_________________________________________ «¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤) ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ Merle's Mission Ezine-"The Best of the Net Straight to your Door" April 30th,2003 Issue #110 ISSN: #1527-3105 Edited & Published by: Merle- Merle@MerlesWorld.com http://www.MerlesWorld.com/ Tell A Friend: http://recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=3463949 New Forum: http://www.merlesworld.com/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»« NOTE: This newsletter is by subscription only. The only way it could have ended up in your inbox was by YOUR SUBSCRIBING to it. If you no longer wish to receive it please see the link at the very bottom of this ezine and I shall never darken your doorway again. «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»« Donations Wanted: If you enjoy this ezine and feel you have gained valuable information from it, please make a donation http://tinyurl.com/21se Your small gifts will help support the website and this newsletter (and bones for "the boys"). Dakota says "woof" which means "thanks". If you prefer to donate using PayPal use this link http://www.merlesworld.com/adtracking/lm.pl?paypal ______________________________________________ Sponsor ______________________________________________ SELL 11,400 PRODUCTS! ONE WEBSITE! Try Clickbank,s only True search Engine! Search the Largest Directory of Electronically Deliverable Products On The Web! Search Clickbank's 11,400 PLUS Products and Services for The ebook, resource or service you need! http://www.1stpromotion.com/pro/?webmaster=pjoeeoj «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«» Bumper Stickers... "Earth is the insane asylum for the universe." Compliments of http://www.Coolsigs.com ----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>> E D I T O R' S N O T E ----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>>----<<>> Hi Gang! How's your week going so far? Mine? Busy as usual. I've got to stop procrastinating. I've been trying to write an ebook for over a year now. By the time I get it finished ebooks will have gone out of style. Do you ever feel that you never get to your most important projects? I always admire the Net gurus who seem to have time for a perfect website, the best ezine, interviews, book writing. Maybe they have clones and we just don't know it. Who could be that good? A clone of me might be dangerous. But boy, I sure could use the help. If you haven't stopped in at our brand new board please do. http://www.merlesworld.com/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl I really could use some help in getting it off the ground and new blood and ideas are always welcome. The weather here in Ohio has finally turned to Spring. The cool breezes are blowing, and the flowers are blooming. The tree in my front yard in alive with pink blossoms. I do love when the seasons change. It's invigorating to the soul. It might even make me decide to spring clean the house. Ok, maybe it's not that invigorating. (LOL) Have you seen the new ebook by Joe Kumar. It's called "30 Days to Internet Marketing Success". What he did was ask a bunch of Net marketers if you lost your name and your list how would you start over to build your Internet wealth. Then he took all of the answers and put them all together to create his book. It's over 500 pages. He did ask me to be included at the time but due to time constraints I never got around to answering his questions. Wish I would have now. The book looks great and I have gone to the extreme of printing it out. Yes, my printer hates me right about now, but I hate reading ebooks online. I get over 500 emails a day and that's enough reading by monitor light for me. Anyway, there's a ton of great info in there if you can afford the price tag. Check it out at....http://tinyurl.com/aoiz Due to the amount of filtering being done by ISP's and maybe yourself please add this ezine's email address of mmezine@merlesworld.com to your "friend list" or approved" senders" list. All hard bounces are deleted from this list the very first time so if you want to keep this ezine coming and stay a subscriber, clean out your box. No, not the litter box, your inbox silly. This week's winner for a free ad is.... Ray Williams For your own chance to win fill in the survey. You'll find the link at the very bottom of this ezine. A winner is pulled twice a month. Enter now. Thanks for joining me, let's get to the good stuff. If you have any comments you can send them to mailto:merle@merlesworld.com Merle http://www.MerlesWorld.com http://www.EzineAdAuction.com http://www.MCPromotions.com -------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE -------------------------------------------------- => 1. News From the Net => 2. Feature Article-"Quickly L.I.N.K. Your Way to the Top 10" => 3. Webmaster Resources => 4. Promotional Resources => 5. Other Ezines of Interest => 6. Just for Fun or Useful => 7. E Books and Things of Interest to Publishers => 8. Freeware and Shareware to Download => 9.Subscribe/Remove Information ---------------------------------------------------------- 1. NEWS FROM THE NET ---------------------------------------------------------- Sp#mmers Sue Anti Sp@mmers http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/30368.html --------- Sp#m Becomes Public Enemy #1 http://www.internetnews.com/IAR/article.php/2197381 ------- Google AdWords Best Practices http://www.clickz.com/search/strat/article.php/2196411 -------- New Yahoo Search Yahoo has redesigned their site making it more user friendly. Check out the clean search page http://new.search.yahoo.com/ ---------- FTC Sp#m Forum http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/spam/index.html ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>> Please Support our Sponsors ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----sponsor adv SEND FLOWERS NOW with HotFlowers.com HotFlowers.com has the most BEAUTIFUL FLOWER BOUQUETS for any occasion. All flowers are shipped DIRECT from us the grower so they arrive FRESH and in bloom. Order now and SAVE 25% before the Mother's Day rush! http://www.Hotflowers.com --------------------------------------------- 2. FEATURE ARTICLE --------------------------------------------- "Quickly L.I.N.K. Your Way to the Top 10" By Charles Lewis META keyword tags are nearly obsolete. Keyword density is important -- but unless other sites are linking to yours, and the search engines know about it, you will undoubtedly lose the battle for a top ten search engine ranking. You've probably heard the term "Link Popularity" thrown around quite a bit over the past few months. You know what it means, and you know that having a good amount of link popularity can significantly boost your search engine ranking. But how does one go about increasing their link popularity?Well get ready, because now's your chance to finally achieve dramatic results from your reciprocal linking efforts. Before doing anything, you need to set up a "Recommended Links" or "Resources" section on your site, where you will be placing links to the web sites of those who link to you. The process is called reciprocal linking. Simply put - a reciprocal link is a two-way link. Once you finish that, you'll need to do some research. To do the research, you'll need one of two programs: # Copernic Download Location: http://www.Download.com/. Search for "Copernic." Price: free # The Internet Success Spider Download Location: http://www.webprozone.com/recommended/spider.html Price: $79.95 I suggest starting with Copernic, and then moving onto The Internet Success Spider when you decide to get more serious about your link popularity campaigns. Each of the products comes with its own Readme file, so I won't even bother explaining how to use them. Once you download the program, it's time to start the L.I.N.K.ing. process. L - Locate relevant potential link partners If you know which keywords and/or search phrases you are targeting, then this step will be a breeze. If you have not yet chosen your keywords, go to the following URL and you will learn how: http://www.webprozone.com/archive/july82001.html This step is where the software you downloaded comes into play. Both Copernic, and The Internet Success Spider have their own approaches to populating a list of potential link partners. Once you have gathered your list, move onto step two. I - Investigate his or her web site You don't want to make a link request to a site in direct competition with your own. Your e-mail will result in a brief chuckle, and a click on the delete button. You see, sending out such a request would be like Apple placing ads for MS Windows on their web site. If you visit the web site, and it is not a serious competitor, there are a few things that you need to do: 1) Look for an appropriate section of the site for your link to be placed. If there is no link section, you can be sure this person is not going to make one just for you. 2) Sign up for the newsletter. Read some back issues, or wait for the first issue, then offer some positive feedback (i.e. blow up their ego). Make no mention of a link exchange. Your goal right now is simply to build the foundation for an eBusiness relationship. 3) Get a feel for the site. Note the way the site owner writes, and use this to your advantage when you contact him or her. 4) Locate the name and e-mail address of the person you plan to contact about the linking agreement. If this is not available on the site, you will find it when you read his or her newsletter. To strip the e-mail address in Outlook Express, simply right-click on the name, and select the "Properties" option. You will be given the sender's e-mail address, along with lots of other technical garble. 5) Look for content. Browse around; find something you like about the site, and be sure to save the link. You'll need this information for when you e-mail the site owner. N - Negotiate A Linking Agreement Now that you've established contact with this person, and you have successfully flattered him or her with your positive feedback, it's time to go in for the kill. First, place a link to the web site in question on the recommended links / resources section of your web site. Write a custom tailored description which will flatter the web site owner, and let him or her know that you spent the time to do some research. Now, before you e-mail your potential link partner, remember that you are 100% asking this person for a favor. Also remember that this person receives between four and forty e-mails per week, requesting a reciprocal link. If you want your e-mail to be read, don't write something like, "Hey, I checked out your site" or "Want to trade links?" in the subject line. Your e-mail must be custom tailored to this one specific person, and there are no second chances. You've already established e-mail communication and successfully convinced the site owner that you took the time to read their material. In the race for link popularity, this alone will put you ahead of 99% of other people. Your e-mail should include the following: - The name of the person you are contacting - The name of the web site - The exact URL where you believe your link would be best fit. This will save the site owner time, which is something of which truly successful webmasters have very little. - Benefits, benefits, benefits. Why would someone link to you unless they were benefiting from it? If you are a high-traffic site, tell them how much traffic they can expect to come from your link. If you have an affiliate program, offer them an obscene commission and set them up with a custom redirect link. Simply put -- be cre@tive. You will come up with lots of benefits if you just sit down and brainstorm for a while. K - Keep it up Don't stop with one or two link partners. Reciprocal linking can be a very discouraging process - if you don't have a strong will to succeed on-line. Each week, select two to three sites to work on, and put everything you have into it. Quality wins out over quantity. If you send out a million un-personalized e-mails, requesting a reciprocal link you won't receive one single response - I can guarantee it. Reciprocal linking is like brain surgery, in that even the slightest wrong move can kill or permanently cripple your patient. In the case of reciprocal linking, a wrong move may not kill the person - but you will surely kill your chances of grabbing a high quality link to your site. Therefore, treat your communication with potential link partners like a surgical operation and you will reap rewards far greater than you could have ever imagined. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Charles Lewis (webmaster@webprozone.com) invites you to join him in e-success by subscribing to his weekly newsletter, "The Cre@tive Marketer". Subscribe today, and receive a free copy of the time tested, proven Internet marketing strategy guide that could teach a chimpanzee how to start an on-line business. See http://www.webprozone.com/creative.html ------------------------------------------------ 3. WEBMASTER RESOURCES ------------------------------------------------- Form Tutorial If you're a newbie to forms and can't seem to penetrate the mystery you'll learn a lot from this simple tutorial. http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/forms.html -------- Better Then Free If you've been looking for a "refer this site to a friend" script check this out. You'll actually get paid for using it. http://betterthanfree.com/taf/index.php? ------- Website Resolution Checker Here's a cool tool that allows you see how your site looks in different resolutions. Remember, not everyone surfs in the same resolution you do. http://www.markhorrell.com/tools/browser.html «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»« Tip «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»« How to Change the Font in Internet Explorer 1) Open up your browser 2) Pick Tools Internet Options, then fonts 3) Your font will be used when you browse a page that does not have a set font. ----------------------------------------------- 4. PROMOTIONAL RESOURCES ----------------------------------------------- Struggling to get new customers but can’t afford the high prices of a professional copywriter or marketing consultant? CompellingCopy.com can help! Learn more about writing effective sales copy, starting an Internet business and marketing your business for growth. Free ezine! http://www.compellingcopy.com ----------- Statistics If it's stats and demographic information you're after you'll want to investigate this nice selection of links. http://www.herassistant.com/1stats/index.shtml ----------- Do you Advertise in Ezines? If not you're missing out on one of the HOTTEST marketing tools online today. It's an inexpensive way to reach thousands with your message. Find hundreds of ezines to advertise in at http://www.EzineAdAuction.com/ Place your bids today! Free Bonus Items to all who register. ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>> Please Support our Sponsors ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----sponsor adv/ $ $ $ NEED TRAFFIC? NEED HITS? NEED SALES? $ $ $ Special offer for Merles Mission newsletter subscribers. 10,000 Hits/Visits USA - browser redirects & pop-unders, for only $35, Target any of 13 different categories. 100,000 Hits/Visits USA - browser redirects & pop-unders, for only $350, Health, diet, webmasters, and more. Your choice! http://www.gaminghits.com/order-traffic/sale-pop.html ---------------------------------------------- 5. OTHER EZINES OF INTEREST ---------------------------------------------- If you'd like to swap ads with this ezine please send your requests to mailto:adswap@merlesworld.com Please include your ezine name and the number of subscribers. --------------------------- M.C. Promotions Press Ezine is sent out twice a month featuring tips, tools,links, and marketing and promotion articles that will help you masterthe art and science of Internet Web Site Promotion. Containing the HOTTEST Marketing Techniques, traffic generators, SECRETS of search engines and much more. If you want more traffic and are trying to create an online presence, this ezine is for you.To subscribe send.... mailto:subscribe@mcpromotions.com or visit.. http://www.MCPromotionsPress.com ------------- ParentPreneur Weekly Ezine is geared towards parents working from home.Subscribe today and get HOT news & access to the latest tools & tips for home workers. All new subscribers will receive FREE gifts mailto:mcp-subscribe@parentpreneurclub.com http://www.parentpreneurclub.com?s00mcp ======================================================= <<<< T H E O R I G I N A L E Z I N E - R I N G >>>> Free Samples of the Best Internet Marketing Ezines ... Previous: mailto:mewsletter@autobots.net Next: mailto:2000fastracksample@sendfree.com *Full List and 3 Freebies: mailto:ering15@writead.com* ======================================================= ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>----- Please Support our Sponsors ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----sponsor adv/ MILLIONAIRE GUARANTEES YOU MAKE MONEY! You can quickly make thousands of dollars on the Internet regardless of your age, education or current financial situation. Your success is guaranteed. Finally, someone is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Click below for the details on your guaranteed success: http://www.mininggold.com/?53217!101 -------------------------------------------- 6. JUST FOR FUN OR USEFUL -------------------------------------------- Trip Advisor Want to take a trip? Start your research with Trip Advisor. The best articles, travel guides=20 and reviews on thousands of destinations.=20 http://www.TripAdvisor.com --------- Pop Cap Games All kinds of fun games you can play online with all your free time. Dynomite, Diamond Mine, Atomic Poker and many more. http://www.PopCap.com -------- Road Trip USA Have an urge to take a road trip? This site covers more then 35,000 miles of blacktop. The routes go through almost every state in the Continental USA. http://www.RoadTripUsa.com ------- Surprise There are always certain friends or family members who make you rack your brain to figure out what to get them for their birthday or other special occasion. I mean "what do you get for the guy who has everything". Let this site guide you. Search by occasion or relative type. Great fun and affordable. http://www.Surprise.com ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>---- Please Support our Sponsors ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----sponsor adv/ Software created to MANAGE your online business! http://www.softwarewarrioress.com/GED/Software_Ours.html Made for a marketer and publisher- (Jan Tallent- Dandridge,Marketing Warrioress and publisher of Rim Digest ezine) (1x) ------------------------------------------------------- 7. E BOOKS AND THINGS OF INTEREST TO EZINE PUBLISHERS _________________________________________________ No Cost Marketing Report Free ebook to resell or to give away. http://www.marketinglikeapro.com/nocost.html -------- Discover the $25,000+ monthly income earner's "secret" to MLM. Read this report now! http://www.recruityourwaytomillions.com/index.php?17404 (1X) ---------------------------------------------- 8. FREEWARE- SHAREWARE- TRIALS TO DOWNLOAD ---------------------------------------------- Major Geeks You'll find plenty of freeware and shareware to download at Major Geeks. http://www.MajorGeek.com -------- Matts Script Archive Matt's site has been around since the beginning of the Internet, at least it seems that way. If you need a solid free script you'll find plenty to choose from here. Good stuff for any Webmaster. http://www.scriptarchive.com/formmail.html --------- WordZ Tool Bar Add a dictionary and thesaurus to your IE Toolbar. Free. http://www.socketsoftware.com/Products/wordz/index.php ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>----- Please Support our Sponsors ---<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----<<+>>-----sponsor adv/ Fiber Optic Web Hosting From $14.95/ Web Hosting By BRANDBLAST- BRANDBLAST offers fiber optic web hosting for individuals, small and medium sized businesses looking for a higher level of customer service, speed, and reliability. **SPECIAL OFFER** Merle's Mission Subscribers receive ADDITIONAL MONTH FREE. http://brandblast.com 1X ------------------------------------------ 9.IMPORTANT STUFF ------------------------------------------ Well, that wraps it up,once again thanks for joining me. If you have any comments please send them to comments@merlesworld.com or visit http://www.MerlesWorld.com For advertising rates for this ezine send... mailto:advertising@merlesworld.com Current subscriber base is over 6,000- My list is clean as all email addresses are removed the very first time they bounce. Back issues can be reviewed here... http://www.MerlesMission.com If you would like to be taken off our mailing list: PLEASE click on the link at the very bottom of this ezine for instant removal. If you're an AOL user and the link doesn't work please cut and paste it into your browser or mailto:remove@merlesworld.com If you are not a subscriber and would like to be send mailto:subscribe@merlesworld.com «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«» For Back Issues: http://www.MerlesMission.com «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»« For great web hosting or if you're in need of a programmer contact mailto:DavidBlack@SiteDesignandHosting.com He's wonderful and an expert at what he does. Tell him "Merle" sent ya. P.S. I am currently in need of testimonials for this ezine. If you enjoy it please let me know. Send to mailto:testimonials@MerlesWorld.com «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«» If you haven't yet filled in the subscriber survey, get your free gifts by doing it now..and be entered into a drawing for a free ad in this ezine. Winner pulled twice a month. You'll find the survey at: http://www.advancedsurvey.com/ when there put 901 into the survey number box at the top left to take the survey. -------------- I'm now offering my articles for syndication on your website All you have to do is paste SOME code where you want the article to appear and every 10 to 14 days when I update it on my end it will display a fresh article on web design/ maintenance on your site. Easy to do and gives you fresh content without any work whatsoever. For more info and to get to the code go to.... http://tinyurl.com/aohr Thanks for being a subscriber and I'll see you next time! If you enjoy this ezine and would like to make a small donation please go to ...http://tinyurl.com/21se «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«» IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER «»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«» Disclaimer: Merle's World does not accept any responsibility for any liabilities as resulting from any claims in this newsletter or by the advertisers in it. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. We respect your privacy and do not share our mailing list with anyone. All content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Copyright 2001-2003 All Rights Reserved