Welcome to Flo's Business & Fun Blog
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! In today's article Michael Angier is sharing with You some ideas about dealing with the many changes happening all around us. This article was written in 2000 and was one of their most popular. And I think it's just as timely today as it was then—perhaps more so...
Quote of the day!
“When You believe You can—You can!”
~ Maxwell Maltz ~
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Change Happens: How to Accept,
Navigate and Master Change
by - Michael Angier, founder and CIO
www.SuccessNet.org
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Not only do we live in a time of unprecedented change, but the changes we’re experiencing are happening at a faster and faster rate. The telephone, radio and TV took decades to be placed into common use. Now the time it takes from invention to widespread usage is just a few years—sometimes months!
Our lives are significantly unlike that of our parents’. We think differently, act differently, travel differently, and we work differently. Virtually everything about how we interact with the world around us has changed injust one generation.
We’re bombarded with new ideas, new systems, new jobs, new technologies and new opportunities. The more we learn, the more we realize how small our personal store of knowledge is in comparison to the vast universe of data.
Most of the change we’re experiencing is appreciated. We like much of what we see happening. While we enjoy many of these changes, there are other changes that are not so warmly embraced. There’s more uncertainty, less confidence and—as a result—more stress.
I’m a recreational sailor. There’s hardly anything I enjoy more than being out on the water with the wind in my sails. Sailing has taught me many things. Not the least of which is a healthy respect for the wind. You have absolutely no control over the wind—only the way you use it. You must master your abilityto handle the wind, regardless how hard it blows or which direction it blows.
And change is like the wind. It’s neither good nor bad. It just is.
But how we feel about change—our attitudes toward it—will have much to do with how well we navigate this turbulent sea of change. If we dislike change, resist it, ignore it or resent it, we will lose.
On the other hand, if we use it to our advantage, we’ll benefit from it.
What’s your attitude toward change? What are your beliefs about the change you see around you and the change that surely lies ahead? When faced with something new and different, do you long for the old way or do you look for what advantages this may bring to you, your family, your business.
Your answer may be different based upon the type of change you face.
Choice or no choice
If the new situation is to your liking or a result of your own choosing, you will likely have a positive reaction. If the change seems forced upon you—a new responsibility at work, a shopping mall going in next door or your spouse telling you they want a divorce, you'll experience a different reaction.
The more power you feel you have over a given situation, the easier it is to handle.
Recognize change
Author Dr. Phillip McGraw is fond of saying—and he’s right—“You cannot change what you don’t acknowledge.” Oftentimes we’re slow to realize or even fail to recognize changes that occur. We need to look at what’s happening and acknowledge what we need to change in ourselves in order to adapt to the changes around us.
Which brings us to one of the first steps in dealing with change . . .
How will this change affect me?
Too often, people resist change before allowing themselves to explore its potential benefits.
Make a sincere effort to look for the good in what appears to be changing. Because of a natural resistance to the unknown, you must consciously and logically analyze what this difference will mean to you. And it’s often not what you first perceive.
How can you exploit this change?
Many fortunes have been made by taking swift advantage of changes and trends before others have realized how to do so.
A change that alters the rules means opportun?ty only if you’re able to see the new connections—and exploit them.
If after thoroughly exploring the potential good, you see the change as negatively impacting you, then ask the next question . . .
Is there anything I can do about this?
There’s no question that some change runs counter to your best interests. If this is the case, you need to find out if you can change the circumstances. This is no time to play victim. Often what LOOKS like a situation totally
outside of your control can in fact be altered.
If you can't change the circumstances, then ask . . .
How can I minimize the impact of this change?
First, accept it. There’s no payoff to being upset about it. If your destination is LA and you find yourself in San Francisco due to bad weather or mechanical difficulties, being angry about it will not get you to LA. In fact, it will hinder you.
By accepting the reality of the situation, you can then change your strategies. You can take a new tack. You can change sails. You can set a new course.
This is the time for green-light thinking. This is the time to attack the problem with your intellect, to get the help you need, to do whatever it takes to adjust to this change.
In all of these steps, you need to be creative. As paradigms shift, as new systems go into place and new technologies evolve, you must be open to how this changes the setup as we knew it.
Your success is largely dependent upon your acceptance and response to the change that takes place around you. Extinctions occur as a result of an inability to change. To change is often difficult, but to not change may prove fatal.
Those who will thrive in the new millennium will be those who have positive attitudes toward change. Those who don’t will be left behind, or worse yet, they will founder.
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Copyright Michael Angier & Success Networks International.
Used with Permission.
Michael Angier is the founder and president of SuccessNet. Their mission is to inform, inspire and empower people to be their best--personally and professionally.
Download their free eBooklet, 10 ESSENTIAL KEYS TO PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS from www.SuccessNet.org/keys.htm or by sending a blank email to keys@SuccessNet.org.
More free subscriptions, books and SuccessMark Cards are available at www.SuccessNet.org.
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Have yourself a Super Tuesday!
Feb 28, 2006
Feb 27, 2006
In-Person Events...
Welcome to Flo's Business & Fun Blog
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Have You ever attend an in-person events or seminars? These events are very valuable and a great way to make new friends. In today's article Alexandria is sharing with You three successful strategies to encourage people You meet in person to join your list...
Quote
"When You have a dream you've got to grab it and never let go."
~ Carol Burnett ~
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How to Get E-zine Subscribers From In-Person Events
by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”
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While I run my business completely online, I really enjoy attending in-person events and seminars here in Los Angeles and around the country. I'm sure you find these events valuable too. The problem most of us have with networking, however, is following up with the people we meet.
An easy way to follow-up powerfully and automatically is to turn these folks into e-zine subscribers. This ensures that you'll have the chance to repeatedly teach them how great your products/services are while building their trust in you.
But how do you "capture" people in person? Remember, you can NEVER sign someone up unless they specifically ask you to be signed up — it's unethical.
So you need to encourage people you meet in person to join your list, and make it easy for them. And I have three successful strategies to share with you.
1) Advertise Your E-zine on Your Business Card (or Brochure)
Nothing gets passed around at a networking event more than the good old business card. But what's on the BACK of your cards?
Nothing?
Well, from now on you're going to use that valuable real estate. Next time you print new cards, use the flip side! Create a brief message that promotes your e-zine and gives information on how to subscribe. When someone you meet looks at your business card again when she's back at the office, she'll be much more likely to subscribe when she sees the reminder on your card.
As an example, here's what I have on the back of my new cards:
"Promote your business with an e-zine! Sign up for FREE biweekly tips at www.EzineQueen.com."
BONUS: This strategy also gets these people to visit your Web site, which they may not have done otherwise.
If you aren't ready to print new cards for a while, use your computer to print your message onto labels, and affix them to the backs of your cards. Cheap and easy!
2) Follow Up With Each Person You Meet Via E-Mail
After each event I go to, I aim to follow up with every person I met with via e-mail within three days. In that e-mail, I remind the person that she can sign up for my FREE tips at my Web site. Here's an example of a note I sent out recently:
"Dear Margaret,
It was a pleasure to chat with you at [EVENT NAME HERE] last Thursday. I'd like to learn more about your business and how we can help each other. Perhaps we can meet for coffee next week?
In the meantime, you may enjoy my FREE weekly e-zine "Straight Shooter Marketing" that gives tips on how to market yourself online. I write it for small business owners just like you! You can learn more and sign up at www.EzineQueen.com
Take care and let's stay in touch.
Best, Alexandria K. Brown, 'The E-zine Queen'"
Once again, this strategy also gets these people to visit your Web site, which they may not have done otherwise. (Very cool, yes?)
3) Are you the Speaker? Pass Around a Signup Sheet or Collect Cards
Whenever I'm the featured speaker at an event, I make sure to give the audience members an easy way to sign up for my e-zine. I either pass around a signup sheet to collect their names and e-mail addresses, OR I collect business cards when I draw a winner for a free book.
If you use the business card method, tell the audience to write an "E" for e-zine on their card — this lets you know they want to be signed up for your newsletter. Some speakers do the opposite, and tell the audience that if they do NOT want to be subscribed to their e-zine, to put a "NO" on their card, but I'm more comfortable with the former method.
Remember, Your List Is Your Goldmine!
People you meet in person will be very valuable subscribers, because they've already met you. And we're all more likely to buy from others whom we know, like, and trust.
Your in-person meeting will start that process, and your e-zine will follow-through for you, automatically!
(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at www.ezinequeen.com.
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Have yourself a Super Monday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Have You ever attend an in-person events or seminars? These events are very valuable and a great way to make new friends. In today's article Alexandria is sharing with You three successful strategies to encourage people You meet in person to join your list...
Quote
"When You have a dream you've got to grab it and never let go."
~ Carol Burnett ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
How to Get E-zine Subscribers From In-Person Events
by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
While I run my business completely online, I really enjoy attending in-person events and seminars here in Los Angeles and around the country. I'm sure you find these events valuable too. The problem most of us have with networking, however, is following up with the people we meet.
An easy way to follow-up powerfully and automatically is to turn these folks into e-zine subscribers. This ensures that you'll have the chance to repeatedly teach them how great your products/services are while building their trust in you.
But how do you "capture" people in person? Remember, you can NEVER sign someone up unless they specifically ask you to be signed up — it's unethical.
So you need to encourage people you meet in person to join your list, and make it easy for them. And I have three successful strategies to share with you.
1) Advertise Your E-zine on Your Business Card (or Brochure)
Nothing gets passed around at a networking event more than the good old business card. But what's on the BACK of your cards?
Nothing?
Well, from now on you're going to use that valuable real estate. Next time you print new cards, use the flip side! Create a brief message that promotes your e-zine and gives information on how to subscribe. When someone you meet looks at your business card again when she's back at the office, she'll be much more likely to subscribe when she sees the reminder on your card.
As an example, here's what I have on the back of my new cards:
"Promote your business with an e-zine! Sign up for FREE biweekly tips at www.EzineQueen.com."
BONUS: This strategy also gets these people to visit your Web site, which they may not have done otherwise.
If you aren't ready to print new cards for a while, use your computer to print your message onto labels, and affix them to the backs of your cards. Cheap and easy!
2) Follow Up With Each Person You Meet Via E-Mail
After each event I go to, I aim to follow up with every person I met with via e-mail within three days. In that e-mail, I remind the person that she can sign up for my FREE tips at my Web site. Here's an example of a note I sent out recently:
"Dear Margaret,
It was a pleasure to chat with you at [EVENT NAME HERE] last Thursday. I'd like to learn more about your business and how we can help each other. Perhaps we can meet for coffee next week?
In the meantime, you may enjoy my FREE weekly e-zine "Straight Shooter Marketing" that gives tips on how to market yourself online. I write it for small business owners just like you! You can learn more and sign up at www.EzineQueen.com
Take care and let's stay in touch.
Best, Alexandria K. Brown, 'The E-zine Queen'"
Once again, this strategy also gets these people to visit your Web site, which they may not have done otherwise. (Very cool, yes?)
3) Are you the Speaker? Pass Around a Signup Sheet or Collect Cards
Whenever I'm the featured speaker at an event, I make sure to give the audience members an easy way to sign up for my e-zine. I either pass around a signup sheet to collect their names and e-mail addresses, OR I collect business cards when I draw a winner for a free book.
If you use the business card method, tell the audience to write an "E" for e-zine on their card — this lets you know they want to be signed up for your newsletter. Some speakers do the opposite, and tell the audience that if they do NOT want to be subscribed to their e-zine, to put a "NO" on their card, but I'm more comfortable with the former method.
Remember, Your List Is Your Goldmine!
People you meet in person will be very valuable subscribers, because they've already met you. And we're all more likely to buy from others whom we know, like, and trust.
Your in-person meeting will start that process, and your e-zine will follow-through for you, automatically!
(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown
-=-
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at www.ezinequeen.com.
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Have yourself a Super Monday!
Feb 26, 2006
Do an Email Interview!
Welcome to Flo's Business & Fun Blog
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Today's article is an interesting topic "How to Do an Email Interview", people love free publicity! Here's something different for YOU to try, Alexandra is sharing 9 easy steps that YOU can follow at trying this fresh idea...
Quote of the day
Yes, YOU can be a dreamer and a doer too, if YOU will remove one word from your vocabulary: impossible.
~ Robert Schuller ~
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How to Do an E-mail Interview in 9 Easy Steps
by Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen"
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Need a fresh idea for your e-zine content? Do an interview!
One of the many benefits of being an e-zine publisher is that you'll have no trouble finding experts who will take a few minutes to talk with you. People love free publicity and are generally delighted to get in front of your readers.
But don't assume doing an interview requires an in-person meeting or even a phone date. While those are great, you can also just do an e-mail interview. Once you learn how to do these and realize how easy they are, you'll do them all the time.
Here's what to do:
1) Choose a topic your readers would like to learn more about and that relates to your area of interest.
2) Identify an appropriate expert to interview on the topic.
3) Make your first connection via e-mail or phone. (If your expert is a very busy one, you'll do best to make your initial contact by phone. Be sure to introduce yourself as "publisher of __________ e-zine" to get her attention.
4) If your first connection is via e-mail, here's an example of what you can use:
Dear Fran:
My name's Steven Tyler, and I publish the biweekly e-zine "Senior Biz Success." We feature articles and information on small business success for older folks.
In November we're going to be publishing an issue on success tactics that are particular to seniors, and I'd love to do a short interview with you. The article would feature your contact information to be seen by our 5,500+ subscribers.
I have five targeted questions that I can send you via e-mail. I'd need your answers back within one week. Then I'd send the edit back to you for a final approval, which I would need within three days.
Are you game? I'd be honored to interview you, and I'm sure my readers would love to know about your Web site and services. I hope to hear back from you soon. : )
(NOTE: You can also use the above example as a template for a script if you use the phone instead.)
5) Once the prospect says "yes," construct three to five questions for her to answer. Remember to ask these questions from your readers' point of view. List them in an e-mail and send them to your expert.
6) When you get the answers back, you'll probably need to make some edits to suit your particular readership.
7) Follow up via e-mail or phone if you need to clear up any points. If for any reason your expert's answers weren't on target, rephrase your questions to get the info you need. Also, don't feel obliged to include every bit of information your interviewee provides. You're the editor, so YOU decide what stays and what goes. Keep it focused -- that's your job.
8) Now, assemble your questions and her answers in a neatly organized Q&A format. Insert a brief introduction that tells your readers why this person is qualified to answer your questions as an expert. Then add her contact info at the end.
Example: Fran Farndale is author of Super Business Tactics for Folks Over 50. Learn more about her book and consulting services at www.superbiztacticsover50.com or write her at fran@superbiztacticsover50.com.
9) Get approval from your expert on the final version before you publish it.
Not only do interviews give you valuable content to pass on to your readers, but they can also lead to valuable relationships for YOU. Now your interviewee knows who YOU are, and that can possibly lead to referrals or joint ventures in the future.
So stop right now and write down three experts in your industry whose brains you'd love to pick, and get rolling!
(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at www.EzineQueen.com.
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Have yourself a Super Sunday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Today's article is an interesting topic "How to Do an Email Interview", people love free publicity! Here's something different for YOU to try, Alexandra is sharing 9 easy steps that YOU can follow at trying this fresh idea...
Quote of the day
Yes, YOU can be a dreamer and a doer too, if YOU will remove one word from your vocabulary: impossible.
~ Robert Schuller ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
How to Do an E-mail Interview in 9 Easy Steps
by Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Need a fresh idea for your e-zine content? Do an interview!
One of the many benefits of being an e-zine publisher is that you'll have no trouble finding experts who will take a few minutes to talk with you. People love free publicity and are generally delighted to get in front of your readers.
But don't assume doing an interview requires an in-person meeting or even a phone date. While those are great, you can also just do an e-mail interview. Once you learn how to do these and realize how easy they are, you'll do them all the time.
Here's what to do:
1) Choose a topic your readers would like to learn more about and that relates to your area of interest.
2) Identify an appropriate expert to interview on the topic.
3) Make your first connection via e-mail or phone. (If your expert is a very busy one, you'll do best to make your initial contact by phone. Be sure to introduce yourself as "publisher of __________ e-zine" to get her attention.
4) If your first connection is via e-mail, here's an example of what you can use:
Dear Fran:
My name's Steven Tyler, and I publish the biweekly e-zine "Senior Biz Success." We feature articles and information on small business success for older folks.
In November we're going to be publishing an issue on success tactics that are particular to seniors, and I'd love to do a short interview with you. The article would feature your contact information to be seen by our 5,500+ subscribers.
I have five targeted questions that I can send you via e-mail. I'd need your answers back within one week. Then I'd send the edit back to you for a final approval, which I would need within three days.
Are you game? I'd be honored to interview you, and I'm sure my readers would love to know about your Web site and services. I hope to hear back from you soon. : )
(NOTE: You can also use the above example as a template for a script if you use the phone instead.)
5) Once the prospect says "yes," construct three to five questions for her to answer. Remember to ask these questions from your readers' point of view. List them in an e-mail and send them to your expert.
6) When you get the answers back, you'll probably need to make some edits to suit your particular readership.
7) Follow up via e-mail or phone if you need to clear up any points. If for any reason your expert's answers weren't on target, rephrase your questions to get the info you need. Also, don't feel obliged to include every bit of information your interviewee provides. You're the editor, so YOU decide what stays and what goes. Keep it focused -- that's your job.
8) Now, assemble your questions and her answers in a neatly organized Q&A format. Insert a brief introduction that tells your readers why this person is qualified to answer your questions as an expert. Then add her contact info at the end.
Example: Fran Farndale is author of Super Business Tactics for Folks Over 50. Learn more about her book and consulting services at www.superbiztacticsover50.com or write her at fran@superbiztacticsover50.com.
9) Get approval from your expert on the final version before you publish it.
Not only do interviews give you valuable content to pass on to your readers, but they can also lead to valuable relationships for YOU. Now your interviewee knows who YOU are, and that can possibly lead to referrals or joint ventures in the future.
So stop right now and write down three experts in your industry whose brains you'd love to pick, and get rolling!
(c) 2003 Alexandria K. Brown
-=-
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at www.EzineQueen.com.
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Have yourself a Super Sunday!
Feb 24, 2006
The Secret of Her Success
Welcome to Flo's Business & Fun Blog
Today's article is about "Online Dating Services". Jim is sharing how one such person, Rosalind Gardner took her interest in Online Dating Services and how it turned into a business that generated almost half a million dollars in revenue last year...
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Friday today, the sun is shinning brightly and I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow. I have nothing plan but to remove myself from my computer and do something different !!!
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The Secret of Her Success
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
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Despite all the "dot-com" busts a few years ago, the Internet still represents the ultimate opportunity for some people to turn their initiative, a good idea, and a few bucks into a legitimate, profitable business.
One such person, Rosalind Gardner, took her interest in online dating services and turned it into a business that generated almost half a million dollars in revenue last year and should do even better this year.
The fact that she created this business without spending one dime on product development makes her story even more amazing.
Rosalind Gardner used to make her living as an air traffic controller, a job most people consider quite stressful.
After getting tired of swing-shift work, and though she had no product of her own to sell and needed to make money relatively quickly, Gardner decided to try her hand at selling on the Internet.
What she did next might seem simple, but it started an online venture that would make every dot-com refugee from 1999 drool with envy.
Gardner logged on to OneAndOnly.com, an online dating service, and signed up as an associate or "affiliate". She said they were paying "healthy" commissions to any webmaster who wanted to refer paying customers to them.
Commonly called "affiliate programs," this setup enables entrepreneurs to create a business promoting other people's businesses and bypass the entire product development and product testing phases.
In short, by selling through other people's affiliate programs, virtually anyone can set up a business online promoting almost any type of product or service.
Gardner created a website (101date.com), her storefront on the Internet.
Though she created her own website pages, she suggests that an effective way to get started even faster is to go to dollartemplates.com or 4templates.com, buy a website template for between $10-$30, and modify it to meet your needs.
"Instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on website design," Gardner advises, "purchase an inexpensive website template for much less than the cost of dinner and a movie!"
Gardner also kept the content for her website simple, direct and effective. Though she wanted to appeal to the widest possible audience, she kept focused on her narrow "niche" of online dating.
She wrote a review of the dating service so her visitors could quickly understand the main benefits, pitfalls, special features, and other information to see if the service met their needs. If it did, and they clicked through her affiliate link to sign up, Gardner made a commission.
To drive traffic to her site, Gardner buys targeted, keyword-specific ads from google.com and overture.com which get displayed on the Web's most popular sites, including Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN.
This type of advertising means she only spends money when interested people actively searching for dating information go to her website.
Gardner also offers a newsletter from her dating website in order to update her visitors when new dating services and products come available.
The side benefits of publishing the newsletter are many, including the fact that she can build trust with her subscribers by sending them valuable articles and information on a regular basis.
Instead of just referring them over to the merchant's site and losing them forever, Gardner captures them and makes them her customer first... and then hands them off to the merchant.
So what's the secret of her success?
Gardner's system works because:
~ she keeps it simple;
~ she doesn't get slowed down by creating the product herself;
~ she adds her own unique value to the process with her reviews and newsletter;
~ she only invests in performance-based advertising.
Further, her added step of going the extra mile to offer free updates, articles and tips to her growing list helps her business grow MUCH faster than affiliates who just hand-off to the merchant website.
By building her list, she can bring visitors back to her site or send them to other sites through her affiliate link without having to pay for them again.
So if the system is so simple, why don't more people do it this way?
My only guess is that maybe it's too simple! Often people want something complicated in order to feel like a "system" will work, but often the opposite proves true.
Simple = Powerful = It keeps working!
For more information about Gardner and the step-by-step process detailed in her new ebook, "The Super Affiliate Handbook - How I Made $436,797 Last Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online" log on to www.Affiliate-Handbook.com
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Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist (www.TheNetReporter.com) and is the author of numerous best-selling ebooks, information products and software programs.
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> Write Money Making Ezine Articles FAST!
-=-
Have yourself a Super Friday and a fantastic weekend!
Today's article is about "Online Dating Services". Jim is sharing how one such person, Rosalind Gardner took her interest in Online Dating Services and how it turned into a business that generated almost half a million dollars in revenue last year...
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Friday today, the sun is shinning brightly and I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow. I have nothing plan but to remove myself from my computer and do something different !!!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The Secret of Her Success
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Despite all the "dot-com" busts a few years ago, the Internet still represents the ultimate opportunity for some people to turn their initiative, a good idea, and a few bucks into a legitimate, profitable business.
One such person, Rosalind Gardner, took her interest in online dating services and turned it into a business that generated almost half a million dollars in revenue last year and should do even better this year.
The fact that she created this business without spending one dime on product development makes her story even more amazing.
Rosalind Gardner used to make her living as an air traffic controller, a job most people consider quite stressful.
After getting tired of swing-shift work, and though she had no product of her own to sell and needed to make money relatively quickly, Gardner decided to try her hand at selling on the Internet.
What she did next might seem simple, but it started an online venture that would make every dot-com refugee from 1999 drool with envy.
Gardner logged on to OneAndOnly.com, an online dating service, and signed up as an associate or "affiliate". She said they were paying "healthy" commissions to any webmaster who wanted to refer paying customers to them.
Commonly called "affiliate programs," this setup enables entrepreneurs to create a business promoting other people's businesses and bypass the entire product development and product testing phases.
In short, by selling through other people's affiliate programs, virtually anyone can set up a business online promoting almost any type of product or service.
Gardner created a website (101date.com), her storefront on the Internet.
Though she created her own website pages, she suggests that an effective way to get started even faster is to go to dollartemplates.com or 4templates.com, buy a website template for between $10-$30, and modify it to meet your needs.
"Instead of spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on website design," Gardner advises, "purchase an inexpensive website template for much less than the cost of dinner and a movie!"
Gardner also kept the content for her website simple, direct and effective. Though she wanted to appeal to the widest possible audience, she kept focused on her narrow "niche" of online dating.
She wrote a review of the dating service so her visitors could quickly understand the main benefits, pitfalls, special features, and other information to see if the service met their needs. If it did, and they clicked through her affiliate link to sign up, Gardner made a commission.
To drive traffic to her site, Gardner buys targeted, keyword-specific ads from google.com and overture.com which get displayed on the Web's most popular sites, including Yahoo!, AOL, and MSN.
This type of advertising means she only spends money when interested people actively searching for dating information go to her website.
Gardner also offers a newsletter from her dating website in order to update her visitors when new dating services and products come available.
The side benefits of publishing the newsletter are many, including the fact that she can build trust with her subscribers by sending them valuable articles and information on a regular basis.
Instead of just referring them over to the merchant's site and losing them forever, Gardner captures them and makes them her customer first... and then hands them off to the merchant.
So what's the secret of her success?
Gardner's system works because:
~ she keeps it simple;
~ she doesn't get slowed down by creating the product herself;
~ she adds her own unique value to the process with her reviews and newsletter;
~ she only invests in performance-based advertising.
Further, her added step of going the extra mile to offer free updates, articles and tips to her growing list helps her business grow MUCH faster than affiliates who just hand-off to the merchant website.
By building her list, she can bring visitors back to her site or send them to other sites through her affiliate link without having to pay for them again.
So if the system is so simple, why don't more people do it this way?
My only guess is that maybe it's too simple! Often people want something complicated in order to feel like a "system" will work, but often the opposite proves true.
Simple = Powerful = It keeps working!
For more information about Gardner and the step-by-step process detailed in her new ebook, "The Super Affiliate Handbook - How I Made $436,797 Last Year Selling Other People's Stuff Online" log on to www.Affiliate-Handbook.com
-=-
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist (www.TheNetReporter.com) and is the author of numerous best-selling ebooks, information products and software programs.
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> Write Money Making Ezine Articles FAST!
-=-
Have yourself a Super Friday and a fantastic weekend!
Feb 23, 2006
SE Optimization For Blogs
Welcome to Flo's Business & Fun Blog
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Do You have a blog? Is your blog Search Engine friendly? Do You think it will get indexed by the Search Engines?
In Priya Shah article it explains some simple rules for Search Engine Optimization, that can help your blog rank higher than static website pages in the Search Engine results pages. Learn what to do so You may get the traffic You deserve...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Search Engine Optimization For Blogs
Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah
www.priyashah.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Blogging software is really a simple Content Management System (CMS) that easily adds new pages and integrates them into your site's navigational structure and linkage.
Blogs and blog posts are naturally search engine friendly because they are text-rich, link-rich, frequently-updated webpages that use stylesheets or CSS, and have very little extraneous HTML.
Optimizing a blog is very similar to optimizing a website, and optimizing a blog post similar to optimizing a web page. But depending on the blogging service or software you use, the results may look somewhat different.
If you follow some simple rules for search engine optimization, your blog can rank much higher than static website pages in the search engine results pages.
Here are the most important rules to follow to get your posts listed for keywords of your choice.
1. Use your primary keyword in your blog domain
Whether you purchase a separate domain (recommended) for your blog, or host it on a blogging service or a subdomain of your own site, try to ensure that your URL contains the primary keyword you want to optimize for.
For example, if you want your blog to get found for the keyword "rss" get a domain with the keyword "rss", or use the keyword in a subdomain as in www.ebizwhiz-publishing.com/rssnews/
Getting a domain name with your own name might make for good branding, especially if yours is a personal blog.
But if you're doing it for business and want the targeted traffic to flow your way, keywords in the domain or subdomain are a move in the right direction.
2. Use your primary key phrase in your blog header tags and the title of your posts
If your primary key phrase is "business blogging" make sure that the word business, or blogging, or both, appear in your blog headers (the H1 or H2 tags) as well as the title of each of your posts.
Most blogging software will take the keywords in your post title and put them into the file name of the permalink posts it creates.
For example, if you have a blog on Blogger and title your post "Search Engine Optimization For Blogs", Blogger will automatically create a page with your post and name the file "search-engine-optimization-for-blogs.html" or something similar.
With other server-side software like Wordpress and Movable Type, you may require the mod_rewrite command to save the title of your entries as a permalink.
3. Use your secondary keywords in the body of your post
If you want to get listed for secondary keywords use them infrequently in the body of your post and pepper your blog titles or links with them appropriately.
Don't overdo this or your posts will end up sounding unnatural and spammy to readers.
4. Use your keywords in the anchor text of links
Keyword in links have more importance than simple text.
Use your primary and secondary keywords in the anchor text of links when linking to other blog posts or to other pages on your main site.
Link keywords where they naturally appear in the body text, but again, don't overdo it, or you'll end up with spammy looking pages.
5. Make sure search engines can spider your blog easily
Set up your blog so that the side navigation bar is present on all pages.
Make sure your archives and previous posts are accessible from all pages of your blog so they get spidered easily.
6. Get backlinks from other blogs or websites
Links pointing to your blog or posts are essential to build pagerank and make your blog rank higher in the search engine listings.
I've seen many people recommend Blogrolling as one method of building links to your blog.
BlogRolling is a one-stop linklist manager for your blog or journal. www.blogrolling.com
But all this service actually does is give you a bit of javascript code that "calls" the links.
As far as search engine rankings go, this method of linking is of little use, because spiders can't read external javascript code.
Instead I recommend that you focus your linking efforts on the methods here.
* Submitting to Blog Search Engines and Directories:
Submitting your blog and RSS feed to blog search engines and directories is essential for getting high-quality links back to your blog. Here is the best list I've found of places to submit your feed or blog.
Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites
www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/
* Link Exchanges:
Many similarly-themed blogs are often willing to exchange links with other blogs and form richly interlinked networks or communities. Link exchanges with other blogs are easy to implement with most blogging software.
* Trackbacks:
You can also get links back to your blog using trackbacks. One of the disadvantages of using Blogger is that it does not automatically create trackback urls that others can use to link back to your posts.
Haloscan is a free service that will automatically add comments and trackbacks to your Blogger blog.
www.haloscan.com
But if trackbacks are an important component of your linking strategy, I would advise using another software or system that adds this feature automatically.
* Comments:
You can also get back links to your blog by posting legitimate comments in response to posts on other blogs.
7. Update frequently
There's no better food for search engine spiders than fresh content.
Post and update your blog frequently using all the rules outlined above and there's no reason why your blog will not get you top rankings in a short period of time.
8. Stay put
Once you create your blog, try to stick to the same domain and blog host or system for as long as you continue to publish. You could end up losing a lot of your traffic, your readers and all your search engine listings if you decide to move.
For more ways of building traffic to your blog, read the article "How To Build Traffic To Your Blog." www.blog-maniac.com/build-blog-traffic.htm
-=-
Priya Shah publishes an internet marketing ezine at EbizWhiz-Publishing.com by day and doubles as a Blog Maniac by night Blog-Maniac.com. Blog Brandz BlogBrandz.com is the legitimate offspring of her affair with the blogosphere.
-=-
Have yourself a Super Thursday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Do You have a blog? Is your blog Search Engine friendly? Do You think it will get indexed by the Search Engines?
In Priya Shah article it explains some simple rules for Search Engine Optimization, that can help your blog rank higher than static website pages in the Search Engine results pages. Learn what to do so You may get the traffic You deserve...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Search Engine Optimization For Blogs
Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah
www.priyashah.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Blogging software is really a simple Content Management System (CMS) that easily adds new pages and integrates them into your site's navigational structure and linkage.
Blogs and blog posts are naturally search engine friendly because they are text-rich, link-rich, frequently-updated webpages that use stylesheets or CSS, and have very little extraneous HTML.
Optimizing a blog is very similar to optimizing a website, and optimizing a blog post similar to optimizing a web page. But depending on the blogging service or software you use, the results may look somewhat different.
If you follow some simple rules for search engine optimization, your blog can rank much higher than static website pages in the search engine results pages.
Here are the most important rules to follow to get your posts listed for keywords of your choice.
1. Use your primary keyword in your blog domain
Whether you purchase a separate domain (recommended) for your blog, or host it on a blogging service or a subdomain of your own site, try to ensure that your URL contains the primary keyword you want to optimize for.
For example, if you want your blog to get found for the keyword "rss" get a domain with the keyword "rss", or use the keyword in a subdomain as in www.ebizwhiz-publishing.com/rssnews/
Getting a domain name with your own name might make for good branding, especially if yours is a personal blog.
But if you're doing it for business and want the targeted traffic to flow your way, keywords in the domain or subdomain are a move in the right direction.
2. Use your primary key phrase in your blog header tags and the title of your posts
If your primary key phrase is "business blogging" make sure that the word business, or blogging, or both, appear in your blog headers (the H1 or H2 tags) as well as the title of each of your posts.
Most blogging software will take the keywords in your post title and put them into the file name of the permalink posts it creates.
For example, if you have a blog on Blogger and title your post "Search Engine Optimization For Blogs", Blogger will automatically create a page with your post and name the file "search-engine-optimization-for-blogs.html" or something similar.
With other server-side software like Wordpress and Movable Type, you may require the mod_rewrite command to save the title of your entries as a permalink.
3. Use your secondary keywords in the body of your post
If you want to get listed for secondary keywords use them infrequently in the body of your post and pepper your blog titles or links with them appropriately.
Don't overdo this or your posts will end up sounding unnatural and spammy to readers.
4. Use your keywords in the anchor text of links
Keyword in links have more importance than simple text.
Use your primary and secondary keywords in the anchor text of links when linking to other blog posts or to other pages on your main site.
Link keywords where they naturally appear in the body text, but again, don't overdo it, or you'll end up with spammy looking pages.
5. Make sure search engines can spider your blog easily
Set up your blog so that the side navigation bar is present on all pages.
Make sure your archives and previous posts are accessible from all pages of your blog so they get spidered easily.
6. Get backlinks from other blogs or websites
Links pointing to your blog or posts are essential to build pagerank and make your blog rank higher in the search engine listings.
I've seen many people recommend Blogrolling as one method of building links to your blog.
BlogRolling is a one-stop linklist manager for your blog or journal. www.blogrolling.com
But all this service actually does is give you a bit of javascript code that "calls" the links.
As far as search engine rankings go, this method of linking is of little use, because spiders can't read external javascript code.
Instead I recommend that you focus your linking efforts on the methods here.
* Submitting to Blog Search Engines and Directories:
Submitting your blog and RSS feed to blog search engines and directories is essential for getting high-quality links back to your blog. Here is the best list I've found of places to submit your feed or blog.
Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites
www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/
* Link Exchanges:
Many similarly-themed blogs are often willing to exchange links with other blogs and form richly interlinked networks or communities. Link exchanges with other blogs are easy to implement with most blogging software.
* Trackbacks:
You can also get links back to your blog using trackbacks. One of the disadvantages of using Blogger is that it does not automatically create trackback urls that others can use to link back to your posts.
Haloscan is a free service that will automatically add comments and trackbacks to your Blogger blog.
www.haloscan.com
But if trackbacks are an important component of your linking strategy, I would advise using another software or system that adds this feature automatically.
* Comments:
You can also get back links to your blog by posting legitimate comments in response to posts on other blogs.
7. Update frequently
There's no better food for search engine spiders than fresh content.
Post and update your blog frequently using all the rules outlined above and there's no reason why your blog will not get you top rankings in a short period of time.
8. Stay put
Once you create your blog, try to stick to the same domain and blog host or system for as long as you continue to publish. You could end up losing a lot of your traffic, your readers and all your search engine listings if you decide to move.
For more ways of building traffic to your blog, read the article "How To Build Traffic To Your Blog." www.blog-maniac.com/build-blog-traffic.htm
-=-
Priya Shah publishes an internet marketing ezine at EbizWhiz-Publishing.com by day and doubles as a Blog Maniac by night Blog-Maniac.com. Blog Brandz BlogBrandz.com is the legitimate offspring of her affair with the blogosphere.
-=-
Have yourself a Super Thursday!
Feb 22, 2006
Creating a Business Online
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun Blog
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Today's article "E-commerce" has fantastic information! Are You a business owner, salesperson, or professional ?? Are You asking yourself either "Am I using e-commerce correctly?" or "How do I effectively get involved in e-commerce?"
The answer to the first question and to analyze, debate the answer, You can buy books or pay for consulting! To answer to the second question Jim shares 12 steps to follow...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
12 Steps to Creating a Business Online
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"E-commerce"
A word pervading our society, making headlines around the world, and causing the stock market to rise and fall with startling ease.
It seems every business news story centers on some technology company’s "DOT-com" or "DOT-bomb"!
With all the positive and negative hoopla, business owners of any size company can throw up their hands and feel the "E" world has left them behind.
Every business owner, salesperson, or professional asked one of two questions in the past year, either "Am I using e-commerce correctly?" or "How do I effectively get involved in e-commerce?"
You can buy hundreds of books and pay thousands in consulting fees to analyze and debate the answer to the first question.
To answer to the second question just follow these 12 steps.
Step 1 - Buy a domain name (your own DOT-com). Go to www.NetworkSolutions.com and research names. Can a customer easily spell and remember it?
Step 2 - Write down your online goals and prepare a time and money budget.
How soon do you want your e-commerce site up and running?
How much will you spend?
How many hours will you devote to the site and when?
Step 3 - Surf the web to find other sites you like and dislike.
Learn from others’ successes and mistakes by taking the best of what their sites offer and adapting it for your own use.
Step 4 - Design your site on paper. Define elements, look, feel, colors etc.
Step 5 - Hire a professional to set up the graphics and navigation, but with the intention of you or your staff maintaining the site’s day to day operations, communication and updates.
Step 6 - Invest in a digital camera and web publishing software such as Microsoft Front Page or Adobe Acrobat to keep up with the site’s maintenance.
Step 7 - Maintain, change, and update your site at least once a month. (The one exception to this rule are those one-page, sales letter websites. Once you have one of those that performs well and makes sales, don't change it!!)
Step 8 - Promote your site at every opportunity. Tell people about it. Put your web address on your business cards and in all your ads. Some companies even advertise their web address when they put you on hold on the telephone.
Step 9 - Give people a self-serving reason to visit your site. Coupon savings, discounts, special incentives, free information, and free newsletters represent excellent enticements for attracting visitors to your site.
Step 10 - Concentrate on obtaining an email address from every customer and potential customer.
Obtain permission to send periodic, value-added malings to your database.
Use a list server to organize and maintain your mailing list.
Step 11 - Always look for and use the simplest solution or option.
Whether adding a shopping cart, database or other option to your e-commerce operation, seek out and use the simplest answer for your needs.
Step 12 - Become educated and stay current in the world of e-commerce.
Learn the marketing and sales techniques of the online world.
-=-
Jim Edwards is the co-author of a "paint by numbers" guide with step-by-step VIDEO that guarantees to teach you how to go from zero to making real money online in about a month!
"33 Days to Online Profits"
"Finally – a Simple, Video-Based Training System on CD-ROM that Teaches You Step-By-Step How to Make Real Money Online... 100% Guaranteed!" You can start with a few bucks and a good idea to make lots of money online! I did, and I'll teach you how no matter what product or service you sell...
Click Here => www.33daystoonlineprofits.com/video
-=-
Have yourself a Super Wednesday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Today's article "E-commerce" has fantastic information! Are You a business owner, salesperson, or professional ?? Are You asking yourself either "Am I using e-commerce correctly?" or "How do I effectively get involved in e-commerce?"
The answer to the first question and to analyze, debate the answer, You can buy books or pay for consulting! To answer to the second question Jim shares 12 steps to follow...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
12 Steps to Creating a Business Online
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"E-commerce"
A word pervading our society, making headlines around the world, and causing the stock market to rise and fall with startling ease.
It seems every business news story centers on some technology company’s "DOT-com" or "DOT-bomb"!
With all the positive and negative hoopla, business owners of any size company can throw up their hands and feel the "E" world has left them behind.
Every business owner, salesperson, or professional asked one of two questions in the past year, either "Am I using e-commerce correctly?" or "How do I effectively get involved in e-commerce?"
You can buy hundreds of books and pay thousands in consulting fees to analyze and debate the answer to the first question.
To answer to the second question just follow these 12 steps.
Step 1 - Buy a domain name (your own DOT-com). Go to www.NetworkSolutions.com and research names. Can a customer easily spell and remember it?
Step 2 - Write down your online goals and prepare a time and money budget.
How soon do you want your e-commerce site up and running?
How much will you spend?
How many hours will you devote to the site and when?
Step 3 - Surf the web to find other sites you like and dislike.
Learn from others’ successes and mistakes by taking the best of what their sites offer and adapting it for your own use.
Step 4 - Design your site on paper. Define elements, look, feel, colors etc.
Step 5 - Hire a professional to set up the graphics and navigation, but with the intention of you or your staff maintaining the site’s day to day operations, communication and updates.
Step 6 - Invest in a digital camera and web publishing software such as Microsoft Front Page or Adobe Acrobat to keep up with the site’s maintenance.
Step 7 - Maintain, change, and update your site at least once a month. (The one exception to this rule are those one-page, sales letter websites. Once you have one of those that performs well and makes sales, don't change it!!)
Step 8 - Promote your site at every opportunity. Tell people about it. Put your web address on your business cards and in all your ads. Some companies even advertise their web address when they put you on hold on the telephone.
Step 9 - Give people a self-serving reason to visit your site. Coupon savings, discounts, special incentives, free information, and free newsletters represent excellent enticements for attracting visitors to your site.
Step 10 - Concentrate on obtaining an email address from every customer and potential customer.
Obtain permission to send periodic, value-added malings to your database.
Use a list server to organize and maintain your mailing list.
Step 11 - Always look for and use the simplest solution or option.
Whether adding a shopping cart, database or other option to your e-commerce operation, seek out and use the simplest answer for your needs.
Step 12 - Become educated and stay current in the world of e-commerce.
Learn the marketing and sales techniques of the online world.
-=-
Jim Edwards is the co-author of a "paint by numbers" guide with step-by-step VIDEO that guarantees to teach you how to go from zero to making real money online in about a month!
"33 Days to Online Profits"
"Finally – a Simple, Video-Based Training System on CD-ROM that Teaches You Step-By-Step How to Make Real Money Online... 100% Guaranteed!" You can start with a few bucks and a good idea to make lots of money online! I did, and I'll teach you how no matter what product or service you sell...
Click Here => www.33daystoonlineprofits.com/video
-=-
Have yourself a Super Wednesday!
Feb 21, 2006
Avoid These Top Blunders!
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun Blog
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! If your considering to create a "Sales Letter Site" or "Mini-Site", today's article by Marcia has good points so You may create a great Mini-Site.
My opinion on Mini-Sites is the majority of the time I will not read it .. if it's to long !!! I don't have the time and I'm turned off by it, but if the Mini-Site has a short page I'm more interested to read it. I believe it's very important of the length of the sales page to keep your visitor interested !!!
Marcia is sharing some common mistakes and commissions for a sales letter site...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
One-Product Sales Sites:
Avoid These Top Blunders
by Marcia Yudkin
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
One product, one long web page: this kind of web site is sometimes called a sales letter site or mini-site, and it focuses on one and only one goal, as many sales of that one product as possible. With a one-product sales site, no distractions, no subsidiary goals, such as newsletter signups, are allowed to interfere with that goal. So let's look at some common mistakes and comissions for a sales letter site.
Your headline serves as the key point of orientation for the reader and should be as strongly worded and pointedly targeted as you can manage. Do not use the name of your product as the headline - that's a weak marketing message.
Instead, dramatize either the problem solved by your product or the solution offered, or both. For instance:
Discover Your Family's Roots Through Easy, Fun Internet Research
You can often add a subhead after the headline for even greater punch:
Turn Words into Money with Copy That Even a Skinflint Can't Resist!
Get a Juicier Return on Investment from Your Marketing With the Easy-to-Apply Secrets in This New Manual
Normally you want to start your sales page by building rapport with the reader with respect to the problem or goal at hand.
Make sure, however, that you not only make your case in a positive way for your product but also address and head off each and every worry, objection or doubt the reader might have about buying your product. For instance, how can you know so much about knee injuries if you're not a doctor? Or, do these money-saving strategies apply if I live in Canada or Bermuda?
The biggest worry people have buying online from companies or individuals they've never heard of is, are you trustworthy? Am I going to get what I order and have some recourse if it's a pile of crap? A money-back guarantee goes part of the way toward assuaging this, as do testimonials, but just as important, and much more often neglected, is posting a mailing address and telephone number for the vendor.
If it's a physical product that will be shipped, make sure you explicitly say how and when it will be shipped and whether you can ship it anywhere in the world for that price. Don't make the reader click through to the order form to learn how much your product costs, or how much it costs with shipping.
As your copy builds toward its conclusion, remember to include what marketers term the "call to action": explicitly ask for the order. Do so prominently, so that someone skipping down the page can quickly find the "order now" button. Even better, insert an order button or link near the top of the page so that someone who arrives already wanting to buy can do so immediately.
When you've built the strongest possible case for your product and orchestrated your pitch properly, consider the formatting of your sales page. Since this sort of site doesn't have a left navigation bar, the column of text often ends up much too wide for comfortable reading. Studies have shown that paragraphs wider than six or seven inches are difficult to read on a computer screen. Add blank columns to the left and right of your sales copy to narrow it to that width.
Make sure too that paragraphs go on no more than seven lines, and a long run of paragraphs is broken up by subheads. And make those subheads interesting and meaty. Someone who skims down the page should be able to get the gist of your marketing message just from reading the subheads.
-=-
Marcia Yudkin <marcia@yudkin.com> is the author of Poor Richard's Web Site Marketing Makeover and 10 other books.
Her site review service tells you what, if anything, you need to change at your site to turn visitors into customers and clients.
Details: www.yudkin.com/sitereview.htm
-=-
Have yourself a Super Tuesday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! If your considering to create a "Sales Letter Site" or "Mini-Site", today's article by Marcia has good points so You may create a great Mini-Site.
My opinion on Mini-Sites is the majority of the time I will not read it .. if it's to long !!! I don't have the time and I'm turned off by it, but if the Mini-Site has a short page I'm more interested to read it. I believe it's very important of the length of the sales page to keep your visitor interested !!!
Marcia is sharing some common mistakes and commissions for a sales letter site...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
One-Product Sales Sites:
Avoid These Top Blunders
by Marcia Yudkin
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
One product, one long web page: this kind of web site is sometimes called a sales letter site or mini-site, and it focuses on one and only one goal, as many sales of that one product as possible. With a one-product sales site, no distractions, no subsidiary goals, such as newsletter signups, are allowed to interfere with that goal. So let's look at some common mistakes and comissions for a sales letter site.
Your headline serves as the key point of orientation for the reader and should be as strongly worded and pointedly targeted as you can manage. Do not use the name of your product as the headline - that's a weak marketing message.
Instead, dramatize either the problem solved by your product or the solution offered, or both. For instance:
Discover Your Family's Roots Through Easy, Fun Internet Research
You can often add a subhead after the headline for even greater punch:
Turn Words into Money with Copy That Even a Skinflint Can't Resist!
Get a Juicier Return on Investment from Your Marketing With the Easy-to-Apply Secrets in This New Manual
Normally you want to start your sales page by building rapport with the reader with respect to the problem or goal at hand.
Make sure, however, that you not only make your case in a positive way for your product but also address and head off each and every worry, objection or doubt the reader might have about buying your product. For instance, how can you know so much about knee injuries if you're not a doctor? Or, do these money-saving strategies apply if I live in Canada or Bermuda?
The biggest worry people have buying online from companies or individuals they've never heard of is, are you trustworthy? Am I going to get what I order and have some recourse if it's a pile of crap? A money-back guarantee goes part of the way toward assuaging this, as do testimonials, but just as important, and much more often neglected, is posting a mailing address and telephone number for the vendor.
If it's a physical product that will be shipped, make sure you explicitly say how and when it will be shipped and whether you can ship it anywhere in the world for that price. Don't make the reader click through to the order form to learn how much your product costs, or how much it costs with shipping.
As your copy builds toward its conclusion, remember to include what marketers term the "call to action": explicitly ask for the order. Do so prominently, so that someone skipping down the page can quickly find the "order now" button. Even better, insert an order button or link near the top of the page so that someone who arrives already wanting to buy can do so immediately.
When you've built the strongest possible case for your product and orchestrated your pitch properly, consider the formatting of your sales page. Since this sort of site doesn't have a left navigation bar, the column of text often ends up much too wide for comfortable reading. Studies have shown that paragraphs wider than six or seven inches are difficult to read on a computer screen. Add blank columns to the left and right of your sales copy to narrow it to that width.
Make sure too that paragraphs go on no more than seven lines, and a long run of paragraphs is broken up by subheads. And make those subheads interesting and meaty. Someone who skims down the page should be able to get the gist of your marketing message just from reading the subheads.
-=-
Marcia Yudkin <marcia@yudkin.com> is the author of Poor Richard's Web Site Marketing Makeover and 10 other books.
Her site review service tells you what, if anything, you need to change at your site to turn visitors into customers and clients.
Details: www.yudkin.com/sitereview.htm
-=-
Have yourself a Super Tuesday!
Feb 20, 2006
Why Honesty Sells!
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun Blog
See the magic in your honesty, your truthfulness .. honesty sells!
It will build your business, believe it!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Why Honesty Sells!
by Ron Knowlton
SoaringProfits.com/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It's human nature to trust, to believe.
Little children come into this world trusting and believing. It's when someone is dishonest that they start to disbelieve and to distrust.
And adults really aren't that much different when you stop to think about it.
When you are told one thing and discover something else to be the truth - what happens?
A caution sign and warning lights flash in your head.
You realize that anything you hear next must now be filtered and proven.
Why? Because you don't want to be fooled again!
Then you start to look around. You wonder if others are being truthful and honest with you.
When you find someone who is honest and truthful, something sticks.
You soon come back for more. You begin to value the relationship.
But going back to the example of the little child - why does the little child trust her parents?
Because they usually tell the truth.
And if parents don't tell the truth, then what happens?
The child starts to look for others in her life who are telling the truth and who she can trust.
Is it really any different in business?
At first we trust because we want to believe.
But once we discover dishonesty - then we begin to filter and disbelieve. We begin to look elsewhere for the truth.
If people trust you, if they believe you, if they know you are honestly there to help them, they will buy from you!
There is no great secret to this.
They will value your word. They will look to you for advice.
And not only that, but they will reward you openly for it with their sincere praise!
And then you may win the greatest prize of all in business.
They will tell everybody about you!
Their friends, business associates, their family members, their neighbors.
And these people will believe in you too!
Can you see the magic in this?
Your honesty, your truthfulness will build your business.
Your lack of honesty will break you!
Honesty sells! Believe it!
-=-
Ron Knowlton is a former journalist and the founding editor at www.soaringprofits.com/ .. Subscribe to "Articles To Boost Your Success Online!"
Like a free weekly internet marketing course by email!
mailto:subscribe@soaringprofits.com
Many other FREE Articles can be obtained at... The Article Archives
Subscribe... mailto:articles_archives-subscribe@egroups.com
Website... ArticlesArchives.netfirms.com
-=-
Have yourself a Super Monday!
See the magic in your honesty, your truthfulness .. honesty sells!
It will build your business, believe it!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Why Honesty Sells!
by Ron Knowlton
SoaringProfits.com/
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It's human nature to trust, to believe.
Little children come into this world trusting and believing. It's when someone is dishonest that they start to disbelieve and to distrust.
And adults really aren't that much different when you stop to think about it.
When you are told one thing and discover something else to be the truth - what happens?
A caution sign and warning lights flash in your head.
You realize that anything you hear next must now be filtered and proven.
Why? Because you don't want to be fooled again!
Then you start to look around. You wonder if others are being truthful and honest with you.
When you find someone who is honest and truthful, something sticks.
You soon come back for more. You begin to value the relationship.
But going back to the example of the little child - why does the little child trust her parents?
Because they usually tell the truth.
And if parents don't tell the truth, then what happens?
The child starts to look for others in her life who are telling the truth and who she can trust.
Is it really any different in business?
At first we trust because we want to believe.
But once we discover dishonesty - then we begin to filter and disbelieve. We begin to look elsewhere for the truth.
If people trust you, if they believe you, if they know you are honestly there to help them, they will buy from you!
There is no great secret to this.
They will value your word. They will look to you for advice.
And not only that, but they will reward you openly for it with their sincere praise!
And then you may win the greatest prize of all in business.
They will tell everybody about you!
Their friends, business associates, their family members, their neighbors.
And these people will believe in you too!
Can you see the magic in this?
Your honesty, your truthfulness will build your business.
Your lack of honesty will break you!
Honesty sells! Believe it!
-=-
Ron Knowlton is a former journalist and the founding editor at www.soaringprofits.com/ .. Subscribe to "Articles To Boost Your Success Online!"
Like a free weekly internet marketing course by email!
mailto:subscribe@soaringprofits.com
Many other FREE Articles can be obtained at... The Article Archives
Subscribe... mailto:articles_archives-subscribe@egroups.com
Website... ArticlesArchives.netfirms.com
-=-
Have yourself a Super Monday!
Feb 19, 2006
3 Lessons I Learned...
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Today's article was written about Alexandria very first sale back in 2004, in 2005 she tweaked it for BETTER results. This example below will give You some VERY valuable lessons learned...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
3 Lessons I Learned From Having My Very First Sale
by Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[*AUTHOR'S NOTE: This article was written about my very first sale back in 2004, and it got great feedback. I repeated this process in 2005 and tweaked it for even BETTER results (over $17K in sales), and I'll be sharing all the details, step by step, for you to model, at my March 2006 Online Success Blueprint Workshop!]
From past years of experience in selling information products online, I knew that December sales are generally always slow. So in December 2004, I decided to try something different -- have my very first sale.
I was always nervous in the past about having a sale. Would it diminish the value on my information in people's minds? Would it turn off my thousands of subscribers? Would the short-term cash flow be worth the risk? I didn't want any of my readers to start associating my website with Wal-Mart, having sales every other week, prices going up and down.
But something told me to try it... just once. Nothing could go wrong; it was just an experiment. So on Monday, Dec. 13, I sent out a special announcement to my e-zine list that said, "I've never done this before, but this week only, I'm giving 50% 0FF all of these eight great audio programs I've produced over the past 18 months. This is my gift to you, to thank you for being a Straight Shooter subscriber. Which ones do YOU want to grab today at 50% 0ff?"
I then listed all my audio programs' catchy titles, each linked to its own sales page.
That one mailing resulted in over 94 sales, and most of the orders were for multiple products.
My regular ezine issue came out that Thursday, and I mentioned the sale in that as well. That resulted in another 31 sales.
But here's the biggie...
When Friday morning arrived, I wasn't sure whether to send out one more email or not. I was concerned it would be too much and my subscribers may be ticked off. The sale ended at midnight, and I'd already sent two notices about it - should I send out one more reminder? My rational mind said no, these folks are aware of the deadline. But my instincts told me yes. So I did. One more solo mailing, very similar to the original, but with a big reminder that the sale expired at midnight Eastern (NY) time.
The result? An additional *116* sales *JUST* from that last reminder email! These are sales I would have never gotten unless I sent out that one last reminder. Unbelievable! And you wouldn't believe all the orders coming in just before the stroke of midnight. (I was thinking, "What are all these folks doing home on the Internet on a Friday night?" And then I remembered that *I* was sitting home on the Internet on a Friday night. : ))
I grossed over $11K from this event alone. (Not a bad experiment, yes?) Plus I gave many of my readers a chance to sample my audio information products at a lower price than usual. Ideally they'll realize how good my stuff is and purchase my higher priced products.
So here are three lessons I learned from this whole experience:
1. Don't be afraid to have a sale. But don't have them frequently, and have a REASON for the sale. For example, my reason was to thank my subscribers for staying on my list throughout 2004.
2. Don't be afraid to send out a few reminders. The key is to not overdo it. In the beginning, do less than you think your list will tolerate. As you get to know your readership and their preferences, and get them used to receiving more emails from you with special announcements, you can increase your mailings. (But remember, the reason my readers love to hear from me when I have something special to offer is because I give them so much great content every week, and I don't overload them with promotions.)
3. If you set any type of deadline, be prepared to get the most orders close to the deadline. I was surprised that I gave people five full days to take advantage of the sale, but many people didn't take action until the last minute - orders were piling in right up until midnight, and people were begging me to let them "slide in" after! Be strict with your deadlines though, or no one will take them seriously in the future.
Many of my internet marketing guru friends tell me not to share numbers with my readers, but I do anyway for a few reasons. One, to show you that this is very possible, and two, to show you that I have nothing to hide. I'll always share my secrets for success with my readers and clients -- there's plenty of money to go around for all of us.
Now, go plan your next sale!
© 2004-2006 Alexandria K. Brown
-=-
WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Alexandria's Small Business Marketing Blog.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 18,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.EzineQueen.com
-=-
Have yourself a Super Sunday!
Today's article was written about Alexandria very first sale back in 2004, in 2005 she tweaked it for BETTER results. This example below will give You some VERY valuable lessons learned...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
3 Lessons I Learned From Having My Very First Sale
by Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen"
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
[*AUTHOR'S NOTE: This article was written about my very first sale back in 2004, and it got great feedback. I repeated this process in 2005 and tweaked it for even BETTER results (over $17K in sales), and I'll be sharing all the details, step by step, for you to model, at my March 2006 Online Success Blueprint Workshop!]
From past years of experience in selling information products online, I knew that December sales are generally always slow. So in December 2004, I decided to try something different -- have my very first sale.
I was always nervous in the past about having a sale. Would it diminish the value on my information in people's minds? Would it turn off my thousands of subscribers? Would the short-term cash flow be worth the risk? I didn't want any of my readers to start associating my website with Wal-Mart, having sales every other week, prices going up and down.
But something told me to try it... just once. Nothing could go wrong; it was just an experiment. So on Monday, Dec. 13, I sent out a special announcement to my e-zine list that said, "I've never done this before, but this week only, I'm giving 50% 0FF all of these eight great audio programs I've produced over the past 18 months. This is my gift to you, to thank you for being a Straight Shooter subscriber. Which ones do YOU want to grab today at 50% 0ff?"
I then listed all my audio programs' catchy titles, each linked to its own sales page.
That one mailing resulted in over 94 sales, and most of the orders were for multiple products.
My regular ezine issue came out that Thursday, and I mentioned the sale in that as well. That resulted in another 31 sales.
But here's the biggie...
When Friday morning arrived, I wasn't sure whether to send out one more email or not. I was concerned it would be too much and my subscribers may be ticked off. The sale ended at midnight, and I'd already sent two notices about it - should I send out one more reminder? My rational mind said no, these folks are aware of the deadline. But my instincts told me yes. So I did. One more solo mailing, very similar to the original, but with a big reminder that the sale expired at midnight Eastern (NY) time.
The result? An additional *116* sales *JUST* from that last reminder email! These are sales I would have never gotten unless I sent out that one last reminder. Unbelievable! And you wouldn't believe all the orders coming in just before the stroke of midnight. (I was thinking, "What are all these folks doing home on the Internet on a Friday night?" And then I remembered that *I* was sitting home on the Internet on a Friday night. : ))
I grossed over $11K from this event alone. (Not a bad experiment, yes?) Plus I gave many of my readers a chance to sample my audio information products at a lower price than usual. Ideally they'll realize how good my stuff is and purchase my higher priced products.
So here are three lessons I learned from this whole experience:
1. Don't be afraid to have a sale. But don't have them frequently, and have a REASON for the sale. For example, my reason was to thank my subscribers for staying on my list throughout 2004.
2. Don't be afraid to send out a few reminders. The key is to not overdo it. In the beginning, do less than you think your list will tolerate. As you get to know your readership and their preferences, and get them used to receiving more emails from you with special announcements, you can increase your mailings. (But remember, the reason my readers love to hear from me when I have something special to offer is because I give them so much great content every week, and I don't overload them with promotions.)
3. If you set any type of deadline, be prepared to get the most orders close to the deadline. I was surprised that I gave people five full days to take advantage of the sale, but many people didn't take action until the last minute - orders were piling in right up until midnight, and people were begging me to let them "slide in" after! Be strict with your deadlines though, or no one will take them seriously in the future.
Many of my internet marketing guru friends tell me not to share numbers with my readers, but I do anyway for a few reasons. One, to show you that this is very possible, and two, to show you that I have nothing to hide. I'll always share my secrets for success with my readers and clients -- there's plenty of money to go around for all of us.
Now, go plan your next sale!
© 2004-2006 Alexandria K. Brown
-=-
WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE?
See Alexandria's Small Business Marketing Blog.
Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," publishes the award-winning 'Straight Shooter Marketing' weekly ezine with 18,000+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.EzineQueen.com
-=-
Have yourself a Super Sunday!
Feb 17, 2006
"Believe it .. OR NOT"..!
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Hope your day is starting off beautifully!
It's Friday, tomorrow is my day off .. I'm looking forward to having a break!
Today post is about "Believe it .. OR NOT"...! These are provided by Mohamed Gani an Adland Friend. It's very interesting .. enjoy!
Visit AdlandPro my coolest community on the web.
OR
Join FREE it's a friendly and unique community!
Please Note:
All the given information are collected from "one of the reliable resources" available in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Believe it .. OR NOT"...!
by Mohamed Gani
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
*Bank robber John Dillinger played professional baseball.
*The first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
*Wilma Flinstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and betty Rubble's Maiden name was Betty Jean Mcbricker.
*If you toss a penny 10000 times, it will not be heads 5000 times, but more like 4950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.
*The glue on israeli postage stamps is certified Kosher.
*The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.
*If your eyes are six feet above the surface of the ocean, the horizon will be about three statute miles away.
*Los Angeles' full name is : "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porcuincula".
*Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
*Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs bunny) was allergic to carrots.
*The band Duran Duran got their name from an astronaut in the 1968 Jane Fonda movie "Barbarella".
*Cleo and Ceasar were the early stage names of Cher and Sonny Bono.
*Ben and Jerry's send the waste from making ice cream to local pug farmers to use as feed. Pigs love the stuff, except for one flavor : Mint Oreo.
*Robin Williams was voted in high school the least likely to succeed.
*Actress Sarah Bernhardt played a 13-year-old Juliet when she was 70 years old.
-=-
Have yourself a Super Friday and a fantastic weekend!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully!
It's Friday, tomorrow is my day off .. I'm looking forward to having a break!
Today post is about "Believe it .. OR NOT"...! These are provided by Mohamed Gani an Adland Friend. It's very interesting .. enjoy!
Visit AdlandPro my coolest community on the web.
OR
Join FREE it's a friendly and unique community!
Please Note:
All the given information are collected from "one of the reliable resources" available in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Believe it .. OR NOT"...!
by Mohamed Gani
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
*Bank robber John Dillinger played professional baseball.
*The first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during World War II killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
*Wilma Flinstone's maiden name was Wilma Slaghoopal, and betty Rubble's Maiden name was Betty Jean Mcbricker.
*If you toss a penny 10000 times, it will not be heads 5000 times, but more like 4950. The heads picture weighs more, so it ends up on the bottom.
*The glue on israeli postage stamps is certified Kosher.
*The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.
*If your eyes are six feet above the surface of the ocean, the horizon will be about three statute miles away.
*Los Angeles' full name is : "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porcuincula".
*Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
*Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs bunny) was allergic to carrots.
*The band Duran Duran got their name from an astronaut in the 1968 Jane Fonda movie "Barbarella".
*Cleo and Ceasar were the early stage names of Cher and Sonny Bono.
*Ben and Jerry's send the waste from making ice cream to local pug farmers to use as feed. Pigs love the stuff, except for one flavor : Mint Oreo.
*Robin Williams was voted in high school the least likely to succeed.
*Actress Sarah Bernhardt played a 13-year-old Juliet when she was 70 years old.
-=-
Have yourself a Super Friday and a fantastic weekend!
Feb 16, 2006
Search Engine Promotion
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Hope your day is starting off beautifully!
Today's article is an important topic for Webmasters and great information for the novice. Jim's shares fantastic information for maximum exposure with the Search Engine's!
Simply submitting to the Search Engines won't do much for You, accomplishing a "top ten ranking" always requires careful thought...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Basic Search Engine Promotion
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I can't tell you how many times people have asked me, "How to do I get my site to come up in the top ten of the search engines so I can get hits and sell my product?"
What they really want to know is, "How can I get people to show up to my website without spending any money on advertising my site!"
People usually don't like my answer because accomplishing a "top ten ranking" on any search engine always requires careful thought along with a significant amount of work.
Three types of "Search engines" abound on the Internet. They include true search engines, directories, and links pages.
At last count approximately 10,000 sites referred to themselves as search engines, though only about a dozen sites rate your attention since they drive 97% of the Internet's search traffic.
These sites include Google, Yahoo!, Overture, MSN, AltaVista, AllTheWeb, Lycos, DMOZ, and a few others.
When a visitor logs onto a search engine looking for information, they enter "keywords" about the subject in hopes of obtaining a list of relevant websites.
Each search engine or directory operates with its own rules about judging a site's relevancy to a keyword search.
They look at text on the web page (body text) as well as words you can't see which reside in the actual code of the web pages.
This code includes such things as alt tags, title tags, and others.
Depending on the search engine, what you can't see may represent a far more important part of ranking well than the words appearing on the page.
Search engines look at how many times a keyword shows up in the various parts of your website as well as actual location on the page.
Assuming that an important subject for your pages would appear at the beginning of a page, those web pages starting with the keyword should rank better than those that don't.
Also, in many cases, the more websites linking to your site will drastically impact your rankings.
Entire books and websites exist to teach eager website owners how to pump up their rankings on all the various search engines, however these promotion tips will serve you well in your quest for the "Top Ten!"
** See what others have done for maximum exposure!
Go to the various search engines and perform a search under which you would like to appear.
Dissect those pages to find the common elements that make them show up.
~ How often and where do the keywords appear on the page? ~ How many words on the page in total? ~ Do they put keywords in their hypertext links? ~ How many other sites link to them and could you easily get a link from those sites too?
** Beware of registration vs. promotion
Plenty of companies will "register" your website with thousands of search engines for about $50-$100.
But simply submitting to the search engines won't do much for you. Without the proper structure in your website, only sheer luck will cause your site to pop up in the top ten!
-=-
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> Write Money Making Ezine Articles FAST!
-=-
Have yourself a Super Thursday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully!
Today's article is an important topic for Webmasters and great information for the novice. Jim's shares fantastic information for maximum exposure with the Search Engine's!
Simply submitting to the Search Engines won't do much for You, accomplishing a "top ten ranking" always requires careful thought...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Basic Search Engine Promotion
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
I can't tell you how many times people have asked me, "How to do I get my site to come up in the top ten of the search engines so I can get hits and sell my product?"
What they really want to know is, "How can I get people to show up to my website without spending any money on advertising my site!"
People usually don't like my answer because accomplishing a "top ten ranking" on any search engine always requires careful thought along with a significant amount of work.
Three types of "Search engines" abound on the Internet. They include true search engines, directories, and links pages.
At last count approximately 10,000 sites referred to themselves as search engines, though only about a dozen sites rate your attention since they drive 97% of the Internet's search traffic.
These sites include Google, Yahoo!, Overture, MSN, AltaVista, AllTheWeb, Lycos, DMOZ, and a few others.
When a visitor logs onto a search engine looking for information, they enter "keywords" about the subject in hopes of obtaining a list of relevant websites.
Each search engine or directory operates with its own rules about judging a site's relevancy to a keyword search.
They look at text on the web page (body text) as well as words you can't see which reside in the actual code of the web pages.
This code includes such things as alt tags, title tags, and others.
Depending on the search engine, what you can't see may represent a far more important part of ranking well than the words appearing on the page.
Search engines look at how many times a keyword shows up in the various parts of your website as well as actual location on the page.
Assuming that an important subject for your pages would appear at the beginning of a page, those web pages starting with the keyword should rank better than those that don't.
Also, in many cases, the more websites linking to your site will drastically impact your rankings.
Entire books and websites exist to teach eager website owners how to pump up their rankings on all the various search engines, however these promotion tips will serve you well in your quest for the "Top Ten!"
** See what others have done for maximum exposure!
Go to the various search engines and perform a search under which you would like to appear.
Dissect those pages to find the common elements that make them show up.
~ How often and where do the keywords appear on the page? ~ How many words on the page in total? ~ Do they put keywords in their hypertext links? ~ How many other sites link to them and could you easily get a link from those sites too?
** Beware of registration vs. promotion
Plenty of companies will "register" your website with thousands of search engines for about $50-$100.
But simply submitting to the search engines won't do much for you. Without the proper structure in your website, only sheer luck will cause your site to pop up in the top ten!
-=-
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> Write Money Making Ezine Articles FAST!
-=-
Have yourself a Super Thursday!
Feb 15, 2006
"A Red Marble"
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Hope your day is starting off beautifully and that Valentine's Day was real special for You! Around Valentine's Day is happy and somewhat sad for me! My brother Lucien passed on when he was 32yrs on February 15/89, 16yrs now. I still find it quite hard and hurt a lot .. I miss him so!
"A Red Marble" an inspirational story is below...
Because I know most people are like me and always looking for things that can inspire and motivate You! You might be interested in a program I'm sponsoring called "My Daily Insights."
Every day we feature a short motivational/inspirational quote that provides something positive to focus on that day. Here's an example of a Daily Insight:
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
That's it. Short and simple. Less than 30 seconds to read and internalize. But, oh how powerful in helping us to keep each day and each challenge in perspective.
Every Friday we feature an inspirational story that takes just a few minutes (or less) to read. At the end of this email I've included an example. I know you'll be touched by "A Red Marble," and that's just an example of what we run every Friday.
Even though I know you'll find it priceless, we are offering this valuable service at no-charge. Even better, the daily messages are AD-FREE! And just so You know, we won't sell, rent, loan or otherwise distribute your name or email address. And if You ever decide You want to stop receiving it for any reason, there's a link in each day's message that will automatically remove You from the program with no hassles.
Register now to "My Daily Insights" .. I know you'll enjoy it!
-=-=-=-=-=-
A Red Marble
-=-=-=-=-=-
During the waning years of the depression in a small southeastern Idaho community, I used to stop by Mr. Miller's roadside stand for farm fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used, extensively.
One particular day Mr. Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.
I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"Hello Mr. Miller, Fine, thank you. Just admiring those peas... sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Mother?"
"Fine. Getting stronger all the time."
"Good. Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Just admiring those peas."
"Would you like to take some home?"
"No, Sir. I don't have anything to pay for them with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I have is my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it."
"Here it is. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"
"Not exactly...but, almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble."
"Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said: "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever."
"When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps."
I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with the man. A short time later I moved to Utah but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering.
Several years went by each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing smiling and composed, by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller.
I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening she took my hand and led me to the casket. "Those three young men, that just left, were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size...they came to pay their debt.
"We've never had a great deal of wealth of this world," she confided, but, right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three, magnificently shiny, red marbles.
We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.
Author Unknown
Interested??
Go to "My Daily Insights" to enter your subscription and ENJOY!
Have yourself a Super Wednesday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully and that Valentine's Day was real special for You! Around Valentine's Day is happy and somewhat sad for me! My brother Lucien passed on when he was 32yrs on February 15/89, 16yrs now. I still find it quite hard and hurt a lot .. I miss him so!
"A Red Marble" an inspirational story is below...
Because I know most people are like me and always looking for things that can inspire and motivate You! You might be interested in a program I'm sponsoring called "My Daily Insights."
Every day we feature a short motivational/inspirational quote that provides something positive to focus on that day. Here's an example of a Daily Insight:
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~
That's it. Short and simple. Less than 30 seconds to read and internalize. But, oh how powerful in helping us to keep each day and each challenge in perspective.
Every Friday we feature an inspirational story that takes just a few minutes (or less) to read. At the end of this email I've included an example. I know you'll be touched by "A Red Marble," and that's just an example of what we run every Friday.
Even though I know you'll find it priceless, we are offering this valuable service at no-charge. Even better, the daily messages are AD-FREE! And just so You know, we won't sell, rent, loan or otherwise distribute your name or email address. And if You ever decide You want to stop receiving it for any reason, there's a link in each day's message that will automatically remove You from the program with no hassles.
Register now to "My Daily Insights" .. I know you'll enjoy it!
-=-=-=-=-=-
A Red Marble
-=-=-=-=-=-
During the waning years of the depression in a small southeastern Idaho community, I used to stop by Mr. Miller's roadside stand for farm fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used, extensively.
One particular day Mr. Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily apprising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas.
I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"Hello Mr. Miller, Fine, thank you. Just admiring those peas... sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Mother?"
"Fine. Getting stronger all the time."
"Good. Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Just admiring those peas."
"Would you like to take some home?"
"No, Sir. I don't have anything to pay for them with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I have is my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it."
"Here it is. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"
"Not exactly...but, almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble."
"Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said: "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever."
"When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps."
I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with the man. A short time later I moved to Utah but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering.
Several years went by each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon our arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.
Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts...very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing smiling and composed, by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, wiping his eyes. Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller.
I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening she took my hand and led me to the casket. "Those three young men, that just left, were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size...they came to pay their debt.
"We've never had a great deal of wealth of this world," she confided, but, right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three, magnificently shiny, red marbles.
We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.
Author Unknown
Interested??
Go to "My Daily Insights" to enter your subscription and ENJOY!
Have yourself a Super Wednesday!
Feb 14, 2006
On Valentine's Day!
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
* Happy Valentine's Day * Friends and Visitors !!!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Mine did, I received from my daughter a beautiful Valentine's Day card, it was so cute and it touched my heart! Below is the description of the card, it had little pink hearts with a smiling puppy, arms spread open...
On the face of the card it said:
-=-=-
Mom,
You've got something special that no other mother has!
*Inside the card it said in big letters:
Me!
(Sorry. I'm nonreturnable!)
Happy Valentine's Day
-=-=-
I was deeply touched! I called her right away and wished her a "Happy Valentine's Day" and how beautiful her card was and it made my Valentine's Day great!
On Valentine's Day... Love is celebrated all around the world !!! It’s the day to shower roses, candies and gifts on your beloved and you’ll have a great time! If You want to know more about the Valentine's Day history, customs, traditions & symbols visit 123Greetings.com
OR
Are You a little curious about the historical origins of Valentine's Day or would You like to know when it was first celebrated ? You'll find everything You want to know about the history and origin and more of Valentine's Day at 123Greetings.com.
Have a Happy Valentine's Day
* Happy Valentine's Day * Friends and Visitors !!!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Mine did, I received from my daughter a beautiful Valentine's Day card, it was so cute and it touched my heart! Below is the description of the card, it had little pink hearts with a smiling puppy, arms spread open...
On the face of the card it said:
-=-=-
Mom,
You've got something special that no other mother has!
*Inside the card it said in big letters:
Me!
(Sorry. I'm nonreturnable!)
Happy Valentine's Day
-=-=-
I was deeply touched! I called her right away and wished her a "Happy Valentine's Day" and how beautiful her card was and it made my Valentine's Day great!
On Valentine's Day... Love is celebrated all around the world !!! It’s the day to shower roses, candies and gifts on your beloved and you’ll have a great time! If You want to know more about the Valentine's Day history, customs, traditions & symbols visit 123Greetings.com
OR
Are You a little curious about the historical origins of Valentine's Day or would You like to know when it was first celebrated ? You'll find everything You want to know about the history and origin and more of Valentine's Day at 123Greetings.com.
Have a Happy Valentine's Day
Feb 13, 2006
Forget Your Failings...
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Here is something really nice a friend shared with me so I will share it back with all of my friends and visitors. This is a nice little internet movie and time is good on this film in our current situation in America!
I enjoyed reading Michael's article on how to stay focused on what works instead of spending so much time and energy on what doesn’t .. it's quite interesting...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Forget Your Failings—Focus on Your Feats
Your "Win List" and your...
"Significant Accomplishments List"
by - Michael Angier , founder and CIO
www.SuccessNet.org
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It seems to be human nature to remember the things we messed up more than we do the things we did well. Most of us tend to focus on what’s wrong rather than on what’s right.
Even people with positive attitudes fall into the trap of discounting their successes and inflating their failings.
The fact is, we’re being programmed all the time, and most of it isn’t helpful. Problems, negative news, complaints and criticisms get more of our attention than accomplishments, good news and compliments.
The wise person understands this and takes charge of his or her programming. They use affirmations, they visualize and they listen to good tapes and read good books. They hang out with positive, supportive people.
I urge you to incorporate two lists into your life—lists you maintain and review. Use these lists to help you stay focused on what works instead of spending so much time and energy on what doesn’t.
These two lists are: your “Win List” and your “Significant Accomplishments List”.
One of the things my Diamond Team is beginning to document are their accomplishments. This helps them to increase their focus on their progress and help other members of the team be more motivated and inspired.
The team is just getting started and already their progress is substantial. See for yourself. You can view the public list of some of these wins at successnet.org/diamond/winlist.htm
02/06/2006: Although the Diamond Team is “officially” closed and we're no longer publicly promoting it, you can still get in. If you’re willing to devote a little extra work to catch up (the three coaching calls we’ve held have been recorded) you can easily get up to speed and make 2006 your best year ever. successnet.org/diamond/
I highly suggest that you start YOUR Win List today. Begin tracking all the good things that happen to you, the things you fix and overcome, the goals achieved, new clarities, etc.
The Significant Accomplishments List is important, too. It may take awhile to recollect all the things you’ve achieved and list them for easy—and hopefully, often—review.
It’s human nature to discount the value of what we’ve done—especially when it didn’t seem that hard for us. But even if it didn’t require a lot of struggle on your part, it’s still a good thing to put it on the Significant Accomplishment List.
Action Point
Get started today building your Significant Accomplishments List and your Win List. Review them often. Bask in the good things you've drawn into your life. Watch your attitude improve and your accomplishments increase.
What we focus on expands, so let’s focus on the right things. Building and using these two lists will do just that for you.
Related Articles
Unintentional Affirmations
Top Ten Ways to Stay Focused on Your Objectives
How Visualization and Affirmation Can Backfire
-=-
Copyright Michael Angier & Success Networks International.
Used with Permission.
Michael Angier is the founder and president of SuccessNet. Their mission is to inform, inspire and empower people to be their best--personally and professionally.
Download their free eBooklet, 10 ESSENTIAL KEYS TO PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS from www.SuccessNet.org/keys.htm or by sending a blank email to keys@SuccessNet.org.
More free subscriptions, books and SuccessMark Cards are available at www.SuccessNet.org.
-=-
Have a great Monday!
Hope your day is starting off beautifully! Here is something really nice a friend shared with me so I will share it back with all of my friends and visitors. This is a nice little internet movie and time is good on this film in our current situation in America!
I enjoyed reading Michael's article on how to stay focused on what works instead of spending so much time and energy on what doesn’t .. it's quite interesting...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Forget Your Failings—Focus on Your Feats
Your "Win List" and your...
"Significant Accomplishments List"
by - Michael Angier , founder and CIO
www.SuccessNet.org
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
It seems to be human nature to remember the things we messed up more than we do the things we did well. Most of us tend to focus on what’s wrong rather than on what’s right.
Even people with positive attitudes fall into the trap of discounting their successes and inflating their failings.
The fact is, we’re being programmed all the time, and most of it isn’t helpful. Problems, negative news, complaints and criticisms get more of our attention than accomplishments, good news and compliments.
The wise person understands this and takes charge of his or her programming. They use affirmations, they visualize and they listen to good tapes and read good books. They hang out with positive, supportive people.
I urge you to incorporate two lists into your life—lists you maintain and review. Use these lists to help you stay focused on what works instead of spending so much time and energy on what doesn’t.
These two lists are: your “Win List” and your “Significant Accomplishments List”.
One of the things my Diamond Team is beginning to document are their accomplishments. This helps them to increase their focus on their progress and help other members of the team be more motivated and inspired.
The team is just getting started and already their progress is substantial. See for yourself. You can view the public list of some of these wins at successnet.org/diamond/winlist.htm
02/06/2006: Although the Diamond Team is “officially” closed and we're no longer publicly promoting it, you can still get in. If you’re willing to devote a little extra work to catch up (the three coaching calls we’ve held have been recorded) you can easily get up to speed and make 2006 your best year ever. successnet.org/diamond/
I highly suggest that you start YOUR Win List today. Begin tracking all the good things that happen to you, the things you fix and overcome, the goals achieved, new clarities, etc.
The Significant Accomplishments List is important, too. It may take awhile to recollect all the things you’ve achieved and list them for easy—and hopefully, often—review.
It’s human nature to discount the value of what we’ve done—especially when it didn’t seem that hard for us. But even if it didn’t require a lot of struggle on your part, it’s still a good thing to put it on the Significant Accomplishment List.
Action Point
Get started today building your Significant Accomplishments List and your Win List. Review them often. Bask in the good things you've drawn into your life. Watch your attitude improve and your accomplishments increase.
What we focus on expands, so let’s focus on the right things. Building and using these two lists will do just that for you.
Related Articles
Unintentional Affirmations
Top Ten Ways to Stay Focused on Your Objectives
How Visualization and Affirmation Can Backfire
-=-
Copyright Michael Angier & Success Networks International.
Used with Permission.
Michael Angier is the founder and president of SuccessNet. Their mission is to inform, inspire and empower people to be their best--personally and professionally.
Download their free eBooklet, 10 ESSENTIAL KEYS TO PERSONAL EFFECTIVENESS from www.SuccessNet.org/keys.htm or by sending a blank email to keys@SuccessNet.org.
More free subscriptions, books and SuccessMark Cards are available at www.SuccessNet.org.
-=-
Have a great Monday!
Feb 12, 2006
Toll Booths Coming Soon!
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
I hope your having a great weekend! Today's article is about the realities of email in the future (for commercial emailers and newsletter publishers). It's not pretty, but we must face facts now, and plan for the future. Read the article to what Jim has to say below...
Quote of the Day...
The people who make a difference are not the ones with the credentials, but the ones with the concern.
~ Max Lucado Bailey ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Email "Toll Booths" Coming Soon
- by Jim Edwards
© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The end of the free ride for email marketing looms on the horizon.
The days of building up or buying a big email list and freely using it to market and sell online are numbered like the dinosaurs heading for an ice age cold snap.
The technical and time costs of dealing with email traffic (primarily driven by rampant illegal spam) will soon break the back of both Internet service providers (ISPs) and online email services.
Major online players like AOL and MSN are currently wrestling with two solutions to the problem, but I personally think the almighty dollar will win out in the end.
The two solutions proposed to stem the tide of commercial spam once and for all revolve around either "white listing" email senders or charging a "toll" (typically .25-1 cent per email message) to allow email through.
Currently, ISPs and email providers can either maintain their own white lists, as in the case of AOL, or the can share one.
In the "old" days, companies could (and still do) subscribe to "black lists" (like SpamHaus.org) which exclude email senders based on reports of spamming and other factors.
Though the "black list" method rates the least accurate, it's currently the most popular simply because it requires the least effort by companies trying to block spam.
However, as spammers get smarter, black listing has proven an ineffective spam deterrent and ISPs must get proactive if they hope to survive.
However, an inherent weakness in the "white list" system makes charging for commercial email inevitable.
Since white listing requires effort on the part of the ISP or email provider (they must ultimately pay real people to manage the list), this means additional cost.
Unlike a relatively inexpensive subscription to a "black list service" which gets implemented automatically by software filters, white listing requires people to do work which carries a real world cost.
Bottom line: most ISPs and email services will not be able to create, maintain or implement a white list for very long without charging.
Yet, consumers tired of the avalanche of spam are demanding effective protection by those they pay for Internet and email access.
Thus, any service hoping to survive long-term must adopt a hybrid of both the white list and "toll booth" approaches.
This means not only evaluating the legitimacy of every commercial email sender's methods, but also charging them for the email they send through a particular service or network. It's inevitable.
Now, the cry that immediately goes up at this point sounds like this, "What about the "little guys" who can't afford to pay the fee or the family newsletters that aren't commercial? What about them?"
In a perfect world, their email would go through.
In the real world, their email will get lost even more frequently in the future than it does now in the existing tangle of email filters and inconsistent white and black listing.
The hope of survival and prosperity for the "little guy" lies squarely in the hands of blogging and RSS feeds.
Since blogging and rss feeds enable consumers to subscribe directly to information using an RSS "reader," they completely bypass the need to send email.
This eliminates the "middle man" of an email provider and puts control over what content gets received squarely in the hands of the consumer.
Though this technology has existed for several years now, awareness by mainstream consumers of what RSS feeds are and how to subscribe to them has been relatively slow.
The biggest contributor to the slow adoption in the mainstream has been the absence of a universally distributed RSS "reader" on every computer (similar to how Outlook or Outlook Express on every Windows PC helped make email universally understood).
But that should also change shortly as more RSS readers get included in Web browsers and email programs in the near future.
So while the "big guys" will push their messages to consumers by paying what will surely amount to an ever-increasing "toll" to get their emails through, the "little guys" will "pull" consumers to them with subscriptions to blogs and RSS feeds.
Whether it happens this year, next year, or the year after - make no mistake - the email "toll booth" is coming for commercial emailers and newsletter publishers.
So, if you depend on sending email for your company's profits, either get ready, plan, and budget for the new tolls, or start making arrangements to distribute your content via blogs and RSS feeds, because the market will shortly force you to make a choice.
-=-
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> www.TurnWordsIntoTraffic.com
-=-
Have a great Sunday!
I hope your having a great weekend! Today's article is about the realities of email in the future (for commercial emailers and newsletter publishers). It's not pretty, but we must face facts now, and plan for the future. Read the article to what Jim has to say below...
Quote of the Day...
The people who make a difference are not the ones with the credentials, but the ones with the concern.
~ Max Lucado Bailey ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Email "Toll Booths" Coming Soon
- by Jim Edwards
© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
The end of the free ride for email marketing looms on the horizon.
The days of building up or buying a big email list and freely using it to market and sell online are numbered like the dinosaurs heading for an ice age cold snap.
The technical and time costs of dealing with email traffic (primarily driven by rampant illegal spam) will soon break the back of both Internet service providers (ISPs) and online email services.
Major online players like AOL and MSN are currently wrestling with two solutions to the problem, but I personally think the almighty dollar will win out in the end.
The two solutions proposed to stem the tide of commercial spam once and for all revolve around either "white listing" email senders or charging a "toll" (typically .25-1 cent per email message) to allow email through.
Currently, ISPs and email providers can either maintain their own white lists, as in the case of AOL, or the can share one.
In the "old" days, companies could (and still do) subscribe to "black lists" (like SpamHaus.org) which exclude email senders based on reports of spamming and other factors.
Though the "black list" method rates the least accurate, it's currently the most popular simply because it requires the least effort by companies trying to block spam.
However, as spammers get smarter, black listing has proven an ineffective spam deterrent and ISPs must get proactive if they hope to survive.
However, an inherent weakness in the "white list" system makes charging for commercial email inevitable.
Since white listing requires effort on the part of the ISP or email provider (they must ultimately pay real people to manage the list), this means additional cost.
Unlike a relatively inexpensive subscription to a "black list service" which gets implemented automatically by software filters, white listing requires people to do work which carries a real world cost.
Bottom line: most ISPs and email services will not be able to create, maintain or implement a white list for very long without charging.
Yet, consumers tired of the avalanche of spam are demanding effective protection by those they pay for Internet and email access.
Thus, any service hoping to survive long-term must adopt a hybrid of both the white list and "toll booth" approaches.
This means not only evaluating the legitimacy of every commercial email sender's methods, but also charging them for the email they send through a particular service or network. It's inevitable.
Now, the cry that immediately goes up at this point sounds like this, "What about the "little guys" who can't afford to pay the fee or the family newsletters that aren't commercial? What about them?"
In a perfect world, their email would go through.
In the real world, their email will get lost even more frequently in the future than it does now in the existing tangle of email filters and inconsistent white and black listing.
The hope of survival and prosperity for the "little guy" lies squarely in the hands of blogging and RSS feeds.
Since blogging and rss feeds enable consumers to subscribe directly to information using an RSS "reader," they completely bypass the need to send email.
This eliminates the "middle man" of an email provider and puts control over what content gets received squarely in the hands of the consumer.
Though this technology has existed for several years now, awareness by mainstream consumers of what RSS feeds are and how to subscribe to them has been relatively slow.
The biggest contributor to the slow adoption in the mainstream has been the absence of a universally distributed RSS "reader" on every computer (similar to how Outlook or Outlook Express on every Windows PC helped make email universally understood).
But that should also change shortly as more RSS readers get included in Web browsers and email programs in the near future.
So while the "big guys" will push their messages to consumers by paying what will surely amount to an ever-increasing "toll" to get their emails through, the "little guys" will "pull" consumers to them with subscriptions to blogs and RSS feeds.
Whether it happens this year, next year, or the year after - make no mistake - the email "toll booth" is coming for commercial emailers and newsletter publishers.
So, if you depend on sending email for your company's profits, either get ready, plan, and budget for the new tolls, or start making arrangements to distribute your content via blogs and RSS feeds, because the market will shortly force you to make a choice.
-=-
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website, affiliate links, or blogs...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> www.TurnWordsIntoTraffic.com
-=-
Have a great Sunday!
Feb 10, 2006
General Superstitions
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Tomorrow is Saturday and I'm looking forward to my day off !!! Today is the last part of "General Superstitions" that was provided by Craftie Linda an Adland Friend... I hope You enjoyed it!
Visit my cool community on the web and if You like it You can Join for FREE here .. it's a friendly and UNIQUE community!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
General Superstitions
by Craftie Linda
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Witches fly on broomsticks - comes from when the pagans were viewed hopping up and down on broomsticks in the fields, which was a harvest ritual.
Leaving the front door open for the prophet Elijah at Passover, so the kids think he drank the wine you left on the table for him, when in reality it was just evaporation.
There were fields in certain farms in Northern Ireland where a tree, especially a hawthorn, would be left standing in spite of the inconvenience to ploughing, rather than incur the hostility of the fairies who used it for their celebrations.
Don't watch an animal defecating or you'll get a stye on your eye.
A red-tipped match will cure a case of the hiccups.
A wedding ring - An ancient symbol of completion, far older than the Christian religion. The ring signifies that which does not end or begin but it a circle of forever.
When a couple is walking down the street holding hands and an obstacle (like a lamp post) comes between them you say bread and butter... thereby keeping the union until the hands meet again on the other side of the lamp post.
Counting a person's teeth robs them of one year of life for every tooth counted, this is why some people cover their mouths when they laugh, smile or yawn.
Whippoorwills call for the souls of the dead.
If an owl is staring at your house, someone there will die.
Clink two glasses of alcohol to scare the demon out of the alcohol.
It is bad luck to put up a calendar early or write in next year's diary before the New Year.
When you cross a railroad track you need to touch a screw so you won't get pregnant.
If a woman's menstrual cycle begins while she is seated in a church the next child she has will be born dead.
If a bat gets in your hair you are possessed by the Devil.
Never take flowers from a grave or you will be the next to be in a grave.
If a single pigeon sits on your roof someone close is going to die soon.
A loud ticking from a clock means that a death is coming in the house soon.
Dropping silverware causes company. Drop a spoon and the company will be female, drop a fork and the company will be male. Dropping a knife will break the spell.
God Bless You - When someone sneezes his or her heart stops a beat. By saying God bless you; it merely thanks God for allowing the heart to continue beating again considering if it had stopped they would not be alive.
If a young girl catches a ladybug and then releases it, the direction in which it flies away will be the direction from which her future husband will come.
Mistletoe in the house protects it from thunder and lightning.
You must get out of bed on the same side that you get in or you will have bad luck.
-=-=-
Have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend!
Tomorrow is Saturday and I'm looking forward to my day off !!! Today is the last part of "General Superstitions" that was provided by Craftie Linda an Adland Friend... I hope You enjoyed it!
Visit my cool community on the web and if You like it You can Join for FREE here .. it's a friendly and UNIQUE community!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
General Superstitions
by Craftie Linda
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Witches fly on broomsticks - comes from when the pagans were viewed hopping up and down on broomsticks in the fields, which was a harvest ritual.
Leaving the front door open for the prophet Elijah at Passover, so the kids think he drank the wine you left on the table for him, when in reality it was just evaporation.
There were fields in certain farms in Northern Ireland where a tree, especially a hawthorn, would be left standing in spite of the inconvenience to ploughing, rather than incur the hostility of the fairies who used it for their celebrations.
Don't watch an animal defecating or you'll get a stye on your eye.
A red-tipped match will cure a case of the hiccups.
A wedding ring - An ancient symbol of completion, far older than the Christian religion. The ring signifies that which does not end or begin but it a circle of forever.
When a couple is walking down the street holding hands and an obstacle (like a lamp post) comes between them you say bread and butter... thereby keeping the union until the hands meet again on the other side of the lamp post.
Counting a person's teeth robs them of one year of life for every tooth counted, this is why some people cover their mouths when they laugh, smile or yawn.
Whippoorwills call for the souls of the dead.
If an owl is staring at your house, someone there will die.
Clink two glasses of alcohol to scare the demon out of the alcohol.
It is bad luck to put up a calendar early or write in next year's diary before the New Year.
When you cross a railroad track you need to touch a screw so you won't get pregnant.
If a woman's menstrual cycle begins while she is seated in a church the next child she has will be born dead.
If a bat gets in your hair you are possessed by the Devil.
Never take flowers from a grave or you will be the next to be in a grave.
If a single pigeon sits on your roof someone close is going to die soon.
A loud ticking from a clock means that a death is coming in the house soon.
Dropping silverware causes company. Drop a spoon and the company will be female, drop a fork and the company will be male. Dropping a knife will break the spell.
God Bless You - When someone sneezes his or her heart stops a beat. By saying God bless you; it merely thanks God for allowing the heart to continue beating again considering if it had stopped they would not be alive.
If a young girl catches a ladybug and then releases it, the direction in which it flies away will be the direction from which her future husband will come.
Mistletoe in the house protects it from thunder and lightning.
You must get out of bed on the same side that you get in or you will have bad luck.
-=-=-
Have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend!
Feb 9, 2006
Winning Thoughts!
Welcome To Flo's Biz & Fun
A couple of days ago we had a blizzard that lasted 1 1/2 days... I lost one evergreen tree. I was lucky and I'm very thankful not to have more damage, since then the sun has been shinning brightly.
Quote of the Day...
When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.
~ Helen Keller ~
I read this and liked it, so I thought I'd share this with You...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Winning Thoughts
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Practice with....
C - Commitment
L - Loyalty
A - Aggressiveness
S - Sincerity
S - Self-awareness
Perform with....
C - Certainty
L - Leadership
A - Abandon
S - Sharpness
S - Self-confidence
Win with....
C - Creativity
L - Love
A - Authority
S - Smartness
S - Self-control
Work, Hope, Dream, Pray, Expect, Believe, and You will create conditions in which good things can happen!
Have a great Thursday!
A couple of days ago we had a blizzard that lasted 1 1/2 days... I lost one evergreen tree. I was lucky and I'm very thankful not to have more damage, since then the sun has been shinning brightly.
Quote of the Day...
When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.
~ Helen Keller ~
I read this and liked it, so I thought I'd share this with You...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Winning Thoughts
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Practice with....
C - Commitment
L - Loyalty
A - Aggressiveness
S - Sincerity
S - Self-awareness
Perform with....
C - Certainty
L - Leadership
A - Abandon
S - Sharpness
S - Self-confidence
Win with....
C - Creativity
L - Love
A - Authority
S - Smartness
S - Self-control
Work, Hope, Dream, Pray, Expect, Believe, and You will create conditions in which good things can happen!
Have a great Thursday!
Feb 8, 2006
What is an eBook compiler?
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Yesterday's article was about " Share Your Best Life Story With The World". Today's article is about understanding the software called ebook Compiler that You need to put your ebook together.
To learn more read William's article below, he shares simple explanations and guidelines to what exactly is an ebook Compiler...
Quote of the day...
"If you can dream it, you can do it.
Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse."
~ Walt Disney ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
What is an eBook compiler?
- by William Knotts
www.williamknotts.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
You've written and revised your ebook, hired an artist who has produced outstanding graphics, and now you're ready to actually put together your ebook. What you need to make an ebook is software called an ebook Compiler.
There are many different compilers to chose from, but first, you need to know exactly what an ebook Compiler does. Here is the simple explanation:
An ebook compiler is a software program that converts either text pages or HTML text into a single executable file or an ebook.
If you or someone you hired has created a file with graphics in HTML, you will need an HTML ebook Compiler. This type of compiler requires a working knowledge of the HTML tag language. You can also use software to do this for you, such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.
How do you choose an eBook Compiler?
There are a large number of ebook Compilers available on the market, all with glowing sales copy and tekkie language. It can get very confusing and overwhelming very fast without some simple guidelines to help you figure out which compiler is right for you.
Choosing an ebook Compiler depends on a number of factors:
1. How did you create your pages? Did you use HTML or PDF format? There are many more compilers available for HTML, but you can find some very good compilers that will covert your PDF files into an ebook.
2. Consider how easy the program is to use and the thoroughness of the software's instruction manual. It is absolutely necessary that the compiler you buy have an instructional manual, documentation, or online "wizards." If it doesn't, your chances of figuring out how to correctly use the program are compromised, and the time required doing so is going to be significant.
Many manufacturers of compilers offer a free trial version so you can play around with it and see if it suits your needs. Download the trial version and ascertain that it actually does what it claims to do.
3. Security features. If you plan to sell your ebook, check out the security features of the compiler software carefully. Security features should include: prevention of the reader from modifying text, access only to the pages you assign or by entering a password, different ways of generating passwords such as secure passwords, user-friendly, and open passwords.
4. Supported scripting. Find out what scripts the software supports. Scripting allows you to create special effects, customize menus, and create and modify other user interactivity. Choose a compiler that permits you to include graphics, search windows, hyperlinks, forms, surveys, etc.
5. Pricing. This is a factor that is not always easy to gauge. The highest priced compilers are not automatically your best choice. Choose your compiler based on the necessary requirements for your Ebook. That means you need to know exactly how you plan to use your Ebook and what functions you require.
Let's look at some of these factors in more detail. First of all, make sure you have the correct browser to run the compiler. The majority of HTML compilers use Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape. Check out the version that the compiler supports. Compilers that require a browser will not run on a computer that does not have the required browser installed. However, there are ebook HTML compilers that don't require you to have any browser installed on your computer. These compilers run on any Windows system.
If you choose a compiler that requires a browser, check to ascertain that the browser is installed correctly and that it is properly configured to the specifications of the compiler. Check to see if certain functions are turned off or on, and make any adjustments according to the compiler instructions.
Security is an essential element of any compiler, regardless of whether you plan to sell or give away your ebook. One of the main reasons for using a compiler is to prevent the reader from modifying the contents. A secure compiler allows access only to the pages you want the user to access unless they enter a correct password.
To find out how secure an ebook HTML compiler is, open an ebook on it. While it is open, check the temporary directory of your computer. This can usually be accessed by typing in C:\Windows\temp. If you see a bunch of files when your ebook is open or running, it means that your computer is decompressing the secure data from your ebook before showing the ebook to the viewer. This method is not secure! It means that anyone with the knowledge of how to access these temporary files can steal the secure data and then they can fiddle with your ebook to their evil heart's desire.
Remember, one of the main purposes of buying and using an HTML compiler is to protect your property.
Next, let's discuss passwords. When trying to choose an ebook Compiler, check out the type of passwords that the compiler supports. Almost all compilers offer some kind of password protection that insures that the user can only access the contents they have purchased from you.
However, the best compilers offer varied ways to generate different types of passwords. Choose a compiler that gives you the options of secure, user-friendly, and open password generation.
Another important factor when it comes to passwords is how the compiler generates them. A compiler that has internal password protection generation built into the software is more secure than compilers that link to live Internet password control systems.
Find out if the compiler generates passwords online. If it has this option, it allows you to choose any payment processing system you want or to do the payment processing yourself.
Next, look into the size of ebook the compiler supports. The best compilers can create ebooks up to 2 GB in size without decompressing the HTML pages or images to your hard disk. Usually, ebooks that are 2 GB in size can easily support 6 GB of compressed data. The catch here is that only text files will generally be compressible.
You do not want a compiler that decompresses this amount of data when the user attempts to open your ebook. This would mean that anyone who purchases your ebook will have to wait for all the data to decompress before they can access your ebook right after downloading it. So look for compilers that only decompress temporarily files that are NOT HTML to the local hardisk. Non-HTML files include Flash, Word, and Acrobat files. This type of compiler is more secure and certainly faster.
Make sure the compiler you choose is compatible with your system software. Check out what version of Windows it requires, and make sure you have that version before buying your compiler.
Support issues are extremely important. Choose a compiler that includes an installation program. This program allows your user to choose a number of different places on their computer to install the ebook, to place a shortcut on their desktop, and to add the ebook, if they choose, to the Start Programs menu.
You also want excellent and accessible vendor support. Make sure you can access quick technical support! At three o'clock in the morning, this factor will be VERY important. Also, check to see the terms of free technical support offered. Unlimited technical support is obviously the best option.
Check to see if the company that puts out the compiler software offers a service level agreement. This agreement is to assure you of their quality response to your questions or problems.
A good thing to consider is how long the compiler has been on the market. Usually, the version number will give you an idea. The longer the program is on the market, the higher the version number, the more bugs have been worked out.
When choosing an ebook compiler, do not be swayed by incredible promises and dazzling sales copy. Do your homework first, and then consider all the above issues and factors before choosing an ebook compiler.
-=-
Author - William Knotts
http://www.williamknotts.com
Get over 50 free ebooks w/resale rights
-=-
Have a great Wednesday!
Yesterday's article was about " Share Your Best Life Story With The World". Today's article is about understanding the software called ebook Compiler that You need to put your ebook together.
To learn more read William's article below, he shares simple explanations and guidelines to what exactly is an ebook Compiler...
Quote of the day...
"If you can dream it, you can do it.
Always remember this whole thing was started by a mouse."
~ Walt Disney ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
What is an eBook compiler?
- by William Knotts
www.williamknotts.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
You've written and revised your ebook, hired an artist who has produced outstanding graphics, and now you're ready to actually put together your ebook. What you need to make an ebook is software called an ebook Compiler.
There are many different compilers to chose from, but first, you need to know exactly what an ebook Compiler does. Here is the simple explanation:
An ebook compiler is a software program that converts either text pages or HTML text into a single executable file or an ebook.
If you or someone you hired has created a file with graphics in HTML, you will need an HTML ebook Compiler. This type of compiler requires a working knowledge of the HTML tag language. You can also use software to do this for you, such as Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver.
How do you choose an eBook Compiler?
There are a large number of ebook Compilers available on the market, all with glowing sales copy and tekkie language. It can get very confusing and overwhelming very fast without some simple guidelines to help you figure out which compiler is right for you.
Choosing an ebook Compiler depends on a number of factors:
1. How did you create your pages? Did you use HTML or PDF format? There are many more compilers available for HTML, but you can find some very good compilers that will covert your PDF files into an ebook.
2. Consider how easy the program is to use and the thoroughness of the software's instruction manual. It is absolutely necessary that the compiler you buy have an instructional manual, documentation, or online "wizards." If it doesn't, your chances of figuring out how to correctly use the program are compromised, and the time required doing so is going to be significant.
Many manufacturers of compilers offer a free trial version so you can play around with it and see if it suits your needs. Download the trial version and ascertain that it actually does what it claims to do.
3. Security features. If you plan to sell your ebook, check out the security features of the compiler software carefully. Security features should include: prevention of the reader from modifying text, access only to the pages you assign or by entering a password, different ways of generating passwords such as secure passwords, user-friendly, and open passwords.
4. Supported scripting. Find out what scripts the software supports. Scripting allows you to create special effects, customize menus, and create and modify other user interactivity. Choose a compiler that permits you to include graphics, search windows, hyperlinks, forms, surveys, etc.
5. Pricing. This is a factor that is not always easy to gauge. The highest priced compilers are not automatically your best choice. Choose your compiler based on the necessary requirements for your Ebook. That means you need to know exactly how you plan to use your Ebook and what functions you require.
Let's look at some of these factors in more detail. First of all, make sure you have the correct browser to run the compiler. The majority of HTML compilers use Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape. Check out the version that the compiler supports. Compilers that require a browser will not run on a computer that does not have the required browser installed. However, there are ebook HTML compilers that don't require you to have any browser installed on your computer. These compilers run on any Windows system.
If you choose a compiler that requires a browser, check to ascertain that the browser is installed correctly and that it is properly configured to the specifications of the compiler. Check to see if certain functions are turned off or on, and make any adjustments according to the compiler instructions.
Security is an essential element of any compiler, regardless of whether you plan to sell or give away your ebook. One of the main reasons for using a compiler is to prevent the reader from modifying the contents. A secure compiler allows access only to the pages you want the user to access unless they enter a correct password.
To find out how secure an ebook HTML compiler is, open an ebook on it. While it is open, check the temporary directory of your computer. This can usually be accessed by typing in C:\Windows\temp. If you see a bunch of files when your ebook is open or running, it means that your computer is decompressing the secure data from your ebook before showing the ebook to the viewer. This method is not secure! It means that anyone with the knowledge of how to access these temporary files can steal the secure data and then they can fiddle with your ebook to their evil heart's desire.
Remember, one of the main purposes of buying and using an HTML compiler is to protect your property.
Next, let's discuss passwords. When trying to choose an ebook Compiler, check out the type of passwords that the compiler supports. Almost all compilers offer some kind of password protection that insures that the user can only access the contents they have purchased from you.
However, the best compilers offer varied ways to generate different types of passwords. Choose a compiler that gives you the options of secure, user-friendly, and open password generation.
Another important factor when it comes to passwords is how the compiler generates them. A compiler that has internal password protection generation built into the software is more secure than compilers that link to live Internet password control systems.
Find out if the compiler generates passwords online. If it has this option, it allows you to choose any payment processing system you want or to do the payment processing yourself.
Next, look into the size of ebook the compiler supports. The best compilers can create ebooks up to 2 GB in size without decompressing the HTML pages or images to your hard disk. Usually, ebooks that are 2 GB in size can easily support 6 GB of compressed data. The catch here is that only text files will generally be compressible.
You do not want a compiler that decompresses this amount of data when the user attempts to open your ebook. This would mean that anyone who purchases your ebook will have to wait for all the data to decompress before they can access your ebook right after downloading it. So look for compilers that only decompress temporarily files that are NOT HTML to the local hardisk. Non-HTML files include Flash, Word, and Acrobat files. This type of compiler is more secure and certainly faster.
Make sure the compiler you choose is compatible with your system software. Check out what version of Windows it requires, and make sure you have that version before buying your compiler.
Support issues are extremely important. Choose a compiler that includes an installation program. This program allows your user to choose a number of different places on their computer to install the ebook, to place a shortcut on their desktop, and to add the ebook, if they choose, to the Start Programs menu.
You also want excellent and accessible vendor support. Make sure you can access quick technical support! At three o'clock in the morning, this factor will be VERY important. Also, check to see the terms of free technical support offered. Unlimited technical support is obviously the best option.
Check to see if the company that puts out the compiler software offers a service level agreement. This agreement is to assure you of their quality response to your questions or problems.
A good thing to consider is how long the compiler has been on the market. Usually, the version number will give you an idea. The longer the program is on the market, the higher the version number, the more bugs have been worked out.
When choosing an ebook compiler, do not be swayed by incredible promises and dazzling sales copy. Do your homework first, and then consider all the above issues and factors before choosing an ebook compiler.
-=-
Author - William Knotts
http://www.williamknotts.com
Get over 50 free ebooks w/resale rights
-=-
Have a great Wednesday!
Feb 7, 2006
Best Life Story
Welcome to Flo's Biz & Fun
Do You have a story and want to share it to make a positive difference in the lives of others? One person lesson learned can impact the lives of others in specific ways. The hardest lessons learned usually represent the best lessons to share with others. To learn more read Jim's article below...
Quote of the day
"Set out each day believing in your dreams.
Know without a doubt that You were made for amazing things."
~ Josh Hinds ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Share Your Best Life Story With The World
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
When most people sit down to write a book, they expect it will take months to complete the job. They envision working endlessly and toiling over every word until they finally emerge a year or two later with their finished "masterpiece."
Well, that may hold true for traditional authors, but the power of the Internet makes it possible for more innovative authors to not only create books with compelling content, but to do it faster and easier than most ever dreamed possible.
Texas psychologist, Michael Wolf, Ph.D., represents a new breed of author who sees technology not only as a way to bypass traditional publishing and distribution channels that take years to bring books to market, but use the Internet to actually gather the main content for his book.
Understanding that many authors write in a vacuum about things that only seem relevant in their own lives, Dr. Wolf decided to let his audience help him write his books by sharing their specific stories with him through the Internet.
His book series, called "One Lesson Learned," is currently in development at www.onelessonlearned.com.
These encouraging instructional books will contain personal stories from ordinary people who share an important lesson learned from their own life-changing experiences. These books will give both readers and contributors a chance to connect and make a positive impact on each others' lives.
Unlike the popular "Chicken Soup For the Soul" book series which often focuses strictly on inspirational stories, the "One Lesson Learned" series will concentrate specifically on how one person's lesson learned can impact the lives of others in specific ways.
As a practicing psychologist, Dr. Wolf figured out what your grandmother knew all along: the hardest lessons learned usually represent the best lessons to share with others so they don't make the same mistakes.
Most people will experience an event or develop a personal insight that changes their lives forever, though they often don't realize the impact until years later. Unfortunately, the jewels of wisdom contained in those stories usually never extend beyond the individuals involved.
Dr. Wolf hopes to preserve this knowledge through his "One Lesson Learned" book series.
His inspiration comes mainly through his own 20 years of helping people make positive changes in their own lives by discovering and using their own life lessons. He also recognized the healing power of sharing these lessons with others, not only for the reader, but also for the storyteller.
Gathering content through the Internet makes it possible for individuals from all walks of life around the world to share their stories and make a positive difference in the lives of others.
In effect, Dr. Wolf has created a virtual campfire around which we can all sit and gain hard-won knowledge from each other, much the same way our ancestors did before life got so complicated.
You should visit www.onelessonlearned.com right now to learn how to contribute a story or to read sample stories, or send an email to mailto:questions@onelessonlearned.com
-=-
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links? "Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising!
Click Here> Write Money Making Ezine Articles FAST!
-=-
Have a great Tuesday!
Do You have a story and want to share it to make a positive difference in the lives of others? One person lesson learned can impact the lives of others in specific ways. The hardest lessons learned usually represent the best lessons to share with others. To learn more read Jim's article below...
Quote of the day
"Set out each day believing in your dreams.
Know without a doubt that You were made for amazing things."
~ Josh Hinds ~
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Share Your Best Life Story With The World
- by Jim Edwards
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
www.TheNetReporter.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
When most people sit down to write a book, they expect it will take months to complete the job. They envision working endlessly and toiling over every word until they finally emerge a year or two later with their finished "masterpiece."
Well, that may hold true for traditional authors, but the power of the Internet makes it possible for more innovative authors to not only create books with compelling content, but to do it faster and easier than most ever dreamed possible.
Texas psychologist, Michael Wolf, Ph.D., represents a new breed of author who sees technology not only as a way to bypass traditional publishing and distribution channels that take years to bring books to market, but use the Internet to actually gather the main content for his book.
Understanding that many authors write in a vacuum about things that only seem relevant in their own lives, Dr. Wolf decided to let his audience help him write his books by sharing their specific stories with him through the Internet.
His book series, called "One Lesson Learned," is currently in development at www.onelessonlearned.com.
These encouraging instructional books will contain personal stories from ordinary people who share an important lesson learned from their own life-changing experiences. These books will give both readers and contributors a chance to connect and make a positive impact on each others' lives.
Unlike the popular "Chicken Soup For the Soul" book series which often focuses strictly on inspirational stories, the "One Lesson Learned" series will concentrate specifically on how one person's lesson learned can impact the lives of others in specific ways.
As a practicing psychologist, Dr. Wolf figured out what your grandmother knew all along: the hardest lessons learned usually represent the best lessons to share with others so they don't make the same mistakes.
Most people will experience an event or develop a personal insight that changes their lives forever, though they often don't realize the impact until years later. Unfortunately, the jewels of wisdom contained in those stories usually never extend beyond the individuals involved.
Dr. Wolf hopes to preserve this knowledge through his "One Lesson Learned" book series.
His inspiration comes mainly through his own 20 years of helping people make positive changes in their own lives by discovering and using their own life lessons. He also recognized the healing power of sharing these lessons with others, not only for the reader, but also for the storyteller.
Gathering content through the Internet makes it possible for individuals from all walks of life around the world to share their stories and make a positive difference in the lives of others.
In effect, Dr. Wolf has created a virtual campfire around which we can all sit and gain hard-won knowledge from each other, much the same way our ancestors did before life got so complicated.
You should visit www.onelessonlearned.com right now to learn how to contribute a story or to read sample stories, or send an email to mailto:questions@onelessonlearned.com
-=-
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use free articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links? "Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising!
Click Here> Write Money Making Ezine Articles FAST!
-=-
Have a great Tuesday!
Feb 6, 2006
Magnetic Ads
Welcome to Flo's Home Biz & Fun
Hope You had a great weekend! We had a blizzard the last day and a half .. theirs plenty of snow that's for sure!
Alexandra has a great article about how to attract new subscribers with Magnetic Ads that is easy and inexpensive! She is sharing an easy step-by-step guide on how to write them to help You with it...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Attract New Subscribers With Magnetic Ads
by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
One of the most effective methods of advertising your e-zine is placing ads in OTHER e-zines!
There are many reasons why, but the top three are:
1) you're advertising to other readers whom you know are already interested in e-zines
2) you can finely target other e-zines whose readers would likely be interested in YOUR topic
3) it's easy and inexpensive
First, you'll need to get your ads ripe and ready. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to write them — it should only take you about 10 minutes.
1) Gimme the "meat." What do you have to offer?
No one's going to give a hoot about your e-zine unless you tell them what they'll GET out of it.
a) What does your e-zine show, teach, or share with your reader?
Write them down now. For example, my other e-zine, "Publish for Profits," tells how to publish and promote an effective e-mail newsletter..
b) NOW, translate those features into benefits.
By showing my readers how to publish and promote an effective newsletter, "Publish for Profits" helps them attract new clients/customers and increase sales. THAT's what they really care about! Get your result down to one or two sentences. You now have the "body" of your ad.
2) Write your headline.
Often times your ad will be stuck in the middle of many others. Use your headline to make YOURS stand out. Here's where you can really grab the reader, effectively saying, "Hey, look over here!"
Your headline copy should attract attention and can either sum up your offer or highlight a benefit of your e-zine.
Also, play with CAPS and punctuation to help your headline stand out. You can put your entire headline in ALL CAPS, just capitalize special words, or use asterisks (***) or other punctuation to grab attention.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't overdo it! If you pump your entire ad full of caps and asterisks and exclamation points, it will lose credibility quickly. Grab your readers' attention, but don't cram your message down their throats.
3) Incorporate some "power words."
These are words that give your ad ZING and get attention quickly. Here are 16 to get you started. See if any of these apply to YOUR e-zine offer, and use them as appropriate in both your headline and body copy.
"you, free, money, profit, secret, easy, yes, save, guarantee, today, first, how to, new, now, discover, learn"
4) Add your "call to action."
All good ads give a call to action. Never make your reader have to assume what to do next!
YOUR call to action is obviously to ask the readers to sign up for your e-zine. Do this in your last line or two.
Example: 'Sign up NOW at http://www....com or by sending an e-mail to subscribe@....com.'
5) Massage your result into the two sizes of ads you'll need.
There are generally two ad sizes you'll need for an effective e-zine ad campaign.
a) THE "CLASSIFIED" AD: Most e-zines offer spots for 5-line ads, so this is a great size to have ready-to-go. Remember to use all three components: headline, body, and call to action.
b) THE "SPONSOR" AD: If you choose to be a "sponsor" of another e-zine, you'll have room for a longer ad. These are usually at the top of the issue and allow for at least 10 lines.
To write your sponsor ad, just take your classified ad and build onto it. Give us more benefits and details. Again, remember to use all three components: headline, body, and call to action.
Remember — your words are selling your ezine!
Everyone's finally catching on to the fact that publishing an e-zine is an incredibly effective self-promotional tool. That means you have plenty of competition, and that you'll have to work to SELL your e-zine to prospects. We're all so overwhelmed with information these days, that it's not enough to just offer us something FREE — you need to show us how it will be worth our time!
Take your time to craft a truly COMPELLING ad for your e-zine. It will be well worth it.
(c) 2001 Alexandria K. Brown
-=-
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at www.ezinequeen.com.
-=-
Have a great Monday!
Hope You had a great weekend! We had a blizzard the last day and a half .. theirs plenty of snow that's for sure!
Alexandra has a great article about how to attract new subscribers with Magnetic Ads that is easy and inexpensive! She is sharing an easy step-by-step guide on how to write them to help You with it...
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Attract New Subscribers With Magnetic Ads
by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
One of the most effective methods of advertising your e-zine is placing ads in OTHER e-zines!
There are many reasons why, but the top three are:
1) you're advertising to other readers whom you know are already interested in e-zines
2) you can finely target other e-zines whose readers would likely be interested in YOUR topic
3) it's easy and inexpensive
First, you'll need to get your ads ripe and ready. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to write them — it should only take you about 10 minutes.
1) Gimme the "meat." What do you have to offer?
No one's going to give a hoot about your e-zine unless you tell them what they'll GET out of it.
a) What does your e-zine show, teach, or share with your reader?
Write them down now. For example, my other e-zine, "Publish for Profits," tells how to publish and promote an effective e-mail newsletter..
b) NOW, translate those features into benefits.
By showing my readers how to publish and promote an effective newsletter, "Publish for Profits" helps them attract new clients/customers and increase sales. THAT's what they really care about! Get your result down to one or two sentences. You now have the "body" of your ad.
2) Write your headline.
Often times your ad will be stuck in the middle of many others. Use your headline to make YOURS stand out. Here's where you can really grab the reader, effectively saying, "Hey, look over here!"
Your headline copy should attract attention and can either sum up your offer or highlight a benefit of your e-zine.
Also, play with CAPS and punctuation to help your headline stand out. You can put your entire headline in ALL CAPS, just capitalize special words, or use asterisks (***) or other punctuation to grab attention.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Don't overdo it! If you pump your entire ad full of caps and asterisks and exclamation points, it will lose credibility quickly. Grab your readers' attention, but don't cram your message down their throats.
3) Incorporate some "power words."
These are words that give your ad ZING and get attention quickly. Here are 16 to get you started. See if any of these apply to YOUR e-zine offer, and use them as appropriate in both your headline and body copy.
"you, free, money, profit, secret, easy, yes, save, guarantee, today, first, how to, new, now, discover, learn"
4) Add your "call to action."
All good ads give a call to action. Never make your reader have to assume what to do next!
YOUR call to action is obviously to ask the readers to sign up for your e-zine. Do this in your last line or two.
Example: 'Sign up NOW at http://www....com or by sending an e-mail to subscribe@....com.'
5) Massage your result into the two sizes of ads you'll need.
There are generally two ad sizes you'll need for an effective e-zine ad campaign.
a) THE "CLASSIFIED" AD: Most e-zines offer spots for 5-line ads, so this is a great size to have ready-to-go. Remember to use all three components: headline, body, and call to action.
b) THE "SPONSOR" AD: If you choose to be a "sponsor" of another e-zine, you'll have room for a longer ad. These are usually at the top of the issue and allow for at least 10 lines.
To write your sponsor ad, just take your classified ad and build onto it. Give us more benefits and details. Again, remember to use all three components: headline, body, and call to action.
Remember — your words are selling your ezine!
Everyone's finally catching on to the fact that publishing an e-zine is an incredibly effective self-promotional tool. That means you have plenty of competition, and that you'll have to work to SELL your e-zine to prospects. We're all so overwhelmed with information these days, that it's not enough to just offer us something FREE — you need to show us how it will be worth our time!
Take your time to craft a truly COMPELLING ad for your e-zine. It will be well worth it.
(c) 2001 Alexandria K. Brown
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at www.ezinequeen.com.
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Have a great Monday!
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