Okey, this might be a dumb question...

[Michelle Steiner]

But, I need help reading a report I ran on a newsletter I am working on. I ran the report through the link Lynn has here on her site, and I know it NEEDS A LOT of improvement before being sent. Here is the question: How do I find out what article or ad needs to be changed? some of the numbers are good, so I don't want to mess with those, but I have some pretty high numbers too, so I need to bring those down.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Michelle

[karadawn]

[flensborg]

[Michelle Steiner]

Okey, I'll post the newsletter first. And then post the report in another post.


Mom's Affilate Lane Newsletter


Affiliate Program Growth Potential
› › › Affiliate Marketing
BY Shawn Collins | January 26, 2001


It's official: A declining economy is no enemy of affiliate marketing. James Marciano, founder of Refer-it, once referred to affiliate marketing as "a recession-proof marketing channel," and he was right on. But if an affiliate program were launched yet never promoted, would anybody join it?

We are currently seeing tremendous growth in the area of affiliate marketing, even as other segments are shrinking due to budget cuts. According to findings in a January 2001 Forrester report, "Online Advertising Eclipsed," 83 percent of spending by 2003 will be pure cost-per-action deals or a hybrid of CPM and performance. This will be up from 62 percent in 2000.

However, the sustained growth of affiliate marketing will hinge on the ability of affiliate programs to recruit quality affiliates. The affiliate program directories provide a valuable service by indexing programs at no cost, but they also offer opportunities for paid, targeted advertising.

In Search of... Your Affiliate Program

In a recent poll conducted by affiliate metrix, affiliate managers were asked how much they spent to advertise their program in 2000. Nearly 60 percent of respondents allocated $500 or less to advertise their affiliate program last year.

I am inclined to believe that a great many of those affiliate managers that do not actively advertise their programs are shaking their heads. They're wondering why they are not experiencing the super affiliate serendipity of other affiliate programs. Though there may be a combination of factors, including a paltry commission and low rate of conversion, it's a good bet that super affiliates simply cannot find many of these programs that are not advertised.

Although there are a number of venues to advertise an affiliate program on, there is compelling evidence that the affiliate program directories offer the best return on investment. For instance, One and Only Network and E-Commerce Exchange are currently advertising "above the fold" on the home page of Refer-it. Coincidentally, these two programs are arguably the leaders in their categories.

According to Cynthia Arko of Refer-it, the company's seen "exponential growth from companies advertising in the Refer-it directory." And that makes sense -- putting your recruitment message at the point where web masters are looking to join new affiliate programs.

Additionally, the fact that you are advertising in the first place will imply that your company is doing OK economically. "In this volatile market, advertising sends a strong branding message to consumers and web-savvy visitors," continued Arko.

Where the Real Affiliates Are

There are 50 or so affiliate program directories out there but really fewer than 10 that you should focus on in your affiliate acquisition efforts. Among the directories offering advertising opportunities, CashPile.com is a leader with many areas available for advertising.

Brandon Kirby of CashPile.com explains that its "mission is to establish and maintain the vital link between online merchants and affiliate marketers. Through our web site and unique service offerings, our objective is to foster an active, educated affiliate marketing community.

"Not only do affiliates come to our site to join programs, they come often to take advantage of our educational seminars and expert guest speakers."

"Our affiliate program rating system," he adds, "also provides them with background information they can't get anywhere else."

In addition to paid placement on CashPile.com, they are also exploring some comarketing initiatives. Susan Drechsler, CashPile.com's merchant advisor, is reaching out to affiliate managers that publish a newsletter. With this offer, affiliate programs will be promoted in the CashPile Newsletter in exchange for plugs in affiliate newsletters.

Some other topnotch directories that accept advertising are AffiliateAdvisor.com, Associate-it, MakeMoneyNow.com, and ReveNews.com.

Offline Advertising and Recruitment

Many affiliate acquisition dollars are spent on the affiliate directories, but there is another great resource for acquiring super affiliates: sponsorships and booths at affiliate marketing conferences such as AffiliateFORCE and Affiliate Solutions.

The AffiliateFORCE 2001 Internet Affiliate Marketing Summit will be held April 20-23 in Miami Beach, FL. The AffiliateFORCE 2000 show in Miami last year was very beneficial to the ClubMom program. We had a booth there, which enabled us to meet some very sharp super affiliates, one of which has been a top-10 performer for me ever since.

Similarly, Affiliate Solutions always brings out a pedigreed audience that includes super affiliates. There will be an Affiliate Solutions show in London on February 14 and another in San Francisco this coming April.

How are affiliates finding your program? If you are not satisfied with your critical mass of quality affiliates, open up the checkbook and buy a couple of slots in the directories and get involved in the conferences. Sometimes you've got to knock them over the head, and let them know that you built it! And remember: Just because you built it does not necessarily mean they will come.

Shawn Collins is the author of "Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants," director of affiliate marketing for ClubMom, Inc., and the publisher of the affiliate manager resource, AffiliateManager.net.


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New At Mom's Affiliate Lane:

Mom's Affiliate Lane is dedicated to those already involved with a home-based business or looking to join one, but don't know where to go or how to start. With resources for every stage of building your business, from licensing to tax-saving tips. There is something here for everyone. Join us at Mom's Affiliate Lane for more great information or to join.


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Quitting Your Job for a Home Based Business
(c) Copyright 2002, Angela Wu

Many of us who start a home business do so while we're still working another job. Our jobs provide us with money for living expenses - and, if we're lucky, for funding at least a portion of our business startup costs.

Most people in this position hope to eventually leave their jobs to work from home full-time. But when's the "right" time to quit? While there's no black-and-white answer to this question, here are a few things to consider...

Are you confident in your ability to earn an income?

Some 'experts' recommend that you stick with your home business for at least a year before you consider quitting your job. This will give you the opportunity to 'feel out' any possible trends that may occur during the year. For example, you may find that sales are slow during the summer, and that your strongest months are from January to April.

If your business has been profitable for at least a year, you'll probably feel reasonably secure that you can continue to turn a profit even after you leave your job.

How will you manage your finances?

It's easy to get comfortable with a steady pay cheque. But once you quit your job, your business earnings will likely fluctuate from month-to-month -- sometimes significantly.

How will you plan and budget to cover mortgage payments, day-to-day expenses, child care, and emergencies? Do you have a contingency plan for times when business is lean? Will you have to change your lifestyle, and how? Are you willing to make these sacrifices? Will there be enough funds left over to invest into your business? If not, who can you turn to for a loan, and will you qualify?

Ask yourself questions such as these so that you can anticipate, minimize, and even prevent potential problems.

Do you have a proper working area available to you?

Running a home business is still business, and you'll need a place where you can work comfortably. The old cardboard box in the corner of the family room may have been okay as a makeshift "office" when you only spent a couple of hours a day using it... but do you really want that type of setup when you're running a business full-time?

Ideally, you should have a working area where you can concentrate -- and with some basic furniture that won't give you aches and pains by the end of the day.

A separate room is best. That way you'll be able to keep your business equipment, files, and materials organized and safe from the hustle and bustle of your personal or family life.

Is your business continuing to grow?

Many people find that their business grows in leaps and bounds for a few exhilarating months. Then growth starts to slow, until it 'flatlines'. This could be due to any number of reasons... but a common reason is that you simply don't have the time to continue to build your business while you're still working your job. But your business isn't yet bringing in the same income as you currently make at your job. What do you do?

Unfortunately, there isn't an easy answer. Ask yourself if you're ready to take that final leap - to quit your job before your business earnings have replaced your income. How will this impact your lifestyle?

What does your family think?

Family support is always welcome when you're working hard to build a business. Keep in mind that it's exciting and scary for them, too: they're also affected by the changes in income and lifestyle. Sit down with them and have an open discussion on any upcoming changes.

Best of luck with your pursuit of a new career!

_____

Angela is the editor of Online Business Basics, a practical guide for beginners on how to build an online business on a shoestring budget. Visit her online at http://onlinebusinessbasics.com/article.html or request a series of 10 free reports to get you started. Send a blank email to: businessbasics@workyourleads.com



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******************************
Why Belief Is Essential For Success
Gordon Bryan 2003
******************************

Unlocking your potential?
Moving forward to success?
Well neither of these will happen in a month of Sundays without belief.

I always harp on about attitude being the magic word, and belief
is one attitude you MUST have.
Not only that, but there are TWO types of beliefs needed!

The first is belief that it will happen.
Whatever your goal is, however you want to improve your life,
whatever wealth you want, in order for any of it to come true,
you need to believe that it will happen.

You need to know this for a fact, not just some wishy-washy
hope that it would be nice, but know for a fact that it can and
will happen to YOU.

The second belief is in yourself as a person, and your right to
succeed and enjoy abundance.

Abundance is all around, but most people do not tap into it, they
on't grab their fair share, because they just don't believe.

They either feel they are undeserving of the good things, or they
believe that something or someone will wreck their plans.
Can you guess who that 'someone' is, that will wreck your plans?
Yourself!

Without the two cast-iron beliefs firmly in place, you will not see
your plans thru, you won't go that extra mile, you won't be
prepared to pay the price.

You ARE worth it!
You, me, all of us, we are individuals making our own way thru
the journey of life. Each of us is a worthy person, and fully deserves
to enjoy life, whatever that may mean to each of us.

As one of your affirmations, tell yourself that you are a strong
and worthy person, and your 2 beliefs will be nicely in place to
support your efforts all the way.

You will believe that you are worthy of the success, and you
will believe you have the strength to overcome any
hurdles.

-------------------------------------------------
Gordon Bryan writes The Great Gordino Newsletter,
A free resource focusing on self improvement,
goal achievement and wealth creation.
http://www.gordonbryan.com



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Networking On The Net:

Ryze.com : Business Networking Community


If you haven't already signed up for a FREE Member Profile at Ryze.com, I encourage you to do this today! Ryze is a high-traffic business networking community, and is well worth your time to set up a detailed profile. you'll be impressed at how many responses (and hits to your website!) you receive in the first couple of days alone!

Click here to see my profile at Ryze.com as an example:
http://new.ryze.com/go/WebServiceNetwork


How to get the most out of your free membership at Ryze.com :

1) Add a photo
Adding a photo increases the hits to your Ryze Profile page, as many visitors search the directory for profiles that include a photo. This also makes your profile more interesting, and gives the visitor a sense of "knowing you" - which increases the chances of them making contact with you!

2) Create an HTML description
Let visitors to your page get to know more about you and your business! Create a colorful and descriptive blurb that includes images and links that will compel them to visit your website or sign up for your newsletter. (If you need help creating an HTML description, email me - I'll gladly put one together for you in exchange for a link!)

3) Join Networks & post questions and/or solutions
Ryze.com has message boards that they call "Networks" or "Tribes". You'll find a link labeled "Networks" in the left side navigation bar of your profile page - click here and join as many Networks as you can find that relate to your interests. You have the option of receiving a notification by email of any new posts, which will help you stay involved in group discussions. TIP: Since most people receive email notification, which includes only the title of the post, make sure that your subject/title is compelling enough to make them click & read your post! "Intro" or "New Here" just wont do... Try something like "Intro: Lynn Terry of SSWT, Need Marketing Ideas".

4) Browse profiles & add potential clients/partners to your friends list
Chances are, when you add someone to your friends list, they will in turn add you to theirs - this creates a link from their page to yours, potentially bringing you new visitors as they surf from page to page. I've had several people contact me and say that they found me in another member's list!

5) Sign guestbooks
You can start by signing the guestbooks of those that have signed yours. You can also browse profiles to find people or businesses that interest you. The more detailed and informative your entry, the more likely someone will click through to your page after reading it!

********************************************************

Written By: Lynn Terry

Owner of Web Service Network : A Network of Web Service Professioanals

and Self Starters Weekly Tips : A weekly Ezine for Self Starter on the Web







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[Michelle Steiner]

if any of this makes sense to you,, please advise! I really want this letter to work for the client! And Yes, there are even articles included by some of the wonderful members of Lynn's house (including Lynn herself)

Fri Jul 18 10:59:03 2003

Hello,

As requested, here is your SiteSell SpamCheck Report for the
e-mail that you sent to us with the subject...

Moms Affiliate Lane

Use this report to help build a better newsletter... one
that makes it into your subscriber's INBOX.

The SpamCheck Report is one of SiteSell's free-but-valuable
products that marketers use around the world. Our zero-cost
e-book courses (The Affiliate Masters Course and The Service
Sellers Masters Course are especially famous) offer even
greater value. Download one or more now from...

http://freetrial.sitesell.com/wsn.html

... and see for yourself why Net marketing gurus say that
they are better than $100 products from "competitors."

Most importantly, SiteSell's "Site Build It!" (SBI!) is the
unique all-in-one Web-hosting system of tools that makes it
quick and easy for anyone (from savvy pro to newbie) to
build a professional, popular, and profitable Web site...

http://buildit.sitesell.com/wsn.html

The SpamCheck Report is actually built right into SBI!'s
state-of-the-Net MailOut e-zine delivery process. And the
electronic newsletter module, complete with Open Rate,
bounce-back management, and detailed stats, is itself just
one of 15+ modules that form the entire SBI! system.

While this SpamCheck Report tells you very specific errors
for you to correct, it ALSO recommends POSITIVE things for
you to do and say. This will INCREASE your chances to
SURVIVE all the obstacles and filters and mail-killing
software and make it to your reader's INBOX. You'll find
all these tips, along with a *VERY SPECIAL* tip for you
"DEFINITELY NOT TO DO," at the END of this e-mail.

And speaking of The SpamCheck Report...

Your TOTAL SPAM SCORE for your e-mail was 12.3. The
higher the score, the more likely the e-mail will be
considered spam. Here's how to interpret your score...

---------------------------------------------
0-5 nice and clean, no problems except tiny
ones below; no action required

5-8 the strictest may object; clean up the
easy-to-find issues

8-12 getting into dangerous territory;
clean up any big issues and the easy-to-find
smaller penalties

12-16 likely over IPSs' limits; review and
clean

16+ major problems; overhaul needed --
systematically clean, point by point and then
re-test (this may require two or three
SpamChecks).
---------------------------------------------

Spam is becoming a BIG, and ever-growing, problem. So major
ISPs, Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail are filtering more and more.
Unfortunately, their filters catch innocent, hard-working
marketers by mistake, much like dolphins in a tuna net.

"Hey, it's nothing personal! Tough luck."

So avoid becoming an unfortunate dolphin -- eliminate
mistakes by removing any common "spammer habits" from your
e-mail. You'll find it's a useful style check at the same
time. We all tend to repeat some words too often. The net
result is a cleaner (no-spam-triggers) e-mail, that will be
opened and read by more people.

In order of importance, here are the mistakes that we found
in your e-mail...

(3.3 points) Forged mail pretending to be from MS Outlook
(2.1 points) BODY: Doing something with my income
(1.5 points) BODY: Information on how to work at home (2)
(1.1 points) BODY: Message is 20% to 30% HTML
(0.9 points) BODY: No such thing as a free lunch (3)
(0.9 points) BODY: Satisfaction Guaranteed
(0.7 points) BODY: Looks like mortgage pitch
(0.7 points) BODY: Free Membership
(0.4 points) BODY: Information on how to work at home (1)
(0.1 points) BODY: HTML font color not within safe 6x6x6 palette
(0.1 points) BODY: HTML included in message
(0.1 points) BODY: FONT Size +2 and up or 3 and up
(0.1 points) BODY: HTML font color is blue
(0.1 points) BODY: HTML font color is gray
(0.1 points) BODY: Image tag with an ID code to identify you
(0.1 points) Asks you to click below

It is NOT important to remove every single item. Any score
under 5 is great. And 5-8 is likely fine. (And please do
follow the "Special Tips" at the bottom of this report.)

Special Note: SpamCheck is powered by SpamAssassin filtering
software. We thank them for their efforts to reduce spam
and for providing this technology to help cut down spam at
the SENDING end rather than merely at the RECEIVING end.

A few of the messages can be rather difficult to interpret.
So we have "translated" the most common confusing messages
into "regular english."

However, you may still occasionally come across a rare
message that is rather cryptic. This is a SpamAssassin
default message for a particular trigger. To fully
understand the message, please review it within the context
of your whole e-mail. If you're still puzzled...

PLEASE... do NOT e-mail us to ask us what it means... if YOU
can't figure it out, WE certainly won't be able to.

--

I hope you found this report useful. And please do drop by
some time and visit our site...

http://www.sitesell.com/wsn.html

No matter what you're marketing on the Net, I'm sure we can
be of service.

All the best,
Ken Evoy
President, SiteSell.com

P.S. Almost 100% of our sales are driven by our 5 Pillar
Affiliate Program. This program is widely hailed as among
the best on the Net. Here's how to earn up to thousands of
dollars per month, and be proud to PREsell best of breed...

http://affiliates.sitesell.com/wsn.html

P.P.S. Please do a friend a favor and tell him/her about
this SpamCheck Report. Send this report as an example to
your friend, along with a note to send their e-zine (subject
and body) to the address below to get their own free-but-
invaluable report...

spamcheck-wsn@sitesell.net

P.P.P.S. The SiteSell Special Tips Article ("Positive
Things to Do and Say ... and a Very Special Thing NOT to
Do!") provides additional guidance for escaping the Junk
Folder. You'll find it at...

[The Great Gordino]

[flensborg]

[flensborg]

[guest]

[Michelle Steiner]

[flensborg]