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Web Marketing Strategies For Home Business Promotion
Sat 13th Jan '01
Founding Member of iCop http://www.i-Cop.org
International Council of Online Professionals
In this issue:
1. INTRODUCTION
==>Welcome back, Money-making Web builder.
2. PLACES TO VISIT
==>Web sites for you to visit.
3. TOOLS AT NOW SELL!
==>Useful tools to make your life easier.
4. FEATURE ARTICLE
==>"How To Ensure Your Article Is NOT Published"
By Azam Corry.
Scroll to the end for subscription details.
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X INTRODUCTION X
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Hello,
Missed me? Hope so! :-)
I hope you had a wonderful holiday break. My best wishes to you
for 20001! May you be more successful than EVER!
A warm welcome to all our new subscribers! It's good to have you
here with us. To the old timers, especially those with Biz Bits
for a year or more - thank you for your support! And don't
forget, if you have anything to say, don't be shy.
I've been catching up on a lot of work over the holiday period.
I also took the opportunity to relax a little for a change. That
was great, but meant I didn't get as much done as intended . :-)
Still, most of the important stuff's out of the way!
Looking back on 2000, it was quite a year. Not the best of years
for many perhaps, but certainly eventful. I didn't achieve
everything I set out to, but I met some great people, which is
almost as good.
And 2001? Well ... dot-coms are still dropping like flies.
There's a US slowdown, with some analysts talking of a possible
recession. Online ad rates and revenue continue to fall. Even
Yahoo announced lower than predicted earnings.
Expect much media talk and speculation along these lines over the
coming months. Ignore the negative vibes. The media in general
haven't a clue about the Internet. Looking no further than the
big names, they ignore hundreds of thousands of small enterprises
earning millions online. Just dig yourself deeper into your niche
and get on with business. You can and will make good money online
in 2001!
And remember ... the Internet is not just the US. Today, 45% of
users are from other countries. And that number is growing fast.
BB
A web site builder requiring zero knowledge of HTML, that
researches the best low-competition, high-traffic keywords for
you; optimizes pages and keyword densities to guarantee high
search engine rankings; automatically submits and monitors pages;
can even manage listings at pay-per-click search engines ....
Sound unbelievable?
That's what I thought ... but it's here:
Click Here
Better still, it uses the concept of theme sites. This means you
are working *with* the search engines - not trying to trick them.
And not having to change strategies every few weeks.
About 6 months back I mentioned that having a theme-based site
would soon be the key to high search engine rankings. That time
is upon us.
As they employ more sophisticated technology, search engines are
already changing the way they rank sites. Themes are in, and
creating your site around a single theme will become ever more
important.
And if your looking for an easy way to profit from affiliate
programs, this is it:
Click Here
BB
Tell me what YOU think! Send your feedback, comments, what you
like, what you hate, etc., to me at: mailto:azam-nowsell.com
TTFN
Azam
PS - Get 2001 off to a good start by benefiting from corporate
status. Professional Online Business Incorporation is just a
click away. To ensure your business is formed correctly and
quickly, visit now.
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"TRUST YOUR SALES TO A COMPANY WITH OVER 11 YEARS EXPERIENCE"
Real-time secure processing of credit cards and checks from your
website with the Internet's Largest Merchant Account Provider.
Plus fast card processing for mail, phone order, etc.
* Quick Set-up * 99% Acceptance * International *
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X PLACES TO VISIT X
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http://www.Freeworks.com/
Free Internet-based administrative tools and templates for small
businesses. Automates vacation and purchase requests, expense
reports, phone lists, employee lists and more.
http://cosmo.cs.dartmouth.edu/index.cgi
The Informant. Long established free service that monitors your
favorite search engine queries and web sites, sending you email
whenever there are new or updated pages.
http://www.SmallBizHelp.net/
Articles, links and resources for all small and home based
business owners.
http://www.HTMLforums.com/
A great place find those missing bits of information, or get a
problem solved. Main sections are Development, Design, Promotion,
and Commerce.
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"SELLING ONLINE? WANT TO SELL MORE?"
Master and use the incredible power of words. The magic,
irresistible and unstoppable power of words that sell! Unique
Web-focused copywriting course. Sales Copy, Ads, Email and more.
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X TOOLS AT NOW SELL! X
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Promotion Tools: Click Here
* Keyword Research Tool
* Meta Tag Maker
* Free Automatic Search Engine Submit
* Rapid Manual Search Engine Submit Tool
* Position Analyzer to check site rank in the SEs
* Link Generators
* Multi Search Tool
HTML Tools: Click Here
* Multiple Pop-up window code generator
* Multiple MouseOver image generator
* Frames code generator
* Simple CSS template
* 216 Web color palette and codes
* HTML Special character codes
* Useful cut & paste Javascript, and more
Free Business Consulting: Click Here
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"TOP SEARCH ENGINE POSITIONING SECRETS!"
Step-by-step, Michael Campbell shows how to get to the top of
search engines AND hold your position once you're there.
Click to Learn from a master of today's ever-changing algorithms!
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X FEATURE ARTICLE X
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"How To Ensure Your Article Is NOT Published"
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By Azam Corry.
Submitting articles for publication in ezines is an excellent,
low-cost way to promote yourself, your company, service, or
product. There are hundreds of thousands of ezines and
newsletters online, most of which are always in need of content.
Unfortunately, many who seek to capitalize on this opportunity
achieve mediocre results at best. Consequently, they either
decide that they can't write, or that submitting articles isn't
an effective means of promotion. At least not unless you're a big
name.
In reality, anyone can write articles of acceptable quality to be
published online. You don't need to be a literary talent, nor
well-known. It's simply that like most things in life, there is a
right, and a wrong way to do it.
Below are several easy ways you can get an editor to trash your
article - EVEN if they like what you say.
* Don't Check Spelling And Grammar
So obvious, it's painful to write. Yet even with all our hi-tech,
whizz-bang electronic spell checkers, this is still a killer. Be
particularly careful with words that sound alike but have
different meanings (called homophones). Should that be "there" or
"their"? "Your" or "you're"?
Another trouble spot is the apostrophe ('). Briefly, an
apostrophe should be used to indicate possession (John's car),
dropped letters (don't) and characters/words mentioned as
themselves (ID's). And remember, "it's" means "it is."
Most editors don't expect you to be perfect. Few would claim to
be so themselves. However, a piece with many obvious errors is
unlikely to be published.
* Write In Long, Dense Paragraphs
Long, unbroken runs of text are visually unappealing, and act as
a subconscious block to reading (it looks like too much hard
work). People are in a hurry, so information needs to be
presented in a way they can scan for points of interest.
Ezine editors don't include articles to simply fill space. They
want their subscribers to read and enjoy them. To remain
subscribed. Few editors will be willing to reformat your work, so
use short paragraphs if you want it used.
* Ramble And Use Wordy Sentences
Providing great information is not enough. An ezine editor is
looking for articles that will grab his reader's attention, and
hold it. People read to learn, but also seek excitement. Instant
gratification. They lack time to be patient.
When you've finished writing, it's time to start deleting. Cut
unnecessary sentences. Look for superfluous 'filler' words (often
used in conversation), and repetitions. Delete them. Add more
punch and drive by killing adjectives.
* Use Gratuitous Self Promotion
There's no greater turn-off to ezine editors and readers alike,
than an article that proclaims the author or their product
wonderful. And even if published, it won't bring the desired
results. Anyone can make claims.
People want to discover your qualities for themselves. Your
article is the medium. If you want to sell yourself, display your
knowledge, innovative thinking, character. To promote a product,
talk about a common problem or need, educate, perhaps tell a
story. Provide interesting information. Only mention the product
subtly, or not at all, leaving it for your byline.
* Over-indulge On Your Resource Box
It's generally accepted that your resource box, or "about the
author" byline should be no more than 6 lines in length. Some
consider it an unwritten law. Many publishers will object to
anything longer than this, and unless your article is
particularly exceptional, they'll bin it.
* Don't Use The Standard Format
Whether a text or HTML ezine you're submitting to, it's almost
certain there's only one way the editor wants to receive your
article:
Plain text, hard wrapped to 60-65 characters per line, and in the
body of the email message.
This is the only way to guarantee your article appears as
intended. Anything else often creates extra work for the
publisher, either reformatting, deleting code or fixing
incorrectly printing characters.
The easiest way to avoid problems is by using a dedicated text
editor. Otherwise Notepad is ideal. If you need to use a word
processors like MS Word, save your article as plain text before
copying to your email program. Alternatively, paste it into
Notepad first, save it and then copy from there. Set your email
program to send in Plain Text format only, not Rich Text or HTML.
Limit each line of your article to 65 characters or less
(including spaces). Some email software can't display anything
wider, forcing extra text to "break" onto the line below. These
short lines create an unsightly jagged effect, and make reading
difficult. Don't make a publisher choose between reformatting
your article, or selecting another.
If you have a text editor, simply select the Hard Wrap function,
and set it to 60 or 65 characters (a small number of email
programs break lines at 60 characters). Otherwise you will have
to manually insert a line break as you type, by pressing the
Enter key. Copy the line below, and paste it at the top of your
page as a guide.
01234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234
<--- 65 characters wide --->
Don't send your article as an attachment. Paste it into the body
of the message. This enables an editor to look at it immediately.
Attachments require opening, something that may be put off and
forgotten about. In addition, fear of virus infection means many
people automatically delete attachments.
* Send Multiple Copies
It's tiresome to have to delete 2 or 3 copies of your article
each time you make a submission. And it tells the recipient you
don't value their time. A source of annoyance, your article will
lose points in comparison to other articles of equal merit: The
subconscious mind is a powerful thing.
If you have a problem with your email software, fix it, or use
something else. More often however, you are sending to several
different addresses owned by the same person. Occasionally this
can't be helped, so make it easy for the publisher to inform you.
When the addresses are at the same domain however, there is
little excuse. Check your submission list for duplicate domains.
Those from free email accounts are usually obvious, but if you're
unsure, check. It takes less than a minute to paste a domain name
into a browser and load the site. How much money would you make
if your article was published? Worth a minute?
* Say How Wonderful Your Article Is
All too often I receive article submissions that start something
like this:
"Hi! Here's a great new article for your ezine your subscribers
will love!"
Few ezine editors will appreciate YOU telling them your work is
great. Or that THEIR subscribers will love it, when obvious you
don't even know the editor's name, nor the title their ezine.
This tactic might work on a new publisher, but will cause most
others to ignore you.
© 1999-2000 Azam Corry "Do it Better, Do it Faster, Do it Right!"
Azam Corry owns Now Sell! A mine of helpful information, tools
and resources for budding Netrepreneurs. Rated 3-star by Go.com.
Recommended by About.com. Visit: http://www.NowSell.com/?NOTpub
==> If you are doing business online, you'll enjoy his Biz Bits
ezine. Subscribe today at: mailto:BizBits@NowSell.com
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"EXPERT PROMOTION ADVICE EVERY DAY!"
Guaranteed to turn your business around in just 10 minutes a day!
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