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                 ** DEMC ** Volume IX No. 7 **
        The Truth About Legitimate Email Marketing!
          Serving the Internet Since November 1995

Quote for today:

"All business proceeds on beliefs, or judgment of probabilities,
and not on certainties." - Charles W. Eliot
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Share DEMC with your friends and associates. They can subscribe free by emailing: Subscribe@sendfree.com

What's In This Issue - Features

1) Editor's Note: "Best Source of Subscribers"
2) Email Marketing Insights: "Links that Work For You"
3) Feature Article: "It's a Blog, Blog World"
4) SOHO Help Desk: "Do or Do Not Use FFA?"
5) DEMC's - Advertising Information

======================

1.

Editor's Note:

"Best Source of Subscribers"

I've covered the CAN-Spam law in detail over the last couple of months. And as permission marketers we've taken steps to comply. But it seems while legitimate email marketers have been allocating resources, time and money to meet the law, most spammers have done nothing.

According to a number of email filtering companies, spammers are failing to comply with the law. Statistics show less than 10% of spam meets the law requirements. After examining my own email box, I have to agree. Most of the commercial email I get lacks an unsubscribe link, a postal address and uses forged header information.

What's more email filtering companies, Postini and Brightmail, report that levels of spam have not decreased with the passage of CAN-Spam, either. Email boxes are still being flooded.

As most expected, CAN-Spam so far has failed in helping people get control of their email inboxes. This failure, as I discussed last week, has individuals relying on their ISPs to filter their email.

In addition, more and more people are using software filters on their email boxes to stop spam. According to Forrester Research 54 million online households have spam blockers.

If you're an email marketer, your email not only has to make it through the ISP filters, it also has to survive email software filters and lastly it has to be interesting enough to be opened by the recipient.

You might begin to ask yourself, should I stop publishing by email? Is email marketing worth the effort?

Now, before you jump to the conclusion that I'm looking to hang up my cleats, let me say I have every intention of continuing to publish DEMC.

In fact, I believe it's a great time to publish by email. As individuals are so discriminating in what email they'll open, when your email is read, you really get results!

Your job as an email marketer is to deliver quality information which your subscribers have to have. And to ensure that your emails make it through the filters of the major ISPs.

Running a check on your email for ISP deliverability is easy with our new Delivery Checker tool at - http://www.sendfree.com/dchecker.html .

Once you know your email will be delivered by the ISPs, and you're sending information your subscribers want, it's now up to your subscribers to make sure their email software does not filter your messages to their junk bin.

The best way to encourage your subscribers to white list your email is provide instructions. If your subscribe form and confirmation "Thank You" page include white listing directions for your "From" address you increase the probability that your email will be seen and read.

When you take the time to create "must have" emails that you've double checked for ISP filter triggers, you want to be sure as many of your subscribers as possible have white listed you. Otherwise your efforts are lost to the junk bin.

The key is to acquire as many subscribers as possible via your web site. Individuals who go to your site and then request a subscription are highly interested in what you offer. They have been provided with your all critical white listing instructions and they are likely to follow them.

Your web site is your best source of subscribers!

While DEMC predominately covers email marketing issues in upcoming issues of DEMC, we will also be discussing techniques you can use to drive quality traffic to your site. As your web site is where you begin the process of developing a relationship with your prospects that you build upon with email follow-up.

Our new "Featured Writer" Peter Kent will be helping us learn more on web marketing strategies with a monthly column in DEMC. To start you'll find his first article in today's "Email Marketing Insights" section on web site linking.

Peter Kent is the author of Search Engine Optimization for Dummies (Wiley, April 2004), and numerous other books about the Internet, including the best selling Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet and the most widely reviewed and praised title in computer-book history, Poor Richard's Web Site: Geek F'ree, Commonsense Advice on Building a Low-Cost Web Site. His work has been praised by USA Today, BYTE, CNN.com, Windows Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, and many others.

Peter has been online since 1984, doing business in cyberspace since 1991, and writing about the Internet since 1993. Peter's experience spans virtually all areas of doing business online, from editing and publishing an e-mail newsletter to creating e-commerce Web sites, from online marketing and PR campaigns to running a Web-design and hosting department for a large ISP.

Peter was the founder of an e-Business Service Provider funded by one of the world's largest VC firms, Softbank/Mobius, was VP of Web Solutions for a national ISP, and VP of Marketing for a Web applications firm. He was also the founder of a computer-book publishing company launched through a concerted online marketing campaign.

Peter now consults with businesses about their Internet strategies, helping them to avoid the pitfalls and to leap the hurdles they'll encounter online. He also gives seminars and presentations on subjects related to online marketing in general and search-engine marketing in particular. He can be contacted at consult@iChannelServices.com, and more information about his background and experience is available at http://www.iChannelServices.com/.

After you've enjoyed Peter's contribution, be sure to scroll down to today's Feature Article. Where you'll learn how to use blogging to market your business.

Abbie Drew
DEMC Editor
mail@demc2.com

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2.

Email Marketing Insights:

* Exclusive *

"Links that Work For You"
By: Peter Kent

We've all heard the talk about how links pointing to your site are a very important part of a search-engine strategy; what you may not have heard are the details. You don't just need links, you need the right kind of links.

Why are links important? For several reasons:

* Links are how search engines find you
* Links are how search engines figure out what your site is about
* Links are how search engines figure out your site's importance

Let's examine each of these points.

Links Help Search Engines Find Your Site

While you can submit your site to a search engine - in effect requesting that the search engine index your site -- this often doesn't do much good; the search engines usually either ignore the request or take forever to get around to it. The best way to get into the search engines is to help them find your site by providing plenty of links on other sites, pointing back to yours, for them to follow.

Google is very good at picking up sites; a single link from a site already indexed by Google is often all it takes to get your pages indexed, sometimes within a few days. (I've seen pages get picked up in a couple of days, though more often it's a week or two, sometimes longer.) Other indexes need a little more persuasion - they have to see multiple links into your site in order to "trip" over them and finally take the hint.

Links Tell Search Engines What Your Site is All About

Here's a great example. Go to Google and search on the term "miserable failure". At the time of writing, the top site in the search results is http://www.michaelmoore.com/ (which I'll discuss in a moment). Until recently, and for a couple of months previously, the #1 entry was George Bush's Biography - http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html - and it's still #2. Yet neither the word "miserable" nor the word "failure" appears in this Web page, so why does Google return it for this search?

Because of links. There are so many links pointing from other Web pages - mainly blog pages - with the words Miserable Failure in the link text that Google now assumes the page must be related to those keywords in some way. In fact this was, not suprisingly, a deliberate manipulation of Google by opponents of George Bush.

How, then, did Michael Moore's site rise above George Bush's? After all, the words don't appear in that Web page, either. Well, once the George Bush/Miserable Failure "Google Bombing" became public, supporters of Bush decided to push someone else's site up above George Bush's, so they played the same trick on Michael Moore's site. For instance, at the bottom of the following page you'll find a link to Moore's site in tiny, illegible text: http://osministry.com/calendar-aug-2004.htm.

Paradoxically these people were helped by the huge popularity of the Michael Moore site... again, I'll explain in a moment.

There's another way that search engines use links to figure out what your site's about; the context of the site pointing at yours. For example, if you have a link in an Open Directory Project (http://dmoz.org/) or Yahoo category for, say, cheese, then the major search engines have a little bit of information suggesting that your site must be in some way related to cheese.

Links Help Search Engines Figure out if Your Site is Important

In general, the more links pointing to your site, the better; the more links, the more important a search engine will think your site must be. Search engines regard links to your site as "votes" for your site. Thus as Michael Moore's site has around 7,000 pages linking to it, it would be regarded as more important as George Bush's, with under 200. The Bush supporters who tried to push MichaelMoore.com up in the "miserable failure" search rankings were helped by the fact that Google assumes MichaelMoore.com is a much more important Web page than http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html; it quite likely took fewer Miserable Failure links to push MichaelMoore.com to the top than it took to get George's bio there in the first place.

Creating Links that Work For You

You can see how important links are. So here are a few tips and ideas to help you understand how to make the most of links.

1: No more "click here" or company name links! Put useful keywords in your links to help the search engines understand what your site is about.

2: Links on images - such as buttons or banners - are not as valuable as text links, because they don't provide keywords to the search engines. You can certainly use ALT text in the image tag, but ALT text won't be weighted as highly as link text.

3: Links inside your Web site are also important; make sure you use nicely keyworded links between pages within your site, and create a sitemap page, too.

4: Ensure that you use links that search engines can read. Links created using JavaScript, for instance, are not visible to search engines.

5: Links are "votes," but not all links are just one vote -- the more popular the site with the link, the more votes you get from that link. A link from one of the world's top Web sites is worth far more than a link from a rarely seen site. Thus links from related, popular Web sites are valuable to you.

6: Getting links from a small number of very popular sites is just as valuable as getting many links from unpopular sites.

7: You may have heard that links from sites that are not related to your site's subject matter in some way are of no value; that's not true, they're simply of lesser value.

8: Make sure you always use the same URL in your links; don't use www.yourdomain.com in one link, and yourdomain.com in another; search engines may regard these as two different sites, diluting the value of your links.

###
Peter Kent is the author of Search Engine Optimization for Dummies (Wiley, April 2004), as well as the best-selling Complete Idiot's Guide to the Internet. Go to: http://www.PeterWKent.com/ for information about his services.

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3.

Feature Article:

* Exclusive *

"It's a Blog, Blog World"
By: Yvonne Divita

Which one of these statements is true?

-- Blogs are the confessionals of the Internet.

-- Blogs are the latest online community craze.

-- Blogs just might replace e-mail someday.

If you chose all three, you know your blogs. If you couldn't make heads nor tails of any of them, it's time to take a look at blogs and learn a little bit about how they can change your approach to online communication.

BLOG as Confessional

Blogs, originally called web-logs, got their beginnings as personal web pages, usually maintained by the owner, an ordinary person just like us. The beauty of building a web- log to share your most intimate thoughts with the world was in the blog's simplicity. The how of web-log building (more on that at the end) is merely a matter of using a WYSIWYG tool, pronounced, "wisi-wig" (What You See is What You Get). Think of it this way: today's point and click technology, both on and offline, lets you write letters, develop lists, and design presentations, all at the click of a mouse. Very little thought has to go into it because the computer does the thinking for you. So it is with blogs.

Because building a blog is so easy, in those early days, oh two or three years ago - many blogs were confessional. The ordinary folk launching them on the net used them to muse, sort of out loud. The curtain of the confessional was pulled back, making the confession the topic of online coffee klatches. This led to blog discussion groups, interactivity, and communities.

See what I mean here: http://www.electricvenom.com/ This blog has a large following and covers some serious issues, but throughout, it maintains the look, feel and tone of its publisher.

Latest Online Craze? You bet.

People are always looking for the NEXT BIG THING. Well, as far as online communication goes, blogs are it. If the owner/publisher keeps them up properly - and some bloggers post notes several times a day, with the community involved responding in kind - what you read can be more current than what's showing up on CNN!

Developing a blog as a means to encourage client or customer interaction goes a long way to building trust, and we all know building trust is fundamental to success. With a blog, the publisher is freely sharing both personal and relevant company information - and then asking clients and customers for their feedback and contributions in real, real-time. Real-time, of course, is what the Internet is supposed to be about, but most e-mail is not real-time, it's end-user time. Folks open it when they please, read it when they please, and often delete it because it pleases them to do so.

With a blog, the posts are there continuously. Each entry is given a date and time and all comers can follow the thread by checking out what the folks before have written. A lot of lively debating goes on in blogs. Check this one out, and notice how it looks exactly like a Web site, but...it really isn't. It's a forum for politics; www.blogforamerica.com.

Replacing e-mail with Blogs - Not Exactly

E-mail is alive and well, despite reports to the contrary. As a matter of fact, e-mail and newsletters continue to be valuable ways to connect with clients and let them know what your next big thing is. If you think you can build a blog and throw out your e-mail marketing newsletter, you'll be throwing out the baby with the bath water.

However, we know that the very foundation of the Internet lies in its ability to allow people to communicate with each other across great distances. In the beginning, Web sites begat banner ads, which begat pop-ups, and finally, viral marketing through e-mail newsletters that were permission based. But the Holy Grail, that one dynamic way to get attention without being accused of being there without an invitation, eluded marketers - until blogs came along.

A blog is permission-based marketing at its supreme. No one is courted to join a blog. No one is lured into a blog. Joining a blog is not considered spam. It's just people talking to other people, enthusiastically sharing their musing because they want to! In a blog, while the publisher controls the content - to keep it focused and inoffensive - individuals participating in the blog are all equal. The bloggers, control the flow, the publisher controls the bloggers.

I ask you now, what's not to like about that?

Here are some places where you can learn about setting up a blog of your own:

http://www.blogger.com/ Rated two out of five by PC magazine.

http://www.livejournal.com/ Rated three out of five by PC magazine.

http://www.userland.com/ Rated three out of five by PC magazine.

http://www.typepad.com/ Rated four out of five by PC magazine.

Happy blogging! Blog your Valentine on Saturday!

###
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~/~ SOHO Help Desk ~\~
http://www.demc.com

"Do or Do Not Use FFA?"

Today's SOHO Help Desk discuss FFA links and other promotional tactics for small businesses. You'll find readers share their opinions as well as resources to help you with your marketing.

If you have a valuable tip, promotional idea, question or answers you would like included in an upcoming issue of DEMC, all you have to do is submit it by email to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

And, remember participating in the SOHO Help Desk is a great way to get fr^e exposure for your business as we include your tag line and contact URL with your message.

So take a minute to review today's question, as it is a good one and then email in your advice, thoughts and opinions. Send your response to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com .

=== Help Request ===

From: Paul Davison

Are ezines a good place to advertise as of late? I mean maybe 2-3 years ago but right now with filters and can spam if I put the wrong word in my subject line I can't even email my brother on AOL! His hotmail doesn't get it either.

So my big question is, can ezines produce customers today like they did 2 years ago. Is it really worth using them to advertise?

Thanks in advance,

Paul Davison
Exec Direct Intl.
http://www.execdirectintl.com

Send your answer to: mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

=== Answers for Stephen ===

Stephen's Question:

>I am a lyricist and I have recently completed a series
>of lyrics that I would like to circulate. I need to know
>how to find a partner to help me promote and sell my work.

From: Dave Turner

Hello Stephen:

Check out the classified section of Billboard magazine and/or American Songwriter magazine. Their classifieds usually contain ads of agents, promoters, songwriters, etc. Since they're both national newsstand publications, you should be able to find both magazines at bookstores like Barnes & Noble. Your local library may also have both magazines.

Good luck!

Yours in success,
Dave Turner
http://www.home-biz-guide.net

=== Answers for Peter ===

Peter's Questions:
1. What is an FFA?
2. Is there inexpensive ways to monitor how many people see your site?

From: Davester

1. A FFA page is a website in-which business post advertisements to. Most FFA pages will allow you to post your link on their site - f'ree, however, do not be fooled! FFA sites may seem like a great idea, but in reality, hardly anyone ever goes to them, and your link is easily buried with thousands of others, making it impossible for someone to see your link, let alone go to your site, or purchase your product!

2. Yes. There is in fact a very professional site which will do this and more for you. All for F'ree! They are called "Bravenet". Just sign up for an account with them (F'ree) and they give you many options. One of which is called a "Web Counter". You just put the web counter on your site (take about 3 min.) and they will monitor not only how many people go to your site, but also when they were there, if they have been there before, etc... To check this info, just log on to your account, and click web stats. (Really Easy!) I did this all in 15 min. (This was a while ago when I was just starting, like you). There link is: http://www.bravenet.com/

Good luck!

Davester

===> Do's and Don'ts for Promotion

From: Dave Turner

Hello Peter:

The initials FFA stand for "F'REE For All" and my advice would be don't waste your time! FFA's DON'T WORK!

You input your information to join a FFA and what happens? You get a truckload of autoresponder emails from every Tom, Dick and Harriet soliciting you to join their programs. No one ever actually reads your ad. In addition, FFA's won't produce very much traffic and they will get you in trouble with the search engines.

You'd be much better off advertising in quality ezines like DEMC and learning as much as you can about optimizing your website so that it's search engine friendly.

I also recommend you join The Newbie Club. They have some excellent f'ree resources. Their website address is:

http://www.newbieclub.com

As far as an inexpensive way to monitor your website traffic, how about f'ree? Check out Sitemeter at:

http://www.sitemeter.com

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Dave Turner
http://www.dave-turner.com

===> Hosting Resource

From: Codrut Turcanu

1. What is an FFA?

FFA stands for F'ree-For-All pages ... anyone can advertise 'anything' on them ... they are worthless because just of that ... maybe they're 99% full of advertisers and 1% of readers ... who knows?

2. Is there inexpensive ways to monitor how many people see your site?

Yes, of course, you can Sign-Up with a Web Hosting provider and analyze your Web Traffic Stats at: http://nws.BizMarketingSecrets.com

Best Wishes

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===

If you have a valuable tip, promotional idea, question or answer you would like included in an upcoming issue of DEMC, all you have to do is submit it by email to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

Be sure to include your SIG and contact URL with your post as we'll be sharing any viable ideas/information in an upcoming issue of DEMC E-Magazine.

======================

Advertise In DEMC - * Prices *

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