ADLANDS'   DIGEST
                  A Free subscribed Discussion List
                            of 3250 subscribers
                   on web marketing and promotion
                       Bogdan Fiedur,  Publisher
                    mailto: Bogdan@softfornet.com
                        David Bredeweg, Moderator
                    mailto: moderator@finsave.com
                    Vol. 1, #59,  January  6, 1999


      POST AND UNSUBSCRIBE INFO AT BOTTOM

_____________________________________________________________

Topics in this issue:

        Sponsor Message
        Word from Moderator
        ================

        S i t e  R e v i e w  R e s p o n s e s  (1)
        ===========================
          "Fern Springs" <fernsprings@hotmail.com>
                    Subject:           Starblanky Review
     

        R e q u e s t    f o r  R e v i e w  (4)
        =======================
        Brenda,      <Brendasart@aol.com>
        "Sam Vaknin, Ph.D." <vaknin@terminal.cz>
          Scott & Marion Slaten <slaten@cyberport.com>
         alan vanhook       <VHworld@aol.com>


        N e w   P o s t s   (5)
        =======================
        Sharon     <ImDreamin7@aol.com> Intro to list
       James Stetler    <JStet65612@aol.com> Search engines...    
       From:              Scott & Marion Slaten <slaten@cyberport.com>
             Subject:   Reply to Stephanie Noonan (use of Press Releases)
       From    scottfrangos <scottfrangos@earthlink.net>
             Subject:   Internet Business Tips
       From:              Steve Zanazzi <szanazzi@optonline.net>
              Subject:    BARTER POSTING To your LIST


        G u e s t   A r t i c l e   
        =======================

          Clair Sedore <927121@ican.net>
                         WELCOME TO THE INTERNET
    
================Sponsor Message ========================
We are developing a new marketing cooperative. An improvement
to the direct mail we formerly had. We need your feedback, contact me
with your responses at finsave@finsave.com

ShareMarketing a new, innovative business service program being
formulated. Get all of your professional business services provided
at low cost. Formulated for the new and very recent Network
marketer. Get web access, website, mall listing, lead
generation, marketing materials and more, all for one low
monthly cost. Can earn referral income. Details at
http://finsave.com/wwwdoc/sharemkt.htm

============ Word from Moderator =============
Well, I'm still here and we have a lot of posts to get to you, so
here is another issue.
Under the heading of Guest Article I used an article by one of our
list members who epitomizes the necessary qualities for success in
any endeavor.
I used it because it shows that an "old dog" (no offense Clair, I'm
only a few years behind you) can do anything  if you strongly believe
in what you are doing and what you want to accomplish.
Congrats Clair,

One area that needs improvement. When you want to send a reply and it
does not have a direct bearing on anything in particular of the issue
you are reading, please either erase the newsletter from your reply
or indicate on the reply window that you don't want or need any
portion of the article.
There is no reason to send the article back to me.  If you want to
reply to a specific part, copy that part only and then make your
reply. It also saves on space and download time. Thanks.
Now on the the issue.... lots of terrific information
Dave

===============Request for Review  (4) =============

From:             <Brendasart@aol.com>

Hi,
I sure would appreciate a review of my site. I just went on line with
my page and could use some helpful suggestions. I make my living with
my art and this page is a new avenue for me.
Thanks, Brenda Doss
-----------------------------------------------------

From:             "Sam Vaknin, Ph.D." <vaknin@terminal.cz>
Subject:          Request for Review

Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited - FAQs
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6297/faq1.html

This site deals with mental problems known as "personality disorders".
It is associated with a book for laymen I wrote on the subject. The
site contains 5 Mb of FREE material: The full text of ôMalignant Self
Love û Narcissism Revisitedö (2nd Edition) The full text of more than
65 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers covering all aspects
Pathological Narcissism

I would appreciate any comments and criticism. I attract 1500
impressions daily but very few sales.

Sender:
Dr. Sam Vaknin
Capital Markets Institute Ltd.
E-mail : vaknin@terminal.cz
Internet :
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/6297/thebook.html
("Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited", Third, Print Only,
Edition)
------------------------------------------------------

From:             Scott & Marion Slaten <slaten@cyberport.com>
Send reply to:    sales@mscoins.net
Organization:     MS Coins

Dear Sirs:

I would like to submit my site for review.  I'm fairly new at HTML but
have found that Netscape Composer and a few late nights really
improved things at my new domain http://www.mscoins.net/

"To the point", "easy navigation", "WOW", and very professional are
some raves from people in my field as well as customers.  The only
problem noted is slow loading but I've used alternative text and image
sizing to alleviate that to some extent.

I've had offers from several site designers to rework my site, but I
feel it matches my personality and has just the right amount of "eye
candy" for the consumer.  I feel that many sites today are WAY
overdone and tend to turn away more customers than they keep.  I
believe in the "KISS" method (keep it simple, stupid!) and feel that
the most professional looking sites don't have a ton of animated gifs,
color changes, etc.

The only thing I'm farming out is a cgi auction platform that I've
engaged an internet company to design for me.  It will premier in
February once we work the bugs out and it conforms to my desire for
professionalism and "crispness".

Thank you all for your comments, positive or negative.
Happy New Year and best of luck to all,

Marion Slaten
sales@mscoins.net
http://www.mscoins.net/
------------------------------------------------------

From:       alan vanhook       <VHworld@aol.com>

dear sir,
I have recently put my catalog online and would like some feedback on
me e- commerce site. How fast or slow does it download? is it designed
okay? and what is the best way to promote to get the best exposure I
need? thank you. My site is at http://www.vh-gifts.com alan

=============== Site Review Responses (1) ===========

From:             "Fern Springs" <fernsprings@hotmail.com>
Subject:          Starblanky Review


I sent some comments to the owners of the Starblanky site which I
thought, after reading this issue, might be of value to others. On the
main page there was an apology, addressed to the viewer, for the site
not showing all of their talents in webpage design. They were
concerned that it showed too much of a "bare bones" approach. I
suggested that they skip the apology and, instead, direct the viewer's
attention toward what they DO want to be seen about their skills, or
just go ahead and spruce up the site to exhibit whatever it is they
want to show. After I sent the message, I thought that showing the
bare bones approach is not necessarily a bad thing, because if that
site links to others which show more creativity, it actually helps to
show a wider range of ability. Some people will prefer bare bones.
Good bare bones may be more desirable than not so good frills.


=================New Post  (5) ===================
From:              <ImDreamin7@aol.com>
Subject:          Hello..I'm new to the list..

I don't really have an advertising budget for my site so I use these
next 3 links and they work really well, best of all they are free :)
Links2U-I like this one because you get an email when someone visits
your site, it gives you the opportunity to thank them and hopefully
they will come back again. <A
HREF="http://www.links2u.com/goldlinks.shtml?ImDreamin7@aol.com">
http://www.links2u.com/goldlinks.shtml?ImDreamin7@aol.com</A> Click
Thru has alot of really high quality sites, I surf there to earn
clicks, when I start earning my banner/link goes into rotation and I
notice immediate results with my hit counter.
<A
HREF="http://www.click-thru.net/referral?ref=102185">http://www.click
-
thru.net/referral?ref=102185</A>
And lastly this one, I use this in conjunction with Click Thru, it's a
great way to share some fun with your visitors, win some clicks and
earn some too.  <A
HREF="http://www.be-ahead.com/clickmouth121.html">http://www.be-
ahead.com/clickmouth121.html</A> That's it. Hope this information is
useful :)
Sharon http://members.aol.com/ImDreamin7/money.html

-----------------------------------------------------

From:              <JStet65612@aol.com>
Subject:          Search engines........

Hello all
I am James Stetler
First I have to say , Thanks for the Adland site , it has helped in
getting
me linked to tons of sites ( search engines like that)
And on the browser deal , just use another browser on the side for
your surfing and don't use AOL , That works much better.

If your looking to get help with <meta tags> search engine placement
or
anything to do with getting on the first pages that come up in a
search I can tell you , I have learned more with <A
HREF="http://selfpromotion.com/?CF=James%20Stetler">
<a"http://selfpromotion.com/?CF=James%20Stetler"</A>  This than
anything out there ,and you can try it FREE , I am now on one of the
first 3 pages in a search, with mlm biz-web as keywords. Give it try
with    800go.com
  take a look at my <meta tags> on my site ,  If you would like to see
  how they work  And Yes I do make a % of what is paid IF you pay .

I hope this don't look like a direct ad , wasn't trying to do that .
I hope this helps you , It did me ! If you have any questions you can
E-mail me

Thanks
James
http://members.aol.com/jstet65612/selfpromote.html

------------------------------------------------------

From:             Scott & Marion Slaten <slaten@cyberport.com>
Subject:          Reply to Stephanie Noonan (use of Press Releases)

Dear Stephanie,

I run a business from my home (but you wouldn't know it from my site
at http://www.mscoins.net/ ) and I have used press releases quite
effectively both on internet newsgroups as well as in the local and
state papers.  It takes a bit of time and knowledge to get the fax
numbers, etc. of the local papers, but it's well worth it, not just
for the customers it brings you NOW, but the name recognition it gives
you and customers you'll get LATER.

Also, don't be afraid to write articles for publication.  I publish an
e-zine geared toward coin collectors and investors.  I don't make any
money off of it per se, but it gets traffic, name recognition, and
respect in my field.  This works also for your local paper!!!  Don't
think that you can't submit articles for review and inclusion in your
local paper.  BUT (and this is a HUGE but), have several people read
and reread your submissions.  Look for problems with sytax, rambling,
and misspellings.  There's nothing I hate more than misspellings.  If
you make mistakes there, what other business mistakes will you make?
Image is EVERYTHING.  Keep it tight and to the point.  Provide
information, give a brief plug for your company, and leave it at that.

Thanks for reading,
Marion Slaten
MS Coins
http://www.mscoins.net/

-------------------------------------------------------
Subject:          Tips on launching an internet business
From:             scottfrangos <scottfrangos@earthlink.net>

Hello all --

I appreciate all the helpful advice from list members, so thought I
would reciprocate.  I noticed questions and comments on the last issue
regarding press releases, affiliate marketing and site launch issues.
We run a web development and internet marketing company, so these
topics are familiar to us, since they are foremost on the minds of our
clients.

<> Site Launch_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Key steps are to select and register a good domain name (something
short and memorable), then get a hosting program that makes site
administration easy and cost effective.  Compare hosting programs
based on easy site managment, monthly cost (do NOT pay traffic or
"bandwidth" fees, as a number of good programs do not).  If you'd like
to compare two different hosting companies... take a look at:
http://www.fcomconnect.com/websites. 

We also have a page where you can check to see what domain names are
available at http://www.fcomconnect.com/bizservices.  After that you
need to consider a launch marketing budget.  I would suggest that a
mix of banner ads, press release(s), site submission, and ads in
online newsletters/classified sites (be careful of where to place
classifieds -- we have found AOL works better than 90% of the other
locations). 

<> Internet Marketing & Press Releases_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Yes... press releases do work well when they are professionally
written.  Concentrate on facts, not hype -- you're dealing with
professional editors who have the last say on whether or not your
information will be of interest to their readership.  You also need to
use a mix of other tools.  First, ask yourself some key marketing
questions:  What is your marketing goal (ie. sales vs. awareness
only)? -- Who is your competition? -- What is your "Unique Selling
Proposition" (what makes you different from competitors)? -- What are
your main communication points? -- What is your budget?  You can now
consider some high-search placement techniques, direct e-mail (opt-in,
not spam), banner ads, reciprocal links, your own e-newsletter (we use
"listbot" at http://www.listbot.com), and other interactive "community
building" techniques like bulleting boards, etc.  This work is ongoing
-- spend some time on it each month. For a list of internet marketing
tools, visit:
              http://www.fcomconnect.com/onlinemarket

<> Online Store & Affiliate Programs_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
Three keys to successful online stores are accepting credit cards,
secure ordering and shopping cart technology.  These three make it
EASY to order from you -- studies show that sales go up 20-40% when
you accept credit cards -- see Heartland Card Services at:
http://bcnet.com/PS1/s5346f.htm.  Some shopping cart providers also
offer you secure ordering hosted on their servers.  You will want to
make a cost/benefit decision between using another companies secure
servers and shopping technology ($50 - $300 mo.), versus purchasing
your own shopping software ($200 - $5000), installing it on your
server (programming costs) and purchasing a secure site certificate
for your domain (see "Verisign" at:
http://digitalid.verisign.com/server/about/dataSheet.htm).  We have a
page set up to guide you through the store set-up decisions (three
store options, merchant account and check-taking solutions and
affiliate program introduction) at:
                           http://www.fcomconnect.com/store

Affiliate programs can be a very successful way for you to market your
goods on the internet.  Amazon.com just signed up its 100,000th
affiliate.  Basically, you make an agreement with other webmasters to
pay a commission for customers that they send to your site who make a
purchase.  Your advantage is that you only pay these commissions after
a sale is made (however, some webmasters choose to boost hits by
paying only per click-through).  To track and administrate sales you
need to either purchase software (see "Affiliate Zone" solution at our
store page - $350 - free evaluation available), or contract with an
independent service that takes care of this for you.  We like the
program at Commission Junction (costs 15% of fee paid to an affilate
-- so if your total sale was $100, and your commission to your
affiliate was $8, then your fee to Commission Junction would be $1.20.
Your total then is $9.20, or 9.2% of the total sale).

Good luck and happy new year to you all.

Scott A. Frangos
F C O M   <>  Business Connection Solutions
<> Website Hosting  <> Website Design  <> Website Marketing
<> Business Long Distance Call Savers (7.7 cents/min. & lower) 
-------  http://www.fcomconnect.com  ------------------
Visit us for complete website and online marketing solutions

------------------------------------------------------------

From:             Steve Zanazzi <szanazzi@optonline.net>
Subject:          BARTER POSTING To your LIST


I have been lurking and learning in 1998. Now I am ready for action. I
would like to offer a FREE MEMBERSHIP to ITEX. I know FREE is never
what it seems. But I am trying to recruit INTERNET savvy businesses to
get involved with ITEX we are NATIONAL and PUBLIC Barter Exchange. I
am a local office willing to waive MY COMMISION to get the very best
INTERNET SIGHTS trading with ITEX. Please feel free to check out
http//:www.barterit.com . as a referral just list this news list and I
will get you in for free. Barterit is a subcontractor with ITEX.
Barter is one of the fastest growing industries. And it really OPEN
DOORS wide open. You can not believe the response you will receive.
What's the catch: transaction fees 5 % on buy and 5% on sells and
$15.00 in Cash/Trade. So 10% you get a NEW COSTOMER. I GUARENTEE YOU
WILL GET BUSINESS. Thank You

Steve Zanazzi
szanazzi@optonline.net
http://www.barterit.com
(516)956-0830
(516)226-0901
TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT
Get traffic to your sight check Out
http://www.trellian.com/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=6513


==================Guest Article  ===================
From:             Clair Sedore <927121@ican.net>

                         WELCOME TO THE INTERNET

My name is Clair Sedore. I am a 60 year old male who just had two
heart attacks in October, 1997. Other than finding out from my doctor
how lucky I was to survive (less than 30% survive the first heart
attack), my whole life changed as I was no longer employable, not that
there were long lineups previously. My entire career had been in
retail, I was an accomplished bookkeeper, and thank God knew how to
type. I had never been on a computer and knew absolutely nothing about
them. In February, as I was beginning to mend, a friend of ours gave
us an old Mac, complete with a printer, and I wrote a book on my 50
years of theatregoing experiences, called "Give 'Em The Whole Razzle
Dazzle (50 Years of Theatre and Footlights)." The book turned out to
be some 258 pages (with an extensive bibliography). I had been working
on the book for over three years, and of course a lifetime to collect
the material. I wrote to every publisher, but with no results, other
than some very courteous replies. If it had been a murder mystery, or
a technical how-to book, I probably would have had better results. So
I printed a few copies myself, thanks to my trusty computer. In March,
1998, when I got my income tax refund, I bought a brand X computer and
got on the net, with unlimited time (courtesy of C.A.R.P). There are
some advantages to aging, although very few.
My whole world changed. I was completely self taught and learned how
to do
html, but had great problems with imaging, and 90% of the time, in
spite of all the reading and research, and the downloading of just
about everything from Tucows, I would end up with a tiny square and
three colour dots. But I could create wonderful coloured pages and
interesting text. My next immediate problem was money, as I was living
on Canada Pension, and little else. I started working on websites, and
at the moment have over 50 on the go. The next step was getting
advertising banners and links from various reputable companies on the
net, like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Art Today, Big Star, CDnow,
Magmall, Eads, Link Share, Web Position, Trellian, Pulsetv ,Download
Mall, Gold Rush, Beyond Com, and Feature Presentations. Needless to
say I did not have the money to promote my sites properly, so I used
every free promotion site that I could find, not only the search
engines, but also the free for all types. I lived at sites like Add-It
Free, Submit Plus, Engenius-Add Url, Add Me, Add 4 Free, Submit-It,
Launch-it, and Submit Away. I worked on the computer from early
June,1998 until the present, from approximately 5 in the morning,
until 9 or 10 at night. It took me over 6 months of constant promotion
to get to the point where my products were beginning to sell. I will
never be rich from this exercise, but now do have some extra cash
dribbling in. On the net, one thing tends to lead to another, and my
next series of webpages were called "Make Money 4 Life," which started
with one site and ended up with four, on how to make top commissions
with reputable companies on the net. I had learned a lot from my
experiences and wanted to give back some of my findings to other new
webmasters. More time was now spent promoting these sites. This was
followed with the next logical step, a newsletter or ezine not on
making commissions, but on what I was an expert at, theatre. My first
issue was December, 1998, and with all my promotion, I have a
subscription list of just under 1000, and it continues to grow moment
by moment. Each day I am getting another 2-3 subscribers. I, of
course, have listed my ezine with probably 250 Ezine Lists, which
include all-links, asphyxia, alco, canlinks, catalog.com, canada.com,
deterrnet, disobey.com, dominis.com, ezine-news, etext.org,
ezineadsource, ezinesearch, earthlink, e.publications, foxcities.com,
geocities.com, internetdatabase ,infobot ,inkpot, lockergnome,
launchpad, list.city,  liszt, lifestylespub, meer.net,
newsletteraccess.com, newscentral, newsletter-library, neosoft.com,
onlinepromoter.com, oblivion.net, onelist.com, onekey.com,
reference.com ,sideroad.com ,shermanmedia.com, sleazefest.com,
shaned.com, taronga.com, ubl.com, web-star.com, welcome-list,
whatsnu.com, Worm-Hole.net, worldchat, worldwidenews.com,and
worldsearch center.com, wilsonweb.com, yotta.com, zring.hypermart,
zinerack,zinelist ,zines@propagandist, to name only some. I also
discovered Eudora Light, the great email programme, which helps me
send out my newsletters. Just yesterday I signed up with a great free
service,  WebSite PostOffice.com, to maintain my subscriber list and
send out my ezines. In my 9 months on the web, the length of a
pregnancy, I cannot believe the wonderful things I have learned. I am
now up to a 333 pentium system, with sound, a printer and a scanner,
which I have not figures out how to work. I copy photos, but when I
try to send them, not only does the recipient get just html mombo
jombo, but the computer freezes. At least I have a challenge for 1999,
and a wonderful group of computer friends I have met along the way.
I cannot believe how very helpful and unselfish computer people are.
I
have lived at Tucows,reviewed whatever I could, as I felt this was the
price I could afford, have helped other people in whatever way I
could, as long as it wasn't imaging. I have joined Shareware, owe a
large debt of gratitude to a particular website:
http://www.poorrichard.com/freeinfo/ezine.htm, for help, not only on
the ezines, but websites as well. I subscribe to most of the ezines,
and learn something from each of them. I hope mine is as interesting
to my readers as they are to me. After all the hours I have spent on
promotion, according to Visibility Analyzer, I have reached No. 1 at
Planet Search, Magellan and Infoseek; No. 2 at Planet Search, Excite,
Web Crawler and Infoseek, No. 3 at Planet Search, No. 4 at Planet
Search and Infoseek, No. 5 at Planet Search, No. 6 at Planet Search,
No. 8 at Infoseek and Planet Search, No. 9 at Alta Vista and No. 10 at
Infoseek. It is nice seeing your websites appearing in print. I do not
know yet what my next step with be, other than learning how to scan,
but rest assured, the computer will dictate the next move. One thing
we can all be sure of, our computers have lives of their own, and we
are just along for the ride. But what an exciting ride it is.


BIOGRAPHY
Clair Sedore
Webmaster
Dear Friends, Toronto, Canada
927121@ican.net

Started teaching in 1957 at the age of 18, went on to work in public
relations for Canada Life Assurance (when I started with Canada Life
in 1960, the computer took up a whole room, had to be climate
controlled, and dust free, and the reels or disks were probably  three
feet in diameter--things have certainly changed), Shell Oil and opened
my own freelance bookkeeping operation, specializing in Interior
Design accounts, followed by my own  retail interior design businesses
in Toronto, Aurora and Goderich. Retired, but not by choice, and now
work harder on my computer than I ever would have worked for anyone
else, and for little money, but more enjoyment than any job I have
ever had.
======================================================

Let's hear from you......

This message is from the Adland mailing list.
To post to this list, send your message to adland@softfornet.com

To Subscribe:  send a mail message to listserv@softfornet.com with the
following in the body of the message: subscribe adland your_full_name

To Unsubscribe: If you ever want to remove yourself from this
mailing list, you can send mail to "listserv@softfornet.com" with the
following command in the body of your email message: unsubscribe
adland

To view previous issues go to http://softfornet.com/archives
=========================================================