Spam: Where it came from and how to escape it

This is an interesting article by Beka Ruse. After reading, please check out the link on the bottom to aweber - an excellent service to help you overcome the spamming problem!

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In 1936, long before the rise of the personal computer, Hormel Foods created SPAM. In 2002, the company will produce it's six billionth can of the processed food product. But that mark was passed long ago in the world of Internet spam.

Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)
Why Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?
Stop The Flood to Your Inbox
Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future
Think You're Not a Spammer? Be Sure.
The Final Blow

Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)

The modern meaning of the word "spam" has nothing to do with spiced ham. In the early 1990's, a skit by British comedy group Monty Python led to the word's common usage. "The SPAM Skit" follows a couple struggling to order dinner from a menu consisting entirely of Hormel's canned ham.

Repetition is key to the skit's hilarity. The actors cram the word "SPAM" into the 2.5 minute skit more than 104 times! This flood prompted Usenet readers to call unwanted newsgroup postings "spam." The name stuck.

Spammers soon focused on e-mail, and the terminology moved with them. Today, the word has come out of technical obscurity. Now, "spam" is the common term for "Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail", or "UCE."

Why Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?

Chances are, you've been spammed before. Somehow, your e-mail address has found it's way into the hands of a spammer, and your inbox is suffering the consequences. How does this happen? There are several possibilities.

Backstabbing Businesses - Businesses often keep lists of their customers' e-mail addresses. This is a completely legitimate practice and, usually, nothing bad comes of it. Sometimes though, the temptation to make a quick buck is too great, and these lists are sold or rented to outside advertisers. The result? A lot of unsolicited e-mail, and a serious breach of trust.

Random Address Generation - Computer programs called random address generators simply "guess" e-mail addresses. Over 100 million hotmail addresses exist - how hard could it be to guess some of them? Unfortunately for many unsuspecting netizens - not too hard. Many spammers also guess at "standard" addresses, like "support@yourdomain.com", "info@yourdomain.com", and billing@yourdomain.com.

Web Spiders - Today's most insidious list-gathering tools are web spiders. All of the major search engines spider the web, saving information about each page. Spammers use tools that also spider the web, but save any e-mail address they come across. Your personal web page lists your e-mail address? Prepare for an onslaught!

Chat Room Harvesting - ISP's offer vastly popular chat rooms where users are known only by their screen names. Of course, spammers know that your screen name is the first part of your e-mail address. Why waste time guessing e-mail addresses when a few hours of lurking in a chat room can net a list of actively-used addresses?

The Poor Man's Bad Marketing Idea - It didn't work for the phone companies, and it won't work for e-mail marketers. But, some spammers still keep their own friends-and-family-style e-mail lists. Compiled from the addresses of other known spammers, and people or businesses that the owner has come across in the past, these lists are still illegitimate. Why? Only you can give someone permission to send you e-mail. A friend-of-a-friend's permission won't cut it.

Stop The Flood to Your Inbox

Already drowning in spam? Try using your e-mail client's filters - many provide a way to block specific e-mail addresses. Each time you're spammed, block the sender's address. Spammers skip from address to address, and you may be on many lists, but this method will at least slow the flow.

Also, use more than one e-mail address, and keep one "clean." Many netizens find that this technique turns the spam flood into a trickle. Use one address for only spam-safe activities like e-mailing your friends, or signing on with trustworthy businesses. Never use your clean address on the web! Get a free address to use on the web and in chat rooms.

If nothing else helps, consider changing screen names, or opening an entirely new e-mail account. When you do, you'll start with a clean, spam-free slate. This time, protect your e-mail address!

Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future

Want to surf the web without getting sucked into the spam-flood? Prevention is your best policy. Don't use an easy-to-guess e-mail address. Keep your address clean by not using it for spam-centric activities. Don't post it on any web pages, and don't use it in chat rooms or newsgroups.

Before giving your clean e-mail address to a business, check the company out. Are sections of its user agreement dedicated to anti-spam rules? Does a privacy policy explain exactly what will be done with your address? The most considerate companies also post an anti-spam policy written in plain English, so you can be absolutely sure of what you're getting into.

Think You're Not a Spammer? Be Sure.

Many a first-time marketer has inadvertently spammed his audience. The first several hundred complaints and some nasty phone messages usually stop him in his tracks. But by then, the spammer may be faced with cleanup bills from his ISP, and a bad reputation that it's not easy to overcome.

The best way to avoid this situation is to have a clear understanding of what spam is: If anyone who receives your mass e-mails did not specifically ask to hear from you, then you are spamming them.

Stick with your gut. Don't buy a million addresses for $10, no matter how much the seller swears by them! If something sounds fishy, just say no. You'll save yourself a lot in the end.

The Final Blow

The online world is turning the tide on spam. In the end, people will stop sending spam because it stops working. Do your part: never buy from a spammer. When your business seeks out technology companies with which to work, only choose those with a staunch anti-spam stance.
Spam has a long history in both the food and e-mail sectors. This year, Hormel Foods opened a real-world museum dedicated to SPAM. While the museum does feature the Monty Python SPAM Skit, there's no word yet on an unsolicited commercial e-mail exhibit. But, if all upstanding netizens work together, Hormel's ham in a can will far outlive the Internet plague that is UCE.

Beka Ruse fights spam as the Business Development Manager at AWeber Communications. Ad tracking, live stats, and a strict anti-spam policy: Automated E-Mail Follow Up From AWeber. http://www.aweber.com/lsp.htm

Are you ready for the Future?

Happy New Year!

As we launch into a New Year, we are full of expectations, and hopefully, they are all positive. Perhaps, you have made some resolutions. I certainly wish you determination and success in reaching whatever goals you have set.

The following newsletter has some helpful information relating to the business world. While the article makes reference to some large industry and organizational issues, the ideas may very well apply to our home business environment.

Check it out here, and happy reading:
http://www.herdlinger.com/unlimitedpotential/jan05a.pdf

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If you are looking to develop a home based business, please visit my website at
http://www.smartecreation.com/homeoffice

An exercise in "Vitality"

As we approach the New Year, we begin to make resolutions and set goals. One of them may be that we resolve to, once and for all, excercise at least 3x per week. I work out on a regular basis throughout the year, and I notice how crowded the fitness center gets in January. By mid February, it fizzles out and just us regulars remain...

Exercise has is not only good for your physical health, but it helps you clear your mind, get rid of stress and anxiety, increase immunity against certain diseases, help you sleep better.

Read this interesting newsletter by my friend and coach David Herdlinger:
http://www.herdlinger.com/unlimitedpotential/dec04b.pdf

Wishing you a healthy 2005!

Life with no Internet for 2 weeks! Could you do it?

Yahoo conducted an experiment with 28 families to test and see what role the Internet plays in their life. In a survey, 48% of folks in the US, said they could not do it!! 137,000,000 people in the US are online.

Follow this link to the report which is extremely interesting to read.
http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/promo/disconnected/pdf/adweek.pdf


Lessons? - The future of personal and business relationship building is on the internet. Be smart about it! Build your own unique presence on the Web.

I can help. http://www.smartecreation.com

Bring Humor into your work life

Did you know that by the time a child reaches kindergarten, she laughs an average of 300 times per day?

Did you know that 3 minutes of deep-belly laughing is the equivalent of a 3 minute workout on a fitness rowing machine?

Find out why the no pain, no gain philosophy and the prevailing attitude that having fun does not go together with being professional are WRONG!

Read David's article here: http://www.herdlinger.com/unlimitedpotential/nov04b.pdf

If you are a corporate executive, home business entrepreneur or simply someone who wants to grow personally and professionally, I highly recommend that you give David a call. (see contact info in the newsletter) Find out what his coaching can do for you. I did!!

The Human Side of Ad Tracking

How to Use Emails to Connect With Your Customers and Find Out Why They Really Bought

Do you know why people buy from you?
What part of your offer put them over the edge?

Let's face it, you worked for a long time on your sales copy. You created bonuses, designed a guarantee, sweated over the benefits and how to communicate them. But which of those factors really connect with the buyers? What actually motivated the purchase?

If you knew, you could pump up the benefits and the parts of your offer that really drive sales. But how can you tell?

Actually, it's very easy. You just ask.

I do it every day and it takes me virtually no time or effort to get unbelievable information. How?

I add a simple email to my autoresponder series immediately after a customer purchases.
Here's what mine says:
Sample Email Request
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Hi {firstname},

It's Jeff here, from CBmall. I'm doing a bit of market research. Can you tell me how you found out about CBmall? Was it aNewsletter? Ad? Search engine? Do you remember who referred you?

Or perhaps you were reading the 10 Powerful Ways CBmallMakes You Money?
And what specifically made you decide to make the investment? What was the benefit that put you over theedge and turned you into a buyer?

This is important, because soon you will be sending traffic to the mall and this may help the CBmall sales information get better. Which will help you make more money!

Please just reply to this email with the answers.
Thanks so much for your help,
Jeff Mulligan
CBmall.com
====================================
Every day these emails go out and every day I get valuable information. To me, finding out why people buy is more important than why they don't. (although I try to find that out, too) That's because there are so many reasons a person may not buy, many of which are beyond my control.

But knowing what turns on buyers is a huge benefit to me as I fine tune the copy. For example, here are some of the comments I get:
**** The Results Provide Great Customer Insight ****

“I read all the info and I liked the fact that I did not have to create a web site and a bunch of other stuff. I am new to internet marketing as well as being technically illiterate but I figure I can follow instructions for the most part and you offer the support I will need.”

“Personalized autoresponder and newsletter.”“Reason: The eBook, 10 Powerful Ways CBmall Makes You Money, made good marketing sense... Also the products on ClickBank - CBmall are terrific and good sellers....”

“I found your ad at clickbank.com”

“I first heard of CBmall from your newsletter which I subscribed to in December but was not convinced. My next step was to get the 10 Powerful Ways CBmall makes you money. This made things much clearer. The number of products available is impressive. The targeted traffic that is shared amongst owners is a useful bonus. The guarantee means no risk, which is essential as I am on a small pension.”

**** What You Can Learn ****
OK let's look at this small sample to see what I can learn from it.

* My ad on the ClickBank web site is working - keep it going.
* I have a lot of beginners who don't have a web site of their own. I should continue to highlight this feature.
* People like the fact that there is a built-in autoresponder that puts their affiliate links on all the messages that go out. It means they get multiple chances to sell. Perhaps I should promote this more.
* My eBook and eCourse, 10 Powerful Ways CBmall Makes You Money, is working.
* Look at the last message. This is evidence of how important follow-up is. This person waited 3 months before she felt comfortable ordering.
* My guarantee is very important.

While I can only show you a small sample here, there are many more that echo these thoughts. Put them together in your head and you can see clear trends about what features come up most frequently. For me, ease of use, the ClickBank affiliation and the personalized autoresponders are the most common reasons people buy. I have adjusted the sales copy to highlight these features.

What will you find out?

Note for ClickBank affiliates: If you use ClickBank, you know that you get the email address of your customers. You can use that to send a quick email requesting this information.

A word about timing: I have found that this works really well if you send the email out immediately after the purchase. Mine goes out at the same time the thank you email goes out. This way, the reasons are still fresh in the customer's mind, and they are in a very cooperative mood - often quite excited from their purchase and anxious to do anything to help.

How to reply: I set up a simple macro so that I can just hit reply, activate the macro, and hit send. It just takes a few seconds. Mine just says:“Thank you for helping out with your input. I really appreciate it. I look forward to helping you make extra money with your new CBmall.”

Thats all you need, but you should be sure to acknowledge their answers with a reply.

**** How This Helps Your Affiliate Program ****
Here's another great fringe benefit of this tactic. Often customers will specifically mention the newsletter they were reading or the web site they were visiting that first told them about CBmall.When they do, I will frequently copy the email and send it to that newsletter or web site owner. Since these people are my affiliates, it's a great way to show them how their CBmall promotions are working. It also shows them I am paying attention to their business.

Remember that “mind share” is important in keeping your affiliates active and promoting your products. I've garnered considerable good will through these quick little messages.

**** Summary ****
In summary, while ad tracking is vital to learn WHERE your business is coming from, an autoresponder message to find out WHY you got your business is often just as valuable. Implement this simple tactic and give yourself a better understanding of what is working for you. Use that knowledge to fine tune your site for maximum conversions.

Resource Box:Jeff Mulligan has an MBA and 20+ years of marketing experience as an ad agency Senior VP and VP Marketing for two software companies. Jeff owns CBmall, a site that provides 10 different ways for ClickBank affiliates to earn income on 1,997 ClickBank InfoProducts. http://www.smartvaluemall.com

Who is your Guru?

*******
I don't know about you, but I have several advisor or gurus I am seeking out. Jeff Mulligan, who I just met over the phone the other day is one of them. Here is an article from him.
*******

The other day I was talking to a guy at the health club I just joined. (Never had time when I was working for someone else.)

We started talking about our personal trainers. If you aren't familiar with the term, these are fitness experts who are educated to design work-out routines based on an individuals strengths, needs and goals.

Anyway, Rick said something that struck me right between the eyes. "I got so confused reading all the books and fitness magazines. Everyone has a different opinion of what works the best. I finally figured if I was going to work out, I might as well pick one expert, listen to them and follow their program."

Later, as I was driving my sore body home, I thought about how appropriate Rick's comment was to Internet Marketing.

Everyone's an expert. (Even people who have yet to sell their first eBook.) And there are a million programs, books, secrets, techniques and tactics that will work for you.

The problem is, you can easily fall into what my favorite business school professor called, "Analysis Paralysis".
That's where a lot of people are stuck.
They keep reading, and it gets in the way of actually doing something.

***** I was guilty *****

I was guilty of this, too. I must have bought several hundred dollars worth of books and courses before I found what worked for me.

Fortunately, the expert I decided to follow was, in hindsight, an excellent choice. And by following his advice and listening to his ideas, I have built up a couple of successful income streams.

My point isn't that my "guru" is the right one for everyone.

The point is to pick one or maybe a couple of people you really respect, and model them. Of course, make sure they are actually successful in their own businesses first.
But when you find someone you respect and whose style you like, listen to their advice and follow what they recommend in their writings.

***** Save Your Brain *****

Following this strategy can save lots of brain cells that you would spend switching strategies and tactics. It avoids confusion and gives you a good point of reference from which to work.
You don't have to keep reading and searching for the latest eBooks. Assume your guru knows the latest tactics and will advise you of how well they work.

I'm not saying you never look at another eBook or eZine again, it's just that you have one primary star you follow, it's that much easier to find your way.

Resource Box: Jeff Mulligan has an MBA and 20+ years of marketing experience as an ad agency Senior VP and VP Marketing for two software companies. Jeff owns CBmall, a site that provides 15 different ways for ClickBank affiliates to earn income on 1,997 ClickBank InfoProducts. http://www.smartvaluemall.com

Managing Energy is the key...

Some thrive under pressure, others wilt. There is an epedemic of stress and burnout in our personal and work lives. We pride ourselves in our ability to multi-task and use computer aids to organize the demands on our time; we become more efficient and take more responsibilities, and with them, more stress.

Even when managing our time well we still end up exhausted and stressed, unable to concentrate, keep foucs and be productive. That's because the problem isn't time management, it's energy ...

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.herdlinger.com/unlimitedpotential/nov04a.pdf

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I have a solution for you that might just work to leverage your time, effort and income:
http://www.smartecreation.com
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Little Is The New Big

Question:

It seems that for us, it is getting harder and harder to compete against the so-called "big boys." With their budgets and know-how, big business seems to have it all over small business. What are we to do?

Answer:

I could not disagree more. In fact, I will contend that there is, right now, a change occurring in business so profound, so new, and so unexpected, that things will never be the same.
We stand at the threshold of a new era, an era that will change business for sure, but which in fact is also changing the world at large. What revolution is that, you ask?

Little is the new big.

Not so long ago, big was big. The 1970s and '80s were a time when bigger was indeed better. Television was still ruled by the Big 3 networks and auto sales were dominated by the Big 3 automakers. Long distance telephone service was monopolistically handled by AT&T and corporate mergers turned large companies into corporate behemoths; Chevron's acquisition of Standard Oil in 1984 for $13 billion was the largest merger in history. Geopolitically, two giant superpowers ruled the globe.

But things began to change as the 1990s dawned. Politically, the breakup of the old Soviet Union and the Warsaw Bloc from monolith into 15 small republics and eight newly independent nations signaled a new era; an era where small yet nimble was suddenly more important, and more powerful, than big and cumbersome.

Both politically as well as business-wise, the tide from big to little has accelerated in this new century, bringing us now to a tipping point — where little is indeed the new big.
Consider these "little" innovations being pushed by big business:

• The Mini Cooper auto
• Apple's iPod Mini (Apple recently decided to delay its international launch of the hugely-successful product because domestic demand far exceeded supply)
• Bitty Burgers — available from Levy's restaurants, these mini-burgers were available at four ballparks this year.
• Google's little boxed, yet highly effective, ads

The causes, as I see it, are the twin tides of government deregulation and technological innovation. In the past 20 years, the energy, banking, airline, and telecommunications industries, among others, have been deregulated with the specific intent of creating small companies that could compete with the established titans. That such measures succeeded is beyond dispute.

Consider for example the airline industry. After deregulation, huge old stalwarts like the venerable Pan Am and the mighty TWA vanished into thin air because they could not compete with smaller, innovative upstarts like Southwest. Small beat big because small is quicker, leaner, meaner, hungrier, more entrepreneurial, and more innovative.

But it wasn't just legislation that got us to the point where small is big. The technological computer telecommunications revolution is equally responsible. It was the vision of some computer geeks in San Jose and Seattle that lit the match that set the world on fire. Both the home computer as well as the Internet have leveled the playing field and turned every little individual into potentially a big player:

Consider eBay. If ever there was proof that little is the wave of the future, eBay is it. eBay was founded in Pierre Omidyar's San Jose living room in September 1995 on his home computer. Since then, eBay has become one of the most successful companies of the new millennium by turning traditional business theory ("bigger is better") on its head. eBay succeeds by tapping the power of little, by allowing individuals to create a consortium of online mom-and-pops shops that, when taken together, has become the largest garage sale in history.

No, in business, bigger is no longer better. The disastrous AOL-Time Warner merger is proof of that. Today, the smart business must be return to its small entrepreneurial roots. It must think big but execute small. By so doing, it can not only react to change quickly and efficiently, but it can harness this new zeitgeist for its own benefit.

Can small business compete? You bet. Little is the new big.

Today's tip:

How does the captain of a huge ocean liner change course? Yes, he turns the ship's wheel, and the wheel turns the rudder. But it is not the rudder that turns the ship, it is actually a small subsection of the rudder called the trimtab. The tiny trimtab turns the rudder, and the little rudder turns the giant ship. It is the small business, and the big business that executes in a small way, that are the trimtabs of the new economy.

Steven D. Strauss writes a weekly Ask an Expert column focusing on issues related to business, particularly small businesses, such as tips on marketing and advertising, finances and employee relations. A lawyer, author, and public speaker, Steve has spoken around the world about entrepreneurship, including at the United Nations, and he has been on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, "The O'Reilly Factor," and many other television and radio shows. His latest book is The Business Startup Kit. If you would like Steve to speak to your group, help your business grow, or if you would like to sign up for his free newsletter, "Small Business Success Secrets!" please visit his Web site www.mrallbiz.com.

Advantage of running an Internet Home Business

Interesting article!

When you are ready to learn more about successful home business management, come and visit my site and take a test-drive for free.

www.smartecreation.com/homeoffice

Advantage of running an Internet Home Business
By © Arthur, The Online Biz Home

Don't be mistaken that running a home or online business means you can relax, sleep late or conduct your business with your bathroom slippers.

Usually, it means that you need to maintain the same professionalism and work harder or even longer than anyone else that are working full time.

One advantage of a home or online business is that, it does not require you to quit your existing job immediately as you experiment with running a home or online business PART TIME before you plunge into full time commitment once it is successful.

Running a home or online business requires as much planning, dedication and thought as in your Full-time employment.

With your own online business, you can enjoy it and take a day off when your enthusiasm wanes and get back to it after a day rest.

The Internet offers you the best way to make money if you can put in a little effort to un-learn some of your pass lessons and re-learn the online business techniques.

While operating your online business, you will also learn lots about internet marketing, website construction, exchanging links with other site, writing and submittng your own free articles, optimizing webpage for the search engine as well as affiliate system and product line.

With today's affordable personal computer and internet accessibility, going online is a better choice if you:
- have a limited budget,
- need more time with your family,
- want to earn multiple income streams,
- want to work at the comfort of your home and schedule,
- need a second source of income,
- want an unlimited profit potential etc...

The Net allows you to reach a worldwide market. Billions of people are surfing around the world everyday and it is still increasing at a rapid rate.

Everyday, more and more people around the world are using the Internet to search and purchase items which they can't find locally and they are not bother by where the product is shipped from as long as it satisfied their needs.

Imagined your business having the global world as your customers with just a computer and modem with internet access at the comfort of your home.

Copyright © Arthur "Opportunity are often shy, you just have to keep looking for them." Learning and putting what you learn into Action is the key to success in operating a successful Work At Home Online Business. Visit: http://www.sap-basis-abap.com/homebusiness/

When you are ready to learn more about successful home business management, come and visit my site and take a test-drive for free.
www.smartecreation.com/homeoffice

Security for Internet Users Deemed Weak

How safe is YOUR COMPUTER?


Washington, DC -- Internet users at home are not nearly as safe online as they believe, according to a nationwide inspection by researchers. They found most consumers have no firewall protection, outdated antivirus software and dozens of spyware programs secretly running on their computers.

One beleaguered home user in the government-backed study had more than 1,000 spyware programs running on his sluggish computer when researchers examined it. ...

Read complete article: http://www.tripinfo.com/ITM/Articles2004/ITM782.html

Join my group for this very special conference call!

Just follow this link. Ever heard of Terri Levine? You can join the conference call on Thursday afternoon, October 28th at 3pm CST/ 4pm EST.

But you must act fast! Read all about it here:
http://sfiturnkey.blogspot.com/2004/10/very-special-conference-call-thursday.html

Taking Feedback to Heart!

How do you feel about getting feedback from others?
Do you feel criticized? Are you defensive?

Learn how to turn feedback into food for thought.
Change defensiveness into productive curiosity.

All of this and more in David's newsletter:
http://www.herdlinger.com/unlimitedpotential/oct04b.pdf

P.S. David Herdlinger is one of my great mentors. When I was unemployed 2 years ago, he took me under his wing and taught me some very valuable lessons. He is part of my success. He is part of my mastermind!

If you are looking for a coach (and I think everyone should have one!), give David a call. Let him know that Andy from Savannah sent you. Let him explain what he can do for and with you. It may be the most important call you ever made!

His number is 877-626-2960 (toll-free) or 912-634-9300