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May 30, 2003
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Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #80 May 30, 2003
Aaron Turpen, Editor, aaron@aaronzwebworkz.com
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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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
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IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------
=> Feature Article:
So You Think You Want An Online Business
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Tax Tidbit #1: How To Turn Non-Deductible Commuting
Mileage Into A Legitimate Business Expense
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
------------------------------------------------------------
So You Think You Want An Online Business
Book Review by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz
Editor's Comments: A few months ago, if you'll recall, I
asked if you, the readers, would be interested in reviews of
products and services. Many of you said yes, but not enough
that I felt it should be a weekly or even monthly thing.
When I do run into a great product or service, however, I
will write a review of it. This is one of those.
Michele has offered to give a special discount to Aaronz
WebWorkz newsletter readers. To save $10 off the price of
this book, go here:
http://www.auctionmaniac.com/special/------------------------------------------------------------
I just finished reading a book by a good friend of mine,
Michele Shermerhorn. Her extensive expertise in online
selling and auction management has culminated into a book
detailing what you'll need to know to plan, start, and run
your own successful online business selling product of any
kind.
I know this sounds like a get rich quick scheme or some new
"make $$ on eBay" kind of scam, but I don't tell you about
things unless I personally like and use them. Right? OK,
so bear with me here.
This ebook, available at
http://www.AuctionManiac.com,
covers all the things you'll need to know to get started in
business - focusing especially on businesses online. It
covers the product life cycle, the business life cycle, and
includes appendixes with product acquisition tools and
recommended software.
This is the book I planned to write to complement my own two
ebooks which focus on business technology and marketing, but
Michele beat me to it. She probably did a better job than I
would have too.
This ebook is written for anyone to understand and will take
only an hour or two to read through…the first time. I
guarantee you'll read it several times during you business'
life cycle.
To read a sample chapter and find more information on the
book "So, You Think You Want An Online Business," go to
http://www.AuctionManiac.com. If you're thinking about
starting a business online, you'll be glad you did!
Remember: the special deal for our readers is located at:
http://www.auctionmaniac.com/special/------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
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Well, the long weekend was a good one this year. We went
camping up Nine Mile Canyon near Price, Utah and hiked
around looking at petroglyphs and pictoglyphs carved and
painted by American Indians centuries ago. Neat stuff!
Starting Monday, all of our invoices will be sent with a
new notice informing clients that if the invoice is paid
within 10 days of the invoice date, a 5% quick-pay discount
will apply. This is to ease our accounting burden and
lower the total outstanding invoices we have here at Aaronz
WebWorkz. Many of you pay quickly already and this will be
an automatic bonus for you!
For those of you who don't already know, at the first of the
year our emergency services fees raised to $90 per hour.
Most of you received an email on this at that time, but
there has been some confusion lately. An emergency service
is any service requiring attention or completion with less
than forty-eight hours of notice. It does not include
services due to any fault by Aaronz WebWorkz, of course,
such as server outages or network-wide/Internet-wide
shutdowns or interruptions.
Well, that's enough of the serious legal crap. Let's get
to your emails!
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Readers Talk Back!
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"Hi Aaron
Your comments about Spam.
People might like to try www.mailwasher.net to get spam
into[ and off ] line. I find it a good program to get rid
of unwanted email. you can decide how to use it ,automatic
or manual. Its free although he asks for a donation.
All the best"
--Ruth N. (
http://www.amimax.co.il)
Editor: Thanks, Ruth!
"Please recommend a quality didital user friendly camera
that I can use to photograph my auction items. They are
mostly small items and some lager. PLMK Thanks"
--Jack G.
Editor: This was sent to both of my newsleter email
addresses (I publish this one and the Online Auction Academy
newsletter weekly -
http://www.auctiontrainer.com). So I
thought I'd answer it both places. :)
Jack, I personally own a Canon Digital Elph camera. There
are several models with the main differences between them
being the megapixels and price tag. I like mine because
the battery charges quickly (and extras are cheap), it uses
SmartMedia cards (also cheap) for memory, and it does every-
thing you'd expect a decent 35mm camera to do, but digitally
instead!
Another great camera I've heard nothing but good things
about is the Kodak series, which have an optional docking
station (EasyShare). These are fairly inexpensive and VERY
easy to use.
Finally, of course, you can go to my Web store and check out
the extra-cheap cameras I have for sale if you want some-
thing decent for under $100. :)
http://www.awwstore.com"Hey, I like that article 'Kill The Market And You Kill The
System' in your last issue. Very Libertarian!"
--Fran T.
Editor: Thanks, Fran. For those of you who don't know, I'm
the Secretary and Press Liaison for the Libertarian Party of
Utah. Go to
http://www.lputah.org for more info if you're
interested. Quick plug. :)
"That Near Future article from Roy Troxel was pretty good. I
notice you don't often run technical articles and can under-
stand why, but am glad to see them occasionally."
--Bob L.
Editor: Thanks, Bob. Techies aren't the focus of this
publication, but there are enough of us reading that an
occasional article won't hurt. :)
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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!
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Tax Tidbit #1:
How To Turn Non-Deductible Commuting Mileage Into A
Legitimate Business Expense
Copyright 2003 Wayne M. Davies Inc.
Wayne M. Davies is author of the new eBook, "The Tax
Reduction Toolkit: 29 Little-Known Legal Loopholes That Will
Reduce Your Taxes By Thousands (For Small Business Owners
and Self-Employed People Only!) Don't file another tax
return until you visit:
http://www.YouSaveOnTaxes.com/toolkit.htmlEditor's Comments: This is one of the series of articles
that I will run during the summer. I won't run them back-
to-back, though, to keep topics fresh.
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For most folks, commuting mileage is a non-deductible
expense -- unless you know the little tax trick I'm
about to reveal.
The non-deductibility of commuter miles is painfully
true for the employee who fights rush hour traffic every
day,
twice a day, for 5 to 10 hours a week.
All that hassle, and what does he have to show for it?
Just gas money down the drain, not to mention the wear
and tear on both his vehicle and his stress-o-meter.
You can deduct virtually all your mileage, including the
miles
you log from your home to the office or other place of
business, if you meet the following two criteria:
1. You are a small business owner or self-employed
person, and
2. You have two offices or work locations: one outside the
home (Office #1) and one inside the home (Office #2).
Having two offices is very common for today's self-employed
professional. The store owner, the shopkeeper, the salesman,
the plumber, the consultant -- all these folks are
typically self-employed and have two offices:
one where they meet with the public (Office #1), the other
at home, where they get their paperwork done (Office #2).
Here's how it works:
Every day you get up and "go to work." But you don't
get in the car and drive to Office #1 right away. If you
did that, even as a self-employed person, you would be
racking up non-deductible commuting miles, just like the
employee.
Instead, you grab a cup of coffee and head to Office #2
first,
which takes all of 30 seconds.
After working in Office #2 for awhile, then you hop in
the car and head to Office #1, where you work for the bulk
of the day.
Then, when you're done at Office #1, you get back in the
car and go "home" -- except when you get inside your
house, you don't head for the living room, you go straight
to Office #2, where you finish up your daily routine
with a few final minutes of paperwork.
What have you just done?
You daily round-trip "commute" is now a business deduction,
due to a simple tax loophole that says:
Any miles driven between two business locations are
deductible business miles.
The fact that one of those two locations just happens to be
your Home Office is fine and dandy with the IRS.
By following this route each day, you can save hundreds,
even thousands of dollars in taxes.
The proof is in the pudding:
Your round-trip "commute" is 20 miles per day.
20 miles X 5 days = 100 miles per week.
100 miles per week X 50 weeks = 5,000 miles per year.
5,000 business miles X .36 cents = $1,800 deduction
So, you just got yourself a nice $1,800 deduction --
a deduction that you've probably been entitled to
for years but didn't know it.
$1,800 deduction X 32% income tax rate = $576 in actual
tax savings (27% federal income tax + 5% state income tax)
Five-hundred and seventy-six bucks. . . every year. . .
. . . Hmm, mmm, good! Now that's a tasty little morsel!
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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.
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(mailto:newsletter@aaronzwebworkz.com).
May 23, 2003
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Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #79 May 23, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------
=> Feature Article:
The Near Future of the Information Technology
Industry
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Kill The Market, And You Kill The System
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
------------------------------------------------------------
The Near Future of the Information Technology Industry
by Roy Troxel of Web Server Times
http://www.webservertimes.com/The best, FREE IT newsletter published on the Web!
Editor's Comments: If you don't subscribe to Roy's news-
letter, you should!
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As I write this, I've just learned from CNBC that the
national unemployment figure has risen to six per cent.
That being the case, and knowing that employees in the IT
industry have been hit especially hard by this "trend", I
decided to devote this issue to some sweeping general-
izations about where the industry as a whole is heading. I
don't do this often, but I'll stick my neck out this week,
and if none of this comes to pass, we can all have a good
laugh over it.
So let's get started...
Offshore Outsourcing Will Continue
This disturbing trend of sending IT work to other countries,
especially India, will continue for at least two years.
According to Ray Garrad of the RFG, "offshore outsourcing
will grow by more than 20% annually to become a $10 billion
market by 2005." Additionally, The Meta Group predicts that
up to 50% of US IT workers could shift to contract labor by
2007.
Will your company begin outsourcing? Here are some factors
to consider:
1.) Upgrading legacy software and migrating applications
from one platform to another are tasks that can easily be
sent overseas. This is because the specifications and
requirements are already well defined, and the actual code
development is minimal.
2.) The truth is, choosing to send work abroad is a heavy
choice for most US companies to make. Language barriers,
local laws, and local politics all must be considered. Work
is outsourced, obviously because of the lower wages in
countries like India, but this doesn't always translate into
ROI for your company. The bottom line, according to Garrad,
is that companies "may get 60% [ROI] on an offshore
technical conversion with little on-site support, but you
won't get it on a badly defined project that requires a lot
of user interaction."
3.) The question that any company should ask before out-
sourcing is: How would a constant turnover of contractors
affect your budget, project schedules and quality assurance?
4.) The question that the entire IT industry should be
asking is: Who will the next generation of IT innovators be,
if key jobs are outsourced to other countries?
Knowledgeable, Serious Dot-Coms Will Make a Comeback
The dot-com failure may have been the industry's way of
separating the IT professionals from the fast-buck people.
According to the National Venture Capital Association:
"Venture capital funds lost, on average, 23.3 percent during
2002...marking the second straight year of sobering setbacks
for the once-giddy financiers of dot-com revelry."
If you're running a small IT business today, maybe you
should hang in there, especially if you know you have the
knowledge and skills that the industry needs. Venture
capitalists are still here, but now they're looking for
businesses with a track record and a keen eye on the future.
IT Employees Will Wear Many Hats
This has been obvious for the last two years. On her last
full-time job, a friend of mine had the job title of
"Systems Administrator". This meant she was also a network
administrator, Webmaster, and PC Technician. Today's
economic crunch is partly the reason for this multiplication
of duties, but soon there will be another reason: the
adoption of the TCP/IP protocol for a variety of networked
electronic functions. Heating systems, security systems,
PDAs and other wireless devices will all be linked to a
common network.
Robert L. Mitchell, writing in Computerworld describes it
like this:
"...the local wiring closet will gradually evolve into a
universal distribution system for low-power devices, ranging
from security-card readers to IP surveillance cameras and
even emergency backup lighting, time-card readers and wall
clocks. Each will be remotely configurable and will feed
back status information over Ethernet."
The present-day "systems administrator" will soon be in
charge of lighting, clocks and surveillance cameras? It
would appear so, and if you throw wireless LANs into the
mix, a whole new set of responsibilities is added.
And Where is Microsoft Heading? To Small Businesses.
First off, it must be said at this point that the future of
the IT industry is loosely related to the future of
Microsoft. This single corporation has captured such a huge
market share over the years that its effect on the industry
as a whole can never be ignored or trivialized.
"Okay," you're thinking. "Big new trends in the IT industry.
I'm a small business person, so how does this all really
affect me?"
Well, no matter what you may think of Microsoft, the corp-
oration is getting very interested in you.
In an interview for CNet, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer
said:
"The biggest part of the computer market is not the enter-
prise or the consumer market. It's the small and medium-
sized businesses."
Microsoft has been attacked over the past year or so for its
unpalatable licensing practices and its constant pressure on
its customers to upgrade MS applications. Add to these
complaints the weak sales of the XP operating system and the
latest version of the MS Office Suite, and you see why
Microsoft has been seeking other products and markets.
Consequently, MS is trying to tap into the small and mid-
size business market with two new applications for
enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer
relationship management (CRM). In 2002, the company
purchased Great Plains software and Navision software and is
now planning to integrate them into the MS .Net platform,
under the tentative name of MS Small Business Solutions.
MS CRM will be marketed by undercutting the prices of rival
business software like Siebel, thus selling CRM for between
$20,000 and $30,000, as opposed to Siebel's $100,000
packages.
So if your small business has any use for this kind of soft-
ware, the people in Redmond may have a deal for you. Looking
at their price another way, it could work out to $395 per
user for companies with 50 to 500 users. I suspect MS will
be able to develop CRM solutions for smaller organizations
as well. With their current huge market share, they can
undersell many existing accounting applications, the same
way they were able to undersell Novell with the Windows NT
networking solution. (You might also be interested in MS
Small Business Server.)
Finally, there is MS Small Business Manager, the corp-
oration's rival to Intuit's QuickBooks. So far, the Intuit
product has held its own, but, of course, MS could always
lower its price, or include its app with an operating
system.
(My purpose, by the way, is not to endorse any of the above
products, since two of them haven't been released yet. I'm
mentioning them for comparative purposes. It will be inter-
esting to see where MS goes with them, however.)
So in the near future, you will see Microsoft paying more
attention to small business interests.
Linux Will Continue to Challenge Microsoft's Market Share
An estimated 60% of the Web's servers run on Linux
platforms. The Linux market is growing and Microsoft is not
pleased about this. To make matters more tense for the
software giant, Red Hat announced this year that it will be
releasing a version of Linux designed specifically for the
desktop.
Consequently, the redoubtable Mr. Gates announced last fall
that MS will begin revealing its Windows source code to
select customers.
CEO Steve Ballmer added: "We're learning, if you will, from
the Linux world."
So what is Microsoft learning? Well, for one thing,
obtaining software for free sure beats paying outrageous
licensing fees. But, more importantly, the Linux threat is
causing Microsoft to improve on its products; i.e., forcing
the company to make them more secure and reliable, as well
as change its current licensing practices.
Linux Won't Be Needed by Everyone
Financial reasons aside, there are additional reasons why
you should explore Linux before deciding to use it.
For example, you might ask yourself questions like:
"What is my problem with Windows?"
"Does Linux fix that problem?"
"What does Linux do for my company that Windows can't?"
If you don't really have solid answers to these questions,
and the cost of your installing and learning Linux is
greater than the cost of Microsoft's licenses, then maybe
you should stick with Windows.
"If you want to get along with the Linux crowd," a systems
admin wryly told me, "Just tell 'em how much you loathe
Microsoft." Ugh. This is no way to choose an operating
system. You want your software to do the jobs that your
company needs done, and you should use Linux only because it
does things that other operating systems can't.
On the other hand, there are things that Linux can't do. It
can't detect hardware if it doesn't have the drivers.
Therefore, if your hardware's drivers are available only in
Windows, you don't want to switch to Linux. If you have a
scanner that works only with Windows drivers, leave it
attached to that Windows work station.
(Just for the record, Windows also can't detect a piece of
hardware if it doesn't have the driver for it.)
Moore's Law
Here's some basic mathematics that might help you better
understand the future of IT (although it might not help your
company directly.)
If you want a handy formula to predict the future of micro-
chips, you might try using Moore's Law.
In 1965, electronics engineer Gordon Moore observed that the
number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits
had doubled each year since the integrated circuit had been
invented (in 1961). Additionally, he predicted that this
trend would continue indefinitely.
Moore went on to be a co-founder of Intel, so in a sense, he
helped prove his own prediction.
The actual statistics run like this:
- 1985 - 386 Processor - 275,000
- 1989 - 486 DX Processor - 1,180,000
- 1993 - Pentium Processor - 3,100,000
- 1997 - Pentium II Processor - 7,500,000
- 1999 - Pentium III Processor - 24,000,000
- 2000 - Pentium 4 Processor - 42,000,000
With this continuing increase in transistors, chips in the
future may be able to include advanced hard-wired software
for communications, graphics and networking, and maybe even
an entire operating system!
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From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
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Another great week here in Utah. We're coming up on the
Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S. We will be gone for
most of the weekend camping, but if you have an emergency,
call and leave a message on our voice mail and someone will
be around to respond as quickly as possible.
More exciting news: my old keyboard finally gave up the
ghost after putting up with my over-use for nearly two years
and I got a new one. This one's wireless! Woo! Now I just
need a bigger screen so I can carry my keyboard around the
room and still see what I'm doing. :)
Have a great weekend!
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Readers Talk Back!
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"Aaron,
I have sent a newsletter to customers and included photos,
however due to the Size of the email many are not recieved
by the customer (undeliverable due to size). What can I use
to provide a newsletter feel and have photos with caption,
or photos put in the story? Thanks for any help you can
offer to not so techno guy,"
--Bryan E.
Editor: Hi, Bryan! Long time no talk. :)
My suggestion would be to write the newsletter in HTML
format and host the pictures on a website rather than
sending them with the email itself. This would require
that the receiver be connected to the Internet in order to
view the photos and that the receiver be able to view HTML-
formatted messages (it's rare that someone can't).
Another option is to host that HTML-formatted newsletter, in
its entirety, on a website and "point" to it using a URL
embedded into an email message (e.g.
http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com will usually make itself into
a clickable link inside an email program).
The best thing to do would be to offer both, of course.
Hope this helps!
"I'm very interested in that laser engraving printer you
mentioned in your technology update. Where can I read more
about those?"
--Todd L.
Editor: Hi, Todd. Try
http://www.VersaLaser.com first and I
believe that PC World did a review of this machine in their
January or February issue. I'm going off memory for that,
though, so I may be wrong. :)
"The article with tips to survive a biz slump was very good
and on the mark."
--James B.
------------------------------------------------------------
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!
------------------------------------------------------------
Kill The Market, And You Kill The System
*Written by Joe Bingham of the NetPlay Marketer
Joe has written many articles, both informational and
humorous, with the intent of helping others gain a better
understanding of Internet marketing concepts. His 'tell it
like it is' approach has many offering the NetPlay Marketer
as one of their most favorite ezines. See for yourself at:
http://www.netplaynewsletters.comEditor's Comments: A great and somewhat controversial
article from long-time favorite contributor, Joe!
------------------------------------------------------------
If you are, or plan on doing, any sort on email marketing
you need to read this article.
I know, you're sick and tired of hearing about unsolicited
email, filters, and all of it, but guess what?
It's a problem that's NOT going away.
I'm sick of it, too. Believe me, I'd love to be writing
about something that's going to make us all richer, happier,
and better off.
First, however, we need to deal with securing OUR online
freedom.
Oh, come on, you say, it's not all that. Things will work
themselves out for the best eventually.
Yes, things will work themselves out, I agree, but do you
know who it's going to work out the best for?
Those that stand up and make their positions KNOWN!!!
Some of you hate unsolicited email. Fine, I understand.
I make fun of some of the stupid emails I get from time to
time as well. I hear that ISPs often get used by bulk
mailers without their permission, too. I hear that this
unregulated bulk mail makes up a large portion of the total
volume ISPs handle and that it causes problems.
But guess what? If the ISPs can't control this problem,
they will start putting the burden on those of us they can
control. That's where you and I will pay.
Up until now the Internet has been a free media. Email has
not been restricted. However, if ISPs cannot handle the
burden due to unlawful use of their servers, they will be
forced to regulate that use by instituting some kind of
'pay-per-email' system. We've already seen the first of
this with the Habeas company.
( Learn more about Habeas in these two articles from the
I-cop Whistle Blower http://www.i-cop.org/habeas/part1.htm
http://www.i-cop.org/habeas/part2.htm )
Now, I'm not here to put down Habeas. I don't like their
idea, but they are free to market a product just as anyone
else is. However, if we as independent business owners
expect to compete in the email marketing arena, even
permission based, we are going to have to stand up and be
heard.
None of the larger corporations, more successful Internet
entrepreneurs, or so called 'big boys' are going to care
about any of this either. All a 'pay-per-email' system will
do for them, since they can afford it, is shut out their
smaller competitors and free more of the market for
themselves.
Read that again if you didn't get it.
But hold on, this is NOT an evil plan. This is business in
a competitive market, plain and simple. Think back on
history. Farms used to be 40 acres and run by families.
Now their corporations spanning miles of fields. Individual
miners used to make small claims. Now, large companies,
resulting from conglomerations of previous owners, are all
that are left.
As industries grow, individuals go out of business and the
big money takes over. That's just the way competitive
markets run.
So, if you have any hopes left of getting a chunk of that
BIG money, you've got to protect the freedom you need in
order to have the opportunity.
Let's forget legal action. Let's forget feuds between
individuals. Let's concentrate on the ONLY force that
REALLY can make a difference.
The law of supply and demand in an open market.
We CAN control unsolicited email through market forces.
1. Do NOT send any unsolicited email yourself.
2. Under NO circumstances will you buy or even investigate
any product, opportunity, or service that you learned about
from an unsolicited email.
3. Do NOT whine to larger powers or vigilante groups about
unsolicited emails you receive. This only fuels the growth
of filters and 'pay-per-email' systems. Besides there will
always be a way around filters, licensed headers, and the
like if there is a profit in bulk email advertising. Take
away their profit, though, and the bulk mailings will stop.
4. Consider it an obligation to educate others on
following the previous three rules.
Simple solution: If there's no profit in bulk email
advertising, people will quit doing it.
Everyone HATES having their email harvested by automated
software and placed on some list. But guess what? You can
still purchase email harvesting software, bulk email
programs, and even sign on with certain ISPs that will
gladly let you do it.
Why? If everyone hates this so bad, why are these things
still for sale?
Because there is still a market for it! Heck, there are
still some Internet marketing programs that teach this
method of marketing. As long as a market is there,
products will be sold.
So what do we do about it?
I'll say it again. Kill the profits, and you kill the
system.
In terms of email filters, we also need to sway the market.
Companies market what they believe will earn them the best
profit. Therefore, if ISPs are advertising email filtering,
it's because they believe it's what will make them the most
profits.
If we prove them wrong by verbally demanding an unrestricted
email system, they will have to listen.
1. If your ISP filters your email, let them know you do not
want that done. Tell them you are capable of handling it
yourself and would prefer freedom of choice.
2. Remind them of how faulty their filtering really is. We
all get emails we want filtered out or labeled as junk and
have seen unsolicited email get through untouched time and
time again. It's just like radar detectors and radar guns.
Each time the cops get new radar guns, we're offered new
radar detectors to combat them. It's a never ending
process. Email filters will turn out the same way -- only
the honest, independent, small businessman will be left
holding the bill.
We don't have the legal means to fight either bulk mailers
or filtering software, and to be quite honest, there's no
ruling legislative body that can cover the entire Internet
anyway!
We do, however, have the means to protect our freedoms
through the simplest, yet most powerful force ever known to
mankind --- the law of supply and demand.
As permission based email marketers, we are stuck in the
middle of a nasty situation. Bulk mailers on one side and
'pay-per-email' systems and filters on the other.
In both cases, however, the same simple truth shines
through.
Kill the market, and you kill the system.
This is honestly what I believe. If you agree, get this
article out to everyone you know. Spread the word and let's
turn the market to our favor.
Kill the market, and you kill the system.
There is NO better way we can come together to solve these
two growing problems.
If you want email to remain a free media, whether you market
through it or not, you've got to stand up and be heard. It
doesn't take a shouting voice, just consistent action that
tells everyone on BOTH sides of the problem one simple
thing...
Enough. Don't disrespect my privacy and don't take away my
freedom of choice.
If we don't stand up now, though, we'll soon find ourselves
without either.
It's time to make a choice and make a stand. Raging debates
aside, your vote will be tallied according to what you DO.
And it's time to do it NOW.
------------------------------------------------------------
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).
May 16, 2003
------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #78 May 16, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------
=> Feature Article:
Technology Update, May 2003
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Five Hints for Surviving a Business Slump
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
------------------------------------------------------------
Technology Update, May 2003
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz
------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a couple of months since my last technology
update. I missed last month for two reasons: first, I was
too busy with other things to get to writing one of these,
and second because there really wasn't much to report. Most
of the new products and ideas for the year were announced in
January and February. The next slew of new products and
ideas usually happens around August or September. A few
cool things have cropped up in the interim, though.
Display technologies are ripe for some innovative changes in
the coming years. Your basic CRT monitor hasn't changed
much in the past twenty years. Improvements in color,
graphic quality, efficiency, etc. have come a long way, but
the basic design hasn't really changed. The recent advent
of flat-screens (usually using LED or LCD) has revolution-
ized some aspects of computer use - especially regarding
space usage. These still have some way to go before they
can replace the monitor on some people's desks, however
(including mine).
Well, they may never get the chance. Some new displays
using OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) are set to hit
the market very soon. Maybe even by the end of this year on
smaller screens and expanding from there. Literally. These
will boast excellent contrast and color, rivaling LCD
screens. They're cheaper to make in large quantities as
well; another key advantage in the marketplace.
For smaller, low-powered applications, bitstable displays
will be on the market soon. Mobile phones and PDAs will
soon see these. Rather than requiring constant updating,
like your monitor or TV, these displays bring up a screen
and are "frozen" there with no power usage needed to
maintain that image until it changes. This is a huge boon
to the battery life of a small portable. New technology
has made these possible using standard crystal materials
(instead of the earlier test versions using expensive
specialty materials).
I've covered micro-displays and flexible substrate displays
in previous issues. Eyeglasses featuring micro-displays
have already been developed and will be on the market for
Christmas this year (designed by Frog Designs) and flexible
substrate displays will be available as early as 2005.
Away from displays and back to one of the items using them,
cell/digital phones are due for a large revamp of service.
Companies are working on the specifications for what are
termed "4G" phones (fourth generation). These phones will
be able to access the 'Net at two megabytes per second or
faster and will most likely include PDA-like features as
well. While these are a great idea, previous versions of
these have so far failed to live up to the task and it's
questionable whether the new specifications will hold water
when actual product is developed.
Your clothing may soon include gear to keep all of your
nifty devices connected together through a wireless personal
network. A company called IXI has developed a small network
hub for a wireless GPRS network that is smaller than the
palm of your hand and is made to fit easily into a shirt
pocket. This device will act as the network hub to connect
your phone, PDA, eyeglass-monitor, watch, etc., etc.
Speaking of watches, Suunto has developed a wristwatch that
can receive email, news, store contacts, monitor your heart
rate, and is working with Microsoft to ad intelligence to
the watch to take advantage of radio networking. These
watches, with or without the extra brains, will be available
this fall and will be called SPOT watches (Smart Personal
Object Technology).
New laser printing technology allows a desktop-sized laser
printer to print images, drawings, etc. onto paper, plastic,
wood, fabric, rubber and more! These really cool printers
are available now. See
http://www.VersaLaser.com for more
information.
Finally we come to wireless technology (again). This time,
it's a new wireless standard which may replace 802.11 in
years to come. The new standard is called 802.16a and was
developed by IEEE and is now undergoing development testing.
The new standard has a stronger interface and capacity than
the other standards, but isn't necessarily faster or more
secure. It is, however, more reliable, and is expected to
operate in a large enough frequency range to be able to be
backwards compatible with 802.11a,b,and g networks in
existence now.
That's it for this month. See you again soon!
------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------
Time moves fast when you're busy and having fun! I've been
typing so hard, my keyboard has worn out (literally) and I
have had to get a replacement.
For those of you who have been fans of Joe Bingham, you'll
be glad to know that he's back! NetPlay Newsletters is
back online and released its first issue in several months
Thursday afternoon. If you are interested in what's happen-
ing with Joe now, go to his website:
http://www.netplaynewsletters.com ------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"What is the deal with hackers? Are they really a threat to
us? My name is Alex and I am part of the Gay community and I
love to check my emails"
--Alex G.
Editor: Interstingly, I got four of these right in a row via
my comment/question script on the website. I'm guessing
someone got bored, but thought it interesting to list here.
Besides, none of you sent me any email this week. :)
------------------------------------------------------------
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!
------------------------------------------------------------
Five Hints for Surviving a Business Slump
© 2003 Vishal P. Rao
Vishal P. Rao is the editor of Home Based Business
Opportunities - A website dedicated to opportunities, ideas
and resources to help you start a home based business. Visit
him at:
http://www.home-based-business-opportunities.comEditor's Comments: Sound advice here.
------------------------------------------------------------
Starting and running a home-based business has plenty of
benefits and can generate a decent living quite easily, but
the ride isn't always simple. When sales are slow or new
customers are sparse, you don't need to throw in the towel
and call it quits.
Business is a cycle. Sometimes it's booming and other times
it's not, but neither state is permanent. The difference is
that while business is booming, your biggest concern is
meeting the needs of your multitude of customers. When
things are not, you may be scrambling to keep everything on
track.
Below you will find a few suggestions about what to do and
what not to do when your home-based business hits a slump:
1) Keep in Touch with Past Customers
When business is going great, you may have a tendency to
forget those past clients who helped get you where you are
today. Yet, when things slow down, they can be your safety
rope. Now is the time to drop them a friendly email or note
with a pleasant message.
Don't come across as needy and don't tell them you are
experiencing slowdown, but do ask them to keep you in mind
if they have need of your services or if they know of any
colleagues who may be in need as well.
Be sure to include your business card or contact information
just in case they've misplaced it since you last worked
together.
2) Avoid Cutting Prices
If sales stagnate, you may be tempted to boost business by
dropping prices. While a temporary sale or special offer may
attract new customers, if you expect to cut prices across
the board in order to raise revenue then you may be making a
mistake in judgment.
When a new customer can pay $25 for your product during a
slowdown, how are they going to react when you try to raise
that price back up to $35 or $45 after things pick up? Once
you lower prices, it's difficult to get them pack up again,
so cut prices only as a last resort.
3) Make Budget Changes Carefully
When revenue is dripping in instead of pouring, you may need
to trim some budgets, but be careful to make those
reductions wisely. Your first instinct may be to cut back on
staffing, distribution, or customer service. While these
changes may help in the short term, they may cause you to
lose clients in the long run.
Never make any budget alterations that might end up hurting
your customers and costing you business.
4) Never Skimp on Quality or Quantity
Two things determine customer satisfaction: quality and
quantity. If you are trying to cut corners in order to save
money, you may consider making alternations in these two
vital areas.
However, doing so may throw your business into more peril
than any temporary downturn in the cycle. When you provide
services or products which fail to meet the customers'
expectations, you put yourself in a position to lose repeat
business, and repeat business is where the money is.
Also, remember that happy customers are likely to tell
others how satisfied they were with your company. Likewise,
unhappy customers typically don't hide their
dissatisfaction. Maintaining your current level of quality
and quantity, or even increasing it, should be among your
top priorities.
5) Never Appear Desperate
People like to do business with those who are successful.
Therefore, if you approach potential clients with the air of
desperation in your voice, you are more likely to scare them
away than enlist their aid during this difficult period.
Examples of desperation may not just be obvious in what you
say to your customers but also in what you do. For instance,
if you significantly reduce your quote in order to secure
their business, you may be sending them the wrong message.
Stay positive and optimistic. After all, nothing attracts
business like a good attitude.
By following these suggestions, you'll be able to tackle
those bumps in the road and still come out on top of the
game.
------------------------------------------------------------
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).
May 9, 2003
------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #77 May 9, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------
=> Feature Article:
Some Time Management Hints for a Busy Life
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
Don't Overlook The Easy Sales
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
------------------------------------------------------------
Some Time Management Hints for a Busy Life
This extract is from Craig's first published book HANDBOOK
TO SURVIVE - a collection of writings on various subjects
to help every man or woman survive in a rapidly changing,
uncertain world. To purchase HANDBOOK today, click on:
http://www.nzenterprise.com/writer/books.html or
http://www.novelty-gift.com/ebooks.html------------------------------------------------------------
THE MOST COMMON TIME WASTERS, I believe, are:
1. Telephone Interruptions
2. Drop-in Visitors
3. Meetings
4. Crisis Management
5. Lack of Objectives, Priorities, a Daily plan
6. Cluttered Desk, Personal Disorganization.
7. Ineffective Delegation
8. Attempting too Much at Once
9. Lack of Clear Communication
10. Inadequate, Inaccurate Delayed Information
11. Indecision and Procrastination
12. Confused Responsibility and Authority.
13. Inability to Say "No".
14. Leaving Tasks Unfinished
15. Lack of Self-Discipline
MORE COMMON TIME WASTERS (IN RANK):
1. Planning (lack of).
2. Priorities (lack of)
3. Telephone interruptions
4. Cluttered/cluttered desk
5. Procrastination
6. Visitors
7. Lack of Self Discipline
8. Ineffective delegation
9. Attempting too much
10. Inability to say 'No'
The 80/20 Principle:
20% of activity gives 80% of results and 80% of activity
gives 20% of results (known as the Pareto Principle).
* Focus on the important few activities, not the
trivial many. * Don't procrastinate * The key is self
discipline. * "First we make habits, then habits make us."
"When we control our time, we master our life"
Good luck
Craig Lock
------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------
This issue will be short and sweet, but not slack on
content. The article above is a good one as it lists the
most common time-wasters by name. For me, it hit the nail
right on the head and I'm sure it will with most of you as
well.
Things have been busy around here these last few weeks. I
finally finished a couple of projects this week that have
been in the works for quite some time. This extra "free
time" will be consumed with my catch-up reading of the stack
of technology publications I've been letting pile up. And
just in time too since next week will be the monthly tech
update article to bring you up to date on what's going on
in the world of technology!
See you then!
------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"I liked your article "Business Lessons Learned From Paul
Revere" very much. How active was his role in the American
Revolution?"
--Jade C.
Editor: Well, Jade, I was astonished at the breadth of his
role in things. We all hear the story and maybe sing the
song about his ride through the night to alert the minute-
men. What we don't hear about is his active role in
organizing things before that night and his extremely active
role in politics at the time. Very interesting. The book
I read that enlightened me to this is called "Paul Revere's
Ride" by David Hackett Fischer. It's available at
Amazon.com.
"Great article about Paul Revere and business!"
--John B.
"Thanks for the info on spam in that article this week. I
have heard conflicting information from different sources
as to what actually IS spam."
--Brian Z.
"my definition of spam is pretty simple: if i didn't ask for
it and do not know the person sending it to me, it is spam."
--Gloria F.
Editor: Pretty simple definition. As the article pointed
out, the term "spam" has different meanings to different
people.
------------------------------------------------------------
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!
------------------------------------------------------------
Don't Overlook The Easy Sales
Copyright 2003 Bob Leduc
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses just like yours
find new customers and increase sales. He just released a
New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business
Fast With Simple Postcards and several other publications to
help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information:
Email:
BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards"
Phone: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
Editor's Comments: Another from popular contributor Bob
Leduc!
------------------------------------------------------------
Are you so busy chasing down new customers that you
completely overlooked these two prime sources for easy
sales?
Source 1: Existing Customers
Here are two ways you can use your relationship with
existing customers to generate additional business.
1. Offer Them Related Products or Services
Your existing customers already know you and trust you. It's
easier and cheaper to get more business from them than to
get any business from new prospects.
Find or create additional products and services you can
offer to existing customers. Your new products and services
should be closely related to those your customers originally
bought from you.
For example, I recently spoke with a network marketer
selling nutritional products. She also works with a health
club that pays her a commission for each new member she
signs up. She told me that over one third of her income is
generated by offering the related product to her customers.
2. Ask Them to Help You Find New Customers
Do you have a system to get referrals from satisfied
customers? If not, you are losing a lot of profitable sales
you could easily get.
One way to get referrals is with a brief Customer Survey.
Send it by postal mail, email, fax or post it on a web page.
The one I use asks only 3 questions:
1. What did you like best about our product (or service)?
2. What can we do to improve the value of our product (or
service) for you?
3. Who do you know trying to solve (state the problem you
solved for your customer)?
...or:
Who do you know that wants to (state the benefit provided
by your product or service)?
The first two questions focus attention on the benefits you
provide. Your customer is more likely to volunteer referrals
when they're thinking about the value of those benefits.
You also gain something else with the first two questions.
The first question often generates a response you can use as
a testimonial (with your customer's permission). The second
question may provide an early warning of a problem you need
to solve ...or alert you to an opportunity you can exploit.
Source 2: Previous Non-Buyers
Most prospects will not buy from you the first time they
hear about your product or service ...or the first time they
visit your web site. You can recover many of these lost
sales with a follow up system.
Your follow up system can be as simple as contacting
previous prospects occasionally with a new offer. Or it can
be more complex such as distributing a weekly newsletter
with topics related to your product or service.
Problem For Internet Marketers: Many visitors to your web
site want what you offer - but they are not ready to buy
right now. You cannot follow up with them if they click away
from your site before you find out who they are and how to
contact them.
The Solution: Post a complimentary offer on your site for
something valuable to prospects in your targeted market.
Deliver it only by email so you can capture the email
address of each visitor who requests it.
For example, offer a complimentary subscription to your
email newsletter if you publish one. Otherwise, offer a
special report, a source list or other valuable information
they cannot get anywhere else.
Tip: Try to get each prospect's first name too. Use it to
personalize your follow up messages. People cannot resist
reading something when it is personally addressed to them.
Include existing customers and previous non-buyers in your
marketing efforts. Both are a prime source for easy sales.
And you don't have to spend money on advertising to get
them.
------------------------------------------------------------
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).
May 2, 2003
------------------------------------------------------------
Aaronz WebWorkz Weekly E-Zine
A Weekly Newsletter of Hints, Ideas, and Resources for
Friends and Customers of www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
Issue #76 May 2, 2003
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. Back-issues are
available online at: http://www.AaronzWebWorkz.com
------------------------------------------------------------
IN THIS ISSUE
------------------------------------------------------------
=> Feature Article:
Business Lessons Learned From Paul Revere
=> From The Webmaster
=> Readers Talk Back!
=> Guest Column:
What is Sp^m?
=> How to Be Featured as our Guest Columnist
=> Copyright and Reprint information
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
------------------------------------------------------------
Business Lessons Learned From Paul Revere
by Aaron Turpen of Aaronz WebWorkz
------------------------------------------------------------
Recently, I've been doing a lot of reading and research into
the American Revolution. It's an interesting subject to me
as it is the story of how this great nation, the United
States of America, began. Amazingly, many lessons learned
from the founders of this nation are easily applicable to
business.
One of the books I've read in my research is "Paul Revere's
Ride" by David Hackett Fischer. The book has a biblio-
graphy almost as thick as the main volume itself. Using
letters, documents, and other clues from the past, this
historian paints a much more detailed picture of Paul Revere
than most Americans know from school. Everyone has heard of
the famous ride across the countryside as Revere alerted the
minuteman militia that "The British are coming!" In
actuality, at the time, Americans still thought of them-
selves as British and the cry would have more than likely
been "The Redcoats are coming!"
Regardless, the ride itself was only a very small part of
the total involvement that this simple goldsmith (most
believe him to be a silversmith, which is false, though he
did mainly work in silver) had in the American Revolution.
Paul Revere was quite the mover and shaker, unbeknownst to
most of us.
In business, the person who works "off the cuff" with little
or no planning is almost certainly doomed to fail. The same
was true of Paul Revere. He worked hard and diligently
creating some of the most renowned works of useful art in
the colonies. He also worked hard at setting up a careful
network of "criers" and dispatchers to get the word out when
it was needed before and during the battles of Lexington and
Concord. The legend we tell now of the lone rider flying
through the countryside is inaccurate, as the real work of
Paul Revere - though he did ride long distances to carry
information and alert the minutemen - was building a network
of people to more expediently do this task and do it quickly
and well.
His efforts, and the efforts of those he enlisted, were
solely responsible for the gathering of over 2,000 American
militiamen and the sound defeats the British suffered that
day and shortly afterwards.
In business, the same meticulous and careful planning is
also generally rewarded. Planning for every contingency,
setting a network of good communication, and being prepared
in all ways to quickly take advantage of changing trends or
quickly change course when your current plan goes awry is
the roadmap to success.
Paul Revere built a strong plan and took decisive action
when the time came and so should you.
------------------------------------------------------------
From The Webmaster
by Aaron Turpen, Editor
------------------------------------------------------------
Another fast week has gone by! Many things are happening in
the world today. Next week I'll have a double-dose of our
monthly technology update - since I didn't include one last
month.
We had a great anniversary month celebration and would like
to congratulate all of our contest winners!
For those of you in the Salt Lake City area, I will be
speaking at a teach-in this Sunday. Send me an email if
you'd be interested in attending. This is a political
event and is free to attend.
As always, if you have a subject that you'd like to see an
article covering in this newsletter, let me know. Your
input only makes the newsletter better!
------------------------------------------------------------
Readers Talk Back!
------------------------------------------------------------
"Hello,
This program worked for me. If you hate Spam like I do, you
owe it to yourself to try this program, and forward this
email to all of your friends which also hate Spam or as many
people possible.
Together lets help clear the Internet of Spam!
STOP SPAM IN ITS TRACKS!
Do you get junk, scams and worse in your inbox every day?
Are you sick of spending valuable time removing the trash?
Is your child receiving inappropriate adult material?
If so you should know that no other solution works better
then our software to return control of your email back where
it belongs!
Imagine being able to read your important eMail without
looking through all that spam...
Click below to vist our website:"
--Anonymous SPAMmer
Editor: I thought I'd include this as I found it quite
hilarious that someone was spamming me to tell me about
their anti-SPAM software. :)
"The article about business slowdowns was good, but kind of
missed a point. The economy is what is slow right now so
proper use of funds and planning for the future is very
important."
--Kim C.
"The article 'Dealing With Business Slow Downs' was very
good and timely. Especially for me and our situation right
now. Thank you!"
--Marti S.
"That traffic article this week was pretty good talking
about offline stuff. Thanks for that. I have been a
subscriber for a long time and seem to remember that you
wrote one with a similar theme earlier. I have not had a
chance to look through the website to find it yet, though."
--Joan S.
Editor: Hi, Joan. You can find the article, titled
"Marketing: Where To Place Your Offline Ads" published in
December of 2001. You can find it here:
http://aww.aaronzwebworkz.com/resources/newsletter/articles.
shtml?offlineads[Cut and paste]
------------------------------------------------------------
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!
------------------------------------------------------------
What is Sp^m?
Copyright 2003 by Kevin Bidwell
All-In-One-Business.com
Kevin Bidwell is owner of
http://www.all-in-one-business.comKevin is offering a FREE BUSINESS START-UP KIT to everyone
who visits his site. If you liked this article, you will
want to subscribe to his newsletter. Send a blank email to:
nwslttr@quicktell.net
Editor's Comments: A good article that talks about what is
the real definition of SPAM.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ask anybody and with a very few exceptions they will tell
you "I hate sp^m." Heck, even people who send spam say they
hate it. Hating spam is so universal it's almost like
hating cancer. Problem is, everyone defines *sp^m*
differently:
To the newsletter owner, who mails to his list a different
advertisement every day, sp^m is what "those other guys do"
I run a newsletter, I don't send sp^m!
To the bulk opt-in advertiser retailer, sp^m is what is sent
by those offshore casinos and pornographers.
To an attorney, sp^m is bulk email sent to people who did
not give permission to receive it.
To an anti-sp^mmer, sp^m is any email sent without verified
permission.
To the list server owner, sp^m is email sent using an
"unapproved" list.
To an ISP sp^m is email that doesn't pass its filter tests,
is from a blacklisted IP address or does not carry the
appropriate poetry in its headers.
But none of these people's definitions matter. Now I don't
mean they don't have an impact. They do. But the real
impact on your profits comes from the definitions of just
one group of people...
To the recipient with money to give you for products you
provide, sp^m is *any email they don't like.*
Ugh! That's the toughest definition of all!
"Sp^m" in the common vernacular is used to describe *any
email*, even from a friend, even from a company they have
done business with in the past, even with the right
trademarked literary masterpiece in the header IF THEY DON'T
LIKE THE EMAIL.
If you want to send out a newsletter or an email
advertisement, you will need to face this fact. No, it's
not fair. Yes, it is VERY arbitrary.
How do we overcome this? Simple--make our newsletters of
very HIGH value to our subscribers. Offer unique content.
Limit the number of ads sent. All of these things will
create a more responsive list with far fewer complaints and
far higher profits!
------------------------------------------------------------
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