========================================== Business Marketing Bulletin ========================================== January 8, 2008, Issue #83 Terri Seymour, Publisher http://www.seymourproducts.com mailto:terri@seymourproducts.com © 2007 All Rights Reserved Worldwide ========================================== In This Issue ========================================== 1. Top Sponsor Ads 2. Privacy Policy 3. What's New? 4. Feedback 5. Freebies & Biz Helpers 6. eCommerce Marketing Tip 7. Feature Ad 8. Resource-A-Day 9. Article: The Basics of RSS 10. Feature Ad 11. This 'n That - Little Bit of Everything! 12. Subscription Management & Contact Info ========================================== Top Sponsor Ads ========================================== Immediate openings for top sponsor and solo ads! Order now and reserve your date for the New Year! http://www.seymourproducts.com/newsletter/advertise.shtml *************************** Free Download - eBay Workshop Collection The workshop titles included in the ebook are... *From Hobby to Home Business *How to Compete in a Crowded Market *Understanding the Basics to Importing Physical Products to Sell.........and much more! You can download it for free here: http://www.worldwidebrands.com/wwb/kh_freeebookWorkshops.asp?kbid=1028 ********** ATTENTION ********** You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to it. As a subscriber you have acknowledged that there will be both in-house and third party advertising as part of our content. This allows BMB to remain free. If you would like to be removed from this list, please see instructions at the end of this newsletter. Seymour Products values your privacy. http://www.seymourproducts.com/privacy.shtml Seymour Products is hosted by ICDSoft Hosting. No set-up fees, 1000 MB of space, $72 per year, plus numerous features! Incredible support system...minutes, not hours! You have a bigger plan option as well. http://www.icdsoft.com/?aff=terriseymour ========================================== What’s New? ========================================== Hello everyone and welcome new subscribers, Thank you for joining us again this week. I hope everyone's 2008 is off to a great start! One form of online advertising that is expected to jump dramatically this year is "video advertising." You can read more here: http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/recent_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003690029 Learn how to use videos to build your business: http://www.seymourproducts.com/ebooks-resell/view_item.php?ItemID=1116 This product also comes with Master Resale Rights! In the News Microsoft Predicts More Phishing, e-Greeting Scams http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/656?ref=rss New Ebooks this Week: Resell Ebooks Just $1.00 Each! Web Video Mastery (int marketing) Free & Low Cost Ways to Huge Traffic (int marketing) Quick & Easy Ways to Boost Your Business (online/home biz) Relationshio Marketing with Email (int marketing) New to eBay: Beginner's Guide (ebay) Your ATV Guide: What You Need to Know (sports) Hunting Game Adventuring (entertainment) Affiliate Rescue (online/home biz) Thrilling Adv. by Land and Sea (classics) Money Mouth: Get Paid to Speak (jobs & career) 8 Days to Cash on the Internet (online/home biz) http://www.seymourproducts.com/ebooks-resell **Weekly Subscriber Special** Mystery? This week we are trying something a little different. I will give you three numbers and each one of these numbers comes with free ebooks. Now by a number, this is the number of ebooks you order. For example: If you order 10 ebooks, the number 10 might come with 3 free ebooks or maybe 5. You will not know until you email me after you order. Ok, here are the numbers: 10 ebooks get you ? free ebooks 15 ebooks get you ? free ebooks and 20 ebooks get you ? free ebooks. The three numbers of free ebooks are: 6, 4, 10. Now you don't know which number of free ebooks goes with each amount of purchase so if you purchase 10, 15 or 20 ebooks, just email me for the number of free ebooks you receive. You will recieve at least 4 free ebooks! NOTE: New eBooks listed above are not eligible for Weekly Subscriber Specials. Join the Seymour Products Trivia Challenge! Find the hidden trivia question and be the third person to send in the correct answer for a free feature ad in next week's issue of the Business Marketing Bulletin. Send your answer to mailto:terri@seymourproducts.com?subject=answer Congratulations to Pam Brechlin for being last week's trivia challenge winner. Last week’s Q: What three Monopoly properties are green? Last Week’s A: Pacific, North Carolina and Pennsylvania Join in the fun and try to win a free feature ad. Good luck all! If you know anyone who could benefit from this ezine, please feel free to forward them a copy in its entirety. Thank you. If you would like to advertise in the BMB, please visit: http://www.seymourproducts.com/newsletter/advertise.shtml for more information. Advertising prices are as low as $2.00. I am also looking for ad swaps from other ezine publishers. BMB goes out to 760 subscribers. ========================================== Feedback ========================================== Please send in your comments, suggestions, questions, etc to mailto:terri@seymourproducts.com?subject=feedback We appreciate all feedback, good or bad! Purchasing Terri Seymour's book store was an excellent choice to start my own online store. Terri even installed it for me! The shopping cart and paypal links were already set, ready to receive orders. All I had to do was upload my products, give it a category and a price tag! Without any previous experience in web merchant accounts or the ICD webhost, I still was able to accomplish this in a very short time. Adding text and images were very simple. Terri provides excellent customer service! She is so wonderful and patient as I had many questions before and after my purchase. I couldn't have done it without her! Thank you so much Terri!" Highest Regards, Luanne Lembo http://bookexpresscafe.com ========================================== Freebies & Biz Helpers ========================================== Crash Course in Writing Sales Letters http://homenotion.com/blog/internet-marketing/crash-course-in-writing-a-sales-letter/ ****** New Article Directory http://www.articlesforwahms.com ****** Free Download: SEO SpyGlass SEO SpyGlass enables you to secretly (and ethically) spy on your Google and Yahoo competition and see exactly why they rank better than you. Just launch SEO SpyGlass, and in a matter of minutes you will know everything humanly possible about why ANY site ranks well. http://www.link-assistant.com/seo-spyglass/ ****** Write Better Ads - Do It Free! http://www.WriteBetterAds.com ========================================== eCommerce Marketing Tip ========================================== Start a Free Software Directory on your site. This is a good way to get more visitors and to get these visitors to keep coming back. You could trade free access to the directory if your visitors link to your site or sign up for your ezine. Use targeted keywords in the software descriptions to get more visitors from the search engines. ========================================== Feature Ad ========================================== Are YOUR Ads Making Money? Competition's High but My Prices are Down-To-Earth! Quality, Affordable & Friendly Ad-Writing Services! http://www.freewebs.com/suz1of6/ ========================================== Resource-A-Day ========================================== Today's Resource: "Ebay - What's With This Craze? Is It Worth Trying? - 10 Things You Need To Know" http://www.resource-a-day.com/ez/dec/5.html?Terri Join this program for free and earn money as well as getting resources delivered to your inbox everyday! http://www.resource-a-day.net/member/index.cgi?TerriSeymour ========================================== Feature Article ========================================== The Basics of RSS by Werner Schamberger (c) 2007 You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website. A RSS feed is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they can decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website. It is also usually the link to the website source. What are the Benefits of RSS? RSS provides benefits to readers (users) & web publishers. 1. It gives you the latest updates. Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updated site, you can learn about the latest as soon as it comes out. 2. It saves on surfing time. Since an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article, it saves the user's time by helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net. 3. It gives the power of subscription to the user. Users are given a free-hand on which websites to subscribe to in their RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide differently. 4. It lessens the clutter in your inbox. Although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the updates. 5. It is spam free. Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails. 6. Unsubscribing is hassle-free. Unlike email subscriptions where the user is asked questions on why s/he is unsubscribing and then the user is asked to confirm unsubscribing, all you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator. 7. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool. Users who subscribe to or syndicate product websites receive the latest news on products and services without the website sending spam mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website owner since advertising becomes targeted; those who are actually interested in their products are kept posted. What are the Drawbacks of RSS? The disadvantages of RSS stem from user-preference concerns and the fact that it is a new technology. 1. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed. 2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds. For conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display the photos from the original site in announcing the update except for some web-based aggregators. 3. The identity of the source website can be confusing. Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading. 4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they do not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising. 5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server. Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary of the entry, thus they still access the site. 6. Since it is a new technology, many sites still do not support RSS. How Do I Start Using RSS? There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds from different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on the latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web. An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program, also known as a desktop aggregator, and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an account and you are ready to use their services. Both versions allow you to customize, or choose, which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds. Editor's Note: A list of top RSS Desktop Aggregators can be found at: About.com or RSS-Specifications.com 1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly. 2. Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS. 3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code. After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website. New postings appear as they are published in real time at the source website. RSS and Internet Marketing The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where the intention was to provide a means for users to customize their personal homepages with links to websites that were of interest to them, similar to bookmarking websites. The application of RSS to internet marketing was an unforeseen development to RSS technology developers. Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are interested in particular products and services available on the internet can now be notified real time. Marketing becomes more specific to interested people and not a hit-and-miss operation. Medium to big-scale companies who intend to use RSS for marketing their products and services should consider linking up with email account providers, (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, Google mail); networking websites (e.g. Friendster, Multiply My Space, Hi5); websites of newspapers and television network websites (e.g. New York Times, CNN). Smaller companies can also look at networking websites as well as personal blog websites (e.g. Blogspot) and websites of clubs and organizations that would probably make use of their products or services e.g. a fishing supplies store can look for the website of their local fishing club for possible RSS marketing. Clearly, RSS is an innovation in worldwide web information management as well as online marketing. We can expect better RSS technology in the not-so-distant future as its popularity increases among users and website owners alike. About The Author Werner Schamberger is CEO of Homework Online and Best Articles Online. He is an entrepreneur and author. http://www.homework-online.ws/ http://www.best-articles-online.info/ ************** If you would be interested in any of my articles for reprint or reference you can see the complete list at http://www.seymourproducts.com/articles/index.shtml Feel free to use any of the articles you feel are appropriate. Also, if you would like to be added to my personal mailing list for articles only, terri@seymourproducts.com ========================================== Feature Ad ========================================== Find out how you can put more money into your pocket instead of giving it to the store(s) you currently shop in We will show you how! http://www.moneysavedmoneyearned.com/ZR09402 ========================================== This ‘n That - A Little Bit of Everything! ========================================== Find out How Famous People Died http://www.famousdeaddb.com/ The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you. * John E. Southard Creative Ideas for Celebrating Valentine's Day http://www.theromantic.com/stories/valentines/main.htm This week's riddle: What Do I Like? I like indigo but not blue. I like onions but not turnips. I like forms but not shapes. According to the same rule, do I like tomatoes or avocados? Why, please explain Answer at the end of the ezine. ========================================== Subscription Management ========================================== Subscriptions to this weekly ezine are free. To receive this newsletter: Send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@seymourproducts.com To not receive this newsletter: Send blank email to: mailto:unsubscribe@seymourproducts.com ========================================== Contact Info ========================================== Terri & Terry Seymour Publishers, Business Marketing Bulletin Owners, Seymour Products http://www.seymourproducts.com mailto:terri@seymourproducts.com What's the largest train station in the world? mailto:terri@seymourproducts.com?subject=answer ========================================== Legal Disclaimer The Business Marketing Bulletin does not make any warranties, express or implied, regarding the use of the links that we provide in our advertising. We don't guarantee the accuracy, completion, usefulness or legality of any advertisements, resources, information, products, services, income processes or programs. We disclaim any responsibility and/or all liability arising out of, or relating to, any item listed in this ezine, and/or websites. ========================================== Answer to riddle: I like tomatoes because I like all things that start with a preposition. ;-)