Even if, like me, you think astrology is a bunch of…let’s call it “hooey”, I’d be willing to bet that you enjoy reading it to see if it fits. In fact, you probably enjoy it whether it does or not. (If it does, it reinforces your self-image. If it doesn’t, it gives you a chance [...]

Back in 1990, I got a job at a Japanese travel agency to pay my way through college. From the beginning, one of the ladies in the office seemed to think that picking on me was a great way to enhance her life.

Maybe she’d liked the guy I’d replaced, and subconsciously resented me for the [...]

One of my most popular posts from last month (as you’ll see below) was the one where I shared which of my emails from March had been opened most, and which got the most clicks through to my blog.

Here’s the report for April.

Where you see (+), (++) and (+++), that indicates that the headline in [...]

What message do your website’s visitors see immediately after they subscribe to your mailing list. “Please check your mail box for a confirmation email, and click the link”? Good, but incomplete.

What do they see in the confirmation email? A confirmation link? Good, but incomplete.

What do they see after they click the confirmation link? A download [...]

Every time I post to this blog, an announcement goes out automatically to my mailing list, which tracks how many people opened the email and how many clicked through to read the full article.

I thought I’d start a new monthly feature here, listing the headlines that got the most people to open the email, and [...]

I’ve been taking a CERT training class at City Hall for the last month or so, learning about how to help in an emergency when the professionals haven’t yet arrived or are overwhelmed.

We’ve learned about emergency preparation, handling small fires (including a live exercise that would have been more fun if the fire had been [...]

For the longest time, I only sent plain text emails to my mailing lists. Why? More out of personal preference than anything. I didn’t like gussied-up HTML emails, so I didn’t send them.

Also, it’s easier. If you only send plain text, you don’t have to bother with fancy formatting.

If you send hybrid plain text/HTML emails, [...]

You know the formula: step 1: create something valuable; step 2: give it away as an incentive to join your mailing list; step 3: …; step 4: make money.

But what should you create in step 1?

You might think that a 100-page eBook, packed with everything you know, would be the killer freebie, and your list [...]

Today, let’s learn from each other’s mistakes. The Monday Question for this week: what are the 3 worst mistakes you’ve made in your internet marketing efforts?

I’ll go first. The 3 worst internet marketing mistakes I’ve made are (in no particular order):

1. Waiting to build a mailing list. When I started off, I gave away free [...]

There’s no shortage to internet markets who’ll teach you ways to build traffic, get followers, or build a mailing list. Not as many teach how to build influence. But without influence, traffic and subscribers aren’t worth much.

For mass influence, the “A-List” dominates. If you can get “anointed” by them, and don’t botch the opportunity, you’ve [...]