Sewhaa

Email Deliverability Tips

Posted by Tom Kulzer (AWeber CEO)

Ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to subscriber inboxes is an increasingly difficult battle in the age of spam filtering. Open and click thru response rates can be dramatically affected by as much as 20-30% due to incorrect spam filter classification.

Permission

Confirming that the people who ask for your information have actually requested to be on your list is the number one step in the battle for deliverability. You should be using a process called confirmed opt-in or verified opt-in to send a unique link to the attempted subscriber when they request information. Before adding the person to your list they must click that unique link verifying that they are indeed the same person that owns the email address and requested to subscribe.

Subscriber Addresses

When requesting website visitors to opt-in ask for their “real” or “primary” email address instead of a free email address like Yahoo or Hotmail. Free emails tend to be throw away accounts and typically have a shorter lifetime than a primary ISP address.

List Maintenance

Always promptly remove undeliverable addresses that bounce when sending email to them. An address that bounces with a permanent error 2-3 times in a 30 day period should be removed from the list. ISP’s track what percentage of your newsletters bounce and will block them if you attempt to continually deliver messages to closed subscriber mailboxes.

Message Format

Usage of HTML messages to allow for text formatting, multiple columns, images, and brand recognition is growing in popularity and is widely supported by most email client software. Most spam is also HTML formatted and thus differentiating between requested email and spam HTML messages can be difficult. A 2004 study by AWeber .com shows that plain text messages are undeliverable 1.15% of the time and HTML only messages were undeliverable 2.3%. If sending HTML it is important to always send a plain text alternative message, also called text/HTML multi-part mime format.

Content

Many ISP’s filter based on the content that appears within the message text.

Website URL:

Research potential newsletter advertisers before allowing them to place ads in your newsletter issues. If they have used their website URL to send spam, just having their URL appear in your newsletter could cause the entire message to be filtered.

Words/phrases:

Choose your language carefully when crafting messages. Avoid hot button topics often found in spam such as medication, mortgages, making money, and pornography. If you do need to use words that might be filtered, don’t attempt to obfuscate words with extra characters or odd spelling, you’ll just make your messages appear more spam like.

Images:

Avoid creating messages that are entirely images. Use images sparingly, if at all. Commonly used open rate tracking technology uses images to calculate opens. You may choose to disable open rate tracking to avoid being filtered based on image content.

Attachments:

With viruses running rampant and spreading thru the usage of malicious email attachments many users are wary of attached documents. It’s often better to link to files via a website URL to reduce recipient fear of attachments and reduce the overall message size.

 

CAN-SPAM Compliance

The January 2004 Federal CAN-SPAM law introduced a number of rules regarding the delivery of email. It’s important you have your legal counsel review your practices and ensure you are in compliance. The two most important rules include having a valid postal mail address listed in all commercial messages and a working unsubscribe link that is promptly honored to remove the subscriber from future messages.

Reputation

Reputation services are often used by large ISP’s as a way to vet email senders regarding their email practices and policies. Businesses listed with these services are then given less stringent filtering or no filtering at all. Several reputation services are:

• http://www.isipp.com/iadb.php

  http://www.bondedsender.com

• http://www.habeas.com

Relationships & Whitelisting

Contact with major ISP’s and email providers is essential in letting them know about your requested subscriber email. Many large providers such as AOL and Yahoo have specific whitelisting programs and postmaster website areas to ensure your email is delivered as long as you meet their policies and procedures in handling your opt-in list.

Email deliverability is about ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to the intended recipient. While no single tip will enable you to get 100% of your email delivered each one utilized as a group can go a long way to reaching that goal.

I am happy to see that Jamaica and Jamaicans have responded and still continues to respond to the crisis now present in Haiti. The Government has shown leadership in that it was one of the first to visit and have meetings with the heads of state in Haiti. When you walk the streets of Jamaica you do not have to look far to see people making donations at the many drop off points all across the country.

Both cooperate Jamaica and the public at large is joining hands and hearts to assist to many thousands that have being affected by this devastating earthquake.

It is encouraging to think that a people going through their own times of harsh economic conditions can find in their hearts to respond without second thought about how they will cope when they give the little they have. No wonder we are such a blessed nation.

To all the Jamaicans overseas, you can feel proud of your little island JAMAICA "Land of wood and water" and now obvious "love"

O'neil

I am kinda wondering how South Africa will do in the upcoming world cup. If they are unable to score against Jamaica "The Reggae Boys" who are currently ranked 69th in the football rankings. I truly believe that they will not advance in the games. What do do think? They both played today and the game ended nill all. World Cup hosts South Africa made it more than six hours without finding the net when they were held to a goalless draw by Jamaica in a friendly on Tuesday

85% say abortion is morally wrong - In Jamaica

Most adult Jamaicans polled on the controversial issue of abortion said they agree that the practice is morally wrong, a survey conducted by Don Anderson has found.

According to the poll, when respondents were asked to state the extent of their agreement with the statement 'Abortion is morally wrong', 73 per cent said they strongly agreed, 12 per cent said they agreed somewhat, while nine per cent strongly disagreed and six per cent said they disagreed somewhat.

"The general consensus was that abortion was morally wrong," said the pollster. "Eighty-five per cent of all persons interviewed expressed this view.

"This suggests that this view was consistently held across all the various demographic groups, virtually to the same extent," he added.

The poll, commissioned by the Mustard Seed Communities - a member of the Ecumenical Pro-life Council - was conducted between June 4 and June 10 among 535 persons between the ages of 18 and 65 years.

According to Anderson, the poll has a margin of error of "plus or minus 4.5 per cent at the 95 per cent confidence level".

Mustard Seed commissioned the poll to encourage public discussion on the controversial issue ahead of a parliamentary debate likely to take place this year.

"A significant number of studies have been done, particularly in more developed markets, to guide the development of legislation in this regard," said Anderson, in giving a background to the survey. "In Jamaica, the debate has perhaps not been as intense, but the concerns no less.

"Parliament is likely to vote this year on this issue of legalising abortion. Such a decision, it is felt, should be informed by scientifically-gathered data."

A Joint Select Committee of Parliament has been contemplating the report of the Abortion Policy Review Advisory Group (APRAG) established in 2005 by former health minister John Junor with the aim of reducing what was said to be the high rate of maternal mortality in Jamaica.

But APRAG's recommendation that abortions be legalised has drawn fire from pro-life groups who argue that it is contrary to the law of God and militates against deeply-held values in Jamaica.

Wednesday: Are the media and the state sufficiently concerned about morality in sexual matters?

Source: The Jamaica Observer

Money management Tips

Money management Tips

 

Step 1: Make The Conscious Decision to

Achieve Your Financial Independence

 

The first step is to make a conscious decision to become more financially responsible by examining exactly what is coming in (i.e, what are you earning) versus what is going out (i.e, how you spend your money). Are you spending needlessly? The journey towards achieving financial independence begins by taking small steps. The changes that we implement do not have to be dramatic. Something as simple as taking lunch to work as opposed to buying it every day, or carpooling with a neighbor as opposed to driving solo will help make a difference.

 

Step 2: Monitor Your Investments

 

Make certain to keep up to date with what is happening in the market. This may seem daunting at first, but does not have to be.

 

Most of the newspapers and online magazines provide excellent and, perhaps even more important, quick snapshots of the market. Additionally, most financial institutions now provide the capabilities to view your account online.

 

Start spending and saving wisely.

 

Source: The Gleaner, dated Monday, September 14^th, 2009.

 

 

Spam: Where it Came From, and How to Escape It

Spam: Where it Came From, and How to Escape It

Posted by Tom Kulzer (AWeber CEO)

In 1936, long before the rise of the personal computer, Hormel Foods created SPAM. In 2002, the company will produce it’s six billionth can of the processed food product. But that mark was passed long ago in the world of Internet spam.

• Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)
• Why Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?
• Stop The Flood to Your Inbox
• Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future
• Think You’re Not a Spammer? Be Sure.
• The Final Blow

Who Cooked This!? (How did it all start?)

The modern meaning of the word “spam” has nothing to do with spiced ham. In the early 1990’s, a skit by British comedy group Monty Python led to the word’s common usage. “The SPAM Skit” follows a couple struggling to order dinner from a menu consisting entirely of Hormel’s canned ham.

Repetition is key to the skit’s hilarity. The actors cram the word “SPAM” into the 2.5 minute skit more than 104 times! This flood prompted Usenet readers to call unwanted newsgroup postings “spam.” The name stuck.

Spammers soon focused on e-mail, and the terminology moved with them. Today, the word has come out of technical obscurity. Now, “spam” is the common term for “Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail”, or “UCE.”

Why Does Bad Spam Happen to Good People?

Chances are, you’ve been spammed before. Somehow, your e-mail address has found it’s way into the hands of a spammer, and your inbox is suffering the consequences. How does this happen? There are several possibilities.

Backstabbing Businesses
Businesses often keep lists of their customers’ e-mail addresses. This is a completely legitimate practice and, usually, nothing bad comes of it. Sometimes though, the temptation to make a quick buck is too great, and these lists are sold or rented to outside advertisers. The result? A lot of unsolicited e-mail, and a serious breach of trust.

Random Address Generation

Computer programs called random address generators simply “guess” e-mail addresses. Over 100 million hotmail addresses exist – how hard could it be to guess some of them? Unfortunately for many unsuspecting netizens – not too hard. Many spammers also guess at

“standard” addresses, like “support@yourdomain.com”,

“info@yourdomain.com”, and “billing@yourdomain.com.”

Web Spiders

Today’s most insidious list-gathering tools are web spiders. All of the major search engines spider the web, saving information about each page. Spammers use tools that also spider the web, but save any e-mail address they come across. Your personal web page lists your e-mail address? Prepare for an onslaught!

Chat Room Harvesting

ISP’s offer vastly popular chat rooms where users are known only by their screen names. Of course, spammers know that your screen name is the first part of your e-mail address. Why waste time guessing e-mail addresses when a few hours of lurking in a chat room can net a list of actively-used addresses?

The Poor Man’s Bad Marketing Idea

It didn’t work for the phone companies, and it won’t work for e-mail marketers. But, some spammers still keep their own friends-and-family-style e-mail lists. Compiled from the addresses of other known spammers, and people or businesses that the owner has come across in the past, these lists are still illegitimate. Why? Only you can give someone permission to send you e-mail. A friend-of-a-friend’s permission won’t cut it.

Stop The Flood to Your Inbox

Already drowning in spam? Try using your e-mail client’s filters – many provide a way to block specific e-mail addresses. Each time you’re spammed, block the sender’s address. Spammers skip from address to address, and you may be on many lists, but this method will at least slow the flow.

Also, use more than one e-mail address, and keep one “clean.” Many netizens find that this technique turns the spam flood into a trickle. Use one address for only spam-safe activities like e-mailing your friends, or signing on with trustworthy businesses. Never use your clean address on the web! Get a free address to use on the web and in chat rooms.

If nothing else helps, consider changing screen names, or opening an entirely new e-mail account. When you do, you’ll start with a clean, spam-free slate. This time, protect your e-mail address!

Stay Off Spammed Lists in the Future

Want to surf the web without getting sucked into the spam-flood? Prevention is your best policy. Don’t use an easy-to-guess e-mail address. Keep your address clean by not using it for spam-centric activities. Don’t post it on any web pages, and don’t use it in chat rooms or newsgroups.

Before giving your clean e-mail address to a business, check the company out. Are sections of its user agreement dedicated to anti-spam rules? Does a privacy policy explain exactly what will be done with your address? The most considerate companies also post an anti-spam policy written in plain English, so you can be absolutely sure of what you’re getting into.

Think You’re Not a Spammer? Be Sure.

Many a first-time marketer has inadvertently spammed his audience. The first several hundred complaints and some nasty phone messages usually stop him in his tracks. But by then, the spammer may be faced with cleanup bills from his ISP, and a bad reputation that it’s not easy to overcome.

The best way to avoid this situation is to have a clear understanding of what spam is: If anyone who receives your mass e-mails did not specifically ask to hear from you, then you are spamming them.

Stick with your gut. Don’t buy a million addresses for $10, no matter how much the seller swears by them! If something sounds fishy, just say no. You’ll save yourself a lot in the end.

The Final Blow

The online world is turning the tide on spam. In the end, people will stop sending spam because it stops working. Do your part: never buy from a spammer. When your business seeks out technology companies with which to work, only choose those with a staunch anti-spam stance.

Spam has a long history in both the food and e-mail sectors. This year, Hormel Foods opened a real-world museum dedicated to SPAM. While the museum does feature the Monty Python SPAM Skit, there’s no word yet on an unsolicited commercial e-mail exhibit. But, if all upstanding netizens work together, Hormel’s ham in a can will far outlive the Internet plague that is UCE.

Jamaican-Usain Bolt gets piece of Berlin Wall - huge piece

Usain Bolt gets piece of Berlin Wall - huge piece

The Canadian Press

Posted Sunday, August 23, 2009 11:05 AM ET

 

Berlin - Usain Bolt was honoured by the city of Berlin by receiving an original segment of the Berlin Wall - nearly three tons of it.

The Jamaican sprinter, who broke world records in the 100 and 200 metres, was presented with the piece of wall at a small ceremony Sunday, the final day of the world championships.

The 12-foot high section will be delivered to Bolt's training camp in Jamaica.

The piece of the wall, which divided communist East Berlin from West Berlin between 1961 and 1989, is decorated with a life-size painting of Bolt running on the blue track of the Olympic stadium and the words ``NEW WR'' - new world record.

Bolt set a world record in the 100 at 9.58 seconds and 19.19 in the 200.

"I will never forget Berlin,'' Bolt said at the ceremony. "Ich bin ein Berlino.''

The bear mascot of the championships is called Berlino, while the phrase "ich bin ein Berliner'' was used by former U.S. President John F. Kennedy during a visit to West Berlin.

Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit said Bolt had shown that ``one can tear down walls that had been considered as insurmountable.''

The Berlin Wall came down in 1989, as communism was collapsing in Eastern Europe.

Usain Bolt To The World

I must as a Jamaican say that I am quite overwhelmed with joy for the way that our athletes have been representing us at the world championships. While our hearts reach out with rejoicing to all our athletes, we must give extra credit to “the world’s fastest man ever” Usain Bolt.

 

All Jamaica stood still expecting the gold but never expecting to see the world record smashed in such a way. We are all left though to wonder can he go any faster? What do you think?

http://www.usainbolt.co.uk/usain-bolt-100m-video-world-record-9-58/

 

Truly sensational, all Jamaica is proud of all our athletes. To the world from the land of wood and water.

ClickBank Stands by Affiliate Masters

ClickBank Stands by Affiliate Marketers Despite New Tax Laws BROOMFIELD, Colo.- August 10, 2009 - ClickBank officials will continue to work with affiliate marketers in states that are enacting new laws to tax the marketers' sales, while Amazon and Overstock.com, among others, have been moving swiftly to halt their business relationships with affiliate marketers in various states because of the new tax implications. In late June, Amazon terminated its marketing affiliate program in North Carolina after a new law took effect that will tax affiliate sales, and on July 1, Overstock.com notified affiliates in Hawaii, North Carolina and Rhode Island that it would immediately cease doing business with them because of similar new tax laws. But ClickBank, a major online retailer, says it has no intention of terminating relationships with affiliates in certain locations or discontinuing its longstanding policy of collecting and remitting taxes to the appropriate tax authorities in various domestic and international jurisdictions. "We will continue to honor sales agreements with affiliates in the U.S. and abroad, despite new taxes that are being levied against them for sales and marketing efforts," said Dush Ramachandran, vice president of sales, marketing and business development for ClickBank. "One of the benefits of being a ClickBank affiliate is that you can operate wherever you live," said Ramachandran. "We don't want to place limits on that now. Our affiliates deserve the opportunity to earn income regardless of where they live, and ClickBank will continue to support them in their efforts to do so." New state tax laws aim to collect sales tax revenues from affiliates whose marketing activities lead to ecommerce sales. The key issue is whether the affiliates have a physical presence in a state that taxes ecommerce activities. The state of New York was the first to enact such tax laws, and more states are following suit.
	© 2009 ClickBank | Privacy Policy | ClickBank Home

Affiliates, Are You Tweeting?‏

	AWeber Affiliate Newsletter May. 21, 2009 In This Issue: Affiliates, Are You Tweeting? Spotlight on - Alexandria Brown Affiliate Tip - New AWeber Banners Ads Did You Know - AWeber Video Tutorials Affiliate Education - Pay Per Click Advertising Affiliates, Are You Tweeting? Lately, it seems that the world has been tweeting about everything under the sun.  A lot of affiliates are not aware that Twitter can actually help grow your affiliate campaign and gain you more marketing exposure. Learn How! AWeber Affiliate Spotlight: Alexandria Brown Internet marketing "Ezine Queen" and CEO of Alexandria Brown International Inc., Alexandria (or Ali) Brown has been a source of inspiration for marketers across the globe. Ali has many resources for her readers and subscribers. One I'd like to share with you is called 7 Formulas for Writing Articles That Get Read! Read Ali's Article Affiliate Tip: New AWeber Banner Ads! In order to add some color to your affiliate campaigns, AWeber has added some great new affiliate banners. The new designs will help you promote AWeber even more effectively! Lets Take a Look at Them!   Did You Know: AWeber's video tutorials are second to none.  We thoroughly educate our customers so they are more prepared to succeed.  You should familiarize yourself with our video tutorials and how they can help your customers. Learn How   Affiliate Education - Pay Per Click Advertising. No affiliate campaign is complete without a solid foundation in Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC). Check out these resources to gain more information on PPC and how use it to make your affiliate campaign a success. PPC Super Affiliate Strategies Gain Instant Exposure With Search Advertising 5 Steps to Pay Per Click Advertising That Works Google Adwords For Dummies I hope you find these resources useful. They will help you grow as an AWeber affiliate and give you some great tricks of the trade. As always, if you have any questions about your affiliate account, please contact us. We would be more than happy to help you. Like this? Share it! Did someone send you this email?  Would you like to join our affiliate program? You can join now and start earning today! Happy Marketing! Best Regards, Ron Givens Affiliate Manager AWeber Communications 877-AWEBER-1 Ext. 731 RonG@aweber.com			Your Account     Blog     Webinars     Videos     Knowledge Base     Contact Us     Unsubscribe     Affiliate Fact:   The new changes to the AWeber affiliate program have taken place.  Commission boost plus more!  Contact Us   We're here to help!   Email Customer Support   Hours 8AM - 8PM ET Mon-Fri 9AM - 5PM Sat   Toll Free Phone 1-877-AWEBER-1   International Phone +1 215-825-2196   Your Affiliate ID 219425   Your Affiliate URL aweber.com/?219425   Don't want to be an affiliate anymore? contact us with your affiliate ID and password. Want to be an affiliate, but don't want these emails? Unsubscribe here.
Login Videos FAQ Webinars Blog Contact Us   AWeber Communications, Inc. 2865 S. Eagle Rd. #338, Newtown, PA 18940  Copyright © 2008 AWeber Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.