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                     WEB MARKETING EZINE
               The Human Face of Web Marketing
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March 20th., 2002         Issue #182               ISSN 1444-2027


Contents
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1. Sponsor's Message
2. First Word
3. Tips, Tools, News and Views

- Free EBook: Tips From The Masters
- Online Chat Gains Ground As A Service Channel
- 4.8 Million Americans File Tax Returns From Home Computer
- Another Overture PPC Tool
- Take a Look at Your Keyboard Right NOW!
- Free Training Course of The Week: ASP (Active Server Pages)
- E-Commerce Term Of The Week: ASP

4. A Touch of Humor: Study: Women Who Drink More Fun To Study
5. Classified Ads
6. Free Training Courses
7. Feature Article: An Internet Success Story
8. Our Companion Ezine 
9. Administrivia

Visit our companion website at http://www.WebMarketingEzine.com

Want to read this online? For your convenience, the Current Issue 
of WME is posted each week at the WME website. Just visit 
http://www.WebMarketingEzine.com/currentissue.htm


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1. Sponsor's Message
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NEWBIES CAN'T BUILD A WEB SITE? - REALLY

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people, to create a stunning 4 volume collection that blows away
the myths forever. Now you can create, write, design, automate,
upload and promote your very own individual Website! All with
FREE programs, pictures and graphics. See for yourself and 
prepare yourself for a revelation. WOW what a blockbuster! Visit http://newbieclub.com/builder/?free_membership for a FREE TRIAL.

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2. First Word
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Hi All!

This week I spent some time on email talking to a guy I've
admired for years- Michael Wong. I first encountered Michael 
when he had created a wonderful internet resource called eBoz. I
watched him build the business, and take it full time. I watched
as his eBoz business was acquired by iBoost (another great 
resource!). Always being interested in Search Engine submission 
and optimization, I was blown away by one of his achievements at
iBoost.

In one 2-month period Michael single-handedly optimized over 
1,000 Web pages for the major search engines, and the results he
achieved were staggering. He achieved over 2,000 Top 30 positions
for those 1,000 pages, including 200 #1 positions, and 1,100 #10!
Most are still there. Michael is truly a guy who's 'been there 
and done that' in the SE field. Over the last few days, I've 
spent quite a few hours working my way through Michael's new 
eBook, "Search Engine Optimization Strategies: Top 30 
Optimization & Submission Strategies For Dummies." It's a 
goldmine; and one that I'm going to spend a lot MORE hours in! 

Read about Michael, his career and how he can help YOU, in this 
week's Feature Article "An Internet Success Story." 

Till next week, have a good one!

John


Thought For the Week:
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. 
Willing is not enough; we must do."
- Bruce Lee 

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3. Tips, Tools, News and Views
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Free EBook: Tips From The Masters
---------------------------------

If you've been around the Internet for a while, you'll know some
of these names...Pamela Heywood, Joe Bingham, Bill Nieporte, Jim
Daniels and Dennis Gaskill. What do they all have in common? 
They all produce an ezine. Now, they've been brought together 
with 18 other publishers (including yours truly and Web 
Marketing Ezine) in a new eBook. If you'd like to learn more 
about Marketing on the Web, these are the guys (and gals) that
can help! Get your free download at
http://24hourebiz.com/cgi-bin/track/tracker.cgi?WME


Online Chat Gains Ground As A Service Channel
---------------------------------------------

Recent Forrester research has shown just how confident customers
are becoming in seeking help from online merchants.

In 1999, email and telephone were the most used, and preferred 
methods of online buyers looking for assistance. By 2001, they 
were still the two most used and preferred methods, but some
other communication channels had significantly increased in 
popularity.

The first is FAQ- a Frequently Asked Questions' page. Customer
use of FAQ's has trebled since 1999, with almost 35% of those 
surveyed having used in in 2001. Interestingly, customers
expressed a lower preference for using FAQ's than they did two
years earlier! Either the industry is executing FAQ's poorly, or
customers' expectations have moved on.

One area where both usage and preference have trebled, is that
of online chat. Almost 20% of customers have now used online 
chat to resolve service problems, and a similar number nominate
it as their preferred method.

Customers are obviously telling us that they want a "human face"
to web marketing. WME's obviously on the right track with it's 
approach to web marketing. 

If online chat is an appropriate method of communication with
your customers, now's a good time to give it a serious look.


4.8 Million Americans File Tax Returns From Home Computer
---------------------------------------------------------

Electronic filing of tax returns is booming, with 40% more 
taxpayers than last year filing their returns electronically from
their own computers. By March 1st., over 4.8 million returns had
been lodged this way. Here's a handy way to automate YOUR return.

You can prepare your taxes for free with TaxACT, with your choice
of online or download. Pick the one you like best, both are Free!

1. Download TaxACT Standard for Windows 95/98/NT/Me/XP,
at http://www.onresponse.com/onR_Ads.asp?a=11168&d=5920 
directly to your hard drive and prepare your taxes on your 
personal computer, or

2. Log onto TaxACT Online at 
http://www.onresponse.com/onR_Ads.asp?a=11168&d=5920
from anywhere and prepare your taxes over the Web using 
our state-of-the-art, secure servers.

Either one you choose, you can prepare your federal 1040 tax 
return for free and print an IRS-approved tax return to mail 
to the IRS. Or, for a faster refund, you can e-file for only 
$7.95. It's the lowest e-file price you'll find on the web! 

TaxACT interviews you and automatically calculates your return.

Both versions ask you interview-like questions and step you 
through preparing your tax return. As you enter your information, 
the information is placed on the appropriate tax form and your 
return is calculated as you go. You are always kept informed of 
the status of your refund or amount owed.

Critics agree, TaxACT is easy to use.

Kathy Yakal of PC Magazine writes, "Perhaps because the program 
is less complex, we found TaxACT cleaner and easier to use than 
its competitors." 

Mike Hogan of PC World states, "All [TaxACT, Turbo Tax & TaxCut] 
lead you through intelligently designed--though slightly 
different--tax interviews with access to individual tax forms. 
Of the three, 2nd Story's TaxACT probably does this best."

You can use TaxACT to prepare your state return, too!

Once you input your federal information, you can complete your 
state return in minutes. Your federal information transfers 
directly into the state package. TaxACT State software can be 
downloaded for $12.95 per state (e-file for an additional $4.95), 
or you can use TaxACT Online State for only $7.95 to print and 
e-file your state return. 

Get your refund fast! Start preparing your taxes today!

Download: http://www.onresponse.com/onR_Ads.asp?a=11168&d=5920 
On the web: http://www.onresponse.com/onR_Ads.asp?a=11168&d=5920

Sponsor----------------------------------------------------------
Marketing to Women? Want to tap into this target market?
Subscribe to the weekly Industry Update and read and learn.
Original marketing articles, no-hype, no-nonsense information.

Subscribe at http://www.powerwomancentral/annette/
More info - mailto:[email protected] 
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Another Overture PPC Tool
-------------------------

Some weeks ago we discussed the Search Term Suggestion Tool at 
The Overture Pay-Per-Click (PPC) search engine. This allows you
to type in a search word or words, and find how many time it had
been searched for in the previous month. It's a great tool for 
geting an idea of the relative popularity of search terms. The
Search Term Suggestion Tool is at 
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Once you've found a search term that's popular, you'll want to 
find out what the bids are. For that, Overture have another tool, 
called the Current Bid Tool. You'll find it at
http://www.overture.com/d/search/tools/bidtool/

All you do is type in the search word/s, and the tool returns 
all the current listings, with the bid amounts. Keep an eye on
the top 3 bids- they are the ones that are included in search
results by a number of the search engines/directories who draw
part of their results from Overture. Happy Hunting! 


Newbie Club Tip: "Take a Look at Your Keyboard Right NOW!"
----------------------------------------------------------

Just look at all those keys! Go on, take a look. I'll guarantee
you've often wondered WHY there are so many - F1, Insert, Tab,
Ctrl, Pr Scr, End, Home, Alt, Pause, PgUp, Shift, Sys Rq, and
the rest. Why? And what about all those keys with the funny
looking characters like ~ # > ¬ \ ^ ? Sheesh, surely someone put
them there for a reason! And yet you NEVER use them. 'Keyboard
MAGIC!' by The Newbie Club, outsold all their other products in
the first 5 days of release. Find out why, and brace yourself for
an eye-opener at http://newbieclub.com/keyboard/?free_membership
(Disclosure: I am a Newbie Club Affiliate)

Sponsor----------------------------------------------------------

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Free Training Course of The Week: ASP (Active Server Pages) 
-----------------------------------------------------------

When I decided to upgrade the WME website, I looked beyond the 
basic HTML. I was already using some javascripts to deliver some
standard page elements, such as the left-hand navigation bar,
the bottom navigation bar and the bottom contact information.

Two of the tools I looked at were SSI (Server Side Includes), 
and ASP (Active Server Pages). Both tools allow for a webpage to
be created on your web server using numerous 'building blocks', 
and have it sent to a viewer's browser.

To learn about an excellent Free Training Course course on ASP,
visit our Free Training Courses webpage, and look under Web
Publishing.
http://www.webmarketingezine.com/freetrainingcourses.htm


E-Commerce Term Of The Week: ASP
--------------------------------

A specification for a dynamically created Web page with a .ASP 
extension that utilizes ActiveX scripting -- usually VB Script 
or Jscript code. When a browser requests an ASP page, the Web 
server generates a page with HTML code and sends it back to the 
browser. So ASP pages are similar to CGI scripts, but they 
enable Visual Basic programmers to work with familiar tools. 
-Source: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/Active_Server_Pages.html

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4. A Touch of Humor
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Study Finds Women Who Drink Way More Fun To Study
-------------------------------------------------
Researchers Say Alcohol Affects Women's Blood Pressure, 
Researchers' Interest 

Cambridge, Mass. (SatireWire.com) Update — According to a new 
study on female alcohol use and blood pressure, young women who 
consume two or three alcoholic drinks a week are much more fun to
do research on than women who do not consume alcohol. 

Oh, and the report also found that women who have a few drinks 
each week are less likely to develop high blood pressure. 
Whatever. 

The report, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, 
studied drinking patterns and blood pressure among 70,000 nurses
between the ages of 25 and 42. 

Dr. Eric Shinauer, who headed the study for Harvard's School of 
Public Health, put the findings in perspective. "Alcohol, 70,000 
nurses, and us," he said. "Is that cool or what?" 

Shinauer and his colleagues — Dr. Andrew Sporata and Dr. Chandra 
Palava — conceded their initial grant was to study salt 
consumption. However, upon reflection, the trio decided that 
adjusting the parameters would dramatically heighten their 
interest in the research. 

Explained Palava: "What it came down to was, did we want to say, 
'Here young lady, have some salt and let's see what happens,' or,
'Here young lady, have a drink and let's see what happens.'" 

"We're scientists, but we're not dead," he added. 

In fact, Shinauer theorized there would be much more interest in 
studying women's health issues if alcohol were involved. Reaction
to his study seems to bear this out, as already, several leading 
universities say they will attempt to verify the group's 
findings. 

At Stanford University, epidemiologist Bruce Cawthorn said his 
department is very interested in testing Shinauer's conclusion 
that women who have more than 10 alcoholic drinks a week increase
their risk of developing high blood pressure by 30 percent. But 
more importantly, he added, his staff is "totally stoked" by the 
concomitant finding that these same women were also, 
statistically speaking, a blast. 

Shinauer, however, insisted their most valuable conclusion was 
that researchers could do variations on this type of study for 
years. "We could do how alcohol affects blood pressure among 
female flight attendants, or how alcohol affects blood pressure 
among female strippers. We are so golden." 

Palava, meanwhile, said he is working on "the Holy Grail" for 
this area of study — a report on how drinking among young women
affects drinking among young women. "We just have to figure out 
some statistically significant reason for doing it," he said. 

Palava bristled, however, at the suggestion that researchers 
should also study the effect of alcohol on young men. "Jesus, 
we're not gay," he said. 
Copyright © 2002, SatireWire. 
Source: http://www.satirewire.com/news/march02/women.shtml

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5. Classified Ads
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Article Announce - The Free Writer & Publisher Connection 
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6. Free Training Courses
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Increase your knowledge; hone your skills; improve your results!
Take advantage of some of the finest FREE training courses on the
Web by visiting our Free Training Course listing at;
http://www.webmarketingezine.com/freetrainingcourses.htm

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7. Feature Article
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An Internet Success Story
-------------------------

Michael Wong first discovered the Internet in 1997, and since 
then has become a critically acclaimed Internet marketing expert.
But born with an entrepreneurial spirit, his first taste of 
entrepreneurism came long before the Internet was a daily part 
of many people's lives.

When Michael was 15, he discovered the beginning of the home 
computer games boom when the popular British home computer - the
'Sinclair ZX Spectrum' - hit the market. Michael wrote some 
games and walked the streets trying to sell them to start-up 
games software companies which in the Eighties were mostly tiny 
offices at the back of empty stores.

His closest claim to fame was when a small software company 
called CodeMasters took interest in one of his games. Alas, it 
was not to work out for the young Michael, but CodeMasters has 
since gone onto be a hugely successful software company creating
games for all the popular video games and computer systems. If 
only...

Michael even saw the coming of the audio book market, way before 
it became a multimillion dollar industry. Alas, Sir Richard 
Branson didn't see it that way and kindly told Michael so. That 
was one opportunity that Mr. Branson certainly missed out on.

At the tender age of 18, Michael was thrust into the family 
restaurant business taking charge as a manager. After a couple of
years of hard graft, Michael decided to have a stint as a 
financial consultant. Michael was then the youngest ever recruit 
to join General Portfolio, one of the largest insurance companies
in the U.K.

After a year, the family business beckoned again and he duly 
returned to his former post. Over the next few years, Michael 
became an expert in every area of the restaurant business from 
cleaning the toilets to cooking delightful dishes in the kitchen.
Sometimes, he would even cook a dish and serve it to the 
customer! Michael became an accomplished manager and chef.

In 1997, Michael discovered the Internet, and quickly realized 
the potential of the Internet as a marketing medium. He also 
realized the opportunity for almost anyone to build a successful
business, in much the same way as the computer games software 
industry did back in the early eighties.

For the next 10 months, Michael read everything he could lay his 
hands that was related to Web design, e-commerce and Internet 
marketing.

However, he soon discovered that there were few sites dedicated 
to teaching Internet novices how to build and market their own 
Web site. So in October, 1998, Michael developed his first Web 
site, eBoz.com to help people new to the Internet build their 
own Web site.

Michael developed and implemented a low-budget online marketing 
plan that built site traffic and page views from zero to over 
100,000 monthly unique visitors and 750,000 monthly page views 
respectively within months! Michael also wrote the 'eBoz!' 
newsletter which quickly grew to over 9,000 dedicated followers.

Michael worked 16 hour days, 7 days a week to build and promote 
eBoz. The site became very popular, very quickly. On May 7, 1999,
eBoz.com site was voted one of the "101 Best Business Sites" by 
Windows Magazine. By then, Michael was making enough money that 
he could afford to quit his day job, to concentrate on the site, 
full time. Michael also expanded eBoz.com by developing two 
complementary sites, Free-Web-Site-Hosting.com, and 
NewsletterCoach.com.

Michael wrote dozens of articles on Web design, e-commerce and 
Internet marketing for his sites and many of the top Webmaster 
and marketing sites and newsletters; Associate-It.com, 
FindWebSpace.com, iBoost.com, Internet.com, IXS Internet 
Services, KTRV Fox 12 - News At Nine, SmartAge, The Write Market,
and WebDeveloper.com.

Soon, Michael caught the attention of a fast growing start up, 
iBoost Technology, Inc. -- backed by the $2.5 billion Softbank 
Venture Capital group -- based in Los Angeles, California. In May,
2000, Michael's three sites were acquired by iBoost Technology, 
Inc. As part of the deal, iBoost's President asked him to move to 
Los Angeles for the position of Editor-in-Chief and manage a team
of 5 writers and editors. Hollywood was calling... how could he 
say no?

As Editor-in-Chief, Michael managed the development of the new 
iBoost.com site and 5 newsletters. With great support from the 
team, he combined a number of existing iBoost sites with three 
recent acquisitions, eBoz.com, Associate-It.com, and 
W3Nation.com, to created a megasite, consisting of over 1,000 
HTML pages.

Senior management were very impressed with Michael's work and in
October asked Michael to move to the marketing department to take
charge of the company's online marketing efforts. Naturally, he 
obliged. Over the next few months, he single-handedly optimized 
over 1,000 Web pages for the major search engines and managed all 
pay per click ad campaigns for the company.

In total, Michael achieved over 2,000 top 30 positions in major 
search engines and Web directories, which helped iBoost.com's 
traffic grow by 33%, which represented 400,000 visitors and 8 
million page views a month. In January, 2001, senior management 
again went knocking on Michael's door and asked him to help out 
the Media Brokerage division by taking over the position of Head 
Media Planner and Buyer. Again, he obliged... with a smile.

For the next few months, Michael managed all the media buys for 
the funniest team of 13 sales guys he had ever had the good 
fortune to work with. Through relationships he developed with 
many of the top Internet sites, search engines, and search 
portals, Michael completed over $1 million worth of ad buys for 
the company.

In March, the company hired a new President. Unfortunately, 
Michael did not agree with the direction the new President was 
taking the company, so he decided it was time to go his own way 
again. At the end of March, Michael resigned from the company.

He then decided to specialize on search engine optimization. 
After months of research and writing, he wrote "Search Engine 
Optimization Strategies: Top 30 Optimization & Submission 
Strategies For Dummies." The book is based on 4 years of search 
engine optimization knowledge and experience and over 500 hours 
of research.

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Michael has held a number of senior positions, including 
Co-Founder, President and CEO at eBoz.com, and more recently, 
Editor-in-Chief, Online Marketing Manager and Senior Media 
Planner & Buyer at iBoost.com. Michael would love to help you 
build your on-line business with his Search Engine Optimization 
Strategies ebook. To learn more, and check out the comprehensive
Table of Contents, visit 
http://www.webmarketingezine.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?mw
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8. Our Companion Ezine: A Better Life:ItsYourFuture!
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======================= ITS YOUR FUTURE! ========================
Enjoy Humor, Inspiration, Romance, Fitness, Nutrition & Personal
Finance- all aimed at helping YOU to take control of YOUR future!
Subscribe FREE by sending a blank email to:
mailto:[email protected]
=========== BE HAPPY BE HEALTHY LIVE LONG & PROSPER ===========

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9. Administrivia
=================================================================

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Disclaimer:
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This publication was designed to provide accurate and 
authoritative information with regard to the subject matter.
Subscribers are sent this free weekly e-zine with the 
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering
legal, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other
professional assistance is required, we advise seeking the 
services of a competent professional.

John Payne does not accept any responsibility for any 
liabilities resulting from any claims in articles or
advertisements published in WME, or the actions of the parties 
involved.

This publication is for informational purposes only.


Copyright:
----------
© Copyright 2000-2002 John Payne All rights reserved.
Web Marketing Ezine may only be redistributed in its unedited
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like, with our thanks. Written permission must be obtained to
reprint or quote original material published in Web Marketing
Ezine.
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      Web Marketing Ezine is published by John Payne 
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