JimWorld Gazette Issue #50 04/24/1998

Gazette - Issue #50 - April 24, 1998

Jim "Super Web Guru" Wilson asked me, Wally Gross, the oldest living surviving super supporter of Virtual Promote and it's accompanying newsletter, The Gazette, to write an intro for this anniversary issue. Which, of course, I am happy to do.

Being the oldest surviving member, I suppose this message goes to all you spry, witty and healthy youngers. Just imagine, here I sit eyes squinted, my nose almost touching my 17" super screen, and I am still having problems adjusting my bi-focals. Boy, life's a beach, isn't it!

Well, aged I am, but still young enough to engage the mind when needed.

All right, enough of my meandering; let's talk about Jim and his prodigious and prodigal productions - the JimWorld site and the newsletter, the Gazette, of the same vintage.

To put it succinctly, Jim has loaded the bases with great Web content, stepped up to the plate and delivered a pair of virtual home runs. In each case, Jim has produced works of Herculean proportions that require many, many hours of time each week. Then he unselfishly shares his efforts and his time with all of us.

At my little Webian abode, known as Surfers Choice, we are in the middle of building a "Hall of Fame" dedicated to special Netizens. Our first inductee will, of course, be Jim himself. No joking folks, honest as an Indian, this man deserves it.

Naturally, if you're even a little curious as I am, we really must wonder where the man finds the time to produce such superb work in quantity. Well, I guess Jim must get help from somewhere and as he always does, will have a list of the honorables somewhere on this page.

For my part, as I sit wasted and weakened by the infirmities of old age, I'll say the same to you Jim as I said to my young and beautiful wife the other day- "The Best is yet to come". I look forward to the next year of friendship with you and congratulate you on your well earned success.

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Wally Gross
TechnoMax Software and Systems and Exploit Submission WIzard
http://www.technomax.com/index.htm

-- Why JimWorld?
-- Founding Members
-- First Annual Lost In Space Award
-- Tips From The Hitman - Part XXX
-- Books or Bytes - Electronic Publishing
-- Yahoo!
-- From Verio Web Hosting
-- From Revnet
-- Snippets
-- Sweepstakes vs. Contests
-- Your Anniversary Gift

Link to this issue of the Gazette as http://gazetteworld.com/go/to.cgi?l=g50

WHY JimWorld?

by Steve Repetti, SmartDesk, Inc.

Beyond the kudos, awards, and all the fun, Jim and I are often asked our opinion on the benefits received from Jim's considerable JimWorld effort. After all, many people still cannot grasp the basic concept of community. Well if you actually took a survey I would be willing to bet that most people consider JimWorld a success --- and we sure do!

For those of you unfamiliar, JimWorld is a resource that is provided for free by Jim Wilson. It was Jim's brainchild and he has grown and nurtured it into quite a place. Along the way JimWorld has sprawled in its quest to become the number one free resource of its kind.

None of this happens without ongoing considerable expense and effort, both of which are wholly shielded from the community. Jim does this gladly while maintaining an impartial place for the advancement of knowledge without dangling a price tag or running a meter.

So why would we do this? The answer is simple taken individually and inspiring taken as a whole. It all started with our own quest for knowledge. As that grew, our interaction with others with similar goals increased and common resources were sought and shared. Clearly this benefited our own needs as we ourselves became more comfortable.

Beyond the quest for our own knowledge in these areas, we as a business are also interested in the needs and concerns of the connected world as we continue to evolve our products and services. In this way JimWorld has become a lighting rod that channels community interaction instantaneously. As a simple example, we're flooded within ten minutes of sending beta-test announcement to the community, and the responses we will get will be of an envious mixture of real-world users all too eager to help out.

Also, we really do like the way it is turning out. It is timely, fair and impartial, provided at the right price, and it really is a "good" place. Jim's Helpware initiative embodies this best.

All this combines to help us keep our fingers on the pulse of what's happening out there --- and it's one of the ways we use to stay ahead!

So thanks to you all too, 'cause without the community we'd be just a bunch of web pages...

FOUNDING MEMBERS

I didn't get here on the first issue. Someone sent it to me and I immediately subscribed and studied every issue since then. The "study" part is very important because you have managed to keep each issue filled with a dozen or more points of advice. It's a moment of joy and anticipation when I see the Gazette being download. The first reading is never completed at one time because you've sent me to look at this program or that site, to determine "how" or "why" something is done a certain way.

Although my email address has changed several times, I'm a proud Founding Member of the Gazette. What's more important is that we celebrate you, whom I consider as the Founding Father of Website Promotion, and as a damn fine person. Thanks for everything you've done.

Thank you,
Jerry Finch
http://www.newcountry.nu/
New Country Writer's Showcase

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Hi Jim!

Just read the latest issue of the Gazette and wanted to pass on my "1st Anniversary" congratulations and to let you know how we have advanced thanks to you. I have been a subscriber since Issue #1 and still have all the back issues and still go over them every couple ofmonths to refresh myself! :)

Before we visited JimWorld, our site was:

Hosted under a virtual domain
Was getting less than 500 page views total per month
Had no newsletter
Had no online community
Had no hope

After this year we now have:

Our own domain
Over 50 000 total page views last month
Newsletter with over 1 000 subscribers and growing strong
Strong community with repeat visitors
Much hope in the form of advertising revenue and pride of a jobwell done!

Also, our sites are listed well in the major search engines (even Yahoo!), and last month both sites were chosen as Yahoo! Picks of the Day (an incredible flow of traffic that we are still recovering from!!).

Again, thanks for all the effort you put into JimWorld - it seems to get better and better, with the Forums being the latest evidence. I can't wait to see what comes next!

Jeff Kowerchuk - Webmaster
Vimy Park Health Magazine
http://www.vimy-park.mb.ca/

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Hallo Jim

From the next issue 1 reader.. thanks a lot for your great service, learned a lot here in Salzburg/Austria. It's really great to have a resource like your Gazette.

Best wishes from Salzburg

Mike Mrazek
NCM-News (in German)
http://www.ncm.at/news.htm

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I am a proud founding member! I even have Issue #1 archived in my folder for past issues of the Gazette to prove it. It has become a collectors item, I think.

I run a web site all about web site promotion called Promotion World. There is a lot of stuff there... almost as much as at JimWorld!

Come see for yourself... http://www.promotionworld.com

Thanks!

Joshua Reimer
Promotion World!

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I have been a subscriber of the Gazette since the very first issue. The amount of Internet marketing information I have learned as a result of the Gazette is just plain incredible! Jim does a fantastic job of making the complex easy and makes the whole arena of Internet promotion seem much less chaotic.

As the moderator for the Contests and Sweepstakes forum, I am proud to be able to give a little back from all that I have received. Although this forum is just getting started, this area will include topics about how to sponsor a good promotion, the legalities involved, the mechanics involved, promotional places to announce your sweepstakes, and motivational ideas to get you started.

Thank you, Jim and JimWorld, for the great inspiration you provide!

Susan Donahue, Publisher
Winning Ways Sweepstakes Newsletter
http://www.onlinesweeps.com

FIRST ANNUAL LOST IN SPACE AWARD

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the City of Southern California Museum of Science and Industry Exhibit for 2020.

The first exhibit we will visit was selected in part for having been the recipient of the First Annual JimWorld Lost In Space Award. You may not know that that first award was a quietly announced event, unlike today's annual Lost In Space award ceremonies viewed by billions through the population centers of Earth, the Moon and Mars.

This first exhibit is an historically accurate recreation of the last computer store on Earth. This store was located in Mission Viejo, California and ceased operation and passed into the history books on July 17, 2000. Please note the actual sign that hung on the outside of the store for the entire six years of the store's operation. The name Comp USA implied the availability of computer products.

As we pass this first area of the exhibit, please do not disturb the holograms of shoppers standing in line to pay for their purchases. The angry gestures they are making are not directed at you, but rather seem to be some sort of ritual engaged in by shoppers of the times. We suspect it was related to the Three's A Crowd rite of passage, but that is not clear in the research of the times. It has even been implied that Waiting In Line might have been a social interaction tradition which would explain why there were always exactly 18 people standing in one line while the other payment terminals were not in use.

Next, I would like to draw your attention to the many rows of shelves displaying the colorful cardboard boxes. These boxes contained software for sale. Inside of each box were floppy discs or CD-ROMs containing the actual software, plus printed books instructing the purchaser on the complex issues involved in installing the software onto their computer and how to make it work. Unfortunately, no such manuals survived the CompVictim Revolt of 2007.

The area we are passing through now, identified by the Customer Service sign over the round cabinetry is rumored to have been a coffee bar where customers could relax and enjoy the company of the Hosts and Hostesses, identifiable by the bright red vests and Comp USA stitched on the back. In trying to ascertain the purpose of the Red Vest People, many arguments have broken out amongst the researchers. Most agree that these people were hired to provide a conversation break from computer talk while shopping. It is certain that they were carefully screened to insure that computer knowledge was not part of their abilities.

The other school of thought is that these were actually survey takers hired by the soap companies to gather marketing data relating to the various brands of soap on the market.

Before moving on to the display area containing actual working 20th century computers, please disable your ThinkImp implants. The radio waves radiated by these final generation computers can cause inner ear pain in the area surrounding you implants.

The various computers on display here allowed the customers to select the exact color and cabinet style of the computer they wanted to buy. It is also thought by some that these computers were made available to allow the customers to try out various brands of software, but we feel that is unlikely, as all of the colorful software boxes were surrounded by a shiny, transparent magnetic shield that kept people from stealing the software impulses right through the walls of the boxes.

As you have all read in school, or in the many unauthorized biographies of the reclusive Jim Wilson, the selection of the Comp USA store as the 1998 award recipient crystallized while Jim was shopping in this very store, supposedly for a software game for his son Nick, the current publisher of the Gazette and recent winner of the Nobel Cyberpeace Prize. The most credible quote of this historic event follows:

"Well, I was just standing there in the software aisle reading the side of a box, when an ad began playing over the in-store radio station. The ad shouted that it knew how much I feared disaster every time I logged onto the Internet. The fear of being attacked by the multitude of thieves and hackers waiting to insinuate themselves into my computer, riding in on the back of a Cookie or Javascript program. But this fine company could protect me from that constant threat by buying their Cookie Buster, or whatever they called it. Never did get the name right.

Now this struck me as a bit odd. Here I stood in a computer store that claimed to be operated by the most knowledgable computer experts that money could buy, and they surely knew that their future was on the Internet. They even offered courses on Internet usage. But they didn't seem to know that spreading this form of violent attack on their customers was counter productive.

Some people were surprised when I didn't select the developer of that offending software as the first recipient. The reason was simple. They were so insignificant and desperate that they probably wouldn't even be around by the time the award was announced. Historically, that type of company which had sunk to such a low level of desperate attempts to sell anything to anybody for any reason just wasn't worth the effort to even find out who they were. But I thought I recognized them as the same people that brought us the famed Banner Buster.

The real story was the blazing understanding that come to me when I realized that computer stores really were within months of disappearing entirely from the world's stage. To have become so out of touch with the world, and with even good business self-interest, had to mean that the short history of selling software in boxes was soon to pass.

I only regret that they lasted long enough to try scare tactics against their own customers, thereby driving people away from the Net in an attempt to make a buck or two. The only sad part of this revelation was knowing that the government would soon have to start a remedial jobs training program to train all of these ex computer store employees in a marketable skill. Maybe they could learn something about computers?"

This is the very story that Jim always told, and knowing that Jim was renowned for never stretching a point, the story is most likely accurate in every detail.

Many of the Jim biographies are available in the bookstore at the end of this tour. The recent number of Jim Sightings have again moved those books onto the best seller list. Download your copy in the bookstore.

Unfortunately, Jim has not been seen since midnight, New Year's Eve, 1999 when he digitized his consciousness into a digital Mega-Cookie and deployed it onto the Web. Reportedly his final words were 'I just want to be alone.'

TIPS FROM THE HITMAN - PART XXX

Thirty articles, somehow this number seems to have some significance to me. For one thing, I had no idea I would ever see the day when I would find myself doing anything like this, let alone doing articles on an almost regular basis. I have not been with the Gazette from the very beginning, but Jim tells me I have the honor of having the longest standing as a contributing researcher.

To the best of my recollection, I wrote tip number one back in mid June of 1997, not quite a year ago. I have to admit I have missed a few issues since then, but only a few.

So why do I do it? What is the motivation? I got a note today from Jim, "Big issue this week. You and I been down a long road this year. Thanks for all of your support and help. I hope it has been rewarding both in satisfaction and profit."

I told him I would be answering this question and more in my reply. So, why would I write and is it good for business? Is it rewarding? The answer to both of these questions is YES. I have to admit that the profit angle was likely the driving force in my initially accepting the task, but the rewards for my efforts are in fact more than just monetary. Sure, it has been good for business but it goes much deeper. The very nature of what writing for the Gazette has done for me has a lot to do with how the Internet works and it is a good lesson if you intend to survive and thrive in what I find to be the most challenging work environment I have ever experienced.

To understand what I mean, perhaps a short history lesson might help. I now make a very decent living full time from my Internet businesses. You might think that since I specialize in Internet promotion, I might have some previous background in advertising, or marketing. The truth is something else. I do have marketing experience if you consider that for the 10 years before that day I first loaded free Internet software on my computer I was self employed as a Landscape Contractor. Yes, I had a business to market, but it was not really the kind of experience that translates over to Internet marketing, believe me.

The reason I have been able to build a successful Internet business actually has a lot to do with why I write for the Gazette. When I started on the Internet in 1995 with only a half idea for a new business I really knew nothing about the Internet, let alone how to build a business on the Net. I soon discovered that even way back then (it seems like forever now) there was a very different kind of community on the Internet than I was used to in my normal course of business. I soon discovered that if I mastered the use of the search engines, I could find little jewels of free information to help me learn the skills and survival techniques required if I wanted to make a go of it. Yes, there were a lot of totally useless pages just as there are now, but sprinkled through the rocks there were the jewels. I remember pages like Spider, one of many useful pages that actually went out of their way to teach me what I needed to know to begin to create my own pages and master HTML. Spiders Pick of the Day was one of the first real award pages and it is missed by many who were around way back when.

Many of these pages in the early days were the tireless efforts of college students who saw the Internet as the future. These students were on the cutting edge and really were some of the very best contributors of truly useful information. Yahoo was started by a couple of college kids as a project to organize their ever growing collection of bookmarks, and we all know where that project went from those humble beginnings.

So what am I trying to say anyway, and what does it mean to you the reader? I learned from the beginning that the pages I visited the most were pages that were helpful to me in my need to understand and use the Internet to build a business. I soon discovered that the willingness to help others who have less experience or who have another area of expertise is the key to success in building an Internet business. From the beginning, I always tried to answer questions emailed to me, even though I did not perceive myself as an expert on Internet marketing. I soon found that by maintaining my focus on my business and trying to provide a good service, I was becoming more knowledgeable than the next guy on the subject.

My willingness to try and help the little guy, the guy who was just like I was when I first logged on was the single most important thing I ever did to build my business. If you go out of your way to add free information, to offer help and to do it without expecting anything in return you will find your Internet business will grow and thrive. The turning point for my business was when I created Submit URL. At first just one long page showing people how to post their own pages on a zero budget. If I had not done this page, I would not have met Jim for instance. He was one of the very first to actually apply to be included as a resource. I was stunned, someone wanted to be included on my humble page!

At first glance this philosophy almost seems self defeating, but, if you just build it they will not come. How many of us know this to be true. If you want people to come to your web site, you must have something worthwhile to offer besides just your product or service. I have to say that my willingness to help has paid off in ways I never imagined. As an example, two of my most profitable and long lasting business relationships were the direct result of my efforts to help someone with a question they had about promotion for their web page way back in early 1996. At the time these now solid business associates were just someone else sending me an email and asking for some free advice.

This all leads to why I continue to write for the Gazette. I am able to help people, something I had a good idea would end up being profitable by mid 1997 when I signed on with Jim. I had learned that in a business medium such as the Internet where you almost never talk to people let alone meet them, what you give to people will tell them more about you than maybe you want them to know. What makes an Internet expert? Perception, if you are perceived to know what you are talking about you just might be perceived as an expert in your particular area of interest. On the Internet, this means you must contribute. No, you do not have to jump immediately into a Newsletter, there are plenty of places to get your feet wet, contribute and learn at the same time. Newsgroups, and discussion groups are a great way to get started. Stop lurking, take a chance and contribute, you will not regret it in the long run. And don't forget to put what you learn on your web page. As you learn, offer to teach others and they will be back and they will tell others.

Ready for another year,

Hayden
Web Themes
http://www.webthemes.com

BOOKS OR BYTES

Electronic Publishing

Many of you might have followed my series of articles on preventing online credit card fraud. Therefore, I guess I should fill you in on a little more of my background for this series since it pertains to an entirely new subject.

Although my companies are now firmly entrenched in Internet related ventures, it all did not start that way. Several years ago I decided to write a book. This book was aimed at what is called a "niche-market," meaning it wasn't a novel or something aimed at the general public. The audience for the book was very well defined and I was pretty sure I had a way to reach this potential audience.

However, having had many other manuscripts rejected by a long list of publishers, and having reviewed their standard author contracts, I decided to form my own publishing company and handle the entire project myself. There was no other way to do this effectively. So, I wrote the book, did all the typesetting, laid out a very large chunk of money to a book printer, and started in on my marketing long before the book actually came off the press.

I am the exception to the rule. My first book did very well. I sold over 5,500 copies in a year and then sold the rights to the book to another publisher. I completely updated the book for a second edition and handed them the camera ready pages. They took it from there and the second edition is now well on its way to selling out the first printing of over 6,000 copies. Now I just sit back (yea, right!) and collect my royalty checks.

I could write pages and pages on why not to get into the publishing business. There are enough "failures" out there to warrant a book onto itself. However, if you already have your mind made up this is a course you wish to follow, then I will be happy to share with you my experience in this field because I know, from experience, there are always exceptions to the rule.

I also know that using the Internet and publishing books in "electronic" format can be the difference between success and failure. This will be the major topic of this series of articles.

Let me begin with some basics. Then I will outline what future installments in this series will cover.

Contrary to what some enthusiast predict, the Internet or electronic books will never replace printed books. Not until every single person in the world who currently has access to printed books has a computer or other device capable of displaying this new method of publishing. Given the current state of world politics and economics - we won't see this in our lifetimes. However, I believe, for many "niche-market" books the Internet can provide you with the one thing lacking with so many good niche books - the ability to directly reach your niche market.

My wife is currently the Marketing Manager for the publishing company that purchased my first book (strictly a coincidence, I assure you). She has a favorite catch-line for ideas for new books that seem like a sure thing because they have a very well defined niche market. However, her first question is always "How do you plan to reach that niche market?" A very good question. Let's say I had the idea for a great book aimed at new car buyers. That certainly is a well defined market, and one that is perpetual. But, how do I reach that potential audience? Stand out in front of car dealerships? Attend the monthly meetings of the "New Automobile Owners Club?" Take out expensive ads in every major newspaper saying "Attention new car owners?"

How do I reach that market? Hum, let me think. Gee, I wonder how many Internet web sites have to do with buying new cars? Do a search in a couple of the big search engines. Bingo! I'll discuss exactly how to turn this potential into a real marketing mechanism in my next article - but I wanted to see you off at the station down this train of thought.

Now, let's assume you determine your niche market can be definitely reached through the Internet. Your next decision is a big one. How do I publish? Books or Bytes? A lot of factors can help you determine this but in most cases, if done properly, you can publish you book in an "electronic" format including HTML, Adobe Acrobat PDF, or several other options and save yourself a ton of money and headaches. Depending on the "book," you will probably need to spend five to ten thousand dollars up front for printing cost if you go to print. Now, where do you store 150 cases of books? And, of course, there is the joy of pulling a book from a case, wrapping it carefully, getting it ready to ship, doing a mailing label, getting it to the Post Office or ready for UPS, etc., etc.

Personally, I have found it much easier to process an order transaction and simply point my customers to a download location or attached a small .exe file to an Email. Again, I will discuss all the details and options in a future article.

For now, let me end with this. I personally believe publishing books in an electronic format and handling your marketing and distribution via the Internet is a very viable option to the "standard" publishing methods. I believe it gives authors, who would never make it with a "dead-tree" edition of a book, to become fairly successful with their creative ideas. I believe I've rambled enough for now, until next time..

T.J. Walker
SoftwareSolutions.Net
http://softwaresolutions.net

<--- TJ is modest about his success. His latest book as a publisher, The Search Engine Bible http://www.softwaresolutions.net/sebible/ is a run away success after only a few short weeks on the market. And the regular updates come packed with information that I don't see anywhere else.--->

From A Gazeteer:

Thanks very much for an info-packed issue, as always. And I was particularly gratified to see the article on e-publishing, a subject very dear to my heart, since I am the editor and webmaster of Net Novels. WE have been so successful with disc sales we are going into hardcover and e-books this month, with about 8 titles, and paper back for all 70-odd titles in the autumn. and I only started in January! Keep up the great work!

Siobhan McNally
http://members.xoom.com/NetNovels/
http://members.xoom.com/WriterRefuge/

YAHOO!

Market Leaders

Yahoo! continues to be the market leader in guiding surfers to pertinent web sites containing the information they are looking for. They set a new all time record with 95 million page views per day during the month of March. Additionally, Yahoo! continues to have the largest audience of any online service or site on the Web with more than 30 million unique users per month in the United States. It is the search tool of choice with 48.6 percent of at work Internet users and 42.9 percent of home users.

What all these numbers mean to us Webmasters is that being listed in the Yahoo! directory is very important to our business. Not only is the potential of 'hits' greater than any other listing service, but the quality of those hits is exceptional. Because of the excellent directory system designed by Yahoo! we can be confident that our hits from Yahoo! are from people actually seeking our service or information. The surfer knows before hand if you deal with their search term from a commercial, scientific, or entertainment point of view.

Yahoo! will continue to grow and be a favorite of web surfers and site owners alike. They are continuously researching and adding new features which keep their users loyal. Yahoo! is not simply keeping up with the growth of the Internet, it is setting the standards!

Yahoo! Forum Status

I am very happy to report that the questions posted to the Forum have slowed to a trickle. The majority of recent postings have all been reporting the success of the forum, our members are getting listed!

If you have not already done so come to the Forum and read the questions, answers and discussions there. If you do not find the answers you need post your question. For everyone who asks there are many more who are lurking, waiting for the issue to come up. Do not lurk! Participate! If you are successful, share it with your peers, as it will encourage them that there is hope!

Janet Berg
Virtual Tapestry Web Site Design
http://virtualtapestry.com/

FROM VERIO WEB HOSTING

All of us at Verio Web Hosting (formally iServer) want to welcome the Gazette community. We are excited to not only provide a great home for the Virtual PROMOTE site, but also for the opportunity to provide a home for your premier sites.

Verio Web Hosting is the foremost provider of Virtual Server technology on the Internet today. Our technology enables businesses around the globe to establish a powerful Internet presence, as if they had their own Dedicated Server sitting in their office. The Virtual Server is more than just a hosting solution; it is a complete Server solution, giving each web site their own independent httpd, ftp, pop and smtp capabilities. In fact, subhosting, what other companies offer, is simply a free 'feature' of our Virtual Servers.

We are currently working with Jim to set up a program that will offer the Gazette community state-of-the-art Virtual Servers at discounted prices. We also want to invite you to earn additional money by joining our Reseller Program. For details on this special program, please go to http://www.iserver.com/reseller/.

So, welcome to the entire Gazette community. We are pleased to see that Jim is already taking full advantage of his new server to add features and content at a furious rate.

Dawn Wells
Marketing Specialist
Verio Web Hosting

FROM REVNET

When Jim first approached us several months ago with this problem of distributing the Gazette, we were frankly amazed that he'd made it as far as he had without a professional solution.

After we got to know the Gazette a bit better, and discovered that several of our own staff were avid Gazette readers, we felt it was in the best interest of the Internet to give the Gazette a home where Jim could concentrate on writing, researching and publishing, and let us take care of what we do best - list management and distribution.

The Gazette's growth from the 7,500 subscribers we helped Jim set up initially, to over 30,000 subscribers on this First Anniversary issue is just a step towards what your community is destined to become. With the addition of yet another industry leader, Verio, to the infrastructure, 60,000 can only be just around the corner.

Revnet congratulates the Gazette community and we look forward to writing our 2nd anniversary letter.

Walter Thames
Revnet
http://www.revnet.com
We deliver the Gazette.

SNIPPETS

GTA Technologies, Inc.
http://www.gta-tech.com

GTA announces the first FREE Online Internet Shopping Cart System available to Internet merchants worldwide.

Using their free and simple NetOrderForm, even novice Internet users can create professional, dynamic, secured order forms for use on their Internet Store Fronts. This cutting-edge system also eliminates the need for time consuming CGI scripting, HTML programming and costly computer consulting fees.

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Jim,

After launching our Homesick Gourmet web site, we floundered around with a haphazard approach to self-promotion, and ended up getting about as much traffic as a downtown street at midnight during a blizzard.

Fortunately, we stumbled upon the JimWorld web site, and after reading everything in it - including the back issues of the Gazette - we realized that we had to start systematically submitting our URL to search engines and other linkable places in order to get the results we were hoping for.

First, we "Did All The Big Ones," following your suggestions to the letter. And then we dove into the "500+ Places" and stuck with it all the way through.

The next thing we know, our site is chosen as a Yahoo! Weekly Pick and our hit counter is developing an acute hernia. We estimate that your suggestions and promotion tips generated well over 20,000 visitors to our site in just a few days.

But the best part was, we had signed up for SmartClicks (as mentioned in the Gazette) prior to getting this crush of visitors. Suddenly, we had 10,000 free banner impressions to spend!

Thank you so much for giving away such valuable information. What a refreshing change from the "dog-eat-dog" mentality we sometimes encounter in business.

Paul & Sally Hooper
The Homesick Gourmet
http://homesickgourmet.radish.net

SWEEPSTAKES vs. CONTESTS

Chance vs. Skill

Once you have decided that an online sweepstakes or contest is an appropriate marketing tool for your Web site, one of the items you will need to consider is the structure of your promotion. Will your promotion be a random selection of all entrants, or will it be a game in which skill predominates? The difference between these two types of promotions will determine the way you structure your game.

Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes are random drawings. The entrants submit the information required by the sponsor, and it is added to the pool of entries. Winners are then pulled from that pool at random--hence, random drawing. This usually involves having the entrant submit their name, address, phone number, and e-mail address via a form coded onto a Web site, or by sending the information to the sponsor via regular postal mail by using a hardcopy method (3x5 card in an envelope or a postcard).

Two types of sweepstakes are very popular with most Internet marketers -- regular sweepstakes and multiple drawing sweepstakes:

Regular sweepstakes encompass a prize or set of prizes in which there is only one entry deadline and one drawing. One benefit of a regular sweepstakes includes the ability to run different promotions with short entry dates so you can judge particular responses. Another benefit is the ease in which you can create your promotion.
Multiple drawing sweepstakes are those in which prizes are given away at certain intervals, for example monthly or quarterly. There are different entry deadlines for each drawing. There also may be one grand prize drawing at the end of the promotion period for a large prize, with monthly drawings held for smaller prizes. One benefit of a multiple drawing sweepstakes is that it brings your site repeated traffic throughout the promotion, however, a disadvantage may be that unless you repeatedly announce your promotion, people may think they have already entered.

There are different ways you can administer sweepstakes. You may require entrants to answer a few targeted simple questions or simply have them provide their name, address, and e-mail.

Contests

Contests require skill or knowledge of some sort on the entrant's part. Typical examples would be writing an essay, submitting a recipe or photo, answering a trivia question, or creating a jingle or clever saying of some sort. A judging panel reviews all of the entries and chooses the winner based on a set of predetermined criteria.

A new breed of contest has evolved on the Internet within the past year, one in which the sponsor has hidden items on the Web site, and the entrants must find the hidden item or items. Although the level of skill or knowledge required to find such objects is at a different level, it is considered a skill contest nonetheless. One benefit of this type of contest is that the entrant must surf your site in order to collect all of the answers, thus skimming all of your material. One disadvantage, however, is that people may not want to surf a site in order to collect answers, so they may leave and go elsewhere.

Ramblings from the Marketing Perspective

Skill contests can engage consumers in a way that sweepstakes often do not. Skill contests can promote the feeling that entrants are participating in an event rather than merely another sales promotion, as well as provide a more interactive relationship with the sponsor. Thus, skill contests are popular choices. For example, Disney (www.disney.com) is currently running a contest in which entrants must find the location of 10 different jungle animals buried within the Disney Web site. Be aware, however, that a contest of this type takes an incredible amount of resources to properly administer. This particular contest depends on cookies to track each entrant's animal finds. And we know how some people feel about cookies.

While this contest has been created extremely well, many people are not going to spend the time required to surf an entire Web site in search of hidden items, especially 10 of them. Some will spend a few minutes to fill out a form or quickly surf a site for an answer to a product-related question, but many marketers have realized if they make the game too long or too complicated, they are going to lose their audience.

How much is too much? That depends entirely on your site and the type of response you are shopping for. For example, if you are looking to attract a general audience, I recommend that you keep an entry form simple and easy to fill out. If you are looking to attract a specific audience, you can tailor an entry form to elicit responses for certain demographics. For example, the RevitaGrip Web site (http://www.revitagrip.com) has a fantastic product, a nice Web site, and a specific audience. (RevitaGrip -- Sounds like an infomercial, doesn't it?) RevitaGrip is a golf club restoration product that restores grips to their new condition. Because they are looking for a specific golf enthusiast audience, the administrator has chosen to use an entry form that asks specific questions (about 12 of them). As a result, though, there have not been many entrants for the monthly sweepstakes. However, the people who DID enter ARE dedicated golf enthusiasts, and not a general audience, which was the desired result. The direct benefit is that it spawned orders from those who entered.

Why, then, would you want a general audience and not a more targeted one? Let's use another example - a jewelry-related Web site. JewelryWeb (http://www.jewelryweb.com/) has an ongoing monthly sweepstakes in which there is a different piece of jewelry given away each month. The entry form is simple to fill out. The nature of the product attracts a wider audience. One person even posted a message recently on one of the sweepstakes newsgroups that although he did not win the sweepstakes yet (and he keeps trying.), he did order a piece of jewelry for his wife's birthday and was incredibly pleased not only with the quality of the item, but with the great customer service as well. What better advertising can you get?

Summary

Whether you choose to promote a game of chance or one of skill, you need to take into consideration your goals for the promotion, your target audience, and the amount of effort you wish to expend to administer it. Because sweepstakes and contests can be administered in a myriad of different ways, always be sure to post a copy of your official rules on your Web site so entrants know what the structure of your promotion is, and exactly what is required of them in order to enter.

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Susan Donahue, Publisher
Winning Ways Sweepstakes Newsletter
http://www.onlinesweeps.com

YOUR ANNIVERSARY GIFT

While stumbling around the Web is search of something to commemorate the occasion, I didn't know that all the while, waiting for me in my bloated email in-box, was the perfect gift. In fact, it offered me the chance for two gifts in one.

The folks at 321.com had given me a peek at their upcoming offering, and it was too good to just tell you about. I needed to show it to you, in action. So that is what I did.

The result is the new JimWorld sub-site called Missing From The Web.

Ever been looking for something and come up blank? Zilch. Nada? Wondered why someone hadn't thought to put it on the web for others to find?

Now you have a place to share that idea.

Ever sat around wondering what new web product or content would be interesting and useful to lots of other people? Or just couldn't even come up with a bad idea, much less a great idea?

Now you have a place to look for inspiration.

Missing From The Web.

http://jimworld.com/mftw.html

Please stop in and help me fill up the database with great ideas for people in search of something worthwhile to do with their spare time.

Underlying this cool new information exchange is the technology that I was able to employ to bring the area on-line.

Missing From The Web has a data base system to organize all of the ideas, a real-time chat room, a threaded discussion forum, and an interactive calendar, none of which are housed on my server. None of which I had to do more that a few minutes of installation on, and the only cost is $9.97 per month, including server service.

321.com offers you a completely free form-to-email script and a free interactive calendar. All hosted on their servers and they don't run banner ads all over your site. In fact, the service really is free. No advertising requirements at all. Just free.

The next step up gives you access to a wide range of interactive site tools all at the one low price or $9.97 per month.

To make their tools active, you don't have to have cgi-bin access on your site's server, you don't have to know any programming, and the entire set-up takes just a few minutes. You could have a chat room on your site 15 minutes from now if you wanted.

I hope you enjoy, and use, the Missing From The Web resource. I know you'll enjoy and use the power toys at 321. http://321Website.com/virtualpromote/

Happy first anniversary to us all.

Jim