MY IBIZ WEEKLY December 10, 2002
_______________________________________________________________
Starting a Business on the Internet isn't impossible if
you have the right help...
Vol.13, Issue 13 Editor :
Donesia Muhammad
Copyright (c) 2002 KDM Publishing
http://EzineAdHelper.com
Today's Issue Is Going Out To
over 5,000 Subscribers.
*** Don't Forget About Our New
Ad Specials for This Week ***
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_______________________________________________________________
IN THIS WEEKS' ISSUE
_______________________________________________________________
Editors' Notes
New Ad Specials
Free Sp^m Check Tool
Plus My Ezine Results
Feature Article: My IBiz Series,
Part Four Don't Keep All Your Eggs In One Basket
Spotlight Ads
Article #2: 5 Warning Signs of a Scam
Business by Sandra Stammberger Hot Off the
Press: Embarrassingly Simple Way to Get the Top
Spot in the Search Engines with your Affiliate Links
Ezine of The Week
Website of The Week
Need Quality
Ezines to Subscribe To?
Contact Information
When they
said, "$10,000 in Two Weeks" -- We Believed
Them... They Lied To Us! The Most Common Lies In
Internet Marketing Exposed! http://all-in-one-business.com/cgi-bin/at.cgi?a=217525
_______________________________________________________________
EDITOR'S NOTES
_______________________________________________________________
Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of MIBW.
Well, by now everyone probably received a welcome
message from me.
Disregard that message. I have finally
moved my list to where I am comfortable with the
software, it resides on my server and since I am very
happy with my web host, I can smile again :)
I
purchased Autoresponse Plus http://www.autoresponseplus.com/link.php?a=ezadhelper
yesterday and I am proud to say I installed the
software myself along with installing my first php
script. Both scripts required professional installation
but no, I am one of those " I have to do it
myself" type of person, so I was determined and I
succeeded. Woo Hoo, no more monthly fees.
This is a
good day LOL. Next week, I will give you more features
on this great software. The only thing that kept me
from purchasing this script earlier was the price. Hey
do you think if a utility bill is due, I am even
thinking about buying software!! But once I was able to
I jumped on it. I will let you know more on Tuesday
about the php script I installed which will help my
coop customers and my publishers greatly. So hopefully
by Friday I will be able to use the software full time.
While I have installed the software no problem, and it
is fairly easy to understand, I still have to get used
to it. I couldn't believe I was able to upload my list
within seconds.
Normally I have to reformat the
addresses to fit their format, but not here. Thank
goodness because that is always a pain when you are
moving lists, and it was no biggie when you have a
small list but not when you have 5000 subscribers.
Not
the easiest. Today Is Part Four Of The My IBiz Series..
Don't Keep All Your Eggs In One Basket If you wonder
why I gave this part such a weird title. This is
something I have always been taught. Have a backup
plan, never rely on just one thing for your income. So
today we are going to deal with trying to figure out
what to sell online, and what about those of you who
want to work at home but not in your own business??
The
answer.. Telecommuting.. A growing trend these days but
no one seems to know where to find those type of jobs.
Well I found a bunch of sites to help you find that
perfect at home job. You will also get some great tips
on how not to get scammed these days with all the hype
you find online.
Due to the length of today's issue.
Kevin Bidwell's Traffic Building Article will be seen
in Friday's issue as well as a great article on
protecting yourself from pyramid schemes.
Stay tuned
for that. Friday I told you about a new sp^m checking
tool from Ken Evoy that will check your ezine to see
how many filters it triggers. I will give you the
results of my ezine checked with an html and a text
version and you will see why I am using text these
days..
Did you also know that you can check your ads as
well. Its not just for ezine publishers but for anyone
using email marketing. I checked the solo ad that was
sent out Friday. It scored a 1.6 which is excellent.
Read about the new tool and you can see what I mean and
why it is so important to us. How did your ad do ??
Tuesday I will give you a quick series on creating
filter friendly ads to make your ezine a better ezine
to read..along with Part Five of the My IBiz Series
which will focus on creating your web presence with
your site, your domain, your product. I will also let
you know my work at home experience and how I learned
from it big time..
And yes I plan to either place all
this info into an ebook or an email course, so stay
tuned. I also told you that I am finally developing
myibizweekly.com to keep all my archived issues. When
that is done, then I will be able to have html versions
on site and I will still send the text versions to your
inbox. I am still tweaking out the details on
subscriber delivery because the majority of you want to
see text versions of the ezine. I understand we can't
all have unfiltered email access.
Some things you may
not be able to avoid based on what type of internet
access is available in your area. Well, that's about it
for today everyone. I hope you have a pleasant week. As
always if you have any questions, comments, or feedback
, just let me know here
mailto:donesia@ezineadhelper.com
Donesia Muhammad
_______________________________________________________________
New Sp^m Filter Check Tool For Ezine Publishers
_______________________________________________________________
I have a new and very helpful tool for you. For those
of you who are 5 Pillar affiliates, you know what I am
talking about. This new feature allows you to run your
ezine copy to their autoresponder and get an instant
results test that will show you whether your ezine will
make it past the filters. It will give you a score and
break down what needs to be changed. Read the
description below, and try it out.
The results from
today's issue as well as a previous html issue will be
posted on Monday so you can see just how picky those
filters are. The SITESELL SPAMCHECK Tool is a quick way
for honest marketers to make sure that their e-mails
are less likely to be considered spam by ISPs, by
Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail (which tosses you into their
Junk folders) and even by individual filters set up by
an ever-growing number of recipients around the world.
Here's how it works... STEP 1: Copy-and-paste your
subject, but start your subject with the word
"TEST" (without the quotes, in UPPER CASE) so
that we know this is a test e-mail. (If the subject
does NOT start with TEST, we'll assume it's REAL spam
and delete it). Here's a sample subject... TESTFlower-Lovers
Ezine #007: Peonies for the Yukon STEP 2:
Copy-and-paste the rest of your e-zine and simply send
it, exactly the way you would send it to your
recipient, to...
mailto:spamcheck-mibw@sitesell.net
You'll get a report back (in seconds, perhaps a few
minutes if volume is heavy) telling you how good or bad
your e-mail is, from a spam-detector's point of view.
You will receive a full, free report of all corrections
that you should make to your zine, in order to stay out
of the junk folders. It does NOT, of course, actually
comment on WHAT you write -- first, it's not that
smart. And second, the actual content is YOUR business!
;-)
_______________________________________________________________
My Results From Friday's Issue
_______________________________________________________________
MY RESULTS
Now I checked it myself with one of my
issues which was in HTML and was 48kb in size. Very
large according to the spam filters. I also checked an
issue which was a different issue but one that was
recent and in text only. The report came back to me was
astonishing. No wonder everyone has bouncing addresses
these days. We are here wondering why we are getting
low sales, and people are not getting our email to even
respond to the sale. Okay this is what my score was
13.2 for the html version. At first I thought okay not
that bad huh.
Wrong, the score should be between a 5
and 8. This is what they told me what was wrong in my
issue. This is a must have tool for us to check out,
and we may all reconsider for those of us who use html,
or who use text but send large emails. The score for my
text version was a 7.2, better and I will show you the
problems with each issue so you can understand why your
issues are reaching your readers.
For the HTML Issue, a
score of 13.2 In order of importance, here are the
mistakes that we found in your e-mail...
(1.6 points)
Your e-mail contains a moderate amount of the
following: terms, formatting, or aggressive writing
common to everyday spam. Consider reworking.
(1.5
points) BODY: Talks about opting in
(1.3 points) URI:
Uses a dotted-decimal IP address in URL (
1.1 points)
BODY: Get Paid
(0.9 points) BODY: Free Membership
(0.6
points) BODY: Information on how to work at home (2) (
0.5 points) BODY: Message contains disclaimer
(0.4
points) BODY: HTML table has thick border
(0.4 points)
BODY: Information on how to work at home (1)
(0.4
points) URI: Includes a link to send a mail with a
subject (
0.3 points) BODY: Asks you to click below
(0.3
points) BODY: No Purchase Necessary
(0.3 points) BODY:
Contains word 'profits' in all-caps
(0.3 points) BODY:
What are you waiting for
(0.3 points) BODY: FONT Size
+2 and up or 3 and up
(0.3 points) BODY: HTML font face
is not a commonly used face
(0.3 points) BODY: HTML
font color is red
(0.3 points) BODY: HTML font color
not within safe 6x6x6 palette
(0.3 points) BODY: Tells
you to click on a URL
(0.3 points) BODY: Talks about
email marketing
(0.3 points) BODY: Save big money
(0.2
points) BODY: HTML font color is blue
(0.2 points)
BODY: Image tag with an ID code to identify you
(0.2
points) BODY: Only $$$
(0.2 points) BODY: Includes a
URL link to send an email
(0.2 points) BODY: Encourages
you to waste no time in ordering
(0.2 points) BODY:
Contains 'for only' some amount of cash It is NOT
important, of course, to remove every single item.
Any
score under 5 is great. And 5-8 is likely fine.
Special
Note: SpamCheck is powered by SpamAssassin filtering
software. We thank them for their efforts to reduce
spam and for providing this technology to help cut down
spam at the SENDING end rather than merely at the
RECEIVING end.
And for the Text issue with a score of
7.2
(1.6 points) Your e-mail contains a moderate amount
of the following: terms, formatting, or aggressive
writing common to everyday spam. Consider reworking.
(1.5 points) BODY: Talks about opting in
(0.5 points)
BODY: Message contains disclaimer
(0.4 points) BODY:
Offers a limited time offer
(0.4 points) BODY: No such
thing as a free lunch (2)
(0.4 points) BODY:
Information on how to work at home (1)
(0.4 points)
BODY: Gives instructions for removal from list
(0.4
points) URI: Includes a link to send a mail with a
subject
(0.3 points) BODY: Contains word 'profits' in
all-caps
(0.3 points) BODY: 3 WHOLE LINES OF YELLING
DETECTED
(0.3 points) BODY: Asks you to click below
(0.2 points) BODY: Only $$$
(0.2 points) BODY:
Encourages you to waste no time in ordering
(0.2
points) BODY: 2 WHOLE LINES OF YELLING DETECTED
(0.2
points) BODY: A WHOLE LINE OF YELLING DETECTED
(0.2
points) BODY: Contains 'for only' some amount of cash
(0.1 points) BODY: Talks about social security numbers
Seems like we cant say a thing anymore huh.
Now I also
sent out the issue that I have done for the past week
or so, a short email with a link to the online version
and an autoresponder address for the text version.
That
scored a 6.2 I guess that figures out my dilemma on
which format to deliver my ezine. You can also check
your ads with this tool as well.
Use it to check
anything you send through email and you may be
surprised that when your ad campaigns failed, you were
looking the wrong way to blame. So check first before
you start any campaign.
mailto:spamcheck-mibw@sitesell.net
_______________________________________________________________
My IBiz Series, Part Four Don't Keep All Your Eggs In
One Basket
_______________________________________________________________
{{{Note: This tutorial is not meant to replace any
legal advice regarding business start ups, accounting,
taxes, or any zoning laws in your state. Please refer
to those guidelines as well when setting up your
business. This tutorial is meant to give you an idea of
what you are facing when starting your business. Always
discuss this with a tax professional and/or a lawyer
first before taking anyone's advice.}}}
Last week, Part
Three, we found out how to obtain your federal tax id
number along with finding out that corporations are not
the easiest thing to develop but they do have it's
advantages. We also looked at doing business
internationally. How you can easily offend someone by
not taking the time to learn their culture.
You can
view the Introduction (Part One) here
http://ezineadhelper.com/archives/mibw11-19.htm
You can
view Part Two here
http://ezineadhelper.com/archives/mibw11-26.htm
You can
view Part Three here
http://ezineadhelper.com/archives/mibw12-3.htm
Today we
are going to learn about developing offline skills to
succeed online and how to work at home through
telecommunication, and just how do you find a
telecommuting home job anyway?
I have come very far in
the two years that I have started to learn all about
the internet. I remember when I had no idea how to even
download a file, let alone start a website.
But I knew
I wanted to make money and I knew that what I learned
in the real world will help me online. Now I am knew
that although I am only 29, and don't have those years
of experience that you hear everyone talking about, and
most of my past jobs dealt with customer service, and
telemarketing. Boy was I wrong...
Those were the
perfect job skills I needed to start online. I already
knew how to interact with my customers, I already knew
what words and phrases help you to sell, so I was on a
roll. You see there is something that I have learned
from my mother and this stays with me always. Never
Keep All Your Eggs In One Basket...
Obviously she did
not originate this phrase but she wanted me to know to
always have a back up career. You never know what may
happen in the future and you have to be prepared for
change. My mother is a nurse. She went to school to
become a dietician.
After doing this for 15 years, she
decided to become a nurse, her lifelong dream. In the
meantime while going to nursing school, she also become
a licensed real estate agent. Hey, great commissions..
While she has been involved in nursing for over 10
years now, she always knows that if tomorrow arrives
and for some reason she is no longer a nurse, she can
pick up where she left off in real estate. So she won't
fret about " oh where can I work at now"
She
already has Plan B in her back pocket. So while we all
want our own business online. Until you are at that
point, you may want to freshen up your offline skills.
Just in Case.. You Never Stop Learning... Just Keep
Growing... Plan B So do you have a back up plan??
Learn
as much as you can about careers that interest you so
you can use that to expand on your career now. For
instance, Over the past few months, I am getting very
experienced in software and script installation. I
enjoy installing those hard cgi, perl, php, and scripts
for mysql databases. Do you think I am not going to add
software installation to my resume for next year.. Of
course I am. Never think that you need to have ten
million degrees in order to list it as a job skill.
Of
course they are obviously the jobs that you need
licenses and degrees for but you know what I mean Offer
a Service for the Busy Consumer We all have limited
time these days. Why not start a service oriented
business? My ad coop is a service type business.
There
are so many services you can offer to people.. Web
Design Web Hosting ( Become a Reseller) Marketing and
Promotion Search Engine Optimizing The list goes on and
on.
Find what you love to do and get it started online.
Elena Fawkner from A Home Based Business Online has a
great site with tons of ideas on what businesses you
can start at home. http://www.ahbbo.com/ideas.html
Before you start any service or develop a product,
remember these questions:
Who will buy my product?
Why
should they buy my product?
How will they buy my
product?
What is my target audience ( who am I trying
to market the product towards)?
Is this a product to be
purchased on emotions or will people buy my product
regardless ( hype vs. non hype)? ( More on this subject
at a later date)
I Just Want to Work at Home, Where are
all the Jobs?? For those of you who like myself, love
to find work at home jobs to supplement your income or
for a full time career, I have a great list of sites,
and ezines that will help you find a work at home
career.
But please remember, if it looks too good to be
true, it probably is. If they ask for a fee, steer
clear. When you go on job interviews, do they ask you
for money upfront?? So why shell out money just because
the job is online. Make sure the contact information is
clear and precise.
Check out their credentials with
Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.com
to make sure
no complaints haven't been filed with the company.
Don't be afraid to ask for references. Ask around, it
will save you the hassle later on. Here are some
websites that offer telecommuting jobs. See which one
may be right for you.
This is by far a very short list
of sites compared to what's out there, but as I find
more sites, I will list them every week for you.
http://telecommuting.about.com/library/blfindingwork.htm
My Mommy Biz
http://www.mymommybiz.com/telecommute/
WAHM Fest http://www.wahmfest.org/telecom.html
Live Ops http://liveops.com
Here is a discussion list for those
who work for Live Ops or are interested in working with
Live Ops
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VSRs
Workaholics
4 Hire Telecommuting Jobs Database http://www.workaholics4hire.com/database.htm
Dot Com
Mommies http://www.dotcommommies.com
Mommy's Place.net http://www.mommysplace.net/companies.html
Out Source
2000 http://outsource2000.com
National Work at Home
Employment Center http://www.workathomeincome.com/
Flip
Dog.com ( Job Database) http://flipdog.com
Hot Jobs http://hotjobs.com
Monster.com http://monster.com
New
Work at Home Jobs.com http://www.newathomejobs.com/
Home Job Stop http://www.homejobstop.com
Ezines Dot Com
Mommies Work at Home Jobs join-dotcommommies@relay.netatlantic.com
TelecommutingUSA.com http://TelecommutingUSA.com
Legit
Work at Home Ezine http://www.legitworkathome.com/
Money Making Mommy http://moneymakingmommy.com
Ebooks
Free Working at Home Resources Download now. Size 274kb http://ezineadhelper.com/download/freewah.exe
Next Week
in Part Five Don't ever think that you can't do well
online because you don't have 10 degrees in computer
design. You can learn a bunch online for free. Learn
from my telecommuting job and how I learned from that
mistake. A new series on developing a sp*m resistant
ezines. Not as easy but it will help you get your
message across.
Copyright (c) 2002 Donesia Muhammad
Donesia Muhammad is an aspiring Netpreneur. Visit her
site http://EzineAdHelper.com for help with your
internet business and ezine advertising. Sign up for
her newsletter and receive a free gift. mailto:subscribe@ezineadhelper.com
_______________________________________________________________
5 Warning Signs of a Scam Business
_______________________________________________________________
by Sandra Stammberger (c) 2002 http://www.guaranteed-signups.net
For years now the rush has been on to mine the Internet
and find "gold." Just like miners in the old
U.S. west, people flock to the Web hoping to strike it
rich. Is it possible? Sure it is!
However, those miners
of old had to watch out for "fool's gold."
You - in the days of the Internet - have to watch out
for scam businesses. Most scam business offers have
five things in common. Before you decide to invest your
hard-earned money in an Internet business, be sure to
compare the offer to this list. The following warning
signs might very well help you avoid a financial
disaster!
1) No Contact Information or Limited Contact
Information - Most scam artists don't want you to be
able to locate them easily. After all, if you could
find them easily, so could the authorities. That's why
they often only give an email address (usually from a
free provider like Yahoo or Hotmail) and/or a post
office box. On the other hand, reputable companies DO
want you to be able to contact them quickly and easily.
They'll offer several ways... telephone, physical
address, email, fax, etc.
2) No Verifiable References
or Testimonials - Notice I said,
"verifiable." Anyone can make up references
or testimonials that would make you think a business
opportunity is wonderful. But can you verify them? Do
they list Web site addresses or email addresses for the
people who supposedly gave the testimonials? Is there a
way to contact the satisfied customers? If not... if
you only see a reference ending with "John D. -
California" - beware.
3) Phony Association
Information - Many times, we take for granted the fact
that someone offering a business opportunity is a
legitimate company just because a Better Business
Bureau or iCop logo is posted on the company's Web
site. Not true! These logos can be simply copied and
pasted onto the scam artist's site. There is a way to
verify whether the company is a legitimate member.
Click the logo. If it goes to a profile of the company
(on the BBB or iCop site), you'll know this company is
an authentic member of the association.
4) "Make
Thousands With No Work On Your Part" - This is the
biggest lie on the Internet today. Everyone loves the
idea of making thousands of dollars while they sleep.
Is it possible? Yes! That part isn't a lie. The
statement that it will take no work on your part is the
lie. Even if the company gives you a free Web site,
free products to sell for 100% profit, and a free
shopping cart, you still have to work - and work hard!
How will people find your new Web site? You'll have to
market it. That takes a LOT of work in and of itself.
Beware when people tell you that their business
opportunities take no effort from you.
5) Rushing You
To Make A Decision - I'm not talking about the product
sites that offer special discounts if you buy before a
specific date. I'm talking about the business
opportunity companies that - instead of answering your
questions - pressure you to go ahead and buy in. I
advise you not to trust anyone who is unwilling to give
you the information you need to make a qualified
decision. I can almost promise a scam is involved if
that is the case.
The bottom line is this: Any company
offering legitimate business opportunities will want to
talk with you, will want to give you all the
information you need, will not give a false appearance
of credibility, will help you work through the
financial aspects of joining the company, and will have
verifiable references that you can contact. Beware of
anyone who does not offer these things. By keeping your
eyes open for the five warning signs listed above, you
can save a lot of trouble and money. Sandra Stammberger
works with legitimate businesses to help them promote
their biz op to thousands of interested individuals. If
you have an upstanding company who is looking to
recruit new signups - guaranteed - visit http://www.guaranteed-signups.net
today!
_______________________________________________________________
Hot Off the Press: Embarrassingly Simple Way to
Get the Top Spot in the Search Engines with your
Affiliate Links
_______________________________________________________________
When they said, "$10,000 in TWO WEEKS" -- we
believed they were telling the truth...THEY LIED TO US!
THE MOST COMMON LIES IN INTERNET MARKETING EXPOSED! http://all-in-one-business.com/cgi-bin/at.cgi?a=217525
_______________________________________________________________
Website Of The Week
_______________________________________________________________
Gallery O Gifts
Owner: Linda Landry
Website Url: http://www.galleryogifts.com
Site Description: Unique
and affordable gift ideas for everyone and every
occasion. Seven day UPS delivery to any USA doorstep.
Submit Your site to Our Website of the Week section
http://ezineadhelper.com/ezine/wsotw.htm
_______________________________________________________________
Ezine Of The Week
_______________________________________________________________
Biz Source Plus
Publisher: Nate Holland
Subscriber
Count: 1,411
Subscribe Address: mailto:NLHolland@sbcglobal.net?subject=Subscribe
Website Url: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bizsourceplus/
Ezine Description: Biz Source Plus is dedicated to the
online marketer. It offers FREE ads, LOW paid
advertising, articles, tips, EXTRA ways to make CA$H,
etc. Join BIZ SOURCE PLUS and receive all of the above
PLUS a lot MORE!
Submit Your Ezine to Our Ezine of the
Week section http://ezineadhelper.com/ezine/eotw.htm
_______________________________________________________________
Ezines On Parade Check out these quality ezines....
_______________________________________________________________
Internet Business Builder Gazette is a cutting edge, no
nonsense newsletter for you who are building an online
business. Meaningful articles from successful internet
marketers that you can use right now! A freebie in
every issue and both free and paid advertising. This is
a "Must Read" publication! http://tinyurl.com/34hz
Net-Works-News -- A Christian Ezine If You Are Sick of
Being Hyped and Getting Taken, Join Forces with the
wisest of readers around today. Preview the latest two
issues online http://net-works-news.com?MIBW
(links at
bottom of page) Subscribe: mailto:subscribe@net-works-news.com?subject=MIBW
"Success Is Best When All Succeed"
The-Net-Review Ezine believes that if we work together,
we can all succeed in our on-line goals. Subscribe
today for helpful tips, resources, free ads, contests
and free traffic software. http://www.the-net-review.com/the-net-review-e-zine.html
You Get 3 Free Ads a week in "2Liners &
Tips" Ezine PLUS 3 Chances to Win solo ads in 3
weekly Contests. Join here > http://www.horizon-unlimited.net
Cool Computer tips And other contests for more goodies
too!!! So go sign up Now!! It's Free!!!
LIQUID
MEDITATION................. a sporadic but kicking
little ezine. grab your favorite cup of liquid, kick
back and enjoy the ride! free HTML & AOL format.
subscribe with blank email to: mailto:liquidmeditation@cs.com
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