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I-BIZ TIPS - Monthly E-Mail Newsletter
*Providing Tips on Making the Internet Work for your Business*
A Free Service of Tech Direct, Inc. – Ruth Rainey, Editor
Number 1
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WELCOME
Welcome to the premier issue of I-BIZ TIPS. Our goal is to provide
tips to the business person on using the Internet more effectively.
Your FREE copy of I-BIZ TIPS is sent to your e-mail box every month
at mid-month.
We welcome your comments on content, formatting, topics, etc. so we
can fine tune I-BIZ TIPS to better meet your needs. Send your
comments to: <mailto:owner-IBIZ@techdirect.com>.
Topic 1: USING AN EMAIL SIGNATURE FILE
An often overlooked means of promoting your Web site, service,
or products is your e-mail signature file. Everytime you send
an e-mail message to a friend, colleague, newsgroup, mailing
list, etc. you have the opportunity to convey a marketing
message and attract a new visitor to your Web site.
Sig File Contents
Many e-mail programs provide hot links to email addresses and
URL's. To take advantage of these features enclose them
between lesser than and greater than signs. For example, type
your e-mail address as <mailto:user@provider.com> and your
entire URL as <http://www.techdirect.com>.
There are many approaches to Signature files. One way is to
categorize them according to purpose:
E-Mail User:
An e-mail user is usually concerned with providing a return
e-mail address. It is very common to see the use of a favorite
quote incorporated into their signature file. An example may
be:
Jane Doe <mailto:jane@provider.com>
"You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help him to
find it for himself." -- Galileo Galilei
Business User -- Non Promotional
A typical business user may take a "business card" approach.
Jane Doe, B.S., M.S.
Director of Sales, Software Is Us
<mailto:jane@softwareisus.com>
Tel: 888-123-4567 -- Fax: 222-987-6543
Business User with a Web site:
Don’t miss the opportunity to give the URL for your Web site.
Jane Doe, Director of Sales <mailto:jane@softwareisus.com>
Software Is Us Website: <http://www.softwareisus.com>
Tel: 888-123-4567 -- Fax: 222-987-6543
Business User - Promotional:
To make a signature file even more effective, include the use
of a marketing message and a call to action.
Jane Doe, Director of Sales <mailto:jane@softwareisus.com>
Tel: 888-123-4567 -- Fax: 222-987-6543
*** Download Software Plus for a 30 Day FREE trial***
***<http://www.softwareisus.com/softwareplus.html>***
Signature File Formatting
Netiquette dictates that a signature file should be between 4-6
lines. Due to the differences in e-mail programs, design your
signature file to be 60-68 characters wide and touch Enter at
the end of each line. Use a non-proportional font such as
courier 9 point. It is OK to use spaces but not tabs.
After you create your e-mail signature, send yourself an e-mail
message to check that the lines do not wrap before the end of
each line and the overall appearance.
Each e-mail program has a different twist on incorporating a
signature file. Directions for Eudora, Microsoft Internet
The freeware version of Eudora Lite allows for the easy
creation of a signature file.
1. From the Eudora menu bar, choose Tools / Signature.
2. Select New. Type in a name for the signature file, e.g.
sigfile, and click OK.
3. Type your signature file in the text window. Remember to
limit the width to 60-68 characters.
4. When finished, close the text window.
5. When prompted, select Yes to save your signature file.
6. Eudora automatically attaches your signature file to each
outgoing e-mail message.
Internet Explorer
You can create your signature in Internet Explorer or attach a
previously created signature file.
1. Select Mail / Options from the menu bar.
2. Choose the Signature tab.
3. Unselect No Signature. You may choose to add text for a
signature or to oint to a previously created signature
file.
4. Select Text if you want to type your signature in the text
entry box.
5. Select File and indicate the location of your signature
file. Use the browse button to search for the file.
6. Check the radio button if you want your signature to be
sent with all outgoing email messages.
7. Check the radio button if you want to add your signature to
all replies and forwards.
8. Click OK for your changes to take effect.
Netscape Navigator E-Mail
Netscape Mail lets you incorporate an existing signature file.
1. Use Notepad or your word processor to create a signature
file. Save it with a name that you will remember.
2. Launch Netscape Mail.
3. Select Preferences / Identity from the menu bar.
4. On the Signature file line, type the path and name for the
file or use the Browse button.
5. Your signature will be attached to each outgoing message.
Topic 2: SEARCHING WITH YAHOO!
Using keywords in a search engine helps provide targeted
results. Ever wonder why a search may return articles in
Yahoo! searches the following resources in the following order:
* Yahoo! Categories (hierarchical structure)
* Yahoo! Web Sites
* Yahoo! Net Events & Chat
* Yahoo! Recent News & Articles
Note: Thousands of entries are added to Yahoo! each day.
Therefore, the number of entries that you see returned on your
screen my be different than what I have reported here.
Using Yahoo!, let's see how we can control the results of a
search and how the results change from search to search.
Let's search for tulip bulb. Type in "tulip bulb" and click
Search. 6 entries are found.
Now exercise more control by using the *Options* text link to
the right of the Search Button. You now have five search
methods to choose from:
* Intelligent Default (It sees Dutch, Holland and Netherlands
as the same.)
* An exact phrase match (enclosing the phrase in double quotes
does the same)
* Matches on all words (and)
* Matches on any word (or)
* A person's name
Select "An exact phrase match" which means that to be found it
must be an identical match to what I type (same words in the
exact order). Type "dutch tulip bulbs". Only one link is
returned to Mrs. McKay's Grade 7. Take a look at the page to
see why this page was returned since the keywords don't appear
in the description. Notice that the exact phrase "dutch tulip
bulbs" does appears in the text.
Other search options appear at the bottom of the page. You can
limit your search to listings within a certain time frame from
today: 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and
3 years. In addition, you can also set the number of results
that you want displayed per page: 10, 10, 50 or 100.
If you still want more control, click either *more search tips*
or *advanced search syntax* for additional detailed
information. Take some time to explore these options on your
own. Notice that there are also options under the text
box to search Usenet newsgroups and e-mail addresses.
**Warning:** If you attempt different variations on keywords
and it seems that you keep getting the same results, your PC
may have stored the results. You may need to reload the
information from Yahoo! to force a change.
Another way to use Yahoo! is by category. Yahoo! has a
hierarchical structure that begins with the general and drills
down to the specific. For instance, make the following
choices: Business, Companies, Flowers, Bulbs. The resulting
list displays many companies that sell bulbs.
Now that we are in the right category, type in the keywords
"Dutch tulip bulb" and be sure that "Search in Bulbs" is
darkened (enabled). No matches.
Try again using "flower bulb" as the keyword phrase. This time
you should get two listings. Look at the listing. Why did one
appear first? If the keywords are found in the title, the
entry will be listed first. If the keywords are found in the
text, the returned entries are displayed according to how
many times the keywords appeared in the description and the
text on the page.
Now you should be able to pinpoint your searches more
accurately in Yahoo! Remember, generic keywords return
thousands, even millions of entries. Pinpoint your
information by using the most targeted keywords that you can
imagine.
Topic 3: USING KEYWORDS IN YOUR WRITTING
Whether you are creating an initial Web site or remodeling your
existing site, the above exercise helps show that effectively
using keywords should be your top priority. Well written sites
focus on keywords and are structured around their prominent
use.
First, make a list of keywords in the order of importance. If
the topic is important enough to be a keyword, it should appear
in your text several times. Try to include as many keywords as
possible in your page title, page headings and subheadings as
well as the actual text. As a rule, search engines give
preference to keywords that appear close to the top of the
page.
Topic 4: E-MAIL HOT LINKS
Some e-mail programs turn URL's (website addresses) and e-mail
addresses into hot-links in the body of a message. Netscape
Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer show these as hot
links. Eudora Pro supports the feature but doesn't use any
visual clue to let you know that the link is hot.
Does your software do this? Try it. Double-click on the
following URL. If your browser supports this feature, your
browser will load and display the Web site that is indicated in
the URL <http://www.techdirect.com>.
Now test your e-mail software. Double-click on the following
e-mail address. A blank e-mail message window should display
with the e-mail address filled into the TO: part of the header.
<owner-IBIZ@techdirect.com>.
When indicating a URL or an e-mail address in your message,
follow these guidelines:
* URLs. Enclose the URL in lesser than and greater than signs
(< >) without any extra spacing or punctuation.
* E-mail address. Type mailto: infront of the e-mail address
without any spaces and enclose in greater than and less than
signs. Example: <mailto:webmaster@techdirect.com>.
Be sure that you use these formatting techniques in your
signature file. After all, the easier it is the greater the
chance that someone will contact you or visit your Web site.
Topic 5: BEFORE YOU BUY A NEW MODEM
Your local computer store is now selling modems that transfer
data at approximately 56 Kbps (kilobytes per second). This is
great news for all Web surfers who use a dial-up connection.
But before you buy, do your homework. Call your Internet
Service Provider (ISP) and ask if they currently support
dial-up connections at 56 Kbps. If the answer is yes, ask
which manufacturer their equipment supports, U.S. Robotics X2
technology or Lucent Technologies K56 Flex technology.
Purchase the modem that your ISP supports.
If your ISP does not currently support 56K technology and you
have already purchased a 56K modem, your money is not wasted.
You can use your modem but you will only connect at 33.6 Kbps.
Topic 6: BUSINESS-RELATED WEB SITES
Netiquette: Rules for using the Internet
<ftp://ftp.lib.berkeley.edu/pub/net.training/FAU/netiquette.txt>
Women Entraprenuers
<http://womensbiz.miningco.com/>
Directories:
AT&T's Toll-Free Internet Directory
<http://www.tollfree.att.net/dir800/>
Big Book - quickly find over 16 million U.S. businesses.
<http://www.bigbook.com/>
C/NET- TV, games, news, software, shareware, etc. Something
for everyone.
<http://www.cnet.com>
Four 11 - The Internet White Pages
<http://www.Four11.com/>
Map Quest - create a map via geo-coding
<http://www.mapquest.com>
Switchboard - the people and business directory
<http://www.switchboard.com/>
Software Sites where you can download trial versions of
software, shareware, and freeware.
Dave Central <http://www.davecentral.com/>
Download.Com <http://www.download.com>
Shareware.Com <http://www.shareware.com>
BuyDirect.Com <http://www.buydirect.com>
SoftSEA's Program Center <http://www.softsea.com>
Jumbo <http://www.jumbo.com>
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I-BIZ TIPS Archive
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