Internet and Businesses Articles

While there are seemingly endless ways to promote your e-zine and attract new subscribers, here's a list of my favorite 15. Which ones are YOU using?

Print this out and check those you already do, and note those you should "get a move on."

1. ___ 1. Tell your clients, associates, and friends. Send out one of your best issues (or your first issue) as a sample issue, inviting them to sign up if they like it. (Never sign anyone up without his/her permission.)
2. ___ 2. Put a signup form on your home page and every page of your Web site. No matter what page people may land on, this way they'll know about your amazing e-zine. Don't let them click away and lose them forever!
3. ___ 3. Use a pop-up or pop-under box on your site. Yes, they're irritating if abused, but I can tell you they work. Studies show pop-ups/unders can increase your e-zine signups by up to 10 times! Give it a try and test it. (Automatic popup creators like Ad Impact make it super easy.)
4. ___ 4. Offer a free goodie for new subscribers. We all get so much e-mail these days, that you have to work hard to get anyone's e-mail address. Offer new subscribers a valuable free article, report, resource list, e-book, etc.
5. ___ 5. Offer a free sample issue on your Web site or have one available by e-mail autoresponder. Some people won't sign up for anything until they can see it first.
6. ___ 6. List your e-zine in free e-zine directories. There are hundreds of these on the Web where people visit to search for e-zines on particular topics. Make sure you're here so you can be found! (One of the best is Charlie Page's Directory of E-zines)
7. ___ 7. Swap ads with other e-zines. Search online e-zine directories for other e-zines whose target readership matches yours, and contact their publishers. Swap at least three ads in a row for best results.
8. ___ 8. Buy ads in other e-zines. Again, search those directories for other e-zines whose target readership matches yours, and see their ad specifications and rates. Purchase at least three ads in a row for best results.
9. ___ 9. Plug your e-zine in your e-mail signature. After your usual contact information at the bottom of all your e-mails, be sure to include a two- or three-line plug for your e-zine.
10. ___ 10. Get published in OTHER e-zines. There are dozens of Web sites where other publishers visit to pick up free content for their e-zines. Why not post YOUR articles there for them to use? You get free exposure and plenty of traffic back to your site.
11. ___ 11. Do a co-op with other e-zine subscribers. You can cross-promote with other e-zine publishers on your own, or use an automated service such as Subscription Rocket (subscriptionrocket.com) which I used when I got started years ago.
12. ___ 12. Try a pay-for-subscriber service. These services advertise your e-zine for you and bring you subscribers automatically for as little as 10 to 30 cents apiece.
13. ___ 13. Announce your e-zine to all of the professional organizations and associations you're a member of. They usually allow you to make announcements in their newsletters or on their online bulletin boards.
14. ___ 14. Advertise your e-zine on the back of your business cards. In the text, be sure to tell people how they can sign up for your e-zine.
15. ___ 15. Become active in a few online forums where your ideal readers hang out. In your posts, position yourself as a resource in your area of expertise, and include a signature file that promotes your e-zine!

© 2005-2008 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown publishes the award-winning "Highlights on Marketing Success" weekly ezine with 36,000 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 AlexandriaBrown.com

After my live talks, I always get a few people who say to me, "You know, publishing an e-zine sounds great, but I just don't think I have the time to do it on an ongoing basis." Or, "I'm not sure if I'll have enough content to publish an e-zine."

If this is your case, you may want to consider one of these e-zine alternatives. These can still help you achieve your goal of establishing credibility, staying in touch with your prospects, and capturing your Web site visitors.

For the first two alternatives, you'll need an e-mail autoresponder. This is like a fax-on-demand system that sends out e-mails automatically when others request them. (I recommend QueenCart.com, which has a 30-day trial for $3.95.)

The great thing about autoresponders is that you can set the timing of a series ahead of time. For example, you can schedule message 1 to go out immediately once a person signs up for the list. Message 2 could follow two weeks later. Message 3 would follow two weeks after that. Get the idea?

ALTERNATIVE 1: THE "EVERGREEN" NEWSLETTER

If you don't foresee yourself writing fresh new content every week or month that you publish, why not make your newsletter "evergreen"?

This means that you write all your content ahead of time, and none of it can be time-sensitive. That is, it should be just as relevant today as it would be a year from now.

Evergreen e-zines are brilliant and easy to do. Here's how it works: Suppose you want to publish a short tip every week. That means you'd need 52 tips for a year's worth of content. Once you had these written, you'd just set them up on your autoresponder and tell it when you want them sent out. (For this example, it would be day 1, day 7, day 14, etc. -- each reader would get a message every week.)

It's important to realize that when you use a sequential autoresponder, these are sent as a SERIES. That means everyone who signs up goes through the series in order, no matter when they sign up. For example, let's say you publish a weekly tip like in the example above. If I sign up today, I start with tip #1. And in 10 weeks, I'll be on tip #10. But if Suzy Q signs up 10 weeks from today, she starts with tip #1 just like I did. Get it?

[BONUS TIP: You don't have to write your entire series before you begin! Just stay one tip ahead of the first person who signs up for your series. : )]

ALTERNATIVE 2: THE MINI E-MAIL COURSE OR REPORT

These are very popular right now. You simply create several e-mails' worth of content to spread out over a certain amount of days, and set them up on your autoresponder.

Many sites offer 7-day courses or reports, and quite frankly, many of them are awful. So here's a chance for YOU to stand out. Make sure yours offers really useful or interesting content that's more helpful than salesy.

For example, say you're a small business coach. You could offer a course called "5 Ways to Make This Your Most PROFITABLE Year Ever!" Just sit down and list the 5 ways, then write a few paragraphs of copy under each.

Then write one final sales message that you'll add on to the end of the series as the 6th message. This should be a friendly invitation encouraging the reader to call you for a consultation, buy your book, sign up for your workshop, etc.

Paste all the messages into an autoresponder series, set the timing to what you want (e.g. every day or every few days), and voila -- you've got an e-mail course!

ALTERNATIVE 3: PROMOTIONS ONLY

If you offer products on your site that don't lend themselves well to creating related content, just offer what you've got!

Give your visitors the chance to receive special offers that will save them money at your site. The trick to high sign-up rates is to make them feel as if they'll be part of an exclusive group. Use words like "special, exclusive, limited, VIP, first looks, discounts, savings, club, and members-only."

For example, one site that I frequent sells discounted designer clothes and handbags. (Hooray!) During my last visit, they invited me to sign up for "discounts, exclusive offers, and first looks." I jumped at the opportunity!

Don't underestimate your visitors' interest -- many of them WILL sign up for e-mail offers if you politely extend the invitation and make them feel special.

Just make sure not to overdo your messages to this crowd. Keep your blasts to a maximum of once a week. Otherwise your readers will get irritated and may unsubscribe.

© 2003-2008 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown publishes the award-winning "Highlights on Marketing Success" weekly ezine with 36,000 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 AlexandriaBrown.com

You find a Web site or receive an email about an online store with cool products that you'd like to order, but not right now. Either you file the email or bookmark the Web site. How often do you proactively return to the email or Web site? For me, the percentage is miserably low and my bookmarks file is hey-uuuge.

If getting people to your Web site is a breeze, then you're in good shape. The question is... how often do they return especially when they are ready to buy your product or service? By that time, they may have forgotten about your site and services.

Regularly connect with them through an email newsletter. It's a great way to trigger their memories, give them something for nothing, and build relationships. The payoff will be new and more business, money in the bank account. A high quality newsletter demonstrates value, trust, and stability.

Value

How many newsletters and emails have you seen from companies that were all about "them?" They discuss their newest products. Their site redesign. Their receiving an award. Does this information help you? Maybe if you're a shareholder; otherwise it useless information.

Newsletters demonstrating value by providing information to help readers in their everyday work such as solving the problems they face, keeping them on top of industry trends, and saving them research time by filtering the best articles related to the business.

When a newsletter repeatedly gives readers something of value without a price, they eventually make the buy because the company has proven its expertise through problem solving. One newsletter does a great job in using a sense of humor in its promotional items.

Watch the ratio of solutions versus selling. If selling dominates the newsletter, then it is not likely to be as effective since it's focusing on the company not the reader. Promoting services and products is fine as long as there is more problem solving content than promotions.

Readers often provide feedback showing their appreciation for our saving them time. They don't have the luxury of searching Web sites for the latest information in their industry. A newsletter gives them that, a little bit of everything in one spot. Ultimately, providing value to readers means solving their problems and making their jobs easier.

Trust

Do you buy from someone you don't trust? What about Web sites selling products? eBay has the rating system where buyers and sellers rate one another based on their sales experiences. Would you buy from someone who has 50 percent positive / negative feedback? Trust plays a role.

Newsletter publishers become a trusted information source by knowing their audience and being honest with their readers. Furthermore, as the newsletter continuously solves business problems, it shows the readers the company behind the newsletter understands them and their challenges. Add more credibility by interviewing experts or inviting them to contribute an article.

Demonstrate integrity by creating a mailing list in a respectable way (read: avoid buying lists). Grow the mailing list by"

* Using employees' address books.
* Sending it to people who requested company information.
* Including a subscription box on the company Web site.
* Adding newsletter information in an email signature.
* Writing the information on the back of business cards.

Keep the removal process simple. If someone doesn't want the newsletter, making it harder for her to get off isn't good for the business. It reduces credibility. Besides, if she can't get off, she'll add the newsletter to the spam filter. If there are 100 people like this, it wastes space and clutters the mailing list. Let them go.

Involving readers is a great way to build trust and a community. Provide an outlet for encouraging reader feedback in every issue. Invite readers to submit questions and help each other solve problems, share success stories, anything that would encourage them to write and provide information of value to other readers.

Many newsletters offer readers the chance to ask a question and in turn, post the question so other readers can help. Another way is to ask readers a question on the topic of the month and follow up in the next issue with responses. People like to see their names in lights, so it's another way to connect with readers.

Stability

Emailing newsletters on a regular schedule with accurate and timely is what it means to demonstrate stability. It's not just about finances, number of years in business, or product success.

Actions are the best way to prove stability. To do this with a newsletter:

* Deliver on a regularly schedule (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly).
* Use a consistent format (it's OK to redesign it when it is for the right reasons).
* Write with a clear and constant voice.
* Include a survey for reader feedback (sometimes change is necessary).
* Respond to reader emails.

Stability shows the company is always available when needed and comes through when the call is sounded.

While finding new clients is essential, staying in touch with current clients is vital because they have used the service and know the quality of the work. They're more likely to buy again as long as you stay in touch. Newsletters are a great way for maintaining customer loyalty while searching for new customers.

High quality newsletters demonstrate value by providing information relevant to the reader; stability by regularly sending the newsletter; and trust by speaking from integrity. While newsletter should focus on the customer not the company, both parties should gain value. As long as the three factors are in place, the newsletter should be a winner.

(c) 2004 Meryl K. Evans

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is Editor-in-Chief of eNewsletter Journal and The Remediator Security Digest. She's a slave to a MarketingProfs weekly column and a Web design reference guide at InformIT. She is the author of the popular e-report, How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic. Visit her site at http://www.meryl.net/blog/ for free newsletters, articles, and tips.

After you've spent countless hours creating and publishing your own newsletter online, you still have to consider the fact that merely adding it to your website will not make it an overnight success.

You need to attract subscribers. There are several fairly easy ways to accomplish this goal.

1) Add your ezine details to every directory listing you can find online. There are a number of comprehensive websites devoted primarily to publishing ezine information. One list is published on this website - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art12836.asp

2) Offer subscribers something free in return for their subscription to your ezine. This could be a free report, a free advertisement in a future issue of your publication, a free ebook, etc...

3) Submit the details of your new ezine to as all related Announcement Lists. Depending upon your content, you may find a helpful list on this page - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art12838.asp

4) Talk about your latest endeavor in online forums related to your ezine topic. You can find various lists of forums by searching Google, Yahoo or Dogpile.

5) Reward subscribers for referring new subscribers. Again this can be in the form of a free advertisement for each person they recommend to your ezine (who actually becomes a subscriber.)

Remember that you definitely have competition for readership. There are probably plenty of newsletters online, which are similar to yours. You have to make it stand out from the crowd. Make it different, more appealing, more informative, etc...

Best of luck to you!

Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp

If my in-box is any indication, most of the business world is hot on e-newsletters. I receive half a dozen every day. Some are thinly masked advertisements; most, however, provide some degree of valuable information.

E-newsletters provide a relatively easy and low-cost way to accomplish a number of business goals, including:

• Maintaining connections with current and past clients

• Demonstrating expertise in a particular field

• Sharing resources and building an active network

• Educating clients and prospects about products, services and how best to access them

As a communication professional, though, I review the newsletters I receive with a critical eye; many of them leave much to be desired in their planning and execution. Luckily, it isn’t difficult to make the leap from adequate to fabulous, if a newsletter publisher is willing to take a close look at the purpose, audience, content and execution of the project.

What’s the Point?

E-newsletter publishers often confuse the tool with the purpose. An e-newsletter is a tool used to achieve some greater business purpose, yet novice publishers often forget the greater purpose in the effort to put out the newsletter on something resembling a regular basis.

Knowing the point of the newsletter within your business context, though, helps you make better decisions on everything from content to frequency. It’s critical to your success – and your sanity – to understand up front what the purpose of the newsletter really is.

Newsletters always address one or more of the following three purposes:

1. Serve the needs of current and past clients

2. Position in front of prospective clients

3. Build a base of repeat business

In other words, e-newsletters, like all business communications, have the core intention of creating, sustaining or deepening a business relationship. As a newsletter publisher, you have to know what kind of relationship you are asking your readers for; what do you want from them? Loyalty? New business? Referrals? Increased business? Believe it or not, most of your readers are perfectly willing to give you what you want, as long as your wants are clearly communicated. Most publishers don’t communicate clearly enough.

Which of the three purposes is most important to you? Are you helping current and past clients improve some aspect of their work on an ongoing basis? Are you demonstrating your skills to prospective clients? Do you offer a wide range of services that could lead to repeat business if your clients only knew about them all?

Naturally, some overlap exists between the three essential purposes, but one may emerge as the primary purpose. Know what it is, and plan your content to satisfy the requirements of that purpose.

Make Your Point

Once you have a clear idea of what your purpose in publishing your e-newsletter is, you will find it easier to make decisions that help you maximise the benefits of publishing in a digital medium, while overcoming some of the obstacles.

Chief among the obstacles is the notoriously short attention span of online readers. A writing style that engages readers emotionally as well as logically is a must. When your e-newsletter arrives in their inbox, the very subject line must capture their attention. Then, in the body of the newsletter, use compelling headlines, short sentences, action verbs and a story-telling approach to draw readers in.

Headlines are of particular import because readers make nanosecond decisions on whether to delete or keep reading based on headlines. Try these suggestions to come up with effective headlines for your e-newsletter:
• Solve a problem. Examples:

o Spend More Time Providing Value than Hunting for Information.

o Don’t Make Your Business Vulnerable to the Taxing Authority
• Use a statistic. Examples:

o Most Companies Lose 30 Percent of Their Mailing Lists Each Year

o Office Workers Waste 6 Weeks per Year Searching for Lost Information
• State a quote or adage. Example:

o Whoever Said “Ignorance is Bliss” Didn’t Know a Librarian
• Ask a question. Examples:

o Is It Possible to Get Through Divorce with Dignity?

o What Do Your Clients Really Think of You?
• Create a mystery. Example:

o What Is the Real Agenda of Google?

Interact!

Unlike print media, e-newsletters offer the opportunity for two-way communication with your readers. This capability can be one of the biggest benefits of publishing an e-newsletter, so make creative and strategic use of it. Build the expectation of interaction into your newsletter, and you create the opportunity for meaningful engagement with audiences of all kinds.

For example, you can incorporate links in your text inviting readers to send immediate feedback or questions on your content. Live links embedded in the text are more effective than relying on the “reply” function of e-mail, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that readers often need to be reminded that you really do want them to respond in some way. By including the link (which handily shows up in an eye-catching blue amidst a plain-text message), you reinforce the suggestion that you are inviting discussion and response.

Where do these links lead the reader? If you have a web site, the links can bring readers right into your site to fill out a form, join a discussion forum, or complete a registration for a program. Be sure to create a back-end automated tracking system that will capture information about how many visitors arrived by clicking a newsletter link, what they did when they arrived, and other data points that will help you deepen your relationship with them individually and en masse.

Realistic Outcomes

Quality e-newsletters take time to create and manage. Expect to devote time each issue for planning, writing, editing, layout and production, distribution, and database management. A monthly e-newsletter will require human and financial resources; I usually counsel clients to start with a quarterly or bimonthly newsletter, as it is preferable to increase frequency than to create the expectation of more than you can consistently deliver.

As you create and distribute your newsletter, think carefully about what specific result you want for each issue. What do you want a reader to say, think or do as a result of receiving the newsletter? Your desired outcome might be for readers to:

• Visit your web site

• Request additional information

• Sign up for a class or seminar

• Use a particular tool/resource

• Refer you to others

• Give you feedback

• Feel they can’t live without you

All but the last of these desired outcomes are measurable and relatively easy to communicate to readers. When reviewing your newsletter content, ask yourself if what you want is clear. Put your “call to action” in no uncertain terms, and make it easy for readers to fulfil their side of the bargain by placing live links, contact information and other next steps right in their path.

Within the context of your e-newsletter, your words can shape opinions, behaviours, business decisions and profitable relationships. Make your efforts pay off by understanding your purpose and how to work toward it in every single issue.

Robin Neidorf is the author business books, articles and reports and the founder of Electric Muse, a research and communications consultancy. Go beyond ezine basics with Robin's full-length report: E-Newsletters: A Guide for Publishers (http://www.freepint.com/shop/report/enews/), published by Free Pint.

1. Give Incentives

Give people an incentive to subscribe to your e-zine. Offer them a freebie if they subscribe. It could be a free e-book, free report, free advertising, etc. Make sure the freebie will attract your target audience.

2. Joint Venture

Joint venture with a similar e-zine. Combine your subscriber bases together and publish one e-zine. Edit and publish each issue together. You both will be promoting the e-zine which means more subscribers.

3. Allow Archiving

Allow your subscribers to archive back issues of your e-zine on their web site. They may need content for their web site. If people visit their web site and like your e-zine, they will subscribe.

4. Form An E-zine Ring

Form an e-zine ring. Team up with 4 to 10 similar e-zines. All the publishers would agree to list each others e-zine name and subscribing information in every issue. You could call this section "Other Free E-zines You Might Enjoy"

5. Ask Subscribers

Ask subscribers to forward your e-zine to close friends, family, or associates. If they enjoy your e-zine, they will subscribe. It's almost like your subscribers are endorsing your e-zine.

---------------------------------------------------------
Julia Tang publishes "Smart Online Business Tips", a fresh
and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people
like you. To find out the best online business opportunities,
to discover hundreds more proven and practical internet
marketing secrets, plus FREE internet marketing products
worth over $200, visit: http://www.best-internet-businesses.com
----------------------------------------------------------

1. Don't bury your subscriber form, place it on your home page and or every page and make it VERY easy to find.

2. Add a one-liner to the byline section of your online published articles. For example: "You can subscribe to [name]'s free e-newsletter by visiting [URL]."

3. Give people an additional incentive to subscribe. Give them a free ebook or ecourse that has valuable content on a topic that will attract the exact type of ideal clients/customers for you.

4. During network events, ask them if you can sign them up for your newsletter. Then you manually add them when you return from the function with a double opt-in feature. Explain the opt-in feature to them when you ask them to subscribe. This gives them a way out if they were just being polite. Keep asking and don't stop. Practice a simple two or three liners to explain the frequency and purpose of your e-newsletter.

5. Contact any trade organization or associations you belong to or membership has your target market. Ask for their member list. Member's usually get this free, they may charge you if you aren't.

6. After you have the organization's or association's member list, send a direct mail letter, and offer a free subscription and another other free offers you have that help them get aquatinted with you, the type of services you provide, and the benefits of working with someone such as yourself. You can educate them through free ecourses that were created from your e-newsletter articles.

7. Recommend your client's company's newsletter in your e- newsletter. Ask them for a reciprocal recommendation. Both of you win with new subscribers.

8. Write reviews or provide feedback to other newsletters (electronic or printed) you read and enjoy. Many times your comments will get posted in a future issue, along with a link to your site.

9. One of the top ways to attract people is by giving them various ways to interact with you at your web site. Use questionnaires, contests, giveaways, games, or ask for post survey questions and post the statistical responses. Send out a special e-mail announcement when the results of the questionnaire, survey, contest is posted on your web site. The Sales Lead Report, http://www.imninc.com/macmcintosh, adds a survey with each issue, then uses the information in his PR campaign with phenomenal success.

10. Offer a different writing style. One that is warm, comforting, as if you are talking to a friend on the phone. Write conversationally with a personal tone. Add I's, me and you.

11. Always encourage your readers to forward a copy of your e-newsletter to friends, colleagues, and co-workers. You can even write a "forwarding e-mail paragraph" at the beginning so it is even easier for them to forward.

12. If you do speaking engagements or sales presentations, use one of the first few slides or last slide to invite them to subscribe to your e-newsletter. Don't turn off the screen so it is displayed after you are finish speaking if possible.

13. At speaking engagements, pass around a clip board with a manual way they can register for your e-newsletter. Start passing the board around before you begin speaking. Place a small different piece of paper with a short letter from you to them explaining the topics, frequency, and objectives of the e-newsletter as well as the opt-in option.

14. Send out a press release to the organizations you belong regularly about what's been going on in your e-newsletter. I began mine by sending out a short press release whenever an article was published. When I began getting published 10 and 20 times a month that no longer seemed practical. Thus, I moved over to one a month with a list of where the articles were published. Add a press release section to your web site and post them there as well -- at least the last six releases.

15. Find sites that give out awards for e-newsletters and keep applying until you receive one. When you do, send out a special announcement to your list as well as posting it in a few issues of the e-newsletter and rewrite your bio paragraph at the end of your articles.

16. Don't add people on your list without asking for permission first. Always offer an opt-in/out options. Give them a personal greeting if you are responding to a particular networking even group or other particular group. Some web hosts only need one s*p*a*m complaint before they shut your e-newsletter down. And it isn't worth the problems caused by not respecting this.

17. KISS your subscriber form. Meaning, "keep it short and simple." Ask for their e-mail and first name only. You can even simplify it more by just asking for their e-mail address.

18. Set up section for past issues of your e-newsletters. I recommend just listing their main topic or name of the article and not by date. People don't like to read things that they consider "old" easily. If you create pdf files for past issues, remember that it does save space but it also doesn't allow you to use unique meta page tags so that they show up in the search engines.

19. Add your e-newsletter bio line to all your e-mail signatures.

20. Send out your e-newsletter articles as content for reprinting into other media.

21. Offer targeted subscribers a special report when they refer your e-newsletter to three or more colleagues. Add a price to the special report to give a perception of added value. A special report is 3-10 pages on a very focused topic.

22. Offer your readers high-value content for them to read. Content they can't find easily or ever somewhere else on the Internet and they will keep coming back. This is the new wave for 2004. Subscriptions to e-newsletters are going down because content is too general.

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

If you are a professional, consultant, coach, speaker, seminar leader, author or small business person, you need to develop and offer one of the most powerful Online marketing tools around-the eNewsletter, otherwise known as the ezine.

Your ezine's purpose is two-fold:

1 - It should give your clients and potential product buyers something that benefits them-tips, feature articles, resources and special offers. Subscribers want information and they love a bargain. Your ezine will offer all former clients, present ones, and potential ones particular how-tos and other useful information. In turn, your subscribers will become your loyal supporters.

2 - Because of your generous sharing with your subscribers, they will support you in turn, by forwarding the ezine to their associates, thereby helping you sign up new subscribers. They will also buy your books, attend your seminars and check out your other services. The more targeted your subscribers, the more chance you have of selling your products and services.

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com

Your ezine builds customer confidence and trust when you give free tips, articles, and resources. Clients and customers buy only when they trust you. Expand your email subscriber list seven ways for eventual big sales.

1. Network offline.

Visit professional like-minded networking groups. These groups usually meet once a month, have speakers, and networking time for you to mix with other professionals. You will get valuable information at these meetings for low cost-yearly memberships run that around $25-$75 which includes free or low-cost meeting attendance. Each meeting is around two hours including networking time and talk. Usually at each meeting you hear a speaker and get a 30-second time to introduce yourself.

2. Speak to groups about your expertise.

You can guest speak for a large association or group, or you can give your own seminars and workshops, where people come to hear your expertise. During each meeting, pass as clipboard that asks your audience for their email addresses. At the top include a reason to "buy". Make a fre*e offer such as your ezine. Include your Web URL in plain sight as well as your email. You want these people to visit your Web site, to see what you can do for them, see your expertise, then perhaps to buy products.

You can give a teleclass too in the comfort of your office or home. When you introduce yourself offer a benefit of your free ezine along with a free bonus special report.

3. Promote your ezine on your Web site.

Visit various sites and take from them what will make your web pages zing.

Don't use the pabulum approach such as "Subscribe to my free ezine." Is this enough to make you buy? Give a reason for your visitor to buy.

Use the passion approach. For my new Web site, I submitted this blurb to my Webmaster: Finish, publish, and sell your book-fast! Receive free articles, tips and resources in the FRE*E monthly ezine "The Book Coach Says…."

Nearby in a box, I put up a strong testimonial from someone highly respected in the business. Dan Poynter, self-publishing guru said, "Chock full of tips, how-to's, and resources, definitely worth your time."

You can also offer by autoresponder a free report when people subscribe. People want free information. When you give it to them, they will come back for more, and eventually buy.

Placement is important. For the best response and more subscribers, place your subscribe box before your visitor has to scroll down. Remember the old adage; "Make it easy for your customer to buy."

4. Promote your ezine through your signature box at the end of every email.

Create a promotional signature in four to seven lines, and add it to the end of each email you send out. Here, you would list your book title, benefits of your service, your FRE*E ezine title with a way to subscribe. Include your email, Web site address, and local phone number for people out of the U.S.

5. Promote your ezine through submitting free articles to opt-in ezines.

Once you subscribe to these ezines, you can submit one or two articles from 400-800 words every week. In each ezine, thousands of other subscribers will read and think about your article.

Each time you submit an articles to ten or so opt-in ezines (all with one click) you will receive 10-25 new ezine subscribers each day. A strong signature file brings you many new visitors a day. These turn into sales eventually, once trust is established.

6. Offer your subscribers a free gift subscription to send to their friends.

You can use another autoresponder to send the gift, plus whom it's from, and a little blurb about what they will be receiving. Always include a way for subscribers to unsubscribe.

7. Send out press releases via email about your ezine. Press releases by email are different from print ones. They must be short! They must be newsworthy! Don't pitch your book; offer some skills and how-to's. Skills Unlimited Publishing sends out over 150 different print releases a year, along with other effective Online promotion.

Media editors will respond to your compelling headline such as "7 Ways to Sell More Books Than you Ever Dreamed of" that brought first a feature in a major newspaper in San Diego. The results? Over 90 people came to a local seminar by the same name. Four new book coaching clients signed up. Twenty came to ongoing weekly seminars, and twenty more to a teleclass. Book sales amounted to over $400.

Send a list of tips and how-to's to editors. These may prompt a call to do a feature story on you.

Build your business and sell more products through an ezine. When subscribers experience your messages and information in six or more ezines, they will be more likely to buy from you.

Judy Cullins, 20-year book and Internet Marketing Coach, Author of 10 eBooks including "Write your eBook Fast," and "How to Market your Business on the Internet," she offers free help through her 2 monthly ezines, The Book Coach Says...and Business Tip of the Month at http://www.bookcoaching.com/opt-in.shtml and over 140 free articles. Email her at mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com

The very name CGI used to send chills up my spine. For years I put it in the 'too-hard-basket'. But like most things in life, CGI is not as scary as it seems. If you have a cgi directory on your website and you know how to FTP files, chances are you can have a CGI script up and running in less than 20 minutes.

CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is not a programming language but a standard that allows visitors to interact with your website. CGI scripts can be written in a number of different languages but most are written in Perl (Practical Extraction and Reporting Language).

This article gives you details of five free CGI scripts that will do the following:

1. Mail out your Newsletter from your server
2. Track the number of times your free E-Book is downloaded
3. Rotate banners on your website
4. Create your own auto responders
5. Allow visitors to recommend your website to friends

At the end of this article are details of where to download these 5 free scripts. But first, here are some basic guidelines on how to configure and install CGI scripts:

1. CGI programs usually come in a zip file. Unzip the file and open the README file. This document will give you instructions for configuring the program file.

2. Open the program file using a text editor such as NOTEPAD (the program file will usually have the file extension .cgi but may have other extensions such as .pl).

In most CGI programs you will have to configure the following 4 items:

(a) the path to perl

This is where the perl program resides on your server. The path will usually be:

#!/usr/bin/perl

but could be:

#!/usr/local/bin/perl

If you're unsure what your 'path to perl' is, check your web host's online 'manual' or FAQs. If you can't find it there, simply ask your web host.

(b) the path to sendmail

Most CGI programs notify you when your visitors have completed a particular action, and for that, the program needs to know where the 'sendmail' program resides on your server. The path to your UNIX sendmail program will usually be: /usr/sbin/sendmail

But it could also be something like this:
/usr/lib/sendmail

Again, check the documentation on your web host's website, or simply ask your web host.

(c) the absolute path to your CGI directory

The absolute path tells the CGI program exactly where to find the file (or files) that it needs to open. Unfortunately, the absolute path to your CGI directory is not something you will be able to guess or deduce - it is completely arbitrary and depends entirely on how the system administrator at your web host has partitioned your host's hard drive.

The easiest way to find out your absolute path is to ask your web host. Another way is by using telnet - just type in pwd (print working directory) and that should give you your absolute path.

(d) Your email address

This is the address that the CGI program will use to notify you when an action has been completed.

3. Uploading

Upload the program files to your cgi-bin (or a directory off your cgi-bin) using ASCII mode. Never use BINARY mode, as this will play havoc with the line-breaks in the script.

4. Set the File Permissions using CHMOD

CHMOD (changing mode) is the term for setting security permissions on files. The README file will usually tell you the permissions that you need to set for each file. The script file will need to be set to 755. This allows the file's owner to read, write, and execute the file; anyone else can only read and execute it.

You can set the permissions using telnet, but the easiest way is to use the built-in option in your FTP program.

5. Calling the Script

Now that you've configured the script, uploaded it and set the permissions, it's time to try it out! You do this by 'calling the script' using a URL in an HTML document. This is what the URL for calling your script will normally look like:

http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/script.cgi

Again, the README file should have specific instructions on how to call the script. In addition, most CGI programs are accompanied by a web page that contains the form your visitors would use to call the script.

And now here are the details of the 5 free CGI scripts I mentioned earlier:

-----------------------
Subscribe Me Lite
-----------------------

Subscribe Me Lite is a program that allows prospects/customers to automatically subscribe and/or unsubscribe themselves from your mailing list. It has a built-in mass mailing form for sending out your newsletter or updates.

More Information:
http://www.cgiscriptcenter.com/subscribe/index2.html

-----------------------
Rob's File Tracker
-----------------------

Rob's File Tracker is a perl script that counts file downloads or click-thrus to any file. Very useful if you want to know how many people are downloading your free E-Book.

More Information:
http://www.robplanet.com/cgi/tracker/

-----------------------
AdRotate Pro
-----------------------

AdRotate Pro is an ad rotation program that's easy to setup and easy to use. Features include unlimited rotations, expiry by date, views or clicks, default ads for when all ads are expired, and customer reports.

More Information: http://www.vanbrunt.com/adrotate/

-----------------------
MasterRecommend
-----------------------

This script allows visitors to recommend your website to a friend by sending an email, without leaving your website. The program will also send you a copy of your visitor's message (nice to know what your visitors think about your website).

More Information:
http://www.willmaster.com/master/recommend/MasterRecommendmanual.html

-----------------------
Master Auto-Responder
-----------------------

This is a standard auto-responder program. The script allows you to set the "From:" and "Subject:" lines for your auto-response.You can also choose to receive a copy of each email that the auto-responder receives.

More Information:
http://mastercgi.com/howtoinfo/howautoresponderswork.shtml

If you need more help installing your CGI scripts, here are two excellent free tutorials:

http://spider-food.net/install-a-cgi-script.html
http://www.stefan-pettersson.nu/scripts/tutorials/installcgi.html

------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
------------------------------------------------------------

1. Many Ezine Publishers use too many styles of separator in their Newsletter. I recently saw an Ezine that used no less than 7 different separators:

++++++
------
~~~~~~
\\\\\\
......
======
******

This confuses the reader and makes your Ezine difficult to read. Your Newsletter will look much smarter and be much easier to read if you use just one or two styles of separator.

2. Always give an email address for your readers to un-subscribe. Making your readers go to a website to unsubscribe will create more traffic but it won't make you popular.

3. Place the email address for unsubscribing near the top of your Newsletter where it can easily be seen. That will avoid messages from your readers asking you to unsubscribe them.

4. Put the title of your main article in the subject field of your Newsletter. People are much more likely to open an Ezine whose subject field reads:

WebTrafficDaily: '10 Power Tips to Boost your Traffic'

than: WebTrafficDaily, Vol 14 Issue No. 6

5. Unless your Ezine specializes in offering free ads, limit your classifieds to ten per issue. More than that and your readers will be irritated and the ads will lose their effect.

6. In every issue of your Newsletter, tell your readers about some new resource you have added to your Website - give them a reason to come back. After all, that's one of the main reasons for publishing an Ezine - to turn one-time visitors into repeat visitors.

7. Before sending out your Newsletter, do a trial run and send it to yourself. I do this and I almost always find some little error that needs fixing.

8. Keep an archive of back-issues on your website. People are more likely to subscribe to your Ezine if they can see a sample.

9. Search the Web for Tips on the theme of your Ezine - include an 'Editor's Tip' in each issue.

10. Format your Newsletter to 60 characters-per-line. You can either do this manually using a 'ruler' such as this:

012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789

Or you can use an ASCII file formatter (much quicker) such as 'Ezine Assistant'. Ezine Assistant is free and you can download it at: http://www.ezineassistant.com/

------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
------------------------------------------------------------

Do you place back-issues of your Newsletter on your website?

There are two good reasons why you should:

(1) It shows potential subscribers that you're serious about your Newsletter

(2) Newsletters are rich in keywords, so it's a very good idea to turn back-issues of your Newsletter into HTML documents and then submit them to the major Search Engines

Here's a little trick that will help you format your Newsletter as an HTML document:

Copy the text of your Newsletter into a text editor such as NOTEPAD.

Then copy the text from NOTEPAD into Microsoft Word. You'll notice that in your Word document, each line ends with a Paragraph Mark.

Now go to EDIT | REPLACE.

Place your cursor in the first field, where it says 'Look For'.

Now click on 'More' and then on 'Special' and select the first item in the list ('Paragraph Mark'). The symbol for a paragraph mark will now appear in the first field (a hat followed by a 'p').

Now place your cursor in the field below, where it says 'Replace With' and type. Then click on 'Replace All'.

You'll find that every single paragraph mark in your Word document has been replaced with.

Now copy the entire Word document into a new NOTEPAD document and save it, using the file extension .html (Note: NOTEPAD doesn't offer you the option to save as an HTML document, but don't worry; just type .html after the name you gave the file, and it will be saved as an HTML document).

Close that html document and then open it again and you'll find that your Newsletter is perfectly formatted, with the exact same line breaks that you had in the email version of your Newsletter.

------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
------------------------------------------------------------

Do you feel bewildered when you begin an Ezine Advertising campaign?

I do.

Take 'The Free Directory of Ezines', for example. There are over 800 Ezines in the Directory that accept paid ads. How do you decide which Ezines to place your ad in?

There are several factors that narrow down the choice for me.

First, I look at the subscriber numbers. If an Ezine has less than 400 subscribers, I move on.

Then I look at the Publication Dates. I prefer to advertise in Ezines that are published weekly, or even more frequently; I don't want to wait a month my ad to appear.

Then I look at the number of ads that appear in each issue. If an Ezine has more than 15 ads per issue, I give it a miss; I want my ad to be seen.

Then I look at the payment method; if the Ezine doesn't accept online payment with the major credit cards, I move on.

Then I look at the Ad Rates - on a 'blind date' like this, the most I'm prepared to pay for an Ezine ad is about $20.

Finally, I look at when the Ezine was last updated. If the Ezine listing is more than 6 months old, the ad rates have probably gone up, or maybe the Ezine itself has folded up.

These are all factors that you can use to narrow down your search for the right Ezine for your Ads. But it's still a 'stab in the dark'.

There's another technique, however, for choosing the right Ezines for your ads. Basically, you want Ezines that will give you a high response-rate to your ad. The following technique will tell you this with pinpoint accuracy. I used this strategy a couple of months ago and it produced excellent results.

First of all, I signed up for a 'Pro' account with ROIBOT, an 'Ad Tracking' service. It costs $17 per month, but you'll get that back easily from a successful ad campaign. You can find out more about ROIBOT at:

http://www.roibot.com/

In the 'Manage Your Campaign' area of ROIBOT, I generated 50 traceable URLs for my ads.

Then I went to my own eBook, 'EzyAds', and subscribed to 50 Ezines that give a free ad to new subscribers. I submitted an identical 25-word ad to each of those 50 Ezines. Each of those ads contained a unique URL generated by ROIBOT.

I then sat back and waited. My 50 ads were published during the following month, some the very next day, others 2 or 3 weeks later. Once or twice a week I went to the ROIBOT website and checked how many clicks I had got from those traceable URLs.

The results were very interesting. Of the 50 Ezines that I placed free ads in, 15 produced an outstanding response. At the end of the month I purchased paid ads in 10 of those 15 Ezines. And I continue to get a high response rate from those 10 paid ads.

------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
------------------------------------------------------------

If you're like most people starting out on the Internet,you've been along this well-worn path:

You try free classified ad sites and get bombarded with spam by people trying to sell you stuff.

You try banner exchange programs and get a handful of click-throughs.

You finally get into the top twenty results in the Search Engines, and then a week later your site has dropped back to number 150.

The Internet may the largest market in human history, but how on earth do you reach those millions of people?

Well, the answer is ezine advertising.

Its the surest way on the Web of reaching your target audience.

Ezines (short for 'electronic magazines') are email newsletters that are sent out regularly to subscribers, like the one you're reading. They're sometimes called 'opt-in' lists because everyone who receives an ezine has chosen to do so.

And that's why ezine advertising gets results. People read ezines and they'll read your ad. And if you've matched the ezine to the product you're selling, you've reached your target audience.

Have a look at the ads in your favorite ezine - why are they there? Because they get results.

There are currently around 90,000 ezines being published every month. So whatever you're selling, there's more than likely an ezine that will take your ad straight to the audience you want to reach.

Ezine advertising is not only effective, its cheap as well. A 5-line ad in an ezine that goes to 3000 people will cost you between $5 and $20 per issue.

As a general rule, you'll always get back at least the cost of the ad, and usually much more. So there's very little risk.

But there are some tips for successful ezine advertising. Here they are:

1. The first and most important rule in ezine advertising is: "Track your Ads!". You might place your ad in 5 different ezines and get a hundred responses, but if you don't track your ads, you won't know which ezines were pulling responses and which weren't.

To advertise effectively in ezines, you must learn from experience - its a process of trial and error. Eventually, you'll end up with a handful of ezines that you know are bringing you a high response rate. After that, just keep placing your ads in those ezines and you'll have a guaranteed stream of customers.

But how do you track your ads?

The simplest method is to place a key or a code at the end of your email address. If your ad was in this ezine (for example), this is the email address you'd place with the ad:

yourname@yourdomain.com?subject=freezine

Then, when you get a reply with 'freezine' in the subject field, you'll know which ezine it came from.

For a URL, it's the same principle:

http://www.yourdomain.com?freezine

However, if you're going to code your URLs, you'll need a sophisticated webstats program to track the coded URLs. Here are a couple of free ones:

http://www.hitbox.com.
http://www.openwebscope.com.

Here's another way to code your URLs : for every ezine ad, create a duplicate of your homepage and name the page after the ezine that your ad will appear in. So, if the ad is appearing in Ezine A, this is the URL you'd place in that ad:

http://www.yourdomain.com/EzineA

Again, you'll need to use a good web stats program to track the hits to your coded URLs.

2. The second rule is to target your audience. It may seem obvious but some advertisers overlook this. If you're selling a web-marketing course, don't advertise in an ezine that deals with stock options; they probably won't be interested.

Use the 'subject categories' in any ezine directory to find ezines that relate to the product you're selling. You can find a list of 60 ezine directories in 'The Free Directory of Ezines' at:

http://www.netmastersolutions.com/more-directories.html

3. Once you've chosen a number of ezines that target your audience, subscribe to them and examine the ads closely. If you see an ad that keeps repeating issue after issue, you can be pretty sure that its getting results. You've found a good ezine to advertise in.

4. Check to see how many ads are in the ezine. You don't want your ad lost in an ezine farm at the bottom of the newsletter. You probably won't get much response from an ad in an ezine that has 15 or 20 ads per issue. Readers of those ezines have become hardened to the ads and have learnt to skip them.

5. Check to see if the ezine publisher has a policy of never running ads for two similar products in the same issue - your ad will be much more effective if its the only one of its kind in that particular issue.

6. Small ezines vs. Big ezines: bigger is not always better. The big ezines with 1000's of subscribers tend to have more ads than the small ezines. Also, small ezines with only a few hundred subscribers often have a much more targeted audience than the big ezines.

7. Repeat your ads. Research shows that off the Web, an ad has to be seen about 21 times before someone acts on it; on the Internet its about 9 times. If your budget allows, try and have your ad repeated at least three times in a particular ezine. Most ezines offer discount packages for bulk advertising.

8. Email address vs. URL. Opinions are divided on this; some people prefer to give an email address, others prefer to give a URL. The advantage of giving an email address is that it gives you the opportunity to send a powerful sales letter to the person who responded to your ad. Its also much easier to track your ads with an email address than a URL.

9. Offer something free in your ad copy. It'll often tip the balance between a response and no response.

10. Keep your ads short, even if you're not using the number of words you're allowed. Short ads are more likely to be read. Keep your sentences short too; they pack much more power. Use the word 'You'. Don't describe your product but tell the reader what your product can do for them.

------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
------------------------------------------------------------

I sat here this morning, and decided to work out exactly how much time I use on creating my weekly ezine, and I almost kinda shocked myself. I`m not the ONLY publisher who refuses to automate, so please, after reading my hours, spare a kind thought for all those other publishers out there that do everything manually, and who really take the time to get down to a personal level with their subscribers.

Typical daily hours for me as an ezine publisher

- Reading other ezines/newsletters: About 4 hours per day.

- Looking for the right content: 5-6 hours per day

- Checking email other than newsletters: 5 hours per day

- Getting rid of junkmail: 3 hours per day

- Staying in touch with other publishers, website owners etc.: 3 hours per day

- Working on learning html: 2-3 hours pr day

- Updating ezine, ads and slot-ads with Rich, my programmer: 6 hours per day (with about 10 hours "allsorts" chat too)

- Looking in forums for things of interest: 1-2 hours per day

- Reviewing articles for possible publication: 3-4 hours per day

- Chatting on msn and yahoo messengers, whilst looking for more ideas and helping people: 12 hours per day

- Promoting ezine: At LEAST 4 hours per day (including submitting my own articles)

That 53 hours per day. Thank my lucky starts I`m great at mutli-tasking...hehehe

Remember, a lot of us do this to bring you information that we hope will help you in some way or other, and I know how much it brightens up my day when I get a mail saying "Great issue, Anna, Keep up the good work!" So I`m guessing a lot of other ezine owners would really appreciate something like that.

Putting out an ezine is a LOT more than just slapping together a couple of articles and a bunch of ads in an email, or on a website. I know there`s a lot of that going around too (I DO actually get tons of those ones in my mailbax daily too), so if you`re subscribed to a great ezine, take the time to let the publisher know, vote for them, recommend them to your friends, most importantly: Give Them Your Feedback!!

At the same time, if there`s something you DON`T like, let them know that too. Without subscriber feedback, we`re basically just poking around in the dark, hoping that we are giving people what they want. We are there for you, please be there for us.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-Resource Box-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-
Starting Your Own Business Can be Scary! Don't go it alone.
Let "Not Just Another Ezine" guide you. You'll get priceless
hints, tips and info to save you time, money and your sanity!
Our goal is to help YOU avoid getting burnt with online marketing.
Subscribe to NJAE today: http://annamarketing.com
=============================================
This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine,
web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes
to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included.
(c) 2004 AnnaMarketing.com. All Rights Reserved

What’s the point in spending hours preparing a newsletter, message or report if it's automatically filtered into the junk folder before the recipient even sees it?

Spam threatens to choke the communication channels promising global freedom of expression.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs), corporate server administrators and end users are increasingly using new anti-spam technology to try to stem the relentless tide of junk email flooding the Net.

The problem is: how can we prevent the dolphins from being caught along with the sharks?

The origin of ‘spam’

SPAM is a pink canned luncheon meat immortalised in Monty Python’s spam-loving Vikings sketch.

In an Internet context, lowercase spam refers to unsolicited commercial or bulk email (such as get-rich-quick schemes, miracle cures, weight loss, Viagra, lotteries, loans, pornography and Nigerian sob stories) and allegedly originated in a MUD/MUSH community.

Of more practical use is the origin of the actual spam mail itself.

Where does all the junk come from?

In the mid-90s, Usenet newsgroups (also called "discussion groups" or "bulletin boards") were the number one source of email addresses for spammers.

Today, the most common origin is web pages, especially if they’re listed in a search engine or directory.

Some people have tried foiling address-seeking spambots by inserting the word “UNSPAM” in capitals in the middle of all email addresses on their sites. This stops auto spammers working but enables human beings to work out what to do.

Spammers also harvest addresses from headers of messages you send to friends who forward them to their friends (a good reason for using BCC -- blind carbon copy rather than simple CC which displays all recipients – although some people filter out mail sent using BCC as many spammers also use it).

Other sources include open e-mail discussion lists and web pages that invite you to "insert your address here to be on a 'do not mail' list”.

Spammers can simply guess addresses by generating lists of popular names and random words attached to common domains (bob@aol.com, john@hotmail.com).

Once on a spam list, the only way to get off is to change addresses.

If you reply or respond to instructions to “remove”, your message will simply confirm your address is valid and you’ll get even more junk.

Depending on your email client, you can try tracing junk back to its owner by contacting the server listed in the full message header information (the From address is generally fake - check your Help files to find out how to "reveal full headers").

How to stop spam

Despite legislation against unsolicited commercial email, the volume of junk is increasing alarmingly.

The simplistic oft-cited fix -- “just hit delete” -- is only a bandaid solution and fails to discourage the junk merchants.

Self-regulation and industry codes are difficult to enforce. ISPs face problems if they disconnect service to spammers under some countries' telecommunications laws.

Technical solutions have centred on filtering technology.

Types of filters

Many corporations and ISPs filter incoming mail on or after delivery.

Server-side filtering software typically looks at the headers, subject line and/or contents of the message.

Some filters -- and their users -- are smarter than others.

SpamAssassin is an open-source, collaborative, community anti-spam effort based on filtering rules to analyse email content.

The software gives each message a score based on how many rules it breaks.

Any programmer can suggest rules for new releases of the software which spots, not blocks, spam.

ISPs and server administrators then decide whether to send suspect mail to junk folders, automatically delete mail tagged as spam, or bounce it back to sender.

Unfortunately for email publishers, some of the filter rules are too broad or the threshold is set too low.

Many innocent messages are being lumped in with the guilty.

One of my newsletter readers notified me that his ISP had tagged a recent issue as spam -

SPAM: -------------------- Start SpamAssassin results ----------------------
SPAM: This mail is probably spam. The original message has been altered
SPAM: so you can recognise or block similar unwanted mail in future.
SPAM: See http://spamassassin.org/tag/ for more details.
SPAM:
SPAM: Content analysis details: (13.2 hits, 6 required)
SPAM: Hit! (1.5 points) BODY: Asks you to click below
SPAM: Hit! (0.2 points) BODY: No such thing as a free lunch (1)
SPAM: Hit! (2.6 points) BODY: Instant Access button
SPAM: Hit! (3.5 points) URI: URL of page called "unsubscribe"
SPAM: Hit! (4.1 points) URI: 'remove' URL contains an email address
SPAM: Hit! (2.1 points) BODY: FONT Size +2 and up or 3 and up
SPAM: Hit! (0.0 points) BODY: Includes a URL link to send an email
SPAM: Hit! (-0.8 points) BODY: Image tag with an ID code to identify you
SPAM:
SPAM: -------------------- End of SpamAssassin results ---------------------

Even if you can identify the problems that raised your score, you can do little about it.

Best practice in e-newsletter publishing -- and now law in many countries -- is to enable your readers to unsubscribe easily yet the word “unsubscribe” or similar would lead to your newsletter being blocked by filters such as SpamAssassin.

Just look at the seemingly innocuous words on the constantly changing list of tests SpamAssassin performs on mail messages to determine whether they're spam.

A growing number of email users also filter their own inboxes by setting up rules to delete messages containing certain keywords or punctuation (for instance, the phrase, "This is not spam", which is among the most commonly used phrase in junk email).

Some desktop applications, such as MailShield and MailWasher, pre-set the rules and tag or delete mail without the user having to do anything.

Some client-side filters prioritise mail into different folders.

To ensure they receive wanted mail, email users can add favourite mailing lists to a “white” or “green” list so the mail ends up in a specific folder.

The problem with email filtering

Arbitrary and unpredictable email filtering, as with web content filtering, can backfire and cost time, money and frustration -- the very things filters were designed to save.

Tracking down problems and dealing with aggravated users or administrators wastes resources that could be spent creating content, marketing and improving customer service.

Many filters can be imposed only after you have received unsolicited email from each source, meaning you have to respond manually to every single spammer.

Spammers regularly change their email addresses to bypass filters.

"Qualitative" filters can try to detect junk mail from unknown sources but legitimate mail can be inadvertently trashed in the process (“false positives”) while some junk mail still gets through (“false negatives”).

Filters are becoming a serious problem with many legitimate opt-in publishers being mistaken for spammers and blacklisted.

Once on a black list, the only way to be unblocked is to contact the ISP and ask to be placed on a white list.

While some e-newsletter publishing tools let you monitor how many messages are opened or bounced, you might never know which readers are being filtered unless you know which email program they're using.

Even then, the recipient might just be busy, uninterested, on leave or not receiving your message.

Some filter programs don’t even notify you that your message was blocked while others bounce back mail with “sensitive" content without specifying the rejected words.

On another occasion my own free weekly e-newsletter was blocked on its way to at least two subscribers thanks to Trend SMEX Content Filter detecting "sensitive content" yet the “naughtiest” word I could find was "teenage".

Pity the poor medical publishers who often use “controversial” words such as “breast” or “penis” in their newsletters.

You might be able to track down the reason you were blocked by examining the full header information (ask your subscribers to forward the entire copy of your junked message).

The header should list filter rules that the message violated, if the ISP uses software such as SpamAssassin.

If not filtering, then what?

Some online publishers advocate web services where you submit your newsletters for screening of content or technical problems that might trigger spam filters before mailing.

Of course, spammers could also abuse such a service to get their own mail past the filters.

Others back the idea of an Internet-wide white list along the lines of web site privacy site TRUSTe.

Spam-busting campaigners believe the only effective method of addressing the problem is through simple, direct legislation to:

* Ban the practice of transmitting unsolicited bulk email
* Ban the sale and marketing of spamming tools
* Provide a right of action and damages to the recipient
* Express damages in terms of penalty units
* Provide for damages to be trebled for wanton violations
* Cover offshore spamming by local interests, and
* Attach to the outgoing revenue stream of foreign interests, which spam locals for the benefit of the spammers' revenue stream.

Meanwhile, ashile the world waits for more countries to introduce tough anti-spam legislation, online publishers must continue to be vigilant.

How to avoid the junk folder

Choose the subject line and words in your emails carefully if you don't want to end up in the junk file.

More people are setting up their email programs to filter incoming mail automatically for classic junk mail keywords and symbols (eg “advertisement”, “free”, “rich”, “porn”, "lover,", "opt-in," "e-mail”, “money-back guarantee”, “teen”, “sex”, ! # or $, removal instructions, all capitals).

Drop all hype and advertising-speak from your subject lines and messages.

Apart from saving you from the filters, honest concise text is preferred by the impatient, overloaded online reader.

Online publishers wishing to avoid being trashed should send a welcome message to new subscribers or correspondents telling them how your messages will appear (eg “the newsletter will appear from yvette@brizcomm.com.au”) and suggesting they add the address to the white or green list of their email program.

Set up test accounts with popular email providers such as AOL, Yahoo and HotMail to see if your messages are getting through.

Beware Microsoft Outlook's "junk e-mail filters" which, when turned on, colour or delete messages considered spam based on a filters.txt file.

I searched for the filters.txt file on my PC to see which words were no-gos and was surprised to see so many seemingly harmless words.

Use a professional list hosting service unless you can afford an experienced in-house support staff.

E-newsletter publishing is becoming a highly specialised and complex field – don’t risk your reputation to amateurs.

Ensure your list host monitors other clients to ensure they’re publishing to only opt-in recipients -- if opt-out mailers, rental lists and spammers are blacklisted, you might be guilty by association.

Insist on detailed bounce reports for every issue you send out.

You should be able to see which names bounced and the exact reasons (eg “mailbox full”, “address does not exist” or the frustrating “unknown”).

Just because your bounce report says your mail was delivered, doesn’t mean it did.

Many filters stop email after the “not-bounced” signal has been sent.

Monitor your open and clickthrough reports for unusual patterns.

Read all reader feedback, particularly if readers are having trouble subscribing or getting your mail.

Chances are they might have to ask (or scream at) their ISP or techies to add you to a white list.

(Of course, you need to publish quality content if you want your readers to jump up and down when they don’t get it.)

Many permission-based publishers include their newsletter or trademark in square brackets in the subject line to avoid being filtered.

Other ethical publishers, including me, have resorted to disguising known filter trigger words by inserting unusual characters or deliberate typos -- for instance, using f^ee instead of free or sp*m instead of spam.

It's just a matter of time before the spammers work around these "tricks".

Bastardising or censoring our language to suit new communications technology would seem an extreme solution -- not to mention bitterly ironic -- but what’s the alternative?

Useful links

Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email
http://www.cauce.org/

The Net Abuse FAQ
http://www.cybernothing.org/faqs/net-abuse-faq.html#2.1

How to show full header details for your email program -
http://www.uia.net/emailabuse.htm

Put junk mail in its place (tips on using Outlook) -
http://www.microsoft.com/Office/using/column01.asp

Tips on writing hype-free online content
http://www.brizcomm.com.au/

Yvette Nielsen speaks from hands-on experience as an online content creator, publisher, coach, consultant, trainer, and award-winning writer and sub-editor.

Yvette pioneered web writing training in Australia in 1998 and has inspired thousands of people through her workshops and presentations from London to LA, Sydney to Seoul.

She has reviewed web sites professionally for print, online and radio for since 1997. Her own e-newsletter and site - http://www.brizcomm.com.au - won the Smart Communities category in the 2002 Asia Pacific ICT Awards.

The theory of writing for newsletters is very similar to that of writing for press releases and other media work, but with newsletters there is one crucial difference. Whereas with an external publication you're quality-controlled by someone outside your organization (the publication's editor) who is therefore independent and autonomous, the equivalent person connected with an internally produced newsletter is either you, or someone else who gets paid by your organization.

Consequently newsletters have a sad habit of falling prey to the same self-indulgent and boring content as the misguided, subjective, self-congratulatory press releases so many organizations issue. Only this time, it's worse.

It's not just a few paragraphs of self-indulgent drivel, it's two, four or even eight pages of stuff that's of tremendous interest to the writers and instigators, but usually of no interest to the readers. This problem is often swept under the rug with a comment like "ah well, they're staff so they're getting paid to read it/they're our suppliers so they have to read it because we're their best customer" etc.

Of course, if the newsletter is directed only to staff or another purely internal group, the fact that there is a certain degree of family indulgence, will help. Staff certainly don't expect anything other than heavily cushioned bad news in articles written by the CEO or the Financial Director/VP, even if the company's not doing quite so well this quarter. And although they might not like to admit it, internal people actually do like to see silly pictures of the Christmas staff party, the summer Family Day, and the annual Spring Ball. So compilers of internal newsletters can approach the exercise with a bit of poetic licence if they want to.

Where you do have to pull yourselves up by the bootlaces is with newsletters that go outside the organization - particularly customer newsletters. Here there is no external editor to run his/her "blue pencil" through all the self-congratulatory BS. So you need to place yourself firmly in the shoes of the audience and ensure that your content is of interest to them.

In exactly the same way as online e-zines and e-newsletters, printed external newsletters are of much greater value to the reader if they contain information that is of genuine, generic use to them - information that helps them do their jobs better, or in some other way improves their daily life.

If the newsletters are generically useful then people will take them more seriously, will keep them handy rather than throw them away, and so will pay far more attention to your messages that accompany the generic information. Very few people these days are stupid enough to be fooled by the thinly disguised advertising blurb masquerading as "useful" editorial. Yet all too often I see companies spending quite large sums of money on customer newsletters that really do put the "junk" into junk mail.

All it takes to turn a boring, totally subjective newsletter into a useful, interesting one is a little imagination, not big bucks.

A car dealership can send out a quarterly newsletter than not only announces the latest new model launches and new staff appointments, but also includes a seasonal maintenance checklist for readers ... how to drive safely in winter conditions ... ideas on how to keep the kids entertained on long car trips in the summer ... security and anti-theft tips ... dates of future roadworks/construction that may cause congestion (available from local government sources) ... etc.

An accountancy firm can send out information on how new legislation affects local or regional businesses, how new tax laws should be interpreted, tips and advice on how to fill out personal tax returns, tips for small businesses and self-employed people on how to record their expenses more efficiently, etc.

An investment company can send out information to business customers that updates them on the latest corporate issues and how those apply to individual companies, and also include advice on personal investments, pension plans, even advice for readers' families, e.g. saving for college/university loans and the best savings plans to set up for children, trust funds, etc.

All of the information I've described above would not cost much to procure - probably just a matter of a few phone calls, a couple of hours surfing the net, and a day or two of someone's time putting it all together. Obviously you need to be careful not to use other organizations' copyright material without permission, but in my experience organizations aren't all that possessive about their stuff and will cheerfully grant you permission provided that you credit them appropriately. After all, their material isn't much use if no-one's allowed to see it.

What a difference this type of content makes to an organization's external newsletter! You instantly gain the respect or your readers, because you're giving them something tangible without asking them for anything in return. And this can only reflect in one way on your business relationship with them.

Online tips

I'm not quite sure what the difference is between e-zines and online newsletters. I think it could be one of those instances whereby everyone has a slightly different idea of what this particular type of communication should do and be called. If you ask that question of three different online comms experts you'll get three very plausible and totally different answers.

As usual I try to find the common denominator and in this case, it's this; in much the same way as its paper-based ancestor, the onlinezine (how about that for a new word) is a regular piece of one-way communication that supplies its audience with news and updates about you, your organization and your activities.

The online version will be taken much more seriously by its readers if in addition to the necessary reminders about your products and services, you also include some genuinely useful and interesting information. However the online version, in keeping with most other online descendants of offline media, must be much shorter and far more condensed.

One of the primary uses of onlinezines is to "drive traffic to the website." Now in itself this is relatively harmless and provided that everything is done right, it usually works. And then once you've got visitors hooked into all your superb content on the website you have a captive audience to whom you can sell your own stuff if it's a company-only site or your advertisers' stuff if it's a more open-ended one. Or at least that's the theory.

However as you would expect some organizations get this hideously wrong, and in my view the most vivid example of it is the online newsletter that comprises little more than a list of URLs with filepaths the length of a several soccer pitches. Nothing, but nothing is more irritating to someone like me than an enticing e-newsletter with grabby headlines plus a few words leading into the topic and then ... nothing. Just a fancy URL which even if you do click on it usually doesn't connect with the page you want on the website anyway.

If you're in a position to choose how an online newsletter is put together and you want to get the best possible results from it, please, please remember to put enough into it so there's something "in it for them." Of course if you have a website you'll want to drive traffic to it. But create a realistic balance - don't be so naïve as to think you can force people to click on to your website by dangling a carrot just out of their reach. If they're anything like me they'll feel resentful and antagonized by it and will resolve never to visit your site even if dragged there by wild horses.

My own personal preference is the standalone variety of online newsletter that makes clicking through to the website merely an optional extra. But I know that in a business context this is not as commercially attractive. So probably the next best thing is online newsletters that supply the audience with a summary or shortened version of the content so they get the key points, and refer them to the website for further details.

That's an acceptable balance that will encourage people to click through to the site if they have a genuine interest plus the time to spare, and if they haven't time at least they'll remember you and your summaries fondly and be more inclined to click through to the site next time.

Suzan St Maur is a leading business writer, author, editor and writing coach. Check out her website http://www.SuzanStMaur.com

There are two reasons to publish an ezine.

1.) Give people information about your site, your product, or your industry.

2.) Keep your website information in front of people for as long as you can without having to spend more money to do it.

Really, when you sit right down to think about it... that's why we do it.

But, are you getting the most out of your ezine? Is your ezine living up to it's full potential?

Before Anything Else Your Ezine IS Your Business.

When someone comes to me to for an advertising plan for their online marketing campaign, one of the first questions I will ask them is, "Do you have an ezine?"

It's imperative that any online business, no matter what it is, has a tool, or avenue, to keep your website, and your knowledge of the topic of your site, in front of your visitors for as long as you can. Here's why.

Each and every time you can send a visitor, or even a previous customer, something that they actually want to see, you are minimizing your advertising budget while maximizing return visits, repeat sales, and profits.

Ezines are essential to a prosperous, healthy, stable, strong, vibrant, and growing business.

Squeezing The Full Potential (or profits) Out Of Your Ezine With Every Issue.

That's your goal for each and every issue of your ezine that you send to your subscribers. And why not? Subscribers want the best or they will go somewhere else, and spend their money there.

With that in mind, here are three powerful ways you can get the most out of your ezine with every issue.

# Give The Subscriber What He/She Wants

The backbone of your ezine is information. That's the whole premise behind actually publishing something. To give people information they can use.

When someone signs up for your ezine it's not because they want to be hit with an endless assault of ads. They want to learn. They want to find out ways of doing things that will help them. Articles are the best way to get your subscribers to stick around long enough for the next thing you should do.

# Use Just One Great Offer!

Follow me with this one. While you're giving the subscriber what they want, you're also in the business of getting what you want. But, you can't do that by shoving offer after offer after offer at them in each issue.

You need a plan. Sit down and think of products you can offer, specials you can offer, or one time deals. The thing you want to do is make sure it's timely, original, and something that people can actually use.

One offer, combined with great information, can create a powerful emotional feeling in the reader that will always be converted to action... clicking on the link to visit your site.

Offering an ebook that the entire Internet already has isn't going to make you any money.
Make it a great offer.

# Keep Things Original

In order to give the subscriber what they want, and make available great offers, it all comes down to planning ahead of time. A responsive, and profitable, ezine is not created the same day it is sent to the mailing list.

Planning what you want your ezine to accomplish, what type of information you're going to be publishing each week, the products you're going to offer, and what you're going to do to keep your subscribers coming back.

The major problem the majority of ezines today is that they have nothing to keep subscribers wanting to keep receiving them. There is no outlook. No vision.

A great copywriter told me to always be thinking ahead in writing copy. To keep the reader wanting to read further down the sales letter. The same thing goes with ezine publishing. Create original content, developing 8 to 10 part series is a method you can use, to give the reader a reason to want to read your ezine.

Putting It Into Action

Here's your chance to transform your ezine. Follow these simple steps and you're assured of a tremendous boost in profits and squeezing out every last drop of potential from your ezine with each issue.

Go ahead and sit down and begin planning out each issue. A good way to do this is with a calendar, or planner, dedicated to your ezine. Plan the coming week's and month's contents. What article series can you do? Who can you get to write guest articles? What special offers can you put together?

Transformation can sometimes be a life changing experience. Transforming your ezine can be a very profitable experience.

Tim Bossie is the owner of Guaranteed-ads.com at http://www.guaranteed-ads.com and specializes in writing advertising materials that are incredibly focused and targeted for a specific target to maximize your profits! Get your own ezine started today, with 64 customized issues that are written for you in just two weeks! Get more information by going to http://www.guaranteed-ads.com

You’ve convinced me that I want to sign up for your newsletter. Now that I’m ready, what do I do? I go to the signup box on the current web page and complete the form. But wait... what are you asking for? If you’re asking for more than my name and email address, I will hesitate.

After all, if you’re going to send me an email newsletter, why do you even need my name, much less my street address, city, state, zip, telephone number, number of people in my household, etc. My email address should be enough. Now I’ll give you my name, because I understand that you’ll want to personalize my email messages. But unless you show me very good reasons, I’ll forget about signing up and go on to another site that doesn’t want a lot of information in exchange for their complimentary report or newsletter.

It’s like dating. When you first meet you get only the necessary information - name and phone number. As you agree to date, you’ll get the address. Later, as you get to know one another better, you’ll start to add more details.

Moving a visitor from lead to customer involves a courting process. You want them to get to know you. They need to learn to trust you. You need to establish a relationship. That’s the purpose of your newsletter. You offer them good information and in return they give you the right to market to them. As they become more interested and more loyal, they’ll move from just a lead to a steady prospect. Eventually you’ll "marry" some of your prospects and they’ll become customers.

So what’s your courting pattern? How do you get to know your prospects? When do you ask for more information -- more commitment?

For more information on the online sales process sign up for
the complimentary mini course at
http://www.SalesSiteQuickStart.com.

Dr. Jeanette Cates is The Technology Tamer and Internet
strategist for small business. She is the author of Online
Success Tactics: 101 ways to build your small business at
http://www.OnlineSuccessTactics.com.

I get many e-zines in my inbox every week, and they all offer useful information. But there are some I enjoy more than others.

What do the ones I love have in common?

They feel like they come from a REAL person. These publishers put some heart-and-soul into their e-zines. They share information about themselves. And because I FEEL like I know them personally, I'm more likely to buy from them at some point.

In the traditional sales world, they call this the "know, like, and trust" factor -- I abbreviate it to "KLT"

I was amazed to find that once I began sharing a bit about ME (the real Ali) in my e-zine, my response rates increased dramatically. More readers wrote me back, more clicked on my links, and more bought my products and services.

So, how can YOU put more you in your e-zine? Very easily. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

What's Going on With YOU?

Quick: Think of three things going on in your life right now that you could share with your readers. Have you won an award? Were you mentioned in a national newspaper? Did you pull a hamstring doing Tae Bo? Are you teary-eyed because your daughter's wedding is right around the corner? These are all events your readers can relate to and will appreciate you sharing.

One e-zine I used to get a real chuckle out of was Dave Balch's "Big Bucks in a Bathrobe." (Unfortunately, his business has changed so he no longer publishes it.) In each issue, Dave not only shared useful information on running a profitable business, but also hysterical stories about "life on the ranch." Dave and his wife own many animals, including horses, dogs, and "the parrot that just won't die." Whenever I saw Dave's e-zine in my mailbox, I read it right away because I knew it would brighten my mood.

Reach Out for Help

Have a question you'd like answered? Why not ask your readers for help? Example: In 2005 I bought a new VW Beetle Convertible, and in my e-zine I asked my readers who had owned convertibles to share their tips on how to care for them.

You wouldn't believe how many people wrote me back, telling me about their own cars, how much they love them, and what new convertibles they recommend! I was delighted with the response.

Readers also love quick polls that allow them to give you their opinion. For multiple choice answers, I have used www.SurveyMonkey.com. It's free for up to 100 responses, and reasonably priced for more. For single question and open-ended answers, use www.AskMyEzine.com

Give Us the Picture

Photos help your visitors and your e-zine readers feel closer to you instantly -- it's as if they know you better than before.

Unless you're ugly as a toad, a decent photo will only help your sales. (Remember you're building the KLT factor.) If you publish an HTML e-zine, put your photo in your top banner if you have room.

Also don't be afraid of sharing photos of your family, pets, business associates, etc. (I post mine at a personal blog which is FREE to create at www.blogger.com.) You'll be surprised how often your readers will click-through to see them. Example: "Click here to see me in action at my first swing dancing competition!"

After taking my course, one client of mine decided to share a photo of his pet pug, and he said his readers went NUTS! They wrote him back with photos of their dogs and it opened up a new level of communication for him with his subscribers.

Don't Be Afraid to Have Opinions

Real people have real opinions. So voice yours, and people will perk up. I've found that my readers often respond best when they're provoked and encouraged to see things in a new light.

If some don't agree with you (and some won't), their response can lead to a brand new discussion or article topic. Remember, if someone takes the time to write you back to disagree with anything you've said, be happy. It means they're actually reading your e-zine!

Where, and How Much?

A great place to put this personal information is at the beginning of your e-zine in an "editor's note" or "welcome message." This welcomes the reader with a warm greeting from you and is the perfect spot to share these positive, personal tidbits.

Once you get the hang of giving more YOU to your readers, you'll come to enjoy the art of sharing and the increased reader-interaction it brings. Just make sure that it doesn't take over your e-zine. The bulk of your content should still be your main article, list of tips, etc. Think of your personal information as the introduction that leads up to the main event!

(c) 2003-2007 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 http://EzineQueenTutorial.com/