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Web
Marketing Ezine
June
19th., 2002
Issue #195
ISSN 1444-2027
Contents
1. Sponsor's Message
2. First Word
3. Tips, Tools, News and Views
- Why
I Joined CASHevolution
- Don't Let Them Guess
- View Your Web
Pages At Different Screen Resolutions
- Web Design Tip-
Modifying Your Links
- Free Training Course of The Week: More Luck
- E-Commerce Term Of The Week: Compression
4. A Touch of Humor: FBI
Accused Of Passing Secrets To U.S.
5.
Classified Ads
6. Free Training Courses
7. Feature Article: Do-it-Yourself
News Releases for Small Business
8. Our Companion Ezine
9. Administrivia
Visit our companion website at http://www.WebMarketingEzine.com
Want to read this online? For your convenience, the Current Issue
of WME is posted each week at the WME website. Just visit
http://www.WebMarketingEzine.com/currentissue.shtml
1. Sponsor's Message
You'd
kick yourself if you didn't find out!
2.
First Word
Hi
All!
This
week we do a couple of things out of the ordinary.
The
first is to tell you about a program that we've joined, but not tell you why!
You'll just have to find out for yourself.
The
second is to include a free training course, called 'The 20-Day Boot Camp in Building Success and
Good Fortune'. It may seem more in the area
of Personal Development than Web Marketing, but trust me, it will help you.
Thought
For the Week: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."
Till next week, have a good one!
John
3. Tips, Tools, News and
View
Why
I Joined CASHevolution
I
have just joined a unique Investment/Affiliate Program called CASHevolution. And
now I'm going to do something unusual.
I'm
not going to recommend it to you, or tell you why!
I
value your readership, and respect your right to make your own decisions in an
important area like this. I'll simply tell you that I joined, and that you can
read full details of the program at CASHevolution
Please take the time to visit.
If
you decide to join, and I hope you do, it'll be a pleasure to welcome you to the
WME team. As you'll read, our promotion of CASHevolution in Web Marketing Ezine,
can directly benefit YOU. Let's
work together to create a better financial future for ourselves.
Don't
Let Them Guess
Earlier
this year Consumer WebWatch Report looked at features US users consider
"very important" on shopping websites. The results are interesting...
95%
"A statement of all fees that you will be charged for using the site,
including shipping costs, transaction fees and handling fees."
93%
"A statement of how the site will use your name, address, credit card
number, and other personal information you provide."
89%
"An explanation of when you can expect delivery of your products or
confirmation of your order."
88%
"A statement of the site's policies for returning unwanted items or
cancelled reservations."
81%
"The email address, street address or telephone number where you can reach
the site's staff about any problems."
76%
"The site's private policy."
Human
nature being what it is, many consumers will tend to be cynical about a site's
policies, probably assuming the worst. Tell them what your policies really are, and you
immediately remove some areas of doubt. You also look a lot more professional.
Guess what all that does to conversion rates, and your bottom line?
WME
Supported By...
Being lucky is a skill, just like any other skill. As you learn it and you practice it, you get better. You get luckier.
How do I know? Because I learned it myself - beginning from absolute zero.
My name is Charles Burke, , and I wrote the book on luck - literally. With Command
More Luck, you can start calling the shots. Take charge of your luck,
your success, your love-life... Act
Now!
View
Your Web Pages At Different Screen Resolutions
Good
web design practice, and common courtesy, suggest that you should make sure that
your web pages look good at different monitor resolutions. After all, not
everyone uses that great 19" monitor you have running at 1024x768, do they?
In fact, the majority are using a much more humble 88x600. How can you see what
they see? This handy tip was published in Monday's LockerGnome...
"A lot of Web designers have asked for a way to preview their site(s) in other screen resolutions the easy way, without keep changing their own monitor settings every time. Of course, one way is to resize the browser's window into the specific sizes - like 800x600 or 640x480 - using bookmarklets. Browsers like Opera 6.0 and Mozilla 1.0 have a zoom feature built- in, but Internet Explorer needs to rely on a CSS extension. Try adding this to your body element: "zoom: [value]" (replace the [value] with either integers or percentage values, sans quotes). Now, test your math skills! Calculate the percentages needed to emulate resolutions on your screen. For example, if you're at 1024x768 and you want to see your Web page in 800x600, use a 72% zoom value. To see your site in 640x480, use a 40% value."
Web
Design Tip- Modifying Your Links
Want
to remove the underlining on your links? Want to change the color of your links?
Shelley Lowery, author of Web Design mastery, tells you how...
Removing a Link
Underline
You can remove the underline of an individual link by adding the STYLE tag to
your link HTML.
Example Code:
| <A
HREF="http://www.yourdomain.com" STYLE="TEXT-DECORATION:
NONE">Your Link</A> |
Browser View:
Your Link
Changing Link Colors
You can change the color of an individual link by adding a font tag in front of
your linked text.
Example Code:
| <A
HREF="http://www.yourdomain.com"><FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Your
Link</FONT></A> |
Browser View:
Your Link
Copyright � Shelley Lowery 2002
Web Design Tips is an excerpt from Web
Design Mastery - An Internet Marketers Copy & Paste Reference
Guide. Learn how to design a professional web site in the easiest possible
fashion -- with hundreds of copy & paste codes.
(Disclosure: I am a Web Design Mastery Affiliate.)
WME
Supported By...
Professional
Web Design Secrets the Pros Don't Want You to Know...
 "Finally,
a Web design course that makes total and complete sense! Web
Design Mastery will quickly become the "Bible" for
anyone who wants to build a website. Totally top shelf!"- Rick Beneteau
Nothing
is left to the imagination...Web
Design Mastery takes you step by step through the entire process.
Don't miss out on the special, introductory price, or the bonuses, click
here!
Free Training
Course of the Week: More Luck
Charles
Burke is the author of 'Command More Luck', a liberating and empowering book
that helps us set free from the circumstances that hold us back, and shows us
how to start making our own luck. Now, Charles has produced a free 20-part free
email training course he calls the 'The 20-Day Boot Camp in Building Success and
Good Fortune'. I commend it to you.
To
take this, and other free training courses, visit
http://www.webmarketingezine.com/freetrainingcourses.shtml#Luck
E-Commerce
Term of the Week: Compression
A method
for storing text, data, or images in fewer bits, it makes data smaller so less
disk or file space is needed to represent the same information. Consequently,
the information may be transmitted in less time. Compression takes place via one
of several compression standards, including JPG, MPEG, GIF, TIF, and ZIP.
-Source: NetLingo- The Internet Dictionary
http://www.netlingo.com
The NetLingo Dictionary book is 528-pages of over 2500 terms. Learn more...
4. A Touch of
Humor
FBI
Accused Of Passing Secrets To U.S.
Information Could Haven Fallen into Wrong
Hands, Such as FBI
Washington,
D.C. (SatireWire.com) � In an alarming breakdown of internal security, the
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation today was accused of passing classified,
terrorism-related information to the United States.
The leak, in which
information was successfully passed from an agent in the field to headquarters,
was believed to be a first in FBI history.
FBI Director Robert
Mueller, however, insisted the breach was detected before the classified
documents could fall into the wrong hands, such as the CIA, the NSA, the Office
of Homeland Security, the FAA, or any other U.S. law enforcement or security
agency. But Mueller was forced to concede that the FBI itself had gained access
to the files.
He also admitted that
the suspect likely had an accomplice on the inside.
"The
agent in question sent the information to headquarters, which in itself might
not have aroused suspicion," said Mueller. "However, when a supervisor
attempted to disseminate the information to Homeland Security, that tipped us
off that something unusual was happening."
The
agent was immediately arrested and the supervisor placed on administrative
leave.
As for a
motive, Mueller speculated it was financial. "Our initial investigation
shows that an agent in the field was being paid to gather information, which he
was then passing on to his superiors," he said. "In return for this
subterfuge, the agent was furnished with a car and an annual salary.
"We
believe the FBI was the source of this funding," he added.
Particularly
distressing, Mueller said, was the bravado displayed by the alleged mole.
"He did this quite in the open, sending the information through the proper
channels, apparently confident that he would not get caught."
The FBI
promised to eventually blame the CIA for the incident.
-Source:
Copyright � 2002, SatireWire
5. Classified Ads
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Article
Announce - The Free Writer & Publisher Connection
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Your
own infoproduct? Take the FREE InfoProduct Masters course!
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6. Free Training Courses
Increase your knowledge; hone your skills; improve your results! Take advantage
of some of the finest FREE training courses on the Web by visiting our Free
Training Course listing at;
http://www.webmarketingezine.com/freetrainingcourses.shtml
With over 20 courses to choose from, you're sure to find something!
7. Feature Article
Do-it-Yourself
News Releases for Small Business
By Heather Reimer
How do you create some serious buzz about your online or offline company on zero
budget? That's what Celina wanted to know. She's the owner of a website that
specializes in desktop publishing and site design.
It's a small, fairly new company with no money to commission a professional
media release. Still, Celina wanted to get the word out so she asked me for some
tips on how to write her own release.
MAKE BELIEVE YOU'RE A JOURNALIST
First, put yourself in the reporter's shoes. Try to imagine what kinds of
stories would interest her and how you can make her job easier by dropping a
good story right in her lap. Ask yourself:
What sets your gizmo or your company apart from the competition?
Have you recently launched a new product or service?
Personnel changes, awards, events, surveys, poll results and joint ventures can
all be spun into news stories.
OH, THE HUMANITY!
Did you have to overcome some great challenge or difficulty to arrive at where
you are now? Or maybe one of your clients had a special, urgent need that was
filled by your product/service?
Bottom line - human interest sells. For example, big lottery jackpots would
never make the news if they blatantly promoted the lottery corporation itself.
But notice how the media flacks writing the releases always focus on some aspect
of the winner's life... an ailing grandmother in need of expensive treatments, a
house that recently burned down and now can be rebuilt, etc. In other words, the
human angle that newspapers, radio and TV just gobble up!
THE INVERTED PYRAMID
Write an enticing subject line, headline and first paragraph. Get to the point
quickly. Believe it or not, most news writers and editors only take five seconds
to decide if they'll act on your announcement or not.
News reporters themselves have been trained to write using the "inverted
pyramid", putting the most important information -- who, what, where, when,
why and how -- at the top. And that's what they expect to see in your media
release.
Unfortunately, most releases wind up in the garbage/delete folder because they
start weak, take too long to get to the point, or are full of hype and puffery.
JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM
Keep the self-promotion to a minimum but do include all your contact information
-- e-mail and snail mail, URL, phone and fax numbers -- plus a brief explanation
of what your company does. Emphasis on brief! In fact, keep the entire release
to under a page if possible.
The exception to the rule is complex subjects, like for example an economic
forecast, aimed at a niche market not a general audience.
ONE PHOTO = A THOUSAND WORDS
If a photo is available and helps tell your story, by all means include it. This
could make your release jump out and demand attention from a busy editor who
sees nothing but black and white type all day.
MILK THE LOCAL ANGLE
Try to send your release to a specific person working on a specific beat at each
media outlet, at least locally. This will require some research but will ensure
that a warm body actually gets your announcement.
And keep in mind, the media love a "local boy/girl makes good" story
so really target your hometown newspapers, magazines and TV/radio stations and
work that angle!
GET A SECOND OPINION
If you're having a hard time finding any angle at all, ask a friend or a
business associate to lend a fresh perspective. You may be too close to your own
business to see the forest for the preprocessed paper products. An objective
bystander's insights might surprise and inspire you!
GET OUT THE DICTIONARY
Finally, proofread your finished product meticulously for errors. Then get your
friend to do so as well. Two heads are better than one. Ten proofreads are
better than two.
In conclusion, give the media something they can sink their teeth into. Dig
hard, think laterally, navel gaze until you find the one thing about your
company that the public (and therefore the media) would be interested in.
By handing reporters a ready-made story on a silver platter, you're sowing the
seeds of some serious buzz!
About the Author:
How can you free up your time and improve traffic and revenues? Hire an
experienced writer/editor. Heather Reimer writes action-provoking news releases,
e-zines, web content, sales letters, ads and articles. Get a free content
analysis report when you request an estimate. [email protected]
- Content Provided by Syndicator
8. Our Companion Ezine:
A Better Life:ItsYourFuture!
ITS YOUR
FUTURE!
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Fitness, Nutrition & Personal
Finance- all aimed at helping YOU to take control of YOUR future!
Subscribe FREE by sending a blank email to:
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BE HAPPY BE HEALTHY LIVE LONG & PROSPER
9. Administrivia
Website:
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John Payne does not accept any responsibility for any liabilities resulting
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This publication is for informational purposes only.
Copyright:
� Copyright 2000-2002 John Payne All rights reserved. Web Marketing Ezine may
only be redistributed in its unedited form. You are welcome to forward it to as
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