The Internet Life Without It

The Internet Life Without It

by: John Sheridan

For seven days this month, my Internet connection ceased to be; apparently (according to the engineer) because the cablemodem box thingy gave up the ghost. Seven whole days with no link to the outside world, except for the telephone of course, which isn’t quite the same is it? Now normally a very short period without Internet access would not cause too much of a problem; fortunately I can complete most of my work offline so I saw this as only a minor inconvenience.

However, the big shock to my system came with the realisation that for a period of time during those days I was extremely bored. It was fine while I was working, but afterwards without the Internet to distract me, I had nothing to do for the remainder of any working day. The evenings were fine because I have a very active social life, so no problem, but it did get me thinking about how the absence of the Internet might affect the majority of us in one way or another.

Since the ‘arrival’ of the phenomenon that is known as the Internet, we have become obsessed to some extent with the speed in which it lets us live our lives. We rarely expect to get letters from friends, family or businesses – email is there, ready, waiting and fast. We can visit just about any virtual shop in the world, buy more than we could physically carry and arrange to have it delivered, and all this can be done in just an hour of surfing without even getting out of a chair.

I began to wonder about the vast number of companies whose daytoday business is conducted online, and what would happen if for some reason the whole Internet suddenly ceased to work. The effects would be extremely farreaching, for example; a substantial amount of daily business communication is conducted via email, the loss of which would severely disrupt and significantly slow down the companies who rely totally on this media to send and receive information where speed is of the essence. Other parties to be considered are the private individuals whose emails possibly compare or even exceed in numbers that of corporate traffic, and business websites; without these virtual showrooms to look at, a customer would have to revert back to the old way of doing things and visit a real one very hard on the feet!

We are all aware that the rapid advances made in Internet technology over recent years have been nothing short of astonishing. From mobile phones and their ability to send messages and photo images, as well as being able to access the Internet, to email and its almost instant delivery capability. Both have transformed information exchange and communication beyond our wildest dreams, whilst simultaneously creating a mindset that has us expecting immediate answers to any questions we may ask. Itกs up to each individual to decide for themselves whether or not the Internet is for the better. I am sure there are a vast number of people in the world that prefer life the way it used to be, and their opinions must be respected.

However, to be offline felt like some sort of isolation even though it was only temporary. Itกs not something I would want to happen on a regular basis, and whilst I am sure that although we would undoubtedly cope without the Internet if we had to, the question is would we want to?

Sure, the simplicity and speed of email would be sorely missed; the comparative ease of online shopping; the click of a mouse to pay the bills; the creature comforts that the Internet provides and what we have quickly grown to accept and expect, would eventually be forgotten or committed to a nostalgic memory, but I sincerely doubt it would be an easy transition.

We are all increasingly reliant on the Internet to make life run a bit smoother – and for me, seven days without it was more than enough to prove that.

About The Author

John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally accepts small copyediting assignments. He can be contacted at: [email protected]

website: www.textcorrect.co.uk

This article is the property of the author and may only be reproduced in its original form.

This article was posted on August 11

by John Sheridan

Should You Hire a Famous Writer or Write Your Own

Should You Hire a Famous Writer or Write Your Own Articles?

by: Bill Platt

Proven and Exceptional ClickThrough Results

Testing has proven again and again that promotional articles generate more clickthrough traffic than standard ezine advertising. And it is much cheaper than standard ezine advertising, even if you are paying someone else to write and distribute your articles for you.

Promotional articles that are distributed with freereprint rights get published regularly in ezines and on websites and the results are longterm. Both publication outlets generate results, although both outlets generate different patterns of traffic to your site.

Creating Content

Either you know that you are capable of writing your own articles or you feel that you might need to hire a ghostwriter to help you with your task.

If you need a ghostwriter to help you create articles to promote your program, there are literally dozens of companies and hundreds of freelance writers out there that can help you complete your task.

Tips for Selecting Your Ghostwriter

One of my clients asked me the other day whether they should use their own inhouse writer to develop their articles or whether they should hire a famous writer to write their articles for them.

That is a good question. It depends on how many articles you will want to have created for you.

If you plan on creating fewer than ten articles, it might make more sense to hire an already famous, professional writer. So long as your famous writer is known for the type of content you want to have created, then your famous writer will help you get a strong running start in that they already have a good reputation in the field you want your articles written.

If your famous writer is not known in your field, then it does not matter whether you use the famous writer, your inhouse writer, or if you create a pen name for a fictional writer.

Gambling on the Long Term

If your intent is to have more than ten articles created, then it is my suggestion that you should either use your inhouse writer using his or her real name or create a pen name for your inhouse writer.

Whether you use the writer*s real name or a pen name, your decision should be made upon your confidence in your inhouse writer. Sure, you can count on their skills or you would not be considering using their work. The real question you must ask yourself is how long you feel that the inhouse writer will remain in your employment.

There is always a chance that your business will be built on the name of someone who goes to another job, taking his or her name recognition with him or her to the other employer. Using your writer*s real name or a pen name is always a gamble. Weigh all of the factors well before making your decision.

If It Were My Business

If I ran a brickandmortar business in a very competitive marketplace where personalities can shine brighter than the home office, then I would strongly consider using my inhouse writer and providing him or her with a fictional pen name. There is no sense in building a name that will go on to promote your competition.

Manifesting the *Power of Seven*

If you have plans to develop more than ten articles for the promotion of your business, then it does not matter if your writer is already famous in your field.

I am sure that you have heard about the *Power of Seven.*

Many research companies have studied the question of how many times a business must be seen before the customer has confidence enough to spend money with the business.

The research has been conclusive. Seven is the magic number. Once a potential customer has heard of a business seven times, the business has rose above the first major hurdle in attracting the potential customer to their business. After a potential customer has heard of a business seven times, then the potential customer is much more likely to trust the business enough to spend their money with the business.

The *Power of Ten* in Publishing

A writer is very much like a business, and a publisher is very much like a customer. The *Power of Seven* plays an important role in getting the writer*s work published.

However, we cannot count on seven promotional articles to bridge the trust gap with the publisher. While publishers will see most of your articles, as they are made available for publication, usually they will not see seven articles in seven distributions.

Publishers are busy people and they do not check for new articles daily. But, publishers do check for new articles regularly as they need to continuously find materials for publication.

The goal is to send out ten articles to get seven articles seen and read by publishers. Once the publisher reads the seventh article, if the quality of the articles had been good, then the publisher will trust the value of the articles created by the writer.

More Figures Concerning Promotional Article Success

Ironically, the fact that the publisher has seen articles by a particular writer seven times is often good enough to get the writer published. The publisher only needs to read one or two good quality articles by the writer to cement the trust they will have in the writer.

Once the publisher has come to the decision that a writer is good and provides information important to their readers, the publisher will always notice the writer*s name as they are browsing for the next article that they will publish.

With my business, I have been distributing articles for my clients since early 2000. Any writer who has permitted me to submit articles for them for the length of six months remains to be one of my clients. Why do you think that is?

I believe it is because six months worth of article submissions whether done weekly, biweekly or monthly has enabled my client*s to bridge the *Power of Seven* with the publishers and webmasters who receive the articles that I distribute.

Some who distribute weekly cross the *Power of Seven* bridge well before the six months is up and they reaped fast rewards for their hyperdistribution schedule.

Publishers & Webmasters Are the Gateways to Buyers

With my service, I am able to get your articles into the mailboxes of more than 12,000 publishers and webmasters looking for good quality content.

If only 25 publishers with an average of 5,000 readers each reprint an article, then 125,000 potential buyers could read the average article. Add to that fact that several of my client*s get published in ezines that reach more than 700,000 readers, and my clients can reach nearly one million buyers with a single article.

The *Power of Seven* Could Make YOU Famous!

I always suggest that if you are doing more than ten articles, you should use your inhouse writer*s name or a fictional pen name. The reason I say this is that after ten articles, you will be strongly on the road to becoming famous yourself. Once the name used to promote your business has become famous, and then your business will continue to reap the rewards for that famous name for years to come.

About The Author

Bill Platt owns http://thePhantomWriters.com. Do you need free content for your website or ezine? Our archives deliver more than 700 freereprint articles available for your use. http://content.thePhantomWriters.com. Do you write your own articles? Let us distribute them for you to our network of 12000+ publishers & webmasters http://thePhantomWriters.com/distribution

This article was posted on September 27, 2004

by Bill Platt

A Magic Number for Writing Sales Letters

A Magic Number for Writing Sales Letters

by: Matthew Cobb

When I write sales letters for my clients, one rule I always start with is The Rule of 7.

I learned about The Rule of 7 from one of my good friends who once ran for political office. In his campaign, he made certain that his name appeared seven times in all of his radio spots.

Why? Because that’s generally the number of times required before a name ขmagicallyข sticks in the mind of a prospect. The Rule of 7 is often used in radio and television advertising. But this isn’t an isolated occurrence—the number seven seems to be a bit magical in other areas, like prospecting and linguistics.

Do you know the average number of times experts say you need to make contact with a prospect before they will be ready to commit?

Seven.

Can you guess how many times linguists say a person must use a word before it becomes a true part of their vocabulary?

That’s right—seven.

This ขmagicข is the reason I try to repeat my client’s product name or business name seven times in the sales letters I write for them.

The truth is, we’re not really talking about magic, here. It’s really about generating recognition for a name or a concept. It’s about embedding something in a prospect’s subconscious mind. It’s about branding. I use The Rule of 7 to write sales letters, but the idea can be applied to other areas of marketing, too.

Every person and every thing has an identity—and branding is about more than just a logo. A brand identity is about who you are, what you offer and the benefits of choosing you over the competition. The name you choose to operate under—whether your personal name, your business name, your product name, or your website address—is a link to all of that information. Repetition, which is what makes The Rule of 7 work, strengthens the recognition and recollection of your brand.

Now, all the ขexpertsข may come back later and say that ขsevenข isn’t the right number after all. It’s nine. Or it’s five. Or it’s eightpointthree. But it doesn’t really matter, does it? Seven works well as a general rule. (Besides, it is a lucky number.)

Of course, I know that fulfilling The Rule of 7 is no guarantee a prospect will accept an offer. But I know using the rule increases the chance that a prospect will see my name or the name of one of my websites and think, ขOh, yeah, I remember Seductive Sales Lettersข or ขI remember Matthew Cobb.ข Recognition and recollection—that’s what The Rule of 7 is all about.

One word of warning, though. Just because seven times is good doesn’t mean that seventy times is even better. Repeating the same name over and over again can grow annoying and cause prospects to quit reading. And then, you may not even be able to fulfill The Rule of 1.

About The Author

Matthew Cobb is an independent copywriter/consultant who operates Seductive Sales Letters. Visit SeductiveSalesLetters.com and sign up for the official monthly publication, The Seductive Sales Letter Clinic.

This article was posted on March 11, 2003

by Matthew Cobb

Sins of the Internet Marketing Godfathers

Sins of the Internet Marketing Godfathers

by: Ed Zivkovic

What is an Internet Marketing Godfather?

Someone who I *perceive* to know more about Internet Marketing Stuff than me. Usually, my thinking tells me that if they are making more money than me, I should listen to them.

But consider this. How come some Internet Marketing Gurus do not even tell you what script they use to manage their affiliate program?

Obviously this is an important ingredient in the Internet Marketing recipe. Of course it is, but they want to tell you how to get rich marketing their products. They will even sell you tools to help you with this.

Consider this too. Internet Marketers first mail their jointventure partners with their *new* product. After the joint venture partners have mailed their huge lists, they then offer the item to the rest of their lowly affiliates.

What is Internet Marketing Sin?

In itกs simplest form, it is perpetrating an untruth. Once upon a time it may or may not have been true, but things have changed.

The Internet is in a constant process of change and growth (like the Universe), and certain statements that once were valid and correct, no longer have meaning or value, or have less meaning or value to Internet Marketers today than they did a few years, or even a few months ago.

Example of an Internet Marketing Sin

Start a link exchange program in order to increase your search engine rankings.

This is not as effective today as it once was. The reason? The search engines are filtering out certain pages as irrelevant. A real life example of a page getting filtered out is one that is named กlinks.htmlก, and maybe even directories called กlinksก could be targeted in the future.

This is just *one* example. I wander how many things we are doing which is at best is only a waste of time, and worse, is getting us banned and costing us money?

How does Internet Marketing information become a Sin?

The same way it does in any area of thinking.

Example: For decades, our parents, grandparents and great grandparents have watched ads on TV which claim milk is good us. Also, the parents *teach* their children that milk is good for them without ever doing any of their own research on the matter. They accept what they see on TV as truth and never question the validity of these กmilk is good for youก statements. It must be true, there was a doctor on TV telling me so and mum told me ever since I can remember.

And so a sin is born. A belief based on an assumption without any investigation whatsoever. This sin gets passed down from generation to generation as absolute truth.

Another example: Industrialage thinking. Parents who were brought up in the industrial age believe in getting a nice safe secure job and working hard for 48 weeks a year for someone else so that they can retire in comfort.

This sin is is still being passed down from parent to child. It is also being taught in schools as part of an education program. It must be the way to go, everybody mocks me if I think something else which opposes this.

In the same way, someone who got into Internet Marketing years ago could be perpetrating information which is simply not relevant today or maybe never was relevant. The information only served to waste our precious time, vacuum clean our wallets and line the pockets of the perpetrator.

These people might have published a book or started some kind of service on the Internet. The book or service is being plugged by thousands of affiliates who recruit even more affiliates.

This is how sins, errors in thinking, false beliefs or whatever else you want to call them get passed along the the Internet Marketing Community.

Differentiate between the true and the false

On the Internet, seven generations is not like seven human generations. Information passed on seven times, seven levels deep is seven generations.

Just because someone permission markets you with some new tool which will explode your Income, search engine rankings or traffic, does not mean that it will work for you today.

Hell, join their affiliate program and spread the sin one more generation. Recruit others who will recruit others and help you spread the sin.

Conclusion

Reading uptodate search engine books is a step in the right direction, as is lurking around good webmaster and SEO forums. There you can ask questions about particular products and get feedback from those who have walked the path before you.

Copyright 2004 Ed Zivkovic

About The Author

The author, Ed Zivkovic owns his own website which contains articles with all sorts of tips for work at home webmasters. Here is the site: http://www.ezau.com.

This article was posted on November 19, 2004

by Ed Zivkovic