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Keeping In Touch With My Online Family
Helping you build your successful, home-based
business one step at a time.
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Issue #48 Date:
May 14th, 2002
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The significant challenges that we face today cannot be
resolved by the same level of thinking that created them.
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KIT is by subscription only. Unsubscribe details at the end
of this ezine.
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In This Issue
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=> Publisher's Corner
=> Feature Article
=> Review: Products or Services
=> Inspiration
=> Special Feature
=> Hot Tip
=> Ezine ADventure
=> Reader's Corner
=> Ad Swaps
=> Favorite Ezines
=> Success Links
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Publisher's Corner
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Hi {FIRSTNAME} and welcome to today's issue of Keeping in Touch.
A big, warm 'hello' to all our new subscribers.
I think spring is finally starting here in our part of the
country. YES! Even after snow last week you can see plants
starting to poke through the surface of the soil. It's a time
for rebirth. Everything is starting over; starting fresh.
"Watching something grow is good for morale. It helps you
believe in life." Myron S. Kaufman
Business is very similar. After a period of slow moving sales,
little or no response to advertising, website maintenance or
updates - it may be time for a little spring cleaning. Touch
up your ad campaigns, add a little spice to your website,
feature new products or services and it's like a breath of
fresh air. A new start.
Our Feature Article today is Sneaky (But Legal) Places To
Insert Keywords For Higher Rankings by Diane Hughes. This is
a perfect way to 'spice up' your website. If you don't already
know this, you should have a text description for your images
because not everyone surfs with the image option on. In the
text description you should be taking advantage of your keywords
as well as your domain name, provided it fits. I'll let Diane
explain it to you since she does a great job of it.
Our Special Feature comes from Karon Thackery. Making Your
Copy Sell - Even In A Recession gives you excellent pointers.
In all your advertising you should be emphasizing the benefits
to your prospective customers. Buyers are becoming more
cautious because there is so much garbage being put forth as
information of value. It's not just the economy slowing things
down. Your prospective customer needs reassurance that what
you have to offer is for their own good.
Have a great day {FIRSTNAME} and keep on smiling.
Lois M. Jeary
Publisher, KIT and KIT Klassifieds
mailto:lois@home4success.com
http://www.home4success.com
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Feature Article
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Sneaky (But Legal) Places To Insert Keywords For Higher Rankings
© 2002 Diane Hughes
The battle for high search engine rankings rages on! The engines
themselves continually make changes which makes our jobs, as Web
site owners, much more difficult. But, one thing has always
remained the same... Keywords.
Search engines still read text. That text still has to be
relevant to the site. Keywords are text and must be placed
strategically throughout your site. Those keywords within the
text are still the determining factor on how high you go up the
search engine ladder.
While many engines now place no relevancy whatsoever on the
keyword META tag itself, there are still plenty of places -
legal ones - to insert keywords in order to boost your rankings.
Keep this list handy when writing copy for your site pages. It
will help you get the biggest bang for your search engine buck.
1. In your URL.
Putting a keyword or keyphrase within your URL (domain name)
counts for major points!
2. In your page link names.
Rather than using a link in your navigation bar like
"services", add a keyword to that page link. If you are a
marketing consultant, you could put "marketingservices"
instead.
3. In links throughout the copy.
This uses the same principle as above. Instead of writing a
paragraph about your testimonials and linking to a page named
"testimonials", create a link to a page named "marketing
successes" (or some other powerful keyphrase).
4. In the "title" and "description" tags.
The title and description tags are still widely read and used by
engines. Be sure both are enticing and contain keywords because
some engines use them interchangeably.
5. In the copy itself.
The "optimal" copy length for search engine compatibility is
between 250 - 350 words. Why? Because that gives you enough
room to use the keyphrases repeatedly and still make sense! You
should have about a 3% ratio of copy to keywords.
6. In ALT tags.
ALT tags are those little bits of copy that pop up when you hold
your mouse over a graphic or picture. Search engines read those -
because they consist of text. Use keywords in the descriptions
you assign to the images on each page. WARNING: Be VERY sure
that the description in the ALT tag goes with the image.
Otherwise you could be banned for "keyword stuffing."
Last little trick ... get one or two heavyweight keywords or
phrases in all 6 places above. It's hard to do, but the results
are tremendous!
By taking advantage of these sneaky - but legal - places to
insert keywords, you stand a better chance of getting one of
those coveted "Top 10" slots on the major engines. You also
stand a darn good shot at increasing traffic to your site!
*********************************************************
Diane Hughes is an accomplished internet entrepreneur and
editor of the popular ProBizTips Newsletter. Subscribe to
her newsletter for more tips, tricks, and secrets of the
trade -- plus get HUNDREDS of eBooks, software and tools
just for subscribing! http://viralmarketzone.com/diane
*********************************************************
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Product Review
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How to Claim EVERY Lucrative Tax Deduction....
FINALLY discover how to take advantage of every
lucrative tax deduction available to you, resulting
in a potential windfall in tax savings from your
home based internet business.
Find out how easy and rewarding it can be at:
http://www.internettaxhelper.com/g.o/loismj
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Most of us have just been through the 'tax time nightmare'.
If you aren't organized - and I mean organized - a nightmare
is just the beginning. The Internet Tax Helper will set up
different revenue/expense accounts. Once the basic information
is entered, the program does all the calculating.
For those of you with various affiliate programs, this system
is tough to beat. All you have to do is enter a few items
about your business and let the Tax Helper do the rest. It's
awesome.
So many newbies miss out on the fact that you can write off
a portion of items like property taxes, utilities, vehicle,
insurance and more when you operate a business from your home.
Stop missing out on all the 'benefits' of working from home.
http://www.internettaxhelper.com/g.o/loismj
If you haven't already done so, send for your free guideline
of items that can be deducted.
mailto:LineYourPockets@home4success.com
This report was prepared by an accountant, however, each state
and province may have different rules. Always verify the
information for your area of residence.
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Inspiration
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"Keep away from small people who try to belittle your
ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great
make you feel that you, too, can become great."
Mark Twain
"You can choose to be lazy or you can choose to be ambitious.
Stop to think about it again. Don't you do your own choosing?"
J. Martin Kohe
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Special Feature
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Making Your Sales Copy Sell. Even In A Recession
by Karon Thackston © 2002
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
http://www.ktamarketing.com
I was talking with a group of business associates the other day
and one question popped up that was of particular interest. "Is
everyone finding that sales come MUCH slower these days?" The
answer from all on the call was a resounding yes! The next
question won't surprise you. "What do we do about it?"
There is no doubt that individuals and business people alike are
becoming more and more cautious with their money. Rather than
buying anything and everything that peaks their interest,
serious consideration is being given to each and every expense.
That's natural in a recession.
What that means is advertising copy has to work harder and
better. No longer will a simple quip like, "You'll love it" or
"Be the first to own one" work. You have to earn each purchase.
You have to prove your worth.
People who live and work in recession-laden times have specific
criteria for making purchases. If your product or service
"qualifies", you get the sale. The challenge comes in
determining what it takes to qualify.
I've said it a thousand times: "Before you write one word, get
inside the mind of your customer." You have to understand who
the person/business is, what they need, what they want. and then
give it to them.
In a recession, the focus turns from "trying" to "getting
results". Those who might, in an ordinary economy, try
something just to see if it would work will now demand proof of
results. Those who would normally take a risk will now ask for
guarantees.
In order to build trust and create an atmosphere conducive to
converting cautious visitors into customers, you'll need to make
three things obvious in your copy:
1) Benefits. Yes, even novice advertisers know about features
vs. benefits. But it is imperative that you fill your copy with
as many of them as it will hold. In a recession, your customers
will not wonder - but will demand to know - what's in it for
them. Let them know exactly what they will get for their
dollar/pound/euro.
2) Results. In addition to benefits, your recession weary
customers will want proof of results. This can be accomplished
in a variety of ways. Testimonials are the easiest, provided
they are verifiable. You can also use online demonstrations,
case studies or a number of other effective methods of showing
that your product/service works.
3) Guarantee. If - for whatever reason - your product/service
does not perform as expected, your customer will want a safety
net. Provide a guarantee or warranty to make them feel safe
about spending their hard earned money.
4) Repetition. Lastly, don't be surprised if it takes multiple
exposures to your offer before a purchase comes. Instead of the
usual 7-9 exposures, it may very well take 10-14 before sales
come in. There are several reasons for this. Customers may
need to consider, and reconsider, your offer before buying.
They might need time to raise the cash to pay for your
product/service. Expect - and plan for - slower conversions.
Give the customer what he/she needs to make a comfortable
decision. By changing the focus of your copy to meet the
qualifications of those cautious buyers in a recession, you will
be able to convert leads to sales more quickly.
_______________
FINALLY! The 1st copywriting course that takes you step-by-step
through the process of writing emotion stirring, profit
generating copy AND gives you the LIVE feedback you need to
succeed! Get it today - with THREE FREE bonuses!
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
or http://www.ktamarketing.com
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Hot Tip
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Better Browsing
I use this trick all the time when I'm hunting around for
information, especially when using a search engine.
I'll do the "Open in a new window" trick each time I see a link
that looks like I want to investigate it. It's great to have the
rest of your search results ready and waiting for you when
you're done exploring a link!
If you would like to do this, right-click the link you
want to follow and select "Open Link in new window" from the
resulting menu.
A new browser window will open and display the new page. To get
back to the search engine, right where you were, simply close
that page.
Bob Osgoodby: http://www.adv-marketing.com
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Ezine ADventure
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An EzineADventure AD. Click Below - Get Your FREE Ads NOW!
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Did You Know?
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"File Extensions Reveal the Secret"
=================================================
If you haven't modified anything on your computer, then
everything is at the default setting. That's what you get
when you don't make changes.
You get the default!
By default, your computer won't display the three letter
extensions on its files. If you open Explorer, you'll
just see the names of files. To make your computer reveal
its file secrets, you'll do the following:
1. Open Windows Explorer (Start, Programs, Windows Explorer)
2. Click the View menu item
3. Select Folder Options at the very bottom of the list
4. Click the View tab
5. Uncheck the box labeled "Hide file extensions for known
file types" and click OK.
While you're in this window, poke around a little. Try out
the different views. This is where you can do some easy
customizing to get Windows to your liking. You can always
undo anything you've done if you don't like the results.
That's why I say you should click click click. Customize your
machine to your liking. Don't keep it all boring the way it
came from the box. You think what you see now is special?
Compliments of The Newbie Club
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Pop Up Generators and More
CodeBrain.com offers a variety of unique goodies for your site.
You'll find pop up generators that don't require code, slider
bars, a code lifter and more. Take a look around.
http://www.codebrain.com/index.html
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A Touch of Humor
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Now here's an excellent example of upselling to your customer.
Young Bobby approaches the manager of the local Wal-Mart looking
for a job. The manager asks, "Do you have any sales
experience?" Bobby replies, "I once sold lemonade off my front
lawn." Well, the manager likes Bobby so he gives the kid a job.
"You can start tomorrow. I'll come down after we close and
see how well you do."
His first day on the job is rough but Bobby gets through it. At
the end of the day the manager calls the kid up to his office.
"So, how many sales did you make today?" "One," Bobby says.
"What?! Just one?" the shocked manager explodes. "Our sales
people average 25 sales a day. How much was the sale for?"
"$101,237.64" Bobby replies.
"$101,237.64?" the astounded manager says. "What the heck did
you sell?"
"First I sold this fellow a small fish hook. Then I sold him a
larger fish hook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod. Then I
asked him where he was going fishing and he said down at the
coast so I told him he was gonna need a boat, so we went down to
the boat department and I sold him that twin engine Chris Craft.
Then he said he didn't think his Honda Civic would pull it so I
took him down to the automotive department and sold him that
4x4 Blazer."
The manager asks, "A guy came in here to buy a fish hook and
you sold him a boat and truck?" "Nope," the Kid replies. "He
came in here to buy a box of tampons for his wife and I said,
'Your weekend's shot, you might as well go fishing.' "
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Reader's Corner
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Free subscriber ads can be submitted to this link only:
mailto:lois@home4success.com?Subject=KIT_K_May_18th,_2002
Reminder: One ad/per subscriber - First 20 are in
5 lines, 60 characters per line
If you need help to format an ad, please use this great little
program:
http://www.jbmckee.com/formatit/reformatit.html
To submit an Article:
Please format your articles as well. (65 characters per line max)
mailto:lois@home4success.com?Subject=KIT_Article_Submit
To share Tools or Tips:
mailto:lois@home4success.com?Subject=KIT_Tips_Tools
To make comments or suggestions:
mailto:lois@home4success.com?Subject=I_Have_A_Comment
*~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~*
Ad Swaps
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None this week.
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Favorite Ezines
*~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~*
The iCop Whistle Blower!
(formerly Monday Memo)
Published by jl scott, ph.d., Director
International Council of Online Professionals (iCop)
http://www.i-Cop.org
If you would like to subscribe, please send the following email:
mailto:whistleblower-on@mail-list.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN "ALMOST" THERE? Does YOUR
marketing contain STRATEGIC Initiatives? Use OUR skills
pay your bills. Awesome details of unique ways to promote
yourself and your business. YOUR success IS my business!
http://start-smartz.com
or
mailto:webmistress@start-smartz.com?subject=subscribe_KIT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Success Steps
A publication of Success Synergies
Personal & Business Coaching
http://www.success-synergies.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Que Sera Sera - A weekly Motivational and
inspirational ezine designed to get you
right back in the game of living life as
you would like it to be lived.
E-mail Newsletter Signup:
que_sera_sera-subscribe@topica.com
Newsletter Web Signup:
http://www.djstoddard.net/newsletter.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sizzling Edge
Turning chance into your richest resource. Published
by Charles Burke, the author of Command More Luck and
Inside The Minds of Winners.
Subscribe: mailto:sizzling-on@sizzlingedge.com
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Success Links
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Capitalize on the Extreme Traffic Generating Power of the Four
Most Powerful and Proven Search Engine Tools Ever Created and
Dominate the Top-10 Search Listings in Any Industry.
http://www.marketingchallenge.com/cgi-bin/t.cgi/113640/semax
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QUESTION: What simple sales tool can literally QUADRUPLE your
sales overnight. Click the link to find out more!
http://home4success.com/go/to.cgi?l=ARP
*~~~**~~~**~~~**~~~*
Why re-invent the wheel? Web Marketing Pros SPILL The BEANS!
http://home4success.com/go/to.cgi?l=imckit
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Need a Web Host? Check out JGP TopHOST. Several plans
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Advertise BIG for a Little. Put your ads in front of a
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<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
KIT Memberships include:
~ Honorary membership in C.O.B.R.A.
Council of Online Business Relations Advocates
http://www.homesourcearena.com/cobra.htm
~ Ezine Publishers Association International
http://www.EzinePublisher.org
<> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <>
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Disclaimer:
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All advertising in KIT is accepted in good faith and is offered
as a service to our readers. Publication of the ad should not
be construed as an endorsement of the product, business
opportunity or service being offered. Please refer to the
contact details in the ad for more information about product
or service offered. Use due diligence for all offers.
Free At Last Enterprises reserves the right to exclude any ad
pertaining to hate, race, discrimination or deemed inappropriate
for all readers.
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Keeping in Touch With My Online Family is published by:
Free At Last Enterprises
Lois M. Jeary, Publisher
P. O. Box 88, Elie, Manitoba R0H 0H0 Canada
Phone: (204) 353-4096
Fax: (204) 353-2248
E-Mail: mailto:lois@home4success.com
Website: http://www.home4success.com
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