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Editor's note
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Quote For The day
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Article I-"How to Write a Great Email Sales Letter...When You Hate to Write"
by Kevin Nunley
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Article II - Anti-Spam Software, Good or Bad?
by J.R. Orsoni
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Article III -Wrongly Accused of Spam--What to Do
by Kevin Nunley
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Editor's note
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No one is more concerned with Spam than we are but unfortunately all the measures that are being taken by various companies are not correcting the problem as we all thought.
The worst part of this issue is that many legitimate business emails such as online banking, private billing and many other online business emails are being send indiscriminately into the junk box without the knowledge or consent of the recipient. This is cause for concern because it has lowered the level of confidence in email in general.
This issue has caused a great deal of confusion and disappointment among customers and businesses alike and it has forced many businesses to forego using Internet email for legitimate billing and business purposes.
The problem is mostly due to ISPs (Internet Service Providers), the company you pay to get onto the Internet and who have installed anti-Spam software such as Spam Assassin and others, in hopes of stopping unsolicited commercial emails.
In so doing they also block legitimate emails because it determines if words within the content of the email are of a Spam nature. Words such as specials, pennies, dollar, today; characters such as $ signs, ! exclamation marks, etc are targets for the junk box.
For example, if you email your wife from the office saying, "Honey, I'll meet you for lunch at the Depot at noon, they are serving my favorite special today. Bring a credit card because I forgot my money on the dresser this morning so I'm minus $ today... thanks! Love ya, see you then!" This message will more than likely be tossed and never be read due to that software. Sad but true.
As for us and others in the Ezine business we will be out of business if this practice continues. We all need your help.
How can I help, I hear you say.
My answer is that you can help us and others like us by adding any and all email addresses that you want to receive to your email address book. This is a simple task and by doing so, you're going to enjoy a more peaceful and pleasant email situation.
We also urge you to call your ISP to determine what software is in place and if learn if you've been an unwilling and unsuspecting target of arbitrary spam control and what you can do to stop it.
If you have any email questions or Spam issues that you would like others to know about please contact us and we'd be happy to print it for the good of all concerned.
Editor
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Quote For The Day
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"I have a very strong feeling that the opposite of love is not hate - it's apathy. It's not giving a damn." Dr. Leo Buscaglia
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Article I
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How to Write a Great Email Sales Letter...When You Hate to Write
by Kevin Nunley
I can sit here all day giving you tips and hints on headlines and phrases that sell. But none of it will do you any good if you just plain hate sitting down at the keyboard.
If you can't stand writing, you're in good company. Most of us feel the same. I once asked a high school English teacher how many of her 300 students liked to write. "Oh, about 9 of them," she said.
Everyone from Mark Twain to Bart Simpson has faced a blank sheet of paper for hours with no idea of what to put on it. Well let me give you a few ideas from my office of professional writers. In the world of non-fiction writing, being a professional doesn't
necessarily mean being a great writer. It does mean you have to be able to conjure up great copy every single day, even when you don't feel well or aren't in the mood.
The first step is just to get something on paper--anything! And I do mean anything. Just start writing down whatever comes to mind. If you can't think of anything, write "I'm sitting here and I can't think of anything to write."
Yes, that sounds pretty stupid. But it's exactly the technique a lot of top writers use to get the creative juices flowing. Next you'll find yourself typing "I need to write a sales letter to promote my new software. It's software to help people get organized. Most people have lots of information, but they can't remember where they put it. This software has people organize their information in a system that makes it super easy to find,
in just seconds."
Wow! You're writing, you're telling your story, and best of all, you're not worrying about being bad because you know you can go back later and change it all.
One top writer copies and pastes favorite lines from other sources (like the client's web site.) Then she rewrites those sections in her own words so that they are completely original. That's enough to get her going. Next she fills in additional fresh copy between the blurbs she has already completed. Even on days when she would rather be anywhere but behind a computer, she cranks out first rate copy in record time.
Another method is to just start talking. Talk into one of those little tape recorders you get at Radio Shack. Pretend you're telling your best friend, your mother, or Paris Hilton all about your big idea. Go into all the details. Talk it all out. Later, go back , listen, and take notes. Your notes will be the start of your email message.
Don't type very well? 60 percent of North Americans can't type. Hunting keys often makes writing frustrating if not impossible. Follow in the tradition of a great many very famous writers. Pick up a cheap ballpoint pen and write down your ideas with the good old handwriting you learned in second grade. Then have someone type it up.
The key is to just get something, anything, on your computer screen or on paper. Once you have that, start to edit. The copy will take on a life of its own and the writing will come easier.
Or, simply hand your first attempts to a professional writer. Most can churn your notes into polished copy faster and cheaper than they can write entirely new copy.
When Kevin Nunley sat down to write this article, he stared at a blank screen for about 15 minutes. Not good. The publisher's deadline was approaching. Then he used some of the methods described above to quickly create the article you just read.
You can do it, too. Write something today.
http://DrNunley.com mailto:kevin@drnunley.com 603-249-9519.
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Article II
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Anti-Spam software, a good thing?
by J.R. Orsoni
If you’re new to Internet Marketing or even if you’re not, by now you are wondering why
many of the emails you are sending out come back as ‘undeliverable’. It’s probably due
to recently created anti-spam software being installed by many ISPs to block spam emails.
While, in theory, this software is good, in reality it blocks the delivery of many important
non-Spam personal and business emails.
For example, if you send a personal email to a friend which includes text such as,
“Let’s get together for a ‘Cup of Coffee’ next week,” chances are great that your
email won’t will not be delivered.
Why?
Because this software that makes an arbitrary determination on what is Spam and what isn’t.
The invitation you extended to your friend isn’t Spam, and neither is many others like it, yet they are being blocked because our example is used by Pre-Paid Legal Services® in their advertising.
The anti-Spam software has been programmed to send back every email with that phrase in it including your innocent invitation to your friend.
Since I receive many of my business and household bills online, I am very sensitive to this. Recently, I’ve had some bills almost get to the past due status because the
software made the determination that it was Spam and it was never delivered to my email box because it contained
a dollar sign <$>.
In addition to sending out permission-based emails the current situation goes beyond the Spam problem because all of us are being affected in one way or another.
This situation is one that we can do something about. But by doing nothing, we accomplish nothing and can only become frustrated.
We need to speak up, we need to take action in any way that we can. We all need to make our opinion known, because after all, this involves our Constitutional guarantee to the Right of free speech.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Contact your ISP and ask them if you have anti-Spam software monitoring your account. If so ask them to remove it from your account.
2. Pass this email to your downline, email pen pals etc, to alert them to this
situation.
3. Contact various Internet websites such as Spamcop.com and protest their
involvement in stopping legitimate emails from reaching their destination.
4. Contact your Opt-In list provider for more details on how you can help fight this.
5. Contact your State Senator and Congressman.
6. Purchase only lists from sellers who can guarantee that your list is Opt-In
and will assist you when and if you have a Spam complaint lodged against you.
7. Put everyone that you want to receive emails from in your address book, this will,
in most cases, ensure your email delivery.
Article III
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Wrongly Accused of Spam - What to Do
by Kevin Nunley
Sometimes people are mistakenly accused of sending unsolicited email. It happens all the time now, and it could happen to you.
Sometimes your ad, link, sales letter, or article may be used by spammers without permission, and unfortunately, you may be regarded guilty by association.
If you are wrongly accused of spamming, here are some things you can do to avoid getting into trouble.
1. Examine all the header information in the spam. If you're not sure what to look for, have an expert do it for you. A spammer may have forged your email address, or someone may have reported it incorrectly.
2. Calmly explain to your accusers and your ISP that were not in any way behind the spam. People tend to be more reasonable when you talk to them on the phone instead of communicating only through email.
3. Make a clear statement against spam on your website. This way, people will know where you stand on the issue before anything happens. This may even help ward off unfounded attacks.
4. Know your rights. A simple accusation of spam shouldn't be enough to get you into real hot water if you know how to defend yourself. Just be sure you get the due process you're entitled to.
5. If necessary and you can afford it, contact a lawyer. Many will give simple advice over the phone at low cost or for free. If you can't afford legal expenses, check the excellent free information at Nolo.com.
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Kevin Nunley provides marketing and copy writing. Read all his
free tips at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at
kevin@drnunley.com or 603-249-9519.
