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**  Greg Landry's "Fitness-Tip-of-the-Week"

**  Special Article - Articles: Picky Publishers? You Bet!
    by R.G. Ramsey

**  "Biz Tips" by Dr. Kevin Nunley - this is a weekly
    feature in the Newsletter - This week - Stickers to
    Improve Mail Response

**  A little levity: "Dilbert Quotes"

**  Items of Interest:  Ergo Tips by Virginia A. Grein

**  Internet Tip of the Week by Bob Osgoodby

**  Questions/Answers: Prodigy Classic Members have some
    questions

**  Upcoming Events: Next Week - Why Network? By Nancy
    Roebke

**  Article for this edition - Missing Links by
    Jennifer John

**  Technology: MCI WORLDCOM TO LAUNCH INTERNET SERVICE

**  Publications of Interest - Listed here are other
    publications you can receive free on the Web.  Only
    those publications that are appropriate for our online
    business community are listed.
  

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NUVT97A@prodigy.com or SweetJodie@aol.com - 317
  

There is a strong correlation between the rate of a country's meat consumption and their rate of bowel cancers and heart disease. Less meat consumption, less bowel cancers and heart disease. More meat consumption, more bowel cancers and heart disease. Think about it!

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Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry, M.S., publishes a FREE email newsletter, "Fitness, Health, & Weight Loss". To start your free subscription, send any email message, mailto:Fitness-on@mail-list.com or visit http://www.Landry.com
  

           -JUDGMENT COLLECTIONS - Get paid NOW! Contingency Fee (we only get paid when you do!) worldwide collection service for large balance debt.  105 Collectors/74 Lawyers worldwide with full tracing, investigation and legal services to get your money. Free estimate of collectability at our web site.  $20,000 U.S. Min.  Visit our site http://www.debt-collection-agency.com YBFA - 4/5/99
  

If you do a lot of ezine, banner and classified advertizing for your website and would like to know how each of your ads pulls, use a Gateway page for each ad.  A Gateway page consists of a splash screen or short introductory message to your visitors, with a counter and a link to your home or index page on it.

The link may be a text or image link or you may have the page automatically revert to the index page after "X" seconds by using the HTML tag <meta http- equiv="refresh" Content="X; url=http://www.my- site.com/index.html>.  I usually use X=3 for a logo and longer times for an introductory statement.  If you make the filenames of these pages my-ad001.html through my-ad020.html you will be able to maintain counts of responses to 20 ads.

Just make the url in your ad point to the appropriate Gateway page, like <http://www.my-site.com/my-ad005.html>. File all the Gateway pages in the same directory as the index page on your server.  Keep a list of ad number, ad title and location to help you interpret the results.

This can be especially easy to do if you make all the Gateway pages identical and use a hit tracking cgi script or free tracking service.  In this way you can prepare a single page and replicate it by filing it with the appropriate number in the filename.  Gateway pages like these will not interfere with search engine spiders visiting your site, since spiders look for the index page which pops up when your server responds to your URL.

Using the Gateway page method will quickly identify the good and bad places to advertize and, if you use different wording in successive ads in the same place, help you optimize the ad title and content.  If you would like to see a gateway page in action and don't mind a commercial message just visit <http://www.promo- dex.com/ttrack/news005.html>.

The splash page will remain visible for about 3 seconds.  If you are fast with your mouse button you can retrieve the HTML for this page by clicking View/Source on your browser during the time the Gateway page is visible.

*****************

Article by Frank Rybak, The Promo Guy, who offers ways and means to enhance your website presence and bring visitors back again and again. Visit his site at <http://www.promo- dex.com> for ideas and webtools, or email him at frank@promo-dex.com for individual attention to your needs.

Amazing Energy,Power,Radiant Health! E-mail->4wellness@prodigy.net - Proven Natural Health Tips! EASY Wellness Program.  Natural Health Talk FREE E-zine. SUBSCRIBE NOW and get a free gift. http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/NaturalHealthTalk - 5/2
  

Stickers to Improve Mail Response

  Business presentation expert Tom Antion recently sent me a copy of his new book "Wake 'Em Up!"  I could tell Tom knows what he's talking about as soon as I saw the package.  It practically jumped out of the pile of mail.

  Tom adorns his mailer with brightly colored stickers.  His mailing label features a red logo along with his photo. How many mailers come with a photo of the person who sent it? It's a real attention getter.

  Tom also puts several orange stickers with his web site address on the package.

  Stickers and labels are a great way to make letters and packages stand out and get opened.  Printers specializing in stickers are everywhere (think of all the items produced in your area that require professionally done labels).  The strength of the glue can be varied from easy-to-remove to almost permanent.

  Copy shops can usually handle small runs.  For just a few stickers, use your laser printer on colored labels available at any office supply store.

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Get Kevin's new book "101 Best Biz-Tips, Powerful low cost ways to promote your business!"$14.95 at http://www.DrNunley.com - Kevin provides affordable advice and copy writing, Kevin@DrNunley.com or (801)253-4536.
  

A magazine recently ran a "Dilbert Quotes" contest. They were looking for people to submit quotes from their real-life Dilbert-type managers. Here are some of the submissions:

1. As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the
   building using individual security cards. Pictures will
   be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their
   cards in two weeks.  (This was the winning entry; Fred
   Dales at Microsoft Corporation in  Redmond, WA)

2. What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we
   will encounter. (Lykes Lines Shipping)

3. How long is this Beta guy going to keep testing our
   stuff? (Programming intern, Microsoft IIS Development
   team)

4. E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data.
   It should be used only for company business.  (Accounting
   Mgr., Electric Boat Company)

5. This project is so important, we can't let things that
   are more important interfere with it.  (Advertising/Mktg.
   Mgr., UPS)

6. Doing it right is no excuse for not meeting the schedule.
   No  one will believe you solved this problem in one day!
   We've been working on it for months. Now, go act busy for
   a few weeks and I'll let you know when it's time to tell
   them.  (R&D Super visor, Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing
   /3M Corp.)

7. Quote from the boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing
   what 'I' say." (Mktg. executive, Citrix Corporation)

8. My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for
   Monday. When I told my boss, he said she died so that I
   would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year.
   He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He
   said, "That would be better for me."  (Shipping
   Executive, FTD Florists)

9. We know that communication is a problem, but the company
   is  not going to discuss it with the employees.  (AT&T
   Long Lines Division)

10. We recently received a memo from senior management
    saying,  "This is to inform you that a memo will be
    issued today regarding the subject mentioned above."
    (Microsoft, Legal Affairs Division)

11. One day my boss asked me to submit a status report to
    him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him
    if tomorrow would be soon enough.  He said, "If I wanted
    it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow to ask
    for it!" (New Business Mgr., Hallmark Cards)

13. This gem is the closing paragraph of a nationally-
    circulated memo from a large communications company:"
    Lucent Technologies is endeavorily determined to promote
    constant attention on current procedures of transacting
    business focusing emphasis on innovative ways to better,
    if not supercede, the expectations of quality!"

--
If it will not matter in ten years, don't worry about it now. (Woody Hood, ca1977)

Free Sample - King Size Filtered "Class A" cigarettes - $14.95 a carton.  Regular, Light, Ultra Light or Menthol. To find out how to get yours, visit our web page at: http://adv-marketing.com/omaha  -  this is also a great money making opportunity.
  

Ergo Tips:)

(We recommend that you consult your own physician regarding specific problems.  These questions are for general informational purposes only.)

Question:  "Dr. Grossan, I recently received ligamentis treatments for my back.  Unfortunately, by back has gotten worse.  I think it is a result of the treatments or the fact that my computer chair has been too low.  Do you think one or both could be contributing to this condition?  I have a muscle ligament problem or muscle joint problem."

Answer:  " There are good treatments available for back, muscle, or ligament problems.  I feel that your physician can answer your question best.  However, strain at the computer can be a contributing factor in any of these conditions.  If the chair is too low, this will bother you if you have to strain to see the screen.  If the keyboard is too high because your chair is too low, this will strain you.  Usually, your doctor will prescribe exercises for your back and it is important to do these regularly.  Do make sure the chair you use is adjustable for you."

Thanks for reading us.  Please send your questions to medpad@evansville.net.  Although we cannot answer each question personally, look for an answer in future issues. Questions are answered by Dr. Murray Grossan, Advice on Ear Nose and Throat Problems, http://www,ent-consult.com.  ET:) is sponsored by MedPad, http://www.evansville.net/~medpad.

Ginny Grein - medpad@evansville.net
For information on the newest innovation in women's sanitary products, check out my homepage @ http://www.evansville.net/~medpad.

EASTER EGGS ON MY SITE? Boost your website traffic by adding Easter Eggs and Pop-Up ads to the links on your website. Offer awards from jokes to cash on a random basis with E- Egg(tm) by Traffic Tracker. See it in action at <http://www.promo-dex.com > or email to eggs@promo-dex.com - 5/10
  

Open up Space on Your Hard Drive

This week we will actually go through the process, step by step on how to open up space on your hard drive.

1. In Windows 95, go to Start and select "Find", then select "Files or Folders". In "Named" enter - "*.tmp" (no quotes) - and Windows will find all instances of files with the tmp extension.

Many of the files will have a size of "zero". Unless you have recently crashed your computer, you can safely delete all of the files that are there. Place your mouse on the first file and, while holding down the shift key, go down to the last one. This will highlight all the files listed - delete. If you are in doubt about removing a particular file - don't.

2. Start your Browser and remove the History File - click on "Internet Options," then select the General tab. To clear your History folder click on the "Clear History" button. Confirm by clicking "OK."

3. Return to your Desktop and select the "Recycle Bin". Click on "File" and then "Empty Recycle Bin".

4. Go to Start - select "Run" and enter "ScanDisk" - (no quotes). Select "Thorough" - this will allow you to check your files and disk surface for errors. I recommend the "Automatically Fix Errors" option is checked.

5. Finally - you should defrag your disk if you haven't done it in awhile. Go to Start - select "Run" and enter "Defrag". Depending on the size of your disk, this can take some time. If you have a screen saver enabled, you should turn this off before running defrag. Some computers don't take kindly to having defrag interrupted by the screen saver kicking in. Once it starts, I simply turn off my monitor. This is a perfect task to accomplish just before sitting down to dinner.

I did this process myself and freed up over 100 MB of space on my hard disk.

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Bob publishes the free "Tip of the Day" Newsletter Visit his Web Site at http://adv-marketing.com/business to subscribe and place a Free Ad for your business.
  

With Prodigy Classic "biting the dust" I have received a number of questions regarding this.  I will continue to answer questions on our web page at http://www.adv- marketing.com/bbs/ and possibly devote a few articles to the problems Prodigy Classic Members could encounter.  Questions for today:

-----

I was wondering if anyone knew if Prodigy classics demise also means that Prodigy Internet will cease to exist? Would really appreciate an answer from anyone who knows.
Denise

-----

Denise - No, Prodigy Internet will continue "business as usual". In fact they have enhanced their offer for Prodigy Classic Members to sign up.
                                      Bob

-----

Bob - Your Business BBS and WEB site would make a fine replacement for members of, "Your Business BB" to go to when Classic Prodigy closes the BB, sometime in October [if not sooner due to lack in membership].
Regards, -Dan

-----

Thanks Dan - if there is enough interest, I will set up specific categories like there are on the Bulletin Board. This will help keep the conversations focused.

                                       Bob

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Bob, to your comments in today's tips, I would add:
prodigy thinks its members are stupid human beings.
To think, the reason they gave us is the Y2K problem.... now
really!!
Maria

-----

Maria - I got quite a chuckle out of that. The only thing that is date specific that I can see, is the date range used on the Bulletin Boards, and the year is not used there - only the month and the day.

Next Week - Why Network? By Nancy Roebke

Let us save you money!  We can help you plan your budget and follow it.  Give us only a few minutes of your time, and you'll know exactly where your money is going.  Call or E- mail now for more information about this inexpensive, unique service.  Ronald Lanzilotta, 255 Englar Drive, Sebastian, Fl, 32958 - Call 561-589-2445 or Email at: UZDG17A@Prodigy.Com - 3/17/99
  

A good deal of the material available on site promotion deals with submitting your site to Yahoo! and various search engines. For some webmasters, the all-consuming goal becomes achieving and maintaining a top 10 or top 20 listing.

While a high listing in one of the major engines would be great, not everyone is going to be able to accomplish that. After all, only...well....10  sites out of the hundreds of thousands out there will be in the top 10, right?

Should you hang it all up if you don't make it into that elite group? No way!

You should always submit your site to the major search engines and do what you can within reason to try to ensure a good listing, but don't put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak. There  are other ways to promote your site and these other methods might just work as well as, or in some cases better than, search engines and directories to refer people to your site.

The promotion method I want to discuss in this article is linking.

There are basically two types of links: reciprocal and non- reciprocal.

Reciprocal links are agreements between site owners to display each other's hypertext links. This is the online equivalent of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours".

Non-reciprocal links, then, are links to your site that another site owner has placed on his or her page without requiring you to do the same. These types of links are what I strive for as a site owner.  The reason is simple: it's free advertising; you don't have to do a thing except reap the benefits of any additional traffic.

I'm going to outline a few ways to cultivate each kind of link and some DOs and DON'Ts in each category.

*RECIPROCAL LINKS*

One of my visitors emailed me just today asking what he could do to get more site owners to trade links. As a site owner myself, I've been approached by many people and I've discovered quite a few things that discourage me from swapping links with other sites. Based on my experience, I want to offer a few pointers for those of you who are trying to get a reciprocal link program off the ground.

I. Personalize your contact email

I can't tell you how many sites I've *never* even considered exchanging links with simply because I received a "form letter" from the owner. You've received these, haven't you? Something along the lines of: "Hello fellow webmaster! I visited your site today..." By the second line, it becomes painfully obvious he or she did nothing of the sort.  If you don't care enough to find out my name and send me a personal email, why should I care to link with you?  My name is on the front page (and every other page) of my site!  How hard is it to address the email to me and not some generic group?

II. Target

You've sent out email to various site owners and you've gotten a bite! The owner of the "Greater Hemhaw Bat Roosting Habitat Study Page" wants to trade links!

Slow down, kid, let's think about this for a moment.  If your site is devoted to constructing a bat house(yes, there is such a thing, Virginia), you're in business. If your site caters to software developers, do you really want to include that link on your page?

Am I being a bit facetious? Maybe so. The point I'm trying to convey is you should only negotiate reciprocal links with sites that have content which complements yours.

The reason for this is twofold: first, it is a great resource for your visitors to be able to find information that you may not have covered on your page.  Afraid you'll lose them forever? If your content isn't good enough to get them to return, you never really *had* them in the first place. The second reason is you won't be filling up your space with loads of (for your visitors' purposes) useless material. Don't you think sites that are just haphazard collections of links already take up too much space?

III. Remember the Golden Rule

An especially memorable email that just warmed the cockles of my heart said something along the lines of: "Don't try to hawk any of your [you-know-what]. Just do what I'm asking you to do and get back to me." OK, so I paraphrased a bit - but that was the gist and the general tone of the correspondence. This person was "requesting" a free service I offer.

Remember the Golden Rule? Do unto others...

People who operate web sites are usually fairly busy.  Many of the site owners I know are great people and often respond quickly and (invariably) politely to requests from visitors. I think that most of us not only don't mind email from visitors, we thrive on it!

That being said, successful sites receive lots of email so you stand a much greater chance of getting what you want if you use a little common courtesy in your correspondence. Email is very impersonal. What you consider efficient may be interpreted by the recipient as curt. You needn't be excessively wordy, but make an effort to phrase your requests or comments politely and I'm sure you'll get better results.

IV. Location, location, location!

I believe it's best to have a separate links page. Don't showcase someone else's page on your site's prime "real estate".

If possible, organize your links into categories and give a short description of each to help your visitors as they peruse them.

V. Birds of a Feather...

You should guard your online reputation as closely as possible. Your credibility is a major asset.

Don't exchange links with sites that do business in a manner contrary to the way you do business. I think many visitors feel by displaying another site's link, you're endorsing that site or product; even though this may not be the case. If you exchange links with a "shady" site, it will reflect on your site to some extent.

In the "real world", you're often judged by the company you keep. It's not so different online.

*NON-RECIPROCAL LINKS*

There are few pointers I can offer in this area. The main way to procure non-reciprocal links is to develop and maintain a good site.

You can actively encourage people to link to your site by providing banners, buttons, or other linking graphics for people to use. A word of advice in this area: many people would like to link to your site, but don't have the faintest idea of how to do so.  Provide easy to understand instructions on how to copy the graphics and provide the HTML code you would like people to use when linking.

Institute a program that somehow rewards site owners who display a link to your site. One such technique that is widely used is to have a "link contest";  usually a randomly selected site wins a prize. The prize can be anything from free advertising to a free gift from your product line. Be creative! Pick something your visitors would actually want in order to encourage maximum participation.

While these promotional tools may never eclipse Yahoo! in your list of referrers, you might be surprised at the extra traffic that links from other sites can generate!

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ASPiRE Internet Marketing
<http://www.PromotingYourSite.com>
Articles, tips, tools, tutorials, and other resources to
help you effectively design and promote your site. Free
newsletter! Contact Jennifer directly at:
jenny@promotingyoursite.com

MCI WORLDCOM TO LAUNCH INTERNET SERVICE
MCI WorldCom is planning to launch a consumer Internet- access business, possibly within the next week, according to sources.  Customers will have the option of buying the Internet service separately, or as a package deal with long-distance telephone service. Four months ago MCI was forced to sell its Internet service as a condition of its merger with WorldCom.

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That's it for now - Bob