| Member You |
Hubs | Hubbers | Topics | Request |
| #1 in Business | Subscribe Email Print |
|
You are here: Home > Internet and Businesses Online > Spam Blocker > How To Stop Spam (Especially If You're Already a Victim) |
|
Member You - How To Stop Spam (Especially If You're Already a Victim)
From Home Business Amateur to Artist il.htmIf you're looking for guidance in running your own home-based business, the last place you'd probably look for good advice would be a noted 19th century transcendentalist author. Though he certainly wasn't an online guru or a specialist in traffic generation, Ralph Waldo Emerson, the famous essayist, lecturer and writer did offer an observation that can help anyone trying to build a business.Emerson once said, "Every artist was first an amateur."That's an incredibly simple statement. It's true on its face. It also holds a deeper meaning that new home business entrepreneurs should embrace wholeheartedly.You may want to find your fortune today. You may aspire to instant success. You may assume you have a perfect plan and can execute it flawles 5. Never buy anything that's sent through a spam email. First, it just encourages them to continue to spam. Second, it tells them that your email address is accurate, and they can then sell that address to someone else. 6. Never reply to spam and ask to be unsubscribed. They'll just ignore it anyway, and it tells them that your email address is accurate, which just keeps you on the list. Note: many legitimate emails newsletters and mailing lists use automated unsubscribe links at the bottom of their emails, and you CAN use these to get off of mailing lists. 7. Use anti-spam software, like Norton Internet Security, on your own PC to filter spam as it comes into your email system. You still receive the spam, but it gets filtered to a Junk Mail or Bul The Perils and Pitfalls of Pay-per-click Advertising Spam. Those annoying, time-consuming emails that clog your Inbox and ruin your day. You wonder: How did it ever get so bad? While it's not possible to completely eliminate spam, there are quite a few things you CAN do about the problem to reduce your burden.In this age of speed dialing, T1 lines and other forms of high-tech instant gratification, many webmasters find themselves tempted to engage in pay-per-click advertising. After all, if you’ve just designed a state-of-the-art website, there’s nothing quite as gratifying as a steady stream of traffic right from the start. Webmasters with open wallets have found that pay-per-click can provide traffic within hours or even minutes of a website’s launch.Pay-per-click ProsBefore considering the perils and pitfalls of pay-per-click, it’s worthwhile to remember that in some instances, pay-per-click is a good market strategy. A number of reputable SEO firms combine pay-per-click management with search engine optimization as a method of getting their clients th Spam is defined as an unsolicited email trying to get you to buy something. In addition, it's email that tries to get you to give up something: your credit card number, social security number, login ID, etc., by pretending to be a legitimate email. Here are some tips for stopping the current spam you're getting, and avoiding getting on new spam lists. 1. Maintain two email addresses: a Personal Email Address (that you give to family, friends and business associates), and a Safe Email Address (one you use whenever you're ordering something online, signing up for an email newsletter, or creating a profile on a website). For instance, I use a Hotmail account for my Safe Email Address. If a spammer were to get a hold of that address, fine. All the spam will go into my Hotmail account, which I only look at once a week. Hotmail has a great anti-spam filter built in, so it's easy to see what's spam and what's not. This practice leaves my personal email account relatively spam-free (maybe I get two spam emails a day to my personal account). Some free email services include Hotmail, Yahoo and GMail (Google's new email service). 2. Use your Safe Email Address to send emails to companies who might be harvesting email addresses from incoming emails. For example, say you want to write to a company to ask them about their products. Some companies will harvest your email address from the email you send to them, and put you on their mailing list. By using your Safe Email Address, you can avoid seeing messages from these companies come to your personal email address. 3. Stop giving your email address to everyone who wants it. Does your local bank really need your email address? Does your grocery store need it? Just because someone asks for it doesn't mean you have to give it to them. If it's a non-local company, or you are signing up for a mailing list, then they probably do need it. But it's okay to leave the email address blank when filling out forms. Always ask yourself, Do I want to be contacted by this company via email? (Speaking of mailing lists, make sure the companies you subscribe to have a public, posted Privacy Statement on their website.) 4. Do not put your Personal Email Address on your website. Instead, use a form so that your email address is hidden. However, some spammers use special software that looks at the HTML code hidden in the form to steal your email address, so using a form by itself isn't always the safest route. Better yet, use a free Form Processor so that your email address is never even in the HTML coding on your pages. The service I use is Bravenet's Form processor (www.bravenet.com). You can see ours in action here: http://www.passionforbusiness.com/send-email.htm 5. Never buy anything that's sent through a spam email. First, it just encourages them to continue to spam. Second, it tells them that your email address is accurate, and they can then sell that address to someone else. 6. Never reply to spam and ask to be unsubscribed. They'll just ignore it anyway, and it tells them that your email address is accurate, which just keeps you on the list. Note: many legitimate emails newsletters and mailing lists use automated unsubscribe links at the bottom of their emails, and you CAN use these to get off of mailing lists. 7. Use anti-spam software, like Norton Internet Security, on your own PC to filter spam as it comes into your email system. You still receive the spam, but it gets filtered to a Junk Mail or Bulk Is Music In The Workplace A Sound Idea? er you're ordering something online, signing up for an email newsletter, or creating a profile on a website).As I was trying to find some suitable movies to watch at the video store, I found it hard to concentrate because the clerk’s music was blasting loudly through the speakers.I asked him to turn it down, twice actually, because he couldn’t hear me the first time.After shooting me a sour look, as if to say, hey pal, this job isn’t worth it without my music, he acquiesced.Before you think I’m a fuddy-duddy, let me say, some of MY music I like to play loudly, and I do just this when I’m in my car, or taking a break from working, in my office.But I don’t subject other people to my tastes.The real test is this: Are people more productive or less, when music is playing?I suppose, one issue is evident in the video store situation: Is t For instance, I use a Hotmail account for my Safe Email Address. If a spammer were to get a hold of that address, fine. All the spam will go into my Hotmail account, which I only look at once a week. Hotmail has a great anti-spam filter built in, so it's easy to see what's spam and what's not. This practice leaves my personal email account relatively spam-free (maybe I get two spam emails a day to my personal account). Some free email services include Hotmail, Yahoo and GMail (Google's new email service). 2. Use your Safe Email Address to send emails to companies who might be harvesting email addresses from incoming emails. For example, say you want to write to a company to ask them about their products. Some companies will harvest your email address from the email you send to them, and put you on their mailing list. By using your Safe Email Address, you can avoid seeing messages from these companies come to your personal email address. 3. Stop giving your email address to everyone who wants it. Does your local bank really need your email address? Does your grocery store need it? Just because someone asks for it doesn't mean you have to give it to them. If it's a non-local company, or you are signing up for a mailing list, then they probably do need it. But it's okay to leave the email address blank when filling out forms. Always ask yourself, Do I want to be contacted by this company via email? (Speaking of mailing lists, make sure the companies you subscribe to have a public, posted Privacy Statement on their website.) 4. Do not put your Personal Email Address on your website. Instead, use a form so that your email address is hidden. However, some spammers use special software that looks at the HTML code hidden in the form to steal your email address, so using a form by itself isn't always the safest route. Better yet, use a free Form Processor so that your email address is never even in the HTML coding on your pages. The service I use is Bravenet's Form processor (www.bravenet.com). You can see ours in action here: http://www.passionforbusiness.com/send-email.htm 5. Never buy anything that's sent through a spam email. First, it just encourages them to continue to spam. Second, it tells them that your email address is accurate, and they can then sell that address to someone else. 6. Never reply to spam and ask to be unsubscribed. They'll just ignore it anyway, and it tells them that your email address is accurate, which just keeps you on the list. Note: many legitimate emails newsletters and mailing lists use automated unsubscribe links at the bottom of their emails, and you CAN use these to get off of mailing lists. 7. Use anti-spam software, like Norton Internet Security, on your own PC to filter spam as it comes into your email system. You still receive the spam, but it gets filtered to a Junk Mail or Bul Advertising Specialty Vendors e to a company to ask them about their products. Some companies will harvest your email address from the email you send to them, and put you on their mailing list. By using your Safe Email Address, you can avoid seeing messages from these companies come to your personal email address.Advertising specialty vendors are the ones that sell to resellers who in turn sell to their clients. An advertising specialty vendor can be a very cheap option for someone looking for advertising specialty products.Each of these vendors has a catalog that details each and every item with illustrations and pricing. Most of them generally just do the printing work for resellers, who buy the various goods for advertising.There are many advertising specialty vendors all over the country, and in each state. A quick search on the local directories or the Internet will generate information about them. One good source of authentic vendors is the directory that is published by the ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute), which does the task of maintaining a list 3. Stop giving your email address to everyone who wants it. Does your local bank really need your email address? Does your grocery store need it? Just because someone asks for it doesn't mean you have to give it to them. If it's a non-local company, or you are signing up for a mailing list, then they probably do need it. But it's okay to leave the email address blank when filling out forms. Always ask yourself, Do I want to be contacted by this company via email? (Speaking of mailing lists, make sure the companies you subscribe to have a public, posted Privacy Statement on their website.) 4. Do not put your Personal Email Address on your website. Instead, use a form so that your email address is hidden. However, some spammers use special software that looks at the HTML code hidden in the form to steal your email address, so using a form by itself isn't always the safest route. Better yet, use a free Form Processor so that your email address is never even in the HTML coding on your pages. The service I use is Bravenet's Form processor (www.bravenet.com). You can see ours in action here: http://www.passionforbusiness.com/send-email.htm 5. Never buy anything that's sent through a spam email. First, it just encourages them to continue to spam. Second, it tells them that your email address is accurate, and they can then sell that address to someone else. 6. Never reply to spam and ask to be unsubscribed. They'll just ignore it anyway, and it tells them that your email address is accurate, which just keeps you on the list. Note: many legitimate emails newsletters and mailing lists use automated unsubscribe links at the bottom of their emails, and you CAN use these to get off of mailing lists. 7. Use anti-spam software, like Norton Internet Security, on your own PC to filter spam as it comes into your email system. You still receive the spam, but it gets filtered to a Junk Mail or Bul How to Write a Letter to the Editor that Gets Published and Read make sure the companies you subscribe to have a public, posted Privacy Statement on their website.)We've all read bang-up letters to the editor focused on a recent event or issue covered by a publication or TV or radio coverage. More recently, I've seen letters crafted in response to websites and e-newsletters. It's much more likely that your organization's letter will run than it is to place an op-ed piece or get your nonprofit covered in a feature article.Unlike news stories, letters to the editor enable your nonprofit or foundation to state an opinion, offer an alternative viewpoint, heap praise, or move someone to action, in your own words. That means there's a much smaller chance that the facts will be wrong or that your message will be twisted or diluted as it might be in a news or feature story written by a reporter.The benefits for your nonpr 4. Do not put your Personal Email Address on your website. Instead, use a form so that your email address is hidden. However, some spammers use special software that looks at the HTML code hidden in the form to steal your email address, so using a form by itself isn't always the safest route. Better yet, use a free Form Processor so that your email address is never even in the HTML coding on your pages. The service I use is Bravenet's Form processor (www.bravenet.com). You can see ours in action here: http://www.passionforbusiness.com/send-email.htm 5. Never buy anything that's sent through a spam email. First, it just encourages them to continue to spam. Second, it tells them that your email address is accurate, and they can then sell that address to someone else. 6. Never reply to spam and ask to be unsubscribed. They'll just ignore it anyway, and it tells them that your email address is accurate, which just keeps you on the list. Note: many legitimate emails newsletters and mailing lists use automated unsubscribe links at the bottom of their emails, and you CAN use these to get off of mailing lists. 7. Use anti-spam software, like Norton Internet Security, on your own PC to filter spam as it comes into your email system. You still receive the spam, but it gets filtered to a Junk Mail or Bul Seven Ways to Make Your Customers Feel Important il.htmTwo important pre-reading notes: Before you chose to read or not read this article, let make two things clear. Everyone has Customers. Even if you work in an internal staff department in a large firm, you have Customers. They are the people you provide work to. And second, don’t be put off by the term Customer. Maybe you call them Clients, Students, Patients, or (heaven forbid!) Users. If one of those words works better for you, read that word every time you read Customer. Now that I have eliminated your reasons for not reading, please continue . . .We can read lots of books and articles about Customer Service strategies and how to build processes that will serve Customers more successfully. All of these things are valuable, but if we put all of our f 5. Never buy anything that's sent through a spam email. First, it just encourages them to continue to spam. Second, it tells them that your email address is accurate, and they can then sell that address to someone else. 6. Never reply to spam and ask to be unsubscribed. They'll just ignore it anyway, and it tells them that your email address is accurate, which just keeps you on the list. Note: many legitimate emails newsletters and mailing lists use automated unsubscribe links at the bottom of their emails, and you CAN use these to get off of mailing lists. 7. Use anti-spam software, like Norton Internet Security, on your own PC to filter spam as it comes into your email system. You still receive the spam, but it gets filtered to a Junk Mail or Bulk Mail folder, and segregates the spam from the legitimate email. Most anti-spam filters need to be trained, however, so you'll have to occasionally tell the filter that something is NOT spam that it inadvertently put into the Junk Mail folder. Many of these anti-spam filters work on the principle of White Lists (legitimate email addresses that you DO want to receive email from) and Black Lists (spammer email addresses that you do NOT want to receive email from). Learn how to train your anti-spam software and it will work wonders for you. 8. Check to see if your ISP or hosting company has anti- spam technology in place, to catch spam before it even hits your Inbox. Be careful, though, because sometimes these filters are over-zealous and you have to train it to accept emails from mailing lists that you have subscribed to. 9. Do not use a catch-all email address. A catch-all email address is set up if you have your own website, and it is intended to catch all of the incoming emails sent to your domain even if there is no legitimate mailbox by that name. For example, your email address might be mary@mydomain.com. If that mailbox is set up as a catch all, and someone sends an email to marie@mydomain.com (with a spelling mistake in the email name), it will be forwarded to mary@mydomain.com. However, spammers know about catch-all email addresses, and will take your domain name mydomain.com and add common prefixes to it, like info@ or admin@. If you have a catch- all, then those spamming emails will come to you, even if you don't have a legitimate mailbox of info@mydomain.com or admin@mydomain.com set up with your hosting company. See how easy it is for spammers to get to you? 10. Finally, if spam is really bad, create a new personal email address for yourself, tell everyone about the new address (give them several reminders that you are changing email addresses), then delete the old personal email address. This may seem a little drastic, but if you receive 200 spam emails a day, it might be time to time this final step to eradicate it. You are not powerless against spam. But you do have to take action to fight back. Don't let them bully you into accepting hundreds of unwanted emails a day! Take action now to reclaim your Inbox!
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
Related Articles:Pocket Watches: Classy - Stylish Promotional Items How to Introduce Your Business in 60 Seconds or Less Content Management Systems Eyeball SEO's
|