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Limit your font use for
proper web site etiquette
By Tom Falco (c) 2002
The best way to keep your website clean
and legible is to use one or two fonts types.
More than that is very amateurish and messy.
People who are new to designing websites
or anything for that matter often like to make
use of their entire font library.
Since we are printers, we see this daily.
People submit an order all typeset and
ready to go, but they use about five or
six different fonts on one page. It gets
very busy and illegible.
We have received artwork for 3" x 4"
custom post-it notes with as many as
5 font styles! This is a very small area
to be using so many different styles.
But the main reason you should not
play around with many fonts and not use
many wild and crazy fonts on websites
is simple: Not all the fonts are available
on everyone's computers and what
you see on your monitor may not be
what is seen on your web visitors'
monitors.
You may have bought or downloaded
a really funky typeface that is great and
will enhance your website, but if all
your web visitors don't have the same
funky typeface installed on their computers,
their systems will just replace the font with
something like "Arial" or "Verdana" and
it may reshape the entire page and defeat
the whole purpose of you using the font.
When using a font that is not common,
it is best to make a piece of art out of it
like a gif or jpg and then just treat it as
a photo or clip art image. This way it will
be seen by everyone the same way.
Also, it is common to use "Arial," "Times
Roman" and "Verdana" as web site type
faces. It makes the image more familiar
and comfortable to your visitors and enhance
their viewing pleasure, even if you feel
it is dull and common.
If you are trying to conduct business on
line, this is the way to go. Presently, this
seems the best method and probably in
the future there will be the ability to
mix and match fonts and have everyone
see the same image, but why ruin your
site now and lose visitors who cannot
see the images the way they were
meant to be seen.
Keep it simple. Use common fonts and
if you feel like experimenting just make
art images like gifs and jpgs out of the
very wild and exotic type styles.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
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or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Swapping links will increase business
By Tom Falco (c) 2002
http://www.XpectMore.com
Swapping
links with similar sites is a great
way to increase business.
It may seem odd that you would want to
consider trading or swapping links with
similar sites, but what better way to reach
the customer interested in that same line?
If you sell U.S. Flags, what would be the point
of sharing links with a site that sold real estate?
Sure, many people home shopping would
consider buying flags, but most likely they are
on the real estate site for home buying purposes
and nothing more.
If you traded links with a site that sold American
Flag t-shirts or one that sold U.S. Flag lapel pins,
this would be the ideal market looking for U.S.
Flags. People shopping for the lapel pins most
likely would click the link to your site to check out
the flags you are offering, too and vice versa.
If you are selling an ebook on marketing, why not
offer it by trading links with other ebook publishers
who are selling ebooks or any books for that matter
on marketing?
The customer who is interested in one type of
marketing book would easily be interested in
other books on the subject.
Sharing links with other website is a smart way to
go. It is easy and really doesn't take up much time
or effort.
The best thing to do is to email the site you would
be interested in swapping links with. Before you do
that it might be a good idea to check the site out
and see if they currently share links, many sites do.
Many don't.
If the site shares links, this is what you are looking for.
If the site has a page set up with about 100 links,
this is NOT what you are looking for.
After all, you want your link to be seen. So choose
sites wisely, choose sites that offer a handful of similar
links and send an email request. Make sure the sites
are willing to put the link in a spot where it will be
seen. Don't bother with sites that have one or two
pages set up just for link swapping. This makes no
sense and is a waste of your time.
These pages are usually run by a third party and
the links don't have anything to do with each other.
Anyone is able to swap links which really is nothing
more than a large classified site.
When you find the right sites to swap with, tell the
webmasters or owners what you have in mind.
Offer some suggestions for their links like:
Order U.S. Flags Here: www.FlagsHere.com or
The #1 Site for U.S. Flags: www. FlagsHere.com.
Give them something to see, let them know where
you will put their link and tell them the web traffic
that you receive. Be fair, be accurate and you should
have a long-lasting relationship without any problems.
The links will silently work for both parties.
Usually when link exchanges are set, they are there
indefinitely and both parties reap the rewards.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Using fax forms can
increase internet sales!
By Tom Falco (c) 2002
Just because you set up a website does not
mean that you have to limit yourself to only
doing business on the site.
If you don't have a bricks and mortar
business as well, why not open up other
options for customers?
Fax forms are a great idea. It allows
an alternative to those who are skeptical
about placing orders on line.
If they would prefer to bypass your
on line process including the shopping
cart or even Pay Pal, they may feel more
comfortable faxing an order to you.
You can easily arrange a few ways to
allow this.
One common way is to set up a form on
your site that will ask all the pertinent
information about the sale: size, quantity,
color, etc. Or if it is an ebook for instance,
you may ask how many, which book, etc.
Make sure you ask for the customer's fax
number in the form. When you receive the
form info, just fax back an order form to
the customer's fax number.
Make sure it is clear on the form that
this is a "secure fax" line and all information
is private, guarded and confidential.
You would make the form into a purchase
order, listing all the information along with
total price. At the bottom have an area
for the credit card number, billing address,
shipping address and so on.
This way, the customer can easily fill out
the form you fax to them and fax back the
information to you.
This is a great way to get business from
people who are hesitant about doing
business on line, but truly want to do
business with you.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
HOW TO MAKE
YOUR BANNER
EXCHANGES WORK
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
I figured our a great way to make the
banner exchange work.
My banners are actually getting more click
throughs than ever.
As you know, banners are really a poor way
to advertise. People are oblivious to them.
They are so common and so annoying, that most
people just ignore them.
But now you can get a decent click through rate.
Try making your banner simple. Make it blue and
white. Blue letters on a white background. Make
the blue letters in verdana or times or a common
typestyle used on websites.
The purpose is to make the banner look like a link
on the page it is shown on.
Again, make the letters blue. The same shade that
links usually are, and have it underlined so that
it appears to be a link.
The blue type on the white background will appear
as a link on the page it is shown on.
This of course will only work well with pages that
have white backgrounds since the white background
of the banner will blend into the background and the
blue words will appear as if they were part of the
site they are on. Not as a banner.
Since most pages are white, this is will work.
It will work on other pages since it looks like a link.
This banner has brought a larger click through rate
than any other banners we have tried.
You can gear the banner to anything you might promote
or sell. Just the fact that the banner looks as if it
is a link on any specific page that is showing the
banner is the best.
It is important to target your banner to the correct
market for even better results. If you are selling
cosmetics, it really would not be a great draw on a
webpage dedicated to NASCAR. So make sure your ad will
be seen on the proper websites. Targeting is very
important.
Most banner exchange programs allow you to target specific
business types and even specific businesses.
We use Link Exchange and they make it very easy to target
specific websites, not just specific types of businesses
You can sign up at:
http://www.linkbuddies.com/start.go?id=121089
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
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or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Are you surveying your
website visitors?
By Tom Falco
http://www.XpectMore.com
A great way to improve business and include your
customers and web visitors is to place a form on
your website.
The form can be simple and basically set up to
ask a few simple questions.
We sell printing and it's important for us to know if
our customers or potential customers are comfortable
navigating our site and dealing with printing terms and
specifications, so we set up a form asking.
At times we get responses which aren't so favorable
but these are the important responses because these
are the things people are concerned with. By making
the changes and accommodating their concerns, we
improve our website and our business.
Just the fact that people take the time to fill in the form
is a good thing. If there are major complaints, people will
call or email, but the form is good because it actually
asks people for their honest opinions.
You can see our form at:
http://www.thediscountprinter.com/news.htm
You'll notice we have it set up pertaining to our business,
but it can easily be re-formatted to fit any website or
business.
One important thing we place on the form are links and
questions about our privacy policy and also return policy.
We want our customers to read this and we direct
them there.
Most of our responses are very favorable. But as I stated
above, the ones which tell us we need to improve are
really great because they are the ones which enable us
to cater to our visitors and we can do what they ask and
make things better.
We have a link on our web pages which states: "Please take
our survey." It seems to do the trick, and we are very
pleased that our customers take the time to fill it out. Most
people who do fill it out are past customers, not just people
passing through, but we do get some responses from people
telling us that they can't find something or they don't like
something.
At first we wanted to keep it anonymous and didn't ask for
any names or email addresses, but it got frustrating not being
able to respond to some people. So now we ask for email
information and if they feel comfortable enough, they leave
their email address. Most do. This allows us to ask questions
and explain our reasoning on certain things. We are glad
to have the contact and this is a great marketing tool: being
able to correspond and tell them that we do care and we do
appreciate them taking the time to speak with us.
Try adding a form today. People will appreciate the fact
that you care about them and their opinions.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Increase Sales with Testimonials
By Tom Falco © 2002
Testimonials are a great way to increase
sales with any business. You see them
used all over the place on TV ads to
quotes from movie critic reviews in
newspapers. Even busses have ads on
their sides with quotes from someone
or other.
How many times have you seen:
"The best movie of the year!" - The N.Y. Sun
or "Academy Award-winning material!" - The
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
You probably get nice letters from happy
customers, read them and then toss them
or save them, but you don't use them.
Use them!
When someone writes you a nice letter telling
you how they enjoyed your product or service,
this is the highest form of praise. This person
actually took time out of their hectic day to
say something nice, going out of their way
because they were obviously very pleased.
Write the person back, via email or snail mail
and ask for permission to use their letter as a
testimonial. You can also include a link to
their website if they have one or you can just
mention their business. This makes the letter
more legitimate. Readers can see this is a
real person.
One important thing: Do not use their email
address or street address. This is too personal
and other than the fact that this is a spammer's
dream, you do want to keep the customer's
information private from all prying eyes.
Do not make up letters. For some reason or
other they always seem to shine through
as fake. It's a good idea to only run real
testimonials that you have received.
If you have not received any testimonials you
can approach a recent customer and inquire
about the product or service. Ask them if
the item arrived on time. Ask them how they
like it. Their response will be your testimonial.
(Hopefully it is a good response and not a
complaint -- sometimes when you "open the
door" by asking how a person liked something
it has the reverse effect and you hear complaints).
When you have your testimonials, set up a web page
with the praise you received. Put a link to that
page on all of your other web pages. You may
even choose to place one testimonial on your
homepage and just continue the rest onto their
own page inside the site somewhere, linking
right from the hope page testimonial.
Testimonials are well read. People do read
what others have to say about a product or
service. That is why you see testimonials all
over the place and especially in movie ads.
They have proven to be high motivators on
websites, especially on sites selling information
like ebooks and such which are more of a
service than product.
To see what we have done with our testimonials
you can visit our homepage and then follow
the link to the inside testimonials at:
http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
Use our site as an example, feel free to copy
the idea. (Not the actual testimonials).
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Increase sales by offering
"off line" ordering methods
By Tom Falco (c) 2002
Now that your website is up and
running have
you give much thought to mail in orders?
Or phone orders?
Are you offering ways to accept orders other
than on line? You may want to consider
accommodating this important market.
Not many people feel comfortable ordering
on line and they like ordering the old fashioned
way with a stamp and envelope. Or by phone
where they can speak with a live person.
Also, many people without computers might be
told by friends about your business and they
would love to order, but since they don't have
a computer or lack the ability to order on line,
it would be a good idea to accommodate them
and in turn get orders from this source.
We have found that by placing a way for people
to order off line and placing a link to the
explanation of how to do that, we have received
many more fax and direct mail orders. It really
has paid off.
Many people use company checks where they
don't have access to company credit cards and
I have been told by older buyers that they are
not very computer savvy but are pleased to order
by mail (the "old fashioned way"). Or by phone.
We set up a link on all of our pages in the navigation
area and prominently on our home page. It says:
"How to order off line" and it links to an easy
explanation of how we would love to serve everyone
and this is how we accept orders. Then we go on to
explain how to order off line.
You can check this out for yourself at:
http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
. You'll notice
at the top of the page right below the business name,
we have a link called "How to order off line". If you
click that, you'll go right to our explanation and
instructions of how easy it is to order off line.
We list fax, snail mail and other ways.
This is on the same page with testimonials, our
privacy policy, our refund policy and other
important items we have talked about in the past.
These are all important ways to increase sales
and make your customers feel secure about
purchasing from you.
We don't accept phone orders simply because
our products are custom printed and we need to
have everything written down for clarity. But we
do offer a way for customers to call us whenever
necessary. They are more than welcome to speak
with our staff by phone to clarify any ordering issues.
Phone orders, snail mail and fax are very viable
alternatives to web orders even if you are only a
web-based business. It's important to realize that
many people prefer many different ways to place
orders. Accommodating them is the surest way
to help your business grow.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Are search engines playing fair?
By Tom Falco (c) 2002
The search engines are coming under
fire for selling their top listings and
not making it clear to the users which
are paid listings and which are legit.
It's a shame that it has come to that.
We have the number one, two or three
listing in most of our categories, yet
we are overshadowed by other sites
who pay to be listed above us.
Their listings are not relevant and it hurts
the whole practice and form of the search
engines. It almost makes the whole
article above on meta tags useless.
According to Gary Ruskin, executive
director of Commercial Alert, the group
who filed a complaint with the FTC, "It's
important for people to know whether
or not their search results are being
bought by big business."
We have to admit, we do pay for listings
but it is interesting to see that even the
pages we are listed on show us at the top
of the free listings. Yet we must also pay
to keep our listings at the top because
the other paid listings overshadow us.
It is very frustrating because we have the
knowledge of how to legitimately be at the
top of the ranking (which we share with you
in each issue of this ezine), yet it really
comes down to who is willing to bid the
highest to be at the top.
It seems that the only search engine complying
with government regulations is Google. They
accept paid listings, but they are clearly
listed to the right of the page and shaded.
There is no mistaking that they are ads.
The FTC is cracking down. By September
all search engines must do something about
the practice of paying for listings.
As more and more search engines accept
pad for listings, it dilutes the results and
is not an honest portrayal of what is what.
If you are searching for "The White House,"
you may end up at a porno site or even
somebody's home page, simply because
they paid to be listed as number one, when
in reality The White House in Washington, DC
should be the number one spot.
The good news is that if the search engines
don't make changes on their own, federal
regulators almost certainly will take harsher
action, according to Danny Sullivan, an
industry analyst for Searchenginewatch.com.
The search engines face a balancing act as
they try to comply. Because they make money
ever time Web surfers click on an advertiser's
link they don't want the additional disclosures
to lessen the appeal of the paid listings.
The solution: Don't patronize the paid listings.
If you are searching for something, make sure
the links you click on are not labeled "sponsor"
or "advertiser" or "partner". They usually
have this distinction in small type.
Usually it is the first three on the list and the
legitimate listings which belong in the ranking
start around number four. If you look, you
can tell which is paid and which isn't.
Use the real listings. It is a waste of time to
click on the paid listings. They never are
what you are looking for and you have to
search through whole sites to find the
exact page you want, where the free listings
are legit and are at the top of the listings
for a reason: they are relevant.
All that being said, check out the article
below!
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
NEED A
GHOSTWRITER? A COPYWRITER?
By Tom Falco (c) 2002
Ever wonder how so many businesses come up with
so many great slogans or press releases?
They have copy writers. People only devoted to
promoting their businesses for them.
Copy writers create everything from the best press
releases and ad slogans to even speeches and
obituaries!
Anyone can hire a copy writer for any occasion.
They are ghost writers at their best. They write
your copy, but are in the background and you
take all the credit!
Many people have to give a presentation at school
or work and they don't know how to put their thoughts
into words. This is where the copy writer comes in.
Professional copy writers can write poems, speeches,
tributes and yes even obituaries.
One great copy writer who has been making people
and businesses look good for years is Joan
Nielsen, publisher of Miami's "Social" magazine.
With Father's Day coming up, Joan can also whip
up some nice poetry for Dad or even a tribute!
Joan, also known as "The Easy Writer" can be reached
at: 305-665-8101 or you may see some of her work
and ideas on line at: www.TheEasyWriter.com
.
Joan's magazine, "Social" may also be seen on line
at: www.SocialCovers.com .
Check it out! Let Joan put some clever words in
your mouth for your next public appearance.
Why are people afraid to order on-line?
By Tom Falco (c) 2002
Something that we keep coming up against
are people unwilling and too afraid to order
on-line because they don't want to punch in
their credit card numbers.
This bothers me constantly. These are the
same people who are willing to email me their
credit card info rather than actually use a
secure, scrambling server.
Emailing the card number is the worst thing you
can do. Using a secure server is the best.
What do people think will happen when they
punch in their credit cards on line? Do they
think this is any different than handing over
their credit card at Macy's or the Home Depot?
It all goes through the same process and it
is important to make your on line visitors
aware of this. The world is computerized
and digitalized now. All of these transactions
are sent around the world in seconds. All are
electronic transfers. Banks are doing this every
second of the day.
Your personal baking info is in cyberspace at
this very moment.
Macy's, Home Depot, K-mart, etc. all use the
same on-line transactions. Even when you
purchase in the stores.
Many people who are afraid of on-line credit card
fraud are the same people who are more than willing
to hand over their Social Security numbers to anyone
who asks, yet the credit card number is so
sacred.
People wake up! Social Security numbers is the
last thing you want to give to a total stranger.
Whenever asked for that, just give the last four
digits if possible.
Identity theft is a big problem. Not credit card fraud.
But using a credit card on line is very secure.
The same process used on websites is used
in stores, restaurants, etc. The card goes to
a processing company which confirms the number,
charge amount, etc. Then it passes it down the
line until it goes into the merchant's account, minus
the little bits taken here and there by the credit
card companies, banks, processors and the like.
The merchant is lucky to be left with anything after
this process!
But back to the process: If there is a dispute with
a strange charge on your credit card, it is so simple
to call or write the credit card company and say the
charge was not authorized by you. Case closed.
The credit card company will immediately place a
dispute on the card, give you back your money and
go after the merchant. It is then on the merchant's head
to explain why the card was charged.
If this is a fraudulent charge, it is the merchant's job
to explain why the card was accepted and approved.
The merchant is the one who needs to come up with
proof of the charge. Not the card owner.
Remember, if a charge is made without the actual
card in the merchant's hand, then you, the consumer
have nothing to worry about. The merchant has a lot
of explaining to do if they charge a card wrongly.
The authorities will want to know how they got the
number without having the actual card.
Merchant account banks are very strict with on-line
merchants and the merchants have to jump through
a lot of hoops in order to even be accepted as on-line
credit card merchants.
I feel more secure punching in my credit card on line
than handing it to a waiter or cashier. In the Miami area
recently there were dozens of waiters arrested for
swiping the credit card on a sort of scanner the size of
a pager, which took the credit card info right from the
card and transferred it to those who used the stolen
number and other info to make fake credit cards. The
waiter was paid maybe $100.00 per number that he/she
handed over to the scammers who made the fake cards.
To me, that is more of a problem than on-line fraud.
How many times have you actually handed your
credit card to a watier or store clerk and had it leave
your site? That is where the problem is. No with on-line
ordering.
Think about it.
This article may be reprinted with permission by including the
resource box in its entirety at the bottom of the article.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Falco is editor of XpectMore.com eZine
and also owns: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com
To subscribe to XpectMore.com Marketing eZine
mailto:ezine@xpectmore.com?subject=subscribe
or visit: http://www.XpectMore.com
Simple Steps to Protect Your PC
With more and more people using "always on"
Internet connections, the number of potential
targets for hackers, crackers and "script-kiddies"
grows as well. Although the prospect of a hacker
controlling your PC is frightening, more often the
target is not data theft, but rather the actual PC
itself for use in a Denial-of-Service Attack.
What is a Denial-of-Service Attack?
Denial-of-Service Attacks (DoS) take place
when false requests for information flood a
target computer/s, thus overloading the target
and causing it to become unavailable to those
legitimate requests for information. Not too long
ago, several high-profile Web sites such as
Yahoo.com, Amazon.com and E-Bay were
knocked off-line by a wave of Distributed
Denial-of-Service Attacks (DDoS). DDoS attacks
are simply a coordinated DoS attack using many,
many PCs to flood the intended target/s.
How do Denial-of-Service or Distributed
Denial-of-Service Attacks Take Place?
As mentioned above, with more and more
people using "always-on" Internet connections,
the opportunity for hackers to access those
PCs have also risen. Think of the Internet as a
wild frontier with virtually no rules. People can
operate in this environment with total anonymity.
When you turn your PC on and connect to this
wild frontier, you have opened the "backdoor"
to your machine. Without a personal firewall in
place to monitor this backdoor, you have no
idea who will step through. And this is where
the hacker does his dirty work.
Hackers scan the Internet looking for vulnerable
systems with no firewall protection and an open
Internet connection. They can then download a
Trojan to that PC (often called a zombie agent)
which allows them remote access at any time. Once
a hacker has control of your system, he can then use
it to carry out attacks on others (DoS attack) or he can
patiently get control of many PCs and execute an attack
using all of them to target a specific site (DDoS attack).
Zombie agents can infect your PC using the same
propagation methods as traditional viruses: e-mail
attachments, throughlocal installations, via rogue
web sites or through the backdoor of your PC as
we've been discussing.
How do I protect my PC from being involved?
E-mail:
* Disable any auto preview features in your e-mail
application.
* Make sure you are running the latest
version of the e-mail application you use.
* Do not open attachments if you cannot verify the
origin of the file.
* If you run Microsoft Outlook, make sure you
keep up with all published security updates.
* Disable any scripting features, to prevent any
hidden scripts from executing.
Local Installation:
* Do not access disks unless they are from
a trusted source.
* Disable the auto run feature of your CD-ROM
drive.
* Protect your PC with a password. Many people
ignore this feature. But it is a good idea.
Web Sites:
* Enable Active-X and Java filtering in your
web browser.
* Run a virus protection application.
* Scan all downloaded files with a virus
protection application.
Firewall:
* Install and run a firewall application to monitor
all traffic attempting to access your PC.
Two great places to get virus and hacker
protection:
www.mcaffee.com and www.norton.com
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