ADLANDS' DIGEST
A Free subscribed Discussion List
of 22,364 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, #210 Dec 06, 2000
=======================POWER TIP=======================
---Holiday Season is here.
Are you offering any product or service, which can be used as a gift?
If your answer is yes, how do you expect to be found in the jungle
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Topics in this issue:
Sponsor Message
Word from Publisher
Success Story
=====================
C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n s (4)
===========================================
1.In response to spam issue
~ John Yarrow
~ J. Baxter
2. Email harvesting
~ Pete Brown
3. About Going Platinum
~ Kelly Swaim
~ Steven Pronger
~ Frank Velsink
~ Bev Schugart
~ Melanie A. Kozik
4. My hosting experience
~ Brenda Ramsbacher
N e w P o s t s (2)
=========================
1. Debra Glinsey
~ Link Tracking
2.Don Wetmore
~ More Time
Site Review Requests (2)
===========================
1. http://searchat.virtualave.net
2. http://domain-name.ws
Site Review Response(0)
=========================
G u e s t A r t i c l e (1)
================================
10 Essentials Required To Identify An Excellent Affiliate Program
By William DeHart
Joke of the Day (1)
===============
================== Word from publisher ====================
Greetings All
Welcome 110 new subscribers who joined list since last mailing.
----===(*)===-----
John T. Jones writes.
Hi, Bogdan!
I've been watching the referring URLs at my site:
http://www.goingplatinum.com/member/tjbooks
Guess where most of the referrals are coming from: Yes, ADLAND!
Thanks for giving me a hand in getting the word out on GoingPlatinum.
John T. Jones, Ph.D., Payson, AZ
----===(*)===-----
LESS THAN 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
----===(*)===-----
=================Success Story=====================
From: "Rob Sewell"
Hi Bogdan,
Is this a success story? I think so. It hasn't finished yet in fact it has
just begun, however I shall tell it for you.
It started when a friend said if you use this programme you will earn some
of your call charges back. That can't be bad. Save some money on our
internet charges(here in the UK they are just beginning to stop per minute
charges). That was it for a few months we used this programme made a few
pounds.
Both myself and my wife lost our jobs and whilst she is unable through her
health to have a 'normal' job I decided to take a course. Whilst I am doing
my course we have been trying to make some money on the internet. We joined
a few programmes and decided to make a web-site.
We used Myfreeoffice. I still have a copy of that first web-site. Four
pages, Garish colours different text sizes and fonts and colors and no good
for promoting! I keep it to remind me how far we have come in ONE YEAR. We
used the wizards because we knew no other way. Anyway we joined a new
programme and needed to put it on our web-site. We either had to re-create
the page or I had to look at the HTML and work out how to add in our
programme. The second time I decided to look at the code! It took me some
time and I got it wrong several times before finally coming to some
understanding.
The web-site was redesigned. I used Frames! I was really pleased with myself
it looked GOOD. Well it looked ok, but I was delighted.
At that time we were really pleased to get 10 visitors a week!
In July/August of this year (2000) several things happened. We got married.
We also found an ISP where we pay £10 and no phone charges for 24/7 access
to the net. Our time on the net dramatically increased!!! But the visitors
didn't. In August we also took the amazing step of PAYING to join a
programme. As I mentioned before, we had no job and little money. It was a
struggle to pay $15 but we decided iNetstar was worth it.
We set about promoting iNetstar, re-designed the site again and started
spending 10, 12, 16 hours a day on-line. We started to really learn about
promoting and began communicating with people. People began joining
programmes with us and then even scarier asking us for advice!! I still feel
like a newbie now and sometimes wonder why people ask my for advice. However
I learnt that if you give honest advice when asked, people respect it and
you make some good contacts.
September went in a flash and October arrived. In the middle of October we
got a cheque. We had had $20, $30, $50 cheques before but this was for $360
from iNetstar. We danced. We were also the first to reach a commission bonus
where we received a domain name and professional web-space with e-mail cgi
and the works! Great except I don't know what to do with cgi and all the
trimmings. However a domain name and e-mail sure help you look more
professional.
We were beginning to get more people coming to the web-site, but after
getting critiqued by a few faithful contacts we re-designed it. Remember I
said that before July we were getting a few visitors a week? Well in
November we got 1500! I still can't 'do' the search engines but we get
results anyway so I'm not to bothered. Also in November we got a cheque for
$458 from iNetstar you can see it here http://real-easy-cash.com/cheque.html
.
This week we have spent in communication with our downline members in
iNetstar of whom there are many. We are ready for the self-replicating
web-sites which come out in a couple of weeks. Now we are leading a team of
many hundreds ready to start a huge advertising campaign. Our time is filled
with writing inspirational and motivational messages, sorting out adpacks
and pages for our down-line containing resources, help and advice. We don't
have much time to spend promoting our site right now.
So 10 visitors a week to 1500 a month in three months without spending a
dime.
$15 spent and over $800 received in three months.
I reckon we are successful. I certainly feel so and so does my wife.
I hope this is of interest to your readers. It shows it is possible to be
successful without spending money.
Yours together in internet success
Rob and Traci Sewell
-----------------------------------
http://real-easy-cash.com/iNetstar
rsewell@real-easy-cash.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 (1.1)=============
From: John Yarrow
Subject:In response to spam issue.
Hi all and thank you for this wonderful letter. I have been a reader
now for some time and have actually responded to this spam issue many
moons ago when nobody else seemed to mind. In the last few issues I
have noticed the different opinions regarding this especially sense the
list is being spammed. I would like to respond to a few of the points
brought up.
First of all in one of the most recent issues somebody had mentioned
that "The majority of the vigilante style anti-spammers, if you really
get down to it are vehemently opposed to capitalism of any kind.".
They
then site "I wonder how many "anti-spammers" have cable TV or
Satellite
TV! Last time I checked you are paying for those services. And,
comparing time/fees ratios, significantly more than you pay to access
the `net! the adds you receive on you paid for cable service.". In
all
due respect how could anybody compare the two. Think about
it... you
are watching 1 commercial at a time per station (how many stations do
you watch) there can only be so many adds per show spaced out by paying
advertisers. By the acceptance of watching and subscribing to the
service and the knowledge these adds are there you have agreed to
accept the advertising, thus it is not unsolicited. E-mail however
can
be transmitted by thousands of people at the same time to your pop
account. How is this even comparable? Have you ever waited for a
thousand pieces of e-mail to download from your server and then have to
sort through them to fine the three or four e-mails you wanted to
receive.
If every individual was allowed to send there advertising in the same
way as "junk" mail without the cost or some sort of ethics and control
the amount of e-mail would bog down the internet and bring it to its
knees! E-mail would become useless as a communication device. (by the
way for those who frogot, television is regional the web is world wide)
Some say that the unaware or uneducated are falsely accused of spam and
should be educated and not cut off. I could not agree more and my
purpose is not to hurt a newby. However when I receive and obvious spam
where the header has been forged and the only contact info is an 800
number that sends you to an automated voice system, I have a hard time
believing they do not know what they are doing is wrong. And I will do
anything in my power to get it stopped NOW!!!!
Now if our mail boxes could automatically detect spam and put it in a
separate folder for me to delete I would not be so worried I simply
would delete the whole folder, however this is not available and if it
was, spam would no longer be a problem.
My name is currently being sold as somebody who wants to receive these
mailings on cd along with allot of other peoples names. They are making
money on my name without my permission. My way of looking at it is they
owe everybody on the list money for the illegal use of there name to
make money. What really bakes my cookies is they then send me spam
e-mail advertising this cd to me.
There is one way we can fight spam and be effective. Simply do not look
at or respond to any advertising spammed to you. If we all do this
there will be no use to send these mails.(if nobody bought the list they
would not be for sale) Secondly if every cybercitizen would spend one
hour a week reporting the obvious hard core spammers and sending them a
bill for there time (thank you Peter G.) this will greatly diminish bulk
e-mails effectiveness.
In short if you buy or use anything spammed to you YOU SUPPORT SPAM!!!!
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (1.2)=============
From: Jim Bundock
Subject:In response to spam issue.
Email Tip An Oops On My Part
Do you know all your emails at your Host service?
I started running an autoresponder approximately a year, and have had fairly
good success with it.
However, approximately 1 month ago my hosting service emailed me and asked
me what I wanted to do with the 30mbs of email they had sitting on the
server. In a bit of confusion, I found out that the parent directory of my site
has
an email address and my site addresses are aliases of it.
Undeliverable mail from the autoresponder was the prime cause of the email.
My hosting service was nice about it and we arranged for the email to be
handled properly. It could have been worse, I could have been charged for
the space, or even the loss of the hosting service.
You may want to check with your host to verify your prime email address with
your hosting service.
You may want to know how to get rid of 30mb's of email; Slowly Very
Slowly.....
Bounced Email From Promoters
Do you run a FFA site or other posting service?
Have problems with repetitive posters who have a valid email address yet
keep the box filled, so your autoresponse is bounced?
I have four solutions:
Block and collect, Dont respond, Pay no attention, Filter
Only correct answer Block and collect, Block them from posting to your site
(use your bad email log). Collect the email properties to send to the
postmaster of the host.
This informs the postmaster of neglected boxes and alleviates some of the
Return Mail Notifications.
How to collect set your filters on your primary email address usually
subject for all return mail notification type messages. You will have about
15 or so subject headings. Filter the messages to a separate folder. At
which time you can manually or using an email stripper collect the addresses
to use to block and inform the host. Note when informing postmasters
Please include the email address of the offender and make it clear the full
email box is the offender.
Not your message, include the service you run and be polite.
Don't respond with just the email message, this will look like you are
sending repetitive messages (You Sent It). And the postmaster will most
likely put your email address on his/her bad email list.
Pay no attention and you can receive no delivery messages for over two
weeks.
Filtering will do the same thing.
So Block and Collect.
One More Note:
The above item forced me to turn off my autoresponder for my Links Site.
Why you may ask, well I did the math out of 20,000 posts I received 18,279
bounced
autoresponse messages.
It just got to much to handle. Now I just have to rely on good faith.
Autoresponses from my directory listings and of course the networking of
reliable services.
Jim Bundock
----------------------------------------
http://www.superpstore.com
http://superpstore.dealnetwork.com
http://superpstoreelectronics.vstoreelectronics.com
------------------------------------------
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (1.3)=============
From: J. Baxter
Subject: In response to spam issue.
Hello, All . . .
This is my first post to the site.
I have an online biz which is coming along nicely, due to some well placed
advertising which I had researched thoroughly and for which I willingly paid
some serious coin . . . If I eventually employ e-mail adv it will be via
reputable opt-in lists, but frankly, I don't think I will ever need e-mail
adv.
That having been said, I receive a large amount of spam each day at one of
my addy's. It takes me about 20 seconds to scroll down and determine if a
legitimate message(s) exists, which I forward to my main addy. Two clicks
of my mouse delete the rest.
About a minute a day--90 seconds at the outside. About the same time I
spend sorting through junk mail at my mail box. And a whole lot less time
than I spend on Direct TV watching inane adv's on frequencies for which I
and other millions pay. Be it junk mail or spam or TV adv's or
telemarketers interrupting business calls . . . "spam" is everywhere.
My take on spam? There will always be those who abuse whatever system
there
is. Fact of life. I'm a big boy. I can choose to let 90
seconds of my
morning ruin my day, or I can do a "two click and coffee" and smile.
It is
all a matter of perspective. If someone "harvests" addy's from
this site
and spamms, it's up to the webmaster to bounce them. Better yet, I can hit
master delete, and grab another cup of coffee. Spam is a mere speck on the
radar of a day.
I'd rather spend my time making money than complaining.
Perspective. :) J. Baxter
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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: Pete Brown
Subject:Email harvesting.
In digest #208 Moderator wrote.
>I'm also making changes to AdlandPro classifieds for
>the past weeks and it might take me another two or three
>weeks. These changes will totally eliminate possibility
>of harvesting of email addresses from classifieds directly.
I have just read several comments about email
harvesting and the fact that Adland intend to remove
or hide email addresses so that they cannot be
harvested.
To help you out I thought I would let you know the
following.
Unfortunately, hiding email addresses will not work as
some harvesting programs do not require the email
address to be visible on the web site to be able to
harvest them.
Programs like "Sonic" have an inbuilt option that
allows the harvester to recourse url's and also to go
as many levels deep as required to find the hidden
email addresses.
I know this may sound depressing but I just thought I
would let you know.
Cheers,
Peter Brown
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note from Moderator.
Peter
there is a simple way to prevent any harvesting
program from retrieving email addresses through
programming. If classified site visitor wants to contact owner
of the ad, there is a special form opened which
requires text, email address and name of the person
wishing to establish the contact.
This form will never reveal address of
ad owner but will send email from the server
using local web enabled email system.
Email address is retrieved from the database
only if form is activated and never displayed
on the page but used by server email program.
B.F.
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.1)=============
From: Kelly Swaim
Subject:About Going Platinum
Reading the ongoing discussion of Going Platinum and figured I
would
contribute my
two cents worth.
Going Platinum is not MLM. It somewhat appears to be so, but there is no
tangle [tangible] product being sold
The option to "buy" in will be removed once the online community
launches.
If your set on finding a product consider the Free email, virtual office that
includes fax, appointment book, calendar, to do lists, reminders and more.
Also, There are plans for an ISP/DSL for members once they reach a certain
level.
The way I understand it is that the ISP will be available for everyone with
the DSL to the members of the silver level or higher.
As for the issue concerning Compubank, The Going Platinum forums are FULL of
people who are already receiving payments from October. Several have
mentioned
that they have no only received their payments for October, but also their
signup
fee's for Compubank AND the additional Bonus from Going Platinum.
I am sure many of you will remain unbelievers. To each his own. but
if you
are the least bit curious, join for FREE.. read the forums, post on the forums,
and also check the Delphi forums for the GOING PLATINUM FORUM.
you can post and ask questions there as well..
If you sign up for free, you have nothing more than a few minutes to lose in
order to visit the forums.
I am personally very new to the online opportunities department and am very
excited about Going Platinum.
I have read, reread, discussed, pondered, questioned, doubted, and spent
many hours promoting going platinum.
I am not made of money, and of course I have that "millionaire" dream
like
most of us trying to make something off this vast internet. I am very
cautious, sceptical and even hesitant when these programs cross my path..
I am confident that Going Platinum is legitimate. I invested my $25.
It's
no different than risking $25 on stocks. There is always a risk involved..
The question is, are you willing to take that risk? But why bother
when
you can still join for free.
Think it over.
Kelly Swaim
------------------------
ez-choice.com
----------------
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.2)=============
From: Steven Pronger
Subject:About Going Platinum
Hi Bogdan,
In response to Robert Lee's submission on Going Platinum:
To take some of Robert's statements one at a time:
"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"
Wrong. There is no requirement to recruit other members to become a free
member. Everyone joins the GPC (Going Platinum Community) as a free member.
After you join you are given the option of joining the GPAP (GP Affiliate
Program) for a once only fee of $25. It's really quite simple, and the
compensation plan is fully explained on the site. You may need to read it a
few times (with an un-biased mind-set) to fully understand it though.
"It is also interesting that they have information concerning
Compubank....."
What's your point? Is there something unethical about being affiliated with
Compubank?
"And why hasn't Alan Catalan, ahcatalan@AOL.COM
replied to my email?"
Alan Catalan is CEO of a company that is growing at a phenomenal rate. The
launch of the GPC has already been delayed. A member's forum has been set up
to deal with MEMBER enquires which Alan has posted to. Do you honestly think
that responding personally to your email is high on his "to do" list.
It
wouldn't be on mine. Get real!
"Maybe you can provide the link to the bulletin board and we can all take a
look at what's going on there?"
The bulletin board is there for MEMBERS - not time wasters or
"non-believers". If you want to access the BB join up - and then
investigate
GP to your heart's content. If GP is not for you, fine, but it seems to be
doing quite nicely without you anyway.
Steven Pronger
--------------------------------------------
Your Home Business
http://www.yourhomebusiness.biz-au.com
Subscribe to my FREE e-zine:
http://www.yourhomebusiness.biz-au.com
------------------------------
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.3)=============
From: Frank Velsink
Subject:About Going Platinum
Hello Bogdan and Readers,
Regarding the Going Platinum discussions, I only can be short rather than
wasting space inhere.
For a couple of time (2 years) I was looking for a TRUE and Legitimate
business online. Spent some $$ here and there, most of them in Promotion
Programs in order to promote the Main Program I joined.
And indeed Paris and Rome weren't built on the same day, though I still
believe there must be a (honest)way to raise income from the Internet.
For the same length of time I had bookmarked the following URL's:
The WorldWide Scam Network Insider - http://www.delphi.com/wwsn/start/
The WorldWide Scam Network - http://www.worldwidescam.com/
Success you all, whatever business you're in,
regards,
Frank Velsink
-----------------------------
fyp@earthling.net
----------------------------
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.4)=============
From: Bev Schugart
Subject:About Going Platinum
Bogdan,
I have read the posts in your recent newsletters regarding
GoingPlatinum.com and would like to offer my humble
suggestions to anyone considering joining their program
or any program that is offered on the net.
1. Go to http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois
and type in the www. address/url of the website and consider
that, for instance, going platinum was only just registered
on for the "first time" on August 1, 2000. Then be your own
judge as to why it was not registered before this time.
Catalan, Alan (ACJ543) ahcatalan@AOL.COM
Going Platinum, Inc.
245 Butler Avenue, 2nd Floor
Lancaster , PA 17601
717-735-0050 (FAX) 717-735-0056
Record
last updated on 24-Aug-2000.
Record
expires on 01-Aug-2002.
Record
created on 01-Aug-2000.
Database last updated on 2-Dec-2000 06:33:18 EST.
2. Check with the states Attorney General's office where that
business resides and ask if they have any information regarding
this business, their website, owner or any ongoing investigations
that might be available to the public. In the case of Pennsylvania,
the Attorney General's office is only about 35 miles from where
goingplatinum is based so they might be interested in possibly
doing a cursory look see, if you will. The PA Attorney General's
information
is as follows:
Pennsylvania Office of
Consumer Advocate
555 Walnut Street, 5th
Floor Forum Place
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1923
(717) 783-5048 or toll
free 800-684-6560
(PA only)
Fax: 717-783-7152
email: paoca@ptd.net
3. Check them out with the Better Business Bureau for the area in
which they are located (I must add here though that almost "any"
business can join the BBB if you wish to spend $450.00 to buy the
right to use their seal...just my personal observation). In the
case of GoingPlatinum, there is a BBB office located right in the
city of Lanacaster, PA where they are located:
BBB of Metro Washington DC and Eastern Pennsylvania
29 E. King Street, Ste. 322
Lancaster, PA 17602
phone: (717)291-1151
fax: (717)291-3241
email: lancaster@easterpa.bbb.org
Please do not send complaints to the above email.
Use our online form instead.
web site: www.easternpa.bbb.org
Their Main Website is: http://www.bbb.com/
The bottom line in all of this is, it may be Free to
join, it may only be $25.00, but the most valuable thing
any of us have is TIME and if you waste it on something
that may or may not be a real business, you have literally
wasted your life.
With the proliferation of business opportunities on the net
being 10,000 fold what they used to be in the mail-order world
just a few years ago, take your time, do your due diligence
just like you should do if you are going to buy stock in a
company. Don't jump just because everyone else jumps or
out of fear of losing a "position" which should cause a flag
to go up for you in any offering.
I did not mean to be preachy, but I hope what I have offered
will help people not only with their Going Platinum decision
but with others they may consider in the future.
My humblest of opinions and advice,
Bev Schugart
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (3.5)=============
From: Melanie A. Kozik
Subject:About Going Platinum
Hi Adlanders and Mr. Lee :]
I appreciated Robert Lee's thoroughly well thought out and researched
posting responses regarding GP. I investigated around the GP signup page to
find the *catch* -hay, there always is one with these kinds of *programs*.
I'm betting a nickel you won't join for free Robert-wanna know why? Cuz
they want your social security number up front.
-------------------------------
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
(me too-Melanie)
AND to those of you who give out your SSN to just ANY ol' webpage-you are
just ASKING for trouble.
---
Melanie A. Kozik
--------------------------------------
http://www.unlisted-etcetera.com
"We are One Powerful Information Location Machine"
---------------------------------------
==========C o n t i n u i n g D i s c u s s i o n (4.1)=============
From: Brenda Ramsbacher
Subject: My hosting experience
Chris Gozdzik wrote in last issue
> 1. Never ever use the e-mail address on the domain you are
> administrating.
Chris is right on this note. Except you also need to make sure to
change your contact address for NSI if you plan on changing ISPs.
I still need to go through all the red tape to fix that because I forgot
to get that changed before I made the switch (changed everything
else and forgot one of the most important things <sigh>)
> 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!
Agreed! I've used Gandi.net (which equals out under
$11/year/domain depending on conversion rates at the time). I'm
going to switch my NSI domain over because I can change it at
any time without a hassle. NSI really does a disservice to
customers in my opinion because its so difficult to make a simple
change. This isn't mentioning the fact they charge an arm and a leg
for the same service I receive from Gandi.
>
> 3. Research the info about your potential host.
>
Agreed! However, the host comparison sites along with customer
reviews aren't always correct either. Case in point, I went with one
service because of the reviews - my site was down for over a week
before I told them to take a flying leap out the nearest window.
(yes, I received a refund and yes, they were very professional the
entire time and acknowledged there was a problem)
The ones I'm with now are:
BestHost1 - the site is down every so often but it's only for minutes
rather than hours. I don't know if it's maintenance or what causing
the downtime but I'm not going to complain or ask. As long as the
outage isn't for more than a few minutes, I don't get too excited <G>
Communitech - Interestingly enough, these guys are known for
their rudeness and downright hostility, not answering support
tickets and so on. However, a few days ago, my database crashed
and I lost over 1200 entries. My backup had 800. I immediately
entered a support ticket asking if they could restore this one file
from backup. The cost? $250. Called them and the tech who does
the restoring found a file that was only a week old (much better
than the one I had...now I'm only missing a few rather than
hundreds <G>). Because I didn't want the entire site restored - I
only wanted that one file totalling 2 megs - they only charged me
$100. I was surprised and pleased! Downtime? Less than 2 hours
later the majority of the database was restored. OR less than an
hour after reaching them by telephone to get the process started.
Case in point is that you can't always tell by the reviews how the
host is going to treat you. Sometimes it's trial and error to find a
compatible host.
Our esteemed moderator mentioned Virtualis. I've heard nothing but
good things about these folks although I've never used them
personally. I'll add one more to the mix. Webstrike Solutions. It's
for smaller sites but I never had a day's ounce of trouble from them.
(unfortunately, I've grown too big to use them now).
Brenda Ramsbacher
--------------------------------
Scribblers an electronic bookstore
http://www.ebookshoppe.com
~ http://www.ebook-seller.com
--------------------------------
======================N e w P o s t i n g (1)========================
From: Debra Glinsey
Subject:Link Tracking
I was reading the story about InetStar member id's and it was talking about
tracking id number. I have seen id numbers on banners for affiliate
programs and I was wondering how do you use tracking id numbers and how do
they work? How do you go about doing this and I was told that they are
used
to see how many people click on them (click threw) to go to a certain web
site. Can some one tell me how or where I can find this information?
Debra
======================N e w P o s t i n g (2)========================
From: Don Wetmore
Subject: More Time
Year-end obligations create stress for many. However, we
can get more out of each day by working smarter. My article,
"More Time", offers five simple tips to give you several
hours of additional time each day. It's free for members of
the List. To get yours now, send your request for "more" to:
ctsem@msn.com
Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
-------------------------------------------------
Productivity Institute-Time Management Seminars
Free Time Management Tips Newsletter:
Visit our Supersite: http://www.balancetime.com
-------------------------------------------------
======================N e w P o s t i n g (3)========================
From: "Dr. Bill Corder
Subject: Affiliate programs and email managing
Hi Bogdan,
Enjoy your newsletter. Here are two questions.
Our database is at a size that managing our database and
mailing newsletters from here is no longer practical. Do you know of
a service that ideally would capture our subscribers at our website,
allow us to cut and paste our newsletters, etc. and mail them to
subscribers at regular intervals?
We are planning to implement an affiliate program. What
software or program would you recommend?
AssocTrac is one that we have reviewed.
Thanks!
Dr.Bill Corder
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note from Moderator.
Here are some email solutions.
Mailloop from Corey Rudi with 90 day guarantee.
http://www.marketingtips.com/mailloop/t.x/53013
This software offers you also autoresponders,
web form processing, filtering, email merging
(to make your messages personal) .
Very powerful piece of software.
The software I use is called Lyris.
Very powerful and handles all subscribes and unsubscribes
in very elegant way. It will also track for you bounced
messages and put them on hold if your desire so.
E.g. after 5 bounces it will put this user on hold.
You can run many list using this software and it
also has features where you can set up autoresponders.
It has totally web enabled interface.
I had very little problems using it so far.
The version I have purchased will deliver up to 10,000
messages per hour, provided you have bandwidth
available. http://www.lyris.com
The version I bought costs around $4000.
They can also run list for you which might turn out
to be expensive in the long run.
The other is site which uses Lyris software
and offers you the service.
http://www.sparklist.com
More expensive but also more powerful are
http://www.unitymail.com
http://www.lsoft.com
To use program which will help you with affiliate support
check this site.
http://members.adlandpro.com/Affiliate/Affiliate.aspx
Bogdan Fiedur
=============Site Review Request(1)===============
From: SearchAt!
Hi Bogdan,
I've been a affiliate of adland for about a year and I just reconstructed my
site and I wanted to get some comments(good or bad) from your subscribers
about my site. I know that there is no perfect site but I would like some
constructive critisism or what they liked about my site.
The address is http://searchat.virtualave.net
Thanks,
------------------------------------------------
http://searchat.hypermart.net/searchbox.html
SearchAt!-Web Business Services Directory
http://webbusinessservices.virtualave.net
SearchAt!-Directory of Services
http://webbusinessservices.hypermart.net
------------------------------------
=============Site Review Request(2)===============
From: Doug Bacca
Hi all,
I have been reading and re-reading all the great posts. I
thought I would impose on you to check out my new web site. I did it with
notepad and my IE browser. It's with frames so if someone with an older
browser could tell me how it looks to them it would be great. I also made a
gateway page for search engines if they don't like
frames.
http://domain-name.ws
http://domain-name.ws/open.html
I have checked it out with Netscape's website garage and
corrected the mistakes they pointed out. However I would like you opinion.
Thanks
Doug bacca
----------------------------------
dbacca@themail.com
http://domain-name.ws
----------------------
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===================G u e s t A r t i c l e =====================
10 Essentials Required To Identify An Excellent Affiliate Program
By William DeHart
Affiliate programs are one of the best ways to generate a strong revenue
stream. There are literally thousands of affiliate programs to choose
from. Program features and support vary tremendously. The 10 essentials
listed below are designed to streamline the search process and help you
distinguish an excellent program from an average one.
1) Look for a unique product in a ripe market. Lets face it; there are
an awful lot of affiliate programs trying to sell books these days. If
you decide to jump on the bandwagon and offer the same product as
everybody else, you are at a statistical disadvantage of ever generating
meaningful revenue. Look for affiliate programs that offer unique
products in a ripe market.
2) Seek programs that have growth potential with an expanding product
offering. This will improve your revenue expansion. Your customers will
keep coming back to see what's new and exciting. If a merchant's product
offering is dead end, what do you think your potential with that merchant
will be? Look for merchants that are dynamic and constantly expanding
their product offerings.
3) Maximize your pay rate. The higher the pay rate, the less traffic you
will need to meet your revenue goals. Programs that only offer a few
pennies or a few dollars demand that you have tremendous activity to make
any meaningful revenue. There is a wide range of pay rates among
affiliate programs. Look for programs that offer a decent pay rate for
the business you generate.
4) Only accept a clear pay structure. Any legitimate affiliate program
should spell out exactly what you will receive for your effort. This
seems basic enough, yet there are many programs that present very nebulous
pay rates. Unless the merchant spells out exactly what you will receive
for your efforts, avoid them.
5) Increase your revenue potential with 2-Tier programs. What if you refer
another affiliate to the merchant? You've just helped grow the business of
that merchant. Shouldn't you be paid for that? Being paid for helping grow
the business of the merchant seems only fair. 2-Tier programs reward you
for both referring other affiliates to the merchant as well as end
customers. Look for programs that will pay you for your affiliate
referrals.
6) Seek programs that generate repeat business. With most affiliate
programs you will be referring customers to the merchant site usually with
a banner or a button. The problem is that customers will often bypass you
and go directly to the merchant the next time they want to buy. The way to
prevent this is to seek programs that give you your own site as part of
the program. Then your customers will return to your site rather than the
merchant the next time they want to buy.
7) Avoid merchants that will compete with you. If a merchant has an
affiliate program, but also has brand recognition, the customer may try to
go directly to the merchant. If the customer has a choice to either go
through you or go straight to the merchant, which do you think they will
choose? Fortunately, some affiliate programs demand that customers must
come through an affiliate site. Look for merchants that will not compete
with you.
8) Make sure the program has a good tracking systems. Nowadays, it is
reasonable to expect that your sales statistics will be readily available
to you. Always confirm the tracking method of any program. If possible,
look for programs that offer real time tracking 24 hours 7 days a week and
that are accessible from the web.
9) Look for programs that offer marketing support. Amazingly, many
affiliate programs have little or no marketing support. This is
counterintuitive considering it is in the merchant's interest to help the
affiliate succeed. Fortunately, some programs do offer marketing support.
Look for programs that give you the most tools to succeed.
10) Choose a program with community support. Again, it is in the merchant's
interest to foster support for their affiliates, yet many affiliate
programs offer no community support. Community bulletin boards tend to
foster information exchange between affiliates and usually offer news and
expert advice. Look for programs that believe in providing community
support.
Following these guidelines will dramatically improve the quality of the
affiliate program that you choose. The more favorably a program stacks up
against the criterion above, the more chances for success you have when
you join.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:
William DeHart is the resident marketing guru at FinancialCircuit.com,
the next generation affiliate program in the financial services industry.
He provides marketing coaching to FinancialCircuit affiliates.
Visit FinancialCircuit at www.financialcircuit.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
======================Joke of the Day=====================
"Hey, Mom," asked Johnny "can you give me twenty dollars?"
"Certainly not."
"If you do," he went on, "I'll tell you what dad said to the maid
when you were at the beauty shop."
His mother's ears perked up and, grabbing her purse, she
handed over the money. "Well? What did he say?"
"He said, 'Hey, Marie, make sure you wash my socks
tomorrow.' "
========================================================
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