Joseph Palko

Co-Founder of Solid Cactus, Sold to Web.com in 2009. eCommerce Enterpreneur


About Me E-Commerce Consulting

Awards and Recognition

Having spent over 20 years in the eCommerce field, I've received a lot of awards. Most probably wouldn't interest you, but feel free to take a look...

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eCommerce

I started my first company in 1994 and sold it in 2007. Free free to read more if you're interested! eCommerce has changed a lot over the years.

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Published Writing

In my spare time, I enjoy blogging and writing articles. Feel free to read some of my work. I'm a Forbes contributor.

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Latest News On Joseph Palko™

Welcome to FerretOutfitters

Many many years ago, Scott Sanfilippo and I founded The Ferret Store. The Ferret Store went on to sell ferret and small animal supplies for many years before finally being sold to Doctor Fosters and Smith. Scott recently revived our old domain FerretOutfitters.com with all kinds of ferret information from the early days. If you have a ferret, it's a great
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Three Customers You Will Never Miss

Before I started my first eCommerce website back in 1994, I spent almost 10 years working in retail.  It made me think...  Had I spent the rest of my life as a bricks and mortar retailer, I would have had to keep dealing with crazy customers, face to face - for the rest of my life.   Of course being an online merchant also has its challenges, but you can at least get up from your computer, take a walk and grab a coffee.  Thinking back... I've decided to outline the customer types that I used to dread dealing with on a face to face basis. Meet the crazy customers that no longer torture you in person (just via email and phone)... Gretta McPennypincher - When she's not sitting on the front porch smoking Pall Malls, she takes her daily trip into your store to look at the latest additions to your
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10 Mentalities of Successful Digital Entrepreneurs

So many digital entrepreneurs are mushrooming across the globe. Some of them become successful, while many others can’t even get past the first base. Even those who’ve established offline businesses find it difficult to survive in today's tough business climate. Many successful online entrepreneurs will tell you that it all lies in the mindset. You’ve got to shake off traditional or classic thinking, and be able to flow with the times. Even if you have the skills and resources, there is no guarantee that you’ll make it all the way to home-run if you don’t have the right mentalities. So as you’re learning the ropes of becoming a digital entrepreneur, you should make a huge effort to develop the following mentalities: Hustle In this day and age, “slow and steady” may leave you behind. Yes, it’s essential to be cautious when it comes to your business decisions. However, you also need to hustle most
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How to Make Your Online Customer Know, Like, and Trust You

Have you ever heard of the “know, like, and trust” factors? If you’ve been in sales and marketing for quite some time, you’re probably familiar with these already. They are MUSTs in the world of sales and marketing.  When I started my first company at 18 years old, I learned these pretty quick. Nobody wants to do business with somebody they despise or feel may dupe them in some way! So the bottom line is this: You need to make your customers comfortable with you throughout your interaction with them. The only way to do this is to get them to know, like, and trust you. Now how can you do that online? Many businesses don’t understand that this should be done not just with the traditional face-to-face interaction and with the usual physical promotional materials. In this digital age, you have to know how it can be done online too. Make Yourself
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Social Engineering Attacks

I was recently mentioned in a blog post from SmartFile's Blog - 23 Social Engineering Attacks You Need to Shut Down, and they also made this great infographic that I felt was very worthy of
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Learning the Why and How of Influencer Marketing

Whether you run a business online, offline, or both, one of the essentials when it comes to your marketing efforts is to tap the so-called ‘influencers’. Who are they and how can they benefit your business? Well, just imagine if you are in the real estate industry and you got a couple or even just one big-time celebrity to endorse what you’re offering. Wouldn’t that bring in more sales? Or let’s say you are selling personal development audio CDs and these products were featured in Success Magazine. You’ll surely be able to reach out to those who actually want what you have because many readers of this magazine are seeking personal growth and self-improvement. So yes, it would be awesome to practice influencer marketing--- starting today. What is Influencer Marketing?  Influencer marketing is a form of marketing that targets a chosen few--- people or institutions which can endorse your business and connect you
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How to Make People Click Your Call-to-Action Button

If you have been learning quite a lot about online marketing by now, you probably have already grasped the importance of incorporating call-to-action buttons in your website and even in the different pages and articles you have. However, you cannot just use any call-to-action button. Experts have found out that there is actually a particular psychology involved in order to make more people want to click and take a look. Here are 5 specific tips to motivate your site visitors and readers to actually click on your call-to-action button: Craft the Words Carefully.  There are plenty of common readily made call-to-action buttons that you’ll find such as “Click Here” and “Submit”. But are these effective? It’s important to know which specific words to place on your button to make it seem more attractive and to make it truly irresistible to click. What you must remember is to make the words specific to what you’re trying
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