Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly Newsletter

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #53 Nov. 22, 2002
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Hacker Prevention Techniques
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
E-Commerce Patent Blackmail --- You May Be Next!
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Hacker Prevention Techniques
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

------------------------------------------------------------

I remember when the term "hacker" referred to a computer
geek who could transform a mundane electronic device, with a
few modifications, into something completely different from
what the manufacturer and designer had envisioned for it.
In some cases, these were cool improvements and more than
one of these hackers made a fortune selling the rights to
them. In other cases, the transformation just made you
wonder if the guy's horn-rimmed glasses were a little too
tight.

Nowadays, the term "hacker" is used to denote a nefarious
individual who, for one reason or another, causes havoc or
harm to computer systems. The old "hacker ethic" - sort of
a code of honor, like the Samurai Bushido code for computer
geeks - is apparently no more. The new "hackers" of the old
school are now "open source" participants ("coder" is a
popular term for them). A "hacker" is now someone who
breaks into systems, proliferates viruses, sneaks in via a
trojan horse, or otherwise causes problems with other's
computing.

The Spread of Attack
Currently, the variations of the Klez virus are reported to
be the most prolific online spread of malicious code.
Luckily, all it really does is find your Outlook address
book and perpetuate itself with your contact list. The news
media is always quick to pick up on the latest "hacker
attack" or "computer virus infiltration" and make sure it's
a top story for the day.

With all of these perceived and realized attacks, how do
you, Mr. and Mrs. Internet User, keep yourself and your
data safe?

Most of us are aware of the need for "firewalls," "anti-
virus software," and such. Hopefully, most of us are using
these tools to protect ourselves. Beyond that, however,
there is more you need to know. First, we'll cover what
the attacks are.

Know Thy Enemy
There are five major forms of attack commonly used against
personal computers and networks. Some are more common in
attacking one while others are for the other.

DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) Attack - usually aimed
at networks, this type of attack focuses on open ports and
connections in the network or system to flood them with
requests and "pings" in order to overwhelm it. This is akin
to the Mongolian Hordes descending suddenly upon a city
before the citizens had time to react and defend themselves.
Usually the attacks are made by third-party systems that are
probably unaware that they are part of a network of
attackers - compromised systems or systems with little or no
security are usually the unwitting accomplices of the
hacker.

A DDoS Attack can seriously undermine a network by causing
one or more systems and their resources to shut down or
crash, removing them from use. An example of this type of
attack would be the recent attempt to close down the
majority of the American Internet backbone in October.

The good news is that the majority of the major systems, as
witnessed last October, while temporarily hampered by these
attacks, recover completely and easily from them. Most
networks are now self-monitored by software that "roves" the
network, watching for outages or unusual occurrences. Most
server software now includes "flags" that watch for unusual
activity and suddenly pop up to let the network monitor know
that something may be amiss.

Trojan Horse - this is the electronic version of the
downfall of Troy. Basically, software disguised as
something else (sometimes something useful) makes it way to
your system by your own hand - you wanted the software,
right? This software usually contains a "back door," a
"trigger," or something similar. A "back door" allows
someone to enter your system while you're using the software
and do what they wish. The more common "trigger" method
waits for a certain trigger (a date, a time, a series of
events, etc.) and then sets itself off like a bomb. The
results can be any number of things from system shut down to
the sudden launch of an attack using your computer and its
network or Internet connection. It's not uncommon for a
trojan horse to be spread around as the part of a DDoS
attack - triggered to all go off at the same time.

A perhaps less malicious, but no less worrysome, version of
this type of software would be the SpyWare available on the
Internet. This is software that performs a neat function -
like Gator filling commonly-used form fields for you - while
also collecting information about you to send to advertisers
and marketing companies.

These are by far the hardest things to find. Until someone
notices what they are, they won't be reported to be cared
for by any anti-virus software companies or "spyware" lists.
By downloading shareware and freeware, you are taking the
risk of installing one of these onto your system. For
myself, this is a risk that I have to take as there is way
too much great software out there for me to limit myself to
only what I can find on the shelf at the store. It pays to
read the terms and conditions carefully and to note where
you are getting the software from. If it's from a source
you don't know well (this includes eBooks and the like!),
you may want to reconsider whether you really NEED to down-
load that software or whether it's available from a more
reliable source.

Virus - this term is fairly commonly used by people, both
online and off. Everyone has heard of a computer virus at
one time or another. They are the most common and usually
the most sensational of the five major attacks. A computer
virus functions in the same way a biological virus does.
It's primary concern is usually reproduction. If you think
of each computer connected to the Internet as a cell in your
body and the network connections (email, data, etc.) as
blood vessels transporting lifeblood (information) from one
computer to the next; it's easy to see how a computer virus
(usually spread via email) can reproduce itself (make
copies) and spread from one system to another quickly.
Most viruses focus on this point above all others - many
times doing nothing more than spreading themselves. Others
spread themselves and then destroy or attempt an attack on
the host system (the system it is currently on).

A good example of the virus, as already mentioned, is the
current Klez epidemic spreading from computer to computer
around the 'Net.

The two best defenses against this virus are, luckily,
generally included with most new computers: anti-virus soft-
ware and a network firewall. If you keep your virus
definitions up-to-date, scan your system regularly for
viruses, and make sure that a functional firewall is in
place, you will avoid most virus attacks. I, myself, get
about a dozen flags from my anti-virus software every day as
viruses are sent to me by various people online.

Websites - Most people are unaware that certain Web tech-
nologies have "holes" that can be exploited by less than
stellar individuals who build malicious websites. These
sites, using known security holes in technologies like
ActiveX, Java, JavaScript, and others, can trigger your web
browser to start doing things to your system. For instance,
a well-known hole in an older version of ActiveX allowed the
entire contents of any one folder or directory on your hard
drive to be automatically uploaded to a web directory or
emailed to a receiver. Another hole in early versions of
JavaScript allowed the writer of the script to cause Outlook
(in Internet Explorer) to silently send an email to anyone,
effectively giving your email address away to the website
owner for a SPAM list.

If you are using the latest versions of your browser or
limit your use of Internet technologies, you are in little
danger from these attacks. Usually, once the security hole
is found, patches and fixes are quickly available before
anyone can take advantage of the holes to any large extent.
If you are running a newer version of your browser of choice
and have the latest patches and updates for the various
plugins you may be using, you should be relatively safe from
this type of attack.

Worm - finally we come to the last of the big five. The
worm is much like a virus, but usually serves a different
purpose. A worm is kind of like a tapeworm in your belly.
It consumes and consumes resources until finally it's too
large for you to host or you die from its thievery. On some
levels, a worm is a combination of a DDoS and a virus
attack. Worms usually reproduce as often as possible
(growing) to spread as widely as they can. However, a
worm's primary function is to suck resources. In most
cases, the worm is built for a certain type of system (a PC
running Windows 98, a Linux server running Apache, an Apple
computer running OS X, etc.) and is benign to all others.
Once it finds it's intended target, however, it begins
sucking resources - usually quietly - until the system
finally becomes overloaded and ceases to function.

The Klez virus has been deemed a "worm" by some, though
instances of it taking over resources are not common. Worms
are most commonly aimed at larger systems (mainframes,
corporate networks, etc.) and some are built to "consume"
data and filter it back out to someone who shouldn't have it
(corporate spies, for instance).

For the average Internet user, a worm is of little
consequence and is usually covered by the same software that
protects you from viruses. It must be said, however, that
worms are sometimes undetected for quite some time as, like
a trojan horse, it usually has to do something before it is
noticed.

Gearing Up For Battle
Now that you know what you're up against, you should
understand what it is that you'll need to combat the beasts.

Most of the items you need are probably included on your
computer already - many are free to download as well!

The recommendations I'm making are my personal preference.
There are other versions of these same types of software
(some of which I'll mention) and no one can really tell you
which is better for you. Most of the software mentioned is
available for both PC and Mac.

Anti-Virus Software
I prefer Norton Anti-Virus (I use it as a part of Norton
Systemworks) for virus protection. I find it easy to use,
easy to buy, and well-made. The updates are frequent and do
not take long to download (they average 100-300 kilobytes
per download, with releases about once a week).

Another anti-virus software with a solid reputation is
McAffee. Most new computers come with one or the other pre-
installed. You can buy either from Amazon.com or at your
local software store.

Firewalls
A firewall is the term used for software (or hardware) that
functions like a firewall in building construction: it
completely blocks the path of a fire - delaying or halting
its progress. Firewalls on a computer block network traffic
coming to and leaving a system, giving permission to
transmit and receive only to those pieces of software
authorized by the user.

My favorite firewall software is ZoneAlarm. Available for
free for individual users and at a nominal fee for
professionals and businesses, this simple-to-use software
takes care of everything most users will need. It alerts
you when unauthorized software is attempting to send or
receive (thereby letting you authorize it or find the
culprit) and the Zone Alarm site has a large database of
known software so that if you aren't sure what's trying to
access, you can click on the warning box and a web page will
open with an explanation of what that software is (if it's
in their database).

I'm not aware of any comparable software firewalls
available. There are a lot of hardware options, though,
especially if you connect via broadband. Most cable and DSL
modems are now equipped with built-in firewalls for
protection.

You The User
By far the best tool for defense against attack of any kind
is you and what you know. If you know what you're up
against and ways of combating it, you are less likely to be
a victim. The uninformed user is more likely to stumble
into or unwittingly be the progenitor of an attack. If you
are in the know, keep your software updated, regularly
update your virus definitions, read informed articles such
as this one (*wink*), and watch for sudden changes in your
computer's activity - you'll be better able to defend
against attack.

We will probably never be able to keep all attackers and
attacks from causing harm. But at least we can minimize
their effects or reach. As J. Edgar Hoover once said, "for
every thousand honest men, there's one hoodlum trying to
steal from them."

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Wow, another week has gone by and we're getting closer to
the end of the year! Things have been very busy and time is
literally flying.

A few changes are in store for Aaronz WebWorkz. First, I
will begin cross-linking the main website and its sister
sites more closely. So Aaronz WebWorkz will have clear,
button-style links on the main page leading to
HitsGuaranteed.net, IsThisDomainTaken.com and my eBay
"About Me" page which contains my auction listings. This
will make it easier for you to go where you need to go. Up
to now, these links have been buried inside the site on
pages with similar content or which referred to them by
name.

The Thanksgiving Holiday is coming up next week. I will be
out of town for the weekend, but not out of touch. If you
have an emergency, please call the office and leave a voice
mail. These are automatically forwarded to my cell phone
and I will respond as quickly as possible. In addition,
next week's issue of this newsletter will be delayed until
Monday, December 1st.

Have a great holiday!!

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Regarding Slow Payers...
The trick I found to avoid slow payers was to "offer a
discount" if they pay within 7 days. Say 5%. What customer
doesn't like a discount? 95% right away is better than 100%
after 6 weeks of fighting with someone by phone and by mail.
I found that a reminder the day before the discount runs out
was a great way to squeeze that blood from that rock. I
also found that the frequent contact between job and payment
kept me up to date with what they were doing and gave me a
chance to do more service for them. If someone's avoiding
you because you want to get paid - they aren't going to ask
you do to more work for them."
--Rob K.

Editor: Thanks for the comments, Rob. Very good suggestions
you have there. I've been considering a similar 7-day, 5%
discount for my own billing. Thanks!

"You mentioned that WAP is making a comeback and that some
new phones would be featuring it. I saw the Motorolla phone
with the new camera at Radio Shack yesterday and thought it
was pretty cool. Do you think a beginner on the web in
programming should learn the WAP thing?"
--John C.

Editor: Well, John, I can honestly say that I learned it and
have found it to be completely useless to me. If you have
already got a good grasp of HTML, though, you'll find that
WAP is basically a cut-down version of it with a few extra
proprietary things included. If you plan to do anything
related to sites which are geared towards portables (PDA,
cell phones, what-have-you), learning WAP is probably a
good idea.

"I saw some markings on a building as I walked from the
subway to where I work and was wondering what those little
symbols meant. One was like two Cs facing away from each
other so that one is backwards. The other was a circle with
a W in it. Your mention of war chalking explained this to
me. Thanks!"
--Karen B.

Editor: Ha Ha, Karen! The symbols mean "open node" and
"wep node" respectively. The symbol for a "closed node"
is a circle with nothing inside.

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
E-Commerce Patent Blackmail --- You May Be Next!
Copyright © 2002, Bill Platt
The Phantom Writers
http://thePhantomWriters.com

Bill Platt owns The Phantom Writers, a company committed to
helping people to establish an Internet presence & promote
their businesses through the use of Free-Reprint Articles
and Press Releases. Articles are distributed to 6,500+
publishers & webmasters as part of the package.
http://thePhantomWriters.com

Editor's Comments: An interesting development on the legal
front regarding patents and the Internet.
------------------------------------------------------------

Over the last eight years, the promise of the Internet has
been to level the playing field between small businesses and
major corporations.

With a website, a small business could now sell their
products in the global market place without the overhead of
additional offices. To reap the benefits of e-commerce, one
only needed a website to attract and sell to customers, and
one needed a method to collect payments from their newly
acquired customers.

Since the Internet is really just a network of computers, it
made perfect sense to merge electronic transfer of funds
into the website to simplify the purchasing process for the
customer.

To date, the only real impediment to doing business online
has been the safety of the consumer's financial data. In
March of 2002, this all changed.

Enter the U.S. Trademark and Patents Office. Over the last
few years, the USTPO has shown extreme ignorance of new
Internet technologies. The USPTO has approved some of the
most ludicrous patents to be presented to them.

In 1997, AltaVista was granted a number of patents on
search engine technologies, even though search engine
technology had been in use as early as 1989.

In 1999, Amazon was given a patent for "one-click
purchasing."

In 2001, McAfee was granted patents for "Auto-Downloading
of Software / Software as a Service (SaaS)", both of which
had been in use by others since before the creation of the
global Internet.

In 2002, PanIP (Pangea Intellectual Properties L.L.C) of
San Diego, California entered the fray. They were granted
two patents: US Patent No 5,576,951 and US Patent No.
6,289,319. The first patent covers the "use of graphical and
textual information on a video screen for the purposes of
making a sale." The second covers "accepting information to
conduct automatic financial transactions via a telephone
line & video screen."

Most Patent experts do not take these "junk patents"
seriously knowing full well that they will be overturned by
the courts and other processes set up to police the system.
However, John D. Trudel, the Founder and Managing Director
of The Trudel Group, pointed out that "this nonsense raises
the cost of business, since it takes years and costs $1
million or so to break these junk patents."

Herein lies the difference in PanIP's strategy. Big
corporations who have deep pockets settle most "junk
patents" in court. Amazon took their initial challenge to
their primary competitor, BarnesandNoble.com. B&N had the
resources to fight this "junk patent", so they fought.

PanIP has instead directed their attacks at small companies
who simply do not have the resources to fight! In fact,
PanIP has currently sued 50 small businesses with no end in
sight.

Timothy Beere, the owner of DeBrand Fine Chocolates, had to
make a choice when he found himself in the crosshairs of
PanIP. Tim said, "I had to make a decision. Pay them the
$5000 they were asking for something I didn't think they had
a right to, or Fight Back!" He went on to say, "It was clear
that PanIP's strategy counted on the notion that few, if
any, of the businesses would be willing fight back. I was!"

Tim proceeded to contact the other companies that have been
sued by PanIP to build a consensus to stand up and fight.
Many have joined together in the fight starting the PanIP
Group Defense Fund, Inc.

In building his website (http://www.youmaybenext.com), Tim
said, "I knew if I could get this on the radar screen,
people would be as disgusted by it as I was."

------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
List Maintenance:
To subscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:subscribe]

To unsubscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:unsubscribe]

This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
online services provider. To view information or to see
back issues of this publication, please go online to:
www.AaronzWebWorkz.com. Please direct all comments or
questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #52 Nov. 15, 2002
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
Technology Update, November 2002
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Affordable Market Research
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Technology Update, November 2002
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

------------------------------------------------------------

Lots of great new stuff going on in technology now. We also
have some updates on items we've covered before. In this
update, we'll cover a new type of graffiti, Windows XP and
two new variations of it, more government pandering to
Hollywood, awesome new monitor and display technologies, and
an old technology that appears to be making a comeback.
This will be a long article, so grab some coffee and let's
get to it!

The FCC
The FCC has fined AT&T Wireless and SBC Communications for
two separate incidents. AT&T Wireless was fined two million
dollars for possible violations of enhanced rules relating
to 911 emergency calls. SBC was fined six million - the
highest fine the FCC has ever imposed - for violating
competition-related conditions in the company's merger with
Ameritech.

WAP
Moving on to old news making a comeback, the old Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP) that has long been considered
dead is apparently coming back in the form of two new
wireless handsets. Both Motorola and LG InfoComm USA Inc.
have announced new full-color "flip phones" which include
cameras in their design. Both phones function on the
Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), which utilizes a WAP
browser for viewing pages and information. When I first
began seriously on the Web as a professional, I quickly
learned WAP thinking it would be the next big thing -
everyone touted portable devices as the big emerging
technology online. I was disappointed to find out
otherwise. Perhaps things are changing again?

The Internet Government
Two major government issues relating to the Internet and
your business should be discussed this month. Last month's
attack on the Internet backbone has prompted several
professionals, including people in the FCC, to demand that
more resources be provided to prevent "future outages."
Without getting too much into politics, I'd like to say
that while Mr. Powell of the FCC has a point, but he may be
reaching too far. The problem is not a governmental
problem, but a private sector one.

In more news from Washington, the House Commerce Committee
has drafted a bill that will probably spell the death of
HDTV. I have spoken about this before, but now it is
becoming closer to a reality. The bill would require
mandatory copy protection on all DTV receivers by the year
2006. It would also eliminate any obligation for cable
operators to carry DTV signals. Interestingly, the main
harbinger of this bill is a representative from Louisiana.
What does Louisiana have to do with Hollywood, California?

New XPs
Speaking of governmental-sized bodies, Microsoft has
announced three new versions of its Windows XP Professional
operating system. Interestingly, the "Home" version has
basically been relegated to the back-burner. Many users are
complaining about connectivity and other issues when using
XP Home and complain about the cost of upgrading to
Professional - you are required to buy the full version,
there is no upgrade from Home to Pro. This complaint is
heard most from university students and their parents who
are buying systems and then going to school only to find out
that their new laptop won't connect with the school's
network.

The three new versions of XP Pro (spinoffs, really), are
Smart Display, Tablet PC, and Media Center. The three are
different specialty versions of the operating system - each
with its place. The Smart Display version is geared towards
households and small businesses that wish to run their
computers from a portable position. It would also be
possible to have more than one person using the same
computer using these. Essentially, so long as the computer
and portable "tablet" aren't out of Wi-Fi range of one
another, the two can synchronize. The tablet basically
becomes an extension of the PC - not a standalone PC.
Microsoft envisions removable monitors/displays that can be
carried around the house or office as a large tablet. Cool
idea, since this is basically how I use my notebook computer
anyway.

That marks the difference between the Smart Display and the
Tablet PC. The Tablet PC operating system is meant for
portable, stand-alone tablet-style PCs that operate with a
keyboard, a mouse, and a pointer/stylus. This version of
the operating system includes handwriting recognition and a
few other features, but is otherwise the same as XP Pro on
your desktop.

Going to desktops now, we come to Media Center. This PC-
specific OS includes a huge number of multimedia components
such as a Tivo-like recording and playback system, sound
system controls, and other great things to make your PC the
media hub for your home. The first (and currently only)
computer to feature this operating system will be released
by Hewlett-Packard sometime this holiday season. These
systems will be expensive, but expect the prices to lower
as the technology improves and more PC makers jump on the
bandwagon.

21st Century Graffiti
With the explosion of Blackberry, Wi-Fi, and other wireless
devices being used around the world, a new "underground" has
cropped up on many parts of the planet. These people are
practicing a type of graffiti known as "war chalking."
Cruising the town with detection devices and test equipment,
these people find wireless networks they can tap into and
then mark the nearest building (usually the building nearest
the strongest part of the signals) with a symbol denoting
what type of network it is. These marks are usually in
chalk (hence the name) and there are three basic symbols for
this: Open Node, Closed Node, and WEP Node.

In the old days (before the Internet), we used to do a
process call "war dialing" in which you dialed phone numbers
in an area code one after the other (e.g. "555-0001" to
"555-1000") using software which would note which numbers
answered with either a computer modem or a fax machine.
Using this, you could find other computers that were left
"on" so that you could connect to them - usually in the form
of a Bulletin Board System (BBS) much like an online message
board today. The term "war chalking" comes from this old
term, since the search for the connection is basically the
same principle in both cases.

You can find more information on war chalking, if you're
interested, by going to http://www.warchalking.org

New Displays
Now let's look to the future. The monitor or display that
you're using with your computer is not the same display it
used to be. If you go to a computer store you'll see at
least three basic types of monitor: a CRT, a CRT flat screen
(or virtual-flat), and an LCD flat screen (these are the
skinny ones). Soon you may see plasma-based monitors as
well - much like the televisions out now - though they'll
be expensive.

Three major new advancements are coming. The first, and
widely considered most influential of the three, is OLED
(Organic Light Emitting Diode). These consist of five
layers: a substrate, a transparent conductor, two layers of
organic (carbon-based) materials, and a metal cathode.
These would replace the flat-panel displays you see now
(including those on portables) with several new benefits:
these displays have no viewing-angle limits and require less
power and less back-light to be viewable. Kodak is expected
to release their first production model next year -
apparently for a cell phone/PDA.

Flexible screens are even more exciting. A company called
Alien Technology (you may have seen their funky computers in
the store) has come up with a way to manufacture the tiny
trapezoidal integrated circuits required for this technology
in a "Fluidic Self Assembly" process - suspending the
circuits in a liquid and pouring the mixture over a plastic
substrate with holes positioned for the small circuits to
fall into. As this technology refines, you'll see new PDAs,
phones, and eventually larger items utilizing it as well.

Finally, we come to the interesting concept of "power-off"
displays. These displays work by requiring power only to
update. The low power usage alone is a huge bonus and this
technology has great implications for eBook readers and
similar devices that only need to update when pages are
turned or new screens are loaded. You may know these
display types as "electronic paper." There are two major
versions of this technology, both of which use power to
charge a particle (whether it be in a LCD or a specialized
paper) to either show itself or not show - making a dark or
not-dark spot on the page. Once the polarity of the spot is
decided, no more power is needed to keep it in that state.
Utlizing this technology, we may be able to finally have
readable ebook systems!

That's it for this month's technology updates. If you have
any questions or comments on these, please feel free to send
them to me!

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Big week again here at the AWW house. The book that I have
an article in, "Confessions of Shamless Internet Promoters"
has finally been released. It will appear on Amazon.com
starting Wednesday the 20th. ISBN:0-9650965-6-4

In other news, the new connection is running great and you
should all be seeing faster times on the server. The
upgrade affected a lot of things. They all recovered with-
out major incident, though, and I honestly expected things
to be much worse. Plan for the worst and hope for the best,
I guess.

We had some network lag and system problems on part of the
HitsGuaranteed network, but those have been smoothed out and
things are smooth again. If you haven't checked the
http://www.hitsguaranteed.net site lately, you may want to
know that we now offer search engine submission at a very
reasonable cost. These are REAL search engines, not crappy
"classifieds" and "FFA" sites that you usually get with
these types of submission. This is why we only say 15,000
engines, not 150,000 like some bogus services.

On the funny side of things, I had some old AOL tins from
last year laying around - I'd been saving them thinking my
wife would use them to store thread or something in; turns
out that the loose lids make them useless for this. So I
took them and listed them on eBay as a joke. Holy crap,
they're selling! There's apparently a collector's market
for this kind of thing. I think these two new, black,
AOL 8.0 tins I just got will be stashed and get the same
treatment...

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Master Web Guy,
Have to say I really enjoyed this issue. Are you saying
that using my kid's name for a password is a bad idea? How
about having the same password for everything? I guess that
is bad too, huh?

"Thanks for the info! I am, however, afraid that if I change
my password so something weird, like my kid's name isn't
weird, that I would forget it and be unable to do ANYTHING!

"PS If all those businesses bought more letters, I wouldn't
be able to make fun of some of the stupid things they say!
I did however see a McD's sign that said something like "Our
hamburgers is great" I guess more letters can't improve
grammar. I even called the McD's and talked to the manager.
The sign stayed that way for weeks! Oh well!"
--Kelley L.

Editor: Thanks again, Kelley. Good luck on getting your
Master's degree! [Note: Kelley was recently accepted into
a university in Georgia and will be aiming for her Masters
Degree in Business Education.]

"@#$@#!@#-A, that Joe guy is hilarious!"
--Bob

Editor: Uhh...this is a family show, Bob. :)

"Someone told me that networking my Windows computers would
be easy so I bought a kit and put the old computer in the
kids' room and the new one in my office. I strung the
wires and plugged everything in expected it to be a five
minute process. After three days I sill cannot figure
out why it is not working!"
--Jane L.

Editor: Hello, Jane. I had this same trouble when I brought
home my notebook and tried to add it to the network with my
desktop and other stuff. No luck. After a lot of fretting
and some serious pounding of my head against the wall, I saw
a message on a user forum. Apparently Windows XP Home (which
came with my notebook computer) doesn't play nice with other
Windows operating systems when it comes to networking.

Luckily, I had another license for my copy of XP Pro so I
just installed that on the notebook. Easy! I didn't even
have to tell it anything. As soon as I plugged in the cord,
the computer instantly found the network and everything
worked without a hitch. (See my article above)

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
Affordable Market Research
© 2002 Bobette Kyle. All Rights Reserved.

Bobette Kyle is author of How Much For Just the Spider?
Strategic Web Site Marketing. She used techniques detailed
in the book to bring her own site, Web Site Marketing Plan,
from a ranking of 17 million to 59 thousand+ in less than
four months.

Editor's Comments: I haven't read Bobette's book, but I
know that this article is a doozy!
------------------------------------------------------------

Until recently, limited budgets kept most types of market
research out of reach for entrepreneurs and other small-
budget businesses. Today, through the Internet, small-budget
businesses have more research options. Secondary research
sources are easier to find. More affordable primary research
methods - both qualitative and quantitative - are available
online as well.

Market Research Categories
There are four broad types of research, categorized by where
the research originated and how the research is conducted.

Where the Market Research Originated:
Primary Versus Secondary
Primary research originates with your company. Generally,
the results are proprietary and belong to you. You may find,
however, that some research firms will conduct limited but
relatively inexpensive primary research with the requirement
that they can make the results available to other companies.
An alternative to conducting primary research is to find
secondary research, or research that originated elsewhere.
You can obtain secondary research either by purchasing the
information or finding it through free resources.

How the Market Research is Conducted:
Qualitative Versus Quantitative
Qualitative research tends to be exploratory and directional
in nature. It is designed to bring out issues associated
with the subject matter as well as clue you in to the best
general direction to proceed. Quantitative research, on the
other hand, is designed to be analytical and rigid. This
type of research produces results that are more
statistically accurate than qualitative research results.
Often, companies first conduct qualitative research when
developing a concept or looking for ideas then later
complete quantitative research to fine-tune and optimize.

Combining the Two Market Research Categories
Combining the primary/secondary and qualitative/quantitative
categories results in the four types of research. These are:
primary quantitative, primary qualitative, secondary
quantitative, and secondary qualitative research.

Secondary Market Research
As a small-budget business, much of your research will be
limited to secondary research. Both the good news and the
bad news is that there is a lot of it out there. By doing a
targeted Internet search you are likely to find a lot of
free, useful information.

Potentially, you can find secondary research from numerous
sources. Press releases and news articles often quote
studies. Industry leaders and suppliers publish white papers
or other studies. Annual reports are also good places to
look for industry information. Research firms’ sites are
another source of secondary research. Their main business is
conducting primary research for clients or compiling and
selling detailed syndicated reports. Often, they have top
line data available in the form of press releases or
executive summaries. The Federal government is another
increasingly useful source of secondary data. At last count,
100 different government agencies publish freely available
data.

Primary Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is conducted with a somewhat flexible
format so the participants can give their opinions and feed-
back. Inexpensive ways to conduct your own qualitative
research via the Internet are through do-it-yourself online
focus groups and via feedback forms.

Online Focus Groups
Offline, a set of focus groups could cost about $10,000 and
up. Online focus group services are a little more economical
by can still be pricey for a small-budget business. An
online focus group is essentially a formal chat session. A
trained moderator leads a group of participants through a
pre-determined discussion over the Internet. Participants
are often recruited through a research firm’s own panel and
are paid a fee for participating.

If your budget cannot handle a professional service, you can
conduct a focus group yourself by setting up a chat room and
recruiting your own participants. Be sure to test the chat
room service first, paying attention to perceived
professionalism and any glitches your participants may
encounter. Also, for best results, you should consider
hiring a trained moderator to conduct the online focus
groups.

Feedback Forms
A simple way to conduct ongoing qualitative research is
through a feedback form. You can gain valuable insight by
asking your visitors how you are doing, asking them for
suggestions, and/or asking them their opinions. You can do
this through a form directly on your site and/or via email
to those on your opt-in list.

Primary Quantitative Market Research
Quantitative research is used when you are looking for hard
numbers and precision. To produce a top-quality primary
quantitative research study you must generally work through
a research agency. For a small-budget business, this type of
research is expensive. The Internet has made more
inexpensive means of data collection and analysis possible.
With the help of software or Web-based tools you can perform
research through customer surveys and collect visitor use
patterns through Web logs.

Customer Surveys
The Internet has made conducting surveys quicker and less
expensive. Options range from do-it-yourself programs to
research services with screened panels. You can use surveys
in a variety of ways - segmenting your customers, improving/
developing your product or site, and gauging brand
awareness, for example.

Use Patterns
Another approach to quantitative research on the Web is to
look for visitor use patterns such as, routes taken through
your site, pages viewed, or ordering behavior. By studying
Web logs you can know which pages are most popular, how
visitors navigate through your site, common entry pages, and
where visitors often leave the site. You can also determine
the number of different visitors to your site as well as the
percent of visitors converted to customers. By using a
traffic analysis service or software (often available
through your hosting service), you can streamline the
process.

Market Research Resources
Links to and summaries of research sites of all kinds
mentioned can be found on Web Site Marketing Plan's Research
and Data Analysis Resources page.

------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
List Maintenance:
To subscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:subscribe]

To unsubscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:unsubscribe]

This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
online services provider. To view information or to see
back issues of this publication, please go online to:
www.AaronzWebWorkz.com. Please direct all comments or
questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #51 Nov. 8, 2002
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Feature Article:
What Makes a Good Password?
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Marquee Sign Language
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
What Makes a Good Password?
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz

------------------------------------------------------------

Anyone who uses a computer, logs onto the Internet, or owns
any electronic device more sophisticated than a pen light
has probably used a password for something at one time or
another. For most things that require them, passwords
aren't really much of a security concern. After all,
they're like the locks on your doors - they're only meant to
keep the honest people out.

In many cases, though, passwords are very important.
Online, for instance, a simple password may be all that
protects your entire account data at the bank. It could be
all that stands in the way of someone accessing your credit
report, auction selling account, or even your online backup
data. Someone getting into any of this information could
potentially ruin your personal and business life.

This is where passwords become important. Using a good
password is the first and most vital step in ensuring that
the key to the lock on your data is as complex and hard-to-
copy as possible. The lock itself may not be up to you -
you probably didn't write the program which is protecting
your data - but the key is all yours.

Choosing a good password is not as easy as some would think.
Remembering it later is even worse. A few guidelines are in
order to make things easier on you.

First and foremost, don't ever use a password that is in a
common dictionary of any language. The first thing a would-
be hacker will do is attempt to "guess" your password using
a dictionary-based program that just cycles through words.
ALWAYS mix words, numbers, and (if possible) characters in
your passwords to make them impossible to guess using this
simple hack method.

Pick a password that is both relevant and hard to guess. If
your username, for instance, is jobob, don't use a password
which contains the term "jobob" anywhere within it. If your
real name is Jo Bob, don't use that in the password either.
In fact, avoid using your username/real name in any form
when formulating a password.

On the other hand, the password needs to be easy. Right?
Well, pick something relevant to the situation. Let's say
the password is protecting your bank account for your
child's college savings. Use something like "college" or
your child's first name as the basis for your password.
Create a password based on that word, but don't ever use
only a word (see above).

Once you have the basis for your password, pick some
numbers (your child's birth year, the age they will go to
college, etc.) and include those. Now the password becomes
"college18" or "1991college." This is a good password, but
obviously not the BEST password.

The best passwords are either randomly generated ("7ybxl41"
for example) or contain nothing but gibberish ("yerdl99&").
While they are obviously not relevant to anything, that is
part of their security. If the information you're
protecting is very important, it's best that you use a
password like this to protect it.

Always remember that ANY personally-identifiable information
or any information about you that is easily obtained (your
address, phone number, full name, birthdate, etc.) can
potentially be available to someone who's attempting to gain
access to your information without your permission.

A good password should be at least six characters in length
and contain both letters and numbers. A GREAT password
should be at least six characters in length, contain
letters, numbers and (if possible) other characters AND
should contain no dictionary words and no information
personally identifiable to you.

My final note on password security involves the recording of
those passwords. Your passwords should never be kept on
your desk, in your briefcase, or in a file on your computer.
Many passwords are important and should be noted in case
something unfortunate happens to you or someone else needs
them when you are unavailable to supply them. Noting
important passwords, along with what they're for, in a
notebook or piece of paper and storing them safely (in a
fire safe, safe deposit box, etc.) for access by others is
recommended IF access to them would be needed.

Passwords are the keys to the locks that hold our important
information and should never be taken lightly when the
information they protect is vital to ourselves or our
business. Choosing a good password will save you headaches
and give you peace of mind knowing your information is as
secure as you personally can make it.

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Whew! Running a little late this week.

Some of you may have noticed hiccups in the connectivity of
the web server. The network the server resides on is under-
going an upgrade to install another connection to the
Internet backbone - making three connections on the network
in all. This will greatly increase the speeds for all of
the web services, especially large-file downloads, streaming
media, and FTP connections.

It was noticed, during peak times (usually 5pm-11pm PST),
that lags were beginning to occur. In order to nip this in
the bud, another connection needed to be added.

In other news, a lot of things have been happening in the
technical world lately. We're just about due for another
technical update article, which I will be publishing before
the end of the month.

Have a great weekend!

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Great newsletter last week, Aaron. I wanted to make a
comment on Bob Leduc's article about customer benefits. He
leaves out one very important thing I have focused on in my
own business and that was the same reason I switched my
hosting to you over my old provider. That benefit is fast
response time.

"I try to respond to messages, no matter what day they are
sent, within 12 hours of the message being sent. All of my
in-boxes in my Outlook reader are organized by receive date.
This way I respond in the order the messages are received."
--C.B.

Editor: Thanks for your input. Yes, response time is
extremely important and is something that most successful
small businesses (especially online) are built upon. It's
one area in which larger companies just can't compete with
the little guy.

"Awesome!"
--sinclaire@

Editor: Gee, thanks. *blush*

"thank you for the article about writing freelance. i am a
writer of articles here in my home country of France and can
say that the problems she speaks of in this article are a
world-wide phonmenon. i appreciate everything you do!"
--E. Duchant (www.weblog.org)

Editor: Thanks, E!

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
Marquee Sign Language

by Joe Bingham,
Owner & Editor, NetPlay Newsletters
Copyright 2002 All rights reserved
http://www.netplaynewsletters.com

Editor's Comments: Another great article from Joe!
------------------------------------------------------------

You know those signs many businesses around town have that
use the interchangeable plastic letters? I'm talking about
the typical ones like at the theater or the fast food
joints.

Tell me, do those little plastic letters cost $200 a piece
or what?

Why can't these places buy enough of the dang things so they
can write their words up correctly? Instead, they often use
sideways z's for n's or s's for z's or 5's for s's or !'s
for l's or x's for y's even.

Come on! They can't cost that much! Spring for an extra
set and quit looking like you're changing your sign by
hoisting a five year old on your shoulders letting the kid
do the spelling!

Please!

Now I'm sure I've made a few spelling mistakes in my ezines
before, so I understand that no one is perfect. However, a
spelling mistake here and there in a 65k ezine that goes out
twice a week is one thing.

A spelling mistake on a 6 word marquee sign that you drive
by everyday for a month is something else!

What, is 6 words too much to proofread? Does someone
need to develop a marquee sign with a built in spell
checker?

Another thing I REALLY think is ridiculous is when these
signs are never updated. Nothing makes a business look
more foolish than having a CHANGEABLE sign that still reads
'Early Spring Special' in the middle of October.

Either that or leaving 'Try Our New Such and Such' up for 2
YEARS straight. Somehow, I think the newness probably
wore off by the six or seventh month.

If businesses are not going to update any more often than
that, they might as well have opted for a permanent sign and
saved money on those expensive plastic letters.

Of course, maybe they've already pawned the rest of the
letters to help offset the loss of business due to the fact
that their sign makes them look STUPID!

------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
List Maintenance:
To subscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:subscribe]

To unsubscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:unsubscribe]

This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
online services provider. To view information or to see
back issues of this publication, please go online to:
www.AaronzWebWorkz.com. Please direct all comments or
questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).

------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #50 November 1, 2002
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of the
Aaronz WebWorkz E-Zine. You are receiving this newsletter
because you requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instruct-
ions are at the end of this newsletter.
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------

=> Winning Submission:
Don't Overlook The 3 Special Benefits Every Customer
Wants From You
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Winning Submission:
Shaking The Money Tree: Managing Slow Payers
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


------------------------------------------------------------
Don't Overlook The 3 Special Benefits Every Customer Wants
From You

Copyright 2002 By Bob Leduc

Editor's Comments: Expect to see a lot more from Bob in
future issues. Great stuff!
------------------------------------------------------------

Every customer looks for 3 special benefits when they do
business with you. They may not specifically ask for these
benefits. But you're losing sales if you don't automatically
provide all 3.

1. FAST RESULTS

Prospective customers may take a long time deciding whether
or not they will buy from you. But once they decide to buy,
they expect instant results. When people buy a car they want
to drive it home today. When they sign up with a health club
they expect to look and feel better by the end of the week.

Look for ways you can reduce the time your customers have to
wait after a transaction before they can start enjoying the
results of their decision to buy. Try to deliver your
product at the point of sale. When that's not possible, look
for creative ways to provide a benefit your customer can
start enjoying immediately.

For example, a publisher I know recently created a special
package combination of his latest "how-to" book in print and
several eBooks on the same subject. When customers order his
new book, they can immediately download the eBooks on their
computer. They don't have to wait for the hard-cover book to
arrive before they can start enjoying the benefit they paid
for.

2. EASY PROCEDURES

Customers want products that are easy to use and services
that produce results without disturbing their daily routine.
You can increase your sales by stressing the "easy to use"
characteristics of your product or service in all your
promotions. Convenience and ease of use are often more
important to customers than price.

Simplify your buying procedure too. Make it easier for
customers to buy from you and you will get more sales.

For example, many online shoppers are impatient and won't
tolerate a lengthy ordering process. Minimize the number of
times your customer has to click to another screen when
ordering online. Use a simple order form instead of a
shopping cart if you only offer 1 or 2 items. And don't ask
them to give you more information than you need to process
their order.

3. PERSONAL ATTENTION

Every prospect and customer wants personal attention. One
way you can provide it is by giving them an opportunity to
ask questions.

Only interested prospects will take the time to ask
questions. Many will buy from you if they get valuable
information from your answer. You can often include a
promotion for your product or service as part of your
answer.

Answering questions is not time consuming. The same
questions will be repeated over and over again. But you only
have to answer each question once if you save your answer to
a permanent file. Copy it into your reply whenever you get
that same question again ...and revise it slightly to
personalize your response. You can answer questions quickly
and your prospects will appreciate your personal attention.

TIP: If you find yourself personally answering a lot of
questions, add a Questions and Answers page to your web
site. Post the answers to your most frequently asked
questions. It will reduce the number of questions you have
to answer individually. But remember, it also deprives you
of an opportunity to impress prospects with your personal
attention.

Every customer wants fast results, easy procedures and
personal attention. Most won't ask for these benefits. But
they won't buy from you unless they get them. Make sure you
provide all 3 of these special benefits ...and look for ways
to improve the quality of each. Then watch how quickly your
sales increase.

Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in
generating low-cost leads. He recently wrote a manual for
small business owners, "How to Build Your Small Business
Fast With Simple Postcards", and several other publications
to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more info:
mailto:BobLeduc@aol.com?subject=Postcards
Phone: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------

Wow! What a huge week of entries. We had five total
entries for the article contest. The others will be printed
in future issues. I had a VERY hard time choosing the best
and finally went with subject matter and substance as my
winning criterion. Thanks to everyone who took the time to
write something and send it in!

Congratulations to our other winners:
Bob C. - winner of the 10,000 hits at HitsGuaranteed.net!
Stickers (http://www.aaronzwebworkz.com/flagsticker.jpg):
Ruth-Anne B.
James L.
Rob V.
Matsali K.
Bill S.
Kim Y.
Cameron Z.
Bob W.
Ruby C.
Jim K.

Thanks to everyone who entered!

------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Master Web Guy,
Just thought you might want to tell the world that
http://www.familysearch.org now has the 1880 US and 1881
Canada census online for FREE! This busts the balls of
ancestry.com which charges about $200 a year for these
records. Just thought you would like the info!"
--Kelley L.

Editor: Thanks, Kelley!

"Re:Framed sites
Didn't you mention in a previous newsletter that the search
engines can be detected and presented with an alternate
page of content?"
--Rob K.

Editor: Hi, Rob. Yes, but it's iffy and only works for
some. It's much easier to just put the script into your
pages to make sure the frames load correctly.

"I love Joe! Bring more!"
--Rob V.

Editor: Will do, Rob! And congratulations on the win.

------------------------------------------------------------
If you would like to send a comment or letter to the editor
for inclusion in this newsletter, please address it to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject=TalkBack!.
All are welcome to give their opinion, criticism, or kudos!

------------------------------------------------------------
Shaking The Money Tree: Managing Slow Payers

Copyright (c) 2002 by Angela Booth
Angela Booth crafts words for your business. Words to sell,
educate or persuade. Contact her today for a free quote:
http://www.digital-e.biz/

Editor's Comments: Angela has been in our newsletter before
and we expect to hear from her again. She does a great job
(she's a professional technical and sales writer, after all)
so we'll definitely see her again!
------------------------------------------------------------

When you're running your own small business, especially if
you're a solo operator, you need four pairs of hands, eyes
in the back of your head, and psychic abilities don't hurt
either.

Most of your clients will be wonderful, but some will be
difficult. And unless you have a system in place to manage
them, slow-paying clients fall into the difficult class. If
you allow it, slow-paying clients can damage your cash flow.

My system for managing slow-payers is simple. So far it's
worked well, but I'm thinking of revising it, and following
up more quickly.

=> Get it in writing

If you provide a service, you need a basic agreement that
you automatically give to all new clients. You can tailor
this basic agreement as necessary.

For example, when a new client hires me for a copywriting
project, I send him my Writing Services Agreement.

Here it is ----
<--------------Writing Services Agreement -------->

Your signature below authorizes me to write copy for the
project above, for the fee stated.

Two revisions are included if requested within five days of
your receipt of copy, and are not based on a change in the
assignment brief made after the copy is submitted. Balance
of payment is due on receipt of the invoice.

You understand that the assignment is work done for hire,
which gives you the copyright. You release me from any
responsibility for legal or other problems that may arise
from the use of any copy I write for you.

<------------------------------------------------->

The agreement covers the details of the project, as well as
the terms of payment.

Most clients are good about the agreement, and readily sign
it. But what happens if you have a rush job --- say a
client needs some work done within the next few hours ---
and there's no time for formalities?

Always insist on something in writing, whether you fax them
your own agreement, or they fax you a purchase order.
Without the details of the project in writing, you'll
forget what you said, or they'll forget what they said. It's
worth taking the extra trouble to spell it all out in
writing --- however briefly --- so that everyone's on the
same page.

=> The check's in the mail

Unfortunately, even with the agreement signed and sealed,
some clients extend the payment period. I don't concern
myself for 30 days, which is probably a mistake.

After 30 days, I follow up, usually with an e-mail reminder.
If there's no result, I follow up again each week, either
with an e-mail message, or with a phone call.

Sooner or later, the client will pay his bill.

To gee up the laggards, in future I'll be following up after
14 days.

=> Tips to keep the cash flowing

* Bill your client as soon as you've provided the service. I
used to allow five days to pass, but since I provide two
revisions of copy if necessary anyway, I invoice as soon as
I've completed the work.

* If you anticipate heavy expenses, bill the client up
front for a portion of them. Keep track, and present your
expense sheet for payment regularly.

* For long projects, bill at stated intervals. Once a week
is reasonable, once a fortnight is too long. Don't continue
work without getting paid. Be inflexible about this. If you
allow too much leeway, you can find yourself working for a
month, and unable to collect because the client is
insolvent.

* Check your finance program to see whether it has a
reminder feature. If it does set it remind you to follow up
on slow payers regularly.

* Keep your cool. Be calm, polite and completely
professional when you follow up with slow payers.

Slow-payers are a fact of business life. Put a system in
place that helps you to handle follow ups with them quickly,
and they won't bother you too much.

------------------------------------------------------------
If you wish to send your own articles to be reviewed for
inclusion in this publication, please send them to:
mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Except where noted, this publication and all of its
contents are copyright (C)2002 by Aaronz WebWorkz, all
rights are reserved. To reprint an article, send an email
to mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com for permission.
------------------------------------------------------------
List Maintenance:
To subscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:subscribe]

To unsubscribe
[mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com?subject:unsubscribe]

This newsletter is produced by Aaronz WebWorkz, a complete
online services provider. To view information or to see
back issues of this publication, please go online to:
www.AaronzWebWorkz.com. Please direct all comments or
questions to the editor
(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).