Tuesday, November 11, 2003 - Volume 1 Issue 5
Colin Evans, Editor (mailto:
)
In this issue
1. From the Editor
2. Did It Work For Me?
3. Featured Articles:
--- Keeping Your Attitude Up When Circumstances Are Down
- By Chris Widener
--- Put Your Web Browser On Steroids With The Right "Toolbar"
- by Jim Edwards
4. Motivational Quotes
5. Take A Break: Getting Into Heaven...
6. Tell Me what You Think
From the Editor - Colin Evans
Hi Everyone 
Welcome to this edition of Cols-A-To-Z.
Ever had one of those weeks when everything goes wrong?
I just had my computer's hard drive die on me (and no, I hadn't
backed it up in a while), my car develop a huge oil leak and to
top it off I got dysentery from drinking unpurified water...
Expensive week or what?
But there is a lesson to be learned in everything you experience
and in my case I learned the following:
- When I woke up on the morning of my hard drive crash, I
heard my inner voice saying "do a backup before you start work".
"I don't have time" I decided and carried on as usual...
The lesson I learned - listen to your inner feelings, your heart,
your inner voice, what ever you want to call it because it is
normally correct.
- I own a 10 year old Honda Prelude sports car which is a whole
heap of fun to drive, but sadly I have not given it the TLC that it
requires. The aircon has packed up due to the destructiveness
of our local rodent population, the CD player has packed up and
it has always had a little oil leak...
The lesson I learned - if you want to avoid paying excessive
maintenance costs you have to replace your car frequently for
a new one. I like driving my old car so I'll have to spend a lot
more on it to keep it running.
- I want to see the sun set in one hundred different countries
and I got dysentery in my own back yard...
The lesson I learned - You cannot trust your health to others.
In my case I will always drink bottled mineral water or purify
the available water before drinking it (in most cases boiling
the water will be quite adequate).
Did It Work For Me? by Colin Evans
Cols-A-To-Z is a new e-zine and like all new e-zine publishers
I am trying to increase my subscriber base.
Being an economic entity, this e-zine has to make money or I
will be forced to close it down.
So how do I make money with it?
Well first of all I need a big enough customer base to market
to. This means I need a large subscriber base.
How do I grow my subscriber base?
There are many ways to accomplish this and in this issue I want
to concentrate on free opt-in list building programs.
How do they work?
You must become a member of the optin list building program and
you will need to enter your e-zine or list details. This includes
a catchy heading and a brief description of the e-zine or list.
You also have to include an e-mail address which people can
subscribe to your e-zine or list from the optin list building
service.
You are given a small piece of code to place on your website
which generates a popup or popunder when somebody visits your
website.
This popup or popunder window allows people to subscribe to either
your e-zine or list and at least five other optin list building
members' e-zines or lists.
Each time a popup/under is viewed on your website, a popup/under
which includes your e-zine details is shown on somebody elses
website.
The viewer has the option of subscribing to any of the e-zines
or lists by checking the box next to the e-zine or list and
entering their details on the form contained in the popup/under.
Do they work?
Not very well in my experience. I have used the following two:
Using the same heading and description for both, Optin Storm
has produced on average, one new subscriber per week, while
Subscription Rocket has produced none.
I have also advertised my e-zine using start page exchanges to
increase the number of times the popup/under is shown from my
page in the hope that more people will be exposed to popup/unders
which advertise my e-zine.
That's a lot of work for one new subscriber per week!
I have noticed two major disadvantages with this type of optin
list building program:
- Your e-zine or list can get lost on the popup/under page so
you need to ensure that your heading and description will catch
the attention of the viewer.
- When people subscribe to your e-zine or list through these
optin list building programs, they are subscribed by sending a
blank e-mail to your autoresponder. This means that there is no
first name entered and will make personalisation of your e-zine
or list a problem.
Will I continue using them?
Not for much longer. I have been testing a system using my own
popup window which seems to be lot more successful.
Featured Article: Keeping Your Attitude Up When Circumstances
Are Down - by Chris Widener
“Instead of spending your time thinking about how bad things are,
think about how good they will be!”
Everyone knows that a positive attitude is key to the successful
life. But what happens when things go wrong? What happens when
circumstances deal us a blow? We have a tendency to let our
attitudes take the dive along with our state of affairs.
Life deals us setbacks, both minor and major, on a regular basis,
but if we are going to be successful, we need to know how to deal
with them and keep our attitudes intact! We need practical tools
to help us understand how we can go about keeping our attitude
up, when the circumstances are down. Here are some thoughts to
help us do so:
Take some time-out.
I'm sure you are aware of what happens. You are going about your
day and everything seems to be going well, when out of nowhere
disaster strikes. All of your best-laid plans begin to tumble.
Sometimes circumstances surprise us and we react. Unfortunately,
this often compounds the problem because by reacting we tend to
operate out of our weaknesses instead of our strengths. We make
decisions that are not well thought out. We function with a bad
attitude that says, “I can’t believe this is happening!”
The next time circumstances turn against you, take some time to
just step back from the problem and think. This will enable you
to deal with the issue at hand rationally, instead of emotionally.
It will allow you to put your state of mind back into its proper
place. It gives you the opportunity to choose your attitude as
you face the circumstances at hand.
Remember that we don't have to do something right now. Go grab
a cup of coffee and relax little bit. By doing this you function
with you being in control and not the circumstances.
Keep your eye on the goal.
A second step in keeping our attitude in the proper place is to
make sure we keep the important things important. One of the
biggest problems with trouble is that it gets your focus off of
where it should be.
When I experience difficult circumstances and people ask me how
it is going, I tell them, “I am just keeping my eye on the goal.”
It has always been fascinating to me that when racecar drivers
get into trouble, they keep their eyes straight ahead and do not
move them away. There is just too much chance of wrecking that
way. Instead, their eyes are on the goal, and this keeps them out
of trouble.
If you find yourself getting down about circumstances, sit down
and write out what the goal is. Give some thought to how you can
achieve that goal, or others you may have.
A man was asked how he was doing and he responded, “Pretty well,
under the circumstances.” The other man asked, “What are you
doing under the circumstances?” Good question. We shouldn’t be
under the circumstances, we should be focused on the goal and
moving forward.
Focus on solutions, not problems.
The squeaky wheel gets the oil, the old saying goes. Negative
circumstances don’t sit idly by. They scream for our attention.
When we face difficult circumstances, we tend to dwell on them.
We talk about them, fret about them, and give them way too much
attention.
Instead of talking about problems, talk about solutions. Instead
of spending your time thinking about how bad things are, think
about how good they will be! Don’t have family or staff meetings
about the problems and how big they are.
Have meetings on the solutions and how you will implement them.
Don’t let yourself or other team members complain. Encourage them
to solve, with an emphasis on the positive results that will come
from doing so. Then take some time to put these solutions down on
paper, so you can monitor your progress.
Get some positive input.
The mind tends to build on itself, so when we begin to go in one
direction, i.e. worry, it can be a slippery slope. One thing we
must do is get our thoughts back on track with positive ideas.
When circumstances have got you against the emotional wall, get
with a good friend who can encourage you. Listen to a tape by
Zig Zigler or another motivational speaker. Pick up a good book
and give it a read. Whatever external influence you can get to
put your attitude back on the positive side of the tracks – do it!
It must be one of our first goals to start plugging good things
into our minds to fuel our attitudes.
Tell yourself the good.
One of the greatest internal powers we have is the power to
control our thoughts. Spend time dwelling on the good things
about your life or job instead of the problems. Think about
positive things, things you enjoy and give you a sense of
happiness and peace. There is an old childhood song that says,
“Count your blessings, name them one by one.”
That is great advice! Let your positive attitude develop from
within as well as from without. This makes all the difference!
Remember that circumstances are not forever.
Sometimes it seems like we are going to be up to our eyeballs in
the situation forever, when in reality, this too shall pass.
There will be a time in the future when circumstances will change
and you will be on the mountain instead of the valley. This will
give you a sense of hope as you live and work that will change
your attitude, make you feel better and put you on the fast track
for growth!
Some questions as we close:
Q. Do you have a habit of reflection before responding?
Q. Do you have a habit of keeping your eye on the goal?
Q. Do you focus on solutions or problems?
Q. Do you give yourself positive outside influence?
Q. Do you have a habit of telling yourself the good?
Q. Do you remind yourself that nothing is forever?
Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made
for Success and Extraordinary Leaders, two companies helping individuals and
organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their
lives and achieve their dreams.
Join subscribers in over 100 countries around the
world! Get Chris' FREE weekly Made for Success E-zine by sending a blank email
to
.
Get his FREE daily SuccessQuote™ with action point
by sending a blank email to
.
Get his FREE monthly
Extraordinary Leaders E-zine, one of the world's most widely distributed leadership
newsletters, by sending a blank email to
or visit his
websites at
http://www.madeforsuccess.com
and http://www.extraordinaryleaders.com
Copyright 2002 Made for Success. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Featured Article: Put Your Web Browser On Steroids With The
Right "Toolbar" - by Jim Edwards
As the Web grows more crowded and just plain "noisy" with
information bombarding us from every angle, most people welcome
any tool, trick or shortcut to help them wade through the
mountains of data to find what they want.
Since your web browser represents your main window to the
Internet, it makes sense for any tool which enables you to find
what you need and get around faster online should sit right where
you need it most... on your browser!
Introducing Web browser "toolbars," free little programs you
download from the Web that work with Internet Explorer and
Netscape to put you several steps closer to the information you
need right now.
Google Toolbar
The free toolbar from search giant Google offers the best overall
features of any toolbar we evaluated.
Not only does it allow you to search the web, but it also enables
you to search within a website to find specific information.
The Google toolbar's main features include "Page Rank," which
gives an indication of a website's overall value based on your
search criteria and other factors.
It also offers a "backwards links" function which allows you to
see which sites link to the website currently loaded in your
browser.
If you are looking to get traffic from other sites, you can use
the Google toolbar to find sites with high page rank AND lots of
sites pointing to them. You can then go to each of those sites
you find in the backwards links and ask them to give you a link
too!
This is an AWESOME way to find potential new affiliates who
already have their pages indexed in the search engines and are
in the habit of giving links to other sites.
Simply pull up your competitor's website in your browser, click
the "i" button next to the PageRank meter, then click the
"Backwards Link" link to get a list of all the sites Google
indexes that link back to that website.
Start contacting them!
You can download the Google toolbar on your web browser by
visiting http://toolbar.google.com and following the simple
installation instruction.
Alexa Toolbar
Alexa's main claim to fame revolves around its traffic ranking
report on virtually any site on the Internet.
The lower the Traffic Ranking number, the more popular a site
rates in Alexa's eyes. Currently Yahoo, MSN and Google occupy
the top 1,2 and 3 spots on Alexa's charts. Auction giant, eBay,
occupies the #6 spot.
With so many websites on the Internet, an Alexa ranking of less
than 100,000 is considered good, and a ranking of less than
10,000 is considered outstanding as far as a site's relative
popularity on the Web.
Alexa also offers a related links feature right on the toolbar
so you can quickly see links to similar sites other people also
visit when surfing the site you currently have loaded in your
browser.
For marketing, the real power of Alexa's toolbar comes into play
when you combine it with Google's toolbar.
When you find a site with a high page rank AND a low Alexa rating,
you know you've got a site you need to take a hard look at trying
to get a link from or start recruiting their link partners as
your affiliates.
Doing it this way will save you a ton of time when it comes to
finding potential affiliates and link partners because those
sites are highly qulaified, both for the amount of traffic they
get and the type of targeted customers they attract.
Alexa's toolbar also offers a free pop-up blocker to help cut
down on pop-up windows.
You can download the Alexa Toolbar free from http://www.alexa.com
AltaVista Toolbar
Former search giant AltaVista recently jumped on the toolbar
bandwagon with their offering at http://www.altavista.com
Though we didn't see additional features to help you with your
marketing, we did see a couple of things that were just plain
cool!
The AltaVista toolbar offers a language translation button and
an MP3 search.
Click the "Translate" button and instantly translate entire web
pages from one language to another.
The MP3 search function will help you find the tunes you want
from AltaVista's audio index.
Most of the toolbars offer additional gadgets to help you with
everything from weather forecasts to currency conversion.
Because they offer many of the same features and they take up
valuable screen space, using more than two toolbars at a time
can prove impractical. Since most toolbars come free of charge,
evaluate them all for their main features and overall usability
for your particular needs, and then stick with the best one or
two.
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links?
"Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising!
Click Here => http://www.turnwordsintotraffic.com
Motivational Quotes
When a thing is done, it's done. Don't look back. Look forward
to your next objective.
- George C. Marshall
Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and
delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead....You can only see
one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision
of that and cling to it through thick and thin.
- Kathleen Norris
Take A Break: Getting Into Heaven...
A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead
of him is a guy who's dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather
jacket, and jeans.
Saint Peter addresses this guy, "Who are you, so that I may know
whether or not to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?"
The guy replies, "I'm Johnny Johnson, taxi-driver, of Noo Yawk
City."
Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi-
driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the
Kingdom of Heaven."
The taxi-driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and
it's the minister's turn. He stands erect and booms out, "I am
Phillip Smith, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last forty-three
years."
Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take
this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of
Heaven."
"Just a minute," says the minister. "That man was a taxi-driver
and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?"
"Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you
preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed."
Tell Me What You Think
I would love to hear what you think of this issue of the "Cols-A-To-Z" Newsletter.
And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you'd like to
share with me, please send those, too!
Just e-mail me at:
To subscribe to my "Cols-A-To-Z" Newsletter, go to the following URL:
http://www.cols-a-to-z.com/join.html
Written by Colin Evans
President, Cols-A-To-Z.com
© copyright 2003 Cols-A-To-Z.com
