Volume 13, Issue 3                          Circulation: 4,700
Tuesday, November 12, 2002

Happy One Year Anniversary 
My IBiz Weekly

Editor's Notes

Welcome Everyone To My IBiz Weekly!!

Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of My IBiz Weekly. 

I am so sorry that you have not seen an issue since last week Monday. As most of you know I use Mailer King and it has been down since last week Wednesday. It has been totally revamped but still in the testing phase. While I had no problem waiting for it to come back up, I also know that I was losing sales by the day.

I wasn't even able to send out my anniversary edition, so that is why I went and signed up with EZMailPro as an alternative solution. Pretty great features by the way so I figured, if i have no problem being an affiliate with them, I should also have no problem using their product.

If you have already unsubscribed from this ezine, or receiving any duplicates, I apologize, since I had some problems uploading the list, you can remove yourself at the bottom of the email.

So without further ado,

Happy Anniversary My IBiz Weekly.

While I still may not be sure of whether I will switch to an online version permanently I know that I am still hear and kicking strong !!

More than likely I will offer a text version by autoresponder and a link to the online version.

Starting next week I am moving back to a bi weekly schedule. Monday and Friday. The solo ads will still be published on Monday, Wednesday's, and Fridays.

I do have two solos from last week that will be sent out Thursday and Saturday.

So even though this week will be a crazy schedule but it will be back on track next week.

We have a winner in the Win Every Ad Possible contest, details are below. Plus I have a great collection of all the things I have learned online, and some of the famous quotes and thoughts from past issues, so for all you new subscribers, read and enjoy.

You will see an edition tomorrow which will actually be last week Wednesday's issue, as well as the normal solo ad.

Did you think i forgot about the One Day Ad Sale?? Well since i wasn't able to do that. I am having a week long sale. From now until November 16th, I am having a back in the day ad sale.

Here are the prices. And after Saturday, prices are going up for good. 

Here are the ad prices for this week in honor of my anniversary.

Solo Ads ( backlogged until January, 2003) $8.00

Top Sponsor Ads $5.00

Spotlight Ads $3.00

http://ezineadhelper.com/ezine/adrates.htm 

Now your ad will be seen by over 4,600 subscribers at these low prices, which won't last forever. Order now. http://ezineadhelper.com/ezine/adrates.htm 

Have a great day

Donesia Muhammad
Ezine Ad Helper.com

P.S. I will be back soon with the remainder of Kevin Bidwell's article series on building traffic for your site shortly. 

Syndicate My Articles

Thanks to Alannah Moore who owns Ideas By Post http://ideasbypost.com  I have a new column called "Zines and Stuff" which is a collection of all my articles dealing with promotion, advertising, marketing, and ezine publishing. http://www.ideasbypost.com/muhammad.shtml   

She has put all my articles together in one javascript so every week, a new article is sent to your web page. If you want to syndicate my articles, you can get the code here http://www.ideasbypost.com/syndicate_signup.shtml  

A Word From Our Top Sponsor

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Voice Your Opinion

I would like to know from a consumer's standpoint, would you buy from someone online who doesn't have a business license?

Does it depend on what you are purchasing or the amount that you are spending, or whether its physical goods or electronic goods, or do you figure well as long as its through Paypal, Clickbank or other payment processor than if any disputes come up, you can always take it up with them.

Me personally I have my business license, federal tax id # and hope to be incorporated next year as well. No one loves to pay taxes but even though my business is advertising, some of my ads are between $45 - $110 and I always think that a person would feel better spending that type of money with a business than an individual.

Do you even check to see if the person you are buying from has a business license or at least some good contact information.

Of course you know this question is leading up to  a good series of articles for you, but I think a lot of newbies really need to know in terms of the necessity of obtaining a business license.

Send your opinions along with your name and site url or ezine url and they will be posted in the next issue

mailto:voiceyouropinion@ezineadhelper.com 

Contest Winner Announced

Drum roll please...

The winner of the Win Every Ad Possible Contest is:

Penny Melendez from chefsdeli@.......

Congratulations Penny. Please contact me so I can send your ads out.

You have won:

A Free Solo Ad
A Free Top Sponsor Ad
A Free Middle Sponsor Ad
A Free Banner Ad
A Free Side Bar Ad

One Free Ad to All Groups of My Classified Coop
One Free Ad to All Groups of My Top Sponsor Coop

Plus: Courtesy of Marlene Owens from Marlene's Cooking Club Newsletter, http://foods4u2cookhome.com   She has graciously decided to donate her Holiday Recipe Menu package just in time for Thanksgiving. 

If you are looking for some great holiday recipes, try her holiday Package. Delicious is not the word I can describe for her recipes. Visit her sister site to Order your Holiday Package. http://friedsweetpotatoes.com  

You can also sign up for her weekly newsletter to get even  more great recipes so while you are out looking for something to cook for dinner, Marlene has original recipes for you. And no I am not talking about those throw salt and pepper together for a meal, healthy, nutritious meals for the busy marketer.

Subscribe here mailto:subscribe@foods4u2cookhome.com 

Lessons Learned From an Old Pro (Or so it seems..)

I have made so many mistakes, and yet so many triumphs that I can't believe how much time has passed. In internet world, 1 year is equivalent to 3 years offline time!

I have seen so many scams, so much hype, it makes my head spin daily. One thing i have learned is never be afraid to ask any questions. If you don't understand something, ask someone. Before you spend any money or sign up for something you should understand everything free and clear.

I have learned a lot about what people want to see in ezines, and what they don't want to see. I have seen a lot of ezines crash and burn this year and some thrive to major proportions. I am proud of how far I have come and how far I plan to go.

I have accomplished a lot in one year.

In one year,

I got my business license
I started my ezine
I started 2 new websites
I discontinued one website
I changed the design every month, or so it seems. Trust me I will change it again.
I have written 25-30 articles and that alone has helped to get my name out there.

> I am finally happy to have  a name that is hard to pronounce because now you never forget it. Name recognition, gotta love it.

> Oh and for those of you who don't know how to pronounce my name, its Donesia ( (De-Nee-Sha)

> I have changed Web Hosts 4 times ( eclipse hosting, aletia, third sphere, and Host 4 Profit)

> I have changed List Hosts 7 times ( Group Mail, Topics, Add2it, Rapid Reply, Aweber, Vision Mailer (formerly Mailer King), and now EZMailPro. Good grief

> I have been able to meet people from clear across the globe. They have become my friends. The best part of the Internet is to meet people for what their words say, not without any regards to their race, religion, age, gender, ethnic background. Maybe we should all meet this way. It is our words that have brought us together.

> I have not only learned the computer, but have been able to teach it to my daughters.. Priceless

> I finally figured out how to change with the times, and weather the storm.

> Configuring tables still drives me crazy.

> I love to install Cgi scripts. I love all that techie stuff. I love the technical side of the Internet.

> I am still a sucker for a free ebook :)

> I still have a hard drive full of ebooks that I have  yet to read.

> No matter how much I try, I still check my email constantly.

> People still look at me funny when I tell them I have an online advertising coop.

> I can honestly say that I am doing my dream job. Since the age of 9, I knew I wanted to write and now I can finally do this without spending millions to do it. Not many people can say that they have achieved their dream. Well, I have started it, and I am not stopping now.

> I know my priorities. If in any way, shape or form, this business affected my children or my husband to the point of losing them, I would shut my business down in a heartbeat. In the blink of an eye.

This business will not replace my family. I have realized the sacrifices made with time, and energy for this business, and I am not done yet. But I have no problem shutting down my computer early and just saying to myself 

"The work will have to wait"

But now for the Hard Facts of Life online. I have put away the rose colored glasses, and realized that it isn't as easy as you think. Here is what  I've learned so far...

People are still taking credit for someone else's work.

There is still a lot of micromanaging going around.

Job Security is just as bad online as it is offline.

Certain people are still achieving their status based on who you know, not what you know.

Money still talks, and B.S. still walks.

Never underestimate the power of a customer complaint.

True testimonials and satisfied customers are still worth their weight in gold. 

It's still hard to separate work from family.

And the most important thing that I have realized is that:

Not everyone can work at home. It requires a special discipline. You have to be the one to motivate yourself, to set work hours, to know when it is time to take a break, and when to finish your work.

Most of use don't have the tv, or the radio in front of us at work. Many of us are not used to folding clothes while on a business call. It requires a lot of work and organization.

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Best Comments, Freebies, and Everything in Between

Best Quick Thoughts from the Editor which received the most feedback:, 

1. January 18,2002

Are we too quick to reject a product, service or software because
of one error? Give them a chance before we discredit that company
or persons' name. I see to much of that online. One server error
and everyone is off to a message board to complain how bad a
service is. We also forget that we are as humans sometimes too
impatient and too high strung , so instead of handling a
situation we are quick to assume that it is a scam and not
worthy.

Now of course those companies that deserve to be discredited is
another story altogether. Some companies are just not prepared
for growth and then get swamped and the first thing that goes is
their customer service. They sometimes expect us to know how to
use their product and if we need support then oh well! Just as
quick as we are to expect a customer to get irate we don't expect
the same from a company Why? because we feel that they are the
professionals and should act accordingly.

So truly both of us needs work, the consumer and the businessman.
Wear both hats and then you will get a better understanding of
the situation. I know how much easier it is to establish a
company online but that doesn't mean that the simple things that
we expect should suffer any less:

Customer Service
Good Product Support
Free upgrades ( That' s my own personal wish! )

and for the Customer:

Tolerance and Patience

Maybe this is just a wish list but if we demand these same things
outside of the internet then why not online?

No wonder as soon as one marketer promotes one product the next
week they are promoting something else. Why? No Product Loyalty
or on the other end the company doesn't give us a chance to
become loyal customers.

Just some Quick Thoughts from the Editor

Copyright (c) 2002 Donesia Muhammad

Disclaimer: This is the opinion of the editor and is not directed
at any particular company or consumer directly. I am simply
trying to get you to look at things through both ends.

2. September 9, 2002

Offending word that stirred up controversy has been changed with characters. I had to remember it was a business publication :)

You Can't Shout Spam from a Crowded Room!
Copyright (c) 2002



Today I have an interview with Michelle Hickox and its funny because the other day Michelle had a problem with her list and all emails sent to her ezine address were being broadcasted to the entire list. So of course every time someone replied to a message it was sent to everyone. Turns out someone had hacked into her list and in turn caused this damage. 

Now as an ezine publisher, we have been through this before. Changing list hosts, learning the new software sometimes ends up with a bunch of mistakes. Duplicate mailings, welcome letters being sent out to people already on your list etc. etc. So once I saw these messages filling up my inbox, I knew it was some sort of technical error that would be fixed. I emailed Michelle and a few others who didn't understand what was going on. 

But I tell you what p&$%#d me off was to see the amount of people who starting with the old " I am going to report you for Spam" routine. 

This is usually from either subscribers who are new to the Internet and don't understand or those who have no control of their own lives and think they have a sense of power by yelling those words. 

That line is old now. Stop with the drama. It sounds like an old Andy Griffith show people running around yelling

"Citizens Arrest, Citizens Arrest!"


Now before you start thinking Well who is she to tell me who is spam and who is legit. I tell you, I have been in the readers chair. When I started out online 2 years ago, I thought I had the POWER too. Oh yeah just start running that dreaded word and to heck with what happens. 

I almost had someone's email account shut down because of my accusation, and you know what I felt ridiculous when I found out it was a software error. So I could've chickened my way out of it and said Oh Well, No I wrote several letters to that company apologizing for the accusation and to disregard the complaint. 

Thank goodness they listened. Most won't.

There were people yelling that Spam word when Michelle's list went haywire and instead of being patient they became irate. 

But those of us who understood rallied around the situation and all you can do is wait for it to be fixed.


Maybe you wont understand until your ezine is paying your electric bill or buying groceries for your family, or keeping the repo man from taking your car or keeping your water from being shut off. Then maybe you will understand that yes we love this business, but it is a job that we receive compensation from and to shut us down for some b.s. is just cruel.

I wish I could say that the money I earn online is going to buying a bunch of luxuries and expensive advertising. No, I just spend my earnings on food, lights, car payments, mortgage payments, list host and web host payments. I am still in the same old clothes I had when I started this business. I am far from rich but I am surviving like everyone else.



You want to yell Spam?


Why don't you go after those who are sending pornography to our children, those who send such horrific pictures to your inbox, you wonder what sick mind can create this computer generated crap.

Go after those who steal your download pages, those who steal your software.

Those who buy something from you and after telling you they are happy with your services, go to PayPal or Clickbank months later and demand a refund while still keeping your product or service.

Those that spend their time creating viruses that will destroy our computers, and send our private information all over the net. 

Computers are cheaper these days but that doesn't mean we can afford to get one whenever we want. My computer is 6 years old and thanks to a pc savvy relative, it has the latest bells and whistles. 


Let's just all spend the time improving our lives instead of trying to destroy others.

Now if I can figure this out at 29 years old, what is their problem?




Thank you for taking the time to read this message. If just one person can understand that Spam is a very serious accusation and to shut down a list due to a false complaint that can and will ruin a business is just wrong, then I will be a happy woman. 

Donesia Muhammad
Owner
KDM Publishing

Another Quick Tip From Issue 1, Volume 2 December 7, 2001


Keep Copies Of Everything

As a Webmaster and Ezine Publisher, you should always keep copies
of everything. Every:

subscription request
unsubscribe request
free ad
customer feedback
ads that you have used
copies of old issues
receipts of sales
any credit card disputes
emails from other webmasters

If you are involved in any ad coop programs so need to keep
copies of the paid advertisements to respond to.

You never know when someone will complain that they never
subscribed, or that their credit card was charged incorrectly.

Trust me it may seem like a big hassle right now but keep these
copies, and not just in your email program. Keep copies on your
hard drive and ALWAYS, ALWAYS back up everything. Don't think
your computer can not crash. You want to see something
depressing, try looking at that blue screen after you forgot to
save your work!!

Keep records in Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, or try Task
Plus, which will help keep you organized with a calendar a to do
list and much more http://taskplus.com 

Funniest Blunder

Adding a section for free ads, and never putting the ads in the publication. So everyone just saw a blank header. So much for rush jobs.

Also plenty of crazy spelling errors, list errors. The funny times are when you change list servers, and everyone ends up with another welcome message and they all email you wondering what went wrong.

Best Articles

Learn From your Ex-Readers

Tips on Staying Sane while Working at  Home

Creating an Ezine Series

Stop Renting Your Profits

My First Article Online: Are You Looking for the Missing Link?

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