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=> 1. Marketing News/Resources
=> 2. Feature Article- "How to Jump
on the Blogging Bandwagon"
=> 3. Net Hot Spots!
=> 4. Sites to Help
=> 5. Site Promotion Software & More
=> 6. Guest Columnist- "Is Your Website's
Copy Up to the Mark?"
=> 7. E-Books / Ezine Resources
=> 8. Other Valuable Ezines
=> 9. Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information
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|
 Note
From Merle: |
Hi Gang,
If you're paying attention you've probably noticed that this is a day late coming out to you. Sorry about that but sometimes it happens.
How's things in your neck of the woods? It started to snow again last night. Looks like another two inches. Pray for Spring. Did you hear if the GroundHog saw his shadow? I must have missed it so if you know the scoop fill me in.
Everyone sick of this latest virus? Mydoom or my pain in the as....whatever you want to call it. I must get a few hundred a day but luckily my virus program catches them all. It sure makes downloading email a lot of work with the virus screen popping up every few emails. Let's hope this one like the last one which I think was"Sobig" or something like that goes away quickly. Who releases this stuff? I mean are they bored or something? Get a life and find something more constructive to do with your computer time.
Did you catch 20/20 last night? It was pretty good it was an interview with Donald Trump and his 3 kids. Is it me or is Donald sporting a rug? His kids look and sound about as perfect as he is and all claim to want to work for their Father in the "family business". His youngest son make a remark about taking over the rest of the city. I'm sure he scored a lot of points with that comment. Barbara asked if Donald would fire his kids if they weren't performing up to par. Of course, Donald said yes that he expects a lot from his kids and wouldn't give them the job if they didn't deserve it. Yea, ok. I can't imagine him firing his own children. The moral of this story is "it's now what you know, it's who you know". Boy, I sure got ripped off in the parent department.
Since Blogs are all the rage these days today's article written by yours truly will tell you everything you need to know to create your own.
I really would appreciate your helping me out.. Go to http://AdvancedSurvey and type 8244 into the "take a survey" box # on the right hand side. If you do you'll be entered into a drawing for a free ad each and every month.
As always send any comments or suggestions to:mailto:merle@mcpromotions.com
***This Issue's Free Ad Contest Winner***
Today's contest winner for a free ad in this ezine is: Henry
Footay. Send in your ad and I'll get it in the next issue.
If you'd like a chance to win fill out the survey by clicking on the link at the bottom of this ezine. A winner is picked for every issue.
Thanks again for joining me.
Warmest Regards,
http://www.MCPromotions.com/
http://www.EzineAdAuction.com/
http://www.MerlesWorld.com
| Discussion
Question of the Week: |
The question of the week....on the discussion
board is..."
"If you publish an ezine have you noticed an increase
in the
number of bounces you're getting these days?"
To POST your comments hop over to the board at..
http://www.mcpromotions.com/webbbs/config.pl
I look forward to reading your comments. No Spam it will be deleted. You'll find some great resources in today's ezine so what are you waiting for....Let's go.....
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|
|
1) Marketing News |
Microsoft has released a preview of its new
search engine
http://beta.search.msn.com/
--------
FTC Launches International Anti-Sp.m Campaign
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/3306581
--------
Key Online Music Piracy Ruling Reviewed
http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3308021
---------
Super Bowl Ads Supercharge Online Traffic
http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/3309391
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|
2) Feature Article |
"How to Jump on the Blogging Bandwagon"
By Merle http://MCPromotionsPress.com
Blogs, Blogs; they're everywhere. Unless you've been
living under a rock, I'm sure you've read about the
uses for a Blog. With the increasing use of filters
by email recipients and ISP's, many newsletter publ-
lishers are turning to Blogs as a replacement or
in some cases as an add-on to ezine publishing.
So what exactly is a Blog? Basically, it's a web
log that's updated regularly, sometimes daily, with
the most recent entry posted at the top. Usually
there's a calendar on the right hand side of the
page where you can click on past dates to read
older entries.
A Blog can mean different things to different people.
To some it's like a personal journal recording their
personal thoughts and daily events. You can share
your views on different subjects with the rest of
the world. Posts to Blogs are generally casual and
not too lengthy. To others, it's a powerful marketing
tool which can be used to bring people back to your
website to read about what's new. All in all, Blogs
are a more personal way to reach out to your customers,
share information and build a sense of community all
at the same time.
So now that I've got your attention, how do you
create your very own Blog? Simple. You have two
options:
1) Purchase Software
2) Use a 3rd Party Service
The look of a Blog is usually template-based, but if
you know some HTML or CSS you can easily fine tune the
look to something more to your liking. If you don't
know a stitch of HTML, no problem, you don't need
to.
Depending on the type of Blog service you use, making
posts to your Blog can be done in a variety of ways:
some with just your browser, others by email, and
some even via telephone. Some Blogs even allow your
readers to post their own comments and become an
active participant.
Now that you understand what a Blog is, let's take
a look at some software and services that are
available to you.
Software
*************
1) Radio Userland: http://radio.userland.com
Suitable for personal or business use, it's easy
to use but also has advanced features for the
more savvy user. There's a 30 day trial available
so you can download it to try it out. If you like
it, purchase it for only $39.95
2) Movable Type: http://MovableType.org
A customizable publishing system which installs
on your web server. Free for personal use or non
profit use, but donations are accepted. Commercial
users must pay a $150.00 licensee fee.
3) PMachine: http://PMachine.com
PMachine requires a hosted account that supports
PHP and MYSQL. There are two versions, Machine
Pro for commercial business use is 125.00. There's
also a "Pro" version for non-commecial use or
personal use for only 45.00. There's also a feature-
limited free version available.
3rd Party Services:
*****************
1) Blogger: http://Blogger.com
My personal favorite. Owned by Google. If you'd
like to test the "blogging waters, this free
service makes it a snap to set up your first Blog.
Easy to register and you can start posting immed-
iately. If you download Google's latest toolbar,
you'll find a Blogger button included, which makes
it easy to add sites to your Blog with one click
as you surf the Web. I love this feature.
2) LiveJournal: http://LiveJournal.com
Free for a limited account, but if you want to
enjoy full features you'll need to pay 25.00 a
year. This service is very much an interactive
community of people.
3) TypePad: http://TypePad.com
A very powerful hosted weblogging service with a
rich set of features. A basic weblog, including
the ability to display images and enable comments,
will run you $4.95 a month. If you register for a
year, you'll save almost $10.00 in fees. If you need
more features, there's a Plus account for $8.95 a
month or Pro Version for only $14.95 monthly.
4) BigBlogtool: http://BigBlogTool.com
Buy 6 months of service for only $10.00 or 12 months
for $15.00. Very user friendly and loaded with great
features.
As you can see, you've got a lot of options when it
comes to the world of Blogging. Another advantage
of Blogs is they may help with "page rank" since
search engines love content that updates regularly
and is rich in "key phrase" content.
You can also create an RSS feed for your Blog to
syndicate its content. A site like http://BlogStreet.com
can help you create the feed. If you'd like to make
your own feeds from HTML docs you might want to look
at this free software: http://kalsey.com/tools/blogfeed
.
By offering an RSS feed, you allow people to add your
Blog to their news reader to keep up with your latest
updates, or they can use a service like
http://www.iupload.com/product/mailbyrss.asp
and have your feeds delivered via email. Another RSS to
email delivery service is Info Aggregator, which is located
at http://rss.blogstreet.com
.
If you look around the Net you'll find a lot of
really cool tools to add functionality to your
Blog. If you'd like to easily maintain a link list
check out Blog Rolling http://BlogRolling.com
. Once
you register you'll be given a piece of code to add
to your Blog. As you surf the Net and find websites
you'd like to add to your "link list" just click
the
"BlogRolling" link in your links bar and it's
done.
Another free links manager tool is http://BlogLinker.com
How about comments? If the Blog service you're using
doesn't allow for users to post comments, you can add
that feature by downloading this free software
http://jsoft.ca/reblogger/
One of the drawbacks to blogging is that the user
has to come to you and it's almost impossible to
know how many readers/subscribers you may have. That's
why there's Bloglet http://Bloglet.com
, which allows you
to add an email subscription service to your Blog so
your readers can register to be notified by email of
any new posts and you can see at a glance how many
subscribers you have.
So by now, you've made a decision on your Blog service
and crafted this beautiful Blog that you want to share
with the rest of the world. But how do you get the
word out? A good starting point is to list your Blog
with "Blog Search Engines." Here are a few resources
to get you started:
BlogaRama http://blogarama.com
BlogWise http://www.blogwise.com/submit
Feedster http://feedster.com/add.php
BlogDex http://blogdex.net/add.asp
BlogMatrix http://blogmatrix.com/join
BlogStreet http://www.blogstreet.com/bin/add.cgi
BlogSearchEngine http://www.blogsearchengine.com
Here's a Big List of Blog Search Engines
http://www.aripaparo.com/archive/000632.html
Once you enter into the world of Blogging, you'll
find it has a culture all its own. Many also say the
act of posting itself can become almost addictive
in nature as you learn to love this new way of
instantaneously reaching out to your customers in
your own personal way. So now that you know how easy
it is what are you waiting for, go Blog!
**********************************************
Merle http://www.EzineAdAuction.com
"Where some of the BEST Deals in Ezine Advertising
are Made"
Buy & Sell Ezine Ads in a live auction setting!
Publishers sell off your excess inventory and Buyers
pick up some Fantastic bargains. Free E-book on how to
write "glowing" ezine ads.....Download Now at
http://www.ezineadauction.com/ebooks/greatezineads.pdf
**********************************************
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|
|
3) Net Hot Spots |
SuperBowl Commercials
Now I don't enjoy football think I'd rather go to the
Dentist for a tooth extraction first, but I do like
the commercials. If you missed the ads that day you'll
find them all here where you can play them over and
over again. The Budweiser ads are the most amusing but
their all good.
http://www.ifilm.com/?sctn=collections&pg=superbowl2004
--------
Cingular FastForward
"Automatically forward your wireless incoming calls to
your local home or office numbers by placing your phone
into the cradle. Once your compatible phone is set up,
your wireless calls are ready to be forwarded. "
http://www.cingular.com/beyond_voice/fastforward
-------
Link Popularity Checker
Check the link popularity of your site, your placement
in the search engines and more. This is a very helpful
online tool. Find out who is linking to you.
http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/
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|
4) Sites to Help |
Google Alert is a free service which keeps you updated
on what the web is saying about you or your interests.
It runs daily Google searches on your behalf and emails
you any new results that appear.
---------
Search Engine Marketing Professionals
SEMPO is a non-profit professional association working
to increase awareness and promote the value of Search
Engine Marketing worldwide.
---------
Ezine Alert
"Ezine Alert gives you the solution to Subscribe or
Unsubscribe to your favorite Ezines (newsletters) without
ever giving away your e-mail address to anyone anymore.
Other benefits, No viruses, no sp.m, and you have
complete control over what you receive to read. Ezine
Alert gives you complete email protection on your
Ezine subscriptions." Publishers pay 9.95 a month but
there is a free 3 month trial available.
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|
------------------------------------------
QUICK TIP
---------------------------------------
Whitelisting
If you publish an ezine you need to make sure you include "whitelisting
instructions" in your ezine welcome letter. There are so
many different filters and blocks in place today so if they
don't take the time to add your ezine from email address to
their "friend list" they may never see your ezine
and they won't even know it.
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|
5) Site Promotion Software & More |
IkonBoard
"Ikonboard is a comprehensive web bulletin board system.
It transcends the limits imposed by other bulletin board
software, allowing you to create a truly unique community
on your website. From it's extensive template and skins
features to it's complete multi-lingual support,your
members will keep coming back for more." If you've been
wanting to add a discussion board to your site you'll
want to check out this one.
---------
Zone Alarm
If you're running an always on connection like DSL or
Cable and you don't have firewall software running you're
asking for trouble. Download the free version of Zone
Alarm and protect yourself from hackers the easy way.
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/home.jsp
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|
6) Guest Article |
Is Your Website's Copy Up to the Mark?
By Donald Nelson (C Copyright, 2004)
The Internet is a relatively new medium. What works for
you in your printed offline brochures and advertising
materials may or may not work on your web page. If you
have already invested either time or money or both in
your website you should carefully scrutinize the written
words on your pages to see if they can really deliver
a return on your investment. Here are five important
questions to ask when making a review of your website's
copy.
1. Can a web visitor quickly grasp what your page is
all about?
You only have a short time to let your web visitors
know the purpose of your website. If it is not
crystal clear, they will have already surfed on to
another website. Headlines and sub headings that
convey your most important pieces of information
are a must, especially for the main page of your
site.
Writing good headlines is a science in itself. Look
at a newspaper, almost every headline has a verb.
Headlines must be active, and they must be convincing
Marketeers and linguists a like have identified what
they call "power words", words that are emotive and
draw attention like "breakthrough", "new"
,"discover."
Use these words to grip the attention of your web
visitor.(An excellent introduction to the science of
headline writing is Shelley Lowery's article located
at http://www.web-source.net/secret_formulas.htm)
2. Is your "Unique Selling Proposition" highlighted?
There may be hundreds of websites offering the same
thing that you are offering. What sets you apart? What
is the distinguishing feature or benefit of your product
that makes your product or service different and, most
importantly, desireable? It may be one particular item,
a combination of items or it may be the sum total of all
that you have to offer. If you were a web hosting firm
it might be "Worry Free Service at a Price You Can
Afford." This particular particular item is known as
your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). It is your biggest
"cannon", and you have to "shoot it" right
at the top of
your home page.
3. Have you clearly emphasized the benefits that a
consumer will get from your products or services?
It is important for you to first distinguish the features
and the benefits of your product or service. Using the
example of the web hosting firm, some features might be
user-friendly control panels, pre-installed cgi scripts,
back up power supply, etc. Benefits are not the same as
features, benefits deriving from these features would be:
"Easy for you to maintain" and "you don't have
to worry
about down-time."
Remember, it is the benefits that sells your product or
service, not necessarily the features. You must con-
vincingly show that your product can answer the needs
and desires of the person who has just visited your
web page.
4. Is the copy optimized so that your pages will do
well in search engine queries?
Optimization for search engines is something that
traditional advertising copy writers never had to deal
with. No matter how convincing your copy is, if no one
can find your page then it is useless. Be careful not
to hide your keywords with synonyms. If you want to be
found for a particular word or phrase, then make sure
that this word or phrase is in your headlines, in the
body text and in clickable text ("anchor text") of
links on your page. For example, if you have the sentence:
Click Here to Learn more about our Web Hosting Services.
The clickable or active portion of the link should not
be the words "click here" but rather your keywords,
"Web Hosting Services". If your copy doesn't contain
and emphasize your keywords, your page will not fare
well in Internet queries, even if your meta tags include
these words and phrases.
5. Is there a call to action?
What is your "most wanted response"? What do you
want
the surferto do after she or he has seen your pages?
Maybe you would like her to order your product, download
an introductory ebook, to join your mailing list, to fill
out a form, or to call you up for an appointment? You
can't expect her to do this, unless you ask her to do
it and show her how to do it. You may need a nice button
that says "Order Now", or a sub headline that says
"Download your Free ebook." The "call to action"
is
very important and that's why you should make it prominent,
and repeat it more than once.
So, take a look at your website, and make sure that
your copy is really doing the job of capturing the
attention of your web visitors, convincing them about
the merits of your offering, and showing them how to
take the next step.
=====================
Donald Nelson is an editor, web developer and social worker.
He has been working on the Internet since 1995 and is
currently the director of A1-Optimization
(http://www.a1-optimization.com)
a firm providing
affordable search engine optimization, copywriting
and web promotion services. You can sign up for his
monthly newsletter"Web Promotion Tips" by sending
an email with "subscribe" in the subject heading to
mailto:subscribe@a1-optimization.com
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|
7) Ebook & Ezine Resources |
"Are You an Ezine Publisher?"
Are you tired of constantly looking for new content
for each issue? Search no more. Browse our huge database of
FREE articles
written by some of the Net's Top Experts. Browse now at....
http://www.Family-Content.com
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|
8) Other Valuable Ezines- Ad Swaps |
If you would like to swap ads send your ezine
information
to mailto:swap@mcpromotions.com
Merle's Mission Ezine is your one-stop
resource for everything Internet. Learn to put your online time
to better use by knowing where the BEST sites are located. Includes:
FR<E Software, HOT Sites that will hep you improve your own
website, Informative Articles by some of today's online Experts
that will show you exactly how to be Successful online. STOP
wasting your valuable time....Subscribe Today by sending mailto:subscribe@merlesworld.com
or visit http://www.merlesworld.com/newsletter.htm
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|
9) Important Info- How to Unsubscribe |
If you are not a subscriber and would like to be please send mailto:subscribe@mcpromotions.com If you would like to be taken off our mailing list Click Here.
Read Past Issues Here....
http://www.MCPromotionsPress.com
Grab
my Blogs RSS Feed
http://feeds.blogstreet.com/39794.rss
http://www.MCPromotions.com
Merle's Cyber Promotions - Send comments to Merle
Tell me what you like, what you don't like, ask me a question
or suggest a topic for a future issue.
*PLEASE DONATE*
If you enjoy this ezine and feel you have gained valuable information from it please donate through the Amazon Honor System. Your donations will help to keep this ezine and the website FREE and help buy "the boys" more dog cookies ....go to.... http://tinyurl.com/2ji9
Would you like your Ad featured in this ezine? It will be viewed by over 4,100 subscribers. My list is clean. If you're email bounces you'll be unsubscribed the very first time it happens.
**Solo Ads Also Available**For current ad rates:mailto:ad_rates@mcpromotions.com
***************************************
I am currently in need of testimonials for this ezine. Send
to mailto:testimonials@mcpromotions.com
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*********Win a Free Ad in This Ezine:*********
If you still haven't taken the demographic survey you still can and you'll pick up a free gift in the process and be entered to win a FREE ad in this ezine- Drawing held every two weeks.Go to http://www.advancedsurvey.com/ and type 8244 into the "take a survey" box on the right hand side.
PS. One other note if anyone is in need of a
programmer for simple script installation or anything else
contact my guy David
Black he's wonderful and I highly recommend him. Just
tell him what you need and he'll dash off a quote to you.
He also does website hosting with superior customer service.
I love this guy!
----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>
If you'd like my online marketing articles to appear "like
magic" on your website check out my Free
syndication feed.
----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>-
Disclaimer. The information contained in this archive is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind. The entire risk as to the results and the performance of the information is assumed by the user, and in no event shall Merle's Cyber Promotions be liable for any consequential, incidental or direct damages suffered in the course of using the information in this archive. Use of the information contained in this archive are governed by their respective license agreements and may contain restrictions on use. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. We respect your privacy and do not share our mailing list with anyone. of any kind. All comments in this newsletter are the opinion of the publisher only. Copyright 2001-204 All Rights Reserved
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