Say More Than ‘thank Youก

Say More Than ‘thank Youก

by: Akinori Furukoshi

Most Websites are gathering email addresses. When you submit your email address, you will be redirected to a thank you page. There is nothing wrong with it, but that page can do more than saying ‘thank you.ก
The Result
A while ago, I added some affiliate links to my thankyouforsubscribing page. (You can see it at http://www.thatswise.com/popups/redirect/thanks_subscribe.html .) Even though you can close the window or go back to the home page, 98.8% of viewers of that page have clicked one of the links listed. This is astonishing when compared to the clickthough ratio of banner ads on my site, which is about 0.9%. And, 98% is not a stat of one lucky day. Itกs an average of one year.
They Will Listen
98% sounds unrealistic, but it makes sense. Visitors subscribe to your newsletter because they liked your site in some way. So, they will listen to you as they listen to their friends. When you recommend some places to go, most people will go.
Additionally, you will get better results if you link to a page with one product rather than linking to a page with a lot of products. People who have submitted to you an email address are open minded. This is the time to tell them your recommendation (your favorite product), not to show them options (list of your products).
Note
However, do not use this technique on a thankyouforORDERING page. If you send buyers to another Web page asking them to buy more things, visitors will feel you are trying to suck all the money they have. You may add links on this thankyou page, but be selective which pages youกll send buyers to. I am not saying upselling won’t work. Upselling does work. You have to upsell before receiving payments, not after you received payments. Chasers at McDonaldกs ask, กWould you like to have French fries with that?ก when you order a burger, not after you have paid for your order, don’t they?

About The Author

Though his Web site, http://www.thatswise.com Akinori Furukoshi has been providing ecommerce related information since 1998. His unique way of thinking has helped online businesses to improve their performance. More detailed bio is available at http://www.thatswise.com/about_us.html

This article was posted on June 29, 2004

by Akinori Furukoshi

The Cybermagic of Whitelists

The Cybermagic of Whitelists

by: Niall Roche

Before we start getting deep into the meat of this article itกs important to explain some standard terminology to make sure the rest of this article makes sense.

An IP address is a number which identifies your location on the Internet.

A blacklist is a list of IP addresses which your antispam software uses to block incoming spam.

A whitelist is the exact opposite of a blacklist.

A whitelist is a predefined list of IP addresses that are allowed to send email to and receive email from each other. Blacklists exclude known and suspected spammers. Whitelists can be used to exclude everyone except known IP addresses. Think of it like this. A whitelist is a like having a phonebook which is owned by a small group of people who only wish to speak directly to each other. They don’t want just anybody ringing them. Not only that but the entire group need to approve new phone numbers before they appear in this exclusive phonebook.

To send email to a whitelist you must be approved by the owner of the whitelist. This is a lot like the double optin systems used by legimiate ezines and mailing list owners. Whitelists are the nightclub bouncers of the virtual world if you ain’t on the list you ain’t getting in. Simple but very effective.

A real world example of a whitelist would be if two companies wanted to exchange email only with each other. These companies could implement a whitelist that contained the IP address for just the two email servers that want to send email to each other. That would mean that any email coming from an IP address not on the whitelist would be returned to sender. For companies they can ensure that employees are only dealing with work related email and not chatting with their friends.

The benefits of whitelists are many but proper management of the whitelists is equally important. Misuse of whitelists will only lead to more headaches for everyone involved with missing email, irate customers and IT departments doing overtime just being the tip of the iceberg.

If youกd like to learn more about spam then drop by http://www.spamsite.com today.

About The Author

http://www.spamsite.com reviews and tests spam filtering software for the business and end user. Niall Roche is the content author and owner of spamsite.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 09, 2004

by Niall Roche

Time Your News Release For Maximum Publicity

Time Your News Release For Maximum Publicity

by: David Leonhardt

กCindy, whereกs that story? I need it yesterday!ก

กComing right up, boss. Iกll have it to you soon,ก Cindy shouted back.

กYesterday isn’t soon enough!ก

Cindy clicked on her screen. กYou have mail.ก She looked at the messages. ‘three news releases,ก she murmured. กI don’t have time for this now.ก [delete] [delete] [delete]

Stop! Was that your news release Cindy just deleted? Too bad you sent it to her at the wrong time. You may have heard that ‘timing is everythingก and that is even more true in a newsroom. But how do you know when is the best time to send a news release?

Media relations is an art more than a science, so there is no single rule. If there was, everyone would be a media star. Here are a few guidelines to help you zoom ahead of your competition for the mediaกs attention:

Each type of media and each type of journalist is different. Here are just a few of the variables:

National or local media

TV, newspaper, radio or magazine

News reporter, features reporter or columnist

Consumer magazine or trade journal

Daily, weekly or monthly publication

Print or electronic

Each company or organization is different, as is its news. Here are just a few of the variables:

Local, national or international operations

Prescheduled news release, or lastminute reaction to todayกs news.

Product announcement, policy announcement, financial announcement

Bearing in mind the wide range of news you might announce and the wide range of media targets, 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. tends to be the best time of day to release news. You want to give the assignment editor time to send them out to cover your news. If you hope to get into the noon news, you don’t want to go too late, because you run into TV deadlines. Early afternoon is a secondbest time, but if you get much past 2:30, you will catch Cindyกs [delete] button at most daily newspapers and television stations.

I have been asked about the best day of the week to send out a news release. There isn’t one. I have seen plenty of debates on this. From personal experience, the only difference I ever noticed is when I could pick a slow news day. For instance, if in your city the daily newspaper can be reached on Sunday and not too much tends to happen that day in your subject area, you may find it easier to get into Mondayกs newspaper than if you try later in the week. But on average, there is not much difference.

Best time of month, year, etc? Again, there is no single best time. There is one golden rule. Do not send out a release when the world is wrapped up in some allconsuming event like the death of Princess Diana or the attack on the World Trade Center. Remember how much TV airtime and newspaper print space were devoted to those events? The media and its audiences had other things on their minds than your news. You can’t control events, but you can control the timing of your release (most of the time).

How far in advance should you send out your release? Some book reviewers usually need several months. Others don’t want to see your release until the book is on the store shelves. Many consumer magazines have a sixmonth editorial preview. Features editors often run several weeks ahead of time, but sometimes squeeze things in on short notice. News departments want only breaking news. Yesterdayกs news is … well, yesterdayกs news. Your release is already forgotten.

Does all this sound confusing. It is. The bottom line in any marketing is to know your target market and give it what it wants. Same with the media. The guidelines above give a very abbreviated list of what you need to consider. If you are still unsure, a media coach might be a good investment. But be forewarned – find someone with enough experience and success to coach you in the right direction.

About The Author

After a decade and a half as one of Canadaกs top consumer advocates, often conducting over 600 media interviews each year, David Leonhardt is sharing his knowledge with others. Pick up a copy of his special report กGet In The News!ก at http://www.TheHappyGuy.com/PR.html. Home page is http://www.TheHappyGuy.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 05, 2002

by David Leonhardt

SEVEN tips on Submitting Your Ezine articles to co

SEVEN tips on Submitting Your Ezine articles to content sites and Publishers.

by: Radhika Venkata

1. Make sublists from Your ezine publishers list:

If you have an ezine publishers list, seperate the list based on the topic of the ezine. Send only specific content to specific ezines. For example if you write ezine articles on self improvement, don’t send it to search engine based ezines. The more specific you choose your ezine publishers, the more chances of getting published.

2. URLs in Your ezine articles:

Always check the urls in your ezine articles. After all, one of the purposes of writing and submitting articles is to get some prospects. Right?

3. Offer กWin and Win Situationก to the publishers:

If you are promoting your product through the ezine article, offer the chance of inserting affiliate link for the publishers. Or provide any free service to them or to their subscribers.

4. Automate the process:

Use some sort of software to automate this submission. So you don’t have to go through each email address and send one by one. Autoresponder that sends Your articles to your ezine publishers at specified intervals of time:

http://www.scripts4webmasters.com/arpproadv/index.shtml

Automatic and targeted submission software:

http://www.webmasterscentral.com/cgibin/resourcelink/resource.cgi?id=4

5. Ezine publishers Instructions:

Some ezine publishers send some specific instructions like short articles, or a link back from your web site etc. Feel free to follow them to get more chances of publishing.

6. Ezine + Online publications:

Some ezine publishers send ezines to their subscribers and also they publish their ezines on their web sites as archives. Tell you what… This is a big plus point for your link popularity and also it brings you visitors all the time.

7. How many and how often to send the ezine articles:

Give a minimum of one month gap to send a second article again to a publisher. Ezine publishers receive many articles every day and following these tips increase your chances of getting published

Well formatted article

Clean subheadings for the articles

Only one article per email

Thank you note for their time

Shouldn’t be like a sales letter

Topic oriented and simple explanations

No spelling errors

No broken Urls

Radhika Venkata (c).

About The Author

Radhika Venkata

Subscribe to กiNet Marketing Ezineก which is completely focused on Internet Marketing. Receive FREE Ebooks with Resale rights!

http://www.webmasterscentral.com/subscribe.shtml

FREE Ecourse :: 30 days Solid work out to increase your online profits!

http://www.ebooksworld.com/ecourse/index.shtml

This article was posted on October 16, 2004

by Radhika Venkata

A Simple Link Creates a Win/Win

A Simple Link Creates a Win/Win

by: Kathleen Gage

As the number of websites increases by the minute, most people are seeking effective methods to gain as much visibility on the Internet as possible. A great way to do this is by offering a website link exchange, also referred to as reciprocal linkage. Reciprocal linkage is a great tool that can dramatically increase your web site ranking. The more links you have to your site the better.

For anyone who is new to this concept here are some simple tips. Even though most people don’t mind if you add their link to your site, it is a good idea to send a quick email to the Webmaster of the site and let them know you would like to provide a link from your site to theirs. While you’re at it ask them if they will also put a link from their site to yours.

When providing a link exchange on my site I prefer the site I am listing in some way benefits my readers. My primary focus is on marketing and promotions. I am more than willing to list other marketing sites and anything that is business related. The criteria are the sites must be professionally designed and the Webmaster must be willing to exchange links.

To view sites I have listed, visit http://www.turningpointpresents.com/marketingtools.htm If you would like your site to be considered for a link exchange send me an email and let’s chat.

Here is a sample message I recently receive that resulted in the sender getting their site listed on mine and mine on theirs.

ขThank you for putting together a great article. I wanted to let you know that I posted your article Titled กVisibility, Credibility and Position Through Articles and Celebrity Testimonialsก you will find your article here: http://www.businessbooksandmore.com/BusinessArticles/yh/pm1.htm

I would like to also exchange links with you. Here is my information:

URL:

http://www.businessbooksandmore.com/go/go.php/articles1

LINKED TEXT:

BusinessBooksandMore.comข

It’s that simple. When you do post the link, send a short email to the webmaster to let them know you have done so. It is common courtesy.

Even though there are many people who fully understand the value of creating this type of opportunity, more still just don’t get it. Fact is, this is one of the easiest ways to gain position on the Internet and to create a Win/Win situation. And what could be better than that?

Copyright: © 2004 by Kathleen Gage

Web Address: www.kathleengage.com

Publishing Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your web site, or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

About The Author

Kathleen Gage is a business advisor; keynote speaker and trainer who helps others gain dominance and visibility within their market. She is the recipient of the 2004 Giant Step Award for Business of the Year in the State of Utah. Call 801.619.1514 or email [email protected]. Get Gage’s online newsletter called Street Smarts Marketing and Promotions by visiting www.kathleengage.com.

This article was posted on September 25, 2004

by Kathleen Gage

Make Your Mailing a Home Run, Not a Strike Out!

Make Your Mailing a Home Run, Not a Strike Out!

by: Joy Gendusa

You can use great design and copy to get a better response.

When you send a mailing to your customers or prospective customers you are counting on making considerably more money in new business than you spend on the mailing, right? It is obvious that if you were not going to profit from the mailing, you wouldn’t send it out.

A little less obvious is that it costs almost the same amount of money to send out a very attractive mailing piece with brilliant copy which is more likely to produce a great response rate as it does to send out a boring, poorly designed piece guaranteed only to land rapidly in the trash. Why?

The major part of your expenditure is in the mailing list and the postage. The printing costs are about the same for a perfect card as for a mediocre one. All right. So a good design and excellent copy is going to cost a little bit more. But only a little. You send out a postcard mailing to get a response (preferably lots of responses).

The front of the card, graphic and headline, is designed to attract the reader’s interest so that they read what you have to say. In short, to attract his or her attention.

The copy on the front and back of the card is designed to get the reader to respond, either by calling you or emailing you or visiting you or going to your web site. A response.

If your card accomplishes that, it’s done its duty.

How do you get it to do that?

Good design. Good copy. Assuming you have sent the cards to people who are likely to be interested in what you have to sell. (There’s no point sending a postcard selling raincoats to people in the Sahara Desert. They are the wrong ขpublicข).

It is more cost effective in the long run to hire a professional to do the design and copy for your promotion instead of spending all the time yourself to learn the software. A little time spent improving the design and copy of your postcards will result in much higher ROI (Return On Investment) for your postcard mailing.

About The Author

Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she’s sharing her marketing secrets with others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at www.postcardmania.com.

This article was posted on March 03

by Joy Gendusa

7 BIG Ideas for Better eMail

7 BIG Ideas for Better eMail

by: BIG Mike McDaniel

More about eMail from BIG Mike McDaniel.
1 Empty your InBox daily.
Don’t use it for storage. Check incoming eMail at least once a day and deal with it. Move unread mail into folders for later viewing. Free detailed article on how to create and use filters and folders available by eMail. Send blank message to [email protected]
2 Don’t Set Fire to Outgoing eMail
Hastily typed angry words and a click on send and poof there is no taking it back. eMail Flames can burn without your knowledge. For an article on this subject, send a blank eMail message to [email protected]
3 Use more than one virus checker.
Keep a virus checker installed and running 24/7 in your machine. Really good ones are available FREE. Use a backup for a double check. To learn how to use 2 virus checkers every day for free, send a blank eMail message to [email protected]
4 Treat Attachments Carefully.
Most computer viruses arrive in attachments. Never open an attachment from someone you don’t know. Learn all about attachments in a free article. Send blank eMail to [email protected]
5 Fight Spam Vigorously.
When you กclick here to removeก you are actually clicking to double or triple your junk mail. Spam blockers are only part of the fight. Get 10 ways to fight spam by sending a blank eMail to [email protected]
6 Always sign your mail.
Half of 5 BILLION eMail messages a day arrive without a signature. Learn how to tell your computer to sign it automatically. Send a blank eMail message to [email protected]
7 SHOUTING is bad form.
eMail typed in ALL CAPS is SHOUTING. Research has shown ALL CAPS are harder to read and comprehend that regular sentence structure. Better manners in eMail is called กNetiquetteก. Read all about it by sending a blank eMail message to [email protected]

About The Author

MailTo:[email protected]

©2004 BIG Mike McDaniel, Professional Speaker and Former Major Market TV News Anchor. The BIG Ideas Group helps small business grow with mastermind groups, seminars and sales training.

http://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to กBIG Mikeกs BIG Ideasก Newsletter:

MailTo:[email protected]

[email protected]

This article was posted on May 10, 2004

by BIG Mike McDaniel

Are Your Emails Gettting Through?

Are Your Emails Gettting Through?

by: Charlie Cook

If sending email to a mailing list is part of your markëting or business building strategy, you want to make sure your messages are reaching your audience. Are your readers getting your emails? Due to the proliferation of sp@m, ISPs (your web access and email provider) have added content checkers to try to reduce the flow of unwanted mail. In principle this is a good idea. In practice, lots of sp@m is still getting through and many lëgitimatë emails, possibly including yours, are being blocked.
You may assume that since your content is lëgitimatë and because you only send messages to 0ptin readers, your prospects and clients are getting all of your emails. Bu presently sp@m filters are blocking emails that include words such as:

hëre
n0w
lëgal
questi0ns
lëgitimate
ordër
bu1k
chëck
mi11ions
st0ck
f0rm
markëting s0lution
rëmove
opp0rtunity
cl1ck hëre

Even to send this article to the people whoกve requested it, I’ve had to write carefully and creatively to disguise these words to get them through the sp@m filters.
In an effort to eliminate junk mail, most email providers have sp@m filters in place, and, smart as these are, they don’t know you are not a sp@mmer if it includes what it considers to be suspicious words. Some filters automatically dump suspicious email into a bu1k mail folder, others block them entirely.
Chances are you don’t consider yourself a sp@mmer. You don’t blindly send mi11ions of emails a day to people who don’t want your information. You do respond to client inquiries and send information to people who request it. Even if you only send email to people who have double optëd in for your ezine, you can have your newsletter or message labeled as sp@m if you’re not careful. 1030% or more of your emails may be getting filtered by overzealous ISPs.
Usually, use of just one กoffensiveก word won’t get your email blocked, but repeat it or use it in conjunction with another กoffensiveก word and your recipients won’t receive your articles or notes.
I hate junk email as much as the next person. But if the recipient has requested your ezine or an email response, they should get it. In there effort to eliminate sp@m, the ISPs are beginning to infringe on lëgitimatë communication and commerce.
What You Can Do
Review available lists of words that ISPs consider กsuspicioiusก. I’ve posted one list of some innocuous and common words that if used together or frequently can get your email blocked at: http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/wordstoavoid.html
Use one of the online content checkers to see which remaining words could create problems with sp@m filters such as:
Ezine Chëck http://ezinecheck.com/check.html
Lyris http://www.lyris.com/contentchecker/
Where possible, replace กoffensiveก words. If you need to use a word like กmarkëtingก because it’s the best word for the job, you can get creative with, as I did above, but some sp@m filters block emails containing odd characters.
No strategy for getting by the ISP filters is foolproof, but every effort you make to eliminate potentially problematic words will increase the likelihood that the people who want to read your emails will get them. Take a minute to check your email before you send it and you’ll increase the number of people who read it and respond to it.
2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.

About The Author

The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals and small business owners attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up for the Frëe Marketing Plan eBook, ก7 Steps to get more clients and grow your businessก at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 13, 2004

by Charlie Cook

The Top 10 Wild and Wacky Ways to Market Yourself

The Top 10 Wild and Wacky Ways to Market Yourself for Big Visibility

by: Bea Fields

In todayกs competitive world of business, it takes moxie and pizazz to sell a great product, idea, or service. This list will provide you with ten unusual and creative marketing strategies which will help you to stand apart from the competition and to increase your visibility.

1. Celebrate the Wacky World Holidays with your Clients and/or Customers.

Did you know that August 17 is Number 2 pencil day? Send your clients Number 2 pencils with your name and logo embossed on the pencils. What about Homemade Pudding Day on September 19? Send your clients and customers your favorite pudding recipe, and invite them to your business to sample a ขtaste.ข If you are the owner of a toy store or a children’s clothing company, you may want to set aside November 18 to celebrate Micky Mouse’s Birthday. Creative marketing is the future of big business, and celebrating offbeat holidays will allow your customers and clients to experience something unusual and will set you apart from your competition. For a list of nontraditional holidays, visit www.earthcalendar.net.

2. Add a Company Mascot to your Business.

With the help of a few very clever cows, ChickfilAกs unaided brand awareness has grown 81 percent, and its sales have increased nearly 120 percent since the mascot was added to the team in 1995. This attentiongrabbing ploy, encouraging folks to กEat Mor Chikinก has helped make this Atlantabased company the third largest quickservice chicken restaurant company in the United States.

3. Throw a Gala for Hair Stylists in your Community.

What do hair stylists do while they are working their magic? They TALK! By throwing a memorable event for the hair stylists in your community, you can reach thousands of potential clients through fantastic word of mouth. Host a breakfast, lunch, or dinner and roll out the red carpet for this crowd, and watch new customers and clients flock to your place of business.

4. Host a Game Night.

Are you an investment advisor? Host a game night using the game ขCash Flow.ข Are you a Life Coach? Throw a party and play the game LIFE. Are you a cat groomer? How about a CatOpoly Night? For travel agents, try the game Route 66, taking your guests on a road trip across the country. Playing board games can create a rich and wonderful opportunity for interaction with potential customers, which can allow them to get to know you in a fun and nonthreatening way and can create an opportunity for building rock solid strategic alliances.

5. Host a ขBig Brainข WeekEnd.

Want to learn from the experts? Borrow experts one time per year to develop a cuttingedge marketing plan for your company by hosting a ขBig Brainข WeekEnd. If you cannot afford a full marketing staff, you can borrow key experts for a quarterly brainstorming session which can enhance product and service ideas for your company quickly. You can pay a small per diem and travel expenses and pick the brains of 68 people who really know their stuff.

6. Sponsor a Night Light Golf Tournament (a golf tournament held in the evening after the sun sets.)

This grassroots approach can land you accounts, customers, and an amazing amount of visibility. Short on funds? Invite ten strategic alliance partners to help cover the costs. This collaborative effort will triple your visibility.

7. Put Yourself in the Dunking Booth!

Carnivals and festivals are great fun for the entire family, and one of the hottest attractions at these events is The Dunking Booth. By volunteering to be the person ขdunked,ข you will have all eyes on you, and folks will be talking about you for weeks, creating ขbuzzข around your name, your products, and your services.

8. Fly a Kite!

Your company name, logo, and contact information on a wild and brightly colored kite can send your business to new ขheights.ข Spend a windy day at the beach or in the park, and give away free kites to visitors. This approach can be valuable and can quickly expand your visibility.

9. Send Unusual Gifts and Freebies.

Giving unusual gifts and freebies is another way to set yourself apart from the crowd. Are you in the middle of an ice storm? Send leis to your customers to brighten up their day. Do you have a customer who is recuperating from a broken leg? Send a movie on video, a box of popcorn, and a pack of M & M’s. Do you have a customer with a new baby? Send a basket with bubble bath, herbal tea, a cooling eye mask, and a set of ear plugs (humor works!)

10. Design Two or Three Marketing Goals with No Purpose in Mind Other than to Amuse Yourself and Your Friends.

Two of the biggest goals of marketing are to appear larger or more well known than you are at this moment and to have great fun! Gather your friends, and throw a Hula Hoop party, dress up for Halloween, or stand on the corner of town and interview folks with a question such as ขIf Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?ข Sound strange? You bet it does! Strange and mischievous approaches to marketing work, and people will stand up and take notice of what you have to offer. Cheers!

About The Author

Bea Fields, Southern Pines, NC, USA

[email protected]

http://www.fivestarleader.com

Bea Fields is an Executive Coach and a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach. She is also a Consultant, Trainer, Public Speaker and author of the Five Star Leader ecourse. Her area of expertise is that of Leadership Development and Marketing for Executives, Managers, Small Business Owners, and Political Leaders.

This article was posted on July 03, 2003

by Bea Fields

Promote Your Web Business With Every Email You Sen

Promote Your Web Business With Every Email You Send!

by: Dan Karwoski

Website owners are always on the lookout for new ways to promote their business. What if I told you could advertise your business every time you send an email and it wouldn’t cost you a dime?

When you meet someone you might give him or her one of your business cards. Now the recipient has all your contact information, learns a little about your business and this allows you to expose your brand. With an eBusinessCard you can still give them one of your cards, electronically, using Microsoft Outlook! All you have to do is create your card in HTML to resemble your printed card. Then save it to your Outlook signature folder so you can send an electronic version. The big advantage to an electronic card is it has live links that can take the viewer to the exact page on your website with the information they need. See the sample here http://www.junglia.com/emailstationary/horiz.asp.

Open your favorite HTML editor and design and build your card. Or if you currently use a printed card just copy it. If you lack design and/or HTML skills you can use the handy form below to painlessly create your own card. If you create your own card remember to use absolute paths (full http path) for all your links and images. In order for this to work with all email clients you will need to place any images you use on a server and create an absolute link to the image. If the email recipients don’t have HTML enabled in their mail client Outlook automatically creates and sends a text version, which can be read with any program.

Detailed instructions for uploading and using your card are listed here http://www.junglia.com/emailstationary/horiz.asp in step 7.

This is a simple and inexpensive way to promote your business. Everyone you correspond with will know that you are a professional.

About The Author

Dan Karwoski has been teaching website design to college students since 1997 and has created quality work for MSNBC, Microsoft, Amazon, Atom Films and many others. Interested students can learn the basics of web design by registering at http://www.learn2design.net. Please email questions to [email protected].

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 20, 2004

by Dan Karwoski

Internet Faxing Service Review

Internet Faxing Service Review

by: Ellen Farrell

The Internet is reshaping every form of communications medium, and faxing is no exception. The latest twist: Internet faxing services that let you send messages to any fax machine from any Web browser or email, and others that give you a กpersonal fax phone number,ก then forward any documents sent there to your email inbox.
The Fax Machine Workhorse in the ก80s and ก90s.
It enabled you to send a document to anyone, anywhere, at any time, and know that it was received instantly. It was a godsend in the 1980s and everyone had to have one. But it has become an expensive bit of machinery that will cost you money every time you use it. Smart organizations are now reducing or eliminating the fax machines they use in favor of electronic services. The fax machine costs you in paper, toner, phone bills and repairs. It is like a taximeter in that regard, and the bill keeps growing and growing. Currently most of the documents that you fax are created on a computer. If you fax them through a fax machine, you must print out the documents, manually create a cover page, and you must go to the fax machine to send the documents. Every time you receive a fax, you must retrieve it from the community fax machine, rather than having it delivered directly to your PC workstation like any other document. Many people still use fax machines today. The alternative is to use fax services from companies that provide Internet fax services.
Fax Machine Costs
The fax machine is considered a simple tool by many, which is probably why they haven’t replaced it yet. Anybody can stick a document into the auto feeder, dial a phone number, and send the document at 14.4 or 33.6 Kbs. But it costs to send a fax.
Among the actions employees must take to fax a document, labor is the greatest hidden operating cost. Labor is a key factor because your staff is more expensive than phone calls, and it makes the biggest difference in fax costs. Most businesses neglect to factor in the costs of actions such as employees walking to the machine, waiting to use it, the faxing process and the employeeกs return trip to their desk. All of this takes time. And in the world of hidden fax operating costsyou guessed ittime is money. Also, keep in mind that it isn’t unusual to find executives with sixfigure salaries performing some of the same faxrelated tasks as clerical workers. When that happens, those labor costs can be as astronomical as some of those sixfigure salaries. Costs also incurred are lease and maintenance charges for fax machines as well as sending charges for making fax phone calls. These depend on the rates you pay and the speed at which your fax machine and the machines you send to can distribute faxes.
How Internet Faxing Works
Ever heard of eFax? You sign up for a fax number. When people send you faxes, they’re autoforwarded to your email Inbox, where you can read them, trash them if they’re junk, or print them out only if necessary. Not only do you save paper and ink, but you don’t need a fax machine or a second phone lineand you get your faxes wherever you happen to be in the country.
Together, in principle, these Internet fax services offer all the advantages of fax a universal system for quick and convenient distribution of anything you can put on paper without making you spend your money on a fax machine, fax supplies or fax phone fees.
In the business world, any time that you can save money, your customers will ultimately save money too. That is why Internet faxing is a good idea. Internet faxing is the practice of using your email (or a website) to send and receive faxes. The speed and efficiency of email, coupled with the lower costs of sending broadcast faxes via email is more desirable than making lots of phone calls.
Sending and Receiving faxes over the Internet with your regular fax machines sounds cool, but so far, todayกs standard fax machines do not yet know how to speak Internet you can’t use them over the Internet. Some of the newer models will have this capability, but it will take time to gain worldwide acceptance. In the meantime, there are a number of services that bridge the gap between traditional faxes and the new world of Internetbased communications.
A number of companies, such as eFax, Faxaway, Internet Fax Provider and MaxEmail, allow you to send or receive faxes over the Internet. These services are either free or charge a monthly fee.
However, many of these services are limited in what they can do:

Require people to dial a long distance number to send you a fax [eFax, MaxEmail]
Attach their own advertising to your outgoing faxes to cover their cost [eFax]
Don’t offer fax numbers in all local area codes [eFax, MaxEmail]
Don’t work for handwritten faxes (unless they are scanned in) [all]

Still, Internet faxing provides many advantages. Convenience and better resolution are the two main pluses. They allow you to send and receive your faxes entirely with your email service the best thing to happen to the business world in the last 10 years. You can send and receive faxes anywhere you can access your existing email account: from your home, office, clientกs office, hotel, airport or cottage. Or even better, a webbased interface that keeps track of everything youกve done with your faxing business and allow you to do cheap and efficient broadcast faxing.
Some of the advantages of Internet faxing:

To send a fax, simply send an email. It will automatically be converted to a fax and delivered immediately
To receive a fax, simply check your email. All faxes sent to your fax number will be forwarded to your email
Web fax For people who need to fax their information to thousands instantly. Send thousands of faxes in minutes from our website Broadcasting.
Avoid tying up your computer or telephone lines
No software to download or hardware to buy
Easily distribute press releases, product and pricing information, newsletters
Sending to International phone numbers is cheap the charge is based on the destination country
Easy and convenient faxes are sent and received over the Internet from the office, at home or on the road. Your Internet กFax Machineก is available 24×7 and is never busy.
TollFree is cost effective some virtual fax numbers are toll free so that no matter where your customers are, they will not pay any additional long distance charges and your North American clients and contacts can reach you free of charge.
Privacy You are the only person to see your faxes, giving them the same privacy as your email.
Portable You can receive your faxes at multiple email addresses simultaneously and you can send and receive faxes while traveling.
Receive faxes directly in email Faxes are receivable and retrievable anytime, anywhere. Faxes are not misplaced and privacy is ensured.
Send faxes directly from email. Eliminate manual faxing. Faxing is integrated into workflow and faxes are delivered faster and at less cost.
Immediate Implementation No unique client/server or software is necessary, only standard email capability. Minimal to no user training.
Unlimited scalability Support as many users as required without purchasing additional fax machines.
Combine multiple document types into one fax Fax multiple documents as easily as sending an email.
Account code tracking Budget and cost management is simplified.
Automatic retries for busy or incomplete deliveries Eliminates need to continually check progress of a fax.
Email notification of incoming faxes Users know immediately when a fax has arrived.
Delivery confirmation via email Users always know when their faxes have been delivered.

Quick Summary of the 4 big services

Efax (http://www.efax.com/) Undisputed leader in the field of Internet faxing. Offers free version. Free version doesn’t provide you with a local number. Regular service is expensive. Offers many other products remote control of computer, etc. Requires proprietary fax viewer software to view faxes. The most local area code numbers available in the US.
Faxaway (http://www.faxaway.com/) Competitive regular service. Web faxing not supported. Many customizable features and options for sending. The personal fax number they assign you is not local they are all in some location where the area code is not local to you just like the free eFax service not too useful for your customers.
Internet Fax Provider (http://www.internetfaxprovider.com/) Offers tollfree numbers which can be used anywhere in the US with the first 50 faxes per month included in the monthly rate very convenient for the people sending faxes to you they will not pay any additional long distance charges. Best rate for broadcast faxing. Many customizable features and options for sending. Comprehensive Web faxing features.
MaxEmail (http://www.maxemail.com/) Offers local numbers in the US. However, you will find that only the major cities are covered. No web faxing available. Good receiving plans.

These fax services use the Internet to mimic real fax machines that is, they deliver your fax to a recipientกs fax machine, anywhere in the world, just as if you had dialed it yourself. Most of these services charge anywhere from 10 cents to 20 cents a page. Thatกs more than youกll pay to send a fax across town, but itกs much less than you would pay to dial an overseas phone number, even for a short fax.
Most major efax vendors offer additional features, including broadcast faxes, the ability to route incoming faxes to you as email attachments and monthly billing.
On the sending side: Most Internet faxing vendors allow you to send faxes by attaching files to an email. When the Internet Fax server gets the email, the emails get converted into a fax coversheet with the recipientกs fax number pulled from the ‘to:ก address. The attached files then get converted to TIFF or PDF files for easy viewing by the recipient. The service will then deliver the converted fax to the recipientกs standard fax number.
On the receiving side: Most Internet fax vendors will provide you with a phone number that you can then give to your customers. This number can be a local number (if you are located in or near a major US city) or a toll free number (available everywhere.) People will send you faxes to that number in the standard way. The service will then convert the fax to a PDF or TIFF image (or in the case of eFax, a custom image for viewing w/ their software) and send to your email as an attachment. You can then view the fax with any standard Windows Image viewer.
In the future as more fax machines include builtin Internet connectivity, faxing might give email a run for its money as a cheap, convenient way to send documents. Until that time, however, efax services will provide the best alternative to picking up the phone and sending faxes the oldfashioned way.
Conclusion
In summary, after reviewing all of the major Internet faxing service vendors, I have found the best service to be the one provided by Internet Fax Provider (IFP). IFP has the best rate plans and offers tollfree numbers that include 50 free faxes per month. I don’t go over 30 faxes per month, so it certainly makes sense for me because with the toll free number provided, my customers don’t have to pay long distance charges when they send me a fax. IFP also has the best broadcast sending rates and regular sending plan with the most features. And it was the simplest to use (you don’t have to use all the available options.)
For free Internet faxing, I found that eFax offers the best plan. But of course, it puts limitations on the service and you don’t get a local fax number. Also, if you live in a big city and you would like a local fax number, then eFax is the best solution. That is if most of your customers are local, because if not, they will pay toll charges when sending you a fax.
Internet Faxing Services Reviewed
The following services provide some type of Internet Faxing:
CallWave

http://www.callwave.com

Installable software helps consumers and businesses get more out of their wireless phone, home phone, and Internetconnected PC by กbridgingก calls between these devices.

More of a cell phone solutions provider requires custom software.
Data On Call

http://www.dataoncall.com

The company offers a comprehensive suite of fax services including electronic faxing (inbound and outbound), web/fax integrations, developer APIs, fax broadcasting, fax on demand, and custom applications.

Only offer 858 area code and toll free. Expensive. Broadcasting at 8cents/min.
Digital Mail

http://www.digitalmail.com/

Email to fax and fax to email services. Users receive a unique phone number, accepting voice mail and faxes.

Difficult to understand, No price structure setup
EasyLink

http://www.easylink.com

Small Business Integrated Desktop Messaging Email to fax, fax to email and desktop faxing. The service was previously named FaxSav.

Large corporate solutions not meant for small businesses or individual users.
eFax

http://www.efax.com

Send faxes, Receive faxes, anywhere you can get email.

They have a free service with limitations. Standard service is expensive.
FaxMate

http://www.faxmate.com

Email to fax, desktop to fax, broadcast fax, and fax to fax via the Internet. Its U800 service allows users a personal tollfree number, which automatically forwards faxes and voice mail to email.

International send rates are standard. $30/mnth, $0.15/min
Faxaway

http://www.faxaway.com

Internet fax & unified messaging service. Faxaway gives customers faxing tools at their desktop.

No local numbers available. Competitive rates and many features and options.
FreeFax

http://www.freefax.com

Send via web, receive as email

Ad supported. Only webbased interface available.
IntelliFax.com

http://www.intellifax.com

Allows you to send and receive Internet faxes. Provides middleware for other Internet fax vendors.

Limited local numbers available. Good send rates. Limited features and options.
Internet Fax Provider

http://www.internetfaxprovider.com

EmailtoFax, FaxtoEmail, Broadcast faxing. Best Internet faxing solutions and rates available in the US. Simple to use with powerful options.

Offers toll free numbers with 50 free incoming faxes included.

Best rates for broadcasting service. Webbased interface included.
Interpage

http://www.interpage.net/subfaxing.html

Offers a variety of Internet and Telecommunicationsbased services including EMail Paging, Web and EMail Fax Services, Remote Site Monitoring & Internet Voicemail. Focus is not on faxing services. Competitive rates meant for large corporations.
MaxEmail

http://www.maxemail.com/

Allows you to send and receive faxes via the Web or email and includes voicemail. You can receive notification of incoming faxes and voice messages directly to your digital phone.

Expensive service. Offers local fax numbers, but not as many as eFax and not as convenient as a tollfree number with free service.
Our Fax

http://www.ourfax.com

OURFAX, is the worldกs first, easy to use, ad supported 100% FREE service, that allows any email user in the world, to send faxes directly from their email address, to almost any fax machine in the world.

Free Ad supported, Amateur website
SuperFax

http://www.superfax.com

Super Fax is a small internet fax device that replaces your fax machines, receive your faxes, and emails them to you, on your email address.

$495US per unit. Still need a fax line
ZipFax

http://www.zipteam.com/zipfax/

ZIPFAX.com will allow you to send from your desktop email to fax machines. It offers text only with no attachments.

You must prepay for online postage with a minimum opening balance of $9.99. Rates are 14 cents per page for most US states.

About The Author

Ellen Farrell former telecommunications specialist in Telecom. Have reviewed many telecomunications products for large and small business. Worked with large Telecom service providers in marketing and development. Currently review technology for business development in Northeastern US.

[email protected]

This article was posted on July 13, 2004

by Ellen Farrell

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder…

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder…

by: Janice D. Byer, MVA

However, in the world of business, this cliché may not necessarily be true. Sometimes it can be more like ‘Out of Site, Out of Mind’.

Your existing clients are your most important business assets. They are already aware of the exceptional products or services that you provide and you have already built a trust with them.

These happy clients will be the first to recommend you and your business to others that may be in need of your services or products. It is essential to build a lasting relationship and keep in touch with these influential people…keep your name fresh in their minds. They have become ‘business friends’ and what kind of friend would you be if you didn’t stay in touch.

There are several ways to build a loyal and lasting relationship with your clients, besides the exceptional customer service and support that you are already providing. You need to set yourself apart from the competition and give customers something that will keep your business in the front of their minds, thus producing repeat and referral business.

Your first step is to ensure that you make your client feel like they are number one. This should be something that you strive for with every client you acquire. Sure, there may be some that will take this to heart and put excessive demands on you when you are really needing to get work done for your other clients, but the majority of them will be just like friends and supporters and you need to show them that you appreciate them. You need them to know that they are not just clients, but that they are a value to you and your business.

A great way to get the ball rolling is to send a letter thanking the client for the chance to provide them with a quotation and let them know that you are here to help, if they need it. Include, with the letter, a copy of your brochure, any specials that you currently have running and, of course your business card.

Once the quotation has been accepted and you both agree on the details of the project, it’s time to send a Thank You card. If the new client is a local business owner, send a card with a handwritten note and, of course your business card. If the quote is for an online client, you can send a handwritten note or try going to one of many greeting card sites and sending a personalized electronic card. My personal favorite is http://www.bluemountain.com. This is a nice touch as opposed to just a buttered up email.

After the project has been completed, I like to send a personalized, handwritten note on suitable stationery.

Now… where to go from here? Just because this particular project is finished, it doesn’t mean that you should just put their file away and forget about them. On the contrary… you have to stay in touch with them. If they have used your services and are very happy with the outcome, they will probably need you in the future, or know someone who does.

If you happen to have the client’s birth date, send them a nice card on their special day. If you don’t have that date, there are still other ways to stay in touch. One is to send a card on special holidays, such as Christmas. With these special holiday cards, it is not recommended that you send a business card with it. These type of cards should show that you care and don’t have an ulterior motive to your action.

So, what about the rest of the year? They say that you need to be in the right place at the right time to take advantage of some opportunities. But if you aren’t in the right place, the forefront of you client’s mind when they may need your services, you may lose out. You need to keep in touch with them throughout the year. You need to send them something that they will hang onto.

The most cost effective way to do this is to send them a newsletter. If you have a business that is online and you have cyberspace clients, start an online ezine and send it out on a regular basis. Fill it full of great links and articles to help your clients. And, it doesn’t hurt to mention their business in an issue. For local clients, put together a print version of your newsletter and keep them informed about what is happening with your company and your other clients. Again, putting a free mention about their business will be something that they will really appreciate.

Staying in touch with you clients and contacts is vital for repeat and referral business. When the time comes that they, or someone they know, are in need of your product or service, make sure that they remember you, your business and how you can help them.

About The Author

Janice Byer is a certified Master Virtual Assistant and owner of DocuType Administrative & Web Design Services (http://www.docutype.net). See this and other articles on her website.

[email protected]

This article was posted on December 18, 2002

by Janice D. Byer, MVA