Don’t Use FFAกs To Build Your Newsletter Subscribe

Don’t Use FFAกs To Build Your Newsletter Subscriber

by: Dean Phillips

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, The initials FFA stand for กFREE For Allก and my advice would be don’t waste your time! FFAกs DON’t WORK!

FFA sites are directories where anyone can place their ad for free. And thatกs exactly what you geta zillion people posting free ads.

When you post your ad on an FFA directory or site, hereกs what will happen. Youกll immediately get back in response to your ad a truckload of autoresponder emails from every Tom, Dick and Harriet soliciting you to join their programs. Hardly anyone ever actually reads your ad. FFAกs will produce next to zero new subscribers to your newsletter.

Here are some suggestions to help you build your newsletter subscriber list:

1. Put a subscriber box on your web site. People can easily enter their email address and send it to you. A percentage of people who visit your web site will sign up for your newsletter. Just don’t scare them off by asking for a lot of personal information. Put their minds at ease by promising not to share their email address with anyone else.

2. Announce your newsletter in the ezine announcement directories. There are several sites with searchable catalogues of ezines. These sites get lots of visitors and are a surefire way to find hundreds of new subscribers. Here are a few to get you started:

http://www.ezineuniverse.com

http://www.escribe.com

http://www.ezinemarketing.com

3. Trade ads with other ezines. Find newsletters that focus on topics similar to yours. Theyกll run your ad in exchange for you running theirs.

4. Consider emailing a press release to the media. Your release should announce your newsletter and explain whatกs interesting or helpful about your newsletter. There are a number of press release services that will email your release. Here are just a few:

http://www.ereleases.com

http://www.majon.com

http://www.majornewswire.com

http://submitexpress.com

Whatever you do, DON’t add people to your newsletter list who haven’t asked to be on it. The spam gods will come down on you like a ton of bricks! Thatกs why many newsletter publishers insist on double optin. Whatกs double optin?

Double optin is your protection against the sending of unsolicited email. For example, after visitors register at your site, they will receive a confirmation email. By replying to the confirmation email, your visitors have กdouble optedinก which means that:

1. They are the owners of their email addresses

2. The address is working

3. They indeed want to subscribe

Usually the confirmation action is as simple as replying to the confirmation request or clicking on a link.

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will help you make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on September 30, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

by: Dean Phillips

Spyware is software or hardware installed on a computer without the userกs knowledge which gathers information about that user for later retrieval by whomever controls the spyware.

Spyware can be broken down into two different categories, surveillance spyware and advertising spyware.

Surveillance software includes key loggers, screen capture devices, and trojans. These would be used by corporations, private detectives, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, suspicious spouses, etc.

Advertising spyware is software that is installed alongside other software or via activex controls on the internet, often without the userกs knowledge, or without full disclosure that it will be used for gathering personal information and/or showing the user ads. Advertising spyware logs information about the user, possibly including passwords, email addresses, web browsing history, online buying habits, the computerกs hardware and software configuration, the name, age, sex, etc of the user.

As with spam, advertising spyware uses the CPU, RAM, and resources of the userกs computer, making the user pay for the costs associated with operating it. It then makes use of the userกs bandwidth to connect to the internet and upload whatever personal information it has gathered, and to download advertisements which it will present to the user, either by way of pop up windows, or with the ad banners of adsupported software. All of this can be considered theft in the cases of advertising spyware that installs without disclosure.

And while antivirus software like Symantecกs Norton Anti Virus or McAfeeกs ViruScan can offer some protection, one of the best ways to combat spyware is with antispy software. Two of the best are Lavasoftกs Adaware and Spybotกs Search & Destroy, which are available as free downloads.

http://www.lavasoft.de/

http://www.safernetworking.org/en/index.html

The free version of Adaware does not proactively protect against spyware infestation. You have to start the Adaware application and initiate a scan to detect spyware. But the paid version, Adaware Plus does remain alert in the background, like Spybot, to deflect any attempts at infestation. In recent tests, Adaware Plus and Spybot both protected systems extremely well.

If you haven’t already done so, I highly recommend installing Microsoftกs Service Pack 2. SP2 tightens your PCกs security with a new Windows Firewall, an improved Automatic Updates feature, and a popup ad blocker for Internet Explorer. Plus, the newly minted Security Center gives you one easytouse interface for keeping tabs on your PCกs security apps.

There are also other steps you can take to protect against spyware. One simple step is to switch from Microsoftกs browsers, which have security holes for spyware programs to exploit. A good alternative is Mozilla Firefox. Another not sosimple step is switching to the Mac or Linux operating systems, which don’t have spyware problems.

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Double your income! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to double your income, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Double your income! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to double your income, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

[email protected]

This article was posted on September 22, 2004

by Dean Phillips

Do You And Your Website Have Credibility?

Do You And Your Website Have Credibility?

by: Dean Phillips

I recently received an unsolicited email from some company offering me their search engine optimization services for $199. Even though I had absolutely no interest in the offer, just out of curiosity, I decided to check out this company with the various search engines.

Incredibly, they were nowhere to be found! I couldn’t find them on Google, Yahoo, Dogpile, anywhere! Thatกs because they didn’t really exist. They never did. They were just another one of the many prevalent email scams out there.

The point is, even though I had zero interest in their offer, had I been interested, this companyกs credibility was totally shot, for two reasons: First of all, for spamming me and secondly for obviously being a scam at best.

Another time, I was surfing the Internet, checking out different business opportunities to review for one of my clients, when I came across this company selling ‘turnkeyก website packages for $1295 and up. As I was reading the information about the various packages they had to offer, I came across their various addresses and telephone numbers.

Again, after doing some checking, I discovered those addresses didn’t even exist. In addition, the company was based in Israel and the only type of payment they would accept were wire transfers.

Anyway, there were more than enough red flags and alarm bells for me to get the picture pretty quickly. This company was an obvious scam and I advised my client of that fact.

What about you and your website? Do you have credibility?

If you offer website design services, is the design of your own website up to par?

Do you own your own domain name, or does yours contain the names, กGeocitiesก, กAngelfireก or ‘tripodก?

Can you back up your claims with cold, hard, indisputable and verifiable facts?

Do you have your name, telephone number and street address on your website?

Do you use authentic customer testimonials, complete with first and last names?

Do you offer a fair and reasonable moneyback guarantee?

If you choose not to have a merchant account, do you use a reputable payment processor like ClickBank, that will actually stand behind and honor your guarantee?

If you can’t answer yes to every single one of the above questions, you have a serious credibility problem! And itกs costing you a lot more money than you realize.

When potential customers arrive at your website for the first time, they’re both apprehensive and skepticaland rightfully so. With so many scam artists and ripoffs prevalent on the Internet, you have to expect and anticipate that type of mindset.

Thatกs why itกs critical you put your prospects minds at ease the moment they land on your website. And the best way to do that is to instill confidence by utilizing the steps that I mentioned earlier.

If you follow those steps, I guarantee you and your website will both have credibility and youกll have the profits to prove it!

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will teach you how to make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on September 24, 2004

by Dean Phillips

The Truth About MultiLevel Marketing

The Truth About MultiLevel Marketing

by: Dean Phillips

I know Iกm going to ruffle a few feathers with this article, so let me just say right now that all MLM marketing (AKA network marketing) companies are not scams. Obviously, there are some good, reputable companies out there.

However, there are so many bad ones that Iกm compelled to lump the entire industry together. If you’re thinking about getting involved with MLM, my advice would be, DON’t!

However, if you’re bound and determined to test the waters, then, please take this one bit of adice: Before getting involved with any MLM company, investigate, investigate and then, investigate some more. Don’t believe and get caught up in the hype.

Ahhhh yes, the hype! After you attend a MLM rally, you and your MLM colleagues are as fired up as a pack of hungry dingoกs, ready to jump through burning hoops and run through concrete walls! And then reality sets in. You’re buying all of these products, but you’re really not selling a whole lot.

In fact, other than the products you sold to a few family friends and coworkers, you really don’t have a lot to show for all of your efforts, now do you?

Thatกs why Iกm so against MLM. Because itกs simply not for the average person. And letกs be honest here, most people are average. And unless you have outstanding sales ability and/or people skills, you’re simply not going to make any money with MLM.

In additon, the market is so completely oversaturated, most of the time, youกll find that the people you’re trying to sell to are other distributors, and if you’re all trying to sell products to each other, that ultimately means nobody is making any money!

Well, somebody is. A handful of super salespeople way, way up there up at the tippy top of your upline! If you listen closely, you can hear them all saying in unison กKAChing!ก Want to borrow my binoculars, so that you can see them?

About The Author

Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at mailto: [email protected]

Make Money Online! Internet marketing expert, Dean Phillips will help you make money online, starting today…Guaranteed! For details just visit my website.

Website: http://www.letsmakemoney.net

This article was posted on October 02, 2004

by Dean Phillips