New Laws in Michigan and Utah

You may or may not have heard about the new laws coming out of Michigan and Utah. Everyone is talking about these laws and what they should do about them... how can they protect themselves, how can they tell if someone under 18 is subscribedto their ezine, or accessing their sites,what to do,what to do.It's an uproar,to be sure. But please do not push the proverbial panic button. Reprinted below is an email from Clarissa 'kiki'Frampton of the Publishers Club. In it you will find links towhere you can read the laws.... and I might add that they are short and easily understandable. Kiki also has reprinted the opinions of two well respected individuals...Bobette Madonna and j.l. scott. She has also provided two disclaimers you can post to your site and in your emails. And just so you know...I also agree with the opinions of both Bobbette and j.l. ... these laws were not meant to protect children.... and what I would like to say here, is better left unsaid.... I will leave the saying to those that are more eloquent than I. Here then is the email.

The "buzz" around the Internet lately is the new lawsfrom Michigan and Utah. In case you have not been made aware of these laws go here to read.

Michigan: http://marketingsherpa.com/usscp/1.html
Utah: marketingsherpa.com/usscp/2.html

Bobbette Madonna of LOGON writes:

If you believe this is all about protecting kids from getting an ad that leads to some porn site, you live in lala land. Kids can find those sites all by themselves. How many casesdo you think it will take for publishers and business owners to quit? How many of those "kids" complaining will be greedy, scamming parents who SET IT UP in the first place? Why don't they exempt the small business owner? The ezine publisher? I'll tell you why. BECAUSE WE OWN AN OPTIN LIST and they want to profit from it, period. This is about big money people making laws and expanding on them over time to rid theInternet of ecommerce so THEY can have it all to themselves. Think about WHO THEY ARE and you have who's doing dirty deed. To read more on this law, go to this site:http://www.isipp.com/

jl Scott of i-Cop has this to say:

It IS about SPAM, no doubt about that. These states are merely hiding behind so-called child protection laws to work around the CAN-SPAM Act. If they were truly concerned about child protection, they wouldn't be putting together lists every child molester and pedophile in the country is gleefully waiting to access. I've read they're going to encrypt the list, access, etc., and I've heard they simply have a fancy process for scrubbing the lists. That's a JOKE, folks, and it ain't funny. Do they REALLY believe some 12-year-old hacker won't break through any thing they do within 30 days?

I should also tell you ... Although the fine legislative folks ofMichigan and Utah seem to believe these laws will not be struck down due to anything in the CAN-SPAM Act, iCop WILL be petitioning for an opinion letter from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stating that these two laws are void on their face, having been superseded by the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.

I respect these fine publishers and agree with both. While I do not feel we should panic I think it may be a good idea to include a disclaimer in your publication. It can be short such as:

PERSONS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE ARE EXCLUDED FROM THIS MAILING! If you are under the age of 18 you must unsubscribe immediately.

Or you may use this disclaimer:

Online Children's Privacy Protection Act. Please be aware that "your publication name" is not designed for, and does not intend for it to be used by, anyone under age 18. Accordingly, this ezine should not be used by anyone under age 18. Our privacy policy prohibits us from accepting users or subscribers who are under the age of 18.

Should "your publication name" inadvertently acquire personal information or other data from users under the age of 18, we will not knowingly provide this data to any third party for any purpose whatsoever, and any subsequent disclosure would be due to the fact the user underage of 18 submitted personal information without solicitation by or permission from "your publication name".

Even tho these disclaimers will not protect you 100% you have stated that children are not to view your mailings or website. If you have a links page and accept third party links check to make sure you do not have links to:

Tobacco
Alcohol
Gambling
Prescription Drugs
Illegal Drugs
Adult Content
Guns/Knives/Weapons
Lotteries
Sweepstakes

You can subscribe to LOGON ezine http://logonnewzine.com or emailBobbette mailto:publisher@logonnewzine.com To join i-Cop visithttp://www.i-cop.org or email jlScott mailto:jlscott@i-Cop.org To view all disclaimers used by Start-Smartz please visit: http://www.start-smartz.com/ss_signup.htm and scroll down to theTerms of Service and Disclaimer section

Let's stick together as publishers... we are not doing anything wrong and we all provide a great service to our loyal readers. Clarissa & Gloria ThePublishersClub

Reprinted from AplusBiz Marketing Journal by permission.

Time for a bit of Humor!

Error - You have spent too much time on the net

The page you are looking for is currently unavailable because you have overloaded the Internet. You may need to take a break from the web. Please go outside and play.

Please try the following: Turn off your computer and do something creative. If the world wide web is all that you know, try calling 1-800-web-help and speak to a friendly Web help anonymous representative. Contact your (LAN) administrator or Internet service provider (ISP) to disconnect you. If your Network Administrator has enabled it, your system can examine your network and automatically disconnect you or at least shut this page down by clicking here. Click the Help menu and then search for topics about abusing the internet or use Google. If you are in desperate trouble, we can lock your computer up, forcing you to leave your computer desk. This is not advisable and should be considered as a last resort only. - No, not really. We are just kidding If you think that this page has reached you in error you may complete one of the following: Refer someone who needs help to this page Start your internet search over at thecenter2000.com Click the Back button to try another link. Ignore this page Overloaded web or DNS Error Internet Explorer, WEB-TV or maybe Netscape, who cares?

---

6 "Life or Death" Factors For Any Website!

6 "Life or Death" Factors For Any Website!
- by Jim Edwards
http://www.thenetreporter.com/
(c) Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved

=====================================

Not a week goes by that half a dozen people don't ask mewhat separates a great, money-making website from a bad one. In response, I surveyed of a number of different websites, large and small, to find what they share in common to make them so successful. With few exceptions, every extraordinarily great website contained the following elements.

** Testimonials **

Every great website has testimonials from satisfied customers. These testimonials help set the potential customer's mind at ease that the products or services soldonline will perform as promised.

Truly great testimonials not only endorse the product, butclearly state how the product increased sales, saved money, or benefited previous buyers in very specific and tangible ways. Testimonials should present real benefits others can readily identify with, understand and, more importantly, want those same results for themselves!

** Headlines **

Headlines capture visitors' attention and get them involved in the website. How do you read the newspaper? If you read like most people the headlines first catch your attention and determine whether you'll actually read a story.Similarly headlines on a website determine whether visitors get involved in the information or surf away never to return.

My own experience has shown that the proper headlines caneasily and quickly double, triple, or even quadruple a website's sales almost overnight.

** Bullets **

Bullets communicate various and subtle bits of information about a product or service without making readers plow through paragraphs of information to get to the meat of a website's offering. Bullets arouse interest, build excitement, and convey a lot of information very quickly to time-starved web surfers.

** Bonuses **

Every great website offers bonuses to people who buy, apply or fill out a form. Nothing induces someone to do business with you online like offering them something extra for taking the action you want. Offering a bonus report, tape, extended membership, extra quantities of product at a deep discount, coupons, or just about anything makes people more willing to go ahead with the purchase decision.

** Guarantees **

Everyone takes a risk whenever they buy anything from anyone. The risk centers on whether or not the product or service will perform as promised. In a retail store most people feel pretty confident the store will still exist if they need to make a return or exchange in a few days. On the web, however, that risk in making a purchase seems much higher than in the "offline" world.
Every great website makes a point of specifically telling customers about their return policy and truly exceptionalsites offer 100%, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantees. People rarely take advantage of such guarantees and I have personally seen a website's sales increase by 45% just by extending the guarantee period an additional 30 days.

** Phone numbers **

Every great website has a phone number with a real live human being on the other end who can answer questions and provide product support.

So there you have it! With few exceptions this represents the formula for creating or identifying a truly great website.
===============================================
Jim Edwards is the co-author of the NEW"eBook Secrets Exposed": How to Make MASSIVE Amounts of Money - In Record Time - With Your Own eBook! WHY are some people getting positively RICH selling ebooks? Click Here Now ==> http://hop.clickbank.net/?msmom663/ebksecrets

DMA: FTC Seeks Progress on Authentication

NEW YORK -- Slow adoption of authentication standards by the e-mail industry once had some folks at the Federal Trade Commission worried. As recently as six months ago, the Direct Marketing Association heard murmurs from FTC officials who were concerned that little was happening on the authentication front, said Jerry Cerasale, senior vice president of government affairs at the DMA, who spoke at yesterday's E-mail Authentication Implementation Summit 2005.

"They started to get very nervous that the industry was not picking up the ball and running with authentication," Cerasale said. "They're ecstatic that we're having this conference."
The DMA and FTC have put their support behind e-mail authentication as the best hope to combat spam and e-mail fraud. The DMA has opposed proposals for creating a national do-not-e-mail list, and the FTC has advised Congress against such a list.

Any solution to spam must be affordable to marketers to be effective, Cerasale said. If it's too expensive, it won't be adopted by the bulk of the industry.

Cerasale also addressed proposals by a few states to create children's do-not-e-mail lists. The FTC has come down against such lists because of the danger of a security breach. Currently, the DMA considers state anti-spam laws to be preempted by the CAN-SPAM Act, but that could be tested in court in the future, Cerasale said.

Scott Hovanyetz covers telemarketing, production and printing and direct response TV marketing for DM News and DMNews.com. To keep up with the latest developments in these areas, subscribe to our daily and weekly e-mail newsletters by visiting www.dmnews.com/newsletters

Article - How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover

How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover
By Adam Urbanski

Are you on track for hitting all your business goals for the year? A quick check-up of your promotional efforts can reveal "week spots" and help identify what needs tweaking to give your business a healthy boost in the next few months. Here are five key areas to focus on with your mid-year marketing makeover.

1. Clarify Your Objectives (some prefer to call it goals)

Are you clear on where want to end up? If you are thinking this has nothing to do with marketing – think again! You cannot design and implement effective strategies unless you know exactly what you want to accomplish.

If you are looking for a magic formula to give your business a boost here is a tip: there is nothing more powerful than writing down your objectives. Your ability to language and clearly articulate what you want to achieve exponentially increases your chances of getting it!

2. Makeover Your Business Model.

Many of my clients “paint themselves into a limited-income corner” by structuring their business in a wrong way. No matter how hard they work and try, they can’t seem to be able to make more money and just end up being more frustrated.

Take Debra for example (not her real name). She is a successful small business consultant. Her well developed lead generating process attracts enough clients to actually make them wait a few weeks before she can start working with them. But she still makes only half the money she wants to make. Let me explain...

You see, Debra’s business model is to deliver her services using one on one engagements and she can only handle about 15 clients at a time. With her average monthly client value approaching $1,500 she’s right on target to make just over $250,000.00 this year. But she wants to m@ke $500,000.00 – can you see the problem?
Chances are in some way, you might have a similar challenge – your current business model is incapable of producing the results you want.

What’s the solution? Here are a few ideas:

* Diversify your product/service offering. Analyze the needs of your clients and look for new ways to serve them. (Hint: you do not have to deliver all the solutions yourself – instead form strategic alliances).

* Find new ways to work with clients. If you work with people one on one start offering group programs. Develop tele-seminars or live workshops. You’ll actually be able to attract more clients and exponentially increase your earnings.

* Multiply yourself. Chances are if you have a successful service business – you are following a proven process. Bring in others who can be trained in facilitating the delivery of your process to clients who are not willing to pay your rate – but will settle for working with your associate at a discounted rate.

* Develop info products. There is no better way to leverage your knowledge than turning it into passive streams of revenue. If you are not regularly putting out new products – you are missing out on a huge opportunity to boost your income.

3. Makeover Your Lead Generating Systems.

How many ways are you generating new leads? Do you have at least three to five lead generating vehicles that are consistent and automated?

Too many businesses don’t understand the lead generating process and depend on vague methods of getting new clients – like “word of mouth” and “networking”. No having structured and easy to duplicate system to attract attention and turn it into sales is a sure pathway to a total disaster.

* If you need clients fast – consider direct mail, fax broadcasting, narrowly focused direct-response advertising, strategic alliances, ask your current clients for referrals and – don’t forget the big one – reactivate your past clients!* To ensure long term positioning and visibility in your market place focus on publicity, getting speaking engagements, and writing and publishing articles.

4. Makeover Your Follow-Up.

Are you keeping in touch with your clients and prospects? Do you have a way to automatically connect with them at least monthly? If not – you are only getting about 20% of the m0ney you could be making!

Most people give up following up after just three attempts. Most prospects don’t make a buying decision until they’ve been exposed to your marketing message at least five times? See a problem here?

* If you are not doing it yet, start an online or offline newsletter. Create a monthly postcard program. Regularly send out information you come across that your audience would benefit from.

* Use technology to automate your follow-up. Online use sequential autoresponders that can be put on total auto-pilot. Offline use fax and voice broadcasting technology to leverage your time and connect with people quickly, meaningfully and affordably.

5. Makeover Your Marketing Assets.

We all have a limited amount of time, and if you are spending it all working with clients you are not creating long-term leverage. Schedule time every week to create marketing assets that work for you.

* Invest in your own knowledge: read more books, attend high-end training programs, purchase home-study courses, hire mentors to help you gain greater proficiency. Become a perpetual learner and always look for ways to transfer or implement your knowledge quickly.

* Continually build your credibility and positioning: ask all clients for testimonials, develop new talks on your subject of expertise, create information products.

* Give your marketing materials (like business cards, websites and brochures) a quick look-over. Are they consistently communicating the right marketing message? Are they written in a lively, persuasive and client-relevant language or are you still insisting on telling your prospects your company’s history, vision and mission statement thinking they actually care?

* Develop tools and systems: create checklists to make routine tasks easier to delegate, implement an extra follow-up step that can be automated or outsourced, record your talks and teleseminars and turn them into Attraction Tools.

Finally, keep this in mind: these are all simple things but combined they can make or break your business. So while others are preoccupied planning their summer vacation, I suggest you get busy giving your business a marketing makeover.

(c) 2005 Adam M. Urbanski

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Urbanski, the Marketing Mentor, helps Independent Service Professionals and Small Business Owners attract more clients. For more promotional tips and a FREE 32-page marketing guide go to http://www.themarketingmentors.com/

Article - A Forgotten Marketing Tool

A Forgotten Marketing Tool - The Postcardby Sue DeFiore
Home Business Solutions
http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com/

The postcard can be a very powerful marketing tool. Many of our customers and/or students use them in their business. The key is to set up the card to market effectively for you.

Concentrate on a specific item or niche.

When used correctly a post card can become very powerful marketing tool. Be sure the front of your card is explicit. It should be clear to your customer what you are selling. A color postcard is a must, unless you are using black and white to your advantage, that is, to make a point.

The front should motivate your customer to turn it around and see what you are offering or what you can do for them.

The back of your card should make your points in a clear and concise manner. After this is done be sure to give your customer a number of ways to contact you: by phone, by email, by snail mail. If you have a website be sure you mention it here.

Remember you need to take a limited amount of space and address the main concerns that your customers have or to delineate what you are selling and its advantages. Give your customers reasons to contact you. For example, you have a solution to their problems, and remember make it easy for them to contact you.

Address their concerns rather than tooting your own horn, you can do that in your follow-up. Your postcard is not the place to discuss you, but what you have to offer to your customer, or how you can help your customer. You need to have a unique selling point (USP).

You can expand the limited amount of space on post cards by using certain fonts and typefaces. Just be sure that they are readable to everyone. Remember, people over 40 start having a hard time seeing all that tiny print.

So start making post cards a part of your marketing campaign. You can also use them to announce a seminar, extend an invitation to your new website, make an announcement (new product, new store location), etc. I am sure if you brainstorm you can think of a myriad of ways you can use postcards.

Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises

---Interested in having your own successful, home based creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have been helping folks start successful home based businesses for over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit http://www.homebusinesssolutions.com/ for the latest FREE tips and tricks, educational products and coaching in creative real estate investing and home based businesses. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to our "how to" Home Business Solutions Digest, it's like having your own personal coach. Visit http://www.hbsdigest.com/ to start today.

Article - How Important is Your Marketing?

How Important Is Your Marketing?
by Charlie Cook
Marketing for Success
http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/

Bob called last week from Phoenix, Arizona with some stunning news about his web site. He first contacted me in the fall of 2003. He had a web site that was helping him generate a healthy income but he sensed he could be doing even better. He wanted to get more visitors to his web site and get more of them to contact him about his retail liquidation services.

Are you interested in getting more prospects to your web site and prompting more of them to contact you?

Over the two months I worked with Bob to help him clearly define his target market, identify the problem he solves, and clarify his marketing message. We improved the copy on his web site and the structure of his web pages to prompt more people to contact him. I showed him how to write articles and use them to generate a steady stream of visitors to his site.

Bob was happy with the results of these changes, but I wasn't. He was getting more visitors to his site and more inquiries, but I thought there was potential for even more growth. I knew that Bob could be doing better if he would just change his marketing message. Despite my best efforts to persuade, cajole and prompt him to rethink how he talked about what he did, Bob was happy with his existing marketing message.

Prior to working with me, Bob had spent ten years regularly experimenting with his marketing message and had found a sentence that generated the best response he'd ever had. It was working; he was keeping busy, making money and didn't want to mess with success.

We finished our work together almost a year ago, so I was surprised when Bob called last week. It turns out that he hadn't stopped experimenting. He had taken my advice to heart after all and been fine-tuning his marketing message so that it described the problem he solves for his clients clearly and concisely.

With this new marketing message at the top of his web page, Bob is getting 3 times the number of inquiries about his services. That's 300% more people who know the problem he solves and who are contacting him about his services.

How much more could you be making if you had 3 times as many people contact you about your products and services?

When your prospects are considering a purchase, they are looking to solve a problem. They might want to eliminate back pain, fund their child's college tuition, sell off their excess inventory quickly so they have more operating cash on hand, as in Bob's case. In every case your prospect has a problem or need that prompted their purchase.
Your prospects are hoping you can help them. They're hoping you have the solution to making them happier, smarter and richer. They are buying the result you provide.

When a prospect meets you or visits your web site, the first item they should see is a statement of the problem you solve. Your prospects then immediately know whether you can help them.

Why is your marketing message - your elevator speech - and the way you talk about what you do so important?

At ten to twelve words long, your marketing message won't cover all the problems you solve, establish your credibility or the value you provide. But if the first thing you say to a prospect doesn't get their attention, they won't stay at your web site, read the rest of your marketing materials or listen to the rest of what you have to say.

Bob spent over a decade experimenting to find a marketing message that helped him generate a steady income and then in a few months discovered he could improve on it by three hundred percent. Don't wait ten years to do the same with your marketing. Write, test and use a problem solving marketing message and more people will contact you about your products and services.

2005 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights reserved.
---The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the Free Marketing Strategy eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at http://www.marketingforsuccess.com/