual Rally & Car Show scheduled for June 28. Joe Barter designed the logo for the latter event.


* Designing more than 150 unique creative executions to promote the online business on brochures, caps, car magnets, in-paper ads, signage, T-shirts, Tommy Bahama-style shirts, web site banners and the like. There's been discussion about launching a Joe Barter clothing line as the online business builds its brand and attracts more users.


* Planning two new web site sections – Joe Community and Joe Living – to join existing sections that include Joe Jobs, Joe Deals & Discounts, Joe Media and Joe University, where college students can find the Textbook Traders feature. These two new additions would further emphasize the social networking aspect of the web site.

* Awarding of a trademark to Joe Barter by the United States Patent & Trademark Office.


So, to answer the question: "Where's Joe Barter heading in 2008?"

To the Land of Opportunity, and with first-class tickets.


Saturday, December 22, 2007

 

Joe Sends His Best

The Joe Barter team wishes you and your family the very best for the holiday season.

Thank you for your interest and support in 2007.

We’re gearing up for what we hope is a productive 2008 and hope the new year proves rewarding in every way for our supporters as well.

Keep warm, keep safe and keep the faith.

You’ll be hearing more from Joe Barter in 2008.

In the meantime, you can visit
www.joebarter.com to buy, sell or trade products and services. If you’re not already a registered member, registration is simple and free.

Those of you with questions about our online business can direct them to
inquiries@joebarter.com and if you’d like to be added to our newsletter mailing list, please e-mail us at joenews@joebarter.com

Have a great holiday season!


Saturday, June 09, 2007

 

Newsletter Plus: It's Paris-less

If you’ve grown weary of reading about the exploits of Paris Hilton, whose claim to fame is that she’s a heiress, socialite and star of the reality television series The Simple Life, perhaps you ought to take a peek at Networking News, Joe Barter’s monthly online newsletter.

There’s not been a mention of Paris in any of the four featured articles per issue since Networking News was first published last October.

So far, our readers have not complained. Maybe none of them are “Paris-ites” as her devoted fans have been labeled.

What we do publish is news about Joe Barter, features about our supporters, partners or advertisers, and movie, restaurant, automobile and travel reviews.

In the May issue of Networking News, for example, you can read about Joe Barter’s introduction to the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighting.

The Joe Barter team attended a MMA “Proving Grounds” event in Irvine hosted by the No Limits MMA & Fitness Center in Irvine. The fight card featured eight bouts in which accomplished fighters in the disciplines of boxing, Brazilian jiu jitsu, kickboxing, Muay Thai and wrestling went head to head.

Joe Barter also was a sponsor of the event, the only one from outside the world of MMA.

The May issue also included a review of a little known, but exceptionally taut movie thriller “The Lookout.” It’s a tale of a brain-damaged teenager, once a star high school athlete and golden boy, who is manipulated into acting as a lookout at the bank where he works as a night janitor while it’s being robbed by a team of ruthless professionals.

Readers also visited the Florida Keys in our May issue to learn more about the tiny, sun-soaked community where Ernest Hemingway wrote and lived, courtesy of a travel review by Stan Wawer, San Gabriel Tribune Travel editor.

Finally, those who enjoy great food, and rubbing elbows with the rich and well-connected could read a restaurant review of City Club on Bunker Hill, a private business club that also offers fine dining on its premises, from special contributor Jim Garcia.

To read past issues of Networking News, go to joebarter.com, click Joe Media from the navigation bar at the left, and then click Joe Newsletter from the scroll down menu.

If you’d like to be added to our newsletter mailing list, please e-mail us at
joenews@joebarter.com

Friday, May 11, 2007

 

Joe Mines for New Members

For a small company, Joe Barter sure likes to do things on a grand scale.

That’s why we’re planning to introduce our online business at joebarter.com via e-mail to hundreds of thousands of people in North America. Starting in May, Joe Barter will send four big e-mail blasts weekly over a four-week period.

How did we identify an audience that would be receptive to an invitation to register as a Joe Barter member?

Ask Kevin. He's the guy who “mined” databases for us and gave us an opportunity to introduce Joe Barter to thousands of people who’ve never heard of him.

How many of those recipients will become registered members on the strength of this introductory
e-mail alone?

Here are a few ballpark, and, yes, optimistic estimates:

* A naturally curious 5% of recipients will open the html e-mail, which also features the image of the iconic Joe Barter.

* Of those who read all or part of the text message, about 5% will feel compelled to click the link to the website.

* Finally, about 5% of the people, who click through to the Joe Barter home page, which showcases Joe’s Trading Post, will respond to the promotional message to “Register for free” and revisit the website at some point to post a product or service for sale or barter.

We predict that 100% of them will be glad they did.

Because at Joe Barter, registered members can buy, sell or trade products and professional services at our Trading Post at no charge. College students can also swap texts at Textbook Traders for free.

What’s not to be glad about?

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

 

Joe Sponsors Fight Event

Joe Barter is a networker, not a fighter.

But Joe’s still going to make his presence known at the No Limits Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness Center in Irvine on Saturday, 4/21, where he’ll be ringside for an event called “Proving Grounds.”

“Proving Grounds” is a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition presented by No Limits and ProElite.com. It pairs 10 accomplished MMA fighters in five bouts of three rounds each.

All are competing for a chance to fight for EliteXC/Showtime.

Joe Barter is a “Proving Grounds” sponsor, the only one from outside the world of MMA fighting. Event attendees and viewers who watch its live streaming (beginning at 7 p.m.) on the Internet at ProElite.com will see our logo prominently displayed in the ring.

Joe’s likeness also will appear on cards held aloft by ring girls between each round.


(We know that not all eyes will be on the cards.)

The core fighting styles of MMA are boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, kickboxing, Muay Thai and wrestling. No Limit MMA & Fitness Center members train with coaches who are recognized experts in each of the fighting disciplines and have competed professionally.

The most skilled members go on to compete in events like “Proving Grounds.”

In fact, four of the fighters in Saturday’s event are members of Team Oyama, the official name for the No Limits MMA fight team head coached by Colin Oyama.

The No Limits MMA Fitness Center is located in Irvine and occupies more than 25,000 square feet of space. There’s seating for more than 1,400.

Call 1-800-406-6096 to purchase tickets. They range in cost from $40 to $100 at ringside.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first of five bouts begins at 7 p.m.

The No Limits MMA & Fitness Center is located at 1962 Barranca Parkway in Irvine.
(Between the 5 and 405 Freeways, off Jamboree.)

See you there.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

 

Joe Mixes It Up!

On March 8 Joe Barter stowed our sleekly designed, easy-to-assemble display units, company banners, signage, brochures, flyers, plus incentive prizes and giveaways, into the back of an SUV, and headed south to Costa Mesa.

Our destination: Orange County’s Largest Mixer IV, held March at the Orange County Fair & Exposition Center from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

It was our first exhibitor event in our very short history as an online business that provides free barter services and networking resources to registered members.

The Orange County mixer, now in its fourth year, typically draws well over 2,000 business professionals who navigate a maze of booths and displays, looking for opportunities to network.

Thanks to our distinctive display units -- particularly one that allowed attendees to test their basketball free throw skills to win incentives and prizes -- we held our own among the more than 300 other small to large business exhibitors in attendance.

Plus our booth position was ideal.

Rather then cram our exhibit into a cavernous building or tent with scores of other exhibitors, Joe Barter opted to set up at Baja Blues, a nearby bar on the fairgrounds, along with only one other exhibitor.

Our team members eagerly collared visitors to Baja Blues to test their free throw skills and acquaint themselves with our business.

By the time we’d closed shop, we’d gathered more than 360 signatures and business cards from attendees who wanted to receive our monthly online newsletter. Signing up also granted them free membership.

Joe Barter thanks Owen Gonzales of Ones We Love (OWL), a full-service event consulting and promotions company, for sponsoring us at Orange County’s Largest Mixer IV.

Check out the March issue of our monthly online newsletter for more on this event. It will be posted in early April. Go to joebarter.com and click “Joe Media” on the navigation bar. Then click “Joe Newsletter” from the drop down menu.

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