ขImprove Your Email’s Deliverabilityข

ขImprove Your Email’s Deliverabilityข

by: Karen Fegarty

With SPAM accounting for over 50% of the email that is delivered to our inboxes many corporations and ISPs have implemented solutions to deal with this growing problem. SPAM filters, IP blocking, domain blocking, and legislation are in place, but often messages that are, in fact, wanted by the recipients, are filtered and not delivered. What do legitimate marketers need to do to ensure that their clients receive their messages? We have collected a number of rules that, if you employ, can greatly increase the number of emails that are delivered and opened by your customers or prospective customers.

1. When delivering to AOL email addresses you need to make sure your SMTP serviceกs domain can be verified using a reverse DNS lookup. Check with your Webmaster or Host Provider. For more information on this topic check out:

http://www.dnsstuff.com/info/revdns.htm and

http://ezinetips.com/articles/resources/20010817.shtml

2. America Online (AOL) has recently released the newest version of its product, AOL 9.0. To protect itกs users from receiving SPAM, AOL has put some measures in place that will affect how your message is received by your AOL subscribers. All graphics will be blocked from being displayed in HTML emails; as well links will be deactivated for any new message sent to an AOL 9.0 inbox. When an email is received in AOL 9.0, users will have to click a link at the top of each message (Show Images & Enable Links) to view any graphics within your email. If this action is not taken, images and links will not be displayed or enabled.

This is the default setting for AOL 9.0; however, the email recipient does have the ability to add the senderกs From Address into their address book, which AOL classifies as People I Know. Once this has been done, all emails received from this address in the future will automatically have images and links showing correctly.

Your recipients must add you to their address book as a sender they recognize and approve. You should add a line to the top of your email, which states something like this… กAttention AOL 9.0 users please add [email protected] to your address book so that you can see our entire messageก. For more information on this issue visit: http://library.marketingsherpa.com/barrier.cfm?CID=2455 MS 2003 will also filter the images. For more information visit: http://ktdcommunications.com/communications/katydid_023.htm

3. Be aware of the current and proposed SPAM laws. Check out http://www.spamlaws.com for current legislation.

4. Ensure that each message contains an unsubscribe statement that links to a valid URL or a valid Mailto: link. However do not use the words ‘to unsubscribeก as these are now getting filtered. Use something like ‘to leaveก.

5. Do not include .exe or attachments in your message.

6. Do not purchase lists.

7. Do not rent lists that are not doubleoptin.

8. Don’t sell or rent out your own lists.

9. Always remove any unsubscribes immediately

10. Always remove any undeliverables immediately.

11. Remind people of their relationship with you. Tell them in the message the email address that they used when they subscribed.

12. Communicate with your recipients on a regular basis, but don’t communicate with recipients too often. An email that is welcomed on a monthly basis may become unwelcome when sent more frequently.

13. Include a correct reply email address and telephone contact information in each email.

14. Avoid sending long text articles.

15. Do not send HTML messages without Text alternatives.

16. Avoid sending messages with a large number of hotlinks.

17. Do not use BCC distribution methods with over 10 names per email. Use a product like Broadc@st, which creates an individual message for each email.

18. If you are sending a newsletter place the word กnewsletterก and a date including month in the subject line. This reduces your SPAM score.

19. Watch your email lists, heavy B2C distribution to @aol.com, @hotmail.com. @msn.com etc may be flagged.

20. Avoid using words or phases that trigger spam filters. For more information on this visit: http://www.doctorebiz.com/06/021106b.htm and http://www.wilsonweb.com/wmt8/spamfilter_phrases.htm

21. Check out the common tests that filters like Outlook and SpamAssassin use to filter your emails and try to avoid the common issues. For information on these tests visit http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/preview.aspx?AssetID=HA010450051033&CTT=98 and http://eu.spamassassin.org/tests.html

22. Routinely check http://www.spamcop.net to see if you have been blacklisted unfairly. Send an email to have this rectified. To check their list enter: http://spamcop.net/bl.shtml?111.111.111.11 (where 111.111.111.11 is the IP address of your sending SMTP.)

23. Use services such as Assuranceกs Message Checker to precheck your messages for common filtering flags and Assuranceกs Blacklist Alert to keep on top of where you may be blacklisted.

24. Sending your delivery in small batches of 500 or less might avoid filtration.

25. For additional information and a practical guide on avoiding SPAM filters check out Marketing Sherpa’s ขHowto Kit: Get Your Permission Email Past Filtersข http://www.sherpastore.com/store/page.cfm/p.cfm/2094?1044.

About The Author

Karen Fegarty is a professional marketer working with both MailWorkZ and ezTrackZ. Check out the ezTrackZ ad tracker product at http://www.eztrackz.com. and MailWorkZ’s flagship email marketing tool., Broadc@st at http://www.mailworkz.com

This article was posted on January 28, 2004

by Karen Fegarty

CD/DVD Master Preparation Tips

CD/DVD Master Preparation Tips

by: Adam Platzer

ขCD/DVD Masterข is the disc you provide to your CD/DVD vendor for replication or duplication of that media. Here are some helpful tips for creating a high quality master:

Always use high quality media. All media is not the same. Do your research and choose a brand that will produce a high quality disc consistently.

Avoid burning from a network source. If your source files are on a network drive, copy the files to your local hard drive before burning a disc. If you cannot move the files to your local drive, please use the ขCopy To Hard Drive Firstข feature. Your burning software will create a temporary image file during the burning process. When the burn is complete, the temporary file is deleted.

Avoid burning on a laptop computer running on battery power. Fluctuations in available power may yield poor results.

Always ขFinalizeข your disc. If you use the drag and drop interface that is built into some operating systems (Windows XP), be sure to select ขfinalize discข. This will increase the ขreadข compatibility in other CDROM drives.

Don’t use packetwriting method to burn master disc. This method is most common with burner drives that have ขrewriteข capabilities. It is similar to the ขdraganddropข method described above. This burn method produces discs that cannot be read on many CDROM drives. We cannot accept a master that is burned to a ReWritable (CD/+RW or DVD+RW) disc.

Avoid impact or movement of the drive during burn. This can cause the laser to skip or jump a track, which will produce errors or a bad disc.

Use ขburnproofข feature if available. This feature allows the drive to slow down the burn speed in the event the computer cannot supply data fast enough. This can increase the total burn time, but the quality of the disc will be greater.

Avoid having multiple applications open when burning, especially those that access the internet or network. This can hinder your computer’s ability to ขfeedข data to the burner drive at the proper rate. Poor quality discs and burn rejects could be the result.

There are exceptions and variables to all the statements above. If you have any questions regarding how to burn your master, please contact the article writer.

About The Author

Adam Platzer

Marketing & Communications

Spinergy

CD/DVD Replication, Duplication, and Screen Printing

Phone: 8003331328

http://www.spinergymedia.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 08

by Adam Platzer

16 Golden Rules of Master Copywriting

16 Golden Rules of Master Copywriting

by: Christos Varsamis

You could spend thousands of dollars on advertisement and have extremely low or no results in sales because of your poor planed copy. You shouldn’t be amazed by the fact that huge corporations all over the world do that mistake and waste millions of dollars on false advertisement campaigns.

However, how can you write good sales copy, killer ads that get the attention of people? There are no magic recipes for that, but you can follow some fundamental rules, which can lead to you to success if you adapt them properly.

1) Have a good product. Be honest and mean what you say or what you offer. Avoid the exaggerations and hyped claims. You stake your reputation and your business offline or online it doesn’t make any difference.

2) Have a plan on your trial and error period. Don’t expect to write your first copy and be a golden one. You will alter it many times, test it, retest it try a new one and so on. Set a schedule for that. Do not fool around.

3) AIDA. It’s the proven and the bedrock of the copy process. Always follow it. AIDA

A= Attention. You must grab it instantly or you don’t have a chance.

I = Interest. You grab and keep their interest. If they get bored, they will leave.

D= Desire. Interest must be transformed into desire for what you offer.

A= Action. You must convince them to act now. Not tomorrow, next week e.t.c. They will forget it few hours later.

4) Always work on your prospects emotion. Most of the people buy something emotionally and then justify it rationally.

5) Headline is the Key. If it doesn’t grab their attention then they‘ve gone away. Your headline must be a killer one.

6) Promote your best and strong benefit at first, not last. That’s how you are going to create interest and then desire.

7) Tell stories. That’s an excellent way to rekindle their emotion or even their passion. Stories always inspire.

8) Answer all the objections and questions you think your prospects could have. In that way you will gain their trust.

9) Use bullet points for each of your benefits and bold, italics fonts for your text. Use the underline feature but not so often.

10) Give time limit. This is an excellent tool for calling your prospects to act now!

11) Offer testimonials. It is the mother of gaining trust tools. Especially, if it is from someone important in your field.

12) Make them easy to buy. Don’t let them get lost in your web site. Make it as easy as possible.

13) Avoid graphics. They won’t help you. People are looking for information not images.

14) Give guarantees. Research has proved that when you have a long guarantee your client feels safer and that leads to fewer refunds too!

15) Never assume that your prospects know what you want to say. Always be specific and clear about your product or service.

16) Have your copy or ad checked by your friends, colleagues e.t.c. It’s better to have other views, after all it’s a part of the testing process.

Here are some great headlines and emotional triggers.

A Little Mistake That Cost A …… $3,477 A Year

Do You Make These Mistakes In …..?

Why Some People Almost Always Make Money In The …….

How I Improved My ……. In One Evening.

How I Made a Fortune with a ….. Idea.

161 New Ways To ……

How To Plan ……

The Truth about Getting Rich.

Dare To Be Rich

The Secret To Being Healthy.

How To Write A ……

Attract The Opposite Sex

Be Independent

Be Successful

Avoid Embarrassment

Be Strong

Be Healthy

Satisfy Curiosity

Make Money

Gain Knowledge

Save Time

Avoid Effort

Get A Better Job

Be Your Own Boss

Add Fun To Life

Work Less

Relax.

Copyright 2004 Christos Varsamis

About The Author

Christos Varsamis is an internet marketing consultant and the owner of the exclusive internetmarketing club www.internetmarketingsuccesstips.com. Get his knowledge at your desktop! Subscribe to [email protected].

This article was posted on October 18, 2004

by Christos Varsamis

Protect Yourself with a Porn Filter

Protect Yourself with a Porn Filter

by: Nick Smith

The harmful affects of pornography use and addiction are well documented by science. As with most things in life, prevention is the most effective way to avoid ever having a problem with pornography.

The internet is a wonderful place to access information, read updated news, and connect with people from all over the globe. Unfortunately, pornography on the internet is everywhere, and it isn’t always easy to avoid. Even people taking responsible measures to keep porn off of their computer screens can stumble across it sometimes. The tips found in this article will help you protect yourself and your family online from inappropriate pictures and text.

Take measures to filter spam. Spammers can make money if only one person of the thousands of people they send sexually explicit emails to clicks on their ad and pays for their service. Do everything you can to keep those emails from ever reaching your inbox. If you have allowed your children to have their own email accounts, filtering spam is the best way to ensure inappropriate images never become accessible to them through email. A quick list of things you can do to eliminate spam includes:

• Only give your email address out to people you know and trust. Do not put your personal email address down for every mailing list or website that asks for it. Many free email services exist now – set up a free account with one of them and use that to sign up for mailing lists.

• Never click on any links in spam and if at all possible, avoid ever opening the email. Both of these actions confirms to spammers that you actively use your email account and you will likely start to receive more spam.

• Purchase and use a spam filter. Many come packaged with a porn filter as well as other features that will help keep inappropriate content off of your computer screen.

Be careful what you download. This should be a universal precaution you take by now each and every time you download something off the internet. Viruses, spyware, and pornography can very easily be hidden in the files that you download – prevention in this case is much easier than fixing the problem after the files have already made their way onto your hard drive. Only download files from sources that you trust, and if you ever have a question as to whether something contains a virus or pornography, do NOT download it.

Use a search engine to find websites. Pornographers use domain names that are similar to popular websites or brands in hopes that people will type in the address incorrectly and end up at their pornography site. I knew a child that wanted to look up codes for his favorite video game, so he typed in the name of the game and ข.com.ข He had the presence of mind to close the browser and tell his parents, but was still exposed to the material. One of the best ways to avoid this is searching for the address in Google. Then you can preview the results in a textonly format before clicking on the link to go to the page. Many of the popular search engines have a builtin porn filter that you can adjust to control the type of content you don’t want to appear in the search results. Others even offer ขfor kidsข versions of their search engines that only return pages deemed appropriate for children.

Use filtering software that includes a porn filter. No matter how careful you are about the sites you visit, chances are good that someday you will accidentally come across a porn site. A porn filter will help ensure that inappropriate material is blocked when you or someone in your family stumbles across a pornographic website. The parents of the boy who stumbled across pornography while looking for his favorite Nintendo game quickly installed a porn filter to make sure their son was protected in the future.

Avoid pornography offline. Porn was around long before the internet. Carry around your own internal porn filter and avoid places that you know will have inappropriate images, movies, or books displayed. If your children are with you, be extra cautious of where they are in the store. If you think there is a chance that they may be able to access inappropriate material while you are shopping, let the store manager know of your concerns. Likely, you are not the only one who is worried about the issue, and real changes can come about from one person simply speaking up.

Take the appropriate precautions now to avoid pornography. If you or someone you know has a problem with pornography use or addiction, seek professional help. Pornography problems not only affect the individual viewing the picture but everyone who interacts with that person.

About The Author

Nick Smith is a client account specialist with http://www.10xMarketing.com. – More Visitors. More Buyers. More Revenue. For a porn filter and more information about protecting your family online, visit http://www.contentwatch.com/features/pornfilter.php.

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 08

by Nick Smith

Is Your Ezine Being Zapped?

Is Your Ezine Being Zapped?

by: Michael Southon

About a year ago I wrote an article titled กWinning The War On Sp^mก. Unfortunately, the war on sp^m is not being won at all.

In fact, the problem is now so serious that sp^am is shaping up to be the greatest threat to online marketing.

The threat comes not from sp^mmers themselves, but from the filters that are being used to block them.

These filters are hitting hard at the very core of ecommerce Ezine Publishing.

Antisp^m filters operate at two levels: (i) clientside programs that reside on individual computers and (ii) serverside programs that ISPs are using to block incoming sp^m.

The problem is that the filters are now so sensitive they are blocking even the most innocent of Newsletters.

For example, if your Newsletter contains the words ‘removeก, กunsubscribeก or กclick hereก it will trigger antisp^m filters in many of the programs that are now being used by ISPs.

The result?

Your Ezine is zapped, deleted and a large percentage of your subscribers will think you have stopped publishing your Newsletter.

What can you do about it?

Here are some tips to avoid sp^m filters:

Post your Newsletter online and then email your subscribers to tell them that the latest issue is now available online.

In your Newsletter carefully avoid (both in the subject line and the body text) all words that are likely to trigger antisp^m filters. Use the free service listed at the end of this article it will flag any words in your Newsletter that trigger antisp^m filters.

Instead of saying ‘to unsubscribeก (which is a phrase commonly found in sp^m), say กIf you no longer wish to receive…ก or กIf you wish to leave this mailing list…ก or ‘to take yourself off this list…ก

If there are trigger words that you simply cannot avoid, you can disguise them using carets (^) or other symbols. The กFก word would become fr^e and the กUก word would become uns^bscribe.

Include the word กNewsletterก in the subject line of your email this will help the filters identify your email as nonsp^m.

Avoid whole words in upper case. In many Newsletters the headers are capitalized this will trigger the filters.

If your Newsletter contains ads, scrutinize them carefully ezine ads, by definition, contain words frequently used by sp^mmers.

Here is a fr^e service that will help you avoid sp^m filters. Before you mail out your Newsletter, just send a copy of it to the email address below with TEST in the subject line: mailto:[email protected]

Within a few seconds youกll receive a report that analyses your Newsletter and gives you a score (0 to 5=no problems 1216=over the limit for most ISPs).

If you write articles, itกs worth submitting them to this test as well, together with your Resource Box (I just sent this article to Sp^mCheck and got a score of 4.6).

Sp^mCheck is operated by Sp^mAssassin, a filter that is widely used by ISPs so this is a good test of whether your Newsletter will get through to your subscribers.

© 2002 by Michael Southon

About The Author

Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3 years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this simple technique to get massive free publicity and dramatically increase traffic and sales. To find out more, please visit: http://www.ezinewriter.com

This Article may be freely published in its entirety exactly as it appears above. No alterations or changes to the Article are allowed, without the express permission of the Author. The Resource Box must remain with the Article just as it appears.

This article was posted on December 10, 2002

by Michael Southon

8 Killer Mistakes For Ezine Failure You Must Avoid

8 Killer Mistakes For Ezine Failure You Must Avoid

by: Christos Varsamis

It is true that sometimes in life there is a small line between failure and success. The same thing applies with ezines and newsletters. Some details we consider unimportant are the keys for the success of our publication or failure.

1) Be Careful with the ขfromข field.

Although many consider this as a detail, it is the first thing a user will see. Who is sending the email. Use either your name or your business name. Avoid any kind of other phrases in that field .It will cost you a lot.

2) The subject line.

This is the second more important field in the email. Avoid hype in that area like ขEarn 50.000$ in 2 weeksข e.t.c. People are smarter than you think. You will never be believable. Emphasize to the purpose of your newsletter .Do not use more than 7 words in your subject line.

3) Call to buy in the first mailing.

This is a common mistake most ezine publishers do .They have sales pitch on the first time. Research has proved that you will gain your subscriber trust after 6 to 7 mailings according always to the content you offer.

4) Use death words, which spam filters ban.

For God’s sake, do not use words or phrases like free, make money, hello, your family, and other. Your newsletter will go directly to junk mail and will be erased without notice.

5) Avoid too much personalization.

Although personalization is important in order to create a friendly ambience, do not overdo it. Some people will consider this as rudeness. Use their name only once in your mailings on the first line of your message, not more. Otherwise, some of your subscribers will be insulted and unsubscribe in a second.

6) Use more verbs, not adjectives.

The best internet marketers and advertisement agencies has proved that verbs are much stronger than adjectives. Especially the ขcall to actionข verbs are so strong that could increase the response rate up to 700%! For example, use the verbs, boost, and explode instead of the word ขincreaseข. See how stronger they are?

7) Use auto responders not web pages.

Many people use on their mailings or other advertisement campaigns their web page mostly. That is big a mistake. The estimate shows that 30% max will subscribe from your web site. On the contrary if you promote your auto responder the percentage, goes from 80% to 100%! Of course, you can use both. It is effective too.

8) Too much info in the submit form.

This is another typical mistake. Some ezines require submitting more personal information such as: email, first and last name, area and other. The info you really need is the first name and the email. Many internet users consider any more than that as violation of their personal info. That means fewer subscribers for your ezine.

Copyright 2004 Christos Varsamis

About The Author

Christos Varsamis is an internet marketing consultant and the owner of the exclusive internetmarketing club http://www.internetmarketingsuccesstips.com. Get his knowledge at your desktop! Subscribe to [email protected].

This article was posted on October 26, 2004

by Christos Varsamis

Tips For Developing An Effective Questionnaire

Tips For Developing An Effective Questionnaire

by: Nick Hill

Developing the questionnaire is undoubtedly the most important part of conducting a survey. The quality of the questions will determine the quality of the results and the effectiveness of your survey. Here are 12 tips for developing an effective questionnaire.
1. Write a good introduction The beginning of your survey should have an introduction of the survey. It should state your objective in a way that grabs the attention of potential respondents and encourages them to take the survey. Also, since it is easy for online survey respondents to abandon your survey, you should include instructions on how to complete the survey and an estimate of how much time it will take.
2. Ask questions that provide the information you need Always keep your objective and the information that you need to gather to achieve it in mind while asking the questions. Also, it is best to avoid the temptation to gather กextraก bits of information that are กnice to knowก but irrelevant to your objective.
3. Ask important questions first, demographic questions last Since it is very easy for online survey respondents to abandon your survey, always ask the important questions first and the demograhic questions last.
4. Organize the questions in logical groups Always organize the questions in logical groups. It makes it easier for your respondents to understand and answer the questions, thus increasing the quality of the results.
5. Use plain, easy to understand language The most effective surveys always use plain, easy to understand language. Using unclear or ambiguous language will give you misleading results. So test your survey thoroughly to ensure that it is indeed easy to understand.
6. Avoid technical terms, jargon, and acronyms If you use technical terms, jargon, and acronyms, your respondents might not understand them, get frustrated, and abandon your survey. So strictly avoid them.
7. Use even number of responses Whenever possible, use even number of responses for multiple choice questions. That way the respondents have to give a positive or a negative opinion, they can’t give a กneutralก answer.
8. Randomize the responses Whenever it makes sense, randomize the order in which responses are displayed. This removes กorder biasก from the responses.
9. Avoid unnecessary graphics and embedded components Although it might be tempting to use graphics and embedded components, their use increases the time it takes to download and display your survey. So use them only when it is absolutely necessary and certainly don’t overdo it.
10. Be sensitive to the feelings of your respondents Always be sensitive to the feelings of your respondents. If you offend them, they might abandon your survey. So test your survey to ensure that it is not offending to any group of people.
11. Thank the respondents Your respondents spend the time to take your survey. So never forget to thank them for completing the survey.
12. Keep it short As a general rule, keep your survey short, simple, and to the point.
© Web Based Survey Software (http://www.webbasedsurveysoftware.org) 2004

About The Author

This article has been copyrighted and has been reprinted with the permission of Web Based Survey Software (http://www.webbasedsurveysoftware.org). If you want to reprint this article, please send an email to [email protected] to inform us and we will grant you the permission. But please ensure that this message appears at the end of the article and proper credits are given.

[email protected]

This article was posted on June 24, 2004

by Nick Hill

How to Make Your Site Attractive to Potential Link

How to Make Your Site Attractive to Potential Link Partners

by: TC Thron

Every now and then, I receive a link exchange request from someone who wants a link from my directory (my highranking directory directly accessible from the index page), and in exchange, they’re willing to link to my page from one of their zillions of link pages about 18 jumps away from the home page. Needless to say, the proffered page has a Google PageRank of 0, and chances are itกs not even indexed by any search engines.
What an enticing offer.
If you want people to trade links with you, thus increasing your PageRank and traffic, you must offer them a valuable link in return. Not all links are created equally. Here are some tips for making your site attractive to potential link partners:
Build a directory of links pages sorted by categories that relate to your web site. Avoid putting all of your links on a single page. Avoid putting tons of links on any one page in your directory. Avoid naming your links page กlinks.htm(l)ก.
Put a link to your directory on your index page. Every page in your subdirectory should have a link from that directory page and in turn link to that directory page. This helps spread Google PageRank more evenly to all your links pages and your directory page. Link pages with high PR will attract more link offers.
Avoid impersonal link managing services; give your links directory a personal touch and manage link exchanges inhouse. If cutting and pasting a link onto one of your directory pages takes more than 30 seconds, you need to go back to webmaster school anyway.
Avoid tricks meant to keep from transferring PageRank to other peopleกs sites.
Don’t hide the link to your directory page.
Don’t force links to open in a new window. Most surfers have popup blockers that make this a pain to work around. I know you want to keep visitors from leaving completely, but letกs face it, if they’re browsing a links page, they’re already bored with your site. Get over it. Someone else will come.
Thatกs it. Follow these steps, and not only will people be more willing to link to you, but youกll get a lot of offers as well. Itกs more time efficient if people come to you than to hunt links on your own.

About The Author

TC Thorn wmakes a living from affiliate marketing and advertising. This article first appeared at Webmaster Articles.

This article was posted on June 22, 2004

by TC Thron

My Dumbest Marketing Blunder And How You Can Avoid

My Dumbest Marketing Blunder And How You Can Avoid It

by: John Colanzi

When I started submitting Ezine articles, I never realized their true power. I was just happy to see the articles being published.

I expected to get some traffic and hopefully some sales. I would have laughed if you told me those early words would still be floating around the web over five years later.

Well, smack me on the wrist and call me shorty, they are. You would think thatกs a good thing and it is except… Thatกs the operative word, กexcept.ก The little critters are still multiplying around the web like rabbits in heat, but there is a little problem. Actually, the problem isn’t so little.

This darn problem haunts me. At least a couple of times a week it drives me insane. Whenever I run across it I feel like the dullest axe in the shed.

If I were double jointed, Iกd kick myself in the กhello there.ก

So what is this dumb mistake that:

Has me pulling my hair out by the roots

Has me kicking myself over and over

Haunts me like that house in Amityville

Outdated resource boxes with links leading to that dreaded 404 error.

Iกm afraid to guess how much money and traffic Iกm losing. Itกs a nightmare. Those babies are doing their part, but crazy John has made the ultimate dumb mistake.

How did this happen? How could I end up looking like the กvillage idiot?ก

The only answer I can give is, กI didn’t realize.ก

I never realized how viral articles were. I had no idea that little articles could circle the globe for years.

I didn’t see the big picture. I wrote those resource boxes with no regard for the future.

How can you avoid making the same mistake?

1. If you’re going to promote an affiliate program, don’t link directly.

Sometimes programs just disappear. Other times, you may find the program hasn’t lived up to your expectations.

Set up a redirect page on your website. If the program disappears, or you no longer wish to promote it, you can reset the page to lead wherever you choose.

2. Don’t lead directly to your opt in list.

You never know when a list may change their pricing or services. For one reason or another you may change listservs.

A better option is to set up a page on your site to capture addresses. If you leave your present service, you can edit the page to lead to your new list.

If I had set up my links according to option number one for affiliate programs, or two for list building, Iกd have kept the leads flowing and the orders coming for years.

Creating killer articles can drive traffic and pull in profits for years. So avoid the mistakes of this กdumb monkeyก and reap the full rewards of your efforts.

Wishing You Success, John Colanzi

About The Author

Copyright (c) John Colanzi. John has been writing on the Internet for 5 years and has a special gift for you. Sign up for your complementary eCourse กHow To Build Your Business With Free Advertising.ก Visit: http://www.thesimplesystem.net/cashflow.html

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 17, 2004

by John Colanzi

12 Tips For Writing Winning Email

12 Tips For Writing Winning Email

by: Michael Oksa

Learning to write more effective email is a valuable skill when you are trying to build an online business. Here are a few tips to get you started.

SUBJECT LINE

Capitalize The First Letter of each word in your subject line NOT EVERY LETTER. writing in all lower case should also be avoided. You may be trying to make sure your email gets read when using all caps, but it will be deleted most of the time, without ever being read.

Avoid making claims that are difficult, if not impossible, to prove. Try to avoid words like best, biggest, easiest, greatest, and so on. These words are subjective, and will often cause people to delete your message without opening it. If you feel you absolutely must use words like this in your subject line, then support them in the body of your email.

Make them short and compelling, but don’t use deception to get people to read an email. กMessage From Adminก or กAccount Deletedก are two examples of deceitful subject lines. You may get someone to open the email, but if they find an ad they will delete, and more than likely, block future messages from you.

BODY

If you are sending email to someone you don’t know personally, then explain who you are and why you are sending the email. Example: กYou are receiving this email because you are in my A1SFN downlineก, a simple explanation is usually all that is needed.

Pay attention to how the body of your email looks. Remember to put a space between paragraphs, but avoid too much use of กwhiteก space, too. You want your email to be easy to read.

Use proper punctuation, and use capital letters at the beginning of each sentence. Messages written in all lower case are fine for quick notes to family and friends, but have no place in a business email. Don’t forget, spelling and grammar count too.

Sign your name to your email. It shows your downline you are a real person, and builds trust.

Use a p.s. in every message you send. It is one of the most read parts of an email. Ask for some action on the part of the reader in the p.s., but keep it relevant to the main text of the email.

A signature line is an accepted way to do any nonrelevant advertising. Most mail providers offer this service.

OTHER

Don’t spam. If you are not sure whether the email you are sending will be considered spam or not, then don’t send it.

Respond to emails you receive as fast as you can. Within 24 hours whenever possible.

Finally, test the different parts of your email on a regular basis. Keep what works and get rid of what doesn’t work, and you will soon find your email response rates go up.

Take some time to review these tips, and see where you can make improvements, youกll be glad you did.

About The Author

Michael Oksa is the publisher of the A1 Success Force Newsletter. You can save time and money when you’re well informed. More info at http://www.a1successforce.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 28, 2002

by Michael Oksa

Avoiding Stress During the Busy Holiday Shopping S

Avoiding Stress During the Busy Holiday Shopping Season with eCardica.com

by: Amy Pilkington

Lake Hopatcong, NJ (PRWEB) November 30, 2004 Here are a few tips and tricks for lessening your woes during the hustle and bustle of the giftgiving season. Each year, thousands of shoppers are plagued with undue stress. Long shopping lines, hurrying to catch sale items and searching for hard to find toys tend to be the most common complaints. There are a few things you can do to avoid or decrease your stress during this hectic time.

1. Avoid waiting until the last minute to buy popular toys. Many people make the mistake of waiting for an item to go on sale. These items tend to disappear off the shelves never to be seen again. Always purchase items as you find them. If the item goes on sell at a later date, many stores now have a price guarantee and will repay you the difference in the amount. If the store doesn’t have a policy of this sort, place the item in layaway. You can always cancel your layaway and buy the item at the current sale price. Regardless, you will be certain to have the desired item.

2. Do not make the mistake of waiting until the last minute to finish up your holiday shopping. Stores are overcrowded with panicked shoppers. Lines will be longer, tension will be mounting and tempers will be short.

3. Try to avoid all day shopping trips. Take a break to unwind between stores. Treat yourself to a nice lunch, a facial, manicure or massage. Youกd be surprised how renewed you will feel.

4. Avoid lines altogether by shopping online or purchasing gift cards for friends, family and loved ones. Over the past years, many consumers have turned to the Internet to avoid crowded malls and traveling from store to store to find certain items. You can sit in the comfort of your own home and shop at anytime. Compare prices to get the best deal or quickly locate hard to find gifts. Shop in stores from around the world. There are many advantages to this option and it might save your sanity.

Online holiday shopping and gift cards have become a popular alternative to traditional trips to local malls and shopping centers. Do you have relatives that are hard to buy for? Purchase a gift card! Gift cards can be bought for many stores in numerous denominational values. Itกs a perfect solution for far away relatives, college students, teenagers and anyone else on your list.

eCardica.com, a provider of free electronic greeting cards, is now offering the option to purchase a gift card to send with a paper card. These paper greeting cards and gift cards can be shipped anywhere. They are available for a wide range of stores so you’re sure to find one that suits your need.

Take a little more time this holiday season to enjoy your time with friends and family. Send your loved ones a greeting card and gift card from anywhere at any time. Forgot someone on your list? You don’t have to fight the crowds. Simply visit http://www.ecardica.com/papercards.asp today and finish your shopping without tearing your hair out.

# # #

eCardica.com eCard Me Baby!

About The Author

eCardica.com eCard Me Baby!

Amy Pilkington

8006163393

[email protected]

This article was posted on November 30, 2004

by Amy Pilkington

Printing Away From The Desk

Printing Away From The Desk

by: Florie Lyn Masarate

Let us talk about the good thing first. The best thing about digital photography is that you have the capacity to play back your images any day and anytime you want to. Now the bad thing. With digital photos, you have to wait to get back to your desk to make copies of the pictures. This was before exciting new products came into existence.

Making high quality, full color prints when you are thousand miles away from your desk is not anymore a myth. The requirements? Camera, computer and printer. There are now available portable and compact units that can function with the use of car and battery power and mains that are also suited anywhere in the world. Easy carriage printers have been developed already to bring with you wherever you go. Making you very capable of creating prints whenever you see something that strikes inspiration for a photo. This is like printing to the extreme. You can make instant cards while in a scenic place and sending it immediately to others whom you want to turn green with envy.

In taking along your portable printers, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Pack your printers properly. Some printers needed to have internal parts locked to avoid damaging the motors and some parts that may be sensitive to motion and impact. It is always best to have it put in a carry bag that can ensure its safety and to avoid the appearance of dirt and dust that can spoil the prints. A must is not to forget the power source cables, connectors and batteries needed to make them work.

Printers should be put in a flat and level surface while printing. This can avoid unnecessary movements while you are going about printing. The finished prints that needed to be dried should be placed in a sheltered area to avoid dust causing damage to them.

Wireless connections will work its best when its devices are closest together. Too much light, especially sunlight, will definitely interfere with some ports that you may be using. Other devices also can hinder links or cause some disruptions.

Portable printers are not desktop printers. This should be the perfect excuse for these printers not to print faster than you expect it to be. Anticipate having to wait a while before the print will be printed.

The last thing you need is patience. Lots of patience if you want to have the perfect quality photos.

For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.digitalprintingcompany.com

About The Author

Florie Lyn Masarate got the flair for reading and writing when she got her first subscription of the school newsletter in kindergarten. She had her first article published on that same newsletter in the third grade.

This article was posted on September 11

by Florie Lyn Masarate