It is important to remember that eBay is a lot like a marketplace. There will always be a dodgy guy in the corner, selling things that most people wouldn’t touch. The trouble is that, on the Internet, these people can be a little harder to spot. Here are ten tips to help you keep an eye out for the rip-off merchants.
1. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is: This holds for everything in life, but especially for eBay. Things that seem too cheap are usually too cheap for a reason – it might be a complete scam, or the items might just be of extremely poor quality. Investigate before you go further.
2. Know the value of what you want to buy: There are people on eBay who regularly bid such high prices for used cameras that they might as well have gone out and bought them brand new. Check around for prices first.
3. Only bid on real things: eBay has plenty of people who are trying to sell all sorts of schemes and scams. It is never worth bidding for these, no matter how cheap they might be.
4. Don’t do anything outside eBay: Occasionally people will ask you to send them money outside eBay, to avoid the fees eBay charges sellers. Any money you send this way is entirely insecure – don’t do it.
5. Be careful where you send payment: People may hack into others’ accounts, and ask you to send payment to addresses that eBay has not confirmed as belonging to that account – you might send your money and receive nothing in return.
6. Look out for sellers who suddenly change what they sell: Sellers can look like they’ve made lots of transactions, when really they’ve never sold anything of worth. If they suddenly start selling $1,000 televisions, steer clear – the chances are they’re planning to run off with the money.
7. Beware the shill bidder: If someone who doesn’t seem to have bought anything before is constantly outbidding you on a certain item, be suspicious. It might be a seller ‘shill bidding’ to force up his item’s price.
8. Don’t use the seller’s escrow service: If an escrow service is recommended to you by a seller, it could well be owned and run by them – and they’re quite likely to keep your money and send you nothing.
9. Pay electronically: You are more likely to be able to recover any losses if you pay using a credit card instead of sending out cheques and money orders – these low-tech payment methods can’t be tracked as easily.
10. Buy from reputable sellers: Each seller has a number next to their name, which is their feedback rating. The higher this rating, the more you can trust them.
On that last point, feedback ratings are the most important way that buyers and sellers can protect themselves on eBay – and you, as a buyer, have a rating too! Now that you won’t get ripped off, the next email will be all about your rating, and what you can do to make sure people know that you’re not going to rip them off either.
10 Tips For Web Success
The webmaster's biggest job is to get their traffic up and keep customers/visitors coming back. Building the site is one thing, but simply building and posting a website does not guarantee traffic. In fact, a website could be beautiful and an example of all the latest technology and still not attract a single visitor if not promoted correctly. Here are 10 tips to guide you to success with your website.
(1) The internet is a new medium.
At least compared to print, it is. A website is a waste if it simply re-hashes something which could easily be put into print. Don't have the site be just an online brochure. Put up features which take advantage of the internet as a medium of communication. Filter information for them. Provide search capability. Provide interactivity with features like forums, quizzes and tools. Web visitors like to interact.
(2) Treat the Customer's Time as Valuable.
When a person visits your website, you have their attention for that point in time. You either need to use it or you will lose it - fast. Most visitors have short attention spans, what you need to design your site homepage so that it grabs their attention and provides what they are looking for right away. Its like walking into a restaurant. If you walk in and just stand there and nobody comes to greet you, you might wonder what is happening. But, if the hostess comes and greets you right away and walks you to a table, then you will be there for awhile and eat. The same analogy goes for websites. Don't overcomplicate your website homepage. Best results will be obtained if you make it very clear where to click to find what they need.
(3) Design the site for customers, not the company.
Your site needs to satisfy the needs of customers, not the company. So, don't post content which is not really useful to the site's customer. And avoid over-flattering marketing hype about the company. It inflates the ego of the company more than it helps your customer.
(4) Involve the Visitor.
Keep the visitor involved and make them feel like a valuable contributor. Actively ask for the feedback and suggestions. Ask for communication from your visitors and answer that communication swiftly. When getting that communication, capture their email address. This will allow you to communicate with them long after they have moved on and forgotten about you.
(5) Keep it Current.
You need to have content on your website which is timely and relevant to the customer's life. Posting month-old news is not interesting. Posting dry product information which never changes is not interesting. Yes, you need to have product information and other information on your site that won't change much, but you can also post more timely content. You can, for example, post content about how your products can be used in certain situations in life. Provide tips and techniques - things which are immediately applicable and solve a problem.
(6) Pay Attention to Form/Design.
Some sites simply over-do it on the eye-candy. Big graphics just for the sake of graphics often impress the site's designer more than the visitor. Do not use graphics that are large and purposeless. Remember, some visitors may still be accessing your website via dial-up. Your site needs to load up quickly for all users. A slow website will cause your users to leave quickly. Also, pay attention to graphic and design size. Many web designers operate on fairly large screen resolutions and sometimes forget that even though a graphic looks great to you, it will appear enormous to somebody on a smaller resolution. On the flip side, don't go too light on graphics. A site which is poorly designed and using the default font and no color is not very aesthetically pleasing. Any web visitor, whether they admit it or not, judges your company by your website unless they have something else to go on. A well-designed site communicates professionalism. A poor design makes the site seem like an afterthought.
(7) Promote.
When a visitor communicates to you via email, it is best to use a web form. not only will this keep your email address from being picked up by spammers, it will also allow you to ask your customers for their email address and then store that address for later use. Employ the "push/pull" marketing strategy. A visitor coming to your website is the pull, but later you want to push content back to them in the form of a newsletter or other promotional material. Start a mailing list and use it. Invite visitors to sign up. Promotion makes or breaks a business, and as long as you respect the ethical considerations of your mailing list, you should use it.
(8) Don't Operate in a Cocoon.
The internet is a medium which is shared by millions. When you set up your website, don't operate as if you are a self-contained island. Get out there and keep in tune with what is happening on other websites related to your own. Participate in forums. Post links to other websites and ask for a link in return. Form partnerships with other sites if it is appropriate. When it comes to communication, people like personal contacts. Hiding behind general email address like "sales" and "info" is OK as long as there is a way to also email you directly. A company site which allows email direct to the management is good. Just remember how much you hate calling a company and getting stuck in their phone system. Sometimes you just want to talk to somebody. Give your visitors that ability.
(9) Have a Plan to Attract Repeat Traffic.
Use newsletters, out-going email, contests, forums, clubs, auctions - anything that will cause people to return to your website. When posting links to other websites, don't just send your visitors somewhere else. They may never return. Provide them an exit page. Give them a pop-up when they try to leave your site. Or at the very least make external links open in a new window.
(10) Track Your Visitors
Pay attention to your site's statistics and react accordingly. What are people reading? How are they finding you? Do they just come and leave right from your homepage? How long as they are on your website? Do they return? This data is immensely valuable in fine-tuning your website based on customer needs and wants. Remember, the biggest mistake of any webmaster is designing the site for what THEY want. A successful website is designed for the target audience, not to impress the site's owner.
(1) The internet is a new medium.
At least compared to print, it is. A website is a waste if it simply re-hashes something which could easily be put into print. Don't have the site be just an online brochure. Put up features which take advantage of the internet as a medium of communication. Filter information for them. Provide search capability. Provide interactivity with features like forums, quizzes and tools. Web visitors like to interact.
(2) Treat the Customer's Time as Valuable.
When a person visits your website, you have their attention for that point in time. You either need to use it or you will lose it - fast. Most visitors have short attention spans, what you need to design your site homepage so that it grabs their attention and provides what they are looking for right away. Its like walking into a restaurant. If you walk in and just stand there and nobody comes to greet you, you might wonder what is happening. But, if the hostess comes and greets you right away and walks you to a table, then you will be there for awhile and eat. The same analogy goes for websites. Don't overcomplicate your website homepage. Best results will be obtained if you make it very clear where to click to find what they need.
(3) Design the site for customers, not the company.
Your site needs to satisfy the needs of customers, not the company. So, don't post content which is not really useful to the site's customer. And avoid over-flattering marketing hype about the company. It inflates the ego of the company more than it helps your customer.
(4) Involve the Visitor.
Keep the visitor involved and make them feel like a valuable contributor. Actively ask for the feedback and suggestions. Ask for communication from your visitors and answer that communication swiftly. When getting that communication, capture their email address. This will allow you to communicate with them long after they have moved on and forgotten about you.
(5) Keep it Current.
You need to have content on your website which is timely and relevant to the customer's life. Posting month-old news is not interesting. Posting dry product information which never changes is not interesting. Yes, you need to have product information and other information on your site that won't change much, but you can also post more timely content. You can, for example, post content about how your products can be used in certain situations in life. Provide tips and techniques - things which are immediately applicable and solve a problem.
(6) Pay Attention to Form/Design.
Some sites simply over-do it on the eye-candy. Big graphics just for the sake of graphics often impress the site's designer more than the visitor. Do not use graphics that are large and purposeless. Remember, some visitors may still be accessing your website via dial-up. Your site needs to load up quickly for all users. A slow website will cause your users to leave quickly. Also, pay attention to graphic and design size. Many web designers operate on fairly large screen resolutions and sometimes forget that even though a graphic looks great to you, it will appear enormous to somebody on a smaller resolution. On the flip side, don't go too light on graphics. A site which is poorly designed and using the default font and no color is not very aesthetically pleasing. Any web visitor, whether they admit it or not, judges your company by your website unless they have something else to go on. A well-designed site communicates professionalism. A poor design makes the site seem like an afterthought.
(7) Promote.
When a visitor communicates to you via email, it is best to use a web form. not only will this keep your email address from being picked up by spammers, it will also allow you to ask your customers for their email address and then store that address for later use. Employ the "push/pull" marketing strategy. A visitor coming to your website is the pull, but later you want to push content back to them in the form of a newsletter or other promotional material. Start a mailing list and use it. Invite visitors to sign up. Promotion makes or breaks a business, and as long as you respect the ethical considerations of your mailing list, you should use it.
(8) Don't Operate in a Cocoon.
The internet is a medium which is shared by millions. When you set up your website, don't operate as if you are a self-contained island. Get out there and keep in tune with what is happening on other websites related to your own. Participate in forums. Post links to other websites and ask for a link in return. Form partnerships with other sites if it is appropriate. When it comes to communication, people like personal contacts. Hiding behind general email address like "sales" and "info" is OK as long as there is a way to also email you directly. A company site which allows email direct to the management is good. Just remember how much you hate calling a company and getting stuck in their phone system. Sometimes you just want to talk to somebody. Give your visitors that ability.
(9) Have a Plan to Attract Repeat Traffic.
Use newsletters, out-going email, contests, forums, clubs, auctions - anything that will cause people to return to your website. When posting links to other websites, don't just send your visitors somewhere else. They may never return. Provide them an exit page. Give them a pop-up when they try to leave your site. Or at the very least make external links open in a new window.
(10) Track Your Visitors
Pay attention to your site's statistics and react accordingly. What are people reading? How are they finding you? Do they just come and leave right from your homepage? How long as they are on your website? Do they return? This data is immensely valuable in fine-tuning your website based on customer needs and wants. Remember, the biggest mistake of any webmaster is designing the site for what THEY want. A successful website is designed for the target audience, not to impress the site's owner.
Things to Ponder Before Moving Your Office Network
Moving the office network? How hard could it be? Anybody who's ever moved the office network knows the risks and challenges associated with this colossal task. This mighty endeavour is not merely a case of logging-off, shutting down and pulling the plug.
The move requires careful, systematic planning, forethought and a little luck. The following considerations provide valuable guide ropes for hauling serious office technology.
Think of the move as the evolutionary-growth to a better network
An office move can provide the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate your IT systems, introduce new technology and upgrade your equipment.
Consider the future of your company and the flexibility your network will need as your company expands. Assess your needs and work out exactly what you will need to add to provide for your future growth.
Hire a network specialist to fine tune your systems
Obtaining expert advice helps cut corners, taking the guesswork out of what equipment you'll need, design and implementation of the network and the difficulties associated with troubleshooting.
“We take great pride in our work. As a reliable, efficient and highly specialised IT company in London, you'll be afforded the peace of mind that with us, your computers and network are in the hands of professionals” says Andrew Cruise, Managing Director of Hypercubic.
You also get an idea of what the costs will be, including the benefits of on-going maintenance and support. Planning the installation process with a professional takes the load off your shoulders and many thorns out of your side.
Save on downtime
Install the new system over the weekend, this way there will be minimal disruption to the business. Think about how many emails, phone calls and enquiries you will be missing if you move during the week. If the installation takes longer, inform clients or users in advance so they know what to expect.
One businessman reported, “Before we moved offices, we sent an email to all of our clients informing them about the move and provided all our clients with contact details. Our manager received valuable business related calls via his mobile phone thanks to this pre-planning”.
Moving valuable, sensitive equipment requires care
Moving several floor-standing servers or a couple of 42u racks may take more than a fat guy with a slipped disk. Depending on the size of the server lifting the equipment may require hoists, trolleys and ropes.
A removal truck is obviously an essential part of the office move, though extra care needs to be taken concerning packaging.
Prepare for impact
Your delicate robotics need to travel comfortably between cushioned barriers, preventing devices from jarring together. Wrapping the equipment in anti-static bubble wrap shields the equipment against magnetic fields, preventing the loss of valuable data.
Equipment should ideally be placed in computer crates. Each crate should be dedicated to one complete system that is labelled for easy identification.
Think seriously about Insurance
When it involves your bread and butter being stored in digital format, ensure you have a back-up plan in case something happens during the move. Most insurance companies offer various policies for insuring computers against theft and damage.
Find out if your new building has the facilities for your network
Be sure to conduct a site survey and evaluate what your network needs are. This helps to curb overspending on equipment and identifies the best possible locations for installing access points. It also ensures that cable runs meet the local building codes.
Things just work better when cabling is installed before the move
Before the move goes ahead, the new network's cabling and network infrastructure should be in place, conveniently ready for each labelled workstation crate to be placed next to the correct plugs, power leads and phone lines.
Power On: Booting-up the network
Expect a few glitches; problems are inevitable with a new network. Hiring a professional at this point is an invaluable asset. Installation support ensures that the company can deal with any unforeseen teething problems during the initial start-up period.
Lastly, don't even think about doing it yourself
Most companies, before seeking advice from professionals, go down the DIY networking route. Unless you have a qualified team, installing a network can turn ugly and about as frustrating as unravelling 3000 feet of fishing line with one hand.
The move requires careful, systematic planning, forethought and a little luck. The following considerations provide valuable guide ropes for hauling serious office technology.
Think of the move as the evolutionary-growth to a better network
An office move can provide the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate your IT systems, introduce new technology and upgrade your equipment.
Consider the future of your company and the flexibility your network will need as your company expands. Assess your needs and work out exactly what you will need to add to provide for your future growth.
Hire a network specialist to fine tune your systems
Obtaining expert advice helps cut corners, taking the guesswork out of what equipment you'll need, design and implementation of the network and the difficulties associated with troubleshooting.
“We take great pride in our work. As a reliable, efficient and highly specialised IT company in London, you'll be afforded the peace of mind that with us, your computers and network are in the hands of professionals” says Andrew Cruise, Managing Director of Hypercubic.
You also get an idea of what the costs will be, including the benefits of on-going maintenance and support. Planning the installation process with a professional takes the load off your shoulders and many thorns out of your side.
Save on downtime
Install the new system over the weekend, this way there will be minimal disruption to the business. Think about how many emails, phone calls and enquiries you will be missing if you move during the week. If the installation takes longer, inform clients or users in advance so they know what to expect.
One businessman reported, “Before we moved offices, we sent an email to all of our clients informing them about the move and provided all our clients with contact details. Our manager received valuable business related calls via his mobile phone thanks to this pre-planning”.
Moving valuable, sensitive equipment requires care
Moving several floor-standing servers or a couple of 42u racks may take more than a fat guy with a slipped disk. Depending on the size of the server lifting the equipment may require hoists, trolleys and ropes.
A removal truck is obviously an essential part of the office move, though extra care needs to be taken concerning packaging.
Prepare for impact
Your delicate robotics need to travel comfortably between cushioned barriers, preventing devices from jarring together. Wrapping the equipment in anti-static bubble wrap shields the equipment against magnetic fields, preventing the loss of valuable data.
Equipment should ideally be placed in computer crates. Each crate should be dedicated to one complete system that is labelled for easy identification.
Think seriously about Insurance
When it involves your bread and butter being stored in digital format, ensure you have a back-up plan in case something happens during the move. Most insurance companies offer various policies for insuring computers against theft and damage.
Find out if your new building has the facilities for your network
Be sure to conduct a site survey and evaluate what your network needs are. This helps to curb overspending on equipment and identifies the best possible locations for installing access points. It also ensures that cable runs meet the local building codes.
Things just work better when cabling is installed before the move
Before the move goes ahead, the new network's cabling and network infrastructure should be in place, conveniently ready for each labelled workstation crate to be placed next to the correct plugs, power leads and phone lines.
Power On: Booting-up the network
Expect a few glitches; problems are inevitable with a new network. Hiring a professional at this point is an invaluable asset. Installation support ensures that the company can deal with any unforeseen teething problems during the initial start-up period.
Lastly, don't even think about doing it yourself
Most companies, before seeking advice from professionals, go down the DIY networking route. Unless you have a qualified team, installing a network can turn ugly and about as frustrating as unravelling 3000 feet of fishing line with one hand.
Reasons Why People Don't Visit Your Web Site
1. You don't offer free original content. It's important to give your visitors information they can't find anywhere else. If you're the only source for a certain type of information, people will flock to your web site.
2. You don't offer free software. Most people like to find good deals on software for their computers. If the software is free, that is even better.
3. You don't offer a free contest or sweepstakes. It's a fact, people like to win things. If you can fulfill that need, people will stop by to visit.
4. You don't offer a free directory. Create a directory of web sites on a particular topic that is related to your target audience. People will visit because they will find what they're looking for, all in one place.
5. You don't offer a free e-zine. Most people love to get free information that they're interested in emailed to them on a regular basis. This saves them time and money.
6. You don't offer a free community. People like to have a place were they can have discussions with others on a particular subject. You could add a chat room or message board to your web site.
7. You don't offer a free affiliate program. One of people's basic needs to survive is money. When you offer them a free opportunity to make money they'll line up to visit your web site.
8. You don't offer a free online utility. When you offer a utility that can solve a problem, people will visit your web site. The utility could be a free autoresponder, e-mail account, search engine submission, etc.
9. You don't offer free current information. Supply news stories related to your web site. People want up-to-date news on the topics they are interested in. They will also be interested in visiting your web site.
2. You don't offer free software. Most people like to find good deals on software for their computers. If the software is free, that is even better.
3. You don't offer a free contest or sweepstakes. It's a fact, people like to win things. If you can fulfill that need, people will stop by to visit.
4. You don't offer a free directory. Create a directory of web sites on a particular topic that is related to your target audience. People will visit because they will find what they're looking for, all in one place.
5. You don't offer a free e-zine. Most people love to get free information that they're interested in emailed to them on a regular basis. This saves them time and money.
6. You don't offer a free community. People like to have a place were they can have discussions with others on a particular subject. You could add a chat room or message board to your web site.
7. You don't offer a free affiliate program. One of people's basic needs to survive is money. When you offer them a free opportunity to make money they'll line up to visit your web site.
8. You don't offer a free online utility. When you offer a utility that can solve a problem, people will visit your web site. The utility could be a free autoresponder, e-mail account, search engine submission, etc.
9. You don't offer free current information. Supply news stories related to your web site. People want up-to-date news on the topics they are interested in. They will also be interested in visiting your web site.
10. You don't offer free samples of your product or service. Have you ever been to a store and you jumped at the chance to get a free sample of food? This same concept will also attract people to visit your web site.
Helpful Tips For Running A Profitable Web Site
1. Address your targeted audience on your business site. Example: "Welcome Internet Marketers". If you have more than one, address them all.
2. Make sure your content and graphics are relevant to your web site's theme. You wouldn't want to use a bird graphic on a business web site.
3. Alert visitors by email when you add new content to your web site. This will remind people to revisit your web site.
4. Offer a way for visitors to contact you on each web page. List your email address, fax number and phone number.
5. Give people the option of viewing your web site offline. Offer it by autoresponder or printer friendly version.
6. Make sure a least 50f your content is original. The other option is to offer something else original other than content, like software or an online utility.
7. Offer your visitors incentives for revisiting your web site. You could give them new content, ebooks, software, ezine, etc.
8. Publish a FAQs for your business, product and web site. They could have questions about multiple parts of your business.
9. Make sure all links on the navigational bar are clickable. If people can't get to where they want to go, they will leave.
10. Organize you web site in logical and profitable sequence. You don't want to give a freebie before they learn about the product(s) you're selling.
2. Make sure your content and graphics are relevant to your web site's theme. You wouldn't want to use a bird graphic on a business web site.
3. Alert visitors by email when you add new content to your web site. This will remind people to revisit your web site.
4. Offer a way for visitors to contact you on each web page. List your email address, fax number and phone number.
5. Give people the option of viewing your web site offline. Offer it by autoresponder or printer friendly version.
6. Make sure a least 50f your content is original. The other option is to offer something else original other than content, like software or an online utility.
7. Offer your visitors incentives for revisiting your web site. You could give them new content, ebooks, software, ezine, etc.
8. Publish a FAQs for your business, product and web site. They could have questions about multiple parts of your business.
9. Make sure all links on the navigational bar are clickable. If people can't get to where they want to go, they will leave.
10. Organize you web site in logical and profitable sequence. You don't want to give a freebie before they learn about the product(s) you're selling.
Great Ways To Source Low Cost Products For Ebay
So you’re having trouble finding stock cheaply enough to sell it for a good profit? Well, you’ve come to the right place.
Garage sales. The chances are you’ve gone most of your life seeing ads for these and ignoring them. Start going to as many as you can. You won’t find good things at every one, but when you find one person with good stuff, make them an offer for the lot – they’ll be so happy about it that you can get a real bargain.
Markets. If your area has a market, then go there and look around for anything good. You could buy it there if it’s cheap enough, or try to make friends with the market traders and find out who their suppliers are.
Pawn shops. Pawn shops don’t usually know what to do with the junk they accumulate (unless it’s jewellery, of course). Generally, they put their stock out on the shelves haphazardly, hoping that someday someone with a little money will just happen to come in, search around and buy wildly obscure things. Get them to offer you a discount for bulk.
Real auctions. Go to a real auction, as the chances are that you can resell things for more than they will sell them. After all, they only have a few hundred people in that room – you have a few million to sell to!
Local newspapers. Place an ad in the local paper that reads “I pay cash for [your item type]”, with your phone number. If you can afford it, make it a big display ad, so it’ll be noticed.
Ad boards. Get one of those little ads in the grocery store.
Friends. Ask your friends if they have anything they’d like to sell you, and ask them to spread the word to their friends.
Become known. Give out business cards, mention to people what you do. The chances are that you’ll come across someone who’ll say “Oh, really? I’ve got a load of [item] I don’t want”.
Shops. This might be a little surprising, but some real shops even sell things more cheaply than they sell on eBay. Take a look around your local deep discounter, and pay special attention to any shop that takes trade-ins from customers. The chances are they take a loss on trade-ins as a promotion, and are dying to get rid of that stock.
And finally: eBay! When you’re looking at the completed items view, you’ll notice the massive range of prices that items can sell for on eBay. Try taking the highest-priced item and searching for it on its own, then sort by lowest price first: I can almost guarantee that you’ll see an auction for the same item where it sold for almost nothing. The trick is to find these flawed auctions before they close, win them using a bid sniping service, and then turn around and resell the item.
After all that trouble, though, when do sell the item you might find that a buyer leaves you a feedback rating you just don’t think is fair. The next email will show you what to do about it.
Garage sales. The chances are you’ve gone most of your life seeing ads for these and ignoring them. Start going to as many as you can. You won’t find good things at every one, but when you find one person with good stuff, make them an offer for the lot – they’ll be so happy about it that you can get a real bargain.
Markets. If your area has a market, then go there and look around for anything good. You could buy it there if it’s cheap enough, or try to make friends with the market traders and find out who their suppliers are.
Pawn shops. Pawn shops don’t usually know what to do with the junk they accumulate (unless it’s jewellery, of course). Generally, they put their stock out on the shelves haphazardly, hoping that someday someone with a little money will just happen to come in, search around and buy wildly obscure things. Get them to offer you a discount for bulk.
Real auctions. Go to a real auction, as the chances are that you can resell things for more than they will sell them. After all, they only have a few hundred people in that room – you have a few million to sell to!
Local newspapers. Place an ad in the local paper that reads “I pay cash for [your item type]”, with your phone number. If you can afford it, make it a big display ad, so it’ll be noticed.
Ad boards. Get one of those little ads in the grocery store.
Friends. Ask your friends if they have anything they’d like to sell you, and ask them to spread the word to their friends.
Become known. Give out business cards, mention to people what you do. The chances are that you’ll come across someone who’ll say “Oh, really? I’ve got a load of [item] I don’t want”.
Shops. This might be a little surprising, but some real shops even sell things more cheaply than they sell on eBay. Take a look around your local deep discounter, and pay special attention to any shop that takes trade-ins from customers. The chances are they take a loss on trade-ins as a promotion, and are dying to get rid of that stock.
And finally: eBay! When you’re looking at the completed items view, you’ll notice the massive range of prices that items can sell for on eBay. Try taking the highest-priced item and searching for it on its own, then sort by lowest price first: I can almost guarantee that you’ll see an auction for the same item where it sold for almost nothing. The trick is to find these flawed auctions before they close, win them using a bid sniping service, and then turn around and resell the item.
After all that trouble, though, when do sell the item you might find that a buyer leaves you a feedback rating you just don’t think is fair. The next email will show you what to do about it.
9 Steps to Protect your MS Windows System from Viruses
Nowadays as the Internet and other networks are greatly developed computer viruses are distributed rapidly and intensively. Everyday several new viruses capable to damage considerably your computer system arise. Anti-virus specialists work hardly to make updates their software against new viruses as soon as possible. The viruses can get inside computer in different ways. That is why there is no simple method to protect system. Only series of measures can give you reliable protection from the infection. Below are 9 steps to protect MS Windows based PC system from viruses.
1. Make regular backups.
It should be said that there is no absolutely safe way of protection. Virus creators regularly find holes in new computer products to use them for infection of computer systems. Some dangerous viruses can considerably damage data files or even erase entire file system. Make regular backups of your data files to separate file storage device. It can be separate hard drive, flash card, compact disc or another file storage device which you choose. To ease the procedure you can use some automatic backup software. And be ready if the system will die because of virus infection.
2. Be ready to reinstall your system if it dies because of viruses.
Get distributives of your operation system and distributives of software which you use and keep them together, for instance, on a set of CDs not far away from you. In this case if virus infection will cause unrecoverable system failure you can rapidly reinstall your working medium.
3. Protect your network connection with Firewall.
Firewall is a software which blocks suspicious potentially dangerous connections to preventing viruses from network to penetrate into your system. Windows XP system has quit simple but reliable built-in firewall. You can enable it as follows. 1) in Control Panel, double-click Networking and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections. 2) Right-click the connection on which you would like to enable firewall, and then click Properties. 3) On the Advanced tab, check the option to Protect my computer and network.
If you need more flexible control of connections with network you can get and install more advanced firewall software like Norton Personal Firewall or Outpost Firewall. If you use this software you have ability to permit or to block particular connections and to monitor network activity.
4. Use antivirus software.
Install antivirus software which will scan your system searching and erasing viruses on a regular basis. Leaders in antivirus software products for Windows systems are Norton Antivirus, McAfee, Kaspersky Anti-Virus and PC-cilin.
5. Regularly update operating system.
Windows XP has built-in automatic update service. It regularly contacts Microsoft server to find updates and notifies you if updates are ready to be installed. Updates are important because hackers regularly find holes in operating system which are often used by virus creators.
6. Don't install and don't run suspicious software.
Check new programs which you are going to install with anti-virus software. Don't download software from suspicious websites. To download software always seek website of software creator or official distributor. Do not open applications received by email from unknown persons.
7. Limit access to your computer.
Protect enter to system with password.
8. If you use Internet Explorer, consider moving to another browser.
As IE is the most distributed browser today virus creators actively use defects in its security system to infect computers. Infection may arise if you will visit webpage which contains invisible harmful code. You are more safe if you use less known browser only because virus creators do not pay much attention to it. Major IE competitors Firefox and Opera browsers provide now the same comfortable interface and range of services for working on the Web.
9. Use spam protection.
Viruses are often distributed via email. Switch on spam filters in your email box to block spam receiving. If you need assistance with using of the filters you can ask your email service provider.
1. Make regular backups.
It should be said that there is no absolutely safe way of protection. Virus creators regularly find holes in new computer products to use them for infection of computer systems. Some dangerous viruses can considerably damage data files or even erase entire file system. Make regular backups of your data files to separate file storage device. It can be separate hard drive, flash card, compact disc or another file storage device which you choose. To ease the procedure you can use some automatic backup software. And be ready if the system will die because of virus infection.
2. Be ready to reinstall your system if it dies because of viruses.
Get distributives of your operation system and distributives of software which you use and keep them together, for instance, on a set of CDs not far away from you. In this case if virus infection will cause unrecoverable system failure you can rapidly reinstall your working medium.
3. Protect your network connection with Firewall.
Firewall is a software which blocks suspicious potentially dangerous connections to preventing viruses from network to penetrate into your system. Windows XP system has quit simple but reliable built-in firewall. You can enable it as follows. 1) in Control Panel, double-click Networking and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections. 2) Right-click the connection on which you would like to enable firewall, and then click Properties. 3) On the Advanced tab, check the option to Protect my computer and network.
If you need more flexible control of connections with network you can get and install more advanced firewall software like Norton Personal Firewall or Outpost Firewall. If you use this software you have ability to permit or to block particular connections and to monitor network activity.
4. Use antivirus software.
Install antivirus software which will scan your system searching and erasing viruses on a regular basis. Leaders in antivirus software products for Windows systems are Norton Antivirus, McAfee, Kaspersky Anti-Virus and PC-cilin.
5. Regularly update operating system.
Windows XP has built-in automatic update service. It regularly contacts Microsoft server to find updates and notifies you if updates are ready to be installed. Updates are important because hackers regularly find holes in operating system which are often used by virus creators.
6. Don't install and don't run suspicious software.
Check new programs which you are going to install with anti-virus software. Don't download software from suspicious websites. To download software always seek website of software creator or official distributor. Do not open applications received by email from unknown persons.
7. Limit access to your computer.
Protect enter to system with password.
8. If you use Internet Explorer, consider moving to another browser.
As IE is the most distributed browser today virus creators actively use defects in its security system to infect computers. Infection may arise if you will visit webpage which contains invisible harmful code. You are more safe if you use less known browser only because virus creators do not pay much attention to it. Major IE competitors Firefox and Opera browsers provide now the same comfortable interface and range of services for working on the Web.
9. Use spam protection.
Viruses are often distributed via email. Switch on spam filters in your email box to block spam receiving. If you need assistance with using of the filters you can ask your email service provider.
Ways Email Can End Your Business Relationships Before They Start
Too often, people forget they're anonymous in the internet world. Your friends and colleagues might know you as being a tireless worker, a great friend and loving parent, but I don't know that. To me, you're just a font. You're a font in an email, or in a forum post. If you give me access to your website, then you're whatever impression the website creates. But largely, you're anonymous. So if you want to establish trust in your internet business dealings, make it your goal to paint a professional image via email.
I'm a copywriter, so I'm constantly combing the web for possible clients and cohorts. Recently I've encountered some internet personalities who have left me scratching my head in puzzlement. Might we have had a fruitful business relationship? I'll never know, because within days of crossing paths, they managed to display one of the "Scary Seven" - that is, the seven quickest ways to scare people away by email. Let's review them now.
Scare Tactic 1. Send an email from a cryptic address. There's nothing that says 'unprofessional' like an email inquiry from "Binky24" or "Shanaynay_7". Email addresses like this strike me as being one of two things: 1. someone young and foolish, or 2. a spammer. I understand if you don't have a website up and running yet; after all, as a writer, many people contact me to help them get their businesses started. But at the very least, reveal your first and last name. Provide contact information, and a brief background. If no one knows who you are, it's not likely they'll do business with you.
Scare Tactic 2. Send an email that contains virtually no information. Yesterday I responded to a post on Craigslist that requested an editor. In my email, I gave my name, contact info, a little background information and directed the potential client to my website. I asked a few questions about their needs. In response, I got one line, and a very uninformative one at that. Do you see why I don't plan to contact this person again?
Scare Tactic 3. Send too many emails! Want to make people think you have absolutely zero going on? Then send someone a barrage of email after having just met. I recently got an onslaught of emails from a potential client - NINE in total, over the course of a day. YIKES! This is a busy world. People don't have time to pore through your information. Organize your thoughts, and send in ONE email- maybe two, max.
Scare Tactic 4. Send emails of a personal nature. Never, EVER send email jokes or personal anecdotes to someone you plan on doing business with over the internet. I don't care how promising the initial phone conversation was or how "friendly" they seem. This behavior screams unprofessional, and can even be a bit disturbing. Many marketers swap information, and this is fine. But it should be done in moderation. There's a fine line between helpful information exchange and email harassment. Don't cross it.
Scare Tactic 5. Send out a group email, and forget to blind copy. I recently signed on to work for a company that contracts out writers. I liked the spirit in which business was being conducted and the site owner's honest approach. But there is such a thing as too much honesty. The first project came through via email - and I could see the name of EVERY writer who was competing with me for work! Not only does this have trouble written all over it, but no one wants their email address shared. A Privacy Policy is the hallmark of a real business. Implement one, and assure people their information is safe with your company.
Scare Tactic 6. Send an email that you haven't proofread. We're all in a hurry, it's true. But haste makes waste! If you request information on "barbecue girls," you might just get some unexpected feedback! Double-checking your message can ensure that the recipient can respond properly. Ultimately, you'll get an answer to the question you asked - and not one you didn't.
Scare Tactic 7. Send an email that's either too enthusiastic, or too austere. People are people - and I've encountered personalities from both ends of the spectrum. Those who are "SO EXCITED to make your acquaintance that they CAN'T STOP SHOUTING!!!!!!" and those who apparently are so wrapped up in themselves that they can't spare a courteous hello. My advice: take the middle ground. Keep it friendly yet professional, and don't go to extremes in your correspondence.
Don't want to frighten people away with your email? Then avoid the "Scary Seven!" Above all, discuss the who, what, when, where, how and why of your message, and be sure to include any information that will help your future colleague get to know you better - a website link, some articles you've written, your resume, etc. Don't be overly pushy on email, and avoid over- or under-communicating. In time, you'll get the feel for the type of emails people respond to. And once that happens, you're on your way to cultivating fruitful internet business relationships!
I'm a copywriter, so I'm constantly combing the web for possible clients and cohorts. Recently I've encountered some internet personalities who have left me scratching my head in puzzlement. Might we have had a fruitful business relationship? I'll never know, because within days of crossing paths, they managed to display one of the "Scary Seven" - that is, the seven quickest ways to scare people away by email. Let's review them now.
Scare Tactic 1. Send an email from a cryptic address. There's nothing that says 'unprofessional' like an email inquiry from "Binky24" or "Shanaynay_7". Email addresses like this strike me as being one of two things: 1. someone young and foolish, or 2. a spammer. I understand if you don't have a website up and running yet; after all, as a writer, many people contact me to help them get their businesses started. But at the very least, reveal your first and last name. Provide contact information, and a brief background. If no one knows who you are, it's not likely they'll do business with you.
Scare Tactic 2. Send an email that contains virtually no information. Yesterday I responded to a post on Craigslist that requested an editor. In my email, I gave my name, contact info, a little background information and directed the potential client to my website. I asked a few questions about their needs. In response, I got one line, and a very uninformative one at that. Do you see why I don't plan to contact this person again?
Scare Tactic 3. Send too many emails! Want to make people think you have absolutely zero going on? Then send someone a barrage of email after having just met. I recently got an onslaught of emails from a potential client - NINE in total, over the course of a day. YIKES! This is a busy world. People don't have time to pore through your information. Organize your thoughts, and send in ONE email- maybe two, max.
Scare Tactic 4. Send emails of a personal nature. Never, EVER send email jokes or personal anecdotes to someone you plan on doing business with over the internet. I don't care how promising the initial phone conversation was or how "friendly" they seem. This behavior screams unprofessional, and can even be a bit disturbing. Many marketers swap information, and this is fine. But it should be done in moderation. There's a fine line between helpful information exchange and email harassment. Don't cross it.
Scare Tactic 5. Send out a group email, and forget to blind copy. I recently signed on to work for a company that contracts out writers. I liked the spirit in which business was being conducted and the site owner's honest approach. But there is such a thing as too much honesty. The first project came through via email - and I could see the name of EVERY writer who was competing with me for work! Not only does this have trouble written all over it, but no one wants their email address shared. A Privacy Policy is the hallmark of a real business. Implement one, and assure people their information is safe with your company.
Scare Tactic 6. Send an email that you haven't proofread. We're all in a hurry, it's true. But haste makes waste! If you request information on "barbecue girls," you might just get some unexpected feedback! Double-checking your message can ensure that the recipient can respond properly. Ultimately, you'll get an answer to the question you asked - and not one you didn't.
Scare Tactic 7. Send an email that's either too enthusiastic, or too austere. People are people - and I've encountered personalities from both ends of the spectrum. Those who are "SO EXCITED to make your acquaintance that they CAN'T STOP SHOUTING!!!!!!" and those who apparently are so wrapped up in themselves that they can't spare a courteous hello. My advice: take the middle ground. Keep it friendly yet professional, and don't go to extremes in your correspondence.
Don't want to frighten people away with your email? Then avoid the "Scary Seven!" Above all, discuss the who, what, when, where, how and why of your message, and be sure to include any information that will help your future colleague get to know you better - a website link, some articles you've written, your resume, etc. Don't be overly pushy on email, and avoid over- or under-communicating. In time, you'll get the feel for the type of emails people respond to. And once that happens, you're on your way to cultivating fruitful internet business relationships!
Warning Signs of an Unprofitable Web Site
7 general mistakes which you should avoid to make your web business successful and not Unprofitable.
1. Selling To Everyone Means You Sell to No One
If you do not target your offer, it will confuse your customers. People are not patient. In a recent survey, 73% of people claimed to be "insanely busy". If you do not develop a target customer profile and appeal directly to them, you will lose customers. And they will never come back to your site again.
2. Web Flea Market: Buy a Web Site or Get a Grocery Coupon
People are selling Web Sites, classified advertising, pre-paid legal services, long distance phone cards, and reminder services via affiliate programs...All on the same Web Page!
Think about that the next time you go to your grocery store. Do they offer to sell you a Web Site with your pickles? Flea markets diminish the value of what you are selling. Most people who own these sites tell me they depend on selling a high volume of low price items. How do I know this is a doomed approach? Visit their sites and see if there is any life there
3. Huge graphics that make your site take 30 seconds to open, which is all the time you have to sell your customer on staying.
The worst thing about computers is that they enable us to do things we just should not be doing. Graphic design is a skill; most people get some Paint program and have absolutely no sense of size, or what the graphic makes them look like. If you want to SCREAM AT YOUR AUDIENCE AND BE OBNOXIOUS, then use big graphics.
4. This site has xxxx number of visitors (How many bought?)
Does it really matter to anyone how many people visit your store? The sure sign that a store is visited often is the success and profits of the owner. All the rest is empty bragging.
5. Explaining what technology you use, frames, etc.
To this day it amazes me how people explain the technical design of their Web Page. If you use any reference to technology, you are distracting your customer. Keep it simple.
6. Download the following plug-ins to get this site working.
No one will spend ten minutes downloading the plug-in to see your cutesy message. Avoid plug-ins, with the possible exception of Real Audio.
7. No place to send an email, or gain a free report.
After spending all this time to create a site, most people forget to ask for inquiries. They just think people will work hard to contact them. Assume that a person will visit your site once, and never return unless you remind them to via email.
1. Selling To Everyone Means You Sell to No One
If you do not target your offer, it will confuse your customers. People are not patient. In a recent survey, 73% of people claimed to be "insanely busy". If you do not develop a target customer profile and appeal directly to them, you will lose customers. And they will never come back to your site again.
2. Web Flea Market: Buy a Web Site or Get a Grocery Coupon
People are selling Web Sites, classified advertising, pre-paid legal services, long distance phone cards, and reminder services via affiliate programs...All on the same Web Page!
Think about that the next time you go to your grocery store. Do they offer to sell you a Web Site with your pickles? Flea markets diminish the value of what you are selling. Most people who own these sites tell me they depend on selling a high volume of low price items. How do I know this is a doomed approach? Visit their sites and see if there is any life there
3. Huge graphics that make your site take 30 seconds to open, which is all the time you have to sell your customer on staying.
The worst thing about computers is that they enable us to do things we just should not be doing. Graphic design is a skill; most people get some Paint program and have absolutely no sense of size, or what the graphic makes them look like. If you want to SCREAM AT YOUR AUDIENCE AND BE OBNOXIOUS, then use big graphics.
4. This site has xxxx number of visitors (How many bought?)
Does it really matter to anyone how many people visit your store? The sure sign that a store is visited often is the success and profits of the owner. All the rest is empty bragging.
5. Explaining what technology you use, frames, etc.
To this day it amazes me how people explain the technical design of their Web Page. If you use any reference to technology, you are distracting your customer. Keep it simple.
6. Download the following plug-ins to get this site working.
No one will spend ten minutes downloading the plug-in to see your cutesy message. Avoid plug-ins, with the possible exception of Real Audio.
7. No place to send an email, or gain a free report.
After spending all this time to create a site, most people forget to ask for inquiries. They just think people will work hard to contact them. Assume that a person will visit your site once, and never return unless you remind them to via email.
Steps To Effectively Take Control Of Your Inbox And Reduce Spam
Everbody hates spam! I am sure spammers hate getting spam too, but they still continue to dish it out. Why? Because it is still effective. Believe it or not, many of us still click on the links or follow-up with the spam message. As long as we continue to do this, spam will exist. If everybody understood this and paid no attention to spam, the spammers will eventually give up because it costs them realy money to send out emails. It is hard to quantify what the cost of sending out one, two or fifty emails is, but 1 million or 5 million emails certainly has a cost that is not negligible. When the payback starts to get so small that the spammers cannot make a decent living, they will find something else to do. This day will come and I cannot wait for it to arrive.
In the meantime, what can we do about it. Well, I am not going to tell you that there is a perfect solution that will stop all spam, but what I will tell you is that there is a way to reduce the problem and manage it effectively using the 7 steps outlined below.
Step #1: Get Your Own Domain Name
Fighting spam effectively starts with getting your own domain name. For example if your name is Andy Williams, you would purchase a domain name called andywilliams.com, which is of course already owned by the famous singer. This has some unique advantages over using an ISP given domain name or a webmail service such as Hotmail or Gmail. It also has some minor disadvantages. Let's examine these.
One major advantage is that you control the entire email address. You could create emails addresses like andy@andywilliams.com, info@andywilliams.com, sales@andywilliams.com and so on. This is in stark contract to an ISP assigned name like andywilliams@comcast.net. If you wanted another one, you'd have to open up another account or pay extra for each additional ISP assigned address. If you ever decided to switch ISP's, you would lose that email address and have to start over using a new one, and inform everyone you communicated with about it - a very messy proposition.
Many get around this problem by getting a Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or Gmail account which you can access from anywhere as long as you have internet access. These types of email accounts definitely have a place in your email toolchest, but do not suffice as your primary personal email address. One reason is that you do not have access to your email messages and address books when you are not online, like during a long flight. Anotehr drawback is that they do not allow you to export the online address books making portability very tedious.
I prefer owning my own domain name which I call my permanent email address. I will always have this email address as long as I renew this domain name every year. The cost of registering a domain name varies from $4 to $8 per year for most common ones. This is a small price to pay for the advantages it brings you.
The one minor disadvantage of owning your own domain name is that you need to manage it yourself, or have someone do it for you. This in my opinion is far outweighed by the advantages mentioned above.
Step #2: Create Private Email Adresses
A private email address is one that nobody but your inner circle knows about. Every person that you give your personal email address to is someone that you trust and want to receive email from.
Setup one private email address for every person who is going to need to receive messages. This could be you and 5 other members of your family or 12 employees that work for you. This part is quite straightforward, you simply login to your email control panel and create new accounts for each email address that is going to be used to receive email.
Step #3: Create Public Email Addresses As Aliases
A public email address is generally known to the public. It can be specific like andyw@andywilliams.com or generic like receptionist@andywilliams.com.
A public email address is created as an email alias. An email alias is not a real email address, but an address that gets redirected to a real email address. For example, you setup receptionist@andywilliams.com as an alias that redirects to mary@andywilliams.com. Whenever some sends an email to receptionist@andywilliams.com, it will end up in Mary's inbox. If you change receptionists, you simple modify the redirect for a very elegant solution. You can then publish this public email address on a website, in a brochure, on print advertising, business cards etc. without giving away your personal email address and without having to make much changes if Mary leaves and a new receptionist is hired. This is a huge benefit and maintains your privacy as well as those of others you have created email adresses for.
How does this help with spam, you ask? By using email aliases in a smart fashion, you could very easily shut down any spam that starts coming in. Let's examine how this can be done.
Step #4: Setup the Default or Catch-all Email Address
Your email control panel will have something called a "default address" or it is also sometimes called a "catch-all address". This is a valid email address that all unresolved emails go to. If you set this up to be your personal email address for example, then you will receive all emails that are addressed to "anything"@andywilliams.com, this includes sales@andywilliams.com, joe@andywilliams.com, andrew@andywilliams.com etc. Herein lies the secret to combat spam.
Step #5: Create Specific Named Public Email Addresses As And When Required
When you are forced to register on a website where you want to get some information from, you are usually asked for a valid email address. Well guess what, you now have an unlimited supply of valid email adresses. I usually use a specific format when registering at websites - it is "websitename"@andywilliams.com. So if I am registering at a website called www.get-rich-quick.com, I would use the address get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com as my valid email address. When the site sends me an email, it gets redirected to my personal email or whatever the default or catch-all address is.
Step #6: Send Spam Back To Where It Came From, If Possible
Here comes the real bonus, if you subsequently start receiving spam addressed to none other than get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com, you simple create an email alias for get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com and redirect the email back to exactly where it came from, for example georg-bush@get-rick-quick.com. You will then never get another email from anyone using that email address ever again. This is cool and is my favourite part. Bear in mind that spammers usually send email from an address that is not their own, so if you see an address like noreply@get-rick-quick.com, then you would redirect it somewhere else, for example a Hotmail address that you setup just for redirection purposes. Please exercise some discretion here because spammers often use the email addresses of real people and we don't want these innocent people getting redirected email.
Step #7: Be Diligent In The Ongoing Management Of Your Domain
If you do this diligently for each website where you register by identifying the website name, you will very quickly know which websites are selling email addresses and which ones honor their promise not to share your information. ALl this while, nobody by your personal inner circle knows your private email address.
A real-life example in my case: I use a specific email alias for my Paypal account which nobody but Paypal knows. I have never ever received spam on this address, but I have received hundreds of spam messages on other email aliases that I have created. All of these emails supposedly come from Paypal and address me as "Dear Valued Paypal Member" or something similar, warning me that my account is going to be closed or suspended unless I click on their link and update my credit card information.
I hope that I have given you some food for thought on how to manage the ever growing spam problem by protecting yourself by taking some initiative and getting your own domain name. The added benefit is that you now have a permanent email address no matter where you choose to live or which ISP you use to connect to the internet.
In the meantime, what can we do about it. Well, I am not going to tell you that there is a perfect solution that will stop all spam, but what I will tell you is that there is a way to reduce the problem and manage it effectively using the 7 steps outlined below.
Step #1: Get Your Own Domain Name
Fighting spam effectively starts with getting your own domain name. For example if your name is Andy Williams, you would purchase a domain name called andywilliams.com, which is of course already owned by the famous singer. This has some unique advantages over using an ISP given domain name or a webmail service such as Hotmail or Gmail. It also has some minor disadvantages. Let's examine these.
One major advantage is that you control the entire email address. You could create emails addresses like andy@andywilliams.com, info@andywilliams.com, sales@andywilliams.com and so on. This is in stark contract to an ISP assigned name like andywilliams@comcast.net. If you wanted another one, you'd have to open up another account or pay extra for each additional ISP assigned address. If you ever decided to switch ISP's, you would lose that email address and have to start over using a new one, and inform everyone you communicated with about it - a very messy proposition.
Many get around this problem by getting a Hotmail, Yahoo Mail or Gmail account which you can access from anywhere as long as you have internet access. These types of email accounts definitely have a place in your email toolchest, but do not suffice as your primary personal email address. One reason is that you do not have access to your email messages and address books when you are not online, like during a long flight. Anotehr drawback is that they do not allow you to export the online address books making portability very tedious.
I prefer owning my own domain name which I call my permanent email address. I will always have this email address as long as I renew this domain name every year. The cost of registering a domain name varies from $4 to $8 per year for most common ones. This is a small price to pay for the advantages it brings you.
The one minor disadvantage of owning your own domain name is that you need to manage it yourself, or have someone do it for you. This in my opinion is far outweighed by the advantages mentioned above.
Step #2: Create Private Email Adresses
A private email address is one that nobody but your inner circle knows about. Every person that you give your personal email address to is someone that you trust and want to receive email from.
Setup one private email address for every person who is going to need to receive messages. This could be you and 5 other members of your family or 12 employees that work for you. This part is quite straightforward, you simply login to your email control panel and create new accounts for each email address that is going to be used to receive email.
Step #3: Create Public Email Addresses As Aliases
A public email address is generally known to the public. It can be specific like andyw@andywilliams.com or generic like receptionist@andywilliams.com.
A public email address is created as an email alias. An email alias is not a real email address, but an address that gets redirected to a real email address. For example, you setup receptionist@andywilliams.com as an alias that redirects to mary@andywilliams.com. Whenever some sends an email to receptionist@andywilliams.com, it will end up in Mary's inbox. If you change receptionists, you simple modify the redirect for a very elegant solution. You can then publish this public email address on a website, in a brochure, on print advertising, business cards etc. without giving away your personal email address and without having to make much changes if Mary leaves and a new receptionist is hired. This is a huge benefit and maintains your privacy as well as those of others you have created email adresses for.
How does this help with spam, you ask? By using email aliases in a smart fashion, you could very easily shut down any spam that starts coming in. Let's examine how this can be done.
Step #4: Setup the Default or Catch-all Email Address
Your email control panel will have something called a "default address" or it is also sometimes called a "catch-all address". This is a valid email address that all unresolved emails go to. If you set this up to be your personal email address for example, then you will receive all emails that are addressed to "anything"@andywilliams.com, this includes sales@andywilliams.com, joe@andywilliams.com, andrew@andywilliams.com etc. Herein lies the secret to combat spam.
Step #5: Create Specific Named Public Email Addresses As And When Required
When you are forced to register on a website where you want to get some information from, you are usually asked for a valid email address. Well guess what, you now have an unlimited supply of valid email adresses. I usually use a specific format when registering at websites - it is "websitename"@andywilliams.com. So if I am registering at a website called www.get-rich-quick.com, I would use the address get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com as my valid email address. When the site sends me an email, it gets redirected to my personal email or whatever the default or catch-all address is.
Step #6: Send Spam Back To Where It Came From, If Possible
Here comes the real bonus, if you subsequently start receiving spam addressed to none other than get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com, you simple create an email alias for get-rich-quick@andywilliams.com and redirect the email back to exactly where it came from, for example georg-bush@get-rick-quick.com. You will then never get another email from anyone using that email address ever again. This is cool and is my favourite part. Bear in mind that spammers usually send email from an address that is not their own, so if you see an address like noreply@get-rick-quick.com, then you would redirect it somewhere else, for example a Hotmail address that you setup just for redirection purposes. Please exercise some discretion here because spammers often use the email addresses of real people and we don't want these innocent people getting redirected email.
Step #7: Be Diligent In The Ongoing Management Of Your Domain
If you do this diligently for each website where you register by identifying the website name, you will very quickly know which websites are selling email addresses and which ones honor their promise not to share your information. ALl this while, nobody by your personal inner circle knows your private email address.
A real-life example in my case: I use a specific email alias for my Paypal account which nobody but Paypal knows. I have never ever received spam on this address, but I have received hundreds of spam messages on other email aliases that I have created. All of these emails supposedly come from Paypal and address me as "Dear Valued Paypal Member" or something similar, warning me that my account is going to be closed or suspended unless I click on their link and update my credit card information.
I hope that I have given you some food for thought on how to manage the ever growing spam problem by protecting yourself by taking some initiative and getting your own domain name. The added benefit is that you now have a permanent email address no matter where you choose to live or which ISP you use to connect to the internet.
Simple Reasons Why You Need a Network Security Camera for Your Home
1. Easy to install: Most of the network cameras on the market are plug and play and/or have very simple to follow instructions for both the hardware and software end.
2. Comparatively cheaper than other security systems: Instead of paying a highly trained technician to install a complex CCTV system, and pay him on an ongoing maintenance arrangement- you can have a network camera security system that can stand on it's own against CCTV and traditional security systems.
3. Works with your existing computer network: If you already have a home network, then the network camera works with your settings, so you don't need to pay more for the proper security infrastructure.
4. Provides peace of mind: watch your home, watch your childs room, watch your vacation home, watch your pets while you are on vacation, etc
5. See remote areas: as far away as across the globe, or your own front porch from a centralized area. Can even remotely view your children at the nursery (depending on the nurseries policies though this is becoming more standard)
6. Flexibility: Prefer not to be tethered to the security control panel or hire a full time security professional to monitor things, then get security alerts which you can view from cell phone, laptop, or PDA device, and provide multiple users access to the various security assets.
7. Receive alerts via email when detects motion, either when someone visits your home, or when your children leave home to hang out.
1. May have poor image quality depending on model and configuration, and wireless cameras in general have poorer image quality on the lower to mid range.
2. For more bells and whistles, like sound recording, scheduled emails, and motion capture, it varies greatly from model and software description.
3. Generally, outdoor surveillance equipment is more costly, especially if you want the ability to remotely pan/tilt, zoom in, zoom out, and want a waterproof camera. However for a home system this is probably not as urgent as opposed to for a business situation.
4. Drains computer network resources, so if you don't have a speedy computer, then there's a chance of a slight slow down in your collective resources.
Remember that despite the cons, the benefits outweigh them as they provide great security results at a lower installation and maintenance cost than traditional Closed Circuit Television systems.
2. Comparatively cheaper than other security systems: Instead of paying a highly trained technician to install a complex CCTV system, and pay him on an ongoing maintenance arrangement- you can have a network camera security system that can stand on it's own against CCTV and traditional security systems.
3. Works with your existing computer network: If you already have a home network, then the network camera works with your settings, so you don't need to pay more for the proper security infrastructure.
4. Provides peace of mind: watch your home, watch your childs room, watch your vacation home, watch your pets while you are on vacation, etc
5. See remote areas: as far away as across the globe, or your own front porch from a centralized area. Can even remotely view your children at the nursery (depending on the nurseries policies though this is becoming more standard)
6. Flexibility: Prefer not to be tethered to the security control panel or hire a full time security professional to monitor things, then get security alerts which you can view from cell phone, laptop, or PDA device, and provide multiple users access to the various security assets.
7. Receive alerts via email when detects motion, either when someone visits your home, or when your children leave home to hang out.
1. May have poor image quality depending on model and configuration, and wireless cameras in general have poorer image quality on the lower to mid range.
2. For more bells and whistles, like sound recording, scheduled emails, and motion capture, it varies greatly from model and software description.
3. Generally, outdoor surveillance equipment is more costly, especially if you want the ability to remotely pan/tilt, zoom in, zoom out, and want a waterproof camera. However for a home system this is probably not as urgent as opposed to for a business situation.
4. Drains computer network resources, so if you don't have a speedy computer, then there's a chance of a slight slow down in your collective resources.
Remember that despite the cons, the benefits outweigh them as they provide great security results at a lower installation and maintenance cost than traditional Closed Circuit Television systems.
Reasons NOT to Take Your Laptop on Holiday!
Heading off on vacation soon?
Then perhaps you're tempted to take your trusty laptop along
for the trip.
After all, you bought it for its mobility, and it's nice to
stay in touch via email with your family and friends back
home.
However, just before you start packing, its pays to consider
the downside of traveling with a laptop, particularly if
you're planning to go abroad:
1. Weight
A laptop (plus accessories) starts to feel heavy very
quickly. And who really needs MORE luggage to carry around?
2. Security risk
To you, it's a laptop computer. To a thief, it's a bag of
easy money. (About $1000). And that bag is something you
have to guard every second of your vacation.
3. Power supply problems
You'll need a different power adaptor plug for each country
you visit. And depending on your laptop power supply cable,
you may also need a step-up / step-down voltage transformer.
4. Connection complications
You'll need to find a way of connecting to the Internet. If
your laptop is suitably equipped and you can find a local
hotspot, you can take advantage of wireless Internet access.
Otherwise you're stuck with dial-up modem access, which
means a choice between:
- using your existing ISP's local call number in the
country you're visiting (provided your ISP has a local
number! AOL and Compuserve generally do.)
- making a long-distance telephone call to your regular
dial-up number back home
- signing up with a local ISP (rarely practical in the
short-term)
5. Telephone socket trouble
Different countries have different types of telephone
socket. If you're planning on connecting via dial-up access,
you'll have to bring a suitable telephone adaptor plug.
You'll also need a digital signal tester to test for higher-
voltage digital telephones lines. Otherwise you could end
up frying your modem and possibly the motherboard too.
6. Extra insurance cover
It's highly unlikely your travel insurance policy extends to
laptop computers. You'll therefore need to arrange separate
specialist insurance cover, which isn't cheap.
7. You're on holiday!
Do you really want your office with you on vacation? Aren't
you supposed to be getting away from it all?
If you're beginning to think that traveling with a laptop
computer is a major logistical exercise, then you're right.
(Just ask any "road warrior"!)
However, there IS an alternative:
An Internet Cafe.
Almost every city and large town now has several Internet
cafes. To locate one when you're abroad, just ask your
hotel receptionist or a friendly taxi driver.
You'll also find Internet cafes in airports, railway
stations, major hotels, business centers, public libraries,
and even onboard cruise ships.
Before you leave on your travels, simply ensure you can
access your email via a web browser. (This is known as
"webmail". Most ISPs offer this option automatically - just
ask them if you're unsure.)
Alternatively, set up a free webmail address (at
hotmail.com or yahoo.com) for the duration of your trip and
give it to anyone who might need to contact you.
With webmail set up, all you have to worry about is
remembering your email login and password. Everything else -
hardware, connectivity, security - is somebody else's
problem.
To summarize:
Unless you have a very good reason for taking your laptop on
holiday, you'd be wise to leave the darn thing at home and
use an Internet cafe instead.
And who knows - maybe your laptop could use a vacation from
you!
Then perhaps you're tempted to take your trusty laptop along
for the trip.
After all, you bought it for its mobility, and it's nice to
stay in touch via email with your family and friends back
home.
However, just before you start packing, its pays to consider
the downside of traveling with a laptop, particularly if
you're planning to go abroad:
1. Weight
A laptop (plus accessories) starts to feel heavy very
quickly. And who really needs MORE luggage to carry around?
2. Security risk
To you, it's a laptop computer. To a thief, it's a bag of
easy money. (About $1000). And that bag is something you
have to guard every second of your vacation.
3. Power supply problems
You'll need a different power adaptor plug for each country
you visit. And depending on your laptop power supply cable,
you may also need a step-up / step-down voltage transformer.
4. Connection complications
You'll need to find a way of connecting to the Internet. If
your laptop is suitably equipped and you can find a local
hotspot, you can take advantage of wireless Internet access.
Otherwise you're stuck with dial-up modem access, which
means a choice between:
- using your existing ISP's local call number in the
country you're visiting (provided your ISP has a local
number! AOL and Compuserve generally do.)
- making a long-distance telephone call to your regular
dial-up number back home
- signing up with a local ISP (rarely practical in the
short-term)
5. Telephone socket trouble
Different countries have different types of telephone
socket. If you're planning on connecting via dial-up access,
you'll have to bring a suitable telephone adaptor plug.
You'll also need a digital signal tester to test for higher-
voltage digital telephones lines. Otherwise you could end
up frying your modem and possibly the motherboard too.
6. Extra insurance cover
It's highly unlikely your travel insurance policy extends to
laptop computers. You'll therefore need to arrange separate
specialist insurance cover, which isn't cheap.
7. You're on holiday!
Do you really want your office with you on vacation? Aren't
you supposed to be getting away from it all?
If you're beginning to think that traveling with a laptop
computer is a major logistical exercise, then you're right.
(Just ask any "road warrior"!)
However, there IS an alternative:
An Internet Cafe.
Almost every city and large town now has several Internet
cafes. To locate one when you're abroad, just ask your
hotel receptionist or a friendly taxi driver.
You'll also find Internet cafes in airports, railway
stations, major hotels, business centers, public libraries,
and even onboard cruise ships.
Before you leave on your travels, simply ensure you can
access your email via a web browser. (This is known as
"webmail". Most ISPs offer this option automatically - just
ask them if you're unsure.)
Alternatively, set up a free webmail address (at
hotmail.com or yahoo.com) for the duration of your trip and
give it to anyone who might need to contact you.
With webmail set up, all you have to worry about is
remembering your email login and password. Everything else -
hardware, connectivity, security - is somebody else's
problem.
To summarize:
Unless you have a very good reason for taking your laptop on
holiday, you'd be wise to leave the darn thing at home and
use an Internet cafe instead.
And who knows - maybe your laptop could use a vacation from
you!
Great Tips on Driving Targeted Traffic to your Website
We all need traffic. It's the life-blood of an online business. But what are the best ways to drive targeted traffic directly to your website? Here are 7 great tips to help you decide.
1. Offline advertising = Online profits
Whatever you're trying to sell online will most likely link to a relevant or appropriate media section offline. For example, if you're selling bicycles from your website, there will undoubtedly be a suitable offline magazine, in which you can place an ad. The purpose of the ad is not to sell your products, but to get prospects to visit your website. So your ad need only consist of a few lines, which should work out to be quite inexpensive.
Your bicycle ad could read like this: Looking for a new bicycle? We stock a huge range at discount prices and can deliver within 48 hours. To learn more visit our website. www. bicycles4u.com - Your ad could be placed in cycle mags, sports magazines or even national and local newspapers. Wherever you think your most likely prospects will look for your products or services offline is a means to getting them to go online.
2. Press releases for the inquiring minds
Some people just have to know what's new, what's in and what's out. To stay ahead in this information age, online and offline press releases can offer newsworthy titbits that could even be picked up by the national press. If you're just starting out in your online business, launching a new product or creating a new service, people will want to know about it.
If this is something you haven't done before, take a look at some existing press releases by going to Google and typing 'press releases' into the search field. Once you get the idea, write out your press release, including your contact details and website URL, then go back to Google and type in 'press agencies'. Most will charge you for this service but your press release could get maximum coverage on and off the internet.
3. Opt-in mailing lists
Opt-in mailing lists can provide one of the most effective means of generating repeat business from your existing customer base. If your customers have bought from you once and that buying experience was satisfactory, there's a very good chance they will buy from you again because they trust you. Capture emails by encouraging your customers to sign up for your newsletter or other promotional information.
Alternatively, you could rent an opt-in email list. A carefully worded e-mail message to people who have expressed an interest in receiving further information about your products or services could lead to extra sales, but be prepared to pay a princely sum.
4. Getting your message delivered direct to your customers
For as long as anyone can remember, direct mail has been one of the most effective and profitable forms of marketing ever. Many people have made millions from direct mail and it's still as successful today as it was 50 years ago. It's also relatively easy and inexpensive. First, create a single page introductory sales letter or brochure, detailing you products or services and all the benefits. For maximum effect, offer your new customers a discount or something for free, when they first purchase from your website.
Don't forget, you want them to visit your website, so give them more than a good reason to do so. Next, rent a targeted mailing list from a reputable list broker. There are lists available, which cover every conceivable geographic and demographic statistic, so whatever business you're in, there will be one that's suitable for you. Send out your 'invitations' and wait for your hit counter to melt.
5. Referral marketing
This is a simple strategy of referring your own customers to a related but non-competitive website in return for them doing the same for you. Let's say you are selling printers. Find some quality sites that sell printer inks and contact the webmaster. Ask them if they would be willing to send their traffic to you in return for you doing the same for them. Most will agree. Between you, you will have to decide whether to display an ad on each other's site or go for a written recommendation.
Either way, it will increase the chances of you getting more traffic to your site because you have been recommended. You could seek out many related websites and have numerous streams of traffic coming directly to you.
6. Traffic merchants
Paying a company to send traffic to your website is an easy option, so long as the traffic is targeted. There are many companies who specialize in selling traffic. You could say they are traffic traffickers. They use all forms of online advertising to get people to visit your website and usually guarantee the numbers. At around $20 for 10,000 visitors, it certainly looks tempting.
Although there are many merchants to choose from, beware the scamsters operating in this market. Some will take your money and put your ad on a Free For All (FFA) website, leaving you to deal with hundreds or thousands of spam emails from everyone and their dog trying to sell you their products. A good place to start would be SafePartner.com. They offer a variety of packages and are very affordable. TrafficCircuit.com is another company offering this service but charge a little more. However, they offer tracking services, so you can see where the traffic comes from. If you're into stats, you may find this service very useful.
7. Affiliate programs
You just can't afford to ignore affiliate programs. Getting other people to sell your products for a commission is a tried and tested, successful and very rewarding exercise. It doesn't work very well if you're selling a service, but it's overwhelmingly awesome for shifting your product range. The best part is, once set up it works on automatic pilot. All you have to do then is monitor its success, because affiliates do all the work for you. They advertise your products and send the traffic to your website to buy them.
Another thing is you don't have to pay your affiliates until you've been paid. Plus you save on advertising costs, and the increased activity to your website helps your search engine ranking. There's an array of affiliate program tracking software available to track your sales and commission payouts or if you prefer, you can hire a company to look after all that side of the business for you.
pepperjamManagement.com is one of the most well-known companies around, offering a complete affiliate management solution. If affiliates can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions, it's got to be a very worthwhile consideration for your business.
There are many ways in which you can get others to sell your products, and there are many ways of finding willing affiliate partners. Affiliate marketing is fast becoming a science.
As you can see, targeted traffic isn't that hard to do but the rewards for your online business will show up in the bank.
1. Offline advertising = Online profits
Whatever you're trying to sell online will most likely link to a relevant or appropriate media section offline. For example, if you're selling bicycles from your website, there will undoubtedly be a suitable offline magazine, in which you can place an ad. The purpose of the ad is not to sell your products, but to get prospects to visit your website. So your ad need only consist of a few lines, which should work out to be quite inexpensive.
Your bicycle ad could read like this: Looking for a new bicycle? We stock a huge range at discount prices and can deliver within 48 hours. To learn more visit our website. www. bicycles4u.com - Your ad could be placed in cycle mags, sports magazines or even national and local newspapers. Wherever you think your most likely prospects will look for your products or services offline is a means to getting them to go online.
2. Press releases for the inquiring minds
Some people just have to know what's new, what's in and what's out. To stay ahead in this information age, online and offline press releases can offer newsworthy titbits that could even be picked up by the national press. If you're just starting out in your online business, launching a new product or creating a new service, people will want to know about it.
If this is something you haven't done before, take a look at some existing press releases by going to Google and typing 'press releases' into the search field. Once you get the idea, write out your press release, including your contact details and website URL, then go back to Google and type in 'press agencies'. Most will charge you for this service but your press release could get maximum coverage on and off the internet.
3. Opt-in mailing lists
Opt-in mailing lists can provide one of the most effective means of generating repeat business from your existing customer base. If your customers have bought from you once and that buying experience was satisfactory, there's a very good chance they will buy from you again because they trust you. Capture emails by encouraging your customers to sign up for your newsletter or other promotional information.
Alternatively, you could rent an opt-in email list. A carefully worded e-mail message to people who have expressed an interest in receiving further information about your products or services could lead to extra sales, but be prepared to pay a princely sum.
4. Getting your message delivered direct to your customers
For as long as anyone can remember, direct mail has been one of the most effective and profitable forms of marketing ever. Many people have made millions from direct mail and it's still as successful today as it was 50 years ago. It's also relatively easy and inexpensive. First, create a single page introductory sales letter or brochure, detailing you products or services and all the benefits. For maximum effect, offer your new customers a discount or something for free, when they first purchase from your website.
Don't forget, you want them to visit your website, so give them more than a good reason to do so. Next, rent a targeted mailing list from a reputable list broker. There are lists available, which cover every conceivable geographic and demographic statistic, so whatever business you're in, there will be one that's suitable for you. Send out your 'invitations' and wait for your hit counter to melt.
5. Referral marketing
This is a simple strategy of referring your own customers to a related but non-competitive website in return for them doing the same for you. Let's say you are selling printers. Find some quality sites that sell printer inks and contact the webmaster. Ask them if they would be willing to send their traffic to you in return for you doing the same for them. Most will agree. Between you, you will have to decide whether to display an ad on each other's site or go for a written recommendation.
Either way, it will increase the chances of you getting more traffic to your site because you have been recommended. You could seek out many related websites and have numerous streams of traffic coming directly to you.
6. Traffic merchants
Paying a company to send traffic to your website is an easy option, so long as the traffic is targeted. There are many companies who specialize in selling traffic. You could say they are traffic traffickers. They use all forms of online advertising to get people to visit your website and usually guarantee the numbers. At around $20 for 10,000 visitors, it certainly looks tempting.
Although there are many merchants to choose from, beware the scamsters operating in this market. Some will take your money and put your ad on a Free For All (FFA) website, leaving you to deal with hundreds or thousands of spam emails from everyone and their dog trying to sell you their products. A good place to start would be SafePartner.com. They offer a variety of packages and are very affordable. TrafficCircuit.com is another company offering this service but charge a little more. However, they offer tracking services, so you can see where the traffic comes from. If you're into stats, you may find this service very useful.
7. Affiliate programs
You just can't afford to ignore affiliate programs. Getting other people to sell your products for a commission is a tried and tested, successful and very rewarding exercise. It doesn't work very well if you're selling a service, but it's overwhelmingly awesome for shifting your product range. The best part is, once set up it works on automatic pilot. All you have to do then is monitor its success, because affiliates do all the work for you. They advertise your products and send the traffic to your website to buy them.
Another thing is you don't have to pay your affiliates until you've been paid. Plus you save on advertising costs, and the increased activity to your website helps your search engine ranking. There's an array of affiliate program tracking software available to track your sales and commission payouts or if you prefer, you can hire a company to look after all that side of the business for you.
pepperjamManagement.com is one of the most well-known companies around, offering a complete affiliate management solution. If affiliates can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions, it's got to be a very worthwhile consideration for your business.
There are many ways in which you can get others to sell your products, and there are many ways of finding willing affiliate partners. Affiliate marketing is fast becoming a science.
As you can see, targeted traffic isn't that hard to do but the rewards for your online business will show up in the bank.
Zero Cost Solutions to Spam
Spam is a daily nuisance for all of us. It doesn't matter whether you're employed or unemployed. It doesn't matter if you're a CEO of a multinational or if you're a work at home parent - spam affects us all.
There are dozens of porgams available for fighting spam. The major problem is that most of these programs cost money.
What I'm going to do is show you 5 different ways of combating spam - all free.
1. Don't give out your personal email address.
This is stating the obvious but it's the first big mistake people make. DO NOT use your personal email address for
sign up forms, competitions, surveys or any other nonsense that may result in you being spammed. It's much easier to prevent spam, by never giving out your personal email address, than it is to cure the problem once you're on 100's of junk email lists.
2. Use a free email account
Set yourself up with a Hotmail, Yahoo or any other free email account and use it as a spam holder account i.e. use it on all those popups or sign up forms that you *suspect* may try to spam you. You can then periodically check your free email account for both legitimate and spam email and
delete the rubbish you don't want. This single step can save you countless spam related headaches.
3. Use a disposable email address
You could also try a disposable e-mail address from www.spamgourmet.com. This is a brilliant idea. Once you've registered your forwarding email address (your personal
email address) with them you can then create
self-destructing email addresses that stop working after receiving a specific number of emails.
4. Use a free spam filter.
Unfortunately even when you follow all the correct steps you can still wind up getting junk email. There's only solution at that point - install a spam filter on your PC.
The best free spam filter I've come across so far is Mailwasher. An excellent
program that won't cost you a penny.
5. Newsgroups and forums
Spammers love newsgroups and forums. They especially love the way people post their personal email addresses there. It doesn't matter if it's a paid, private or free forum spammers have their harvester programs hunting for email addresses every minute of every day. If you have to post
your email address then use the following format:
username AT domain.com. If that doesn't make sense then what I mean is instead of posting as test@spam-site.com you'd
post as test AT spam-site.com.
Spammers can harvest 35,000 email addresses per hour from newsgroups and forums - don't let your email address become one of those.
There you have 5 simple, free solutions to drastically reduce the amount of spam you receive every single day. If you want to learn more about fighting spam then
drop by spam-site.com.
There are dozens of porgams available for fighting spam. The major problem is that most of these programs cost money.
What I'm going to do is show you 5 different ways of combating spam - all free.
1. Don't give out your personal email address.
This is stating the obvious but it's the first big mistake people make. DO NOT use your personal email address for
sign up forms, competitions, surveys or any other nonsense that may result in you being spammed. It's much easier to prevent spam, by never giving out your personal email address, than it is to cure the problem once you're on 100's of junk email lists.
2. Use a free email account
Set yourself up with a Hotmail, Yahoo or any other free email account and use it as a spam holder account i.e. use it on all those popups or sign up forms that you *suspect* may try to spam you. You can then periodically check your free email account for both legitimate and spam email and
delete the rubbish you don't want. This single step can save you countless spam related headaches.
3. Use a disposable email address
You could also try a disposable e-mail address from www.spamgourmet.com. This is a brilliant idea. Once you've registered your forwarding email address (your personal
email address) with them you can then create
self-destructing email addresses that stop working after receiving a specific number of emails.
4. Use a free spam filter.
Unfortunately even when you follow all the correct steps you can still wind up getting junk email. There's only solution at that point - install a spam filter on your PC.
The best free spam filter I've come across so far is Mailwasher. An excellent
program that won't cost you a penny.
5. Newsgroups and forums
Spammers love newsgroups and forums. They especially love the way people post their personal email addresses there. It doesn't matter if it's a paid, private or free forum spammers have their harvester programs hunting for email addresses every minute of every day. If you have to post
your email address then use the following format:
username AT domain.com. If that doesn't make sense then what I mean is instead of posting as test@spam-site.com you'd
post as test AT spam-site.com.
Spammers can harvest 35,000 email addresses per hour from newsgroups and forums - don't let your email address become one of those.
There you have 5 simple, free solutions to drastically reduce the amount of spam you receive every single day. If you want to learn more about fighting spam then
drop by spam-site.com.
Ways To Drive Visitors Away From Your Website
There are tons of resources available that will teach you how to make money on the internet. Heck, I've written tutorials like that myself. But, perhaps it's easier to demonstrate what to do, with a lesson on what not to do. This article will teach you how to drive visitors away from your website screaming "Get me outta here!" If you prefer being alone with your website and don't want all those pesky visitors bothering you, then follow the guidelines below and you'll get rid of them quick as a blink.
1. Don't state on your website what you do or what you sell. Make it a complete mystery why you decided to build your website in the first place. It's like a secret club -- your visitors are left in the dark. Have you been to sites like this where you show up and think "What the heck is this site about?" If you're not presenting a clear statement about why your visitors should spend their money (or at least come back again), then you're on your way to hermit-land.
2. Overwhelm visitors with lots of information. Almost as bad as the "What the heck is this site about?" problem is the "Oh my Goodness! Oh my Gracious!" sites. As a visitor, you know the sites I'm talking about. The page opens and your jaw drops. There is a sea of banners, with links everywhere and articles galore. Where do you go? What do you do? I'll tell you what I do. Click the little "x' in the upper right-hand corner to get the heck outta there!
3. Make the ordering process really complicated. There's nothing I love more than putting items into my shopping cart and then spending 20 minutes trying to figure out how to set up an account and pay. Guess what? I sure don't click the 'contact us' button. I click the "x" instead. You've succeeded in getting rid of yet another pesky customer who wanted to spend money.
4. Fill your site with outdated information and broken links. Pfshew. You dodged a visitor with that one. They clicked on a link that was broken -- and off they went.
5. Make sure there's no way for an interested customer or business partner to contact you. Heaven forbid, you might get some spam if you have your contact information on your site.
Thank Goodness you don't have those gosh-darned customers emailing you while you're trying to read up on Brad Pitt's love life.
Obviously, I'm being silly, but you do know that these examples are true. You've seen sites that seem like they are trying to drive you away. If you are spending time and energy putting up a website to make money, then, make some money. You CAN do it!
1. Don't state on your website what you do or what you sell. Make it a complete mystery why you decided to build your website in the first place. It's like a secret club -- your visitors are left in the dark. Have you been to sites like this where you show up and think "What the heck is this site about?" If you're not presenting a clear statement about why your visitors should spend their money (or at least come back again), then you're on your way to hermit-land.
2. Overwhelm visitors with lots of information. Almost as bad as the "What the heck is this site about?" problem is the "Oh my Goodness! Oh my Gracious!" sites. As a visitor, you know the sites I'm talking about. The page opens and your jaw drops. There is a sea of banners, with links everywhere and articles galore. Where do you go? What do you do? I'll tell you what I do. Click the little "x' in the upper right-hand corner to get the heck outta there!
3. Make the ordering process really complicated. There's nothing I love more than putting items into my shopping cart and then spending 20 minutes trying to figure out how to set up an account and pay. Guess what? I sure don't click the 'contact us' button. I click the "x" instead. You've succeeded in getting rid of yet another pesky customer who wanted to spend money.
4. Fill your site with outdated information and broken links. Pfshew. You dodged a visitor with that one. They clicked on a link that was broken -- and off they went.
5. Make sure there's no way for an interested customer or business partner to contact you. Heaven forbid, you might get some spam if you have your contact information on your site.
Thank Goodness you don't have those gosh-darned customers emailing you while you're trying to read up on Brad Pitt's love life.
Obviously, I'm being silly, but you do know that these examples are true. You've seen sites that seem like they are trying to drive you away. If you are spending time and energy putting up a website to make money, then, make some money. You CAN do it!
Tips To Create A Kick-Butt Mini-Course That Pulls In Thousands of Rabid Subscribers... in a Flash!
One of the fastest ways to develop, build, and grow your own
list of subscribers is to develop a "mini" course with an
incredibly compelling promise.
I have personally used "mini" courses to build lists of
several thousand subscribers in as little as a week.
A "mini" course is simply a series of e-mail's where you
teach people a specific skill, set of skills, or reveal
other information they really want to know.
In the process of providing this focused, valuable
information, you prove to your subscribers that you are THE
expert in a particular area - and, you also encourage people
to pay you to get even BETTER information from ebooks and
information products you've either written or recommend.
An example of a "mini" course offer I've used with great
success is the free mini course at www.7dayebook.com that
appears in the exit pop up window when you leave the site.
The promise of this "mini" course is strong and compelling.
Here's what it says...
FREE eBook Mini-Course
"How to Write and Profit from your own eBook...
while you're still young enough to enjoy it!"
All the registration page asks for is first name and email
address... and this mini-course has generated thousands of
subscribers!
So here's the basic formula in a nutshell:
Strong promise+ low risk+ high perceived reward= Subscribers
Now, if you'd like to build your own list of rabid
subscribers, here are 5 sure-fire tips for creating a mini-
course that truly kicks butt!
Tip #1 - The Promise
If you want to launch a successful mini-course, target an
audience with a specific need and then make them the biggest
possible promise you can deliver on.
People are pressed for time and rarely see as much value in
something they get for free as opposed to something they pay
a lot of money for.
Add to this the fact that the Internet gets more and more
crowded everyday and you can see that the best offers are
the ones that grab people's attention by making a benefit-
driven promise they can't resist.
Even though you offer your mini-course for free, you still
must SELL people on WHY they should pay you with their time
and attention.
Example: If you want to do a mini-course on real estate
investing, look for the biggest and best promise you can
make for people.
Let's look at these various promises for identical mini-
course content:
Good: How to make a fortune in foreclosures.
Better: How to find and buy a profitable foreclosure within
2 weeks.
Best: How to find and buy a profitable foreclosure property
in your area within 2 weeks - using none of your own money!
** The promise you make has everything to do with whether or
not people sign up. IMPORTANT: After they sign up, make sure
you deliver on the promise.
Tip #2 - Don't reinvent the wheel
Look for existing content - your own or other people's - you
can adapt directly or indirectly into the mini-course.
Hey, I understand you're busy... I'm busy too!
Why would you want to spend 2 days coming up with all the
content for your mini-course if you already have past
information you can adapt!?
If you don't have any existing material, then find someone
else who has written an article and use that for part of
your mini-course - with their permission of course.
You'd be surprised at all the pieces of the puzzle that are
out there independently which you could combine into a great
mini-course without nearly the mountain of effort you might
expect.
Tip #3 - Give yourself lots of chances to make money
One way to build more value into your mini-course and make
sure people hang onto your messages instead of deleting them
is to put lots of quality links into your mini-course.
This allows people to get additional information on specific
aspects of the mini-course.
Some of those links can be to free resources, others to
resources where you earn an affiliate commission, and still
others to your own products and services.
The more links you have that actually contribute to your
students learning the subject of your mini-course and
fulfilling the promise you made to get them to sign up, the
better your chances of them clicking those links.
If you create lessons people save for future reference
because they have great links in them, you'll make more
money!
For an example look no further than your "in-box"! Almost
everybody has email messages they've saved from other people
because they contain links to sites you want to use now or
access in the future.
Tip #4 - Build anticipation for the next message
If you're going to take the time to put together the mini-
course, wouldn't it be great of the majority of people who
subscribed actually read your messages!?
If you want to launch a successful mini-course, you've got
to rise ABOVE the noise of all the other email messages
people receive every single day.
One way to do this is to always end each lesson with a small
"ad" or excitement builder for the next message. You do this
by really playing up a big benefit they'll receive as a
result of reading the next message you promise to send them.
Here's an example:
"The next and final installment in this mini-course will
give you five tips for how to get 10,000 visitors to your
website without spending a dime on pay-per-click traffic! So
stay tuned for the next lesson in 2 days..."
It's a simple, yet very powerful way to build anticipation
for the next message into EVERY message you send.
This simple step helps make them look forward to the next
message so it gets read... not trashed!
Tip #5 - Tell them what they don't know!
If you're using the mini-course to promote a product that
covers a much "bigger picture" of the topic as a whole,
constantly remind people that the mini-course is just a
"tiny piece" of the whole product.
Remind them of what else they need to know and tell them if
they buy the product then they'll get this benefit, and that
benefit, and even more specific information.
Remember, you didn't publish this mini-course to practice
your typing skills! You are in this to make money, to get
subscribers, and to make sales!
Once you deliver quality content that gives people a real
taste of what's in store when they actually purchase, then
it's time to close the sale... you deserve it!
list of subscribers is to develop a "mini" course with an
incredibly compelling promise.
I have personally used "mini" courses to build lists of
several thousand subscribers in as little as a week.
A "mini" course is simply a series of e-mail's where you
teach people a specific skill, set of skills, or reveal
other information they really want to know.
In the process of providing this focused, valuable
information, you prove to your subscribers that you are THE
expert in a particular area - and, you also encourage people
to pay you to get even BETTER information from ebooks and
information products you've either written or recommend.
An example of a "mini" course offer I've used with great
success is the free mini course at www.7dayebook.com that
appears in the exit pop up window when you leave the site.
The promise of this "mini" course is strong and compelling.
Here's what it says...
FREE eBook Mini-Course
"How to Write and Profit from your own eBook...
while you're still young enough to enjoy it!"
All the registration page asks for is first name and email
address... and this mini-course has generated thousands of
subscribers!
So here's the basic formula in a nutshell:
Strong promise+ low risk+ high perceived reward= Subscribers
Now, if you'd like to build your own list of rabid
subscribers, here are 5 sure-fire tips for creating a mini-
course that truly kicks butt!
Tip #1 - The Promise
If you want to launch a successful mini-course, target an
audience with a specific need and then make them the biggest
possible promise you can deliver on.
People are pressed for time and rarely see as much value in
something they get for free as opposed to something they pay
a lot of money for.
Add to this the fact that the Internet gets more and more
crowded everyday and you can see that the best offers are
the ones that grab people's attention by making a benefit-
driven promise they can't resist.
Even though you offer your mini-course for free, you still
must SELL people on WHY they should pay you with their time
and attention.
Example: If you want to do a mini-course on real estate
investing, look for the biggest and best promise you can
make for people.
Let's look at these various promises for identical mini-
course content:
Good: How to make a fortune in foreclosures.
Better: How to find and buy a profitable foreclosure within
2 weeks.
Best: How to find and buy a profitable foreclosure property
in your area within 2 weeks - using none of your own money!
** The promise you make has everything to do with whether or
not people sign up. IMPORTANT: After they sign up, make sure
you deliver on the promise.
Tip #2 - Don't reinvent the wheel
Look for existing content - your own or other people's - you
can adapt directly or indirectly into the mini-course.
Hey, I understand you're busy... I'm busy too!
Why would you want to spend 2 days coming up with all the
content for your mini-course if you already have past
information you can adapt!?
If you don't have any existing material, then find someone
else who has written an article and use that for part of
your mini-course - with their permission of course.
You'd be surprised at all the pieces of the puzzle that are
out there independently which you could combine into a great
mini-course without nearly the mountain of effort you might
expect.
Tip #3 - Give yourself lots of chances to make money
One way to build more value into your mini-course and make
sure people hang onto your messages instead of deleting them
is to put lots of quality links into your mini-course.
This allows people to get additional information on specific
aspects of the mini-course.
Some of those links can be to free resources, others to
resources where you earn an affiliate commission, and still
others to your own products and services.
The more links you have that actually contribute to your
students learning the subject of your mini-course and
fulfilling the promise you made to get them to sign up, the
better your chances of them clicking those links.
If you create lessons people save for future reference
because they have great links in them, you'll make more
money!
For an example look no further than your "in-box"! Almost
everybody has email messages they've saved from other people
because they contain links to sites you want to use now or
access in the future.
Tip #4 - Build anticipation for the next message
If you're going to take the time to put together the mini-
course, wouldn't it be great of the majority of people who
subscribed actually read your messages!?
If you want to launch a successful mini-course, you've got
to rise ABOVE the noise of all the other email messages
people receive every single day.
One way to do this is to always end each lesson with a small
"ad" or excitement builder for the next message. You do this
by really playing up a big benefit they'll receive as a
result of reading the next message you promise to send them.
Here's an example:
"The next and final installment in this mini-course will
give you five tips for how to get 10,000 visitors to your
website without spending a dime on pay-per-click traffic! So
stay tuned for the next lesson in 2 days..."
It's a simple, yet very powerful way to build anticipation
for the next message into EVERY message you send.
This simple step helps make them look forward to the next
message so it gets read... not trashed!
Tip #5 - Tell them what they don't know!
If you're using the mini-course to promote a product that
covers a much "bigger picture" of the topic as a whole,
constantly remind people that the mini-course is just a
"tiny piece" of the whole product.
Remind them of what else they need to know and tell them if
they buy the product then they'll get this benefit, and that
benefit, and even more specific information.
Remember, you didn't publish this mini-course to practice
your typing skills! You are in this to make money, to get
subscribers, and to make sales!
Once you deliver quality content that gives people a real
taste of what's in store when they actually purchase, then
it's time to close the sale... you deserve it!
Tips for Online Shopping
Shopping online has become more and more popular in America as we are all looking to save a little time and money. E-commerce sales are growing at astronomical numbers ranging from 20-25% per year. And according to Forrester Research, 40% of households are using coupons in their web shopping. The huge increases are obvious: the online savings and discounts are impossible to match by traditional stores constrained by the overhead costs of employees, rent, and insurance. By using some of the tips and tricks mentioned below, you’ll be able to take further advantage of a new American pastime: saving with online shopping!
Tip 1: Don’t buy Ebay. We all know online auctions seem like such a great deal, and it’s easy to get caught up in the emotion of auction. Thing is, auction sites like Ebay and Ubid have become saturated with buyers AND sellers, so virtually any discount found is quickly sought by re-distributors who then add their own markups to your purchase. The online marketplace has enough people out there that you can end up spending hundreds of extra dollars for the same things found in your local mall! Don’t let your emotions get involved – these are not the right places for the aware shopper.
Tip 2: Never pay retail. Take this scenario: You find something you want to buy, maybe the latest craze or fad such as the Ipod. Should you really pay the price that Apple is offering? No! You can find many deals and coupons for the same purchase just by typing, for example, “ipod coupons” into Google. Spend a little time searching through the top ten to twenty results, you’re sure to find the same product for a significant discount. Sometimes, by filling out a survey or signing up for an email list, you’ll get additional savings and many times you can even get your product for free!
Tip 3: Get over your instant gratification desire. Just admit it, buying something always gives you a good feeling and you can’t wait to take pleasure in that new purchase. Anything you’re buying at the mall for that same good feeling can usually be found for a huge discount online. You just have to be willing to wait for the short 2-5 days that it takes for shipping. It’s definitely worth the savings to able to control your emotions and hold off until it arrives via UPS!
Tip 4: Watch out for excessive shipping charges. Many times retailers slash their costs to get the sale but then charge more for shipping. Make sure to check the final cost to ensure you didn’t receive any unwarranted charges. You should also find a free shipping deal at any of the online coupon sites. Sometimes the shipping can cost more than your purchase!
Tip 5: Online coupons: Were you aware of online coupon websites that have discount and promotion codes to nearly all internet stores? These types of websites always have up to date discount offers arranged by category or store, so you can always find something on sale. It’s not only a way to get a good deal but you can also find some of the free shipping offers listed in tip 4. Just be careful to check for a coupon code before making any internet purchase. It’s a simple way to find extra savings.
Tip 1: Don’t buy Ebay. We all know online auctions seem like such a great deal, and it’s easy to get caught up in the emotion of auction. Thing is, auction sites like Ebay and Ubid have become saturated with buyers AND sellers, so virtually any discount found is quickly sought by re-distributors who then add their own markups to your purchase. The online marketplace has enough people out there that you can end up spending hundreds of extra dollars for the same things found in your local mall! Don’t let your emotions get involved – these are not the right places for the aware shopper.
Tip 2: Never pay retail. Take this scenario: You find something you want to buy, maybe the latest craze or fad such as the Ipod. Should you really pay the price that Apple is offering? No! You can find many deals and coupons for the same purchase just by typing, for example, “ipod coupons” into Google. Spend a little time searching through the top ten to twenty results, you’re sure to find the same product for a significant discount. Sometimes, by filling out a survey or signing up for an email list, you’ll get additional savings and many times you can even get your product for free!
Tip 3: Get over your instant gratification desire. Just admit it, buying something always gives you a good feeling and you can’t wait to take pleasure in that new purchase. Anything you’re buying at the mall for that same good feeling can usually be found for a huge discount online. You just have to be willing to wait for the short 2-5 days that it takes for shipping. It’s definitely worth the savings to able to control your emotions and hold off until it arrives via UPS!
Tip 4: Watch out for excessive shipping charges. Many times retailers slash their costs to get the sale but then charge more for shipping. Make sure to check the final cost to ensure you didn’t receive any unwarranted charges. You should also find a free shipping deal at any of the online coupon sites. Sometimes the shipping can cost more than your purchase!
Tip 5: Online coupons: Were you aware of online coupon websites that have discount and promotion codes to nearly all internet stores? These types of websites always have up to date discount offers arranged by category or store, so you can always find something on sale. It’s not only a way to get a good deal but you can also find some of the free shipping offers listed in tip 4. Just be careful to check for a coupon code before making any internet purchase. It’s a simple way to find extra savings.
Tips For Buying The Right Laptop Computer
It's easy to be intimidated by all the laptop models on the
market today. There are literally dozens and dozens in every
price range.
The key to finding the right one for you is to step back and
consider exactly how you plan to use your laptop. When you
define what you need before you go shopping, buying the
right machine becomes much easier.
Here are 5 basic factors to consider:
========
#1. SIZE
========
In the world of mobile computing, size definitely matters.
The size of a laptop affects two key areas: portability and
display size.
If you're always on the go and will be using your computer
only in short bursts, a so-called ultralight will save you
some shoulder strain.
On the other hand, if you're going to spend hours in front
of your laptop, a larger display may be in order.
Today, some laptop displays exceed 17 inches, rivaling the
display size of many desktop systems. The down side is that
these monsters can easily weigh three times as much as an
ultralight.
==============
#2. HARD DRIVE
==============
Speaking of size, what about the size of the hard drive? One
way to approach this issue is to ask yourself the following
question:
Will this be my primary computer, or will it supplement my
desktop system?
If the former, you should look for a bigger hard drive - 60
GB or more.
If the latter, you may be able to make it with a 20-30 GB
hard drive.
But even this isn't absolute.
If, for example, you plan to copy a huge MP3 library from
your desktop system to your laptop to make your music
library portable, you'd be well advised to err on the side
of too big.
==========
#3. MEMORY
==========
In determining the right amount of system memory, or RAM,
take a look at the ways in which you intend to use your
laptop:
If your needs are somewhat mundane - email, spreadsheets,
word processing, etc. - 256 MB of RAM should be plenty. This
is a common configuration for many laptops, so it means you
probably won't need to spend extra for more RAM.
On the flip side, if you're an aspiring mobile digital
photographer or videographer, you should stuff your laptop
with as much RAM as it can hold.
In fact, exactly how much RAM your laptop can hold may in
part drive your purchase decision. Applications for editing
and manipulating multimedia content are notorious resource
hogs.
=======================
#4. NETWORK CONNECTIONS
=======================
Thanks in no small part to the Internet, computing in the
21st century relies heavily on being connected:
Connected to the Internet, connected to a corporate network,
connected to a wireless network, connected to a home
network, connected to an online service.
Your life will be easier if you buy a laptop that includes
built-in means to connect to them all.
=========
#5. PRICE
=========
If you're considering a laptop, you're probably wondering
how much money you'll need to spend.
A few years ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find one for under
$2,000. Today, there are plenty of laptops to be had for
under $1,000.
What's more, most of the major manufacturers offer a variety
of financing options.
Laptop prices have come down, to be sure. However, a laptop
still represents a fairly major purchase for most people.
If you take the time to search for a laptop that meets your
specific needs, you should get many years of use and
enjoyment from this important investment.
market today. There are literally dozens and dozens in every
price range.
The key to finding the right one for you is to step back and
consider exactly how you plan to use your laptop. When you
define what you need before you go shopping, buying the
right machine becomes much easier.
Here are 5 basic factors to consider:
========
#1. SIZE
========
In the world of mobile computing, size definitely matters.
The size of a laptop affects two key areas: portability and
display size.
If you're always on the go and will be using your computer
only in short bursts, a so-called ultralight will save you
some shoulder strain.
On the other hand, if you're going to spend hours in front
of your laptop, a larger display may be in order.
Today, some laptop displays exceed 17 inches, rivaling the
display size of many desktop systems. The down side is that
these monsters can easily weigh three times as much as an
ultralight.
==============
#2. HARD DRIVE
==============
Speaking of size, what about the size of the hard drive? One
way to approach this issue is to ask yourself the following
question:
Will this be my primary computer, or will it supplement my
desktop system?
If the former, you should look for a bigger hard drive - 60
GB or more.
If the latter, you may be able to make it with a 20-30 GB
hard drive.
But even this isn't absolute.
If, for example, you plan to copy a huge MP3 library from
your desktop system to your laptop to make your music
library portable, you'd be well advised to err on the side
of too big.
==========
#3. MEMORY
==========
In determining the right amount of system memory, or RAM,
take a look at the ways in which you intend to use your
laptop:
If your needs are somewhat mundane - email, spreadsheets,
word processing, etc. - 256 MB of RAM should be plenty. This
is a common configuration for many laptops, so it means you
probably won't need to spend extra for more RAM.
On the flip side, if you're an aspiring mobile digital
photographer or videographer, you should stuff your laptop
with as much RAM as it can hold.
In fact, exactly how much RAM your laptop can hold may in
part drive your purchase decision. Applications for editing
and manipulating multimedia content are notorious resource
hogs.
=======================
#4. NETWORK CONNECTIONS
=======================
Thanks in no small part to the Internet, computing in the
21st century relies heavily on being connected:
Connected to the Internet, connected to a corporate network,
connected to a wireless network, connected to a home
network, connected to an online service.
Your life will be easier if you buy a laptop that includes
built-in means to connect to them all.
=========
#5. PRICE
=========
If you're considering a laptop, you're probably wondering
how much money you'll need to spend.
A few years ago, you'd be hard-pressed to find one for under
$2,000. Today, there are plenty of laptops to be had for
under $1,000.
What's more, most of the major manufacturers offer a variety
of financing options.
Laptop prices have come down, to be sure. However, a laptop
still represents a fairly major purchase for most people.
If you take the time to search for a laptop that meets your
specific needs, you should get many years of use and
enjoyment from this important investment.
Linking Strategies that Work
One of the most effective ways to promote your business online, especially if you use search engine optimization to build traffic, is linking.
However, as a certified Web CEO professional, and someone who also uses only "white hat" optimization strategies, I see people make a lot of mistakes when using this technique.
Below are some of the strategies that I use to make linking more effective, as well as raise my rankings in the search engines.
1. Do your homework first.
You're probably wondering what "white hat" techniques are.
"White hat" techniques are techniques that will always work with the search engines, like writing articles, blogs, and press releases, and optimizing individual pages for the search engines.
These are the primary techniques I use in addition to linking because they work.
Just ask Tinu Abayomi-Paul, the owner of http://www.freetraffictip.com. Tinu is an expert when it comes to using search engines to build traffic to her sites.
She wrote me the other day to thank me for "inspiring her". I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I do know that she uses a lot of the same techniques I do to promote my sites. She now has over 90,000 relevant entries in Google, more than a lot of the top "gurus" on the internet.
The fact is, the more pages you have listed in the search engines, and the more links you have pointing back to your site, the more likely you are to be found.
Although writing articles, blogs, press releases, and optimizing pages definitely works, you still have to do your homework. This means actually doing a search in the search engines to find out how sites get to the top, i.e. what keywords they use, how their pages are optimized, etc.
I use Alexa, http://www.alexa.com, for this because it allows me to look at traffic stats, as well as see what sites are linked to eachother.
To get started, search for the keywords you are targeting. Take a good look at the sites at the top. This includes studying the keywords, titles, and descriptions they use in their headers. Also, read the text of the pages. It's not that hard to optimize your page(s). Just write search engine friendly content that repeats your keywords. Make your content easy for your readers to read and understand though.
Now this may sound juvenile, but again, it works. Tools like Keyword Density Analyzer, http://www.keyworddensityanalzyzer.com, and Web CEO, http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/ht/search.html, can tell you if you are on the right track.
You can also read Linking Matters, http://www.linkingmatters.com. This short, and free ebook in PDF, will give you more tips on linking.
2. Link to complementary sites.
I get link requests all the time, and I have to reject about half of them. The reason why is that I won't link to sites that have nothing to do with mine.
I offer small business, internet marketing, and search engine optimization and submission products and services. Links to quote sites, joke sites, and shoe sites don't fit with this.
The key here is to understand that not only does Google, the most important of all the search engines, look at how many links are pointing back to your site, but they also look at the relevance of the links.
Sites that are similar, or complementary to yours, give you more credibility and higher page rank than having tons of sites pointing back to you that have nothing to do with your site.
Make the links pointing back to your site relevant.
3. Choose relevant, highly searched for, low competition keywords for your anchor text.
This tip relates to tip four. Before you start sending out link requests to other webmasters, make sure that you're targeting the right keywords. Not only are a lot of relevant links important, but your keywords should be keywords that will get you traffic.
4. Change your anchor text.
Recently Google decided that links with the same text between your {{a href=""}} and {{/a}} text should be different. Too many links pointing back to your site that had the same text "looks" like spam. This doesn't mean it is spam, and sometimes, you don't have control over how others link back to your site.
However, if you decide to exchange links with others, vary your anchor text.
5. Try other alternatives to software.
Although there are many software programs out there you can use to help you automate this process, I caution you to be careful when using this kind of software. Although it may speed things up for you, you may also end up with a lot of links pointing back to you that have no relevance. Also, these programs really won't help you as much as you think if you don't change your anchor text once in awhile.
If you do choose to use software to automate the process, make sure that you personalize your emails. Again, do your homework and make sure that you are actually sending out email to sites that complement yours. No one likes to receive emails that say "Dear Webmaster".
Using a directory script on your site can help you because others can visit your site and add their links. Just make sure that you check your directory once in awhile to see who is linking to you. Also, make sure that you set up your script in such a way that others have to have a link pointing back to you first before your script will accept their site.
Link Management Assistant - http://www.dirfile.com/link_management_assistant.htm
You can also find reciprocal link exchange sites like Link Metro, http://www.linkmetro.com. Sites like this will allow you to choose your partners, search for new partners, and exchange links without being bombarded with email or generic requests.
Regardless of how you develop a linking strategy for your site, you need to develop one if you want high rankings in the search engines.
However, as a certified Web CEO professional, and someone who also uses only "white hat" optimization strategies, I see people make a lot of mistakes when using this technique.
Below are some of the strategies that I use to make linking more effective, as well as raise my rankings in the search engines.
1. Do your homework first.
You're probably wondering what "white hat" techniques are.
"White hat" techniques are techniques that will always work with the search engines, like writing articles, blogs, and press releases, and optimizing individual pages for the search engines.
These are the primary techniques I use in addition to linking because they work.
Just ask Tinu Abayomi-Paul, the owner of http://www.freetraffictip.com. Tinu is an expert when it comes to using search engines to build traffic to her sites.
She wrote me the other day to thank me for "inspiring her". I'm not sure exactly what that means, but I do know that she uses a lot of the same techniques I do to promote my sites. She now has over 90,000 relevant entries in Google, more than a lot of the top "gurus" on the internet.
The fact is, the more pages you have listed in the search engines, and the more links you have pointing back to your site, the more likely you are to be found.
Although writing articles, blogs, press releases, and optimizing pages definitely works, you still have to do your homework. This means actually doing a search in the search engines to find out how sites get to the top, i.e. what keywords they use, how their pages are optimized, etc.
I use Alexa, http://www.alexa.com, for this because it allows me to look at traffic stats, as well as see what sites are linked to eachother.
To get started, search for the keywords you are targeting. Take a good look at the sites at the top. This includes studying the keywords, titles, and descriptions they use in their headers. Also, read the text of the pages. It's not that hard to optimize your page(s). Just write search engine friendly content that repeats your keywords. Make your content easy for your readers to read and understand though.
Now this may sound juvenile, but again, it works. Tools like Keyword Density Analyzer, http://www.keyworddensityanalzyzer.com, and Web CEO, http://www.smallbusinesshowto.com/ht/search.html, can tell you if you are on the right track.
You can also read Linking Matters, http://www.linkingmatters.com. This short, and free ebook in PDF, will give you more tips on linking.
2. Link to complementary sites.
I get link requests all the time, and I have to reject about half of them. The reason why is that I won't link to sites that have nothing to do with mine.
I offer small business, internet marketing, and search engine optimization and submission products and services. Links to quote sites, joke sites, and shoe sites don't fit with this.
The key here is to understand that not only does Google, the most important of all the search engines, look at how many links are pointing back to your site, but they also look at the relevance of the links.
Sites that are similar, or complementary to yours, give you more credibility and higher page rank than having tons of sites pointing back to you that have nothing to do with your site.
Make the links pointing back to your site relevant.
3. Choose relevant, highly searched for, low competition keywords for your anchor text.
This tip relates to tip four. Before you start sending out link requests to other webmasters, make sure that you're targeting the right keywords. Not only are a lot of relevant links important, but your keywords should be keywords that will get you traffic.
4. Change your anchor text.
Recently Google decided that links with the same text between your {{a href=""}} and {{/a}} text should be different. Too many links pointing back to your site that had the same text "looks" like spam. This doesn't mean it is spam, and sometimes, you don't have control over how others link back to your site.
However, if you decide to exchange links with others, vary your anchor text.
5. Try other alternatives to software.
Although there are many software programs out there you can use to help you automate this process, I caution you to be careful when using this kind of software. Although it may speed things up for you, you may also end up with a lot of links pointing back to you that have no relevance. Also, these programs really won't help you as much as you think if you don't change your anchor text once in awhile.
If you do choose to use software to automate the process, make sure that you personalize your emails. Again, do your homework and make sure that you are actually sending out email to sites that complement yours. No one likes to receive emails that say "Dear Webmaster".
Using a directory script on your site can help you because others can visit your site and add their links. Just make sure that you check your directory once in awhile to see who is linking to you. Also, make sure that you set up your script in such a way that others have to have a link pointing back to you first before your script will accept their site.
Link Management Assistant - http://www.dirfile.com/link_management_assistant.htm
You can also find reciprocal link exchange sites like Link Metro, http://www.linkmetro.com. Sites like this will allow you to choose your partners, search for new partners, and exchange links without being bombarded with email or generic requests.
Regardless of how you develop a linking strategy for your site, you need to develop one if you want high rankings in the search engines.
Good Reasons For Using Yahoogroups To Start Your Own Ezine
List servers and list serving software can be a TOTAL NIGHTMARE. Trust me, I know ...
If you are new to Internet Marketing, or just new to the way of web business, and there's all these other things to learn and think about, there are five VERY good reasons to leave commercial list serving software systems alone for now and simply use a Yahoogroup to do all the work for you.
1. EVERYBODY Knows ...
... what a Yahoogroup is, and even if they don't, they'll soon pick it up. By using Yahoogroups, you are tapping into a long, long established institution that is globally known and trusted; this will make it much easier to get people who don't really know you yet to subscribe to your ezine or newsletter.
2. Yahoogroups are very easy.
Even for absolute beginners, Yahoogroups are easy to set up and easy to manage. You don't have to worry about the vagaries of AOL emails, double opt in procedures, anti-spam declarations, unsubscription features or any of it, it's all taken care of for you. They also come with little sign up boxes and buttons, and the admin interface, although not exactly intuitive, can soon be worked out by trial and error.
3. Yahoogroups messages don't get caught in spam filters.
Spam filters are the SCOURGE of ezines and email delivery. When you send your messages via the Yahoogroups delivery system, this is not a problem; as Yahoo is such a mega beast, it has its own exceptions in mostly all spam filters known to mankind and your messages WILL at least reach their intended recipients.
4. Yahoogroups have useful extra features.
You can do a lot with a Yahoogroup if you are willing to spent some time on it. Weblinks, an attractive group page, bookmarks, file downloads and more are all available for the beginner web entrepreneur to optimise and use, easily at that.
5. Yahoogroups are FREE.
Alright, so the group messages carry third party advertising, but that is a very small price to pay for access to a system that can easily and very elegantly serve hundreds of thousands of messages, that is reliable and steady and so well known. Other than that, there are no set up fees, no ongoing charges, and it's there for you whenever you want it.
Once you are ready to do so, you can export your list and put it on your own personal commercial list server systems, complete with technicians who take care of everything behind the scenes - until then, and if you haven't done this before, to simply use Yahoogroups for ezine delivery is a really good way to get started with your ezine and to build up your subscriber base.
If you are new to Internet Marketing, or just new to the way of web business, and there's all these other things to learn and think about, there are five VERY good reasons to leave commercial list serving software systems alone for now and simply use a Yahoogroup to do all the work for you.
1. EVERYBODY Knows ...
... what a Yahoogroup is, and even if they don't, they'll soon pick it up. By using Yahoogroups, you are tapping into a long, long established institution that is globally known and trusted; this will make it much easier to get people who don't really know you yet to subscribe to your ezine or newsletter.
2. Yahoogroups are very easy.
Even for absolute beginners, Yahoogroups are easy to set up and easy to manage. You don't have to worry about the vagaries of AOL emails, double opt in procedures, anti-spam declarations, unsubscription features or any of it, it's all taken care of for you. They also come with little sign up boxes and buttons, and the admin interface, although not exactly intuitive, can soon be worked out by trial and error.
3. Yahoogroups messages don't get caught in spam filters.
Spam filters are the SCOURGE of ezines and email delivery. When you send your messages via the Yahoogroups delivery system, this is not a problem; as Yahoo is such a mega beast, it has its own exceptions in mostly all spam filters known to mankind and your messages WILL at least reach their intended recipients.
4. Yahoogroups have useful extra features.
You can do a lot with a Yahoogroup if you are willing to spent some time on it. Weblinks, an attractive group page, bookmarks, file downloads and more are all available for the beginner web entrepreneur to optimise and use, easily at that.
5. Yahoogroups are FREE.
Alright, so the group messages carry third party advertising, but that is a very small price to pay for access to a system that can easily and very elegantly serve hundreds of thousands of messages, that is reliable and steady and so well known. Other than that, there are no set up fees, no ongoing charges, and it's there for you whenever you want it.
Once you are ready to do so, you can export your list and put it on your own personal commercial list server systems, complete with technicians who take care of everything behind the scenes - until then, and if you haven't done this before, to simply use Yahoogroups for ezine delivery is a really good way to get started with your ezine and to build up your subscriber base.
Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet
Spyware, viruses and worms... oh my!
If you are connected to the internet, you need to make sure you get your computer set up properly if you want to avoid problems down the road.
With all the viruses, spyware and other threats on the internet today, no computer should be set up without the proper protection.
And that protection needs to be in place as soon after you hook up your new machine as possible.
The following five steps will make your computer a much harder target for threats. You still won't be completely immune to problems, but 99% of the time the threat will pass you by, looking for the easy mark.
1. Running a Personal Firewall
A personal firewall is software that basically makes your computer invisible to hackers, worms and other threats that can infect your computer over the internet.
Setting up a firewall is the absolute first thing you should do if you're going to connect to the internet. Without a firewall, your computer could get infected in as little as one minute after connecting.
If you have a brand new computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2, there is a firewall built into Windows. It will already have been turned on when you first set up your computer.
If you're running an older version of Windows, even an earlier version of Windows XP, there is no firewall automatically set up for you. In this case there are two possibilities:
- Your computer came pre-loaded with a firewall such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee Internet Security
- You have no firewall installed and should download one ASAP.
If you don't have any personal firewall software installed, you should do so right away. Zone Alarm is a very good firewall program that has a version that you can download and install for free.
You can download the free version of Zone Alarm from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/zonealarm
2. Turn on Windows Updates
Again, if you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2 this is already set up, but otherwise you should turn on Windows Updates. Microsoft releases updates for security problems and other bugs in Windows on a regular basis.
These updates will keep your computer running better, and they often fix security issues that could compromise your information or privacy.
If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can double-check that automatic updates are turned on by clicking Start, then click Control Panel, then double-click Security Center. The window that opens will tell you if automatic updates are turned on, and lets you turn them on if they're not.
To turn on automatic updates in earlier versions of Windows XP, click on the Start menu, click Control Panel and then double-click on System. On the "Automatic Updates" tab, click the option to "Automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."
To turn them on in Windows 2000, click on Start, click Control Panel and then double-click on Automatic Updates. Again, click the option to "automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."
Now when Microsoft releases updates, they will be downloaded for you automatically and Windows will tell you when they are ready to be installed.
3. Install & Update Antivirus Software
Most new computers come with antivirus software these days. You might have Norton, McAfee, PC-Cillin or another brand. No matter what program you have, you will need to update it when you get connected to the internet.
It doesn't matter how new your computer is - there will be new viruses, and new updates for the antivirus software, since it was loaded.
The exact process is different for each brand of antivirus program, but most of them will have an icon in the bottom right corner of your desktop, beside the time. The icon might be a picture of a shield (McAfee), a stethoscope (Norton) or something else.
In most cases, if you point to the icon for your antivirus and click the right mouse button, a menu will pop up with an update option. It could be simply called update or could be something like Live Update or Download Latest Updates. If you click on the update option (with the left button this time) it will install the newest updates for you.
If you're not sure which icon is for your antivirus software, just point to each one for a few seconds and a little title should pop up telling you what it is.
4. Install Anti-Spyware Software
Spyware - and other things known as adware and malware - is becoming as big a problem as viruses. Spyware programs can cause a lot of problems with your computer, not to mention they can track your personal information and you never know where it's being sent.
Some new computers might includes antispyware software, but most of them don't yet. There are quite a few anti-spyware programs available, some free and some not. The one I recommend is from Microsoft and is one of the free ones.
One of the reasons I like it is because it always runs in the background and will automatically catch a lot of spyware before it gets on your computer.
Many of the other programs don't catch it until you run a scan. Not only does this allow things to get on your computer, it also means you have to actually remember to run a scan.
You can download the free Microsoft Antispyware from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/antispyware
5. Set up a Free Email Account
This last item is not as critical as the first four, but I would highly recommend you set up an email account with one of the free services like Hotmail or Gmail.
Once you're on the internet, you'll find a lot of useful information that you want that requires you to provide an email address. In some cases, these people will end up sending you a bunch of spam.
If you use a free email account to sign up for anything that you don't know for sure you can trust, it's not going to fill your main email with a bunch of junk.
This goes for anything really, not just online information. If you're entering a contest or signing up for anything offline and you don't know where your information could end up being used, I would suggest using your free email address.
If worse comes to worse, and your free email address gets inundated with spam, you can always just set up a new one and let the old one expire.
Some of the better free email services are www.hotmail.com, www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com.
If you've had your computer for a while and never done any of these things, you should still take these steps to get it set up properly. It will definitely save you a lot of time - and possibly money - as you use your system.
If you are connected to the internet, you need to make sure you get your computer set up properly if you want to avoid problems down the road.
With all the viruses, spyware and other threats on the internet today, no computer should be set up without the proper protection.
And that protection needs to be in place as soon after you hook up your new machine as possible.
The following five steps will make your computer a much harder target for threats. You still won't be completely immune to problems, but 99% of the time the threat will pass you by, looking for the easy mark.
1. Running a Personal Firewall
A personal firewall is software that basically makes your computer invisible to hackers, worms and other threats that can infect your computer over the internet.
Setting up a firewall is the absolute first thing you should do if you're going to connect to the internet. Without a firewall, your computer could get infected in as little as one minute after connecting.
If you have a brand new computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2, there is a firewall built into Windows. It will already have been turned on when you first set up your computer.
If you're running an older version of Windows, even an earlier version of Windows XP, there is no firewall automatically set up for you. In this case there are two possibilities:
- Your computer came pre-loaded with a firewall such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee Internet Security
- You have no firewall installed and should download one ASAP.
If you don't have any personal firewall software installed, you should do so right away. Zone Alarm is a very good firewall program that has a version that you can download and install for free.
You can download the free version of Zone Alarm from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/zonealarm
2. Turn on Windows Updates
Again, if you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2 this is already set up, but otherwise you should turn on Windows Updates. Microsoft releases updates for security problems and other bugs in Windows on a regular basis.
These updates will keep your computer running better, and they often fix security issues that could compromise your information or privacy.
If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can double-check that automatic updates are turned on by clicking Start, then click Control Panel, then double-click Security Center. The window that opens will tell you if automatic updates are turned on, and lets you turn them on if they're not.
To turn on automatic updates in earlier versions of Windows XP, click on the Start menu, click Control Panel and then double-click on System. On the "Automatic Updates" tab, click the option to "Automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."
To turn them on in Windows 2000, click on Start, click Control Panel and then double-click on Automatic Updates. Again, click the option to "automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."
Now when Microsoft releases updates, they will be downloaded for you automatically and Windows will tell you when they are ready to be installed.
3. Install & Update Antivirus Software
Most new computers come with antivirus software these days. You might have Norton, McAfee, PC-Cillin or another brand. No matter what program you have, you will need to update it when you get connected to the internet.
It doesn't matter how new your computer is - there will be new viruses, and new updates for the antivirus software, since it was loaded.
The exact process is different for each brand of antivirus program, but most of them will have an icon in the bottom right corner of your desktop, beside the time. The icon might be a picture of a shield (McAfee), a stethoscope (Norton) or something else.
In most cases, if you point to the icon for your antivirus and click the right mouse button, a menu will pop up with an update option. It could be simply called update or could be something like Live Update or Download Latest Updates. If you click on the update option (with the left button this time) it will install the newest updates for you.
If you're not sure which icon is for your antivirus software, just point to each one for a few seconds and a little title should pop up telling you what it is.
4. Install Anti-Spyware Software
Spyware - and other things known as adware and malware - is becoming as big a problem as viruses. Spyware programs can cause a lot of problems with your computer, not to mention they can track your personal information and you never know where it's being sent.
Some new computers might includes antispyware software, but most of them don't yet. There are quite a few anti-spyware programs available, some free and some not. The one I recommend is from Microsoft and is one of the free ones.
One of the reasons I like it is because it always runs in the background and will automatically catch a lot of spyware before it gets on your computer.
Many of the other programs don't catch it until you run a scan. Not only does this allow things to get on your computer, it also means you have to actually remember to run a scan.
You can download the free Microsoft Antispyware from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/antispyware
5. Set up a Free Email Account
This last item is not as critical as the first four, but I would highly recommend you set up an email account with one of the free services like Hotmail or Gmail.
Once you're on the internet, you'll find a lot of useful information that you want that requires you to provide an email address. In some cases, these people will end up sending you a bunch of spam.
If you use a free email account to sign up for anything that you don't know for sure you can trust, it's not going to fill your main email with a bunch of junk.
This goes for anything really, not just online information. If you're entering a contest or signing up for anything offline and you don't know where your information could end up being used, I would suggest using your free email address.
If worse comes to worse, and your free email address gets inundated with spam, you can always just set up a new one and let the old one expire.
Some of the better free email services are www.hotmail.com, www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com.
If you've had your computer for a while and never done any of these things, you should still take these steps to get it set up properly. It will definitely save you a lot of time - and possibly money - as you use your system.
Ways To STOP Affiliate Link "Hijackers"
Let's face the facts!
Almost everyone online today is looking to make or save a buck any way they can. In the past, most of the people who clicked on your affiliate links used to purchase without a second thought... but, as times get tougher online, it seems a growing number won't!
As money gets tighter and product prices rise, people who know how to manipulate the system will sometimes replace your affiliate ID with theirs and "hijack" your commissions.
Here's an example:
Let's say your affiliate link is www.ebookaboutcats.com/?live-well.
Say the highjacker uses the affiliate ID of captain-hook. What he would do is replace your ID with his, and buy from the URL www.ebookaboutcats.com/?captain-hook.
The bottom line: the hijacker puts your money in his pocket.
In other cases, they can't stand the thought of you "making money off them" so they bypass you by simply chopping off the end of your affiliate link that contains your ID.
Instead of buying from www.ebookaboutcats.com/?live-well, the bypasser will simply "chop off" the affiliate ID at the end and simply buy from the plain URL www.ebookaboutcats.com --without your affiliate ID attached!
Either way, you get cheated out of your rightful commission.
To help you fight these affiliate link hijackers I offer a couple of my best (proven and battle tested) tips, which will at least confuse these "hijackers" and, in many cases, often defeat and disarm them completely.
Side Note: If someone really, really wants to steal your affiliate commission, they will find a way; however, most hijackers are just opportunists who will only act if they see an easy buck.
The first and cheapest way to hide your affiliate links is using a javascript redirect page. This is where you hide your affiliate link in a page on your site using a simple javascript that redirects people to your affiliate link.
It works great not to expose your "naked" affiliate link in your actual email messages and ezine ads, but, once people get redirected to the true affiliate link, many affiliate programs expose the affiliate link along with your ID in the browser address bar.
Here's an example of a redirect script in action. Click => http://www.ebookfire.com/esejs.html
Notice how the link takes you to a page where you can see my affiliate ID, ebookfire, in your web browser's address bar.
Like it or not, someone can replace my ID with theirs and "hijack" the commission... but at least the redirect script keeps them from immediately seeing my "naked" affiliate link (http://hop.clickbank.net/?ebookfire/ebksecrets) when I publish it in my newsletter, email, or on my website.
You can get free redirect scripts just about anywhere you find free javascripts. Here is the script I use http://www.ebookfire.com/jrs.shtml.
A better way to hide your affiliate links is using a zero-frame or "invisible" frame that masks the affiliate link by making it appear you are sending people to a page on your website. In reality, you are actually sending them to your affiliate link.
This is the technique used by those "sub-domain" redirect services that provide you with urls like http://ese.ebookfire.net.
While giving someone a link like that is much better than using a "naked" affiliate link such as http://hop.clickbank.net/?ebookfire/ebksecrets, there is a problem. As soon as someone does a "view >> source" in their web browser they'll see your naked affiliate link plain as day... which instantly blows your cover!
Currently the best way to protect your affiliate commissions from ruthless hijackers is to use a combination of a zero- frame page along with URL encryption. This involves sending someone to URL that looks like a page on your site, but actually pulls in your affiliate link like those "sub- domain" services. However, there's one critical difference...
If someone does a "view >> source" in their browser, you have added protection in that all they will see is a jumble of computer code instead of your naked affiliate link.
Check out this example of a zero-frame with URL encryption in action. Click => http://www.ebookfire.com/ese.html
Side Note: Beware of cloaking scripts that use javascript to mask your affiliate link because they could malfunction in some web browsers.
Here's the bottom line: if you are going to sell through other people's affiliate programs, never send a "naked" affiliate link... you're just asking for people to hijack or bypass you if you do.
If you want to get paid more often through your affiliate links, make sure it's not obvious you're referring people to an affiliate link. If they can't easily see how to hijack or bypass your link, a lot more people who would have taken the money out of your pocket will just go ahead and buy through your link - which is, after all, the whole point! :-)
Almost everyone online today is looking to make or save a buck any way they can. In the past, most of the people who clicked on your affiliate links used to purchase without a second thought... but, as times get tougher online, it seems a growing number won't!
As money gets tighter and product prices rise, people who know how to manipulate the system will sometimes replace your affiliate ID with theirs and "hijack" your commissions.
Here's an example:
Let's say your affiliate link is www.ebookaboutcats.com/?live-well.
Say the highjacker uses the affiliate ID of captain-hook. What he would do is replace your ID with his, and buy from the URL www.ebookaboutcats.com/?captain-hook.
The bottom line: the hijacker puts your money in his pocket.
In other cases, they can't stand the thought of you "making money off them" so they bypass you by simply chopping off the end of your affiliate link that contains your ID.
Instead of buying from www.ebookaboutcats.com/?live-well, the bypasser will simply "chop off" the affiliate ID at the end and simply buy from the plain URL www.ebookaboutcats.com --without your affiliate ID attached!
Either way, you get cheated out of your rightful commission.
To help you fight these affiliate link hijackers I offer a couple of my best (proven and battle tested) tips, which will at least confuse these "hijackers" and, in many cases, often defeat and disarm them completely.
Side Note: If someone really, really wants to steal your affiliate commission, they will find a way; however, most hijackers are just opportunists who will only act if they see an easy buck.
The first and cheapest way to hide your affiliate links is using a javascript redirect page. This is where you hide your affiliate link in a page on your site using a simple javascript that redirects people to your affiliate link.
It works great not to expose your "naked" affiliate link in your actual email messages and ezine ads, but, once people get redirected to the true affiliate link, many affiliate programs expose the affiliate link along with your ID in the browser address bar.
Here's an example of a redirect script in action. Click => http://www.ebookfire.com/esejs.html
Notice how the link takes you to a page where you can see my affiliate ID, ebookfire, in your web browser's address bar.
Like it or not, someone can replace my ID with theirs and "hijack" the commission... but at least the redirect script keeps them from immediately seeing my "naked" affiliate link (http://hop.clickbank.net/?ebookfire/ebksecrets) when I publish it in my newsletter, email, or on my website.
You can get free redirect scripts just about anywhere you find free javascripts. Here is the script I use http://www.ebookfire.com/jrs.shtml.
A better way to hide your affiliate links is using a zero-frame or "invisible" frame that masks the affiliate link by making it appear you are sending people to a page on your website. In reality, you are actually sending them to your affiliate link.
This is the technique used by those "sub-domain" redirect services that provide you with urls like http://ese.ebookfire.net.
While giving someone a link like that is much better than using a "naked" affiliate link such as http://hop.clickbank.net/?ebookfire/ebksecrets, there is a problem. As soon as someone does a "view >> source" in their web browser they'll see your naked affiliate link plain as day... which instantly blows your cover!
Currently the best way to protect your affiliate commissions from ruthless hijackers is to use a combination of a zero- frame page along with URL encryption. This involves sending someone to URL that looks like a page on your site, but actually pulls in your affiliate link like those "sub- domain" services. However, there's one critical difference...
If someone does a "view >> source" in their browser, you have added protection in that all they will see is a jumble of computer code instead of your naked affiliate link.
Check out this example of a zero-frame with URL encryption in action. Click => http://www.ebookfire.com/ese.html
Side Note: Beware of cloaking scripts that use javascript to mask your affiliate link because they could malfunction in some web browsers.
Here's the bottom line: if you are going to sell through other people's affiliate programs, never send a "naked" affiliate link... you're just asking for people to hijack or bypass you if you do.
If you want to get paid more often through your affiliate links, make sure it's not obvious you're referring people to an affiliate link. If they can't easily see how to hijack or bypass your link, a lot more people who would have taken the money out of your pocket will just go ahead and buy through your link - which is, after all, the whole point! :-)
Simple Ways To Save A Bunch Of Money When Buying A New Computer!
Looking to buy a new computer?
Overwhelmed by all of the options available to you?
Stressed by the high cost of computers today?
For most people, buying a new computer does not have to be as stressful as buying a new car. Nor does it have to be as expensive. If you’re like most people, and you have a limited budget for buying a computer, then you need to try to get as much computer for your money as possible.
Here are 3 simple ways anyone can save money when buying a new computer:
1) Shop around for best deal.
Sounds pretty obvious. But many people don’t realize they don’t need the fastest, most expensive computer with the most “extras”. In fact, if you are already using an older computer, even the least expensive new computer will be a big upgrade. If you don’t know a lot about computers, you can learn a lot by shopping around. Ask lots of questions, compare prices, compare features, then find the best price. Shop at your local electronics store, and look for the best deals online. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by shopping around!
2) Install your own “extras”
Many computers you will find in a store have a lot of extra software already installed. While this is convenient, it is not always the best way for you to save money. Also, while many of these extras sound good, you don’t always need them. You can often find better deals by shopping around separately for your own software extras (such as a word processor, anti-virus, popup blocker, spyware removal, games, etc). And some of these you can get for free. So before you buy the “fully loaded” computer, ask yourself if you really need all the extras, then shop around to see if you can buy a scaled down computer - and get the extras yourself for much less!
3) Don’t buy extended warranty
If you are not a computer “techie”, the extended warranties offered by the computer retailers often sound like a good idea. After all, who wants to be bothered paying for service on a computer after you buy it. But keep in mind that most computers come with a warranty, and most computer problems will either happen at the beginning (when you still have the warranty in effect) or much later (when it might be cheaper to buy a new computer). Technology changes very quickly these days. So consider whether or not it’s worth the inflated price of the extended warranty. And, if you really feel you need the extended warranty, then ask to purchase it at a lower price. Not all retailers will negotiate on the warranty, but some will. And whether you buy the extended warranty or not, make sure you back up all your files periodically, just in case!
If you have an unlimited budget, consider yourself lucky. And if you do business on the computer, make sure you get what you need, while trying to keep the price down. At any price, buying something that does not fit your needs is not a good deal.
Hope you find these tips helpful, and happy computer shopping!
Overwhelmed by all of the options available to you?
Stressed by the high cost of computers today?
For most people, buying a new computer does not have to be as stressful as buying a new car. Nor does it have to be as expensive. If you’re like most people, and you have a limited budget for buying a computer, then you need to try to get as much computer for your money as possible.
Here are 3 simple ways anyone can save money when buying a new computer:
1) Shop around for best deal.
Sounds pretty obvious. But many people don’t realize they don’t need the fastest, most expensive computer with the most “extras”. In fact, if you are already using an older computer, even the least expensive new computer will be a big upgrade. If you don’t know a lot about computers, you can learn a lot by shopping around. Ask lots of questions, compare prices, compare features, then find the best price. Shop at your local electronics store, and look for the best deals online. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by shopping around!
2) Install your own “extras”
Many computers you will find in a store have a lot of extra software already installed. While this is convenient, it is not always the best way for you to save money. Also, while many of these extras sound good, you don’t always need them. You can often find better deals by shopping around separately for your own software extras (such as a word processor, anti-virus, popup blocker, spyware removal, games, etc). And some of these you can get for free. So before you buy the “fully loaded” computer, ask yourself if you really need all the extras, then shop around to see if you can buy a scaled down computer - and get the extras yourself for much less!
3) Don’t buy extended warranty
If you are not a computer “techie”, the extended warranties offered by the computer retailers often sound like a good idea. After all, who wants to be bothered paying for service on a computer after you buy it. But keep in mind that most computers come with a warranty, and most computer problems will either happen at the beginning (when you still have the warranty in effect) or much later (when it might be cheaper to buy a new computer). Technology changes very quickly these days. So consider whether or not it’s worth the inflated price of the extended warranty. And, if you really feel you need the extended warranty, then ask to purchase it at a lower price. Not all retailers will negotiate on the warranty, but some will. And whether you buy the extended warranty or not, make sure you back up all your files periodically, just in case!
If you have an unlimited budget, consider yourself lucky. And if you do business on the computer, make sure you get what you need, while trying to keep the price down. At any price, buying something that does not fit your needs is not a good deal.
Hope you find these tips helpful, and happy computer shopping!
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