Wed 3rd May '00
In this issue (Part 2):
1. VOTING BOOTH
==>This week's quick poll and last week's results.
2. TOOLS AT NOWSELL.COM
==>Useful tools to make your life easier from NowSell.com
3. FEATURE ARTICLE
==>"Letting Go"
by Gary Lockwood.
Subscription details can be found at the end.
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X VOTING BOOTH X
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This is the place where we take a quick poll for a snapshot of
the Biz Bits family's position on a given topic.
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This week:
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Have you found Internet business to be harder work than you
originally imagined?
YES! >>>> mailto:yes+nowsell.com
Internet business is harder work than I thought it would be!
NO! >>>> mailto:no+nowsell.com
It's more-or-less as I expected!
ERR? >>>> mailto:err+nowsell.com
I'm not sure... depends...?
*** Add any additional comments in the body of your vote mail ***
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Last week:
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Spam is obviously a problem for us all. Do you ever report
spammers, or just delete the email?
YES! >>>> 5%
I report people that send me spam!
NO! >>>> 95%
I just delete the spam I receive and don't report the sender!
ERR? >>>> 0%
I'm not sure... depends...?
[Azam: It seems most of us simply don't have the time to report
all the spam we receive on a daily basis. With that being the
case, I though it might be helpful to recap on a service I
mentioned way back at the beginning of October last year, when
the number of subscribers was less than a third of what it is
now.
Brightmail http://www.brightmail.com/ promises to radically
reduce the amount of junk email that you receive. The free
service intercepts mail on it's way to you and then filters it
for 'known spam', which it sends to your online account at
Brightmail, whilst the remainder continues on to your regular
email account with your ISP.
You can log into your online account at any time to check for
filtered messages you may wish to keep. Brightmail also say that
in the event of any technical problems with their servers, the
system is configured to automatically route all your mail
directly to your ISP, to be sure you never loose a single email.
Brightmail relies on anti-spam specialists at the Brightmail
Logistics and Operations Center who continually monitor hundreds
of special email accounts looking for spam. When they detect a
spam message, these specialists create a filter to block it. That
new rule then becomes part of the Spam Wall, a filter through
which a Brightmail user's messages are sent.]
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Voter Feedback:
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YES!
Hi Azam,
This is a subject that I feel really strongly about. The idiots
who send this unwanted junk mail do not realise that spam does
not work. In my mind there are three types of spammer. Firstly,
those who send email that has not been requested. Secondly, the
people who put you on their mailing list using the excuse that
you once visited their website or patted their dog or some other
lame excuse. Thirdly are spammers who take your email from a
discussion list and then send you personal mails saying that it
is not spam because you are on the same list. I find these last
two methods even more annoying than the straight forward spammer.
The only way to reduce this problem is for everyone to report
spammers to their ISP's and also to the owners of the
products/services that they are promoting. I also tend to
immediately delete any mail that starts off saying "This is not
spam..........." because it usually is!
Ian Tiele (Candleman)
[Azam: Unfortunately Ian, spam is effective to a degree (risk of
loosing your ISP aside). The (in)famous Sanford Wallace proved
that. A self-proclaimed ex-spammer, Sanford built his business
largely through the sending of thousands of bulk email messages
every day.
Most of us routinely delete spam, but remember when you first
came online? Those first few days or weeks? At that time it may
well have been quite a thrill to actually get some email - any
email. Did you realise many of those messages were actually spam?
Did you care? Probably not.
A few months, or years down the road and the situation is
markedly different. Now you receive so many emails every day that
you sometimes wish you could just turn the damn thing off! Now
spam is a real pain in the butt. Now you hate it. It drains your
resources. Wastes your time. And, if you're not in the US (free
calls and Internet access), it probably costs you money too!
Remarkably, even in this scenario, some experienced internet
users will still occasionally respond to the odd spam message
that peeks their interest, adding fuel to the fire.
Though the 'newbie' spammer is unlikely to have much idea of what
they are getting into, the 'pro' spammer continues with his
nefarious activities for one reason alone: it's profitable.
Who is the 'pro' spammer? An unknown small company or individual
with no 'name' or reputation to worry about tarnishing. One that
knows how to forge email headers and the rest, so that a chance
encounter with his arch enemy - the dedicated anti-spammer - is
the only way he is likely to be caught. One that can change ISP's
at the drop of a hat.
Between these two extremes are what I think of as 'amateur
spammers.' Amateurs often use lame excuses and "This is not spam
..." declarations. These people are very foolish. Most are trying
to establish a legitimate presence on the web. They are often
fairly easy to trace. The majority don't - and haven't the setup
to - spam heavily enough to make it truly profitable. Just enough
to annoy a lot of people, which in turn will cause them a lot of
headaches, give them a bad name and loose them their ISP (which
in their case is usually a major hassle).
Spam and legitimate business don't mix. They can't. A 'real'
business needs a responsive customer base for ongoing sales and
growth. A prerequisite is goodwill, developed through
appropriate, targeted mailings and the application of that old
and often forgotten maxim, "The customer is always right."
Respect and look after your customer, put them in the driving
seat, and make life easy for them. Only then will they look after
you for the long haul. Positive relationship building is the key
to your success.
This applies as much to an ezine as it does to a company
newsletter. The only way to keep me as a 'useful' subscriber is
through quality content. Not chains. And just because I want to
unsubscribe today, doesn't necessarily mean that I won't want to
subscribe again tomorrow. Unless of course you make me work hard
for my freedom. Then you'll never see me again. Nor my money.
Whilst I agree in principle we should report persistent spammers,
the reality is that few of us have the time. Education, filters
and the delete key would therefore seem to be the only realistic
options. For now at least.]
NO!
Because I started out on e-marketing without knowing anything
about the netiquette, I did Spam without even knowing what it
was!
I almost lost my ISP Account, I received insults through my
e-mail box, I even received bombing emails... I had it all!! So
believe me, I learned the hard way what spam was!!!
When someone send me unsollicitated mail, I generally reply
POLITELY and explain that what they are doing is wrong and can
cause them a lot of problems....
This is my own way of teaching someone a lesson without having to
insult anybody. I really didn't liked to be insulted.... so why
doing it to others?
I always imagine that the sender of the spam mail is a newbie and
that he/she diserve a chance!
Warmest Regards,
Johanne Alarie
Looking for a profitable home business?
http://www.freeyellow.com/members8/lfi18570701/index.html
More information on e-commerce: mailto:iwanttoknow@sendfree.com
[Azam: Commendable, Johanne, but not advisable. A reply to many
spammers will simply result in your address being added to a
'confirmed active' list. The best policy if you suspect a newbie
is to simply ignore them. If they are indeed a newbie, they will
soon get fed-up with the lack of results and negative feedback
they receive (or get reported by someone else).]
Hi Azam,
No I do not for most of the time I do not have the time, and I do
not really think that it would do any good anyway. There is
always going to be people that use unethical practices, in
business or life.
I feel that it is a loosing battle anyway and have more important
things to do. I personally do not use it and do not like to get
spam, which I get about between 300 and 500 a day,so I would not
have time to report them all. I would be just doing that and
nothing else. Which would be very boooring indeed.
Penny
Penny Widell, Pennysworth Marketing:
http://pennysowrth.bizhosting.com/index.html
[Azam: Personally Penny, I do feel it would do some good ('one
drop makes an ocean' and all that). Alas however, I also don't
have the time to take appropriate action. I recommend you do take
steps to limit access to your email address though; such a high
ratio of spam is a major waste of your resources.]
I have never received what I consider spam I receive about 30
emails a day.
Marshall Nelson
mailto:mnelson+jpusa.org
[Azam: Lucky you, Marshall. Don't expect it to last! ]
Hi Azam, how do you actually report the blatant 'spam'
and to who.
Tony
mailto:raceline+talk21.com
[Azam: Well, Tony, I don't profess to be an expert, but the first
thing you need to do is look at the full header of the email. If
my memory serves me correctly, unless you're using Eudora, you'll
probably have to make some adjustments to the preferences of your
email program to do this.
You'll see a lot of server addresses, dates and times. A good
place to start is the 'Message-Id' label, following which there
will be some numbers, letters or words with a domain address at
the end (may be in numerical format). Note this address.
Next locate the server address having the earliest date and time
stamp. Unless the header is forged, this should be the server the
message originated from. Note it down. Also look for a line
saying 'Sender' or 'X-Sender' and copy the address you find.
Now you want to go online and do a whois search of the server
addresses you have collected. This will provide you with the
contact details of the server owners. Usually these should be the
same, but if not, don't worry. Write to the addresses, reporting
the spam, enclosing a copy of the email complete with the full
headers. If you are unable to find contact information for any of
the addresses you check, go back to the message header and try
any of the other servers mentioned.
OK, that was the hard way. The easy way is to go to Spam Cop
http://spamcop.net. After learning how the service works and
joining, to report spam you simply send it to them (again, with
complete headers), enclosing a brief explanation of why you
believe it to be spam. Spam Cop take care of contacting the ISPs
concerned, saving you a lot of time.
Make sure that you are *absolutely certain* that any email you
report is indeed spam. Imagine yourself as a juror in a trial:
can you be sure beyond any reasonable doubt that the email is
spam? If there could be any other explanation - however remote -
*don't* make a report. You may ruin an innocent person's
livelihood. (To be on the safe side, if it's an email list that
provides clear and simple removal instructions, and it's a first
offence, don't go to Spam Cop).]
Reporting is to much of a hassle - unless someone can give me
good advice!
If I get a lot of spam from the same person, I simply block all
mailings from my mailer!
Usually the case where I can't find email unsubscription
instructions.
No problem!
Sincerely,
Swannie Roux
Your free ad placement - weekly!
mailto:subounews@smartbotpro.net?subject=Subs
[Azam: Swannie, if you don't want to search for, and complain to
the spammer's ISP, you can use a service like Spam Cop to do
everything for you. Much faster, but still requires some effort.
Exercise caution with ezines and newsletters: if you can't find
the appropriate instructions, write to the list owner before
taking any other action.]
Hi Azam,
This one is easy to answer!
The "delete" key is faster and easier to do than to go through
the business of reporting someone! I'm a web-biz person myself
and I want to get the word out about my business so I use opt-in
lists and free clssifieds, etc.
I get a lot of "junk" mail because people "harvest" my e-mail off
of my web pages or the ads I place. I'm sure I even get some
from postings to newsletters such as this one! :-) I have set up
lots of "free" e-mail accts. just to handle the mail from FFA
pages and group lists posts and others.
Yes Sir! That "delete" key sure comes in handy. Besides, I hope I
don't get reported as a "spammer"! I think I'm doing i the right
way, but when I use a submission site, how do I know where all I
get posted? Hmmm. That's something to think about!
Linda
Linda Laubenthal-owner, KNITS & BITS by LINDA
http://members.xoom.com/KnitsAndBits
http://www.knitsbitsbylinda.bigstep.com
[Azam: Though I tend to agree Linda, along with many others, I
have to pay for the privilege of using my delete key on all that
spam. That annoys me. As does the valuable time that is wasted.
Die-hard spammers deserve to be reported. They consider little
else besides the fastest way of lining their pockets. All to
often they are hit-and-run operations.
Using a submission site, your ad (or FFA link) will only go to
other sites in the network. These have requested to receive the
postings, usually so they can send you a "confirmation of
posting," a euphemism for a page of ads. Sometimes they also add
you to their list for further mailings. Not cricket in my book.]
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----------
Letting Go
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by Gary Lockwood
Look at your appointment calendar. See any "white space"? If
you're like most busy CEOs and business professionals, you are
booked non-stop for meetings, luncheons, dinner meetings, charity
functions, planning sessions and... Well, you get the idea. In
between the bookings, you scramble to keep up with projects,
reviews, financial reports, investors, staff, customers and
suppliers.
Tired yet? This weariness can wreak havoc on your business.
Consider the symptoms of fatigue: lack of innovation,
irritability, reduced productivity, and stress. The list goes on.
And we are frequently unaware of how run down we are getting.
We are moving away from the industrial age into the information
age, yet the work ethic that most of us grew up with taught us to
maximize work time - time at the factory or the office. Even our
language reflects the inherent value judgment of time away from
work. We call non-work time “off-time” or “down-time”.
The emergence of creativity, ideas, and information as our most
valuable resources, and the pervasiveness of the global, 24-hour
business world has changed our concept of “time equals money”.
Now, it’s “results equals money”. And we all know that more time
at the office does not mean more results. In fact, it often means
fewer results and more mistakes.
Build some "white space" in your life. Build reserves of time.
Create more-than-enough time to do the things you want and need
to do.
Let's get something straight first. Building a reserve of
something you need in your life is only one part of the puzzle.
The other piece is to identify what is draining your reserves. If
you're pouring into the top of a leaky bucket, you won't make
much progress.
Let's look at how to create reserves of time. Many of my new
coaching clients complain of having too little time. Their "time
tank" is running on empty, so they feel uptight, frustrated,
flustered, pulled in every direction, and tired. Often, this is
the first thing we work on together. Clearly, a reserve of time
would reduce the stress. So, how do you do it?
Start by plugging the leaks. Let go of some of the activities
that are consuming your time. Many of today's high performers
seem to have a common thread: the "Superman/Superwoman" ideal;
i.e., Taking on everything and trying to get it done by tomorrow.
Success or failure often seems to be measured by the state of
"busyness". Face it; you can't do justice to everything at once
and you often don't have perspective of all you have going on.
It's like tossing another ball to the juggler...33 at once for
the average busy executive. Focus on what counts. Take aggressive
action to let go. Here are some possibilities:
* Let go of tasks that someone else can do - Good delegation is a
key skill for managers, yet the average manager spends 45% of his
or her time on tasks that could be done by a staffer. "I can do
it better and faster", you say. Sure you can, but ultimately, you
are judged on what you can cause to happen, not just what you can
do on your own. As a general rule of thumb, in non-critical
cases, if another person can accomplish a task 80% as well as
you, delegate.
* Let go of your need to say "Yes" to every request - Those
around you will give you all the work you are willing to take.
This is true in both our business and personal lives. Some of the
most stressed people around can't say no to the next fund-raiser,
the next committee, the Little League, the church, etc., etc.,
etc. Politely, but firmly say “No”. Examine all the organizations
where you spend your time. Which ones can you "let go"?
* Let go of some meetings - The typical manager spends 17 hours
each week in meetings plus 6.3 hours getting ready for those
meetings. Nearly a third of that time in meetings is wasted. That
works out to be about six full weeks of the year of useless
meeting time. You've seen the symptoms: hastily called meetings,
no ending time stated, no agenda, no official record of what was
done or said, no followup. If even one hour per week is saved, it
could mean two additional effective workdays per year!
Skip some of the meetings or send someone else.
* Let go of interruptions - Interruptions can drain 1-2 hours a
day. Rather than spend time with anyone who happens to stop by,
close the door, turn off the phone or work from home one day
week.
* Let go of the clutter - Is your desk or credenza piled with
pending and unfinished work that will be done when you "get
around to it?" The average businessperson spends 3 hours each
week looking for things plus 2 hours being distracted by the
stuff lying around. The most effective people work from a clean
desk. Having an uncluttered desk helps you stay focused on your
most important project.
* Let go of useless tasks - quit doing some of the routine things
you do just because "that's what I've always done". Practice good
priority management. Plan each day to stay focused on those tasks
that will move you toward your goals. Watch for tasks that can be
delegated or simply dropped.
* Let go of "Crises management" - Ever feel that you're leaving a
trail of unfinished projects, unreturned phone calls, unread
mail, partially completed reports? Crises arise from a job we
left unfinished to work on another unfinished task. Another term
for crisis management is "fire fighting."
Most of this is really caused by losing focus of true priorities.
Learn to tell the difference between "urgent" and "important".
Bottom line... Many people pay a heavy price for their success -
poor health, failed marriages, neglected friendships, no self-
development in any area except business. Start today to plug the
leaks and create ample reserves of time for yourself.
Let go!
About the Author...
Gary Lockwood is Your Business Coach.
Increasing the Effectiveness and Enhancing the Lives of CEOs,
business owners and professionals.
Get the Free BizSuccess newsletter -
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OK, that's it for part two! Below you'll find the INFO SECTION.
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