The LuxMob Info Tags

“No way!” I hear you say. PMS is a curse and martyrizing moment that some women are plagued with and only medicine and pills can help. Right?
Well… being the no-BS therapist and researcher that I am, I have news for every one of you!

Hard to believe? At first, yes.

As a good friend of mine says:

“Truth shall set you free but at first it is going to piss you off!”
So why do 40% of the women in my survey have mild to average discomforts almost every month while another 21% have severe debilitating symptoms that PMS grabs under its label. And medicine fills in that label with over 150 different symptoms, from irritability to hypersensitivity to murdering under the influence of PMS!

The majority end up in the physician’s office. Some feel a relief but are nevertheless hooked to keep on taking a pill of some sort if they want to keep the beast at bay.

We are of a modern society that has put the accent of easy feelings, easy steps to feel better, but the gist of all this is that too many times these actions leave the person out of charge and out of control about her own miseries. Take a pill, get away on this cruise and you will feel better. The credit companies are booming from all of us trying to heal our lives and grasp spontaneous moments of joy. But do we get to the main cause of our pains or do we just learn to put a band-aid on the wound and forget about it until it becomes an abscess of some kind?

I am of the belief that until we learn to take charge and full responsibility for what happens to us, we are beside our path of true health at all levels: body, mind and soul.

I urge you all to look deeper for your intimate answers. For what good is suffering unless it helps you stop the pain?

I propose an approach that leaves you totally free of any pills but rather takes you along the exploration in order for You To Find Out what is hiding as a message behind your own PMS. Welcome to you! Maybe for the first time.

Pauline Houle is Therapist with 20 years experience. She has a background in Social Work and Psychodynamic trainings that really make a difference in people’s lives. She has a Masters Degree in Transpersonal Studies, which has been a great help in keeping her focused on the big picture of PMS and what women need to know in order to cure it.

Contact: Pauline Houle
pauline@paulinehoule.com
http://www.paulinehoule.com
514-277-6097 or 518-563-6834

How would you feel if you found a link on the web that was interesting to you but when you click the link it takes you to a page that is total rubbish? You are not only disappointed but it also wastes your time. Unfortunately, this is often true in many cases. To get a good ranking, often web page designers use “spamdexing”. Spamdexing search engines is the practice of deliberately and dishonestly modifying HTML pages to artificially increase the chance of them ranking close to the top of search engine results. This spamming could result in your site getting banned from search engine indices.

To avoid getting banned by search engines make it sure that when a search engine sends spiders to your site it doesn’t find any spamming technique in use.

Hidden or Invisible Links:

One reason why you could be banned by a search engine, is when you are creating multiple sites on the same or similar topic and linking them all together through invisible links. But you really need to have unique content on each and every site and not link them all together where it really doesn’t make sense to do so. If you are interested in learning more about spamming then you should read this article: Missing Backlinks in Google - High Rankings Advisor.

Keyword Stuffing:

Most modern search engines have the ability to determine overuse of a word to increase the keyword frequency on a page. They also have the ability to analyze a page for keyword stuffing, and determine whether the frequency is above a normal level. So, while designing your site, remember not to stuff keywords or else you run the risk of getting banned.

Meta tag Stuffing:

Do not repeat keywords in the meta tags more than once, and do not use keywords that are unrelated to the site’s content. If it isn’t represented in the text content, it shouldn’t be in the meta tags.

Hidden Text:

Putting text (usually keywords) where visitors will not see them, in order toincrease a page’s keyword relevancy. This is commonly done by making some text the same as the
background color of the page.

Cloaking:

Cloaking is a very borderline method, in which visitors and search engines receive different versions of a page, and should be considered very carefully.

Link spamming:

Google page ranking algorithm gives a higher ranking to a website the more other websites link to it. Some spammers may create multiple web sites at different domain names that all link to each other.

Spamming refers to practices or techniques that are dishonest. To optimize your ranking, do not use any technique that will encourage search engines to ban you. Instead you should emphasize on how to optimize for your visitors. So remember the tips regarding spamming when you are designing your web site, and avoid getting banned by the search engines.

References:

http://www.webopedia.com
http://www.highrankings.com
http://en.wikipedia.org

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Many people have friends and family scattered all over the country (or the world for that matter), and keeping in touch via telephone can become pretty expensive. Most of my loved ones live far away, so to avoid long distance charges I always saved my calling for the weekend when cell phone minutes are free.

Although I love the portability of having a cell phone and will never give it up, I really hate the thought of paying $40 a month (or more) for a secondary phone service. Even though there are plenty of monthly minutes on my plan, I think about overage charges every time I use the darn thing. Waiting for the “free nights and weekends” time to make long distance calls saves money, but it’s really inconvenient. I wanted to be able to call anyone at any time and not have to worry about minutes or fees, so I gave internet phone service a try.

I cautiously subscribed to broadband phone service a few months ago, thinking “$20 a month for unlimited local and long distance calling sounds too good to be true”. My main concern was the call quality, since I tried VoIP a few years ago and found it too choppy and cumbersome to bother with. Boy was I pleasantly surprised! Within the first week of using Packet8 internet phone service, I called the phone company and had my land line telephone disconnected. My internet phone acted and sounded just like my old “ma bell” service, and I could make all the long distance calls I wanted (any time I wanted) for no additional charge! My first month’s minutes totaled over 2000, and I still only paid around $23 ($19.95 + taxes and fees).

Broadband phone service has changed my life. I call long distance friends and family nearly every day now, and talk as long as I want to. I no longer worry about long distance charges or cell phone minutes, and actually saved more money by reducing my cell rate plan down to the bare minimum. I no longer have to plan my long distance calls around “nights and weekends”, and I’ve become much closer to my family because we talk more. As an added bonus, I can use the conference calling feature and talk to two people at once! Thanks to my VoIP service, everyone I call saves money. When someone wants to talk to me, they call and let my phone ring once. The free caller-id tells me who called and I call back using my “unlimited long distance”. A good friend recently told me that her long distance bill is now under $20 a month thanks to my internet phone.

Internet phone service isn’t for everyone, but if you make frequent long distance calls it will pay for itself immediately. VoIP is saving me around $45 a month (over $500 a year!). As an added benefit, you can spend so much time talking to far off loved ones that it feels like they live next door!

© 2005 Debbie Jacobsen, all rights reserved.

Debbie Jacobsen is an information technology professional and author of SaveOnPhoneService.com – an informative website about Broadband Phone Service. If you are interested in learning more about the benefits and features of VoIP, please visit: http://www.saveonphoneservice.com

If you’re serious about SEO, you need to know how to analyze the information you uncover.

A decade ago, businesses were wondering whether they need to be part of the Internet. By the late 1990s, plenty signed up and did the basics like placing keywords in the META data.

Unfortunately, that’s all some companies do – pick out keywords that may or may not be appropriate and pack them into the META keyword data set that search engines pretty much ignore.

Proper analysis requires sound thinking and judgment in many areas. We’ll focus on two major ones – Top 300 and page caching.

Top 300
What’s the Top 300? It doesn’t sound too valuable unless your biggest customer of the last 10 years actually traveled that deep into the depths of search engine information overload.

Actually, any number will do depending on your interest. Start with your 10 favorite search terms (or carefully targeted search terms). To track your growth, think big. If you’re ranking No. 292 one week and then a week later, you’re No. 154, you know you’re on the right track.

Too many SEO managers make the mistake of tracking the Top 30 results and miss out on the wonderful fact that they’re already No. 31. Don’t be poorly informed.

Page Caching
Google is the best for this because of how fast it continues to reindex pages. Create your own Google Cache Calendar – a Word or Excel document will do. List your strategic pages – say about 10 for starters. Apply the Top 300 rule, check your rankings and record the cache dates. Over time, those dates form patterns that can help you determine when Google will return next – enabling you to time your next set of SEO updates.

If you’re not in the Top 300, you can still get some perspective from the page cache analysis if you’re still planning to optimize a given page. It’s easy to find the page – if it’s in Google’s index. Just enter the URL as your search phrase or find some unique text from the page and search for that string of words with quotes on each end. Either will result in a top SEO ranking and you can grab the cache date.

The bottom line is that you need to track you’re progress before making changes to the strategic SEO pages.

Michael Murray is vice president of Fathom SEO, a SEO firm. He authored the “U.S. Manufacturers Resist Natural Search Engine Optimization and Online Sales Leads” study and a white paper, “Search Engine Marketing: Get in the Game.” michael@fathomseo.com

Everyone will inadvertently hit a frustrating plateau in their training at one time or another. You’re cruising along for a while, gaining strength, losing fat, looking better, and then all of the sudden it hits. Suddenly, you find yourself even weaker than before on your lifts, or you find that you’ve gained back a couple of pounds. It happens to everyone. Most of the time, these plateaus occur because people rarely change their training variables over time. Many people stick to the same types of exercises for the same basic sets and reps and rest periods with the same boring cardio routine. Well, I hope to open your mind and bring some creativity to your workouts with this article!

There are many ways that you can strategically modify your training variables to assure that you maximize your fat loss and/or muscle building response to exercise. Most people only think about changing their sets and reps performed, if they even think about changing their routine at all. However, other variables that can dramatically affect your results are changing the order of exercises (sequence), exercise grouping (super-setting, circuit training, tri-sets, etc.), exercise type (multi-joint or single joint, free-weight or machine based), the number of exercises per workout, the amount of resistance, the time under tension, the base of stability (standing, seated, on stability ball, one-legged, etc.), the volume of work (sets x reps x distance moved), rest periods between sets, repetition speed, range of motion, exercise angle (inclined, flat, declined, bent over, upright, etc), training duration per workout, and training frequency per week. Sounds like a lot of different training aspects to consider in order to obtain the best results from your workouts, doesn’t it? Well, that’s where a knowledgeable personal trainer can make sense of all of this for you to make sure that your training doesn’t get stale. Below are a few examples to get your mind working to come up with more creative and result producing workouts.

Most people stick to workouts where they do something along the lines of 3 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise, with 2-3 minutes rest between sets. Booooorrrrring! Here are a few examples of different methods to spice up your routine.

•Try 10 sets of 3, with only 20 seconds rest between sets.

•Try using a heavier weight and complete 6 sets of 6 reps, doing a 3 minute treadmill sprint between each weight lifting set.

•Try using a near maximum weight and do 10 sets of 1 rep, with 30 seconds rest between sets.

•Try using a lighter than normal weight and do 1 set of 50 reps for each exercise

•Try a workout based on only one full body exercise, such as barbell clean & presses or dumbbell squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes.

•Try a workout based on all bodyweight exercises such as pushups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, bodyweight squats, lunges, etc.

•Try a circuit of 12 different exercises covering the entire body without any rest between exercises.

•Try that same 12 exercise circuit on your subsequent workout, but do the entire circuit in the reverse order.

•Try your usual exercises at a faster repetition speed on one workout and then at a super-slow speed on your next workout.

•Try completing five 30 minute workouts one week, followed by three 1-hr workouts the next week.

•Try doing drop sets of all of your exercises, where you drop the weight between each set and keep doing repetitions without any rest until complete muscular fatigue (usually about 5-6 sets in a row).

There are many more ways to continue to change your training variables. I hope this article gave you some ideas on methods for you to take your body to the next level.

Visit http://truthaboutabs.com/Training-and-Nutrition-Articles.html to receive your own personalized metabolic rate calculator as well as 4 of my secret hard-body workout routines - both FREE, with no purchase necessary.

Michael Geary is a nationally dual certified personal trainer (NCSF-CPT, AFAA-CPT), and author of “The Truth about Six Pack Abs” ©2004-2005.

The martial arts and the concept of self-protection is much more than mere punching and kicking, or the development of skill with a weapon. Just as a martial artist or, in the grander sense, a warrior-protector, is engaged in much more than the mere study of violence and violent methods.

This is just as so now as it has been for the past several thousand years. Regardless of the term we use to describe this person…

…knight…

…champion…

…hero, etc…

The warrior is one who understands that his job or purpose is not about killing, fighting, or dying…

…it’s about living.

The true warrior understands that, while there is a need for those who can protect themselves and others from the hatred and animosity of others, ultimately these skills are to be used to insure the harmonious continuation of the highest achievements of mankind: Love, Peace, & the successful achievement of one’s Dreams.

At Warrior Concepts International, students are required to study and reflect so that they might come to an understanding of the difference between a…

Fighter

Soldier, and a…

Warrior

How about you? What do you think, if anything, makes these three types of combatants, different?

Certainly, if we were to look up any one of theses words in a dictionary or thesaurus, it’s quite likely that we’d find one or both of the other two words in the definition.

It cannot be argued that each one fights. In fact, if we were to look only at the actions and techniques used when each is engaged in combat, it would be difficult to tell the difference between them. But…

…there is a difference.

Quite a few actually but, for now, let’s take a look at a primary, philosophical difference - the “reason” that each chooses to fight.

The Difference is in the Intention and Motivation - Not in the Deed

The Fighter fights for reward. There is a payoff of some kind for this individual. He or she is either seeking to attain something (fame, money, etc.), or they seek to prevent these things from being taken from them.

The Soldier fights because it is his job. Certainly, there may indeed be philosophical reasons behind his decision to fight (family, community, country), but the soldier is a minion of the State. He or she has absolutely no choice as to who the “enemy” will be or who they are protecting us from.

The Warrior, on the other hand, fights to restore Peace. He fights because there is no other choice and does so to defend something (philosophy, family, etc.) outside of himself. And, when he fights, it is with an enemy of his own choosing and never for selfish, self-serving reasons.

The warrior, though often called upon to engage in conflict using the same methods as that of mere fighters and soldiers, does so, not for the sake of conflict, but because all else has failed and he must resort to violent conflict to stop it.

Read more articles like this by subscribing to the author’s newsletter at: http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com/newsletter.html Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and master instructor of Warrior Concepts International. In addition to regular classes for local students, he is called upon by groups and organizations as a speaker, lecturer, and seminar leader on such topics as child-safety, leadership, self-defense, and the benefits of training in the martial art of ninjutsu He may be contacted for media interviews and seminar/speaking information at (570) 988-2228 or through his website at http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com

Podcasting is the newest craze on the internet and it continues to expand on a daily basis. Former MTV host Adam Curry and software developer Dave Winer are credited with developing podcasting. Curry wrote a program called iPodder which allowed him to automatically download internet radio broadcasts to his iPod and Winer was instrumental in promoting RSS. (Really Simple Syndication).

What is RSS? RSS allows people the ability to subscribe to their favorite blog or podcast and the information can be automatically downloaded to their computer. Subsequently, Curry and Winer devised a way to send audio files through RSS feeds.

The term Podcasting comes from “iPod” and “Broadcasting”. However, you don’t need an iPod in order to record or listen to a podcast. Anyone with a computer or mp3 player can listen to a podcast.

From radio talk show hosts Al Franken to Rush Limbaugh, traditional radio is embracing podcasting. In addition, talk show host Sean Hannity and NPR (National Public Radio) are offering their shows in the form of a podcast.

Television is also welcoming podcasting. ABC News, CBS “60 Minutes”, TV Guide and Ebert/Roeper Movie Reviews are all available through podcasts.

What is Podcasting? Podcasting is an audio file that you create on your computer and then upload it to the internet so other people can hear it. All you need is a computer, microphone and voice-editing program.

Anyone can podcast. It is perfect for women, men, students, work-at-home-Moms and seniors. If you have something to say, podcasting is a great way to accomplish this goal.

Do you have a favorite hobby that you would like to share with others? Are you a business owner who would like to increase customers? Have you ever dreamed of being your own talk show host or disc jockey? With podcasting, all of the above things are possible.

You could have your very own podcast up and running today.

What do you need?

1. A Microphone

You will need a microphone for your computer so that you can record your show. You can purchase a decent microphone at any computer store or Radio Shack. (http://www.radioshack.com).

2. A Voice-Editing Program

Voice-editing programs allow you to record and edit your show. There are two free programs on the internet that you can use.
(a) Wavepad: (http://www.nch.com.au/wavepad)

(b) Audacity: (http://audacity.sourceforge.net)

3. Upload Show to Website or Hosting Company

After your show is recorded, you will need to upload it to the internet. You can either put it on your website or you can use one of the many hosting companies. Podblaze.com (http://www.podblaze.com) is one company where you can host your podcast.

As you can see, podcasting is very easy to start. We are at the beginning of this roller coaster ride that will hit astronomical proportions as time goes on.

The only way to decide if podcasting is for you is to start. Take the first step and see how you like it.

About the Author: Patrick Curran is a professional disc jockey that has worked at both FM and AM stations. He shares his knowledge and expertise so that anyone can produce a professional podcast that equals the quality of shows that you hear on your favorite radio station. Please visit: http://www.radiosecretsforpodcasting.com

How does this sound?

Today, I’m going to show you how to get a fifteen page sales letter read from beginning to end and keep your prospect magnetized to *every* paragraph along the way.
Impossible?

The real magic behind these magnetic sales letters is not some mystical skill or secret formula but rather a simple copywriting concept that has been around longer than most of us have been alive.
It’s one of the Grand Secrets behind copy that gets read…and that means your pitch has been delivered… and that’s how sales happen!

Fortunately for you and me, the concept I’m referring to is almost a long-lost art among new copywriters.
(And that’s a darn shame… because it’s so easy to use, once you take the time to learn the details.)
So, what am I referring to?

The good ol’ “Bucket Brigade”.

Listen, every great copywriter employs this technique - either knowingly or unknowingly - to get their long sales letter copy read from start to finish.

Case in point; Many readers of this letter will be familiar with a guy by the name of Yanik Silver. A few years back he released a product into the market- place that he called ‘Instant Sales Letters’.
That package generated a *huge* amount of interest and even greater profits for young Mr. Silver even though when his sales letter for this product (when printed out) was *over* FIFTEEN-PAGES LONG!

Mr. Silver is not alone either…

It’s a fact that several of my best selling products (and some of the best selling products of our time - or any time) have made use of long sales letters WITHOUT losing a prospects’ attention and WITHOUT losing any sales!

So just what is the Bucket Brigade?

You’ve been reading it, all through this newsletter. All through every piece of copy I’ve ever written. Take a look at the first words of the paragraphs above. The phrases “listen”…“case in point”… “it’s a fact”… “what’s more”… and “what, you ask” are all proud members of the Bucket Brigade.

Simply put; the Bucket Brigade words and phrases are “keep reading” words and phrases.
These are the hard working words that get your copy read!

Here’s the scoop: (That’s another phrase in the Brigade. In the days before fire departments got organized, townsfolk would fight a fire by lining up and passing buckets of water from the nearest pump to the point of the blaze. Another line passed the buckets back to the pump.

This was the “Bucket Brigade” in action.

Moving the water along briskly. No let up. No pauses. The buckets went in a fast, efficient, linear direction to get the job done.

Early copywriters adopted this term to explain the job of certain “keep reading” phrases. Used at the beginning of key paragraphs, these phrases and words made a simple promise to the reader: Don’t quit reading now – I have something really important for you right here. Don’t stop, or you’ll miss it.
Why do you think some of the worst storylines in existence have generated millions of dollars in revenue?
Because they were sold to soap opera studios that specialize in the Bucket Brigade’s psuedoname - CLIFFHANGERS!

Yes, the television industry learned this secret and uses it EVERYDAY to get some of the most boring programs known to man to be watched religiously day after day because it ends just at the point of our greatest intrigue…

So tomorrow - we’re back to find out what happens to seductress Suzy and the cable-guy after his fiancé died while getting a facial from a mysterious stranger that’s probably the love-child of Suzy’s father’s brother - (twice removed, of course

The most common blunder rookie copywriters make is to assume the reader will “hang in there” while the writer wanders around making a far too convoluted pitch.

Let me help you with that theory…

AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN!

The instant you bore him, or confuse him, or ask him to “bear with you” while you mumble and equivocate… he’s outta there. Sale lost.

Whenever I consult with people I’ll almost invariably encourage my clients to use this simple ‘trick’ at the bottom of each page of a letter or ad: Split the last sentence, so that the reader has to turn the page to continue reading and finish the thought.

People can’t stand…

…not having the full story.

Most people don’t get it, but you *don’t* want to give your reader even a slim chance of losing interest.
See if this rings a bell…

Were you one of those that sat glued to your TV screen waiting for the next installment of those old Buck Rogers serials?

Can you remember why (if you did?)

Yup, it was because of those ‘Cliff hanger endings‘

Good Ol’ Buck is last seen dangling off a precipice by his fingertips… and the reel ends. *Aaargh!!!*
It would drive you nuts because you’d want to find out what happened…but you’d have to come back next week to find out how he got out of that precarious situation.

(Don’t worry - he got out just fine

It got you to ‘turn the page.’

It’s the secret to keeping them reading.

At page four of a twelve page letter, they might be getting a bit fatigued, but if I gave them the opportunity to take a rest – by finishing a thought, a sentence and a paragraph at the end of the page, so they could say “Oh, I see” – then I could lose them FOREVER…so…

DON’T do that!

How many times have you seen an ad or sales letter that really got your attention and come back to finish it later?

My guess is ‘NEVER’…

People don’t typically come back to advertising copy ‘later’ or ‘after tea’. You’ve lost them. They’re gone.
Don’t be afraid to keep this same sort of tension going all the way through your copy – you might even want to use it at the beginning of every single paragraph.

You want their curiosity burning at super-high intensity each time their eyes move down the page.

The Bucket Brigade does this so smoothly: “Not only that” … “But wait – there’s more”… “And check this out”… “One more thing – it’s important”… “And that’s just for starters”…“We’re not through yet”… “It gets even better”…“Do you understand what this means?”
Or, you can startle them: “You think I’m lying, don’t you?” “The doctors were sure I was going to die.” “So I stole it.”

NOW PAY CLOSE ATTENTION BECAUSE…

I’m going to give you the answer to a question that I’ve heard from quite a few of my clients. They always want to know, “Okay, so the ‘bucket-brigade’ is great…but how do I memorize all of those words and phrases to use in my copy?

Nothing could be easier Just use the old journalism trick of “who, what, why, where, when and how”. “Who else uses this secret?” “What does this mean for you?” “Why would I share such a valuable tactic with a stranger?” “Where did I find this information?” “How would like to see it for yourself?”
Using this one simple technique in your copy WILL impact your conversion rate. You will make more sales and you will generate more leads.

The good old Bucket Brigade will lead your reader in a fast, linear path straight from your headline to your sales pitch.

No let-up in tension. No chance for her to conveniently put your copy aside “to finish later”.
Believe me, they’ll have to make an effort to tear their eyes from the page… and that’s in your favor all the way.

So let’s hear no more whining such as “but that sounds like some corny info-mercial” It’s only corny until the checks start coming in. Then, it’s music to your ears!

Copyright 2005 Marvin Haycock

Marvin Haycock is the world’s first and most celebrated Internet marketing super spy! He has made a full time living on the Internet for the past 3 years and is the driving force behind trend setting products like “The 16-Minute Speed Reading Audio Program”, “The Platinum Software Collection”, “7-PROVEN Insider Secrets” and the “Bulletproof List Building System”. He reveals all of his secret marketing strategies at his website: http://www.SecretAgentReports.com

I think that people who are unfamiliar with mermaid stories will be surprised by them. Most probably think that the mermaid is a passive, vulnerable creature like the mermaid in the movie “Splash”. Nothing could be further from the truth. These are powerful beings with strong personalities. In various legends they cause storms, sink ships and drown the crews, cure illness, foretell the future and, of course, bewitch men.

The origin of the mermaid reveals the source of their strength: they were goddesses – and important ones at that. In the oldest religions the creator god is usually a goddess. Later goddesses are often associated with fertility which is another form of the power of creation. Long before the theory of evolution, the ancient philosophers believed that life came from the sea. From the intersection of these two ideas we have Aphrodite and Venus. Goddesses of love, and therefore fertility and creation, they are also associated with the sea. ‘Aphrodite’ means foam-born (born from the foam of the ocean waves). Venus is often associated with the sea as in Botticelli’s famous picture “The Birth of Venus” which shows the goddess riding in a scalloped seashell. Do not let the title “goddess of love” fool you. Aphrodite was also called the goddess of Life-in-Death, and was said to be the oldest of the Fates and punisher of the sinful. She was frequently cruel, jealous and proud.

I am using Aphrodite and Venus as examples of the fertility goddess but there are many others that share some or all of their attributes. From these goddesses come the legends of the mermaid. Mermaids are beautiful and Aphrodite and Venus are known for their beauty. There is a popular image of a mermaid combing her hair while she holds a mirror in her hand – the mirror and comb are symbols of Venus. Raising storms and dominion over the creatures of the sea are common attributes of sea gods.

Folk tales about mermaids incorporated these ideas. In folklore, mermaids are usually the aggressors. They are strong and willful and sometimes murderous. In some folk tales mermaids go on land to search for lovers. Lovers they will destroy when they are finished with them. If the local population gives them trouble they will call down on them monsters and foul weather. They have used their magical powers to curse individuals and entire families.

Mermaids, like the goddesses they evolved from, have a sunnier side, too, especially if they are treated with respect. They can be kind, generous, affectionate and loving. There is a family in Ireland that claims descent from a mermaid. She taught them the secrets of healing and made many of them famous physicians. Mermaids have given men the boons of wealth and knowledge, and sometimes their own love. It should be noted that having the love of a mermaid is a dicey affair. The men involved have come to bad ends more often than not. It is the same for men who have had the love of goddesses like Aphrodite or Venus.

To read a selection of mermaid tales and the myths of various sea gods and goddesses visit my site http://www.beautiful-mermaid-art.com I also have some of the best mermaid images on the net.

Delivering email newsletters and sales messages to opt-in subscribers and customers is getting more exasperating—and more expensive—by the day. Delivery rates for email have gone through the virtual floor. According to MarketingSherpa, one out of every six people who asked to be on your mailing list won’t receive your email newsletter or marketing message because a spam filter blocks it by mistake.

Why you’re just not getting through to them
As you probably know, the challenge you are facing is primarily spam filters, electronic and human. And no wonder. Consider these sobering numbers:

• 10 out of 12 messages reviewed are considered spam (Postini.com)
• average users receive 42 unwanted sales pitches a day (Jupiter Research)
• 70% of all email messages will be spam by 2007 (Radicati Group)

Your emails fail to reach your subscribers for three basic reasons. Either the email is blocked by the subscriber’s ISP or enterprise firewall (in which case it never gets delivered), the email is blocked by the subscriber’s spam filter (in which case it gets delivered but is never seen) or the email is deleted by an irritable subscriber with an overzealous delete-key-finger who does not recognize your “From:” address or mistakes your email subject line for something unwelcome.

But take heart. There are some tactics you can employ today to increase your email deliverability scores and reach your newsletter subscribers and customers with the email messages they have asked you to wing their way.

1. Hire someone to monitor your mail
Your most expensive option is to retain the services of a third-party vendor to monitor your email deliverability. For a fee, ReturnPath.net, PiperSoftware.com, Deliverability.com, DeliveryMonitor.com and other companies will seed your mailing list seeded with hundreds of email addresses from a variety of domains. When your email arrives, these firms record the time, count the number of emails that escaped the spam filters, and generate a report that shows deliverability scores for each ISP. These reports help you notice which ISPs are blocking your messages or only allowing a few to get through before blocking the rest. You can take the steps needed to improve deliverability.

2. Test your email messages for spam before sending
The above companies and a host of smaller software firms let you run your email message by a spam filter before sending. They search for “free,” “buy now” and other words that trigger spam filters. That way, you can see if your message is likely to be flagged as spam somewhere enroute, and tweak where needed to improve your score before hitting Send. Try the free service at www.ezinecheck.com.

3. Make sure your ISP is not on a blacklist
Spammers may have abused the servers of the autoresponder or listserver service that you use. As a result, the major ISPs may have blacklisted or blocked emails from these servers. To discover if you are blacklisted, find the IP address of the email server and do a spam database lookup at www. DNSstuff.com or www.OpenRBL.org.

4. Slow down your email send rate
Some ISPs set a threshold for how many emails you can send during one session. If you exceed this threshold, their software flags you as a spammer and blocks the remainder of your messages. One way around this wall is to send your messages in small bursts, say 200 at a time, with a pause of a few minutes between bursts. The other solution is to host your list on a reputable listserver. The more popular ones include Constant Contact, AWeber, Topica, and GotMarketing Campaigner.

5. Send your email when it’s most likely to get read
If you send your message to businesses on a Friday afternoon, chances are that your recipients won’t check their email until Monday morning. Your message will be buried way down the list with a ton of spam ahead of it (assuming the recipient’s inbox is sorted by date). The most recent messages will get the attention, and your message will likely get overlooked or deleted in the rush to start work. The open rate for email is strongest within the first two days of delivery. Then it drops off a cliff.

6. Mail on the best days
Online marketers have discovered over the years that B to B emails are read most often when they arrive on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, around noon. Mondays are too busy. And Fridays are too close to the golf course.

7. Use the right email service
Choose a reputable service provider who is respected by the major ISPs. They will work on your behalf to keep you off blacklists and deliver your messages on time.

8. Help subscribers change addresses
In every email message, tell your subscribers where they need to go to change their address or modify their subscription. You’ll reduce the number of bouncebacks you receive each mailing.

9. Use creative copy tactics to circumvent spam filters
Spam filters block your e-newsletters and marketing messages in a number of ways, and one of them is looking for words that are found in most spam. These include perfectly legitimate words and phrases, such as “free,” “opportunity,” “multi-level marketing [OK, that one is debatable],” “compare rates” and “free installation.” Most of these words you can get around by employing a thesaurus. Instead of saying “free,” say “complimentary,” or “no charge.” You can also disguise the word in some way (free becomes free~, or fr*ee), although you must tell your subscribers what you are doing beforehand.

10. Get your subscribers to whitelist you
When your subscribers opt-in to your list, immediately tell them to add your sending email address to their whitelist or “allowed senders” list so your messages are never blocked by the subscriber’s spam filters.

11. Use a distinctive, predictable subject line
Include a phrase in every subject line that shows at a glance who you are and what your message is about. Subscribers get used to recognizing each message from you. For example, one popular e-newsletter includes the phrase “DM News-iMarketing News Daily” in every email subject line.

12. Welcome new subscribers immediately
As soon as someone signs up for your e-newsletter or opts-in to your list, send them a welcome email. Immediately establish a connection between their opt-in action and your email that confirms their membership.

13. Make your email welcome message look like your sign-up form
Help new subscribers to recognize you in their inboxes by branding your online sign-up page and your welcome email with the same colors, images and typography.

14. Send from the same domain that signs them up
The domain in your welcome message and subsequent messages should match the URL of the webpage that subscribers used to opt-in to your list, otherwise they may not recognize you as the sender and delete your message by mistake.

15. Use the same From: address
Keep your From: address constant. This helps subscribers who have added your email address to their whitelist or “allowed senders” list.

Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist. He helps businesses generate leads, close sales and retain customers, using cost-effective, compelling direct mail and email marketing. Alan also uses his direct mail advertising services to help non-profits raise funds and raise awareness of their causes, using fundraising letters. Sign up for Sharpe & Direct: The B2B direct mail marketing e-newsletter. Every Monday morning, receive in your inbox a short, helpful article on direct mail lead generation. Sign up today and receive a free copy of his special report, “30 Reasons to Use Direct Mail to Increase Sales and Attract New Customers.” Read free articles, tips and other helpful advice on direct mail marketing at http://www.sharpecopy.com