December Email

Do you ever get overwhelmed?

Well, I do and here's one of the reasons...
December online offers!

During the month of December just about everyone
with an online business is offering a free gift or a
super sale. And I mean everyone: big corporations
like Hickory Farms and Home Depot and online marketers
like Shawn Casey and Rosalind Gardner. And yes, even
I am doing it too.

Now I won't go into the reasons we are all doing this
since it is obvious. I'll just admit that it does get
overwhelming at times even for those who are doing it.

Why am I breaking some unwritten law and admitting this?

Last Friday I had some updates I wanted to share with you
but didn't get it out because I spent all day looking and
reading all the great offers coming into my mailbox. The
result of my effort was as they say ... zip, zilch, nada.
I didn't find the "golden fleece", didn't find the gift no one
could live without and didn't find a single piece of advice
that would improve my life.

Then on Saturday I figured better late than never so I
was going to send out my updates but I didn't. Not
because I was busy reading my email but because of
the number of emails I received. I wasn't busy reading
email ... I was sitting and staring in awe at the number
I had received overnight. I figure you woke up to a ton
of email on Saturday too.

With all that email going out to be read on Saturday
and Sunday I then decided to wait until you had a chance
to clean out your inbox before sending out my updates.

So what's the point of this article? I haven't got a clue.

It's just my way of venting about the number of emails
being sent this month.

Don't Forget To Clean Out Your Inbox,
Susan

PS - I have a separate mailbox for your important mail so
feel free to write even during this hectic month because
hearing from you is one of the highlights of my day.

I won't post my email address here but you can find it
at: http://www.friendswhocare.us/thisweek.htm

Susan

Happy Holidays

Christmas is the time of giving and you can really pick up some
great free gifts being offered this year by many online publishers.

I won't mention all the sites currently offering free holiday gifts
since I don't know all of them but will share with you the ones I
have joined.

http://www.EZasMagic.com/Cheers

http://familyfunforyou.info/holidaygreeting.php

I just finished downloading the 3 free holiday e-books from
http://familyfunforyou.info/holidaygreeting.php
and must tell you they are great. No selling of products, no
advice to help you make money, just some things for you
to enjoy during this season.

So check out both sites because I'm sure you'll find something
that will catch your interest.

Happy Holidays,
Susan

It's Less Than 3 Weeks Till Christmas

It's December 5th and that means that Christmas is less than 3 weeks away.

When we lived in the Denver area it was easy to find ways to help
kids that were less fortunate as ours. In every mall and outside
almost every grocery store you could either find the Salvation
Army Giving Trees or Bell Ringers. The Toys for Tots campaign
was big too and was easy to find the locations to make your
donations. And in a lot of the smaller suburbs like ours the police
departments set up workshops to collect and even fix toys for kids.

Now we live a very small community and it's not so easy. The 2
grocery stores in town have no Bell Ringers or Giving Tree and
there is no mall. No one advertises Toys for Tots. But, the
churches do try to work together to help as many as possible in
this small community. They advertise and collect for the local
organization that assists less fortunate families. And for this I am
very thankful.

Christmas is a time of giving. So while you are out doing all your
very important shopping, remember that there are children who
live in a home where Christmas is just another day of the week
unless someone takes a moment out of their busy life to make it
special.

Please be that special person to a child this year. Add to your
list of gifts a special present for someone by either adopting a
person on a Giving Tree or making a donation to the Toys for
Tots or your local community organization.

Putting a smile on a child's face is one of the best gifts you
can receive this year.

This year I am again proud to be a partner with the official
U.S. Marines "Toys for Tots" program in The 4th Annual
Interne Toy Drive.
Click to find out more and help a needy child in YOUR community right now!

To Your Success,
Susan

PS - There will also be many organizations asking for donations
for food and clothing. I ask you to not make a choice of a toy or
food or warm clothing. Please help in as many ways as you can.
If you have kids you can donate their outgrown coats and gloves
to help keep another child warm. If you give up getting yourself
an afternoon snack once or twice you would have more than
enough to get some mac and cheese or canned vegetables.
Warm clothing and food may be taken for granted by many
of us but for others they are not. So please help.

And then remember to give yourself a special present by
giving a child you don't know a toy.

Here's a Fun Site

On Thanksgiving Joe sent me a fun email and I wanted to
share it with you. Since I won't add your email address to
the site where it came from I will share the link with you
so you can get a laugh:
http://www.funpages.com/fatguydance/

Now after I had a good laugh I checked out some more of
the fun things they have to offer. If you're a chocoholic like
me then you'llappreciate this one too.
http://www.funpages.com/chocolate/

We all need a good laugh once in awhile so take a minute
and enjoy.

And thank you Joe for finding this site for us!

To Your Success,
Susan

It's Starting Already

Well it's started already. I thought I was getting
an early start but no, others started before me
and are already sending out their mailings for...

The Busiest and Most Profitable Time of the Year.

I am not talking about the mailings from Hickory
Farms, Home Depot, ToysRUs or any of the other
major retail stores.

I am talking about those who are signing up as
many new affiliates for their affiliate programs
as possible before Christmas.

Today I received 2 mailings from programs I am
in reminding me to advertise my referral link as
opposed to selling or helping me sell their products.

I don't have to tell you why they want more people
to sign up but I will anyway. The more people trying
to sell their products - the more sales theywill make.

And that's good business!

Now whether you have your own affiliate program or
not, becoming an affiliate for a good program is
still a good idea. Even the very successful online
marketers join other affiliate programs.

By joining multiple affiliate programs that offer
similar products, you have more to offer your
customers.

You don't do most of your shopping at Tide stores
or Sony stores. Sure, there are specialty stores
but most of these products are still available in
other places that attract more customers because
of the wide variety of products and manufacturers.

As I have stated in many of my newsletter articles:

Learn some of your online marketing techniques from
what works offline.

BUT... there is one very important thing to
remember while you are joining affiliate programs.

Join "Good" ones because you don't what to sell
valueless material or earn next to nothing on
your sales. Find honest, solid and dependable
programs that offer good products or services
and pay you a decent commission for your work.

I have joined many fine affiliate programs and
have some of them listed here:

http://www.affiliates-win.com/pbi/

and here:

http://www.friendswhocare.us/tools.htm

To Your Success,
Susan

PS - Here's the link to free affiliate program
that has already started recruiting new affiliate
for Christmas. They have many fine products, pay
a good commission, don't require you to earn a
large commission before they pay you and give you
2 ways to get paid (check or PayPal). You can get
all the details on Neil Shearing's Affiliate Program
site.

Our Forum Needs A Facelift

I am sorry to report that right now our forum is not getting much
traffic, very few postings and no new registered members.

What's the problem?

• Too new to expect much?
• Too restrictive?
• Not enough groups to get anything of value?
• All of the above?
• Don't know?

Me, I don't know the answer but a couple of registered members
have made some suggestions - you can see them on the forum
and since we need the traffic, go there to read them.

Since this forum was set up for you and right now it needs all
the help it can get, I am asking you to visit it, become a member
and post something. Most of the discussion right now is on how
it should be laid out and who should be allowed to post. One
subscriber even has a poll to see if you think this forum or any
one like it will work. So please vote!

I am willing to:

• define new groups
• allow some subscribers to be the administrator of some of the groups
• allow groups to be open or restricted
• take suggestions on what else to do

If we can't get some traffic and postings on our forum then
what's the point of having it?

So it's up to you. Let me know what you think so we can either
make this forum work or close it.

To Your Success,

Susan

Optimizing Your Graphics

While reading a lesson from one of the e-courses
I am getting (yes, I still subscribe to some of
those free courses), I found a fantastic free
site that I know I will be using and thought you
might find a use for it too.

By free, I mean free. You don't even have to
sign up for an ezine, register or anything else!

Now you can significantly decrease your site's load
time simply by optimizing your gif graphics. This
process will decrease your graphic's file size without
sacrificing the graphic's quality. You can optimize
your images right online.

Visit GifWorks for further information.

http://www.gifworks.com/

Guilty By Association

Yesterday I posted an announcement in the newsletter because I thought that it didn’t go out.

I was WRONG!

The mailing went out but I didn’t get it and neither did anyone else who uses the same ISP as I do for my personal email.

I am really upset by this and I’ll tell you why.

One of the autoresponder services I use to send out the newsletter mailings is DemandMail.com. I have used them for a couple of years and have been very happy with their inexpensive service because they allow me set up an unlimited number of autoresponder accounts for one low monthly fee AND they have fantastic tech support.

When I didn’t think my mailings were going out because I wasn’t getting them or the “mailing complete” messages I wrote tech support. I expected to wait about 24 hours to hear a response but got one in just a couple of hours.

According to them, I wasn’t getting my messages they were sending because my ISP was using Spam Cop. They had sent a message from their service, discovered the problem and had to use a different email account to respond to my trouble request.

I immediately wrote my ISP about the matter and requested they remove Spam Cop from my account. It took them about 4 hours to respond with the following – your trouble ticket has been closed and please send the error message you received so we can forward it to Spam Cop to correct the problem.

How can the trouble ticket be closed when I still have the problem?

What error message?

I, the intended receiver didn’t get an error message. I didn’t get any indication that I wasn’t getting some of my email? I checked my email account to see if they had placed my blocked messages in some special folder but found nothing.

Well, to make this long story longer:

1. I have re-opened the ticket and told them to keep it that way until I find out if there was any error message to my autoresponder service.
2. I have requested the error message from my autoresponder service.
3. I checked into Spam Cop and found that I had to go through Alexa to find their contact information.
4. I have sent Spam Cop an email reporting the problem.
5. I also found out that Spam Cop doesn’t block individual email accounts or filter on words. They block messages according to the IP of the sender. In other words, if you are using an autoresponder or hosting account to send out your mail, your mail may not be getting through if they have your services IP on their blacklist.
6. I also know that Spam Cop doesn’t send the email address of the person reporting spam to the service sending the email. Thus, the autoresponder or hosting service can not request proof of opt-in and can not request that you remove the person from your list. As a result, your account may be canceled even if you could have provided proof that the person had opted-in.
7. I also know that some of the “big” places that offer free email accounts and where we all get a lot of spam – like Yahoo and MSN are not blocked.
8. I know that if you aren’t getting all your email you may not know it. And if you do and try to find those that were blocked, you can’t find it.

There are only 8 people on my list who use the same ISP mailbox that I use. So I know those people won’t get my mailings.

But what about all the others? I have no idea which ISPs use Spam Cop so I have no idea how much of my list is not getting my mail.

Am I upset? YES!!!

I have been found guilty of sending spam to myself and others by someone I don’t know and who doesn’t give me the opportunity to defend myself. I have been blacklisted because of some report by a nameless person who may not even know they complained.

I am guilty by association with a service that provides contact information on every page and has a strict anti-spam policy. I am guilty by association because someone, somewhere reported spam sent by someone using that same service.

Was that person guilty of sending spam? I don’t know.

Was that person allowed to offer proof that they weren’t sending spam? No.

Is that person still using the same service? Probably not and here’s why:
“We get some complaints from SPAM Cop without the complainers email or name so we have no way to remove them from anyone's' list. We have had to delete several accounts from our system because of the heavy handed tactics of SPAM Cop.”

May your day be better than mine,
Susan

Does Your Left Hand Know What Your Right Hand Is Doing?

Last week I got a JV offer from the owner of
Spyware Nuker. Nice offer, but the timing
was off since I already bought the product.

Well, I replied to the offer and mentioned
that I had already purchased the product and
use it regularly.

Jon replied that he had another new product
and offered a JV for it. Since I am so happy
with Spyware Nuker, I replied immediately
that I would love to try the new product.

Well, Jon then passed my message on to his
staff because I received a mailing on his
behalf. Unfortunately, they don't read their
mail too well since they offered me a free
key to Spyware Nuker.

I am sure we will sort this mess out but it
did point out a good lesson.

If you have others assisting you in your
online or off line business, make sure
everyone keeps current on what's going
on.

Don't think you know what's happening.
KNOW

Don't assume you know what is being said.
LISTEN and READ

Don't allow spyware and adware to infest
your computer.
Run Spyware Nuker.

Heck, even if Jon and his staff are
confused, they do have a great product
and I do clean my computer with it a
couple of times a week.

To Your Success,
Susan

Copycats - There Should Be Rules

We all know that there are a lot of copycat
programs on the web. Some good, some not.

Now I am not going to throw stones if someone
copies an idea - heck I did it myself by accident.
When I came up with our new forum I thought
I had an original idea only to discover that I
didn't. But that's OK.

Why is it alright to copy things?

Because if we didn't, there would only be one
marketing forum, one hosting service, one
autoresponder service, one vitamin company,
one insurance company, one ...

In fact, without copying things, the whole idea
of viral marketing wouldn't work.

So, copying a good idea and going with it is good
but ...

There should be some rules!!!

And one of the rules should be -
Don't force people to give up something they
may have worked or paid for to join your new,
copied program.

What prompted me to come up with this rule?

As some of you know, I did join a list building
program this last year. Now I don't join these
things often because as I have stated before,
I don't have much luck with them. But Joe is
good friend and subscriber so I decided to give
it a shot and joined under him.

Then last week while surfing I ran across a
fantastic sales page offering The "Bulletproof
List Building System" created by two well know
internet marketers. And since it was free, I
decided to check it out.

Guess what? They had come up with a great way
to market the same list building program I joined
under Joe only they promised - "How To Rocket
Your List From Zero To TENS OF THOUSANDS
Of Red Hot Opt-In Subscribers In 30 Days Or Less!
The SECRET Is In The FREE SYSTEM!"

Wow, I thought. Now I can give Joe and I a real
boost in this program.

Wrong!!!

Here is an excerpt taken from the "readme" file
for those who want to use their program.

Begin Quote
-------

If you have already used opportunity.com to grow
a huge list and do *NOT* wish to CANCEL your
current membership, then we regret that you may
not participate in this automated list building
system. (See the Opportunity.Com membership
agreement and terms of service. We regret that we
have no control over their service terms). We are
however confident that should you decide to
sacrifice your current Opportunity.Com down-line
(if any) to participate in this campaign our system
will enable anyone to match and surpass their previous
down-line tally in record time.

Opportunity.Com does NOT permit it’s users to
open multiple accounts. If you are already an
Opportunity.Com member, please **DO NOT** use
your existing membership details. Simply CANCEL
your current membership and SIGN UP USING THE
LINK PROVIDED IN THIS EMAIL (above). If you are
caught by our automated signup-tracking log
attempting to 'cheat' the system by inserting an
existing member ID, your account will be immediately
terminated and you will lose all rightto email your ads --
even if you built up a downline of 5,000,000. We
promise to do everything we can to protect you from
downline theft and to help you build a larger list
FASTER than you could ever dream possible before.
--------------------
End Quote

I must admit that I don't have a large downline
in the Opportunity.com system so giving it up
would be no great loss. But, I won't give it up.

In fact, after reading the rules for this new program
I wonder about the ethics of those who created it.

Who are they really trying to help?

If they are trying to help me, they would allow
me join under them but not require it.

So the answer is obvious -
They are building their own large list even at the
expense of others.

Not Fair!

To Your Success,
Susan

PS - I am not including a link to the system
mentioned in this article for a good reason
but I will give you my Opportunity.com link.
http://www.opportunity.com/r/smc2002

A New Blogger Exchange

We all know that Blogs have become big news
on the internet over the last 6 months.
And since they are so popular we should have
guessed that someone would figure out a way
to help generate even more traffic to them.

Today I discovered that a new traffic exchange
specifically designed for bloggers has been
started. It was launched last week and it makes
for very interesting reading.

Blogexplosion does not allow blogs that simply
promote traffic exchanges and business opportunities.
All the blogs must be about discussion and visiting
interesting sites about travel, technology, relationships,
hobbies, art, culture, sports ...

So if you want some interesting surfing, this
is the place to check out.

And if you have a blog you may want to generate
more traffic to it by joining this new exchange.

To Your Success,
Susan

FriendsWhoCare Affiliate and Network Marketing Forum

If you read this week's newsletter you already
know about the new FriendsWhoCare Affiliate and
Network Marketing Forum. But in case you missed
it I'll repeat myself.

The forum was created to give you a place to
promote the free sites you were given when
you joined your affiliate and network marketing
programs.

Unlike most forums than ban advertising,
advertising is one of the major purposes of
this forum.

You can read all about it at:

http://www.friendswhocare.us/forum.htm

And if you have any comments about how to
make this forum work or the about the rules
or anything else for that matter, please
send them to me.

This forum is open so you should be able
to start posting your affiliate and network
marketing information right now. If you have
any problems, let me know and I'll work on
getting them fixed.

I'll be looking for you at our new forum.

To Your Success,
Susan

Is your website idea a "bad" idea?

Why I posted this article.

I expected to see some comments about my article on the
article "Seven Facts You Should Know About The Internet
Marketing Niche" but haven't. Now while I stated in the
article that I didn't want to discourage anyone from entering
this niche, I am afraid I may have.

So, as my way of telling you that you shouldn't give up if
that's the niche you thought you wanted, I am posting an
article written by Chuck McCullough because he entered
this same market and was able to be very successful.

So read it and do what you think is best for you.

To Your Success,
Susan

====================
Is your website idea a "bad" idea?

I've gotten many emails lately from people that were
having trouble figuring out what topic they should
develop their website around.

One even stated that every time s/he came up with a
great idea, then did some research on it, the topic would
come up as having too much competition, or already
over-populated.

This is a very interesting point because everything you
read tells you to find a new, un-tapped niche and become
the top expert, and then dominate that niche.

We are told that this is the ONLY way to make money
on the Internet.

Finding a niche CAN be very profitable, but it is also very
difficult to discover a new niche.

Why?

Because it isn't as simple as just finding a topic that no one
else has found yet: That topic also has to have people
dedicated to it that have money to spend, that want the
products that you are selling, and that are willing to buy
anything to begin with.

It is very difficult to find that perfect mix... especially now
that there are so many other people online trying to do
exactly the same thing.

When I started AffiliateMatch there were already a ton of
affiliate program directories. There were also several
"big players" out there that dominated the market.

I still managed to do the things necessary to build it into
a profitable website.

Did I bump any of the "big players" out of their positions?

No. But I realized that I didn't have to.

There are many, many, many people surfing the Internet
today. And even though you may have a competitor that
has better search engine positioning, or more newsletter
subscribers, you can STILL reach people that have never
heard of your competitors.

You don't have to concentrate so much of your time and
effort trying to find that undiscovered niche. If you have
an idea that you like, and that you feel you would enjoy
rying to make money from... go for it!

Figure out if there is a way that you can do things a little
better, or a little different from what your competitors
are doing.

Find a slightly different, more focused aspect of the subject
area that want to go into.

For example: Instead of tackling "Real Estate", try "Real
Estate for Texans", or whatever state you live in.

By narrowing your focus you can greatly decrease the
number of competitors that you will have.

If you can't narrow the topic down any, that's ok. As long
as it is a subject you will enjoy learning more about, go
ahead and do it anyway.

As you learn more and get more experience you will start
to see niches form that you would have never been able to
spot in the beginning.

Don't hold off your online business while you wait to
discover the next million dollar niche. This approach is
like putting off enjoying life until you have won the lottery.

The problem with this is that if you never actually win the
lottery, you will have missed out on some great chances
to enjoy life.

The Internet is the same way: Don't risk passing up great
opportunities because you were on the sidelines trying to
find that ONE idea that will make you rich.

So, when you ask me if your website idea is a bad idea...my
response is:
the only bad ideas are the ones that never get acted on!
=========================================
Chuck McCullough shows you exactly how to get more
traffic to your website in the Website Traffic System.
Click here to learn more:
http://www.friendswhocare.us/trafficsystem.htm
=========================================

What's Wrong With Internet Marketing Today

Here's one example of what's wrong with internet
marketing today:

A lot of proclaimed internet marketing experts
are in such a hurry to be the first one to
announce a new product that they aren't taking
the time to write an original message or an
original idea. Instead they are using the
pre-written sales copy.

Here are two examples:
-----------------------------------
Hi Susan:

Mark your calendar.

On the 10th of September, you'll be able to read all
about a Top Secret Internet Marketing Experiment.

The results of this experiment will change:

* The way you think
* The way you behave
* The way you see the Internet
* The way you view money
* The way you MAKE money

Bottomline: It'll be a life-changing experience, and
that goes beyond a guarantee.

It's a promise!

... etc, etc....
--------------------------------------

Did you get any of these?

I got 3.

All of them were exactly the same.

Or how about the day John Reese's package came
out?
--------------------------------------
Dear Susan,

Some Great News about Traffic Secrets

*** "Florida Man Gets Hit By 2nd Hurricane! ***

The servers were at an absolute crawl this morning.

The load was so intense that, due to the enormous
strain, the launch was delayed by a few minutes to
remove the demonstration videos.

No one got a chance to see them! It was a traffic hurricane.

I'm really sorry if you went to the site to watch these
demo videos. But that site got more traffic today than
most websites on the Internet get in an entire year!

... etc, etc....
-------------------------------------

I got so many of these that I actually lost count.

*** Side Note ***
Of course there were a few wiser marketers who sent
out original messages and some of them even offered
a bonus for buying from them.
*** End ***

Now give me a break! We all know that writing your
own sales copy and your own personal recommendation
is the best way to sell something. I mean, every
so called internet marketing expert keeps telling us that.

So what's up? Why are all the "big money makers"
sending out canned sales copy? Don't they know that
they are going to lose some credibility by violating
one of their primary rules for email advertising?

I don't know about you, but when I see the same
subject line in multiple email or recognize an
email as one I have already read, I just start
deleting them. And while I know that John made
over $1,000,000. in one day which means he sold
about 1,000 copies (not a bad days sales!) what
I would really like to know is the percentage of
sales to emails sent. The joint venture partners
he had for this package all had huge mailing lists.

The point of this article is:

If you are going to promote something, either as
an affiliate, joint venture partner, or product
owner, take some time to write or at least modify
the pre-written sales letter. Make your offer
different. Put some thought and some of your
personality into it.

Whether you have a list or are paying to advertise
to someone else's, don't send out a mailing that
the readers will recognize as a "canned" message
and automatically delete. Write your own headline
and message and give the readers a reason to open
the email and read it.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS If you agree or disagree with this article,
please make a comment.

Free Meta Tag Tool

In case you aren't using Meta Tags because you aren't
sure what they are or how to write them, I have created
a new page that has some information about Meta Tags
and a free Meta Tag Generator. Feel free to use it as
much or as little as you like. If you have any problems
be sure to send them to me at:
mailto:susancarroll@friendswhocare.us.

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll

Current Marketing Blitz

Wow!

Have you read any of your email today? My inbox is bursting with
all the email about John Reese's new traffic package. This is the
biggest marketing blitz I've seen in quite awhile!

No, I am not going to tell you how great it is or tell you to buy it
because I am not going to get it. With my little FriendsWhoCare
site it's way out of my budget.

The reason I am writing this is because I just wanted to make
you aware that every big online name is currently marketing
this package and to give you a little personal advice:

1. If you are going to buy this package compare all the offers
   and buy it from one that is offering an incentive you also want. So far I have seen several offering personal bonuses that include free software, site memberships and a CD package.
2. If you are buying this package make sure you are buying it to use and then really use it. At almost $1000 this package is too costly to gather dust on your shelf.
3. Thinking of becoming an affiliate for this package? It's a closed affiliate program and I have no idea what the requirements are but to compete with all those who are already promoting this site, you better have a really great bonus to add to your offer. Getting people to part with $1000 is not all that easy and you'll have some stiff competition for those dollars.

Enough advice.

To Your Success,
Susan

"Dont Let This Happen To You " America's Identity Theft Nightmare

Last night I read a new e-book written by a
fellow subscriber on identity theft. Sadly
I must tell you that the book was written
because of first hand knowledge about this
horrible crime.

Jeffery and Karyn became victims of an
identity theft crime through no fault of
their own and weren't even the intended
victims. Now they are trying to put their
lives back together and help others avoid
being caught in this type of terrible
nightmare.

This e-book contains a lot of information
that everyone, and I mean Everyone
should know.

Things like:

* Many of the ways identity theft happens
* Things everyone should do to protect themselves
* What to do if your identity is stolen
* Who to look to for help if it happens
* How susceptible you are to having it happen
* and a whole lot more.

I must admit that this e-book was not a fun
read because the stories it tells are tragic.
But every story is true and conveys just how
horrible this type of crime is.

Did you know that identity theft can have
more than one victim?

Did you know that identity theft can go on
for years without detection?

Did you know that you could be accused and
arrested for a felony crime when you are
actually a victim of identity theft?

I didn't until I read the e-book.

Again I'll state - This e-book contains
information that everyone should know.

To find out about this new e-book go to

http://www.idtheftnightmare.com/index13.htm

To protect yourself you need to be aware.

Your concerned friend,
Susan

MLM Essentials

Carole Pagan of ConvenienceNet.com is one of your
fellow subscribers and she wrote me yesterday to
tell me about a new e-book she has written and is
giving away.

I downloaded and read the e-book and think it
would be very beneficial to anyone entering into
an online business. While some of the resources
are specific to MLM most of the topics and
resources could be used by anyone doing online
marketing.

The name of the e-book is "MLM Essentials" and
it's the first viral training, tips, and tools
handbook for network marketers.

It was written to help people get their new
downline up to speed fast! 

And it's new, so you won't see it all over the
place yet. Only a few ezine publishers know about
it right now. So if you want to get in on a new
viral marketing tool, here's one you can get
now.  

Go to http://www.MLMEssentials.com
to get your copy today.

 To Your Success,
Susan

Murphy's Law

Recently I came across two references to Murphy's
Law. Having seen these types of references before
and because one of the references included a copy
of the law, I thought I would find out what
Murphy's Law actually was.

Well, I found out that Murphy's Law is really
quite short. It is:

"If anything can go wrong, it will."

Then I discovered that all the other laws labeled
Murphy's Laws were actually corollaries that have
been added by others. But a lot of these additions
are actually quite humourous and true.

So, I am sharing some of the newer Murphy's Laws
with you so you can get a laugh just like I did.

Remember, when thing's go wrong it's better to
laugh than cry. Of Course you might want to fix
them too!

Some of the Newer Murphy's Laws

1.  If there is a possibility of several things
     going wrong, the one that will cause the most
     damage will be the one to go wrong.

2.  If anything just cannot go wrong, it will
     anyway.

3.  If you perceive that there are four possible
     ways in which something can go wrong, and
     circumvent these, then a fifth way, unprepared
     for, will promptly develop.

4.  Left to themselves, things tend to go from bad
     to worse.

5.  If everything seems to be going well, you have
     obviously overlooked something.

6.  Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

7.  It is impossible to make anything foolproof
     because fools are so ingenious.

8.  Build a system that even a fool can use, and
     only a fool will use it.

9.  Rule of Accuracy: When working toward the
     solution of a problem, it always helps if you
     know the answer.
Corollary: Provided, of course, that you know
there is a problem.

10. The other line always moves faster.

11. In order to get a loan, you must first prove
     you don't need it.

12. Any time you put an item in a "safe place", 
      it will never be seen again.

13. Chaos always wins, because it's better
      organized.

14. If all else fails, hit it with a big hammer.

15. It takes forever to learn the rules and once
      you've learned them they change again.

16. Anyone who isn't paranoid simply isn't paying
      attention.

17. If it looks good,
      And it taste good,
      And it feels good,
      There has got to be something wrong some where,
      So be careful.

18. Behind every little problem there's a larger
      problem, waiting for the little problem to get
      out of the way.

19. Every rule has an exception except the Rule of
      Exceptions.

I have only posted 19 in the hope that you can come
up with good one to end this list.

In addition, I move that we repeal Murphy's Law.
All in favor, say Aye.

To Your Success,
Susan

PS Murphy also has a golden rule and it is:
"Whoever has the gold makes the rules."

The Biggest Lie Ever Told Online

- by Jim Edwards

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I'll admit it... starting out online I fell for
the lie -- hook, line, and sinker.

In fact, I spent thousands of dollars on the lie.

What is it?

Well, let me summarize the biggest lie on the
Internet as told by all the get-rich-quick scammers
(so you buy their "magic" books and software):

"You don't need money, you don't need to invest
time, and you don't need a product in order to make
a million dollars on the Internet. Buy my software…
click this button… and you'll get rich!"

What a truckload of dog poo-poo!

Now, before the doom and gloom crowd get started,
don't get me wrong.

I still firmly believe that anybody can succeed
online.

If you know what to do, you can actually succeed
faster than people did it back in the late 1990's
because customers now understand how to use the
Internet more than they did even six or seven
years ago.

It's actually easier to sell products and make an
income online than it's ever been before in the
history of the Internet… even if you're operating
on a total "shoestring" budget!

But more on that in a minute…

There are basically 2 pieces of the puzzle that
lead to making real, consistent, lasting income
online.

The First Puzzle Piece...

The first piece of the puzzle is an investment of
time, energy, and effort.

Anyone who believes they can make money on the
Internet with no effort needs to slam their head
against a wall and WAKE UP!

There's a universal law called "Cause and Effect"
you need to be aware of in all that you do.

In short, it says that you can't get any results
without any input.

You can stare at a soda machine… rub the soda
machine… hope, wish, beg, or otherwise try to
persuade a soda machine to give you drink, BUT,
without first *doing* something to make soda come
out, you'll NEVER get one!

You can't get a soda from a vending machine unless
you *do* something:

Put in a dollar in the machine and press a button
-- or --

Beat the hell out of the machine with a sledgehammer,
break the lock, and steal a soda -- or --

Tip the machine upside down and make all the drinks
fall out -- or --

Take some other *action* that leads to soda coming
out of the machine.

Here's how this same universal law of "Cause and
Effect" -- which NOBODY can avoid -- applies to
the Internet.

If you don't do anything, nothing happens. "
Nothing in… nothing out!"

If you do just a little, you still don't get
anything. " Garbage in… garbage out!"

If you learn to take efficient, purpose-driven
action, you'll get the results you want. "Quality
in… quality out!"

If you want the results of a consistent, quality
income and a thriving business, you must make an
investment of time and energy.

You can do this one of two ways:

You hire someone to do all the work and invest the
time and energy that it takes (can actually be done
more cheaply than you might think… but nobody,
unless they have brain damage, will do it for free
as many scammers would have you believe.)

You invest the time, energy and effort yourself
instead of spending the money to have someone or
something do it for you.

The Second Puzzle Piece...

The second piece of the puzzle for long-term
success is having your own unqiue product.

Now I know there are people out there, myself
included, selling courses on how to make money as
an affiliate.

Those plans work (and they work very well),
however, for long-term success online and to get
other people to build your business for you, you
must have your own product.

Now let us talk about what kind of product you need.

First, you need to have a downloadable product, and
the reason for that is actually twofold:

1. You create the product once and it's done.

When you sell an ebook over and over and over, you
are selling the same file... you don't have to go
make a new copy every single time you sell it like
you do with a physical product.

2. A downloadable product enables you to create an
"oil well" website where everything truly does
operate on autopilot (where the website does the
selling, payment processing, and product delivery
all without any interaction on your part).

In short, a downloadable product enables you to get
paid over and over again for taking one-time actions…
which, in my opinion, is about the most exciting
thing that's ever happened in the world of
information publishing!

Your Two Simplest Options For Creating Your Own
"Oil Well" Product… Even On A "Shoestring"

You have two primary options for creating a simple
but valuable downloadable product.

The first and simplest is to create an ebook.

An ebook is a neatly packaged set of information
(usually published as a PDF or .EXE file) that has
a beginning, middle, and end.

An ebook usually solves a problem or satisfies a
pressing need for a specific niche audience.

Your other option for creating a downloadable
product is to hire someone to create a piece of
software for you.

I have done this with my Affiliate Link Cloaker
Software; however, when you're just starting out I
don't recommend this option.

The reason I do not recommend it is because your
own software often requires too much customer
support and customer service on the back end that
you do not need at this stage of your online career.

My advice is to start out with an ebook or
text-based special report targeted at a specific,
highly defined niche market.

So, just to summarize what we've talked about so
far:

You can't succeed in any way, shape or form online
without some investment of time and/or money.

For long-term success, you must have your own
product… and an information product is best.

Out of your two primary options for a simple,
downloadable product, ebooks or special reports
represent the best choice when you're first
starting out.

Why?

First, because your only support requirement with
an ebook is to make sure people can actually
download it and read it.

Second, an ebook has a high perceived value...
especially if it solves a problem or solves a
pressing need for a specific target audience.

Third, an ebook is your fastest time to market
with a product if you're operating on a shoestring
budget.

FACT: You can create a killer ebook in 7 days or
less if you know the proven techniques.

Fourth, if you make sure you target a specific
niche, you can build a list of customers whom you
can sell more stuff to!

FACT: If you have your own, original ebook, it is
MUCH easier for you to quickly build a loyal list
of subscribers. I'll explain why in just a minute.

Now, it is possible to build a list of customers
while selling as an affiliate, but it takes a lot
longer to do it. Also, it's a lot harder to get
somebody else to endorse you to their list of
customers and subscribers, which is one of the best
and fastest ways of building your own list of
customers and subscribers quickly!

Which brings us to our next point…

Your Own Unique Product Generates Higher Quality
Traffic You Don't Have To Pay For!

The next key to your success online after you
have your own unique product is traffic.

FACT: Nobody makes it online without traffic...
it's the life-blood of ANY online business!

Now, if you operate strictly as an affiliate
selling other people's products, you only have one
option for getting traffic: you must buy it.

You either buy it with your time… or you buy it
with your money.

To buy traffic with your time, you do things like
write articles and submit comments on discussion
boards. Both of these are very effective traffic
techniques when done correctly.

You can also buy traffic with your time by promoting
to the free search engines… but this can represent a
very time-consuming, complicated and "iffy"
proposition that doesn't carry any predictable level
of success -- especially when you're just starting
out.

To buy traffic with your money, you do things such
as pay-per-click advertising on search engines like
Overture and Google Ad Words. You can also do some
advertising in ezines with classified ads and
solo-emails.

Bottom Line: Those are your options for getting
traffic if you don't have your own product.

(And NO, ffa pages, safelists, exit traffic
exchanges, "randomizers" and all that other crap
doesn't work to generate quality traffic! People
who sell that junk fall into the category of idiots
telling the biggest lie ever told online like I
talked about at the beginning of this report!)

However, when you have your own products, not only
can you use these paid traffic sources, but you can
also take advantage of much faster traffic sources…
specifically getting endorsements for your product
from others who target the same niche market you do.

MILLION DOLLAR TIP: If you want to succeed faster
than anyone else in a particular niche market,
create an ebook that complements but does not
compete with the majority of the players focusing
on that niche. This will enable you to more easily
find people to announce your product out to their
lists and bring you gobs of traffic than if you
have an ebook that's in direct competition with a
product offered by the person you're approaching
to endorse you.

Example of this Million Dollar Tip from my own
business:

I regularly turn down offers to promote products
about writing ebooks. Why? Because I've
co-authored several products about creating ebooks
already. Why would I want to promote a direct
competitor?

But I'm very open to ebook related products like
PDF converters, effective ebook promotion tools,
etc.

See the difference? The first group compete with
me, but the second group complement what I already
offer.

<-- Side Note -->

As we move on, I will make one assumption here,
simply because it takes 50 pages to teach you, but
I have to assume that you also have a good one page
sales letter website. You can either do it yourself
or hire someone to create it for you.

<-- End Side Note -->

Once you have your one-page sales letter website up
and you run traffic across it from pay-per-click
search engines, articles, and the like, you'll know
"your numbers" and be able to approach super
affiliate partners.

You see, once you have your own product, in this
case an ebook that targets a niche market, you can
generate big blasts of traffic by finding and
persuading as many endorsement partners as you can,
commonly called "super affiliates," to endorse your
product to their lists.

This is how you get the large, instant traffic
bonanzas that build your business very, very
quickly! (And, in the beginning of my career, this
was one of my main ways to get traffic quickly and
in large quantities when I didn't have a list of
my own!)

Then, to build a steady stream of traffic, you
roll your ebook out with your own affiliate program
and by promoting with articles… which are your
two best sources of ongoing traffic.

What makes this even better is that all the while
you are driving traffic, you are building your own
list of customers and subscribers to whom you can
sell over and over again…

Your Own Opt-In List Of Subscribers Is The Key…
And It All Starts With Your Own Product

The final piece of the puzzle to building a
long-term online business is to constantly build
your opt-in list of subscribers.

One of the ways to do this is with a strong
mini-course, especially promoting it to those who
do not buy your ebook on the first go around.
(You can model one of the most popular mini-courses
in the history of the Internet at the bottom of
this page. Sign up for it, watch what we do and how
we do it... this can serve as a model for your own
highly successful mini-course.)

An effective mini-course accomplishes several things
for you:

1. First, it gives you the opportunity to
repeatedly contact people who show up to your
site, but do not buy right away, and encourage them
to make a purchase.

2. Second, this follow-up will help cement your
relationship with your affiliates (both Super and
regular) because, if your affiliate software
cookies the visitor like Clickbank does, and the
visitor purchases from the follow up messages,
your partners will get the sales credit.

3. Third, this automated follow up, combined with
more sales for affiliates, creates a wonderful
money-cycle for you! As you build your subscriber
base, you're making sure your partners get credited
with their sales… which in turn will make them want
to promote you even more… which will bring you even
more subscribers -- and the wonderful cycle
continues!

Bottom Line: Long Term Success Online Can Only Come
From Having Your Own Product

Let me summarize this entire report with the key
points you must take away if you hope to succeed:

1. Don't believe the lie that you can succeed
online with no effort, no money, and no investment
of time… but understand that with the right
strategies you can actually succeed faster online
than you ever could offline - especially if you're
operating on a "shoestring" budget.

2. Having your own unique product that targets a
specific, highly-focused niche is an absolute MUST
if you want to succeed in the short AND long term.

3. Once you have your own product that targets a
niche, make sure that you concentrate on driving
traffic and building your list.

4. Work that list over and over and over with value
added information so that they will come back and
buy… which will reward not only you, but the
partners who bring you more and more traffic.

Bottom Line: This whole process starts with having
your own, unique product.

There is no way around it.

Whether you have an unlimited budget or if you're
operating on a shoestring, or even if you're
simply looking for a proven way to establish
yourself online, creating an ebook still represents
the simplest way to get going, build a list, make
money, and establish yourself in the marketplace.

----

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist
and the co-author of an incredible *proven* ebook
that will teach you how to write and publish your
own highly profitable ebook in as little as 7 Days
or less... even if you failed high school English
class!

=============================================
The Original *Proven* BluePrint For Creating
Highly-Profitable "Niche" Ebooks!
Jim Edwards and Joe Vitale have created the
*ultimate* guide
"How to Write and Publish your own Outrageously
Profitable eBook... in as little as 7 Days!"

FREE Details: Click Article Title

FREE Mini-Course: ==> Click Article Title and
See Bottom Of Page

Another Virus Warning

Today I found this virus warning from Hodges in my
inbox and am sending it to you as he wrote it.

I did scan my machine for the 2 files mentioned in
the article and didn't find them and suggest you do
the same. You can click the title to get to the
article.

Susan
------------------------------------------------

Hello Folks,

I thought you might find this interesting.

Below is an article on yet another virus.
What makes this so interesting is that it
was referenced through another article on
terrorism in Iraq.

One part of the article states that it does
not seem to affect the internet yet the
internet seems to be running at a very
slow pace. I have a DSL connection and
it takes almost 2-3 seconds longer for a
site to load today than normal.

God Bless,

Hodges

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5290386/

Sign up for The Flash Chronicle and The Member Area at:
http://www.flash-phoenix.com

Credit Card Scam

Hodges sent this warning to me and think you need
to be aware of this current scam.

I have checked at Snopes.com and if you click
the article's title you will go to their site to
read this same information.

Please pay strict attention to this announcement
and save yourself some financial heartache.

The remedy is to ask for that persons name,
department, phone number and extension. Hang up
and call them back to make sure. At any rate you
should report all of these call to your cards
security department and to the police.

Thanks, Hodges, for the heads up.

Subject: VISA & MASTERCARD Telephone Credit
Card Scam

This information is worth reading. By understanding
how the VISA & Mastercard Telephone Credit Card
Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect
yourself.

Person calling says, "this is , and I'm
calling from the Security and Fraud Department at
VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has
been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and
I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA
card which was issued by bank. Did you
purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for $497.99
from a marketing company based in Arizona?"

When you say "No", the caller continues with,
"Then we will be issuing a credit to your account.
This is a company we have been watching and the
charges range from $297 to $497, just under the
$500 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before
your next statement, the credit will be sent to
(gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes" The caller continues... "I will be
starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any
questions, you should call the 1-800 number listed
on the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for
Security. You will need to refer to this Control
#" The caller then gives you a 6 digit number.
"Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works.
The caller then says, "he needs to verify you are
in possession of your card". He'll ask you to
"turn your card over and look for some numbers.
There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are your card
number, the next 3 are the 'Security Numbers' that
verify you are in possession of the card. These
are the numbers you use to make Internet purchases
to prove you have the card. Read me the 3 numbers".
After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say,
"That is correct. I just needed to verify that
the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you
still have your card. Do you have any other
questions?" After you say No, the caller then
Thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back
if you do", and hangs up.

You actually say very little, and they never ask
for or tell you the card number. But after we were
called on Wednesday, we called back within 20
minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did!
The REAL! VISA Security Department told us it was
a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase
of $497.99 was charge on on our card.

Long story made short, we made a real fraud report
and closed the VISA card, and they are reissuing
us a new number. What the scammers wants is the
3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't
give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call
VISA or Master card direct. The real VISA told us
that they will never! ask for anything on the card
as they already know the information since they
issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3
Digit PIN Number, you think you're receiving a
credit. However, by the time you get your
statement, you'll see charges for purchases you
didn't make, and by then it's almost to late
and/or harder to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on
Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of
MasterCard" with a word-for-word repeat of the
VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I
hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed
by VISA. The police said they are taking several
of these reports daily! They also urged us to
tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

Please pass this on to all your friends. By
informing each other, we protect each other.

Thank-You

-----------------------

And Thank You Hodges for making us aware.

Sign up for Hodges' The Flash Chronicle
and The Member Area at:

http://www.flash-phoenix.com


Susan

Online Tutorials Build Computer Skills - FREE

- by Jim Edwards

© Jim Edwards - All Rights reserved
http://www.IGottaTellYou.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It's a problem as old as computers...

Trying to read, understand, and use a software manual to
quickly learn how to operate a new software program rates
one of the most frustrating experiences you can face.

If you browse the computer section of the local book store,
Amazon.com... or even look at a Video Professor disk on TV
to try accelerating your learning curve, you'll soon find
that a book (usually thicker than the original manual!)
costs at least $29-59 and a simple tutorial on CD-Rom costs
a minimum of $59 plus shipping and handling.

Learning how to operate you computer and basic software can
be very frustrating, not to mention expensive!

But what most people don't realize is that basic computer,
software, and other training is readily available online,
some of it as good or better than those introductory
courses that cost you a chunk of money.

Would you like to learn how to set up a web page?

Do you want to learn how to use your word processor for
accomplishing more than just typing simple letters?

How about learning to buy and sell like a pro at online
auction sites like eBay?

** Find Tutorials **

Log on to www.findtutorials.com and browse through hundreds
of tutorials!

Want to learn how to use Microsoft FrontPage?

Do a quick search for "FrontPage" and up pops a number of
free tutorials to teach you everything from creating basic
hyperlinks to working with javascript.

Though not all the tutorials are free, many of the
tutorials listed come free of charge since the sites
hosting the classes contain the usual advertising most of
us have come to expect online.

After plowing through the site, you'll find some categories
contain more available classes than others, but this site
rates a serious look and a bookmark so you can check back
on a regular basis.

Investigate here first before spending money on training,
especially for introductory software help and general
computer instruction.

** Learn To Use eBay **

If you want to learn how to use eBay, instead of spending
money on a book or online course, why not go straight to
the source?

Log on to http://pages.ebay.com/education/ for the best
free education available when it comes to learning how
to buy and sell on eBay.

Let's face it: the more successful you are as a buyer or
seller, the more money eBay makes!

It makes sense that they should provide a very detailed and
helpful overview, as well as an extensive help section.

If you want a free "basic training" on eBay, start with
eBay's site, then move on to third party information
products if you want to expand your education.

** Microsoft Office Training **

Most people really have no clue how to use most of the
features that come built into Microsoft Word, let alone the
rest of Office.

You can do some really impressive stuff with Office, if you
know what it can do.

Log on to www.computertim.com for an extensive collection
of articles to help you learn how to operate various
Microsoft Office programs more efficiently, including:
Windows, Word, Outlook, Excel, and FrontPage.

Some articles might need updating periodically, but most of
them make an excellent starting point when exploring new
features.

** More Sites **

The following sites also offer free online training,
however, understand that many of them use the
introductory courses as a lead-in to get you to purchase
additional books, classes, or other advanced instruction.

www.lgta.org
Land-Grant Training Alliance - teaches you how to use
various software packages online and even has an
interesting tutorial on how to use the Internet as a
teaching tool to help others.

www.trainingtools.com
Offers a variety of introductory training courses for
software packages dealing primarily with website
creation, installing scripts and making your website do
cool things!

www.learnthat.com/courses/
Offers a variety of courses on everything from computer
training and software packages to even dealing with some
hardware issues and how to purchase the right digital
camera.

-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving
Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate
links... without spending a dime on advertising!
Click Here> http://www.friendswhocare.us/get_traffic.htm
-=-=-==-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Social Security Facts - According to Snopes.com

I received email from Tim stating that the
correct facts concerning the previous
article could be found at:

http://www.snopes.com/cgi-bin/news/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000003

You can click on the article's title to go
there.

I started to write a summary of the information
found but since I don't want to get into a
debate over this issue, I'll just say that
I did read the page and went to the links that
are still working (some of them don't).

Thanks for sending the link Tim.

To Your Success,
Susan

How To Manage Your Time

As I type this article I am listening to
an audio e-book on time management.

In this talking-ebook Michael Green,
the famous How To tool kit expert, shares
12 powerful time management tools that
every online marketer should follow.

Now to be honest, I have peeked ahead
in the e-book to see what some of these
rules are. Guess what I discovered?

I discovered that not only does he give
and explain 12 time management rules that
we could apply to almost every aspect of
our lives but he also lists 3 important
Don'ts that are just as important.

This e-book is worth every cent that it
normally sells for ($47.00) but I got
it for free and so can you.

Right now you can get this e-book and
the resale rights - free. Just go click
on the title of this article and join
- it's free.

After you join check out all the free
products and be sure to pick up "How
To Manage Your Time."

Susan

" Nitro Mindset Webcast - June 15th - FREE"

Matt and Kevin from NitroMarketing are having
a free webcast so you can copy what's working
for them right now. Here's the Quick Link:
http://www.friendswhocare.us/webcast.htm

They say it will be a virtual "Nitro Brain
Transplant" - revealing for the very first
time their exact business and marketing
mindset.

They will be sharing what "makes them tick"
when it comes to...

* Winning thought processes

* Top Secrets to their success

* Nitro business strategies

* How to get stuff done fast

* How to overcome procrastination fast

* How to eliminate mental roadblocks
(even the ones you don't know you have)

* How to go from nothing but an idea to a very
prof.itable business model in 90 days or less

* How they broke free from poverty consciousness,
being broke and unsuccessful to creating a multi-
million dollar international business in just 3
short years

They are named the webcast 'Nitro Mindset,'
because it's a unique, fresh perspective
on the mental game of success and the Internet.

They've enlisted the help of a very special person
they met last year to do some amazing things. They'll
tell you all about the amazing "Mr. T" (including his
name) live on this upcoming Webcast training 6/15/04
at 8pm eastern here:

http://www.friendswhocare.us/webcast.htm

You canget all the details about this exciting
training and register while there are still spots
available. (Space is limited due to cost constraints.)

Get all the details RIGHT NOW at...

http://www.friendswhocare.us/webcast.htm

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. By the way... you'll also get a free $97 gift
just for tuning in to this next live training on June
15th. Get all the details right now at:

http://www.friendswhocare.us/webcast.htm

How To Build A Responsive Mailing List

I recently ran an ad for one of my
internet friends, Hodges Hines. In
case you missed the ad I am making
the information available here because
the e-book he published holds a vast
amount of information.

The e-book, "Travels Through Cyberspace,
Vol.1-How To Build A Responsive Mailing
List With $100" contains information
gathered from eight online publishers.

I could give you the names of the eight
publishers but instead I will give you
the nicknames Hodges as given them and
let you guess which one I am. Oh, did
I forget to mention that I am one of
the contributors? Well I am and here is
the list to chose from:

The Canadian Mountie
The Little Princess
The Enforcer
The Man From Belgium
Mr. Happy Go-Lucky
The Lady Conqueror
Mr. Steady
Busy As A Bee

Each of these publishers wrote from their
own experiences and no two are alike.
Some spent the $100 and other didn't but
they all lay it all out and tell you
exactly what they did.

Right now Hodges is offering a 30%
discount on his "Travels Through
Cyberspace" e-book to the subscribers of
the FriendsWhoCare Newsletter. See for
yourself but don't buy from this link:
http://www.flash-phoenix.com/TTC/
Instead, click the title of this
article so you can receive the
discount.

To Your Success,
Susan
Publisher of FriendsWhoCare Newsletter and
Contributor to "Travels Through Cyberspace"

PS: Hodges gave you his email address in the
ad because he believes so strongly in the
material that if you buy it and you don't
think TTC is good stuff, he'll refund the
purchase amount and let you can keep the
bonuses. I'll repeat that information here:

Hodges Hines
hodges@flash-phoenix.com

Reasons To Get Moving On Your Business

I read these statistics a couple of years
ago when I was first thinking of starting
an online business and had them posted on
my site for awhile. During the last two
years things haven't changed that much so
I thought I would share them with you to
remind you of why you're working so hard.

The Bad News:

* 80% of the mothers have to work to make
ends meet

* 1 out of 5 parents has to work 2 jobs
just to pay living expenses

* 93% of the Americans who should reach the
age of 65 are either dead or dead broke.

The following facts were confirmed in a study by the
US Department of Labor Statistics:

* 28% are dead

* 2% are still working

* 63% depend on their family and social security

* After 40 odd years of hard work, 93% are
in poverty... yes, POVERTY.

"Poverty" is defined as a family of 2 with
an annual income of $12,120 or just $233
a week (For a family of 2, according to the
2003 HHS Poverty Guidelines)!

Here are some more disturbing facts:

* The majority of men had more money (cash)
at age 18 then they do at age 68, after
50 years of hard work! (Denby's Economic
Tables, 1990)

* 85 out of 100 people have less than $250
in cash at the time they officially retire!
(Social Security Administration, 1990)

* 33% of all senior citizens live well below
the current established poverty level!
(Social Security Administration, 1990)

* Social Security payments are the major
source of income (50% or more) for 63%
of those aged 65 or older and it's the
ONLY source of income for 18% of all retirees!
(Social Security Administration, 1998)

The Good News:

* 74% of those who are financially secure
got that way by owning their own business

If these statistics don't get you moving on
your own business - nothing will.

To Your Success,
Susan

Sending Old Men To War

A fellow subscriber sent this to me and I
thought I should share because we can all
use a good chuckle once in awhile.

Sending Old Men To War

If I could, I'd enlist today and help my country
track down those responsible for killing thousands
of innocent people in New York City and Washington,
DC But, I'm over 50 now and the Armed Forces say
I'm too old to track down terrorists. You can't be
older than 35 to join the military.


They've got the whole thing backwards. Instead of
sending 18-year-olds off to fight, they ought to
take us old guys.

You shouldn't be able to join until you're at least
35. For starters:

Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every
10 seconds. Old guys only think about sex a couple
of times a day, leaving us more that 28,000
additional seconds per day to concentrate on the
enemy.

Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky,
and a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier. If
we can't kill the enemy we'll complain them into
submission. "My back hurts!" "I'm hungry!"
"Where's the remote control?"

An 18-year-old hasn't had a legal beer yet and you
shouldn't go to war until you're at least old
enough to legally drink. An average old guy, on
the other hand, has consumed 126,000 gallons of
beer by the time he's 35 and a jaunt through the
desert heat with a backpack and M-60 would do
wonders for the old beer belly.

An 18-year-old doesn't like to get up before 10
a.m. Old guys get up early every morning to pee.

If old guys are captured we couldn't spill the
beans because we'd probably forget where we put
them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would
be a real brainteaser.

Boot camp would actually be easier for old guys.
We're used to getting screamed and yelled at and
we actually like soft food. We've also developed
a deep appreciation for guns and rifles. We like
them almost better than naps.

They could lighten up on the obstacle course
however. I've been in combat and didn't see a
single 20-foot wall with rope hanging over the
side, nor did I ever do any pushups after
completing basic training. I can hear the Drill
Sergeant now, "Get down and give me...er...one."

And the running part is kind of a waste of energy.
I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet.

An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him.
He's still learning to shave, to actually carry on
a conversation, and to wear pants without the top
of his butt crack showing and his boxer shorts
sticking out. He's still hasn't figured out that
a pierced tongue catches food particles, and that
a 400-watt speaker in the back seat of a Honda
Accord can rupture an eardrum. All great reasons
to keep our sons at home to learn a little more
about life before sending them off to possible
death.

Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten
cowards who attacked our hearts on September 11.
The last thing the enemy would want to see right
now is a couple of million old farts with
attitudes.

Share this with your senior friends (It's
purposely in big type for us old guys...)

-----------------------

Thanks Joe for sending this in.

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter

Why I Love TheGuruMarketer.com

When Ian Herculson over at TheGuruMarketer.com released his new 'Smart Subscriber' program a few months ago he got rave reviews within a few days from some of the internet's TOP marketers like;

- Jerome Chapman
- Mr. Joe Vitale
- Jason Mangrum
- Bryan Winters
- Diane Hughes
- Rod Lynn
- Jason Anderson
- Doug West

Now I don't know what they were raving about but I will tell you what I like about this program. It's a ready made ezine where I get all the affiliate commissions.

When this program first came out I recommended it and I still do even though none of my 'Smart Subscriber' downline have built their own downline.

Now that may sound foolish on my part since everyone is suppose to be building a downline to make more money. But the truth is - most people won't and I don't care.

Why don't I care?

Simple, I don't promote the 'Smart Subscriber' program anywhere but in my newsletter. I do promote the TheGuruMarketer.com newsletter in lots of places and get regular subscribers to it.

TheGuruMarketer.com ezine advertises the 'Smart Subscriber' program and lots of other things. Now I am getting checks from several of the affiliate programs I have never had time to advertise because my GuruMarketer subscribers are buying things.

I love getting unexpected money. Don't you?

And TheGuruMarketer.com ezine is really easy to promote because it has some really great bonuses for those who sign up.

So that's why I love the 'Smart Subscriber' program:

1. It offers something of value to get subscribers
2. I find the subscribers and someone else does all the work of mailing things out
3. I get all the commissions for all the purchases

Oh, I should also mention that the affiliate programs it promotes are top notch. Most are free affiliate programs but some aren't and you are not pressured into signing up for any of them. In fact, even though I was already an affiliate of most of the programs before I became a 'Smart Subscriber' there are still a couple I haven't joined.

You can read all about the 'Smart Subscriber' program
here OR try it FR.E.E for 14 days!!!

http://www.friendswhocare.us/super.htm

(Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste the link for the 'Smart
Subscriber' program because the link for the title will take you to TheGuruMarketer.com offer.)

To Your Success,
Susan

Grand Opening of the Free Resale Rights Vault

June 1 was the Official Grand Opening of the Free Resale Rights Vault.

Mark Hendricks and Michael Nicholas created this site to help others with their list building efforts.

If you want free resale rights To hot-selling digital products or free products to give away as lead generators and bonuses to build your list then you need to check this site out.

If you have a great digital product that you can contribute to this program then you should check out this site because it's also a joint venture to get new subscribers for those who contribute the products.

I haven't contributed anything to this program yet but I have been in similar joint ventures with Mark and have done extremely well.

I have checked out the free products to give away and picked up a few that I will be using very shortly

This is great site that I highly recommend.

To Your Success,
Susan

New Affiliate Information

I wanted to tell you about a brand new website Russell Brunson has just created...

Don't worry - this one is completely free...

and I must say that this one got me very excited. It's a completely new idea that could make you a ton in affiliate commissions this year.

It's called Affiliate Power Ads. They work like Google's Adsense, but instead of earning a few cents per click - you can earn up to $100 and monthly residual commissions from every click.

It will take you 5 minutes to set it up, but you will earn commissions for a lifetime.

You might want to sign up now while it's free!
http://www.friendswhocare.us/powerads.htm

To Your Success,
Susan

Your Email List Isn't Working

And yet another email I wanted to share with you.

Since I am always worrying about whether or not
my email is getting through and since many of
you have your own online publications I thought
I should pass this along too.

**********
Start of email

Your Email List Isn't Working

You may not be aware of this, but there's a good
chance your email list is not working for you as
you *think* it is.

If you publish an online newsletter, eCourse,
tip-of-the-day, special report, autoresponder message
or email list of any kind...

...you've got a big problem!

To find out why less than 10% of your subscribers may
actually be reading your email messages ... and what
you can do to reverse this problem, visit:

-> http://www.affiliates-win.com/getresults.htm

While you're there, you can download a FRE^E copy of
a *BRAND NEW* report series that will show you how to
get your list members to actually receive, read and
respond to every mailing you send out.

****BREAKING NEWS RELEASED TODAY****

Plus, for the first time ever, I'm sharing 24 secrets
you can begin using RIGHT NOW to pull in more profit
from any list. This is NEVER-BEFORE-REVEALED information
and it will only be at the site for a limited time, so
don't delay.

It's all at...

-> http://www.affiliates-win.com/getresults.htm

Best of Success,
Jimmy Brown

End of email
**********

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter


PS - By the way, if you haven't sent in the info
for your online publication so I can post it on
my new page please take a moment and send it. All
I need is a short description of you ezine/newsletter
and the URL or email address where subscribers can
sign up.

What I Think Of My FriendsWhoCare Subscribers

I received an email from an online friend that
I just had to share with you. Since I don't
usually pass on email chain letters but did
like the sentiment in this one I posted it to
a new page and will be adding it to my "Just
For Fun" links.

Now I have come to know some of you very well
through our email correspondence. And some of
you are remaining anonymous. But no matter.
You are special to me.

So please take a look at the site. And if you
have a friend that you want to share it with
then go ahead and send the URL to them. I am
not collecting or advertising anything from
this page so it is safe to share with everyone.

http://www.friendswhocare.us/friends.htm

To Your Success,
Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter

Social Security Facts

This email came from a subscriber and since
Social Security is something we all are all
concerned about whether or not we are currently
getting it I thought I would pass it on.

Again, I did check the facts and they are
true. ( It's nice being married to a man who
majored in history and library science. If he
doesn't remember something he knows where to
find the information. And boy, does he
remember a lot!)

Also, please note that I am not taking any
political side in this email so let's not
start a debate. There are just too many
issues that we are all concerned about.

**********
Start of email

Just a few interesting facts!

SOCIAL SECURITY:

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the
Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be
completely voluntary,

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1%
of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the
Program,

3.) That the money the participants elected to put
into the Program
would be deductible from their income for tax
purposes each year,

4.) That the money the participants put into the
independent "Trust
Fund" rather than into the General operating fund,
and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social
Security Retirement
Program, and no other Government program, and,

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would
never be taxed as income. Since many of us have
paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a
Social Security check every month -- and then
finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the
money we paid to the Federal government to "put
away," you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from
the independent "Trust" fund and put it into the
General fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the
Democratically-controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax
deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the
"tie-breaking" deciding vote as President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the U.S.

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving
annuity payments to immigrants?

A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic
Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at
age 65, began to
receive SSI Social Security payments! The
Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even
though they never paid a dime into it!

Then, after doing all this lying and thieving and
violation of the
original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around
and tell you that the Republicans want to take your
Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is, uninformed citizens
believe it!

Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during
this 2004 election year!

If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of
awareness will be planted and maybe good changes
will evolve.

How many people can YOU send this to?

Keep this going clear up through the 2004 election!!

We need to be heard!

End of email
**********

Thanks for sending this along FlexChan.

If you feel a gigantic need to send me
some facts - no rumors or promises - then
you can do so. But please remember that
we are all working to start or improve
our online businesses and not win an
election. I am sure there are a great
many online forums where politics are
discussed and I would like to leave them
there - not here.

Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter

Cell Phones Cause Refueling Fires - Fact NOT Fiction

Cell Phones Cause Refueling Fires - Fact NOT Fiction

*** NEW INFORMATION RECEIVED ***
Before you read this article I must tell you that
I have received some email from subscribers telling
me about signs that now appear on some gas pumps.
These signs give a warning that cell phones should
not be used during refueling. This information
was also posted by one in a comment.

As pointed out in the comment, if it wasn't true
then no one would have spent the money to produce
and post the warning signs.

Joe was being a person who cared about all of us
and our safety and I thank him for sharing this
warning. Without it I would never have known about
this real danger. I didn't find any mention of it
online and have not seen any of these signs.

Thank you Joe for sharing this information with those
of us who didn't know. I have changed the closing
comment to include the cell phone warning as a
valid concern.

Susan

**********

I received the following email from a subscriber
and was very concerned but did some checking before
I sent it out. ( I do this with all alerts and
warnings - too many hoaxes going around these days.)

You'll see my notes about this email embedded in
the SIDENOTES.

*********
Start of email

Shell Oil Co. Announcement
Importance: High

*********
SIDENOTE: I went to the Shell Oil web site and could
not find any warning about cell phones except that
they are a dangerous distraction while driving.
*********

The Shell Oil Company recently issued a warning after
three incidents in which mobile phones (cell phones)
ignited fumes during fueling operations. In the first
case, the phone was placed on the car's trunk lid
during fueling; it rang and the ensuing fire destroyed
the car and the gasoline pump.

In the second, an individual suffered severe burns to
their face when fumes ignited as they answered a call
while refueling their car.

And in the third, an individual suffered burns to the
thigh and groin as fumes ignited when the phone, which
was in their pocket, rang while they were fueling their
car.

You should know that Mobile Phones can ignite fuel or
fumes. Mobile phones that light up when switched on or
when they ring release enough energy to provide a spark
for ignition.

Mobile phones should not be used in filling stations or
when fueling lawn mowers, boat! , Etc. Mobile phones
should not be used, or should be turned off, around
other materials that generate flammable or explosive
fumes or dust, (i.e. solvents, chemicals, gases, grain
dust, etc.)

To sum it up, here are the: Four Rules for Safe
Refueling.

1) Turn off engine
2) Don't smoke anywhere NEAR the gas pumps OR Fuel
canisters.
3) Don't use your cell phone - leave it inside the
vehicle or turn it off.
4) Don't re-enter your vehicle during fueling.

*********
SIDENOTE: To see the actual guidelines issued by the
PEI go to : http://www.pei.org/static/ and note that
these guidelines do not pertain to the use of cell
phones. I also checked out several of the links on
this site that did refer to the use of cell phones
and found that they all stated that the use of cell
phones causing refueling fires was an urban legend
i.e. a hoax.

Is using a cell phone while refueling fact or fiction?
I don't know. But I do know that while you are busy
working with a lethal weapon ( your car or a highly
flammable liquid like gas ) it is better to keep your
mind on what you are doing rather than be distracted
by answering or talking on the phone.
*********

Bob Renkes of Petroleum Equipment Institute is working
on a campaign to try and make people aware of fires as
a result of "static electricity" at gas pumps. His
company has researched 150 cases of these fires.

His results were very surprising:
1) Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were women.
2) Almost all cases involved the person getting back
in their vehicle while the nozzle was still pumping
gas. When finished, they went back to pull the
nozzle out and the fire started as a result of
static electricity.
3) Most had on rubber-soled shoes.
4) Most men never get back in their vehicle until
completely finished. This is why they are seldom
involved in these types of fires.
5) Don't ever use cell phones when pumping gas
6) It is the vapors that come out of the gas that
cause the fire when connected with static charges.
7) There were 29 fires where the vehicle was re-entered
and the nozzle was touched during refueling from a
variety of makes and models. Some resulted in
extensive damage to the vehicle, to the station and
to the customer.
8) Seventeen fires occurred before, during or
immediately after the gas cap was removed and before
fueling began.

Mr. Renkes stresses to NEVER get back into your vehicle
while filling it with gas. If you absolutely HAVE to
get in your vehicle while the gas is pumping, make sure
you get out, close the door TOUCHING THE METAL, before
you ever touch the nozzle. This way the static from
your body will be discharged before you ever touch the
nozzle.

*********
SIDENOTE: This warning is valid and I saw it published
on several sites. Also, women do seem to be involved
more often in these types of fires and I have heard
several rumored reasons but have no valid proof of why
they are.
*********

As I mentioned earlier, The Petroleum Equipment
Institute, along with several other companies now, are
really trying to make the public aware of this danger.
You can find out more information by going to
http://www.pei.org/

Once here, click in the center of the screen where it
says "Stop Static". I ask you to please send this
information to ALL your family and friends, especially
those who have kids in the car with them while pumping
gas.

*********
SIDENOTE: I didn't see a "Stop Static" link so I went
to "Safe Refueling".
*********

If this were to happen to them, they may not be able to
get the children out in time.

Joe

*********
End of email

Thanks for passing this along. We all need to be
aware of the new warnings. So take care of yourself
and those you love by not re-entering your vehicle
or using a cell phone while refueling.

Susan Carroll
FriendsWhoCare Newsletter