The significant challenges that we face today cannot be resolved by the same level of thinking that created them.

Hi there. I can only hope for your sakes that you are all in a place that is warmer than sunny Manitoba. Man, I've said this before but there are absolutely no redeeming qualities to temperatures of 50 below with the windchill. A friend of mine figures I should at least move to Oklahoma and he'll take care of us there. Thanks Gary.

You may find it interesting to read about the development and progress of Quikonnex as well as the reasoning behind the creation of QuikView. Barb Nachtigall, a vital member of the Quikonnex community, presents The Development of QuikView. It shows the level of commitment on the part of the creators of Quikonnex.

On Wednesday fellow publisher Bobbette Madonna and I held a couple of informal get togethers for publishers of the Quikonnex community. Our intent was to get a feel for the reasons behind choosing Quikonnex as their publishing medium as well as find out more about the direction they'd like to take their business. Overall, the meeting was well received and we'll be meeting each Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. CST on Yahoo. The agenda will be posted in the Quikonnex forum -> Discussion Board -> QChannel Marketing Discussions. Check the calendar for updates.

Unfortunately, it looks like another nasty virus is on the loose so take extra care when looking at your mail. Here's a summary about the W32/Bagle@MM Virus Warning. Subscribe to GrayScales while you're there.

Today's Feature, Quit Pushing Me, is by yours truly. Judging by messages I receive from ezines I'm subscribed to, everyone is being bombarded with spam. Publishers are sending a note to let you know they did send the latest issue. Interaction with subscribers is down simply because they can't get to the information they want if in fact they received it at all. I'm proud to say I'm a 'recovering email publisher'. I'm fed up with the garbage being pushed to my Inbox that I did not ask for. I even received an email saying "You've been fixed up on a blind date." Where do they get this stuff?

Content - Ultimate Link Building Strategy is today's Special Feature. Shelley Lowery, as always, provides good solid information. Today's linking involves strategy and you have every right to be picky about who links to you. By providing quality content, you increase your ability to exchange links with other sites.

Have a great day and keep on smiling.

Lois M. Jeary
Publisher, KIT
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An Effective Alternative to eMail

Quit Pushing Me
by Lois M. Jeary, January 2004

We all know that unsolicited email is out of control. This once effective medium of communication has become an extremely heavy weight that most of us no longer wish to carry.

Unfortunately, many publishers still attempt to send their ezines out using email because 'that's they way they've always done it'. When a tool no longer works - is no longer effective, it's time to replace that tool with something that does work.

Think of all the time you waste maintaining your list, dealing with bounces, unsubscribes as well as ISP filtering, the nonsense with Habeas headers and SpamCop complaints that don't need to be verified - it can be mind numbing. Next, you throw in email filtering and/or software. A large majority of your readers don't know how to apply filters properly. And after all that, how many issues actually get through to your readers? I still receive a second message from many publishers suggesting that if I didn't receive the current issue, it was probably caught up in the filters.

The new CAN-SPAM law that came into effect January 1st, 2004 is a step in the right direction, however, until the FTC finalizes the regulations in September 2004 there will be those who think they can cut corners. You will see many giving their interpretation of the law. Be careful who you listen to and make sure you understand the full implications of this law. John Glube does a first rate job of explaining the CAN-SPAM law in The Federal Regulators Are Coming To Town.

It's time to break the email habit. It's not the only way to reach your audience and it's quickly becoming the least effective way. That is what you are trying to do right? You are trying to reach out and interact with your readers.

eMail is considered 'push' techonology. You send (push) your ezine or marketing message to your readers. In December my prediction was that the spam would get worse before it got better. Using MailWasher Pro allowed me to determine that the garbage attempting to gain entry to my Inbox has steadily increased over the last month. Each week brings between 800 and 1,000 more messages and none are for anything I've asked for. Personally, I'm sick of email. It's just not worth the hassle.

There are better and more productive ways to get your content to your readers. The weblog format has become popular but the one that shines in my book is the service provided by Quikonnex. And this is known as 'pull' technology. Your readers will choose to subscribe to your rss feed or channel because you offer good content and timely information. You don't have to 'push' it at them like you do with email.

Don't be afraid of new technology and don't let the 'techie' terms get you down. This is especially true with the Quikonnex service. These guys have taken the 'techie' stuff right out of the equation. You'll have all the support you need to start publishing with this direct-to-desktop publishing service. You can have your own channel up and running within an hour from signing up for the service. You'll never need to send another issue by email once you embrace this method. Unless you want to.

Adopting new technology usually involves a bit of a learning curve but I can assure you, the learning curve is small when you choose Quikonnex. You have the support of the creators of the program as well as the community of publishers and members to help you through. Anything worthwhile will require a small investment of your time no matter what you choose.

Yes, you can muddle your way through and keep using email as your method of delivery. You can keep asking your subscribers to do this and do that every time a new law, rule or regulation takes effect. You can risk your business because you haven't taken the time to read how the new law affects the way you run your business. Or you can take a stand and break the email habit. That's all it is - a habit.

eMail is so out of control for both you and your readers. It's time to quit using 'push' in your face, ineffective email marketing and find a better way to present your information. Make it easier, not more difficult for your reader to receive your news.

So quit 'pushing' me. Do your readers a favor and start looking for an effective alternative to email delivery. They will thank you.

Lois Jeary publishes KIT (Keeping In Touch) through her Home4Success channel which features straight forward articles, helpful hints and suggestions, interaction with subscribers and more. Easy to subscribe: KIT. She's a 'recovering email publisher' who saw the light and kicked the email habit. Home4Success

Keywords: effective alternative to email, direct-to-desktop publishing, Quikonnex, marketing

The Insider Secrets to E-mail Marketing -- Advanced Series

If you are determined to market using email, then you might as well get the low-down from one of the best marketers on the net today.

Corey Rudl is still offering a 30-day trial on the new Insider Secrets to E-mail Marketing - for a buck - that's right just $1.00 but the offer won't last forever.

Get Your Trial Here. Offer expires February 6th, 2004.

Do not be embarrassed by your mistakes. Nothing can teach us better than our understanding of them. This is one of the best ways of self-education.
- Thomas Carlyle, Writer and Mathematician

In times of change the learners shall inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
- Eric Hoffer

Nothing ventured, something lost.
- Neale Clapp, Consultant

Your wealth can only grow to the extent that you do.
- T. Harv Eker

Content - The Ultimate Link Building Strategy
By Shelley Lowery

If you've been looking for an easy way to get your link on hundreds of websites and increase your traffic, providing content may be your answer.

Not only is providing content easy and inexpensive (it only costs your time), but it also has the potential to provide you with massive free promotion and builds your credibility.

If you've contacted any webmasters lately and requested a link exchange, chances are, you didn't receive a response. More and more webmasters are choosing not to exchange links with other sites. Instead, they are now requiring content in order to receive a link.

As you're probably aware, the Internet is all about information. For this reason, webmasters and ezine publishers are continually looking for quality content.

Content comes in a variety of forms, such as articles, tips, reviews, HTML/JavaScript codes, ebooks and software.

Articles

Write quality articles in the area of your expertise. At the bottom of your article, include a few lines of text about you and/or your products, and a link to your website.

The most popular articles are those that teach or inform with regard to the subject matter.

Articles should be between 500 and 750 words and formatted to 60 65 characters per line.

For further information on writing and publishing articles, you may read the article entitled, "Write for Publicity." http://www.web-source.net/write.htm

Tips

Write quality tips in the area of your expertise. At the bottom of each tip, include two lines about you and/or your products, and a link to your website.

Tips can be written in various lengths -- from just a few lines to a couple of paragraphs. For example, following is one of the hundreds of tips I've written.

When designing your website, your copyright information should be displayed at the bottom of each page. It's best to include both the word Copyright and the © symbol, as some countries don't recognize one or the other. Your copyright might look like this: Copyright © Year Company Name

Today's tip by Shelley Lowery, author of the acclaimed Web Design Mastery series. http://www.webdesignmastery.com

Reviews

Review different products or services and write about your experience with the product, service and/or company -- good or bad.

At the bottom of the review, include a few lines of text about you with a link to your website.

HTML/JavaScript codes

Write HTML and/or JavaScript codes that will enable your readers to copy and paste them into their web pages. Include any needed instructions and allow them to be freely published.

At the bottom of the code, include a few lines of text about you with a link to your website.

All of the above content can be promoted through the various article announcement groups on the Internet. These groups contain publishers looking for quality content and can provide you with massive free promotion.

Here are a few groups to get you started:

Article Announce
http://www.web-source.net/articlesub.htm

Free Content
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Content/

Free Reprint Articles
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Free-Reprint-Articles/

Ebooks

Write a short, quality ebook that teaches or informs in the area of your expertise. Throughout the ebook, include references to your products or services with a link to your website. In addition, make sure you let your readers know they may freely distribute the ebook.

Place a link to your ebook on your website to enable your visitors to download it.

To encourage webmasters to distribute your ebook, create customizable fields to enable webmasters to include all of the following:

In order to create an ebook that can be customized, you must first purchase an HTML ebook compiler that offers this option. Keep in mind, not all compilers do. There are only two that I can recommend and they are:

Ebook Edit Pro http://www.ebookeditpro.com Activ E-book http://www.ebookcompiler.com

Both of these compilers will enable you to create customizable fields.

For some additional exposure, submit your ebook to some free ebook sites. Here are a few sites to get you started:

For additional information on ebook publishing, you may read the article series, "Ebooks: Self-Publishing Your Way to Internet Success." http://www.web-source.net/ebook_publishing1.htm

Software

Create a software program that will be of interest to your target market. Place links to your website within the software and allow it to be freely distributed.

You can use this technique even if you're not a software developer. Elance is a marketplace that enables you to outsource projects to their global pool of service providers. Visit Elance to post your software project and take bids from developers. http://www.elance.com

Place a link to your software on your website to enable your visitors to download it.

For some additional exposure, submit your software to some of the free software sites:

As you can see, there are many different ways you can use content to increase your traffic. The key to using this technique effectively is to allow your content to be freely published with your information and links included.

Your content could be picked up by webmasters, ezine publishers or even print publishers and has the potential to be viewed by hundreds of thousands of Internet users.

Providing free content is one of the absolute best ways to get your link on thousands of websites. Use it to your advantage.

Copyright © Shelley Lowery 2004.

About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of Web Design Mastery - An in-depth guide to professional web design. And, Ebook Starter - A complete ebook design kit. Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a free subscription to Etips and receive a free copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies." http://www.web-source.net

I used to have links to this terrific resource when I published KIT using email. Now I'm happy to say you can access these great tips by going straight to the Stateshooter Channel.

With tax time right around the corner you might want to take advantage of these tips. Jaye Mills is the author with thirty years experience behind her and she does an excellent job of explaining 'the books' to anyone.

A friend of mine asked for a program that would remove forwarding characters from emails. It's a handy utility to have on hand so here's the link for eMail Stripper.

Written by fellow Quikonnex publisher, Bobbette Madonna in conjunction with attorney Lynn Toler, Spam Warfare is the next in a series of courses from the eMasters group.

Download Spam Warfare - Protecting Your Assets here.

Stay on top of the latest product releases from ClickBank. Download Affiliates Alert

Legal Stuff ...

We accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content, profitability or legality of any published articles or advertisements contained within KIT.

And, although all of the articles have been selected for their content, the publishing of such articles within this newsletter does NOT constitute a recommendation of the products or services mentioned or advertised within those articles.

Be responsible! Always do your own Due Diligence before responding to any offer.