My 2¢ Worth

ast week, speaking of the new spam laws, I told you that somebody arbitrarily decided that E-zine publishers had to come into compliance by October 31, 2003. I was wrong.

othing arbitrary about it. The first of the new laws went into effect on that date. However, that doesn't change my mind as a publisher. I still refuse to make you re-subscribe to this E-zine. That's absolutely ludicrous!

 refuse to comply with that stupid rule! What are they going to do? Throw me in jail? Fine. I've been there before. Three hots and a cot I always say.

all me stupid. Call me unethical. Call me stubborn. I've been called all those things before and in fact a couple of those statements are true. Stupid and stubborn come to mind. But the fact is that a man who always obeys the law is even stupider than one who breaks it every chance.

hen the powers that be offer to pay me for the advertising revenue I'll lose by making people re-subscribe I'll come into full compliance. Until then, I will not. Damned if I'm going to lose money because of some law-makers who wouldn't know legitimate E-mail from spam if it came up and bit them in the back!

Feature Article

Hey! You Talkin' To Me?

by: Livvie Matthews SimpleBizPublications

How many times have you heard the following questions or seen information related to these statements?

"Have you 'Identified' your customer"?
"Do you have your 'Target Market' defined"?
"Know your 'Niche' "!

What do these three statements have in common? Zeroing in on your specific customer!

I can hear you now...."But my product or service is good for everybody!...I don't want to limit myself or my product. I just want to sell, sell, sell! Besides, I don't know about all this 'target' and 'niche' stuff."

Targeting your market does not stop or limit you from selling to people outside your target market. Any one who sees your product and is interested, will purchase your product.

However, what target marketing does is guarantees you a customer base interested in what you have to offer. It is much easier (and cheaper) to market customers that are already interested (qualified) in what you have to offer.

In other words, you can have the best grilled chicken patties in the world, but if you are marketing it to vegetarians you aren't going to get anywhere. You are looking for customers who eat meat. Specifically chicken and even more specific, those interested in grilled chicken.

Does that mean, customers who eat beef or fried chicken won't buy your product? No, not at all, it just means you are targeting grilled chicken lovers, because you have what they are looking for...the best grilled chicken there is!

Anyone who eats meat is a target. Grilled chicken lovers are your "targeted-niche" market. Not only are they interested in what you have, they are actually looking for you as well!

So how can you identify and research your "target" market? Start by making a list. First, and this may sound very basic, define who you are specifically wanting to sell to/

This is where you being to "target" (zero in on) your customer and is the beginning of your "niche" (small, specialized) market

Ask and identify questions like:
What do my customers want? What do they want to know? What are their likes and dislikes? When they need help where do they go? What is it they need help with?

What information do I have relevant to what their needs are? What problems can I solve? How can I make their life easier?

In short, how will this product make a difference in their life. What benefit will they reap? Make a list of all the possible benefits your buyer will receive when buying your product, then make it easy to use and implement.

What problem will it solve? People love solutions. Let your customers know you can solve their problems, you solve them fast and you can solve them....now.

Second, answer your questions by being as specific as possible. The more specific your answers the more "targeted" your customer.

As you define your market, you define your target. As you specialize within your target, you define your niche!

Once defining your market, research lists, ezines, discussion groups, web sites and businesses (online and offline) targeting the same market you are interested in selling to. These are the businesses you want to advertise with and join.

Buyers will find it difficult to say no when you have given them an exceptional reason (target) to say....yes! Because, after all, your marketing says... Hey!...I'm Talkin' (directly) To You!

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

Livvie Matthews helps individuals and businesses turn their knowledge into great-selling tips booklets. and to promote their business. Her products and services include a how to e-book for creating booklets. Send bizybodies@earthlink.net
Stop Sitting On YOUR Gold Mine! www.bizybodies.com/goldminemanual.html
Subscribe bizybodies2-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Non-Tiling Background Images

If you would like to display a background image on your web page, but don't want it to tile (repeat), place the following code in the <head> of your HTML document. This code will prevent your image from tiling and will center it within your page. Don't forget to change the text in red with the name of your image.

<style type="text/css">

body { background-image: url(yourimage.gif) } body { background-repeat: no-repeat } body { background-position: center }

</style>

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for yourweb site, free. *

Second Article

All About Screen Resolution

by: Ed Andrist Paradigm Web Design

The viewing area of your computer's monitor is made up of dots. Each dot is equal to one pixel.

Screen resolution signifies the number of dots (pixels) on the entire screen. For example, a 640-by-480 pixel screen is capable of displaying 640 distinct dots on each of 480 lines, or approximately 300,000 pixels. This translates into different dpi (dots per inch) measurements depending on the size of the screen. For example, a 15-inch VGA monitor (640x480 resolution) displays about 50 dots per inch.

The resolution of a monitor indicates how densely packed the pixels are. Generally, the more pixels (often expressed in dots per inch) there are, the sharper the image. Most modern monitors can display 1024 by 768 pixels, which is the SVGA standard. Some high-end models can display 1280 by 1024, or even 1600 by 1200.

Resolution is measured in pixels, across the screen and also down the screen. So 640 x 480 means you could count 640 dots across, and 480 dots down.

You can set or change your monitor's screen resolution in the Display Properties dialog box. Click ...

• Start
• Settings
• Control Panel
• Display
• Settings

Now adjust Screen area in pixels, then click OK.

If you don't like it just go back and reset it to your previous setting — so make a note of your present setting.

The resolution options will depend on the quality of your video card. The more memory it comes with, combined with its overall abilities, the more colors you can view at a certain resolution.

For example, you may be able to set your computer to display 64 million colors (not photographic quality, but close) and be able to run at 800 x 600 resolution. However, if you bump the resolution up a notch to 1,024 x 768, then the number of colors you can view may drop to 256 colors. It all depends on whether or not your video card ate its Wheaties for breakfast.

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

Ed Andrist is the owner of Paradigm Web Design where a great web site doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Only an arm. He also publishes this E-zine as well as being involved in several other web sites.

Comments?

If you'd like to comment on any aspect of this publication, send an E-mail to
comments@ paradigmwebdesign.net

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