If You Market on the Internet, Here's Something You Really Must Know

By Susan Dunn
Posted Wednesday, September 1, 2004

The worst thing you can imagine happened to me last week. I went to my website to check it out and it was gone. I mean GONE. As in wiped off the Internet. All 100 pages of it, or however many there are.

There was one of those white screens there like "under construction," but I don't remember what was written there because I was in shock. My website is my livelihood - isn't yours? And it
was obliterated.

A few minutes later I got an e-mail from my server. Down through the verbiage I read, panicking -- an accusation that I had spammed someone whose e-mail address was given. In fact they reproduced the e-mail she had sent them.

An hour later I had it straightened out, and a couple of hours later my website was up and functioning, and here's what had happened.

Like you, probably, I write many articles for distribution on the Internet. I'm therefore included in the eZines (and websites) of many, many people out there. Sometimes I'm even the lead article. This person had been "s*amm*d" by someone's eZine for which mine was the lead article, and she grabbed MY URL and MY e-mail address and set about shutting the site down.

Now when I format the articles I write for submission to lists, I put at the top that my article may be used "if the byline stays intact . and it is not used for s*a*mmi*g." I hope this will raise awareness that when a website or eZine owner uses one of our articles, they're obligated not to *pam.

Yes, it really happens: your server can remove your website without even letting you know. And, yes, you don't want that to happen.

To stay caught up on the new federal s**m legislation, go here: (http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html) .

Here (http://ezezine.com/resources/avoidjunkfilter.htmlis) is an article by Lisa Micklin called, "How to Avoid the Automatic 'Junk Filter'", and the URLs of what Microsoft Junk Mail Filter, Spa*-Assassin and McAfee's S*am-Killer are searching for. Read them. You'll be amazed, but you need to know this.

For instance, Microsoft's Junk Mail Filter will take you down for having in your SUBJECT LINE: "advertisement," "!" and "$", or "!" and "free."

If you have these in the BODY, you're toast: "Dear Friend," "for free" or "for free?" or "removal instructions," "@mlm," or "order now!"

And if FROM contains: "success," success@" or "mail@".

And here's one last URL to visit: (http://www.networkadvertising.org/espc/pledge. asp) . It's the "Email Marketing Pledge." Take it yourself and pass it on!

About the Author
©Susan Dunn, Marketing Coach, (http://www.webstrategies.cc) . Susan will help you get your eBook written and launched on the Internet: writing services, editing, pdf formatting, book cover design, formatting for print-on-demand, ISBN, submission to eBook websites, national and international press releases, website, salesletter, submission to 40 top search engines, metatags, keywords - everything, from start to successful completion. Internet marketing strategies also. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE eZine and put "Checklist" for subject line.