My 2¢ Worth

ur scheduled interview for this week has been cancelled. The interview was scheduled with Phillip Fuller of Web Profits 4 U.

ast Monday afternoon, Phil's oldest son, Charles was involved in a serious car accident. I ask that you keep Phillip and his family in your prayers during their times of trial. Also pray for Charles' swift recovery.

peaking of trials, another publisher last week was accused (falsely) of spamming. She was shut down without a trial or investigation! That's absolutely outrageous!

ook, we all know spam has gotten out of hand, but how is it that a legitimate publisher can get shut down because of one person bearing a grudge or too damn lazy to unsubscribe while the real spammers continue? Sometimes life just isn't fair.

he thing is, our publisher friend is a good person who gave so much to so many, asking absolutely nothing in return. All the spammers give us is porn and offers to make certain body parts grow larger, credit cards which we don't need and the list goes on and on.

hat's the solution? It sure isn't the spam filters. The government probably won't solve our spam woes either. If I knew the solution, I guess they'd appoint me King of the Internet...

Feature Article

Shattering the Branding Myths

by: Diane Hughes ProBizTips.com

If you've been online long, you're sure to have seen many "gurus" give their ideas about branding. However, much of what you read simply isn't true. Over the years, many myths about branding have taken hold in the online world and spread like wildfire. The fact is: They are doing you more harm than good.

Branding is not one aspect of your marketing campaign. It is the combination of everything your business stands for. Branding is not created with a single, stand-alone event — rather it is created over time through a series of strategically thought-out actions.

Let's take a few minutes to shatter a few common myths about branding and to introduce constructive, proactive branding principles that you can build on.

Branding Myth #1 - Your USP Is Your Brand

Absolutely not. While your USP (Unique Selling Position) might be used to help convey your brand, it is not - in and of itself - your complete branding strategy.

Branding Principle #1 - Your Brand Is All Encompassing

Your brand is built, and conveyed, with every action you take, with every product/service you offer, with every piece of communication you send, and with every contact you make with your customers.

Branding Myth #2 - To Be Remembered, You Must Have A Logo

Also not true. Look at companies like Marlboro (cigarettes), Puffs (tissue), and Ziploc (plastic bags). They simply use a specialized font with the product name. No swirls, no images, no "logo." While logos certainly are not "bad," they are also not mandatory.

Branding Principle #2 - Customers Remember You Primarily By How They Are Treated

The most innovative logo, the most attractive colors, and the world's best logo designer will do you no good if you don't offer excellent service. Customers remember you and your company by the way they are treated. Was their shopping experience good? Were all their questions answered? Were their problems solved to their satisfaction? These things go way further to help customers remember you than any logo could ever hope to.

Branding Myth #3 - Once Your Branding Strategy Is In Place, You Need Do Nothing More

This is probably the biggest myth of them all! So many online businesses are led to believe that once they have an amazing USP, and a snappy logo they have accomplished everything in the realm of branding.

However, just the opposite is true. Your branding strategy is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Defining your strategy is just one part of that process.

Here are some basic tips to help you define and implement your brand.

1. Decide how you want to be perceived by your customers. Do you want to portray an image of trust? Loyalty? Dependability? Innovation? Wide selection? Speedy service & delivery?



2. What makes YOU perceive other companies that way when you shop? Is it their selection? Customer service? Pricing? All of the above?



3. Make a list of the qualities you and your employees must display to customers in order to portray your desired brand.



4. Share the list with everyone in your organization and ask them to develop specific ways they can support the brand.



5. Compile a final branding strategy and share it with everyone in your organization.

Successful brands are those who are well defined and that have the support of the entire organization. Brands based on myths are those that simply have a spiffy logo, a "killer" USP, and the hope that the customer will "get it."

Would you rather base your brand on sound principles or myths? That's what I thought!

**************

Diane Hughes is an accomplished Internet entrepreneur and editor of the popular ProBizTips Newsletter. Subscribe to her newsletter for more tips, tricks, and secrets of the trade -- plus get HUNDREDS of eBooks, software and tools just for subscribing! www.ProBizTips.com

Placeholders in Empty TD Tags

Without using a placeholder within your blank table cells, your empty table cell borders will not display in the Netscape browser. By simply adding the   character code within your HTML, your table cell will be visible.

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Second Article

Make Your Own "Recently Used Documents" List

by: Beth Sunny SharperTraining.com

The "Recently used document" list provides access to documents that you recently opened. However, what about those documents that you use often but are not necessarily the last 9 documents you opened? Wouldn't you like quick access to a collection of documents that  you use often? A list that you can create?

Word has a special built-in menu item called "Work". You can add this item to any menu or toolbar. Once it is available you can add the documents you use the most to this menu item. It does not matter whether they are located on your network or your hard drive. Just use the Add to Work Menu command to add the files and there they are, ready to be used.

First you must add the Work menu to a menu or toolbar:

1. Click on Tools in the menu bar.
2. Click on Customize... from the drop-down menu.
3. Click on the Commands tab.
4. Under Categories, click on Built-in Menus.
5. Under Commands, click on Work.
6. Click and drag it to a menu or a toolbar depending on where you want it available. If you need help, click here for instructions on adding items to menus or click here for instructions on adding items to a toolbar.

Using the Work menu

Add a document to the Work menu:

1. Open a document that you want to include in the Work menu list.
2. Click on the Work menu.
3. Click on Add to Work Menu in the submenu. The document is automatically added to the menu.

Open a document previously added to the Work menu:

1. Click on the Work menu.
2. Click on the desired document in the submenu. Notice that if the Work menu is on a drop-down menu list you may need to click on the chevron to expand the menu options before you see the list of documents.

Remove a document from the Work menu:

When you remove a document from the Work list, you are not deleting it. You are only removing the document from the Work menu. Removing a document requires the use of a special keyboard shortcut: Control + Alt + - (hyphen). The hyphen key that you need to use is the one just to the right of the zero key on the main keyboard, NOT the hyphen that is part of the number keys to the right.

1. Press Control + Alt + - (hyphen) before clicking on the Work menu. Your mouse pointer turns into a dark black horizontal line.
2. Click on the Work menu.
3. Click on the document you want to remove from the list. The document is deleted from the Work menu.

**************

Beth Sunny is a writer, publisher, and computer trainer. She owns Software Training Resources (STR), a courseware company known for their "QuickSteps to Learning" training manuals. STR launched an exciting web site in January of 2001. The web site is specifically for the Computer Training Industry - http://www.sharpertraining.com.

The site offers a place for individuals in the Computer Training Industry a place to advertise their business, correspond with others in the industry, find training products, and discover software tips and read great articles relating to computer training. Visit the site today! http://www.sharpertraining.com

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