Another Little Piece of Software

I've been participating in the 12 Days Of Christmas and downloaded an EZ Greeting Card Creator, just in time for Christmas and Holiday Ecards. Have fun!!

Are You Knee Deep In Ebooks?

Sometimes we just need to take a break. I don't know about you, but I love puzzles. During my many forees into the world of ebooks and software, I found this nifty puzzle for you to play with. Just choose a favorite image, set the time through the options menu, and have some fun.

Deb

The 12 Days of Christmas

If you really want a taste of internet marketing, ebooks,
affiliate marketing and more then you may be ready for
Mark Hendricks 12 Days of Christmas!

78 of the World's Top Internet Marketers have joined
together in a giant Holiday Gift Giving bonanza. It's
their version of the 12 Days of Christmas. Get to this
page now, and see what all the excitement is about...

12 Days of Christmas

Autoresponders...and lessons learned!

Alright! For long enough I've just posted info to this blog. It's time for me to come out of my shell and just talk to you.

Gotta tell you...I made a giant blunder with my autoresponder and I'd like to share the lessons learned. I use GetResponse.com. I like that I can create my e-mails in html, paste them into my campaign and send them off. There are many features I like about GetResponse.com.

There's also Constant Contact. It's got a very nice feature, templates. It's very user friendly, and you can create your campaign in html, then paste it in as well. There's a 60 day free trial you can use to test drive an e-mail campaign.

Anyway, back to my blunder. I composed my autoresponders for my monthly newsletter. I didn't notice the "html preview" link, which would have shown me my mistakes right off. This was mistake #1.

To compound matters, I didn't (as I always preach) subscribe to my own newsletter. Mistake #2. If I had I would have seen immediately that my links were DEAD!!!! YIKES!!! Fortunately, for me, a friend pointed it out (I just entered a bunch of subscriptions I secured at a trade show) and I had just subscribed myself, so I saw my errors immediately.

The moral of the story...preview and test. Why is it some lessons are harder learned than others???

Deb

Professionally Designed Cover Can Boost Your e-Book Sales!

It is a pretty well known fact that the best products to sell online are digital ones. They are easier to prepare, and even easier to deliver. With digital products, you're basically selling information or a solution as the case may be. Of all the digital products currently being circulated, electronic books, or eBooks as they are fondly called, are the most popular.

The reason is quite simple. With eBooks, your investments are your words and your knowledge. By writing about something you know by heart and something that people would be willing to pay for, you could already conduct business. Just take a look at the many eBooks in the market today.

Judging An Ebook By Its Cover

If you sift through some of the millions of eBooks out in the market, you'll immediately be able to separate the good ones from the bad ones. The adage "never judge a book by its cover" does not apply for electronic publications. Often, as in very often, the way the eBook is packaged reflects the quality of the product. If an eBook is packaged with inferior graphics, for example, which are obviously homemade as a practice course for PhotoShop lessons, the would-be customers would just get the impression that the contents of the said eBook are likewise amateurishly made.

You wouldn't want this to happen.

Imagine, on the other hand, if your eBook is supported by professionally made graphics. Your product would stand out from the rest, and would immediately win your target audience's attention. The graphics would perfectly complement the content of your eBook, and would be an excellent representation of your product.

The Advantages Of Professionally Made Graphics

There are two main graphics you would need for your eBook. These would be the eBook cover and the header. The header will be used on top of your sales page. Your sales page, of course, is where you could convince your visitors to try out your eBook, by presenting all the features it could offer as well as the benefits your customers can derive from the same. If your sales page is complemented by a beautifully made header, you'd instantaneously capture the interest of the people who would get to visit the said page, and they would be compelled to read your offer.

An eBook cover is the graphic on the very first page of the .pdf file that contains the content of your product. An eBook cover is also the main graphic that would be used on your promotional campaigns, as this would be what people would associate your product with.

In both instances, the graphics for the header and the eBook cover should be magnificently designed to immediately impress upon the minds of your visitors that your product is of high quality. A good analogy would be a movie. Trailers and movie posters sell these flicks, the same way that headers and eBook covers sell your eBooks.

Ebook covers and headers are usually included in one package.

Investing On Professionally Made Ebook Covers

There is no doubt that eBook covers would give a tremendous boost for your online sales. Ebook covers alone account for 89% of the decision factors that impel a visitor to make a purchase of an eBook. Imagine being able to tap into this 89%. Your sales page's conversion rate would soar to very high levels!
Professionally made eBook covers, of course, would need a professional's touch. And this would entail some financial investment on your part. But such would be a worthy investment, as premium eBook covers would boost your conversion rate, which would consequently boost your sales.

So do not hesitate to invest on professionally made eBook covers and headers. It is tantamount to an essential component of your online success and one which you should not dare take for granted.

Do you sell an intangible product online, such as a service, software or subscription -- something people can not touch or
inspect? Maximize your clickthroughs, downloads and sales, and drive up to 317% more customer actions on your website, when
you tantalize prospects with a professional-looking, three- dimensional cover or box.

Make your product look so real that people will reach out into their computer screens and grab it! For more, visit DynamiteCovers.com.

Recommended Reading: Create Your Own Ebook

10 Sizzling Ways To Improve Your Ad Copy

1. You could decrease or increase the length of
   your ad copy. There is no rule on how long your
   ad copy should be unless space is a consideration.
   The ad should be long enough to sell your product.
   
2. You could add some sub headlines on your ad
   copy. Sub headlines act just like headlines; they
   grab the readers attention. They'll keep the readers
   interested as they continue to read your ad.
   
3. You could ask your reader questions through out
   the ad copy. They will answer the questions in their
   own head as they read your ad copy. The questions
   you ask should persuade the reader into buying.
   
4. You could highlight keywords through out your
   ad copy. The keywords should be attractive to
   your target audience. You could highlight them with
   color, underlines, italics, etc.
   
5. You could bullet or indent your benefits on your
   ad copy. Must people won't read a whole ad copy,
   so make your products benefits standout and you
   won't lose the sales from all the skimmers.
   
6. You could change the size of your text on your
   ad copy. You want to make your text large enough
   so it's not hard to read. You also want your headline
   and major points to be larger so they will standout.
   
7. You could raise or lower the price on your ad
   copy. A higher price could i.ncrease the perceived
   value of your product and a lower price could
   lesson your product's value.
   
8. You could add proof of results on your ad copy.
   You should include testimonials, endorsements,
   and factual statistics to prove your product's claims.
   
9. You could add special offers on your ad copy.
   It's usually easier to sell the offer than the product.
   You could use discounts, free bonuses, volume
   sales, etc.
   
10. You could eliminate the hard-to-understand
    jargon on your ad copy. Unless your product calls
    for technical words, you want your ad to be read
    without people pulling out a dictionary.
    

Tips For Writing A Business Blog

Having a blog for your business makes good marketing sense. So now you have to start creating some content for your blog. Here are a few tips on business blogging. I've taken these from Debbie Weil's Top 7 tips to Write an Effective Business Blog. Download her pdf for more information and tips on writing an effective blog. She's the queen of business blogging!

• Start with a topic you are passionate about
  
• concentrat on shorter, more frequent entries in your blog
  
• Let your authentic "voice" emerge
  
• Use correct grammar and syntax
  
• Write for the web: purposefully organize the content of your blog (I'm definitely going to do some more reading on that subject!!)
  
• Post at least once a week, preferably two or three times a week
  
• Include your key contact information
  

Using Debbie's techniques will help boost your blog interest and readability. If you want to learn more about Debbie, visit her site www.BlogWriteForCEOs.com

Business Blogging

Why would you want to add a blog to your business website?

A blog has natural search engine optimization features. By posting on a regular basis, your blog can help your business in many ways:

• create new, fresh content for your site
  
• each post is a new html document that the search engine spiders love
  
• you can share information with your readers
  
• you can solicit feedback on a product, question or book
  

If you don't have a blog, or are unsure of what a blog is, why don't you join the women of San Diego Women, Inc. on October 27th. I'll be sharing why small business owners should incorporate internet marketing and blogging in their marketing efforts.

Additional Reading: Business Blogging and Blogging

Five Tips To Beginning Your Copy

1. Make a commitment to write!
   Schedule an appointment with yourself. Make some quiet time start by deciding what you want to write. Do you want to write an articles? An ebook? Maybe a novel! Grab a piece of paper and a pen. Look at your watch. Complete this sentence in one minute: "I would love to write ---" Done?
   
   
   Please don't read on until you've done the exercise. :-) OK. Now, before your left brain kicks in with a huge pile of negativity, commit to this thing that you have your heart set on writing. I'll count down, from three to one, and at the count of one, please take a deep breath and say: "I commit to writing (whatever it was that you wrote in the exercise above)." Three, two, one . say aloud: "I commit to writing ----"
   
   
   
2. Take Five
   How much can you write in five minutes? Let's find out. Start with five tips. I know you can write five tips about your subject. Now that you have your five tips, take some time to expand each tip. Take five to write content for your current project. You can do this. It’s only five minutes. Just write, don’t think, just write. Think if you spend only 20 to 30 minutes a day writing and/or expanding on your content, your project will be completed in no time at all!
   
   
   
3. Need a Buddy?
   You can share your writing with someone. After all this can really keep you accountable. Find someone who wants to write something. You can each check the other’s work on a scheduled basis. Maybe you check in once a day, twice a week, etc. The objective is to keep yourselves writing. Don’t worry that the work is still in the rough stages. It’s only to keep you accountable and moving forward in your writing. All you need to do is find someone as committed as you are to completing your project.
   
   
   
4. Make writing the first thing you do every day
   Block out specific time each day for writing. If you are a morning person, write first thing. Decide for yourself when you are the most productive. Set the stage for your writing. Do you want some nice soft music, scented candles, a quiet room. Create the atmosphere that will help you be the most productive during your writing time. If the environment is inviting, you’ll look forward to spending this time writing your project.
   
   
   
5. Give up your attachment to the outcome
   Just relax. You can always revisit your copy and revise it at any point in time. For this exercise, you just need to get the content out. It’s always easy to look at your first draft and think it’s not up to par. It’s just the first draft. Once you get past that, the editing will be a piece of cake. You can analyze your content, rework the copy, buff it out and make it outstanding, after you get it out.
   

Now, just make the commitment to sit down, take five and let the words pour out of you. Have fun!

Recommended Reading: How To Write An Ebook

Answers To Five Common Questions About Information Product Creation

There is nothing better than being able to sell your own product. The problem is, how do you create a product that is actually sellable?

With the advent of the internet, product creation has taken a whole new aspect. Whereas in the real world, creators vie for ideas that are tangible and physically deliverable, the web allows creators to package information as profitable merchandise. It is the age of information after all, and information is one of the primary factors that drive online dealings.

Information products can take many forms. You could publish your own e-book. Or if you wish to come up with something less daunting, you could distribute your own special report. Electronic magazines, or e-zines, can also be sold through subscription. All of these are effective methods of conveying novel information.
The best thing about it is that you don't even have to write them. If you simply don't have the time to come up with an e-book, a special report or any information product, you could hire someone to write them for you. Ghostwriting services are abundant on the net.

But we're getting way ahead of ourselves.

In creating a product, the businessman is confronted with many questions that more often than not derail the creation process. Hence, here are five answers to the five most common questions that an internet marketer encounters in information product creation.

1. What's the first step in creating a product?
   The answer is simple: you need an idea. Coming up with that idea, however, is the difficult part.
   
   
   You have to realize that everything is a product, as everything is information that, when packaged correctly, is desirable to certain people. Try to update yourself with the latest trends. Read a lot of books and newspapers. Be on the lookout for things that might inspire a deeper study.
   
   
   Also, think in terms of titles. For example, you're reading the papers and an article therein reports of unique wedding ideas. Think big. Think flamboyantly. Apply these thoughts to titles. You should come up with something as grand as "Ten Truly Magnificent Ways To Celebrate Your Wedding," or "Ten Enchanting Ideas To Make Your Dream Wedding A Reality."
   
   
   Remember, product creation is partly driven by packaging. Titles add so much to the overall feel of the product. And conceptualizing a title would assure that you would be able to keep your focus during the rest of the creation process.
   
   
   
2. Where do I get content?
   Information products are naturally carried out through content. If the content is good, the information would be excellently conveyed. There are three ways to get good content.
   
   
   First, write the product yourself. If you have the time to do so, then no one is better suited to convey the idea than you.
   
   
   Second, hire a good ghostwriter. Ghostwriting services abound on the web. Look for a good and affordable one.
   
   
   Third, you could try public domain information. These are free to use, and they are easy to find for those who actually try to look for them. Basically, all works before 1923, and some works before 1978, are considered public domain information. You could reproduce these without having to pay any royalties.
   
   
   
   
3. How do I package my product?
   Selling them as mere .doc or .txt files would seem amateurish and unattractive. The usual format used for information products is .pdf or .exe. Of the two, .pdf is more widely used, but .exe offers more eye-grabbing features.
   
   
   Converting your products into .pdf is simple. There are many free resources available on the net that would allow you to do this. Creating a .exe file, on the other hand, would need some programming skills.
   
   
   
4. What price should I put on my product?
   Basically, there is no limit as to how much you could price your product. If you feel it is worth $500, then sell it for $500.
   
   
   Some are afraid that by pricing their products at a high amount, marketability would suffer. The truth of the matter is, it could go either way. Assigning a high price for your product may give the impression that it is something valuable. This would attract potential buyers.
   
   
   Additionally, you could add more value to your product by packaging it with freebies. An e-book with two accompanying software programs, for example, would perfectly justify a high price that is attached to it.
   
   
   
   
5. What if my product has run its course?
   Even if you feel that you have squeezed every possible profit from your product, you could still earn from it.
   
   
   Try selling its master resale rights.
   
   
   This simply means that instead of selling your product, you'd be selling the authority that would allow others to re-brand and resell your product any way they see fit. This shouldn't concern you anymore as you've exhausted all the markets that would buy your creation. Let other people worry about marketing it for further profit, but do take their money as parting gifts for a product that has served you well.
   

Two Ebook programs I recommend are Ebook Gold and Ebook Starter

10 Ways To Get New Product Ideas

1. Solve an existing problem for people. There are
   thousands of problems in the world. Create a product
   that can provide a solution to one of those problems.
   
2. Find out what's the current hot trend. You can find
   out what the new trends are by watching T.V, reading
   magazines and surfing the net. Just create a product
   that's related to the current hot trend.
   
3. Improve a product that is already on the market.
   You see products at home, in ads, at stores etc. Just
   take a product that's already out there and improve it.
   
4. Create a new niche for a current product. You can
   set yourself apart from your competition by creating a
   niche. Your product could be faster, bigger, smaller,
   or quicker than you competitor's product.
   
5. Add on to an existing product. You could package
   your current product with other related products. For
   example, you could package a football with a team
   jersey and football cards.
   
6. Reincarnate an older product. Maybe you have a
   book that's out of print and is no longer being sold.
   You could change the title, design a new front cover,
   and bring some of the old content up to date.
   
7. Ask your current customers. You could contact
   some of your existing customers by phone or e-mail
   and ask them what kind of new products they would
   like to see on the market.
   
8. Combine two or more products together to create
   a new one. For example, you could take a brief case
   and add a thermos compartment inside to keep a
   drink hot or cold.
   
9. Survey the people who visit your web site. You
   could post a survey or questionnaire on your web site.
   Ask visitors what kind of products they would like to
   see on the market.
   
10. You could create a new market for your existing
    product. For example, if you're selling plastic bottles
    to a pop company, you could turn around and sell
    those bottles to a fruit drink company.
    

Recommended Reading:Create Your Own Info Products

Blanket Buddies for Katrina Victims

A great idea from my friend Allie:

Like so many, I have been at a loss as to how to help those left homeless and so devastated by Hurricane Katrina. I've given money to the Red Cross, but basically I've felt totally useless. I've scoured the internet for alternative ways of helping to no avail.

Then it occurred to me that I have the ability to create a project myself. And "The Blanket Buddies Project" was launched. My committment is to organize the creation, collection and distribution of at least 1000 cozy handmade NO SEW fleece blankets for the children of this disaster. They only take a few hours to make, require no talent and are soft and oh so cozy. One can't help but feel security and comfort when wrapped up in one. They ooze love.

Will you help?

My thrown together homepage has information on how to make them.

Do you have others you can pass this on to?
Do you know places we can post a message?
Do you have contacts in groups like, sewing circles, church groups, school groups, ect, that you can contact and/or rally?

Five Ways To Win The Favor Of Search Engines

You've got a cool new website with all the works: cool Flash presentations, eye-catching colors, informative text, easy-to-use layout, and an interesting topic. You think your site is amazing, and you know that others will agree with you. If only they know it exists.

How do you make your website known? How do you make yours stand out among millions of others? You can spend lots of money on advertisement, but that will not work if you don't have the money to spare on advertising. So what do you do? Make search engines work for you, that's what!

Google, Yahoo, MSN, Lycos, Altavista - you want to be at the top of their results list. The higher your site is in a search results page, the better chances that it will be visited. The science behind making your site a popular search result is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Don't worry, though - even if SEO is referred to as a science, it is not all that complicated. You just need to take note of a few things, and before you know it, your site will have more visitors than you could ever dream of.

Here are five tips to ensure that your site would be a favorite of search engines all around the cyber world.

1. Give importance to substance over appearance
   Do you want to share your knowledge on a subject that you have authority on? Do you want to sell products? Do you want to build an online shrine for your favorite actress? Whatever topic you have chosen for your website, make sure that you are able to give useful information on it. Search engines work by scanning sites for keywords. They search text and completely ignore everything else. So if you have made your site rich in colors, don't forget to make it rich in content as well. After all, a beautiful layout can make people look, but relevant content is what will make them stay. Remember, in this day and age: content is king!
   
2. Know your topic well
   If you know much about your topic, you will know what people usually ask about it, and what they ask about it is what they will type in the search bar. When writing the content for your website, put yourself in your other people's shoes, people who will be your target audience or market. Know the possible questions they might have about your topic, and give answers in your site.
   
3. Learn from the best
   Take time to browse and read sites that get lots of visitors and have the same topic as yours. Take note of any recurring phrases in these sites' text. These phrases are most likely keywords. Incorporate them in your own site's content. Don't saturate your site with keywords, though. You don't want to sound redundant to your site visitor. A 3% density level would be enough.
   In searching for the right keywords, use Overture's services. It may take quite some time, as it is more of a trial-and-error method, but the results are conclusive, and a pattern can easily be observed.
   
4. Submit...and re-submit
   You will never get a certain job if you don't send in your application for it. The same thing applies to SEO. If you want your site to be recognized by search engines, then go out of your way to register your site with them. After a couple of weeks, search for your site by putting in the keywords you used in your content. If your site is still not coming up in the search results, do not give up, and just re-register and resubmit your site. It's possible that your initial registration was discarded without being processed. This usually happens because a lot of submissions are being done everyday.
   
5. Constantly update your site
   This can't be stressed enough: search engine spiders love sites which constantly change their content. You can't build your site and expect it to last forever without any updates. There will come a time when those search engine spiders would stop fetching your site for query requests. Here's a tip: integrate a blog program in your site. Blogs have a user-friendly interface that allows easy updates.
   

Additional Reading: Search Engine Ascent, Blogger's Edge

You've Written An Ariticle, Now What?

You've finally written your first article. Congratulations! Now what do you do with your article?

First you need to make sure to add a "how to publish" statement to the begninning of your article. You also need to end your article with a resource box.

A "how to publish" statement reads something like this:

"Please feel free to publish this article on your web site and/or in your e-book or newsletters with the authors resource box included and without any changes to the article. (Add your contact e-mail)" If you'd like them to inform you as to where and how your article will be used, just ask them to send a complimentary copy of the ezine, or a link to where your article is published.

A resource box appears at the end of an article. This is what makes your article a powerful viral marketing tool. It tells the reader valuable information about you, your services and the link to your website.

Here's an example of a resource box:

Debra Simpson, has been helping small business owners use the internet to market and grow their businesses. Her website, Magic In Words offers plenty of information to help you make "magic" with your words.

Next, begin submitting your article to article submission sites. These sites are specifically for articles and are where ezine publishers and web masters go for free content for the ezines and web sites.

Below are a few sites to get you started. The first few Article Submission Sites are Yahoo Groups. You have to be a member of the group and each group will have a subscribe address. Joining and submitting is very easy. Just go to their site and follow from there.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/article_announce

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ap-shorts --400 words or less

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/free-content

As you write articles, keep in mind that you can bundle the articles together to create an ebook. But, that will need to wait for another day!

Recommended Reading
Article Magic

Internet Strategies

Most people think Internet Marketing is all about search engine optimization. While search engine optimization is a part of marketing on the internet, it's not the sole component.

Let's just start with e-mail and a word processing program like Word or WordPerfect. All you need to do is create a document about your business.

Tip: Take 5 minutes with a blank piece of paper and a pen. Create a list of 10 items. Now, use the 5 minutes to list 10 different titles for an informational product. I know you can do it.

Take one of your titles and each day for the next five days, write 20 or so tips. By the end of the week, you'll have 100 or so tips for your clients. Now all you need to do is go to Adobe and use their "try it out free for 5 pdfs" offer and create a pdf of your "tips" document.

Now, you can attach that document to e-mails you send prospective clients. You have the basics of internet marketing without any hard costs involved.

Here's an Internet Strategies ebook for your perusal. If you have any questions, just add a comment below.

Five Ways to Use a Blog to Market Your Business

1. A blog helps your site to rank higher in the search engines
   When Google bought Pyra Labs, developer of Blogger, many didn't understand why they'd want something that we seen as most as an online journal. Didn't teen girls fool around with those blogs??
   The times, they are a changin... By the end of 2005 you'll be hearing much more about business blogging. It's because google and the other search engines love blogs because it's continually updated content. The more you blog, the more visitors you'll get to your site. The more visitors to your site, the more you rise in the search engine rankings.
   
   
2. A blog expands your customer
   You'll reach people through your blog with frequent updates. You'll also get visitors who searched for a word that was mentioned in your blog post. They have no idea who you are, but stumbled upon you because of your post. Write and link to relevant content and they will find you.
   
   
3. A blog helps brand you
   It's a form of stealth marketing. It should provide your reader with valuable content. Blog about what you know and are passionate about. Link an article or free ebook in your blog for your readers to download. This isn't the time to sell. That's not what true blogging is about.
   
   
4. Like a diamond, a blog is forever
   Post as often as you can. I suggest three times a week. The newsreaders indicate how many days it's been since your last blog. It's hard to look at that and see you haven't blogged in three days. At least that's what I try to do.
   
   
5. A blog attracts new opportunities
   A blog makes your business visible. It will attract the attention of people who may become joint venture partners, or who will have other opportunities for you.
   

The time and energy that you invest in your blog can bring results beyond your wildest expectations. Create a blog - it's your hardest-working, and most cost-effective online marketing option.

Additional Reading: Blogger's Edge

10 Innovative Ways To Use Your Autoresponder

1. Collect leads with your autoresponder. You will get
   an e-mail digest of everyone's e-mail addresses who
   requests information from your autoresponder.
   
2. Publish a price list of all the products and services
   that you offer. You could also include order forms,
   product descriptions, and other sales material.
   
3. Publish free reports in autoresponder format. The
   reports should be related to your business or web site.
   Giving away free stuff will quickly increase your traffic.
   
4. Collect vital customer satisfaction information by
   publishing a survey in autoresponder format. This type
   of information will help you serve them better.
   
5. Instead of answering every customer question that's
   e-mailed to you, publish "Frequently Ask Questions" in
   autoresponder format. This will save time and money.
   
6. You could publish your testimonials or endorsements
   in autoresponder format if you don't have the room in
   your ad copy. It's more effective to include all of them.
   
7. Provide back issues of your e-zine archives in auto-
   responder format. This will give your subscribers and
   web site visitors easy access to them.
   
8. Publish your entire web site in autoresponder format.
   Sometimes visitors don't have enough time read your
   entire site. They could print it out and read it offline.
   
9. You could offer your ebook in autoresponder format.
   Your visitors won't have to download it or have the
   software to read it right away.
   
10. You could publish the terms and conditions to any
    business transactions in autoresponder format. This
    could include return policies, purchases, refunds etc.
    

I highly recommend GetResponse.com. I've been using it for several months now and am very please with how it works.

Photographing with the D-Flector

Are you looking for a great way to photograph items for your web site or ebay store? I've just finished an online store for a client using the D-Flector for the product shots.

This is a fabulous, portable photography studio. The superior results achieved using the D-Flector is amazing. It makes the clean up of your product shots a piece of cake.

Take a look at their site and let me know what you think.

Freedom Builders Violate CanSpam Act

If you have been arbitrarily subscribed to Freedom Builders' newsletter, without your consent or knowledge, please let me know.

Freedom Builders host their site at rackspace.com. This is the rackspace.com acceptable use policy.

It is a violation of the CanSpam Act to send unsolicited e-mail. Freedom Builders is attending networking events, gathering e-mail addresses and then arbitrarily subscribing unsuspecting business people to their newsletter. Twice I've unsubscribed myself, only to have them re-subscribe me. I sent them two e-mails. The first one they were terse in their response letting me know I was unsubscribed. The second one they assured me they wouldn't spam me again. NOT!!!

If you want a networking group that abides by the CanSpam Act, I'd suggest looking at Leads Club If you go to the Leads Club web site, you'll see that Leads Club uses a double opt-in subscription form. You can't be subscribed to Leads Club's Ali's Ceiling Saying without your knowledge.

You may ask what is an opt-in subscription. Opt-in means that you've chosen to receive e-mails from a business. When you submit your subscription request, an autoresponder is sent to you asking you to confirm your subscription. This is the appropriate way to add people to your e-mail list. When you receive the autoresponder, you have the opportunity at that time to remove yourself from the list by ignoring the confirmation request in the autoresponder.

You may want to consider what type of business would try to subscribe you several times without your permission. I know what type of business I consider Freedom Builders to be...

Leads Club is an ethical, above board networking organization. They provide small business owners with a tried and proven method of networking that actually grows small businesses. Check them out if you want to increase your business income!

Unleash Your Internet Marketing Success

Internet Marketing can be a little overwhelming for someone new to the web. Internet Marketing is so much more than search engine optimization. Internet Marketing can be a way to start your own business while working the typical "9 to 5" job. Think it's too much? Think again!

I've got an ebook for you to read to help you navigate the world of internet marketing. Unleash Your Internet Marketing Success will teach you the "ins and outs" of using the internet to market your business and create an income online.

You can do this! Read the book and let me know what you think. Leave your comments!

10 Benefits Of SubmittingArticles To E-zines

1. You'll brand your web site, business and yourself
   by submitting articles to e-zines. You could include
   your name, business name, your credentials, web site
   address and e-mail address in your resource box.
   
2. You will become known as an expert on the topics
   you write about. This will give you and your business
   extra credibility which will help you compete against
   your competition.
   
3. Your article might also be placed on the publisher's
   home page. If they publish each issue on their home
   page this will give you some extra exposure.
   
4. You might get extra exposure if the e-zine publisher
   archives their e-zine on their site. People might want
   to read the back issues before they make the decision
   to subscribe.
   
5. You will get free advertising. This will allow you to
   spend your profits on other forms of advertising. You
   could buy advertisements in other e-zines that don't
   publish your articles.
   
6. You might get extra income from people wanting to
   hire you to write other articles, books, or even ask to
   speak at seminars. This is a great way to multiply your
   income.
   
7. You could allow e-zine publishers to publish your
   articles in their free e-books. Since people give them
   away, your advertising could multiply all over the
   internet.
   
8. You will get your article published all over the web
   when you submit it to an e-zine publisher that has a
   free content directory on their web site. They'll allow
   their visitors to republish your article.
   
9. You'll gain people's trust. If they read your article
   and like it, they won't be as hesitant to buy your
   product or service. You will then be able to increase
   your profits.
   
10. You could get your article guaranteed to run in
    an e-zine. You could agree to run one of their articles
    in your e-zine if, in exchange, they run yours in their
    e-zine. It's a win/win situation.
    

Writing Killer Ezine Ads

If you're looking to market your business through ezine advertising, this book will walk you through the steps to writing successful copy. This is a free ebook that you can distribute to other entrepreneurs, if you'd like. You can offer it on your web site as an incentive to secure opt-in email addresses.

Great Ezine Ads

Free Content For Your Web Site or Ezine

If you'd rather not write your own content, there are literally thousands of free articles available for publication on the Internet.

You can find articles at the following sites:

Web-Source.net

Article Announce

Marketing Seek

IdeaMarketers

Author Connection

Ezine Articles

InternetWire

Email Tips

Wrap Your Lines at 65 Characters or Less

Whenever you write an email, always format the lines so that they're 65 characters, or less, across. To do this, you may need to do a "hard return" by hitting "Enter" at the end of the line.

There are two reasons that "less is more":

1. The first thing to remember is that looking at a computer screen for a long time causes eye fatigue for many readers. The shorter span of characters across the screen makes reading easier and more appealing to the recipient of your email message.
   
2. The other reason to go short instead of long is this: some email clients automatically enforce wrapping at 60-65 characters on received messages. If your email is wrapped at 70, the content will arrive all "chopped up." This makes it unattractive...and worse -- unappealing.
   
   
   
   • Email clients such as Outlook Express allow you to set the line wrap to any character-width you choose. That means you won`t have to hit Enter each time after typing 65 characters.
     
   • You can type 65 asterisks or dashes in a Notepad file to create a template. Then paste your email below it to see if any lines extend too far to the right.
     
   
   

Be Careful Using All CAPS

How many times have you changed the TV channel to avoid listening to a screaming car salesperson? No one likes a screaming salesperson...and no one likes a "screaming" email message, either. Odds are, when someone has over-amped the volume of their message by using too many capital letters (not to mention too many exclamation points and other punctuation) - you're going to be turned off.

Consumers buy from a source they trust. Emails in all caps are perceived as "shady" or uneducated, and have an appearance that damages the credibility of an offer.

Watch Your Spelling and Grammar

Would you be influenced by an email selling you something that had noticeable spelling and grammar mistakes? Sure you would...and the influence would be negative, not positive!

Corey Rudl Remeberance Site

Corey Rudl Remeberance Site

I received this email from Shelley Lowery over the weekend.

Dear Debra,

I am very sad to report that an Internet marketing pioneer has passed on.

Corey Rudl died last night in a racing accident in San Jose, California. He was killed instantly when his Porsche struck a barrier.

Although I never had the opportunity to personally meet Corey, I had a great deal of respect for him, as he was a true marketing genius.

Corey was only 34 years old and was just recently married. Please remember his wife and family in your prayers and take a moment of silence to remember Corey and to be thankful for all he has done for the Internet community. He will be greatly missed.

If you would like to send his family and/or staff your condolences, the mailing address is:

1123 Fir Ave

Blaine, WA

98230

Sincerely,

Shelley Lowery

Corey Rudl (1970 - 2005)

The official news release

2 Amateur Racers Die in Crash at Speedway
The La Jolla men were driving the course during a club day at the Fontana racetrack.

By Martin Henderson

Times Staff Writer

June 3, 2005

Two San Diego County men died when the Porsche they were racing crashed and caught fire Thursday morning at California Speedway in Fontana, authorities said.

Benjamin Miles Keaton, 39, and his passenger, Corey Nicholas Rudl, 34, both of La Jolla, died from injuries after Keaton lost control of a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.

The car left the track, careened onto a grassy area and struck a barrier. The engine compartment then caught fire, according to a San Bernardino County sheriff's report.

On-site medical personnel, the same used for NASCAR and Indy Racing League events at the speedway, responded at 10:40 a.m. and quickly extinguished the fire, sheriff's officials said.

Rudl, who worked in Internet marketing, was pronounced dead at the scene; Keaton was airlifted to Loma Linda University Hospital, where he died about an hour later, according to the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office.

Both suffered multiple traumatic injuries, but neither suffered burns, said Supervising Deputy Coroner Randy Emon. The vehicle made a passenger-side impact at more than 100 mph. Both men were wearing helmets and safety belts, authorities said.

"The driver's side was in good shape, but the passenger side was obliterated," Emon said.

The accident occurred while the track was being rented by the San Diego chapter of the Ferrari Owners Club. Such events are common at the speedway; the facility is in use nearly 300 days a year for a variety of events, including track days by auto clubs and driving schools.

The men are the fourth and fifth fatalities at California Speedway since it opened in 1997.

850 Words That Sell Like Crazy

Need help creating a sales letter? What words could make your letter sell more for you? You may want to download 850 Words That Sell Like Crazy pepper your sales letter with words that will really help you SELL!

Let me know if it helped.

What do you want to know about Internet Marketing?

I'll be speaking to the SCORE Women's Roundtable Breakfast on June 24, 2005 at the Kings Inn in Hotel Circle. I'll be speaking on the ABCs of Internet Marketing. I want to know from you what questions you may have about Internet Marketing. This is your chance to have your questions answered. Just add a comment below.

Selling Information Online

If you've been out and around the internet you know that information is selling like hotcakes! So how do you take advantage of this hot trend?

Why not consider creating your own ebook to use for your internet marketing? There are so many ways to use an ebook. You could:

• You could give your ebook to anyone who subscribed to your monthly ezine.
  
• Create a "How To" Manual to help your clients. You could either sell this or offer it in exchange for subscribing to your ezine. Or, maybe you'd like to offer it to a business collegue to offer on their site.
  
• You could create an instructional training manual to sell or give away.
  
• A catalog of your retail items, including pictures
  
• You could do a "best of" ebook.
  
• You could interview successful people and then create a book from the interviews.
  

These are just a few ideas and ways to use an ebook in your internet marketing strategy. Shelly Lowery created a Complete Guide to Self Publishing using ebooks. Download it and let me know what you think!

Connecting with Women In Business

It's this Thursday the 19th. Come and connect with women who want to share the power of connections! Take the time! Step out! Join us for Women in Business Symposium 2005

Indulge in a day filled with professional speakers who inspire, entertain and educate; roundtable discussions directed by leading businesswomen; a wonderful luncheon served to perfection in the beautiful Mission Tower Building located on the nationally recognized Del Mar Fairgrounds; and the latest innovations in products and services designed to promote your business success.

Hey, I'll be there and I'm really looking forward to seeing one Roundtable in particular, Personal Branding — Showing Your Expertise with Barbara Eldridge of Mind Masters. She's incredibly knowledgeable in business and I know I'll learn a lot from attending that roundtable.

Of course, if it's style you are into (and who isn't) Claudia Jean's roundtable What’s Style Got To Do with It? Everything! is a must. She is such a warm and accepting person who sees the beauty within.

It's not too late to join in the fun. Bring plenty of business cards and a "most excellent" attitude. It's going to be a great day for women in business!!

Create Your Future

What the mind can conceive, the mind can achieve! How many times have you heard that one. Just how do you use your mind to create the future. Visualize!!

On Thursday, April 28th, San Diego Women, Inc. has invited Barbara Eldridge, Mind Masters, to help us do just that.

Barbara will be sharing the "how-tos" of using dream boards to visualize our goals. You'll leave the meeting with a completed dream board to hang in your office, reminding you daily of your dreams, helping your visualize your success.

This is a great dinner meeting and the networking is outstanding. Don't miss this meeting. Go to San Diego Women, Inc. to register to attend this Thursday's event.

10 Networking Tips

1. Dress for the occasion. This could mean dressing the way that your customers dress or dressing the way that they expect you to dress. You choose. But first impressions are made in a matter of seconds. And the fun tie that your children bought you for Christmas might not be the best thing to impress a company chairman.
   
2. Take plenty of business cards. If your business does more than one thing, have different cards for different purposes.
   
3. Arrive early. The early bird really does get the worm. It's harder to break in on conversations when you arrive late.
   
4. Find a partner. Go to the meeting with someone who you know well. Work the room between you; introducing each other to new people that you've individually met is a great way of increasing coverage.
   
5. Not sure how to approach? Simply smile, nod your head, walk forwards with hand stretched out and say, "Hello. I just wanted to come over and say hello."
   
6. Ask open questions and listen carefully
   
7. Receive other people's business cards graciously and with two hands. Use the back of cards to make any notes about the person that you've just met.
   
8. Have something fun or different. For instance a card that is business card size but carries some business tips is likely to be much more memorable than just your name and company. Use these in conjunction with your normal cards.
   
9. Ask for people's permission to follow up with them in some way. For instance, say that if they are interested in what you do, then you would happily add them to your database. It would be rude for them to say no. Wouldn't it? Don't feel intimidated. It doesn't matter how big or small your business is. You are dealing with a person. They have the same hopes and fears that you have.
   
10. If you have a trumpet, go out and blow it. No one else is going to promote your business for you. Have total belief. Go for it! Shameless self-promotion is the order of the day. Join networking groups that meet regularly – repetitive exposure increases the possibility of gaining referrals.
    

Carlsbad Chamber Mixer

Sundowner - April 20, 2005
Network in the fast lane at April Sundowner

K1 Speed will host the Carlsbad Chamber’s April 20 Sundowner from 5-7 p.m. at 6212 Corte Del Abeto in Carlsbad.

K1 Speed is Southern California’s newest, hottest and most complete entertainment and corporate function facility finally open for business and ready for action! At K1 Speed, now the largest indoor karting facility on the west coast, you’ll find state of the art tracks and karts precisely scaled and engineered to guarantee you a real racing experience. The 75,000 square foot complex includes 60,000 square feet of track area, a 10,000 square foot TV lounge and lobby overlooking the track, gourmet café, game room with pool tables, and two conference room, (2,000 sq. ft. & 600 sq. ft.). With all new state of the art audio/video presentation equipment and internet access, K1 is being promoted as one of the area’s premier spots for corporate events and entertainment. We provide everything you’ll need for the ultimate rush. Except the adrenaline… you’ll supply that yourself.

Admission is $5 for members and $10 for prospective members. No reservations required - pay at the door. For more information, contact Denise Wigley at (760) 931-8400.

Leads Club Spring Fling

Wow, what a great night of networking. There we were, under the stars at the Karl Strauss Brewery in Mira Mesa, meeting many other small business owners and professionals.

Leads Club is an organization dedicated to helping small business owners and sales professionals expand their business. They do that by forming business networking groups, offering exclusivity to the business member. Each week members of a chapter get together for breakfast or lunch and share information about their businesses and the leads they have for the other businesses in their chapter.

Every small business owner should look at using a structured referral exchange organization such as Leads Club to market their business. At the Spring Fling we learned that the average small business sees a net increase of 19% their first year with Leads Club. There are some chapters that are exchanging in excess of $10,000 a month in business between their members.

Check out Leads Club and see if they have a chapter with your category available. Then go visit. It could make a huge difference in your business.

Generate More Internet Traffice to your site

http://www.businessol.com/sem_ppc/default.asp?src=GoogleAdwords

Synopsis of Article:

Grow Your Business With Search Engine MarketingMore Traffic = More Leads and More Business!

Search Engine Marketing Provides The Best ROI For Any Online Marketing Dollar:
Search engines and directories average more than 300 million searches a day (Enbysk, bcentral.com)

More than 75% of web surfers head right for Search Engines to find what they are looking for (Krotz, becentral.com)

77% of purchasers search online first before picking up the phone.
Search engine listings outperform banner ads 2:1

Seven Reasons to Publish an eBook

1. Ease of Publication: Gone are the days of writing for guidelines, trying to squeeze your writing into a publishers formula, then waiting for an acceptance or rejection. Today you can publish yourself. You can go from editing to publication online in a few minutes. Wow! What a great change.
   
2. No Overhead: When you publish an eBook online you automatically cancel out the large overhead of traditional publishing. An eBook is self contained on your hard drive. There are no stocking fees, printing fees or other overhead expenses at all.
   
3. Low Distribution costs: Another plus for eBooks is the zero to low distribution costs. Also you are in direct control of these costs. When you go the eBook route you decide which booksellers and publishers you allow to sell your work. In this way you can bring your distribution costs down to zero or very low up front fees from the publishers.
   
4. Freedom: eBooks give us a sense of freedom most people are not familiar with yet. We can set our own schedules and even sell the eBook on auto pilot 24/7. We no longer have to design long announcement schedules or promotion days. We can wake up and do our marketing and promotion early in the morning or late in the afternoon. We are in total control, which gives up an incredible freedom.
   
5. Self-fulfillment: eBooks exist in a world of self-fulfillment. After the buyer pays for the eBook they are taken to a download page where they can download the eBook instantly onto their hard drives. Once you as the author set up your sales page and download page you are done with fulfillment completely. You can sit back and allow the Internet to work its wonders.
   
6. Design your own future: One of the really incredible aspects of selling eBooks is the ability to design your own future. Really! You are no longer tied to a job waiting for retirement age hoping you'll have enough to live on. Once you are through the initial learning curve her on the Internet you can then program your future.
   
7. Helping others: This is my favorite reason to create, write and sell eBooks. You can take the knowledge you have, put it into an easy to read and understand written form. Then you can release this capsule of information into the public arena. Knowledge is always sought after and you can answer some of that longing. Your knowledge is out there helping people all over the world. Wow!
   

Now what? Use that electronic book as an enticement on your website to secure e-mail addresses. A simple form requesting your visitors name and e-mail address, in return for a copy of your e-book (full of valuable information). It's the beginning of an e-mail marketing strategy!

E-Mail Etiquette

Funny thing happend yesterday. I had sent out an e-mail blast for one of the organizations that I belong to. It was an announcement about a speaker her speaking event. Seems a young man took exception with my playful words. So, he flamed me via e-mail.

Why is it we tend to be so rude to others through e-mails?

Here are The 10 Commandments of Email:

1. Thou shalt include a clear and specific subject line.
   
2. Thou shalt strip quoted text down to the minimum thou needest.
   
3. Thou shalt read thine own message thrice before thou sendest it.
   
4. Thou shalt ponder how thy recipient might react to thy message.
   
5. Thou shalt check thy spelling and thy grammar.
   
6. Thou shalt not curse, flame, spam or USE ALL CAPS.
   
7. Thou shalt not forward anecdotal chain letters.
   
8. Thou shalt change the subject field as the subject changes
   
9. When in doubt, save thy message overnight and reread it in the light
   of the dawn.
   
   And, the 10th and "Golden Rule" of E-Mail:
   
10. That which thou findest hateful to receive, sendest thou not unto others.
    

Remember, if you don't know who you are flaming, maybe you shouldn't flame them. The speaker I wrote about happens to be courting me to speak to my organization. I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate hearing about one of her "fans" abusing the person who makes the decision to book her. Hmmmm....

Small Business Resources

Every small business owner needs resources to help their business grow. Two local resources I'd like to share with you are Mind Masters and Leads Club International.

Mind Masters is a small business "Think Tank" made up of small business owners. Meeting once a week, through out San Diego County, the members of Mind Masters, facilitated by CEO Barbara Eldridge, set goals and brainstorm with each other to help their businesses grow.

Leads Club International is a referral networking group. Leads Club offers exclusivity to it's members in a designated category. Meeting weekly, Leads Club Members, act as a sales force for each other as they are out and about each week in the business community. They share with their fellow members the structure of their business, it's services, and what type of leads they are looking for at the chapter.

If you want to see your business grow, these are two resources you should investigate.

In Her Spirit Of Entrepreneurship

Score's "In Her Spirit of Her Entrepreneurship" is coming up next Wednesday, March 16th. Register Here This is going to be a great day for networking with women business owners. Rhoberta Shaler, Ph.D., Optimize! Institute, will present the keynote address, "WRESTLING RHINOS AND WINNING - Internal Secrets for External Success".

By the way, if I were a man, I'd be here too. To be highly visible is something a small business owner seeks. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that a man at the women's conference would be highly visible. Think about it!!

Robert Middleton's Free Marketing Plan

One of the most powerful small business marketing tools on
the planet is a marketing plan. So few small business owners
take advantage of this but those that do, wouldn't be without
it. Go download a fre!e marketing plan workbook from my
friend Robert Middleton.

You can start becoming a better marketer today by getting my free 24 page Marketing Plan Workbook with a detailed outline of all the marketing activities you need to attract more clients. The workbook is bundled with a free chapter of the InfoGuru Marketing Manual.

http://www.actionplan.com/index.html

Website Marketing Strategies For Small Business Owners.

Use the Web to grow your business locally or globally!

Choosing a website marketing strategy that makes sense for your business requires two things - the right information and the right tools.
When I talk to many small business owners about the Internet and ways to use it to grow their business I often encounter this response. "That's just for people trying to sell stuff to people all over the world" or "I tried that and it didn't work for me."Let me say it again. "You can use the World Wide Web even if your market is the Guy Next Door." . . .
http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/website_marketing_strategies.htm

Tom Peters 101 Ways to Make Money

http://www.tompeters.com/blogs/promos/SuccessTips26-50.pdf

Tips 26 through 50

Tom Peters 101 Ways to Make Money

Tom Peters first 25 tips to making money
http://www.tompeters.com/pdfs/TPSuccessTips1-25.pdf

5 easy tips to create landing pages that convert

http://www.wordbiz.com/newsletter/030305.html

***** 5-star review of MarketingSherpa's new Landing Page Handbook
By Debbie Weil

If you're a student of Web site best practices (as I am) this new guide is a must-have for your online marketing library. And yes, landing pages do apply to you. I can't think of a marketer who doesn't use a landing page for something... an e-newsletter sign up, a postcard campaign, a Google ad, etc. If you’re not routinely using a dedicated page to prompt specific visitor actions, as above, then shame on you. You *really* need this guide.Here are five tips I culled from a quick read of the Landing Page Handbook. There are dozens more like them, clearly spelled out, often with an illustrated case study you can steal from. In addition, you get fascinating results of eye-tracking studies.

Welcome

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