ADLANDS' DIGEST
A Free subscribed Discussion List
of 22,270 subscribers
on web marketing and promotion
supported by AdlandPro World's Classifieds
at http://www.adlandpro.com
Bogdan Fiedur, Publisher
mailto: Bogdan@softfornet.com
Vol. 1, #209 Dec 01, 2000
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Topics in this issue:
Sponsor Message
Word from Publisher
Featured Article
=====================
C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n s (5)
===========================================
1. Shopping Cart and Credit Card Processor Questions
~ Nancy Kramer
~ General Kimbrough
2.How To Write Ads
~ John Colanzi
3.In response to spam issue
~ Robert
~ Shirley F. Gardner
~ Armando Trevino
~ Pauline W. Phillips
~ Peter
4.International Shipping/Promotions on website
~ Len Dozois
~ Robert Lee
5. About Going Platinum
~ Robert Lee
~ Dave Reno
N e w P o s t s (3)
=========================
1. Chris Gozdzik
~ My hosting experience
2. Philip L Sheline
~ Free Promotional Resources for my site.
3. Laurie Zbitniff
~ Advertising / Promoting Help
Site Review Requests (1)
===========================
1. http://members.spree.com/Betty74
Site Review Response(1)
=========================
1. From:Richard J Fry
~ hhp://fostertool.com
G u e s t A r t i c l e (0)
================================
Joke of the Day (1)
===============
================== Word from publisher ====================
Greetings All
Welcome 90 new subscribers who joined list since last mailing.
----===(*)===-----
Scrillamaker writes.
<---------
I have been posting to Adland for almost 2 years now. My ads have always
received replies no matter what I was marketing. I have earned many, many
referrals from Adland. However, they have dropped off drastically in the
past few months.
Last Sunday I was doing a little submitting at my secret submission site and
decided to post to classified sites. Guess who showed up in the submission
list? Adland. I just about died. Don't tell me Adland started
taking bulk
submissions! Is that why I don't get replies any more, because my ads are
scrolling off the page? I don't like it one bit. A reputable
classified
site that only takes hand submitted ads will always pull more replies.
Please don't turn Adland into another FFA site.
-------->
I have already responded to Scrillmaker, but the issue he
brought up here is something which was bothering me for some time.
Here is how I'm going to handle it and why.
If any concept is becoming successful, word spreads around and everybody
wants to be part of it. In case of AdlandPro Classifieds the same is
happening. More people come each day and submit their ads to the
point that I started banning some of them due to the nonsense they are
causing. Some people created automated submission tools,
like in the above example, making site even less usable as their users
are not even coming to the site to see other ads or even might be not
aware of the site at all.
To stop this, I started working on the new model of the classifieds.
In a few weeks, AdlandPro Classifieds will be membership based.
This means that anybody who will want to post an ad, will have
to create a free account from which they will be able to submit
their free ads. This will almost entirely eliminate posting
of ads automatically to the site.
It will also make those who are abusing the service, more
conscious about the usage of the site when they over submit
or place their ads in inappropriate categories.
I'm also working on adding of paid membership which will
offer several effective advertising options to serious advertisers.
B.F.
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
----===(*)===-----
JUST ONE MONTH LEFT.
Call for more success stories.
I run out of my supplies and expect to receive some more from you,
before next issue goes out.
You did great job so far.
http://www.adlandpro.com/archives/success4.htm
If you think, you have an interesting success story to tell, please send
it to digest as usual and indicate as such.
At the end of year I will create web page and will invite everybody
to vote for the "Success Story Of The Year"
Best voted story will receive one FREE year of advertising
in the form of small button at the bottom of each AdlandPro page.
AdlandPro receives 600,000 page viewings , 150,000 unique
visitors each month.
To be eligible for the prize, this story has to be from your own
experience.
See existing success stories here
http://www.adlandpro.com/archives/success4.htm
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
----===(*)===-----
==========Featured Article=============
To: Subscribers of Adland Digest
From: James Andrews
Editor of The OYESUCAN Ezine
Subject: My Appreciation ( Going Platinum )
Most of my subscribers know that I rarely endorse
programs and products without first investigating them
thoroughly. I won't run ads for sponsors without checking
them for legitimacy and personal contact information and
verification.
I would like to thank everyone who has posted to the
Adland Digest, especially the posts and discussions about
the "Going Platinum" program.
We have been investigating the Going Platinum program,
for several weeks and thanks to some of the Adland Digest's
posts and their authors, we have been able to provide our
readers with several views, we have not considered.
Thanks to "Robert Lee" <webmaster@alovelinksplus.com>
"Melanie A. Kozik" <custsup@investigative.on.ca>
"Dave Reno" <webmaster@netriches.com>
and Bogdan Fiedur, for allowing me to publish their posts in
The OYESUCAN Ezine.
I would also like to say that, Adland Digest is one of the best
E-marketing Publication on the Internet. The Digest provides
readers, the type of discussions, we all need to succeed and
prosper as E-marketers.
The discussions, concerning marketing and promotion, are
always timely topics. Important topics that need to be
discussed today, not yesterday, in this ever changing business
environment, we call Internet Marketing.
James Andrews
james@oyesucan.com
The "O YES U CAN Ezine" is committed to delivering
the very best in informative articles, tips and tools for the
E-Commerce entrepreneur. A platform to exchange ideas,
a storehouse of professional secrets and a vehicle to promote
your product or service.
This our agenda:
To discuss, comment, focus and publish information about
E-Commerce. Our goal, is to be the one from whom you
can choose to gather e-marketing strategies and how to
implement them in the ever increasing and changing electronic
market place. This ezine is designed to encourage advertising,
promotion and involvement for all subscribers doing businesses
on the Internet. Join our 21,000 Subscribers!
Subscribe: james@oyesucan.com?subject=OZSUBSCRIBE
Website: http://www.oyesucan.com/ozsub.html
----===(*)===-----
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==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (1.1)=============
From: Nancy Kramer
Subject: Shopping Cart and Credit Card Processor Questions
Marty Mitchell wrote
> <snip>
>
> I'm still looking for an affordable merchant account/shopping
> cart so that I can accept credit cards and make it easier to place an
>order.
> I'm still using PayPal for all credit card payments. It works pretty
>good,but I know I could be doing better with a more legit credit card
>acceptance method and shopping cart.
Hi Marty and Adland Readers:
I have been using EasyBasket (www.easybasket.com)
as a shopping cart system
for years now. It is EXTREMELY customizable, including giving you the
ability to automatically give customers a discount for purchasing more than
a certain number of a product (say, give them $5 off if they order 4 or
more, etc.), charging shipping costs by weight or a flat rate, and much,
much more. You get a secure server, a customized order form, and your
customer gets a customized, professional email notifying them of the details
of their order. Best of all, it's free for the first 50 transactions and
then only $1 per transaction after that. A bargain in my estimation. If you
are doing sufficient volume where $1 per transaction gets too steep, then
there are, of course, numerous shopping cart software programs available for
purchase; last I checked they start at around $500. Again, if you've got the
volume to support a program like that (some charge monthly fees even if you
own the software), go that route.
For a credit card processor, I recommend ProPay. Bogdan recommended it in
Adland Digest some months ago and I am so thankful that I found it! And, if
you refer someone to the service, you get $5 in your account once your
referral processes two transactions totalling at least $25; so hey, I might
as well give you my link:
https://epay.propay.com/appProcess1.exe/signup?oNaac6a6ajHKW4gD
If it offends you that I am so blatant, simply go to http://www.propay.com
and get generic details from there. :-)
Anyway, ProPay has saved my business. Rather than depending on my various
merchants to process cards for me for individual sales, and thus not having
flexibility in the prices I charge for the items on my site, especially if
the customer orders products from more than one vendor, I can now buy in
bulk from my vendors and re-sell at whatever price suits me and have
complete control over billing, invoicing, etc. I also use PayPal, because
some people just don't want me to have their credit card number and that's
fine with me; I also offer check by phone, mail, and fax, but get almost no
orders processed this way. Take a look at the site and see EasyBasket in
action.
Healthy regards,
Nancy Kramer
--------------------------------
nancy@healthhere.com
http://www.healthhere.com
---------------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (1.2)============
From: General Kimbrough
Subject: Shopping Cart and Credit Card Processor Questions
Propay is a good affordable merchant account (Free). They also do not have
any up front fees either. The fees that they do have are
a.. ProPay commerce account - FREE!
b.. Add Cash - FREE!
c.. Exchange Cash - FREE!
d.. Send Cash - $.35 per transaction
e.. Personal Pay - 3.5% of total, plus $.35 per transaction
f.. Web Pay - 3.5% of total, plus $.35 per transaction
g.. ACH Return - $5.00 per incident
h.. Credit Card Chargeback - $30.00 per incident
i..
j.. The Best Part is
Unlike other payment systems both the buyer and seller do not have to have
an account, a ProPay account lets the seller accept the buyer's credit card
number confidently and securely and they do not have to join
k..
l.. Web Pay you enter your client's email address and the amount you are
requesting, along with the reason for the charge. Your client will
immediately receive an email from ProPay with your request. Once your client
clicks on the URL we provide in the email, they can then enter their credit
card information.
m.. Personal Pay just go to ProPay and click on "Personal Pay" and
enter all
your customer's information. Hit the submit button and the money is in your
account in just about 2 minutes.
https://epay.propay.com/appProcess1.exe/signup?jkaaQtaqa6HPlCKH
Debra Glinsey
--------------------------------------------------
SUNBELT COFFEE TIME OF OHIO
www.sunbeltcoffee.net
sunbeltcoffee@mediaone.net
TOLL FREE 877-897-4346
--------------------------------------------
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (2.1)=============
From: "John Colanzi"
Subject: Re: How To Write Ads
Bogdan,
This is in response to Janet's question about writing ads.
I have two free books you may want to download on
writing ads.
How To Make A Fortune With Classified Ads
http://www.johncolanzi.com/classified.exe
Million Dollar Sales Letters For Your Use & Profit
http://www.johncolanzi.com/letters.exe
Both books are excellent places to start learning how to
market your offer. They're still be sold by mail order dealers
offline.
I think you'll get a lot of :meat and potatoes" information out
of the books.
Wishing You Success,
John Colanzi
--------------------------------------
Street Smart Marketing Newsletter
http://www.johncolanzi.com
---------------------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.1)=============
From: "Robert"
Subject: Origins of spam email. Educating Rita!
This is fairly long, but important if you want to understand the true nature
of spam.
Been following the messages about spam and peoples problems with it. There
are of course two issues here, that people need to actually address at an
international level .
I'd like to offer this [Tutorial on Tracking Smappers to the Source].
There are two 'classes' of people using the popular internet.
a) Those of us trying to make an honest living by promoting a
product/service to the international community. My multilingual-domain
registration site, http://www.inexpensivewebsites.com
falls into this, and
probably most of the readers of this newsletter as well. I've been a member
of this list almost from its inception, and rarely have I seen anyone
operating out of pure skullduggery!
b) Those other types who will try any rip-off, get rich quick, blast the
internet with junk, steal your kids, thieving sod, sell a billion email
address for $5 fools that you find anywhere where the rules and regulations
are at best 'murky' and in anycase don't apply across state boundaries, let
alone in Turkmenistan! and who all operate on the gullability of others -
Give us your money, and we assure that you will be rich overnight, if you
can catch us!
It's the type B's that cause the problems, and unfortunately because of the
traffic volume they generate the operators of major servers have tried to
block them out.
See a few posting of mine some time last year where I did some research on
the traffic generated over a server by repeated requests to add links to
that Links.cgi/html program that's about (Add your site to 5,842,641.5 search
engines thing.. I forget what its called) Unbelievably, after nearly 12
months of the link not being there - there are STILL requests coming in to
add links!!!
HOWEVER. Major server operators who adopt a 'we'll cut you off if you spam'
policy are actually reacting to the wrong people - in the main.
The Problem lies in these facts.
1. Far too many servers have NO PROTECTION in their mail servers to deny
Mail Relaying.
2. Most SPAM is seen to originate through valid addresses, often places like
hotmail.com because they are easy to remember by the spammers when they type
in their set-ups. They tend to lend a small degree of spurious validity to
the email. But they are not in fact the true source.
Let me show you an example:
--------------
Note from moderator.
Due to the length, technicality and archiving value of this article
go to this page to
see more.
http://www.adlandpro.com/archives/Adland%20Tips.htm#spam
Hope that helps clear up some of the mystery.
Regards
Robert,
--------------------------------
robert@chalmers.com.au &
info@inexpensivewebsites.com
----------------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.2)=============
From: Shirley F. Gardner
Subject: I was accused of SPAM!
((((( BEWARE! )))))
YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS CAN BE TAKEN FROM YOU!
I'm a disabled person with only a limited amount of money to invest in
learning a new business to provide enough income to live above the poverty
level. I chose Network Marketing as my vehicle to a better living. I
can't
walk much so sitting at a computer seemed like the logical thing to do. I
had no idea what kind of a road I chose to take.
Learning how to operate a computer was quite a challenge. I bought the
computer and a bunch of books determined to learn how to get that machine to
do what I tell it to do. After reformatting the hard drive three times
during the process, I finally learned enough to navigate on the internet and
search out the information I needed to get started in my own business on the
net.
I made the same mistakes that everyone else makes in learning how to make
money on the internet. At first I got into any program that sounded like a
possibility. Soon I was into so many programs that I couldn't keep up with
the email that was generated in pursuing the businesses.
I finally began to thin out the programs that I no longer felt would be
profitable. This would allow me more time to work on the ones that were
left. What I didn't realize was that I still had a lot to learn.
I got in and out of several programs and finally found one that would teach
me not only how to do the business, but how to compare programs so I could
make an intelligent decision about which company to join.
During all this time I've been spending that precious money I had decided to
use for learning the business on various programs, e-books,
and advertising. I didn't mind spending the money because I was going to
learn how to generate an income for myself.
I spent many hours reading and studying and on conference calls learning
whatever was available to learn. Every waking moment was spent at the
computer trying to learn as fast as I could because my money was running
out.
All the studying finally began to payoff as I started to get responses to my
advertising. My contact list was growing and people were beginning to show
interest in my business.
THEN, I made an ERROR!
I trusted someone else's opinion of a good source for a business list of
email addresses.
I mailed to that list and was promptly accused of "SPAM"!!!
My autoresponders were shut down and my business came to a halt...!! All
the money, time and effort were in jeopardy of total LOSS! I didn't have
the resources to start over. My hopes and dreams had been taken from me
due
to my error in judgement.
It was not my practice to "spam" people, but I was to suffer the
consequences of others that make it a daily habit to spam people and totally
ignore the regulations regarding "spam".
We need legislation to control the miss-use of our email system so that
others won't suffer the consequences of the ones that do make use of
"spam"
and a reckless disregard for other peoples privacy.
Shirley F. Gardner
-----------------------------
s.gardner@consultant.com
10-22-00
----------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.3)=============
From: Armando Trevino
Subject:In response to Spam issue.
Hello Everyone,
I think everyone can agree that SPAM is a serious issue.
The U.S. Congress keeps trying to come up with a
solution but there is NOT yet a Bill to pass both the House
and Senate thus becoming eligible to be signed into
law by the President.
Of course, that is contrary to what a great many
SPAMMERS proclaim in their emails when they
start off by telling you their email is not SPAM
because it complies with a House or Senate Bill.
The FEAR factor is so great when it comes to SPAM
that many newbies use the statement like some kind
of shield as protection against being accused of SPAM.
This FEAR has spilled over into the ISP's, web hosts, etc.
that shut down web sites and services when SPAM is
even hinted at, even where no proof exists.
It has become totally ridiculous!
But the hysteria over SPAM is causing GREATER
damage than the SPAM itself.
Whatever genius comes up with a viable solution
will reap HUGE rewards.
Until that day, I simple delete SPAM
as quickly as I receive it. In the end,
IGNORING someone is the greatest
punishment I can think of to inflict.
Armando Trevino, Editor, FBCN
---------------------------------------
mailto:fbcn@earthlink.net
"FREE Summit To Over 1 MILLION FREE Ad Sites!"
http://www.emailexchange.org/?sig
---------------------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.4)=============
From: Pauline W. Phillips
Subject: In response to spam issue.
Bogdan,
I, as a writer in Internet biz, would like to get in on the Spam-discussion
fray. One thing that bothers me much about many business-to-business Spam
mails I do open is their non-businesslike, even childish, layout!
They use very large print, in various colors, and take several full-page
scrolls to read what very little they have to say that could be put in one
visible screen. If the senders had read how business and commercial mail and
websites should be written and laid out, they would know their
non-businesslike and childish methods are taboo!
If their mail were directed to children, some of their antics, including
colored backgrounds, in their mail, might be OK. But adults interested in
doing business with a firm want to be approached in a businesslike way. And
the fact the mes sage is via E-mail or websites doesn't change the need for
that approach. Business methods are business methods.
Sincerely,
Pauline W. Phillips
-----------------------------------------------------------
Sitesell.com/globesales for webmasters & website owners
Globe City Planet Shopping
http://www.globecityplanetshopping.bigstep.com
-------------------------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.5)=============
From: Peter
Subject: In response to spam issue.
Hello Bogdan and fellow readers,
After following this list for some time now, I would like
to add my point of view to the current major subject.
It appears, that this <spam>???</spam> thing is
consuming
quite some of the readers time. Very well, I am just another
poor soul who has to deal with 3-figure mails daily, hence I
understand the topic perfectly well.
Then again, as some of you mentioned before, I just click
the dele button over and over again to get my homework done.
Some of you, (I am putting the focus on the US of A), may
have already forgotten the times, when one had to splash out
a fortune to be online. Well, I did not, in fact I still do!
Frankly, I do not know how to identify a msg to be or not
to be spam just by looking at the screenfull of bla-bla, but
I am always scanning for typical indicators of crap, usually
in the form of $$$$ and alike, you all know them!
Since some of you must be receiving loads of spam, I need
to ask myself, what kind of mail account are you using?
As mentioned earlier I too have to handle with more than
one mail per day, but for very few exceptions, there are non
of these $$$$ among my own or my clients business accounts.
Whenever I need to do a 'massmailing' to send information
to a defined group of recipients I use the main info account
and put a precise subject on the message. As of today I have
never received any complaints.
Back in the early, pre-hype years, mail used to be method
of communication. There seems to have been a change, I might
have missed the point, too bad.
Hopefully these times will return sometime ...
Have a nice day, and just keep smiling ;-)
-Peter-
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (4.1)=============
From: Len Dozois
Subject: International Shipping/Promotions on website
Dee,
I used to own a mail-order company. I found that shipping International
orders with DHL worked the best for me. Fedex had a lot of problems
clearing customs in many countries. DHL got through seemingly
effortlessly.
Regarding the Free Shipping/Free Gift/Lower Prices, all I can say is test,
test, test. Do a split mailing. Same body copy for the offer, same
layout,
etc. Split between all 3 options and see which one outpulls the rest.
In
my case (software sales) free shipping did it every time. Your
mileage
could vary...
Len
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (4.2)=============
From: Robert Lee
Subject: International Shipping/Promotions on website
Dee & Jeff Price
~ International Shipping/Promotions on website
Dee, all the web retail majors have shown that "free shipping" is the
way to
go. No one likes to see tax added, shipping fees added, handling fees added,
to their final purchase price.
Even Amazon.com now offers free shipping for purchases over US$100.00. Last
year almost every site I visited offered free shipping on a minimum purchase.
Include it by all means and (hopefully) watch your sales skyrocket!
Robert Lee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mailto:webmaster@alovelinksplus.com
http://www.aLoveLinksPlus.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
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==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (5.1)=============
From: Robert Lee
Subject: About Going Platinum
Hello Bogdan,
I must start by saying that there are defenders for everything that exists.
Current defenders and investors are:
~ Andy Sparks
~ John Geary
~ Steven Pronger
~ Libby
~ Craig R Vecellio
Andy Sparks
QUOTE: "If it shuts down tomorrow, I am
out $25 and some free ads. I can accept that level of risk."
Is it just the money or the time invested that may worry you more? Maybe
that's why it's "only" US$25.00?
John Geary
John, the "defending the emperors new clothes" seems a fitting
description,
does it not? What exactly do the "free members" have to work with when
they
sign up, right now? What benefits do they have? Where is the sign up page
for the free members anyways? Oh, I found it, you become a free member when
you have recruited enough other members that have paid their fees to allow
you to join. Interesting....
It is also interesting that they have information concerning Compubank for
direct deposits, yet have no direct link to open an account with them....
I'll email Compubank and see what they have to say. Of course, it's possible
that they are just waiting for their affiliate link with Compubank to be set
up so they can earn US$20.00 to US$40.00 for each new customer they refer.
Again, interesting.....
See this link:
http://affiliate.compubank.com/index.cfm?affdir=banksite
and the Going Platinum page:
http://www.goingplatinum.com/CompensationPlan/membership.html#2
I have emailed Compubank and will share with you their response.
Also, John, you did not address any of MY concerns in your last post. Where
is the information concerning the "benefits" of "Going
Platinum"? And why
hasn't Alan Catalan, ahcatalan@AOL.COM
replied to my email?
From: "Steven Pronger"
Subject: About Going Platinum
QUOTE: "Hi Bogdan,
Re the discussion on Going Platinum. Thought your readers might mind this
interesting,
it's a posting by the CEO of GP on their Bulletin Board.
Cheers."
Steve, why is this a members only bulletin board? What are they hiding? Why
is all the talk about money and earnings when the benefits are a better
Internet and access? Maybe you can provide the link to the bulletin board
and we can all take a look at what's going on there?
Thanks in advance.
By the way: still no news to report.
http://www.goingplatinum.com/About/news.html
Interesting ...........
QUOTE:"In regard to the "pyramid" claims - The GP Organization
was not
designed to be built from top down. A member that joins this
instant can be placed on level 44 while a member who joins 10
minutes from now can be placed on level 6 in the overall company
matrix. In fact, the member on level 44 can very conceivably
make more than the member on level 6 now and forever. Each
organization is built individually without regard for when
you joined and where you are placed. Of course the GP corporate
referral placement algorithm weights senior members a little
more heavily but it also takes into account the need of the
individual."
Despite the fact that you need 39 other members to make your money and
progress up the chain to even more earnings?
QUOTE: "As far as running out of future GP members is concerned: There
are currently approximately 150 Million Internet users in North
America alone. That total is currently growing at a rate of 50%
per year so next year at this time you can expect to find 225
Million Internet users in North America alone. - Just to put it
all in perspective, AOL (the largest ISP in North America)
currently enjoys approx 21 - 26 Million subscribers. Even they
have a lot of growing to do." AOL has been around for ever! Going Platinum
for 2 months. What are the odds?
BTW, more than 50% of Americans DO NOT have cable TV. 4% of Americans do not
have a phone in their home. Just access to a phone, To say that 225 million
North Americans will be on the Internet next year is very optimistic.
Libby:
QUOTE: "Going Platinum will succeed, despite all the "rubbish
kickers" for
want of a
more precise term, because the people behind it are determined. TAKE NOTE, I
don't know any of them. I'm one of the "little" people, so I have no
reason
to back these people, other than I think GP is a WINNER!!
And to all who think we're fools, WHY? Most of the people now in GP paid
nothing, zilch, zero, to be in it. It has cost nothing, therefore they have
lost nothing. Those of us who have paid our $25, which, by the way, was OUR
choice, are already reaping the rewards. I'm not out of pocket, and neither
are the hundreds of others who have already received cheques of $100 and
more. Have a look, and I mean a GOOD LOOK at the site as it stands. There
are
products all over it. Go and read a few postings on the message boards. They
are an incredible eye opener."
Libby, I'd like to find the bulletin board. I'd like to see the products.
SHOW ME! As for you saying that most people that have joined have joined for
free, I see no evidence of this in these recent postings here. If I can
spare some time, maybe I'll become a test rabbit and see what happens......
Congrats on your first check. How much was it for and how many "free
members" contributed to it?
QUOTE: "AMWAY could be called pyramidical, and has been called that by
many."
In the 80's Amway paid several hundreds of millions of dollars in fines to
the Canadian government for running a pyramid business. They have since,
obviously, renamed and regrouped and continue to operate here. They still
promise riches beyond belief. They still have success stories and believers.
Some people still believe in their products and continue to purchase from
them.
They still recruit by hanging a carrot in front of you, instead of product.
Enough said.
Craig R Vecellio
QUOTE: ""If anyone is concerned about this being a scam, I suggest
signing
up for
free. It's a legitimate concern, as there is no shortage of internet
scams,
but you can't lose getting in for free. I'll let you know when the program
is fully functional, with the ISP set up."
I may just join for free, no promotional effort to be expected on my part.
But then why join yet. Let me know when all is operational. Email me
updates.
With thanks to Bogdan,
I remain the "Going Platinum Unbeliever"
Robert Lee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
mailto:webmaster@alovelinksplus.com
http://www.aLoveLinksPlus.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (5.2)=============
From: Dave Reno
Subject: About Going Platinum
Hi Bogdan,
I am not going to reply to those who are still positive
about the GP opportunity. I think that's great! And don't get me wrong I do
hope that this opportunity is legit. I hate to see ANYONE get burnt!
However...I would strongly suggest that all of the folks who are sure this
program will fly...head on over to http://www.worldwidescam.com
I just
left that site...it's been a favorite of mine for quite sometime now.
Anyway there are several things too look at there. I won't go into detail,
but just encourage everyone to go take a look.
Lastly, those of you who are on the side of GP...you mentioned getting paid
already. Does the fact that your program is already breaking the law bother
you? Since Going Platinum has not even launched yet and members are
receiving commissions from the membership fees of the new members they
recruit, as far as the FTC is concerned, GoingPlatinum is already breaking
Federal laws.
Get in and truly crunch the numbers folks...in my opinion while this may in
fact be a great IDEA...it will never come to pass the way they are going
about things now!
Thank you for your time everyone.
Sincerely
Dave Reno
-------------------------------------------
International Internet Marketing Trainer
Presidential Founding Member of My Success Center
mailto:webmaster@netriches.com
http://www.netriches.com
--------------------------------------------
======================N e w P o s t i n g (1)========================
From: "Chris Gozdzik"
Subject: My hosting experience
Hi Bogdan, hi everybody,
I've been in online business for almost 3 years and I thought I
had all the basis covered, at least when it comes to basics -
apparently not so! On Friday, Nov.3 I've noticed that my site was
down. I contacted my host immediately and was assured that they
will look into it. Next day - still nothing works: my site is
down, my e-mail is not working. I tried calling technical support
- nobody answers. Several e-mails remained without answer.
I decided to move my domain somewhere else - ooops! I used e-
mail address for administrative contact from the same domain! Big
mistake as the Internic requires you to send change request from
that address and mine was not working! Several hours spent trying
to call them - no cigar! Finally I managed to get the info on
doing it using fax. Sent about six of them - no response! Tried
e-mailing their support - no answer! All in all my site was down
for 11 days. Not counting lost revenue and lost time - I also
lost position on some of the search engines and it will take a
long time to regain it. (I also missed 2 issues of this
newsletter!)
I think I learned my lesson, but I don't think my host did. I was
hesitant to put their name here, but since this newsletter is
read by many webmasters, I think if I save even one of them from
similar disaster, my mission will be accomplished. The "host's"
name is cavendo.com and proved to be the most unreliable,
ignorant and arrogant host I've ever had. (There was another one,
techscape.net, that was supposed to be based in Texas: my first
bill came from Spain, the second for 8 months came from
Germany!). I believe if we expose dishonest businesses like that
we can make the Internet a safer place to do business.
My advice:
1. Never ever use the e-mail address on the domain you are
administrating.
2. If you have problems with Internic forms - there are many new
registrars that let you make changes immediately using web forms.
(eg. http://goodbyensi.com/)
and they are much cheaper!
3. Research the info about your potential host.
I still have a problem with the last one: one could use some of
the host comparison sites, but guess who brings them their
advertising revenue? Cavendo.com has a nice looking website with
lots of features, everything looks so professional, but it's all
smoke and mirrors! Is there a way of getting reliable information
about the host? The amount of money you pay for your hosting
doesn't seem to make any difference - I've had much more reliable
service from a budget hosting company. I'd appreciate any help in
this department.
Keep on keeping on!
Chris Gozdzik
-----------------------------------
Dowsing Tools With A Difference
http://diviningmind.com
-----------------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note from Moderator.
Hosting is first most important issue when starting online business.
It might seem that when we are getting free or less expensive servers,
that we are saving money. It is not so, at least not when we actually want
to produce any money from your Internet venture.
I can recommend the service which has proven records over the
years not only in providing superior hardware and tolls to manage
your website but 24 hours phone/email/web support.
Get your hosting at Virtualis at
http://www.virtualis.com/vr/bfiedur/orderform.html
B.F.
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
======================N e w P o s t i n g (2)========================
From:Philip L Sheline
Subject: Free Promotional Resources for my site.
Hi,
I am new here but I am looking for links to free advertising sites that
I can add to my service site at: http://net-profit.net/Advertise.html
This is not an attempt to promote my site to this group but is a search
for Material to help my Affiliate Downline Members Obtain Free stuff.
Sincerely,
Philip L Sheline
-------------------------------------------
<a href="http://home.pacbell.net/vip399/">
Who http://home.pacbell.net/vip399/
</a>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note from Moderator.
You will find many such resources at http://www.Freebonanza.com
We created this site having in mind those who would like to
start their business without spending any money or enhance
it using free services or products.
B.F.
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
=====================N e w P o s t i n g (3)========================
From: Laurie Zbitniff
Subject: Advertising / Promoting Help
Hi, I am new to Adlands list, I have just signed up for this program which
helps to advertise my other programs.
http://www.bigbooster.com/7million/join.php?referrer=2765
Do people really have success with these kinds of programs?
Thx
Laurie
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
=============Site Review Request(1)===============
>From Beth Wilkinson
Dear Bogdan,
I've enjoyed reading the ADland Digest for quite some time now, and it's
been very helpful. I would like to request a review of my site,
Betty's Shopping and Family Resource Center,
http://members.spree.com/Betty74
I know it's rather plain (very few graphics), but I redesigned it to be
faster loading than it was previously. If you have suggestions on
improving
the appearance or content of the site, I would love to hear them. Thanks
very much.
Beth Wilkinson
-------------------------------------------
Get cash-back every time you shop!
Betty's Shopping & Family Resource Center
http://members.spree.com/Betty74
------------------------------------------
respond to mailto:adland@softfornet.com
=============Site Review Response(1)===============
From:Richard J Fry
In response to... Jeff Foster site review request
at http://fostertool.com
Hi Jeff,
You asked for a site review... This is going to be very
straight forward.
First thing, get off the free server! When people land on
your site and and see that you don't care enough about
your business to use a professional host, they feel that
you are not professional. Also, many people do not trust
a business hosted on a free server. Free servers do have
a purpose. You can use them to create more links to
your main site. But they should never be your main site.
Get rid of the "junk" on the home page. If you want affiliate
links and/or banners on your site, put them somewhere
other than your home page. This will make your site load
faster and look more professional.
Don't call your menu links "...page". Change "Contact Page"
to "Contact" or "Contact Us". Same for "About
Page".
Your site looks like it is all affiliate links of one sort or another.
Do you sell anything of your own? If you really want to make
sales, you need to have your own products. Affiliate links
should always be secondary, and never on your home page.
(With the possible exception of a link or two following your
own products or services.)
You mentioned being listed in the search engines. It does
you no good unless you are near the top for keyword searches
that fit your site. Ditch as many graphics as you can from your
home page. Add as much text as possible related to your
products. Search engines love text. (If it relates to your site.)
What keywords or phrases are you trying to target? Those
should be in your title, description and first paragraph on
your home page. Ditch all those keywords in your meta
tags that don't relate to your products.
Ditch the counter. If you must have a counter, it should not
be visible to your visitors. Counters with high numbers are
often not believable. Most people know that counters can
be set at any number you want to set them at.Counters
with low numbers tell people you are new, even if you are
not. It's ok to be new online. But it is better if you don't
"look new".
Figure out what you are selling and remove the rest. Your
site is a tool site, but you have more menu links about autos
than tools. NASCAR is great. We are big fans ourselves. But
having a NASCAR message board on your home page will
not sell tools. It would sidetrack me.
I hope you won't feel bad when I tell you that I think you
need to start over completely. Get a real host. Build a tool
site about tools. Leave out affiliate links on your home page.
Switch to a solid background. Put your complete company
contact information somewhere on your home page. Post
a privacy policy. Post a return /guarantee policy. Post your
hours of operation. Don't use a visible counter on your site.
I could go on & on, but this is getting too long. I hope this
wasn't too harsh. We usually get paid to do site reviews
and I am accustomed to being very straight forward.
By the way, we made many of the same mistakes when
we were new online. Someone told us the same things
once. When we listened, we moved up the search engines
and started making money. We make our living online.
You can do the same.
Rick
---------------------------------
CEO/Founder
The Richard J Fry Enterprises
Advertising & Information Network
http://www.rjfent.com/
customerservice@rjfent.com
----------------------------------
======================Joke of the Day=====================
This guy said his son's teacher had told his son that his
homework was unsatisfactory and he was to do it again. The
kid said to the teacher, "That sucks!!!"
Upon hearing this reply, the teacher called the kid's mother
and told him that he was going to have her son do his
homework over, and, he was giving him some additional work
because the kid used unacceptable language.
Whereas the mother replied, "Boy, that sucks, what did he
say?"
========================================================
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