JimWorld Gazette Issue #93 06/19/2000

JimWorld Gazette - Issue #93 - June 19, 2000

CONTENTS

• Pay-Per-Click Your Way To Success
  
• Bringing Out The Writer In You
  
• New Tools From JimWorld
  
• Don't Let HTML Scare You
  
• Is Your Web Host A Paddle Boat Or A Cruise Ship?
  
• Snippets

Link to this issue of the Gazette as http://gazetteworld.com/go/to.cgi?l=g93

FROM OUR SPONSOR

All Internet advertising networks are not created equal!

BURST! Media has been dedicated to representing specialty content web publishers since its inception in 1995. By providing ad sales and management services, BURST! allows web publishers to focus on the important tasks of managing their site and nurturing their dedicated audiences.

With a host of tools, daily reports, and other resources (including a twice-monthly published e-zine ), BURST! helps publishers manage their advertising and maximize their returns.

"BURST! came very highly recommended. The checks are cut on time and arrive on time. Email is responded to in a timely manner. If I call and need to talk to somebody I can get a hold of a real person. I have no complaints. Everybody is very professional, courteous, and polite. You are both honest and trustworthy and that says a whole lot in my book, or I would have never signed a three-year contract." Pamela Spragins, publisher and member since October, 1999.

"I recommend you guys to everyone who asks us about advertising. BURST! is flexible and understands the needs of a small site." - Caryn Rose, publisher and member since October 1998

BURST! Media welcomes focused, high-end web sites that can compliment our existing network of nearly 3,000. For more information about becoming a member: < http://iboost.iserver.net/cgi-bin/referrer.pl?burst1 >

BURST! Media delivers more than 900 million advertising impressions per month in more than 450 specialty content categories. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, BURST! has sales offices in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, and Detroit.

< http://iboost.iserver.net/cgi-bin/referrer.pl?burst1 >

PAY-PER-CLICK YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS

You have heard about them. You have seen them popping up everywhere. Pay-per-click search engines are becoming one of the most popular methods to bring targeted traffic to your web site.

Typical search engines such as Infoseek, AltaVista, Excite, etc... send a robot (spider) to analyze your web site and rank it according to its relevancy. It can be a very daunting task to get your web site into the top ten listings for certain keywords on these traditional search engines.

Pay-per-click search engines basically work by having people bid against each other for certain keywords. For example, if you outbid anyone for the keyword "money", your web site will appear first whenever a user types in the word "money" into the search engine's search form.

The reason why listing your sites on these pay-per-click search engines can be very beneficial is because you can target the type of visitors that you want to visit your web site. You simply bid for the keywords you feel the ideal visitor for your web site will type into a search form.

When deciding how you want to get listed, you need to decide on the keywords that will bring targeted visitors to your web site. Since you are paying for each time someone clicks on your link, you will want to make sure that you do not attract the wrong type of visitors.

You can easily find out what the highest bids are for your keywords by doing a search using these keywords on a pay-per-click search engine. You will notice dollar amounts at the end of each URL listed which will tell you how much they have bid to secure that ranking. Obviously the higher bidder will have the highest ranking. If there are no dollar amounts, these means that no one has bid for those keywords.

For example, if you have a web site selling bridal gowns, the keywords you might choose are:

Wedding
Bride dress
Bridal dress
Bridal Gown
Bridesmaid dresses
Wedding dress
Wedding Gown etc...

Choose the words that are most relevant to your web site. Sit back and think about your ideal customer and the words they would typically use to find your site. Only bid on relevant terms. Irrelevant terms could bring thousands of visitors to your web site, but if they are not interested in your web site's content, then you will be wasting your time and your money. A lot of pay-per-click search engines will not let you bid for irrelevant search terms because this will diminish the reputation of their searches and frustrate their users if irrelevant web sites continually pop up.

Create a title and description so that the user knows what to expect when they click on your link. Statistics also indicate that including the search term in your title or description can dramatically increase your click-through ratio. This way you are bringing pre-qualified traffic to your site and your unique hits to sales ratio will dramatically increase. Remember that you are paying for every click, so every penny counts.

The price you bid depends very much on the profit margin of you product and your inquiry-to-sales ratio. For example, let's pretend that you have a product that has a profit margin of $10 and your inquiry-to-sales ratio is 30:1, this means that for every 30 visitors, you make one sale. The maximum you should bid to break even is:

$10.00/30 = 33 cents

Anything more than this and you will be losing money. In some cases, your bid may be well below the break even point which means that you could profit nicely from all the targeted traffic.

Most of the pay-per-click search engines are easy to sign up with. You can set up an account online with a minimum of deposit of about $25.00. A good pay-per-click search engine should provide good reporting features so you can analyze the traffic coming to your web site and with which keywords.

Here are a few of the popular Pay-Per-Click Search Engines.

Goto.com
http://www.goto.com

Rocketlinks.com
http://www.rocketlinks.com

Findwhat.com
http://www.findwhat.com

Searchhound.com
http://www.searchhound.com

Sprinks.com
http://www.sprinks.com

The pay-per-click search engines that I have used to list my sites provide daily reports so that I can analyze my traffic and results.

Pay-per-click search engines provide one of the best opportunities to drive traffic to your website without all the headaches and frustrations of trying to get listed on the traditional search engines. Seriously consider this marketing tool and propel your business to greater heights!

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Gauher Chaudhry is editor of Cool Cash Ezine. You can subscribe by sending an email to subscribe@freecoolcash.com with "sub-art" in the subject. Join Gauher's two-tier affiliate program by promoting his latest book "EZ Money With Ezines." Gauher teaches individuals how to make thousands of dollars in the ezine publishing business. Grab a copy today! http://www.ezmoneywithezines.com

BRINGING OUT THE WRITER IN YOU

Themestream
< http://themestream.com/ >

Themestream is a new-ish community of writers of all types and skill levels. The site hosts their articles and stories and bring in visitors to read articles. The writers are paid ten cents for each time one of their articles is read.

That's the short version and pretty much includes all of the relevant facts, but... there's lots more to the story.

Themestream has deployed some well thought out technology to make it fun and comfortable for the writers to encourage them to contribute content to the site. Adding a new article takes only seconds and there are complete systems in place to let writers edit or withdraw any article.

When a writer visits the contributor's (Author's) area they are first greeted with a complete list of all of their content with stats on the number of readers for each story or article and the comments that have been made by visitors.

Visitors are treated just has well as the writers. When a visitor finds a writer they like they can "track" the writer and be notified every time the writer submits a new article. All of the content is broken down into categories and sub-categories for easy browsing and the visitors pay nothing to read the articles. Visitors can also opt-in for a daily update newsletter to keep them informed of new activity in the categories they want to watch.

Writers are already reporting success at finding writing gigs as a result of their Themestream articles, which is a big motivation for some of the better writers present on the site.

If writing is not your thing, sign up anyway just to see how well though out this site's technology is.

If you want to reach a growing audience with your writings, join up and start submitting. At a dime a read you won't get rich, but it beats nothing at all, doesn't it?

And you just could get discovered.

FROM OUR SPONSOR

LIVEHELPER.COM
http://www.livehelper.com

Communicate LIVE with visitors to your company's web site, absolutely FREE!

This new, innovative text and voice chat solution can be set up in 30 minutes, and it is FREE!

Livehelper is the first free text and voice-over IP CRM solution on the market.

There is no need to spend thousands of dollars in set-up and monthly fees. You can customize everything your customer can see with our Skin's Package, as well as enjoy features such as having the text and voice chats recorded, pre-set messages and images, a full queue system, as well as the ability to transfer calls and customize feedback forms.

Try it, it's Free!

Interactive customer care is just a click away.

LIVEHELPER.COM http://www.livehelper.com

VISIT NOW

NEW TOOLS FROM JIMWORLD

TipWorld
http://www.jimworld.com/tipworld/

I received a new release of WebTeacher's WebData on-line database management system. You'll recall that it is the software that drives the FreeSiteTemplates < http://freesitetemplates.com > web site that I built a couple of months ago.

The new release had enough new features that it looked like a great time to put my file of Web Tips online. Test the software and actually get some work done at the same time. Great idea!

As in the FreeSiteTemplates effort, the software took almost no work to install. Just upload it and run the installer on the server, answer some questions and it's ready to go. I can't tell you enough how easy this software is to use.

The new features were mostly refinements and expansion of features from the previous release. They all worked. Amazing.

I uploaded the tips files and added a couple of design templates and had the entire site operational and humming along in a couple of hours.

Seems like a database driven, template structured site should be more difficult to set up and debug. WebData is simply too easy to use.

Drop by TipWorld and see if you don't agree.

WebTeacher's WebData
< http://webteacher.com/webdata/ >

FROM OUR OTHER SPONSOR

Looking to earn a little extra cash by placing banner advertising on your web site?

If so, now is a great time to join eAds, and to begin making up to 17 cents a click. You'll get the same great service we've delivered since 1995, and we always guarantee that you'll be paid on time, every time for the clicks you generate. If you've ever been burned by another network, you know how important that is.

Check us out online at http://hostsite.eads.com/joinnow.htm or contact bill@eads.com to get signed up for the best banner network on the 'Net.

DON'T LET HTML SCARE YOU

Many new internet marketers or prospective online business owners balk at the idea of having to become familiar with HTML so that they can create and/or modify their future web pages. And it is one of the most common questions I get asked by new subscribers and visitors to my site - "Do I have to know HTML?" I went through the same anxiety and reservations when we were first considering taking our business online. I took a look at the HTML that made up some of the web pages and said WOW, what the heck is that!

HTML or HyperText Markup Language is one of the major languages on the Web used to write web pages. It gives you the ability to combine text, pictures, sounds and links all in one page.

I had no background in programming or even an inkling of what HTML was or how it worked. It seemed like an obstacle that I wouldn't be able to get around. But I was determined to get my online business up and running and I didn't have a budget that would allow me to contract out my web page development.

So I started asking around about HTML on different discussion boards and did some searches and was surprised at the amount of information that was available free. There are many sites out there with lessons on how to use HTML to construct a web page. Likewise there are many sites with free graphics, free CGI scripts and Javascripts. So it wasn't long before I had a basic web page put together and it also wasn't long before I started understanding some of the coding and could mess around with it to make a page look different.

I want to digress a bit here in discussing my learning curve. During my research about HTML, I found out that there were a number of software products that made working with HTML in constructing a web page relatively simple. These programs actually allowed you to construct a great web page with out really knowing HTML at all. The one that I started out with was called "Hot Dog" available at http://www.sausage.com.au (I am not kidding about the name, that's what it's called) and its cost is just under $100. I have been using it since mid-1998. I don't sell it so I am not looking for a commission. I found it easy to learn and use even though I had little or no experience with HTML. I subsequently purchased Frontpage2000 but I still use Hot Dog because I find it simpler. If you are interested in Frontpage you can find some tips and how to tutorials at www.microsoft.com/frontpage

This type program basically creates the HTML code for you. You enter the text and use drop down lists to select what action you want to take in respect to creating the HTML code. It really is great and as you use it, you are learning the actions that each piece of code can do to or for your page.

I mentioned earlier that there are many sites where you can get free information regarding learning how to build your own web pages. Here are a few:

HTML Tutorials in Web Design
http://www.bfree.on.ca/HTML/index.htm

HTML: An Interactive Tutorial For Beginners
http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html

A Crash Course in HTML
http://www.w3-tech.com/crash/HTMLMenu.html

HTML Help
http://www.htmlhelp.com

Those are just a few of the many sites that offer free help. As indicated above, there are also sites where you can get other resources you can use to design your own site/page. And they are all free. If you would like links to free CGI scripts, Javascripts, banner generation services, graphics and more just visit our free resource page at:

http://www.homebizlink.com/freeserv.htm

Don't look at the HTML of some page you think looks great and let it scare you or deter you from your goal of getting your business online. It looked awesome to me too when I started but now I do all my own web pages and my site now has over 50 individual pages. Play around with it, change it, test it and you will learn it! AND you will be online before you know it!

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Article by Joe Reinbold, Publisher of Home Income Quarterly E-dition, a free weekly online marketing newsletter. To subscribe just mailto:subscribe@homebizlink.com with "Subscribe" in the subject. Or visit The Entrepreneur's Home Business Link where you will find the solutions to your home business needs at: http://www.homebizlink.com

IS YOUR WEB HOST A PADDLEBOAT OR A CRUISE SHIP?

A paddleboat is great for fun on a day off! But would you consider taking it to the open sea? A cruise ship on the other hand is ideally suited for pampering its guests with every facility imaginable for the vacation of your dreams!

Applying this analogy to web hosting can help you make a wise decision if you are currently new to internet business and looking for that first web host, or up and running but thinking the time has come to upgrade to a higher level.

Web hosts fall generally into 3 categories. They are:

1. Free Services
   
2. Budget Hosts (under $20-25 per month)
   
3. Full Service ($25+ per month)

Let's take a look at each category.

1. FREE SERVICES
   
   If you want to run a home page for personal interest for family and friends, great! If you want to ease into the Internet cautiously, great. Tripod.com offers a good free service with reasonable support. Or check out: http://zap.to/1freewebpage/ for a good listing of what's available.
   
   In short, if you merely want to paddle around, have a little fun, gain some experience, these services are fine. For serious business however you really need your own domain name, not someone else's. Tripod takes the edge off by allowing your name to come first in the URL, e.g. http://yourname.tripod.com
   
   Having said that, you can't get away from the fact that your credibility as a business takes a hit when clients see this kind of domain name.
   
   
2. BUDGET HOSTS
   
   You get what you pay for, generally. Many may knock the value of budget hosts. If you are running a serious business, then probably this kind of package would not give enough stability or features.
   
   Consider the following first-hand nightmare experience: "One popular low-cost host left my entire site dead for over a week while I scrambled frantically to save my business. Heck, I couldn't even reach anyone or get them to return my plea for help. When the dust settled, they had lost the backups of my entire site and I was left to fend for myself." - Ken (Internet Marketing Challenge)
   
   On the other hand, you may find my experience helpful in your decision making. I am running a resource site at present containing information pages and some doorway pages. I don't sell from my site. I don't need a secure ordering page. For my purpose in running this particular domain, a budget host is fine. However, I ran a check on it some months back using the free service at http://hostwatcher.com.
   
   I was shocked to see how many times the server was down, or there was a very long load time for my pages. I wrote and complained. The reply came back that ownership of the host had changed and a better service was promised. Recently I checked again and found the company now has a 99% up time - a vast improvement. I was on the verge of changing my host but I now find the service is very good for what I need. For the price, the value is tremendous! Read a more in depth report on this here on my web site: http://www.vitalstop.com/cheapwebhosting.htm
   
   
3. FULL SERVICE
   
   If your business is taking off and you need 24-hour full support with all the "bells and whistles" then this is the way to go. If your internet business is your main stay then you need a "cruise ship" company who are going to give you professional top of the line facilities and service. The choice out there is vast! How can you decide? Research carefully!

One company in recent years which has established itself as one of the best for 24 hour technical support and immediate response to customer needs is Virtualis, a California based company with some pretty savvy guys at the top.

The Shopping Cart at Virtualis and similar companies is crammed with features for easy online ordering for your showcase of products. A very easy interface makes it a pleasure to operate.

If you really get stuck there is even a troubleshooting crack force, which can give a response usually within an hour. This is the kind of service you can expect from a top of the line professional web host. If your site is really beginning to make money, can you afford any less?

You can do a little research by going to the home page at http://www.virtualis.com/vr2/mjones7. If you just want to check out the various packages available depending on your size of business go here: http://www.virtualis.com/vr2/mjones7/options.html

Choosing a web host or changing a web host is one of those decisions, which will have a massive impact on your business. Use the 3-category test above and decide where you are going! Then decide whether to jump into a paddleboat or book yourself a ticket on a cruise ship for a happy trouble free experience.

Bon Voyage!

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Article by: Mike Jones
FREE - $1000 worth of books!
Books to super charge your business and personal goals!
Send a blank mailto:ha@sendfree.com

SNIPPETS

Did You Get Your Free Business Cards?
http://jimworld.com/re/go.cgi?ID=961465484

It took me a while to actually let it sink through. The Vista Print banners that have been running on JimWorld are offering free business cards. I ordered some and they just got here today. Nice looking and only took a few days from the time I ordered. All I had to pay was the $4.95 shipping charge. You design the cards online at their web site. It's a cool design system, but unfortunately it only works with Internet Explorer. Even if you have to download IE to order your cards, saving close to $100 is worth the effort.

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I have started trying out the new Live Helper system that advertised in the last issue of the Gazette. It's free and has some advanced features over anything I've reviewed before in the category of live interaction with site visitors.

Drop in at TipWorld < http://www.jimworld.com/tipworld/ > to see how it is going. Or go get your own installation at < http://www.livehelper.com >

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Fishy Linking Nets Campaign War
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37025,00.html

If you think that our national politicians have even a clue about the way technology and the Internet work, this article will cause you a great deal of distress. Remember that these technology giants are the very ones that pass the laws to "help nurture the growth of the Internet." Very scary.

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Reno Says: Beware Technology
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37016,00.html

Or how about some statements by a self-confessed technology vacuum? Very good idea to appoint people to law enforcement positions who are proud of not knowing how to use a computer.

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Campaign 2000 Is a Flame War
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36968,00.html

Not to be out-dumbed, errr... I mean outdone, the U.S. Presidential candidates engage it a flashback-to-the-Usenet all-out flame war. All of this amidst massive apathy about anything having to do with the race for the White House, according to a recent study by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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Michigan Warns Sites on Privacy
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,36967,00.html

If your site gets visitors from the State of Michigan, you might want to read this article. It seems that Michigan has decided to enforce Internet privacy laws that were passed before the Internet as we know it today was even around. I guess the process of passing laws was just too much trouble for them.

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Lycos To Hand Off Net-search Business
http://jimworld.com/go/to.cgi?l=g93boston

Nothing changes but the changes. Lycos is outsourcing their search engine functionality so they can focus their energies on their portal business. I can remember when search engines considered searching as their core business. Guess I've just been around too long. Better get some rest so you have enough energy to re-position your sites in the "new Lycos."

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Most of the major search engines have made changes in their technologies, some small and some sweeping changes. Excite@Home has relaunched their search engine using Excite Precision Search technology. It mainly means that your sites that have ranked well at Excite may no longer bring you any traffic.

The bottom line is this: check out your log files looking for changes in traffic patterns in each of the search engines. Visit the engines and search for your keywords.

This trend is gaining momentum, so don't expect anything to settle down.

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Net Buster
http://www.net-buster.com/list/

Another new pay-per-click search directory for you to check out. If you try it, drop in at the Get High Forums and let us know how it works for you.

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Hotrate.com
http://www.hotrate.com/

Looking for somewhere to use your knowledge and time? Want to make a few bucks at the same time?

Hotrate is set up similar to the ODP directory. There are Editors and Reviewers. These people are responsible for building the directory of relevant web sites. Plus a little "hook" -- they get paid for their efforts based on performance and traffic to their categories.

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Napster Static
http://www.nua.ie/surveys/analysis/weekly_editorial.html

It seems that both side of the issue have hired their own liars.... errr, I mean "survey takers" to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Napster is either
1. Destroying the music industry or
2. Driving new sales of music product.

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Who's Online?
<http://www.nua.ie/surveys/how_many_online/index.html>

Africa - 2.58 million
Asia/Pacific - 68.9 million
Europe - 83.35 million
Middle East - 1.9 million
Canada & USA - 136.86 million
South America - 10.74 million

World - 304.36 million.

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"Stages" Email Virus Making The Rounds

If you are one of the lost souls still running Microsoft Outlook for your email, look out for yet another virus making the rounds. Called "Stages" this virus is similar to "Melissa" and "Love Letter" which made their runs at your computer recently. Stages first appeared on Friday and is hitting Outlook Express users fast and hard.

The virus arrives looking like a joke about "the male and female stages of life" and when opened, inserts itself into Outlook and spreads through email, mIRC and Pirch IRC (Internet relay chat)

Most of the major anti-virus vendors have updates available to catch Stages as it arrives. But, they only work if you install them. Do it.

The solution? Find a less vulnerable email system. Creating a virus to attack through Outlook is child's play. There are much safer and better email systems available.

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Patent On Linking?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_798000/798475.stm

If UK firm BT has its way, anyone using Hyperlinks to navigate the Web will need to pay them for the right. BT claims that they have a patent for inventing the concept of "linking."

I simply must go through my files. Somewhere I'm sure I remember receiving a patent on breathing air. That one should be worth a lot of money.

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DejaNews News - Out With The Old
http://deja.com

The central hub of the Usenet discussion community has taken all Usenet post prior to May 1999 offline. DejaNews.com re-invented itself as Deja.com, a shopping comparison service and the old Usenet postings just don't fit their new business model.

If you were getting traffic from older Usenet posts, expect not to see those lines in your server logs. Deja.com claims they will put the content back up "sometime" around the end of the year. Sure. Right.