Blogs: Why, Where and How

Blogs: Why, Where and How

by: Amitabh Shukla

So you have heard about the blogs or you are sure you are now going through one of the blog. You might have seen blogs in the search results and would not have noticed it. Yes blogs are now making news but still a large number of people consider them as online diaries or a political mouthpiece. What about the business blogs that is lately surfacing on the web sphere? Top companies like GMกs Fastlane blog is there to prove the point that blog works. The problem is that regular media is not accepting it as one of the most promising medium, which could be as powerful as the newspapers, or tv channels in the future. Thanks to RSS, blog contents could be read via email as and when it is published.

Now the point is that why you should opt for a blog if you have a fullfledged website. How a blog will raise the profile of your business or could enhance brand of your organization. Lets look at the broader picture of the business blogs and why Internet marketers are so interested in this.

Search engine is still a mystery to most and blogs are ranking well in search engines without going into intricacies of the search engine optimization. You have a small business and no budget to make your companyกs online presence. No problem, signup for a free blog account at blogger.com without any prior knowledge and you are ready to go. This is the power of blog, inexpensive, fast and simple with minimum efforts on optimization.

You just created a blog and posted your first article. You want to optimize your blog. Just submit it to blog directories, which are very friendly and accept the submission within few days. Just remember to post 23 articles per week to get the search engine spiders to your blog regularly. If you write quality articles then you have to just wait for a month or so and free backlinks will start pouring in.

Major things you should remember for your blog success are:

23 articles per week

Write on only one specific Industry of your interest

Concentrate on one keyword per posting

Remember pinging your RSS feeds to major blog search engines and feed directories

Give quality to your visitors

Once your blog is famous, signup for adsense and earn for the time you spend on bloggging.

About The Author

Amitabh Shukla

Personal blog for the author is at http://seoexpertindia.tblog.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 25

by Amitabh Shukla

Your Condensed Guide for Working a Room

Your Condensed Guide for Working a Room

by: Oscar Bruce

Working a room…if only it could be fun…or at least guaranteed productive. I am referring to that mandatory event that requires us to mix and mingle, to meet and greet.

Command performance events like a cocktail party, a business dinner, or a charity event can feel stiff and uncomfortable. Very few people actually enjoy walking into a room full of strangers.

So why put yourself through that torture? Well for one thing, Nathan Keyfitz, professor of sociology at Harvard observes, กSocial skills will be of even greater importance for economic success in the future. The most successful people will be those who can communicate and connect best.ก

Put another way, itกs free advertising, and you control the entire message. Is it sometimes uncomfortable? Absolutely, but the upside is huge. The more you put yourself in networking situations, the easier it becomes and the greater the professional, social, and personal benefits.

Here is a condensed guide for working a room:

Approach every networking opportunity with the attitude that it is going to be fun. While no single event is guaranteed to change your life, any single event could. Remember, success is measured by percentages, not perfection. Who isn’t attracted to someone who is smiling, laughing, and enjoying him or herself!

Be Prepared. Be clear about your objectives. Keep focus on your purpose in being there. Don’t be easily distracted from the outcome you have in mind.

Next, don’t wait for others to approach you. Yes, I know it is a bit uncomfortable for some, perhaps you. So think about how great you feel when someone takes the initiative to walk up to you and introduces themselves. Then you do the same.

Acquire and practice several good conversation openers. The best technique is art of asking intelligent questions that convey the impression there is depth and style to your personality. Show them that they could benefit by getting spending more time with you.

When you make an interesting contact, focus all your attention on that single person. Don’t let your eyes wander around the room. Keep eye contact and actively listen. Give that person the sense that you have been waiting all evening just to meet them. In other words, make them feel important.

Learn the art of small talk. Call it chit chat or even foreplay if you like. Its purpose is to put people at east. It starts with finding an area of common interest. This means knowing just the right questions to ask, and at precisely the right moment. Always remember, small talk doesn’t teach, preach, or try to impress. It is just light and easy conversation.

Do your homework. If possible review the names of the people attending, their spouses or partners, their affiliations. If you can recall any prior contacts, refer to that to open the conversation. That will appreciate the fact that you remember.

Finally, common sense tells us not arrive late, drink too much, dress too casually, or push your agenda excessively. Don’t glue yourself to one person the whole night just because they are fascinating, mingle.

Few things personally or professionally happen by accident. Consider going to your next command performance (thatกs what it is) totally prepared. Then watch how much fun you can have when you know why you are there, and can tell your story with style and humor, persuasively.

About The Author

Oscar Bruce is considered the ultimate personal communications guru. His dynamic books are considered field manuals for mastering conversation and confrontations. His website offers several verbal strategies that can add power to your conversations at no cost.

HIS FREE NEWSLETTER is available at http://www.oscarbruce.com

Copyright: 2005

Article Autoresponder: mailto:[email protected]

Author Contact Email: mailto:[email protected]

TERMS OF REPRINT Publication Rules

The requirements for publishing this article are:

You May Not change the content of the article, except for minor corrections for layout, typos or grammar.

You May Not use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email). Email distribution of this article MUST be optin email only.

If you post this article on a website, you MUST set any URLกs or email addresses in the body of the article or in the Authorกs Resource Box as hyperlinks (clickable links).

Please, if possible, forward a copy of the ezine or newsletter in which you published the article, or if on a webpage, the link to the article, to the author.

This article was posted on March 25

by Oscar Bruce

The Best Advertisement For Your Business

The Best Advertisement For Your Business

by: Mark Daoust

It is no secret among internet marketers that writing articles is a great way to market your website. With all the article distribution services and all the websites looking for free, unique content, writing a quality article can bring you more links to your website in one day than an entire month of working out link exchanges and submitting to directories. The benefits of writing articles have been written about time and time again. Yet in order to enjoy the benefits of article writing, your article must first be accepted by the publishers who receive your submissions. This article will focus on a few key points to help increase your chances of getting your article accepted by the Internet’s top publishers.

Proofread Your Own Writing

Proofreading is very time consuming. If you want your article to be widely accepted, it is your job to make the publisher’s job easier. The first step in making the publisher’s job easier is to check, double check, and triple check your spelling and grammar. If you have someone that can review your article, have them read it over. Tell this person to look for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and poorly worded sentences. They will be able to point out mistakes that you may never have seen. When you write an article there is a tendency of getting overly familiar with the content and thus you could miss a glaring mistake in your writing. Consider the following exercise by reading aloud what is written:

London

in the

the

spring

x x x

What did you read? If you identified that the word ‘the’ is written twice, than you can consider yourself one of only 5% of people who get this exercise correct. 95% of people who read this exercise only see ขLondon in the spring X X Xข. (If you still do not see it, read it aloud again, but this time point to each word as you read it.)

The point of this exercise is to show you just how easy it is to miss obvious mistakes. Add in the element of familiarity with the writing and you are likely to miss even more mistakes. By asking someone else to read over your work, you greatly reduce the chances of missing a glaring error in your writing.

Rule to Remember: Proofread Your Own Writing, and then Proofread Again

Offer Something of Real Value

Articles are an incredible source of free traffic and free advertising for your business. However, articles are not supposed to be advertisements themselves. There is nothing you can do to get a publisher to delete your article faster than writing an article that is nothing more than a longwinded ad copy.

If you want to get your article published, once again you must get into the publisher’s mind. The publisher is always looking to offer his or her readers with fresh, insightful, and helpful information. Commentaries on industry trends, useful strategies, tutorials, observations and theories all make good articles. As an owner of a business, reviewing one of your products, offering a teaser of the information you sell, or blatantly marketing your products by including your hyperlink throughout the article makes for a horrible article that will likely not be published.

Think back to the time when you first started your online venture (this may not be very long ago) and remember how thirsty you were for good, quality information. When writing your article, remember how valuable this information was to you when you found it. Every author has the right to a resource box which serves as your advertisement; if you prove to the reader that you are an expert in your field and give them information that only you can provide, this will serve as a stronger advertisement than if you spend 2,000 words on a longwinded, selfpromotional article.

Finally, when writing your resource box, it is best to be as concise as possible. Resource boxes that appear to be about as long as the article themselves show that the author has no concern about the content of his or her article. Limit the number of links you put into your resource box to no more than three links and keep the resource box to no more than four or five lines.

Rule to Remember: Write a Good Article, not a Good Advertisement

Be Clear and Concise

Many people fall into the trap of thinking they have to develop an eloquent, graceful writing style in order to be published. What these people seem to forget is that an article is written with one main point: to deliver information. Be concise, be clear, and be direct. When writing your article, you should actually aim to be slightly boring with your writing style. What is slightly boring to you is probably very clear and direct to the reader.

It is important to note that most online publishers have much more to deal with than the writing styles of the authors who submit articles to them. Publishers are more concerned with grammar, spelling, and content than they are with how eloquently a writer can make his or her point. One thing that a publisher will take notice of, however, is a writer who has a confusing and difficult to follow writing style.

Your article should encourage readers to read through the entire article. If a reader gets a few lines into the article, or even a few paragraphs, and finds themselves confused, you can be sure that they will never get to your resource box and thus never visit your website. To keep a reader interested in your article, give them quality information and give it to them directly and clearly. A reader will only continue to read an article if they believe there is a good chance that they will gain something further by finishing the article. Although it may be counterintuitive, boring writing does just that.

Rule to Remember: Being Boring is Better than Being Confusing

Writing good articles is not difficult. When writing your article, think first about what publishers are looking for in an article. Focus on your grammar, spelling, clarity, conciseness, and content. Remember that your article should actually help people beyond just selling your product or service. Offer valuable information to your readers and they will pay you back tenfold. Offer valuable information to a publisher’s readers and they will be certain to publish your article and provide you with the best free advertisement for your business.

Copyright 2004 Mark Daoust

About The Author

Mark Daoust is the owner of http://www.sitereference.com. Discuss this article further at http://forums.sitereference.com/t120/s.html.

This article was posted on November 25, 2004

by Mark Daoust

The Top Ten Rules of Effective Networking

The Top Ten Rules of Effective Networking

by: M.E. Callan

Many of us are discouraged by the networking events that we go to. We feel swamped by people just looking to get money from us, and we rarely feel as though the event was worth our time.

Yet networking should be one of the best ways to bring in new business. The key is learning to network correctly.

Even those of us who enjoy networking should remember the following tried and true rules of effective networking.

1. Give, then Get.

If you approach a networking meeting with a ขwhat’s in it for me?ข attitude, you will be just like all those sharks that have kept you away from networking to begin with. Go to a networking event looking for opportunities to help others. When you give this way, your ขgetข is always bigger.

2. Please, No Fishing.

Don’t be that person who offers a cold, limp fish as a handshake instead of a firm grip. Loosen it up just a little for shaking a woman’s hand, but never go soft. Otherwise, the people you meet will remember you not for all the great things you had to offer, but for your weak handshake.

3. Direct Eye Contact.

Don’t ever stare at someone, but always make sure to meet his or her gaze. A person who continuously averts his will be seen as someone with something to hide.

4. Dress Professionally.

The old adage about making a first impression is still true. As a rule of thumb, dress one step above what you think everyone else will be wearing. It can never hurt you to look as good as the next best dressed person in the room.

5. Have a 30 Second Commercial.

Have you ever met someone at a networking event, talked to them about their business the whole night, and left without knowing what in the world they do? It happens all the time. Remember to state clearly what it is that you do and who are looking to work with.

6. Write on Business Cards.

As you meet people, write information about them down on their business cards. It’s virtually impossible to remember all those little details about the people you meet, and no one will mind if you are so interested in what they have to say that you are taking the time to write it down.

7. Create a Cataloguing System.

As soon as you get back to your office, file your new business cards in an accessible way. I recommend that clients staple business cards to 3×5 cards and then write down all of the pertinent information you can. Include on the 3×5 the name of the person, where and when you met her, what she looks like, and what you talked about. Next time you see her, she will be very impressed that you remembered so many details.

8. Nice Meeting You Cards.

It is never a bad idea to send a new contact a quick card that says ขnice meeting you.ข Include your business card as well in case they have misplaced the one you gave them at the networking event.

9. Follow Up!

This step is crucial. If you have told a contact that you would help them in any way, be sure to follow up immediately. Do this consistently, and you will be seen as a man of his word. Don’t follow up on your promises, and you will be seen as unreliable and untruthful.

10. LISTEN.

The number one rule of networking is to listen. In fact, you should only be speaking about 30% of the time. We all love to talk about ourselves, and if you give your contacts the chance to do that they will think quite highly of you without even realizing why.

Following these rules of effective networking should not only make your experiences more enjoyable, but will help you bring in new business leads time and time again.

About The Author

M.E. Callan is principal of Commonwealth Marketing, a firm that specializes in marketing for professional services. Recognized as an expert in the industry, Callan has been published nationwide and has been the featured speaker at national seminars. Find out more at Commonwealth Marketing.

[email protected]

This article was posted on June 12, 2003

by M.E. Callan

Top 10 Blog Writing Tips

Top 10 Blog Writing Tips

by: Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff

Most of the กrulesก about writing for ezines and newsletters apply to writing posts for your blog, but there are some important differences. Keep these 10 tips in mind and youกll be publishing great blog content that attracts prospects and clients in your niche market.

1. Write with the reader in mind. Remember WIIFM? It’s marketing jargon for What’s In It For Me? That’s what you should be keeping in mind. Your reader will read your post looking for what’s in it for them.

2. Make it valuable and worthwhile. Don’t waste people’s time. If you don’t have anything to say, no problem, plenty other people do. So share their articles, do an interview, review a book.

3. Proofread for typos and glaring grammatical errors. You wouldn’t go out of the house with dirty hair or missing a sock, so why would you publish spelling mistakes? Respect your readers by polishing up your stuff.

4. Keep it short and simple, sweetie. (KISS). Most people are scanners. You may have a lot to say and think it interesting, and it may be. But people are reading online and out of time. Get to the point quickly. Publishing short posts more frequently is a better format than publishing lengthy articles every few weeks.

5. Keep it lively, make it snappy and snazzy. Even if you aren’t a natural born writer, you can write for your blog. Just write like you’re speaking to your friend…or to yourself! Remember though, get to the point quickly. Keep in mind the journalist’s rule of 5 W’s in the first paragraph: who, what, why, when and where.

6. Link often. This builds credibility and positions you as an expert in your field. People don’t have time to know what others are doing, you should tell them. Linking to other blogs and websites also helps you build a network of associates who will in turn link to your blog.

7. Use keywords often. This will help you stay on purpose, and the search engines will love your blog. Your rankings will go up. This is one of the reasons we have you write out your purpose statements before beginning your blog. The clearer you are about your purpose, the more consistently you will deliver messages that are on target. And the more often your keywords show up, the better your search engine results.

8. Write clearly (short sentences, only one concept per sentence). No double speak or jargon; no more than one idea in one sentence don’t make your readers have to think about your meaning. Spoon feed them. Use commas and dashes liberally.

9. Write like you talk. It’s okay to use common expressions from speech.

Examples:

Go figure.

Don’t even go there…

Now, I ask you…

Gotta love it…

(And, remember the age group of your readers…)

10. Use a clear headline, and don’t be afraid to make bold statements (but don’t mislead people either). Make it snazzy and use key words. Example: ExTechnoWeenie Masters HTML Code

BONUS: After you write a post and BEFORE you hit the save button

Use this checklist to ask yourself a few questions as you are reading through for typos and grammar:

__ Is the topic clear to someone who only reads the headline?

__ Does the lead paragraph tell who and what the story is about and why the reader should care about it?

__ Is the angle youกve used likely to seem newsworthy?

__ Would someone who knows absolutely nothing about this topic understand this post?

__ Is the post free of jargon?

__ Is it written in journalistic style and does it make an effort to be objective?

__ Have you peppered the headline and the post with keywords and phrases that will be attractive to search engines?

__ Did you remember to ask your readers a question at the end, or something to stimulate readers to comment?

__ Did you remember to write with the reader in mind, always keeping in mind WIIFT? (What’s in It for Them?)

About The Author

Denise Wakeman of Next Level Partnership, and Patsi Krakoff of Customized Newsletter Services, have teamed up to create blogging classes and marketing services for independent professionals. You can read and subscribe to their blogs at http://www.biztipsblog.com, http://www.coachezines.com and http://www.bizbooknuggets.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 19

by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Website

5 Easy Ways to Improve Your Website

by: Mario Sanchez

When designing your website, remember to avoid useless and confusing features, however ขcoolข they may seem to be. Usually, keeping things simple and consistent are the best way to go. Here are five easy ways to improve your website and make it more appealing to your visitors.

Put your logo on every page of your site, and in the same location. Usually, the best place to put it is in the upper left corner of the page. Remember to make your logo clickable, linking to the main page of your site (an exception is the logo of the main page itself, since you are already there). The benefit of doing so is that if your visitors get lost they can always come back to a familiar location.

Don’ t use a splash screen. Splash screens are seen in many websites before they give you access to the main page. They are usually slowloading Flash animations that only delay and frustrate users. Remember, when your users want animation, they can turn on the TV. When they go to your website, they usually want information, and they want it fast. Some sites that use splash screens now provide a ขSkip the Introductionข link, which most users click anyway, further validating the uselessness of flash screens.

Avoid using heavy pictures. They unnecessarily delay the page upload process. It is OK to use graphics, but they have to be optimized for the web. Use only .gif and .jpg formats. If the pictures are too heavy, try using some of the online graphic optimizing tools. They can reduce the weight of your pictures by more than 50% with no noticeable decrease in quality. Another thing you can do is to use thumbnails (clickable miniature versions of a picture). If a user is interested in the picture, he can click on the thumbnail and wait until the full size picture is displayed.

Try not to use animated banners or fancy icons. Just because you can is not a good reason to load up your site with neoncolored, flashingandpopping, Vegasstyle graphics. They usually take away from the content of your site and distract users. Plus, it has been demonstrated that less and less users click on banners every day.

Don’t make your pages too long. People don’t like to read from a screen. Instead, try to use the advantages of hyperlinks to present a summary of the topic or article, with a link to the full article in another page (similar to what newspapers do in their main page, with the added benefit for web users that it is easier to click on a link than to turn a page). If what you have to say is too long, break the discussion in several parts, each of them with a link to where your visitor can continue reading.

Remember, the goal is to give your visitors fast access to your information, through an interface (website) that is visually appealing and easy to use.

You can freely reprint this article. Just include the following resource box at the end:

Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest (http://www.theinternetdigest.net) a website and newsletter that gives you useful advice on web design and Internet marketing, one free tip at a time.

About The Author

Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest ( http://www.theinternetdigest.net ), a website and newsletter that gives you free advice on Internet Marketing, Web Design and Small Business. To subscribe go to: http://www.theinternetdigest.net/newsletter.html

[email protected]

This article was posted on May 03, 2003

by Mario Sanchez

Five Ways to Profit from Using Video Online

Five Ways to Profit from Using Video Online

by: Liz Micik

The newest media wave to hit the online shore is video. Individual emails abound with links to ‘the funniest video ever,ก or blurry clips of new babies or birthday parties.

Businesses, on the other hand, have largely been left standing on the shore, scratching their heads and wondering if thereกs any real value to be earned from diving into making their own live video broadcasts, video emails or video on demand infommercials. Here are just five of the many ways video adds to the bottom line of any company.

1. People remember more of your message

While people generally remember 10% of what they read and 20% of what they hear. But, theyกll remember as much as 50% of what they see and hear together. Before anyone can act on your message, they need to process and remember it.

2. Increase responses by up to 30%

A call to action is much easier to follow if it is actively delivered. Sound and motion are powerful action drivers, especially when they are delivered by your sincere enthusiasm and passion for your topic. Companies who have made the switch to video email and on demand broadcasts have reported response rates jump as much as 30% following a broadcast.

3. Build your credibility

People do business with people they know, like and trust. When you cut through the technological barriers of the Internet and put yourself online, you put กyour self on the lineก as far as viewers are concerned. The time it would normally take you to build a relationship with a potential customer can be dramatically shortened as a result.

4. The cost savings are obvious

Anytime you can avoid the high costs of sending someone on the road to meet with clients or attend a meeting, the bottom line savings are immediate and obvious. In addition to any costs associated with attending a meeting, you need to factor in travel costs covering airfares to taxis and tolls, hotel costs, meal expenses, and even your internal costs to process the expense paperwork.

5. Soft cost savings multiply returns

Spare yourself the productivity drain and the physical and mental tolls travel takes on your companyกs road warriors and you could enjoy กsoftก cost savings that dwarf your hard dollar travel costs. Want an example? Look at your own calendar for the past month and count up just the hours you spent traveling to and from meetings. Multiply that by your hourly wage, and then by the number of employees in your firm.

If reasons like these don’t help you convince the reluctant decision makers in your company to add video to your communications mix, please be patient with them. Historically they are in good company. There were many who claimed the smeary images on hard to handle rolls of paper called กfaxesก could never function in place of an original document. And who, they asked, would ever want to spend more time typing an email message when they could so easily pick up a telephone and place a call?

Copyright 2005 Liz Micik

About The Author

Liz Micik turns your video learning curve into a fast and easy profit curve in her newest book, ขCue the Director: 10 Simple Steps to Online Video Success.ข Visit www.powerpresenters.com to have free weekly video tips emailed to you.

This article was posted on March 11

by Liz Micik

Successful Commercial Sites

Successful Commercial Sites

by: Oleg Lazarenko

Do you make your website just to entertain yourself or do you want it to be a great web store? The fact is more than 80% of websites are trying to sell you something. There is nothing wrong if you want to get some money from the website you made, but remember to put some REALLY interesting information on your pages. This information must be free, unique and necessary to as many people as possible.

Remember, Internet was built as a research network among universities in early 80กs and only after the introduction of first graphic compatible browsers it exploded with the commercial websites. Search engine will definitely rank you higher for that free content and other webmasters will definitely create links to your website if it has useful and interesting information. The ratio should be 90% of free information and 10% of commercial content. You can only increase the percentage of free information.

There are also other reasons why to provide people with free information in the field you are making money: they will study, they will see that you know what you are talking about, and they will trust you! Excellent reputation is the main thing (the key to success) in doing Internet business. It must be built by years of hard work and could be destroyed in minutes.

What are the secrets of some commercial websites?

1) Content. As I have already said: free, unique and interesting.

2) Good design (website design must be clean and userfriendly, unprofessional design speaks for itself)

3) Search enginefriendly (Search engine optimization is complex set of knowledge on how to be number one in search engine listings)

4) Link building strategies ( for more information read this article: ‘the art of link exchangeก http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/the_art_of_link_exchange.shtml)

5) Company branding. (for more information read this article: กMake your own brand!ก http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/make_your_own_brand.shtml)

6) Excellent customer care and support (remember those notes 24 hours 7 days a week? This must be really true for a good commercial website)

7) Wise goods selection (You may think that people selling everything on the Internet but that is not quite true. There are some things that stores do not offer via the Internet and you need to find those things and offer them. Be a pioneer!)

These are the major factors that play role in building successful commercial websites. However, you need to search, study and select your own ways to online success. Remember, Internet is a very flexible and constantly changing environment; things that worked well several months ago may be completely useless in the present. Search and try! That is my main advice to succeed in online business.

Thanks for reading.

Article source: http://www.metamorphozis.com/tutorials/commercial_sites.shtml

About The Author

Oleg Lazarenko

Production Manager of Metamorphosis Web Design Studio –

Flash templates and Web Templates

http://www.metamorphozis.com

This article was posted on August 17

by Oleg Lazarenko

Steal Traffic From Your Competitors

Steal Traffic From Your Competitors

by: Terence Tan

This interesting idea is likely to drive your competitors nuts. It is published purely for its entertainment value.

Some might consider it unethical and even illegal so USE AT YOUR OWN RISK ( We take no responsibility for any conflict, legal or otherwise, that you may get into.)

Basically, the approach is to choose your most successful competing web sites, especially those that get top 10 listings in search engines, and to create doorway pages using their web site address and names as key words. So when people who have previously visited them but cannot remember their exact domain name use search engines to search for them, your page gets displayed beside theirs and diverts traffic away from them. To avoid breaking the law, some people suggest avoiding trademark names and not hogging the top spot in the search listings. It does seem like a very clever, fun idea but remember:

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

About The Author

Terence Tan is the founder of HugeAffiliates.com, a website dedicated towards the development of Multi Level Affiliate Programs as an alternative system of business. Visit http://hugeaffiliates.com to learn how MLAPs can multiply your affiliate referral commissions.

(Please feel free to to freely reproduce and distribute this article, so long as it is reproduced in full, including the hyperlinks, and no modification is made).

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 12, 2003

by Terence Tan

Password Nightmares

Password Nightmares

by: Ieuan Dolby

Good Morning Mr. Sampson. Please type in you Personal Identification Number

XXXXXX

Sorry, Mr. Forgetful Idiot! That is not the correct password. Please slap yourself three times around your head and then apply for a new card and number – we are keeping this one.

Don’t you just hate them? Passwords give you access to almost every walk of life. They are now the keys to doors that would otherwise violently slam in your face and tell you to XXXXXX, which they often do if you key the wrong password in anyway.

The first passwords to really come on the scene (apart from those required to gain entry into the back room of the Mafia club) where those at the ATM machines. A fourdigit PIN number has to be entered before money can be withdrawn and for those with one account and a pass number drawn from an important date, no problem existed.

Then your one account became two as the building societies introduced ATM machines, then your savings account at the post office and then to beat it all Internet Banking came on the scene. Passwords are now required for Banking, shopping on the web, switch cards, visa cards, store cards, petrol cards and any other card that you may have.

Passwords are also required for so many of activities one does these days – especially on the Internet. Get a web site and you have real problems! I have an email account with yahoo, one with AOL and others with a dozen other companies (they were all free at the time) and then I have a web site (well three in fact) and they all require passwords. And then the problems really start when you try marketing and joining discussion groups on the web, etc. Wow, each one requires a USERNAME, each one requires a password and many of them also ask you to have a ‘handle’ – a name to be recognized by others. Not your real name of course!

I have at the last count 362 different and current usernames, 463 different and current pass codes or passwords and 152 different and often forgotten handles.

Shocked? I am when I put it like that. I have actually filled my brain up with a whole useless pile of words and junk that could otherwise be used to remember all the telephone numbers in my local directory or better still to learn Japanese.

We need these passwords and codes and things. Without them doors are shut and we become isolated from the world around us. So we have them and need them and the first codes are easy as we pull out of the hat some remembered birthday or event and use that with success.

But then companies and ขbad peopleข started to find these codes by researching your past and then gaining access to your life. So we were all warned not to use a date from our past and instead pick a number or word that had no meaning but one that we would remember. A word that we can remember but one that has no significance is almost impossible – why do they say these things? We get past all of that and force our brains to remember some unimportant word and to regurgitate it when required, like at the ATM machine or when checking your email account. That is all fine and well, when only one or two codes are required to be remembered.

Oh, and one must not forget that warnings came out from all corners of security that using the same password for more than one service could cause extreme problems and a heyday for the opportunist who is looking for fools.

Those with a few more (like me) do have serious problems in life. I can maybe remember them all and regurgitate them when required – a no easy feat – but I can never get the correct code for the required service. I stand at the ATM and punch in my pin code, it tells me to go away and if I put the wrong code in again it will eat my card up. I then realize that the code that I am punching into the pad is actually that for my gym club after hours access! So what is my number for this bank and this account? Which number could it be out of a possible 463 and even then have I got it right the right way round?

Life does get complicated. Some people started to write their numbers down, knowing that they would forget them in time. ขWell, for heavens sake I only use that pass code once a year – how am I supposed to remember itข can be heard ringing out all over the world. So gentlemen, ladies and others all opt to secretly write their codes in some weird and wonderful place that they think others will never find. Codes are pasted under ornaments, on the walls behind beds and on little scraps of paper all over the house and in drawers and closets and boxes in every conceivable place. Codes and passwords written down can be found everywhere one would look.

Some people then acknowledged the fact that, thieves and robbers (and friends and family) can find these numbers and use them with the cards that they have appropriated. They can probably find them easier than you can when one day you need to use that password yourself. They find them easily whilst you would have completely forgotten where you had hidden or written down the access code. Yes, writing the passwords down on pieces of paper and hiding them in what you thought was a suitable place is no longer acceptable. So what is the options?

Ah, why not encode the code in a series of other codes using a system that only you know how to decode. A great idea!

Around the world at any one moment in time there are hundreds of thousands of people scratching their heads over a pile of numbers and letters. Thousands of amateur coders having failed in their missions and are unable to decode the code that they had intricately designed all that time ago. The code of codes that was the answer to all robbers and others from finding out what your passwords are is now a mystery to you. Yes, take it from me that 99% of those that hide their passwords in a longer text of letters or numbers fail in their attempt to decode them one month later.

So where are we? We have hundreds of passwords to remember, they cannot be drawn from significant dates or events, we cannot use the same ones for more than one service, we cannot write them down and encoding them is just a waste of time. Ouch, not much choice in life. It looks as if we are all condemned to having a section of our brains filled with a succession of numbers and words that must be instantly available upon request.

For those with computers a solution became possible with the advent of the ขpassword programข. A clever piece of software that could remember all of those nasty passwords and usernames: to regurgitate them upon request. But then of course hackers and those unseen computer information thieves found ways to gain access to your computer through the telephone line, enter that marvelous piece of software and to rapidly use all of those codes that you had hidden away in the internals. And you, unawares of this entry into your private domain, find your emails have all been read by some unknown, that your bank account shows that you have fully utilized the 5000 pound overdraft and that you now owe Visa and American Express some amazing amount of hard currency that you do not have – and never will. Oh, and do not think for a minute that your store cards are free of purchases or that your partner is not going to find out about the secret email accounts you have setup!

In short, this piece of software is no longer a viable solution for those with something to lose. It is not suitable for anyone – in other words!

So what can we do? Remember them is all that you can do. Try and remember all of those passwords and numbers and codes in some sort of system in your heads. Life though is not that easy as certain recommendations have been coming out for us to enhance our own security further as nowadays hackers can now enter your computer and read off the pass codes as you tap them in. So even if you follow all of the security advice that is issued your accounts and your life can still be invaded easily and without second thought.

The answer? Well, all you have to do is make sure that you change all your codes at least once a month.

Impossible you say? Well, I must admit the thought of having just committed to memory over 600 passwords, numbers and codes and then having to throw them all out and input new ones every month is not my idea of fun. Impossible in fact!

Two thoughts to leave you with. Most people who use others passwords and codes to gain access to their accounts have in fact been given to them. The majority of theft from ATM machines and banks is through friends giving their supposed friends the number of their account in a loose moment. It is not as one would assume from people who have stolen the number from the hidden pocket in your wallet or the hacker through the telephone cable. These occur but not to such a great extent as those who give their passwords to others in a moment of stupidity.

Thinking about it, finger print identity is not such a bad thing after all. Would make life one hell of a lot easier! Just put your thumb on a little touch pad and you gain instant access to everything. And you only require one of them, you have no need to remember where you put it, if somebody steals it you will notice immediately and there is no need to change it every month.

Move on technology as at present my head is filled to busting with useless information!

About The Author

Ieuan Dolby, from Scotland is an Engineering Officer in the Merchant Navy. He has been travelling the world for 15yrs on an endless tour of cultural diversification. Currently based in Singapore he writes various articles for magazines and newspapers and is working on a marine glossary.

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 08, 2004

by Ieuan Dolby

Internet Direct Mail Is Different: 14 Things To Re

Internet Direct Mail Is Different: 14 Things To Remember

by: Aran Kay

Internet Direct Mail (IDM) and Traditional Direct Mail (TDM) both have the same goals in mind. They are to generate leads or orders.

However, marketers need to respect that online media and print media present different hurdles in achieving this goal. Some of these hurdles will require that copy be written differently for each media. And some not.

Here is a list of 14 things you should remember when writing copy for Internet Direct Mail. And how each one relates to Traditional Direct Mail.

1. FROM and SUBJECT are very important. During the anthrax scare in America, these two items became very important in TDM because any given envelope could contain a deadly poison. And while this fear has passed for TDM, it is still very present in IDM. Thatกs because any given email could contain a computer virus. Prospects are more apt to simply delete a message they are unsure of nowadays than risk opening it and ruining their computer.

Here are a couple of tips to solve this problem:

FROM line should display someone the readers will trust

for house lists, the prospect has presumably bought from the company before and would trust them. So include some company identifier: กFROM: Macromedia FLASH Teamก

SUBJECT line should be treated like envelope teaser copy. You have to give the prospect some reason to open the email to see what is inside. กSUBJECT: Try The New Update For Your Macromedia Product!ก

2. Your first paragraph or two should contain a miniversion of your whole email. So instead of carefully spreading out your 4 Pกs (Promise, Picture, Proof, Push) or AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action), you should try to get all these elements in early. Online users have little patience in general and they need to know your whole offer fast.

3. For readers willing to spend the time to read every word of your email (God bless them), you can expand on your opening later. Just remember that less people will read right to the end than will scan your first couple of paragraphs. So include all your best stuff up front.

4. Avoid using กhardsellก techniques in IDM. These tend to produce poor results. Readers on the internet expect to see information. The information can be on the benefits of your product and how to order, but the tone must remain helpful. If itกs slick, your email will be trashed.

5. You should include multiple response options for your prospects. But ALWAYS remember to have a webbased response form. Many online users prefer to keep the entire transaction online. That way the user keeps control and does not have to worry about more sales talk or being upsold when they phone in.

6. Limit the amount of click throughs in your IDM piece. Usually only the first 2 or 3 get used. The rest are ignored.

7. Premiums still work online. Maybe even better. You have the opportunity online to animate your premiums in action or even make them interactive. Try this out and see how it effects your results.

8. Sweepstakes work great online. This is because it is usually much easier for the prospect to quickly fill out their information on an online form than to fill out a paperbased form and then have to mail it.

9. Avoid the word FREE in the subject line. FREE is too blatantly promotional a word for people to bother opening your email. Besides that, many online users now employ กspam filtersก which work to screen out unwanted mail. FREE is often a word that these filters pick up and then theyกll delete your message before it ever reaches the prospectกs inbox.

10. A headline is a headline is a headline. Start your email off with one that will draw your reader into the package. Try to make it different from your SUBJECT line. Your best benefit up front usually does the trick. Injecting a news feel and some selfinterest doesn’t hurt either.

11. ALWAYS include an optout statement! The only thing more powerful than good will towards your company is ill will. Don’t make any prospect feel like theyกve been spammed. Include an unsubscribe or remove statement at the end of your email.

กWe here at ABC Company respect your online privacy. If you received this message in error or simply do not wish to receive further emails from us, please reply to this email and type REMOVE in the subject line.ก

12. For once, shorter is better. In TDM, we all know that long copy generally works better. But in IDM, brevity is the key. If some of your prospects require more information before they make a purchasing decision, include a clickthrough to an expanded version of your email.

13. Remember in IDM, you can use viral marketing techniques. This is not possible with TDM as you cannot tell a prospect to make 10 copies of your message and then pass them on to neighbors and friends. But in IDM, make sure the prospect understands that your fantastic deal is not exclusive to them. They should pass on this message to others they think would be interested.

14. Online users prefer free trials or bill me later offers to moneyback guarantees. While online transactions are rising every day. Some prospects are still wary about sending their credit card info over the internet. They would much rather just send their shipping info. Try the product for a while. And then choose their payment option when the time comes.

About The Author

Aran Kay is a marketing consultant and freelance copywriter with experience working for Nintendo, Direct Energy, Kelloggกs and more. He has written numerous marketing articles and includes a selection of them on his web site. www.ProfessionalCopy.ca is also your source for ‘the 52 Best Marketing Web Sites.ก Itกs a great resource and yours FREE just for visiting his web site.

Web Site: http://www.professionalcopy.ca

Email: [email protected]

This article was posted on February 24, 2003

by Aran Kay

How To Choose The Best Domain Name

How To Choose The Best Domain Name

by: Jeff Schuman

In this article we are going to look at the thought process you should go thru to choose your domain name.

First of all letกs define what a domain name is.

A unique name that represents each computer on the Internet. (Some machines do have more than one domain name.) The DNS converts the domain name requested by an Internet user into an IP address.

The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address – just like a telephone number – which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its กIP addressก (IP stands for กInternet Protocolก).

But it is hard to remember everyoneกs IP address. The DNS makes it easier by allowing a familiar string of letters (the กdomain nameก) to be used instead of the arcane IP address. So instead of typing 64.65.51.245 , you can type www.teamschuman.com. It is a กmnemonicก device that makes addresses easier to remember.

So what makes the best internet domain name?

First of all don’t pick a name that has nothing to do with your Web site. If you are selling flowers don’t pick a name like apples.com. Picking an oddball name makes no sense and it will just confuse your audience.

Don’t make your new domain name too long. The longer it is the harder it becomes to remember. Can you remember myflowers.com or lookatmyflowerswebsite.com?

Short names are not the way to go either. It is to your benefit to try and buy a domain name that has a few keywords that relate to the topic of you Web site when possible.

Keyword placement when choosing your domain name is helpful as your site develops a higher placement with the search engines. Having the name jeffsflowers.com will do better with a search engine than jeffssite.com. With jeffsflowers.com you know I have a flower website where with jeffssite.com you don’t know what kind of Web site I have.

When registering your domain name in some cases you will need to determine if you want to use hyphens in the name itself. Personally I have found this to be a great way to get a domain name that otherwise my not be available. The domain name myflowers.com might already be taken whereas the name myflowers.com might be available.

Everything I have read says try to get a .com domain name first before going to a .net or .org etc. As more and more domain names are taken this becomes harder to do and I think you are better off getting a keyword rich domain name like myflowers.org than you are to buy a .com domain name like jeffssite.com.

Is buying a cheap domain name a bad idea? Absolutely not. I do it all of the time. I get all of my domain names here:

http://www.godaddy.com

Then I transfer them to my hosting company here:

http://www.teamschuman.com/host4profit.

I can buy a domain name for less than $10 from Godaddy.com and transfer it for free to Host4Profit. This saves me $20 on buying it from the hosting company itself. A domain name is a domain name and you might as well save a little money where you can.

Finding out what names are available is very easy to do. Letกs use Godaddy.com as an example.

Go here: http://www.godaddy.com

Click on the icon for Domain Names

Enter a domain name and see if it is available

They will come back with a list of available names

Decide what one you want and buy it

One last thing to consider. Protect your name by registering multiple extensions (.net, .org, etc.) This deters people from copying your name. For example, if you own myflowers.com you can also register myflowers.net and any other extension thatกs available. As you build up traffic to your site if someone types in an version other than the .com version you can forward it to your .com site and not lose any traffic.

In closing it is important to spend a little time when choosing the best domain name for your website. Try and get some keywords in your domain name. Don’t stop at choosing just a .com version and save a little money by buying a cheap domain name whenever possible as long as it still contains some keywords.

Copyright 2004 Jeff Schuman

About The Author

Jeff Schuman is the creator of several websites. His SitesPlus.Com website is a small business website that contains the best of everything you need to start and run your own small business. Visit it here today:

http://www.sitesplus.com

http://www.teamschuman.com

This article was posted on November 08, 2004

by Jeff Schuman