Published by: jl scott, Director
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EXCELLENCE can be attained if you - CARE more than others think
is wise - RISK more than others think is safe - DREAM more than
others think is practical - and EXPECT more than others think is
possible.
~ Claude T. Bissell ~
“Okay, Okay - We'll do it Through January 15th!”
Folks were ordering The MASTER COURSE after the deadline last
week. And, when I finally DID get it down, MORE folks were
writing to me - they couldn't find it!
The problem was ... So many people got behind reading their
email over the holidays. The deadline came before they got
word they could save $200 on the Course.
So, okay! Since I KNOW how important this Course is to you at
this time of year, I'm going to roll over.
I'll extend the sale clear until the middle of January. THAT
should be plenty of time for everyone to get the word.
REMEMBER:
"It's the Course that Teaches You HOW to DO what 'The Secret'
Only Talks About!"
Turn that corner in life you always wanted to turn - RIGHT NOW!
www.i-cop.org/master-course-sale.htm
Message From jl
I read something of his last week - an article on 2007 - you
might get a kick out of, too. Or, not. Some will - some won't.
This was in the Washington Post, and is entitled:
An Inconvenient Year: Relive the zany antics of ... a cast of
thousands in 12 months we need to remember to forget
The article is VERY long. Keep going back and reading another
month, or so, as you have the time. It's worth the long read!
Okay - here's my aWeber story ...
aWeber is, of course, an email delivery service. Many, many
internet marketers use them. So many, in fact, I began to think
they must be doing a fabulous job. Even though I was warned
that probably was not the case.
[No, I will NOT tell you who told me that. But, I sure should
have listened!]
I had been sending this newsletter from my own server for
several years. As time went on, and the ISPs got more and more
confusing with their attempts to block spam, I felt like I
wasn't getting the delivery rate I once had.
Now, bear in mind - I have never been reported for spam - except
for the morons who would rather click a “This is spam” button
than unsubscribe properly. I had also run a double
(confirmed/verified - whatever you want to call it) opt-in list
since The CAN-SPAM ACT was passed.
So, I looked at aWeber's service.
I was told I could probably get them to waive that requirement
if I could show them I had been running a double opt-in list.
So, I asked about that.
The girl had me give her password access to my emailing software
so she could see how it worked. In looking at the
administration panel, she could see it was set up for double
opt-in. She waived the requirement for my list to be
reconfirmed by aWeber. So far - so good.
Bounces should be removed, first. You want to know the
percentage of your DELIVERED messages that were opened by the
subscriber.
Granted, that's a very small thing. But, where you find small
things, you'll usually find larger things.
I noticed right away that my own open rate (even adjusting the
percentage to be correct) went WAY down from what it was when I
was sending from my own server.
Bear in mind, I get my open rate by looking at the number of
autoresponders requested plus the number of visits to the
newsletter web page - divided by the number of announcements
delivered. I didn't use theirs anyway.
That brought their delivery rate into question. The aWeber web
site claims 99.34% deliverability. senderscore.org says that's
true. Of course, senderscore.org also says MY percentage of
deliverability from iCop was 67.53%.
If aWeber has that high a percentage of ISPs accepting their
email, and I have that LOW a percentage ... WHY would my open
rate plummet when I went to aWeber?
I was there for eight weeks, so all this had plenty of time to
average out. This wasn't a one or two week trial.
Doesn't make sense! SOMETHING is not being reported properly.
Again - when you find that things aren't what they seem, you'd
better be prepared for other things to pop up.
And, they did ...
In fact, at the time, it was about 5% of my list. Bounced.
Every one of them.
I wrote and asked aWeber why this happened. This is a direct
quote from the response I received:
------------
This is one of the reasons that it is so important to use
verified opt-in, as verified leads are not having any delivery
issues, only leads that have not verified their subscription.
Regards,
I received the following:
------------
WHAT? Is that double-talk, or what?!
Again - how does Comcast know WHAT kind of opt-in is being used
unless aWeber tells them? And, what the hell's the difference
between “SINGLE OPT IN” and “unverified?” Oh, I know - (hand
waving in air) - there IS none!
This support person then did the broken record routine, telling
me to use verified opt-in (which they knew I was using). If
they weren't going to give me verified opt-in status, WHY did
their girl have to be given my password and inspect my software
to satisfy herself that it was okay to use my list without
aWeber's triple verification process?!
After running around the gerbil cage for a couple of days, I
asked that the issue be escalated to someone with more
authority. I got the “Customer Solutions Supervisor,” who was
no different from the rest.
It doesn't take a mental giant to figure out that problems would
actually BE resolved if the SAME support person who STARTS with
a situation STAYS with the situation until it IS resolved.
I sometimes think some of these online companies are being run
by six-year-olds, who can't figure out the simplest, workable
process. But then, maybe that's the idea - just make folks
throw up their hands in despair and walk away in frustration.
Thereby, effectively dropping the complaint rather than resolving
it. MOST immature!
MY bottom line was that they should have apprised me of that
fact when I asked to by-pass their verification process in the
first place, rather than waiting until it did something to hurt
my list. And, since they didn't, they needed to change my
status to the verified opt-in they knew it was.
Their final edict - TOO BAD! This idiot acted like I was a
spammer trying to put something over on them.
First, Kulzer claimed the Comcast issue had only been temporary
and had been resolved immediately. Not five minutes after I saw
this response, the SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN. Comcast bounced
every one of my addresses a SECOND TIME - a week later!
Resolved immediately, my ass!
He also disputed his own support person's explanation regarding
the cause of the Comcast problem.
Secondly, Kulzer claimed that I had “jumped to the conclusion”
that certain IP numbers were being used for verified lists and
certain numbers used for single opt-in lists.
In fact, all those details are a matter of public record if you
know where to look. And, my friend HAD looked it up. I have
the detailed description of how he did that. (However, it has
no relevance to this writing.)
Not only that, after Kultzer claimed I had “jumped to the
conclusion,” he proceeded to say exactly the same thing I did -
only in different words. As if that made it different!
Suffice to say that, apparently, either Kulzer has no idea how
his own company is operated, or he was playing fast and loose
with the truth. Either way, there IS no way I want to do
business with an outfit like this!
And why? Why should that be a secret? Maybe they thought that
would lose them a client - which it did, anyway.
When you run into this kind of arrogance, with no sign of
accountability or concern for you as the client, you can bet
you're dealing with “internet marketers” rather than
professional business people.
And one of the HUGE give-aways is support people so
under-trained they have to work from templates without bothering
to read or understand what your problem is. When you get the
“broken record” routine, it's time to fire that company. Which
I did.
NOW, my bottom line is this:
I'm glad it happened because I went to Mail-List.com:
Now ...
* My open rate has gone WAY back up
* Mail List's owner is professional and helpful to his clients
* I'm getting MORE service for LESS money
* I have NO problems with the email every week
* I no longer have to do a set-up every time I send
* I simply send one email and everything is done
* I can get any kind of report I could possibly want with one
click
Useful for Business to Consumer Lists:
Senderbase - www.senderbase.org
Provides a rating of poor, neutral or good to an IP or sending
domain.
Provides a rating of malicious, suspicious, unverified, neutral
and trusted to a specific mail stream.
Provides a granular rating, along with an acceptance rate at the
monitored networks. (Need to create an account to get full
results)
Provides a granular reputation score.
Sendmail - www.sendmail.com/sm/resources/tools/ip_reputation/
Provides a granular reputation score.
Be sure to check out "How to be a 'Hammer' in 2008"
www.csscompany.com/i-cop-hammer-2008.htm
I'd really appreciate it if you would help me build our
subscriber list. Please don't forget to invite your friends to
subscribe to The Internet Marketing Trade Journal!
Just forward them an issue with a note telling them why you like
it and give them the following link:
http://www.i-Cop.org/trade-journal.htm
P.S. Do YOU have the iCop seal on your web site? It's the Seal of Integrity in Online Business; it gives you prestige and turns your 'almost buyers' into satisfied customers.
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Thanks so much!
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www.HealthyWay.2freedom.com “Exclusively for iCop Members & Readers” Are you a "Hammer" or a "Nail"? How can you tell? Did you achieve your goals in 2007, or did you break your resolution within the first quarter? Would you like to change the outcome in 2008? Then please join me on a teleconference on January 16, 2008, especially for iCop-ers. For details visit:
www.csscompany.com/i-cop-hammer-2008.htm “Internet Marketing Video Tutorial Madness” 250 easy to follow, pleasurable to watch and listen to videos of down to earth and practical tutorials. Watch step by step video tutorials that will show you exactly HOW to do everything online. UNBELIEVABLE amount of good information!
www.i-cop.org/imvt-tutorial.htm
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"The great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a
chance to do something stupid." -- Art Spander
A big-game hunter went on safari with his wife and mother-in-law. One evening, while still deep in the jungle, the Mrs awoke to find her mother gone. Rushing to her husband, she insisted on them both trying to find her mother. The hunter picked up his rifle, took a swig of whiskey, and started to look for her. In a clearing not far from the camp, they came upon a chilling sight: the mother-in-law was backed up against a thick, impenetrable bush, and a large male lion stood facing her. The wife cried, "What are we going to do?"
"Nothing," said the hunter husband. "That stupid lion got
himself into this mess, let him get himself out of it." Click to Submit Your Joke to Us (Please leave off the graphics). Click to Send Comments, Questions & Suggestions
For Back Issues: Ezine Archive Thank You For Reading! Have a Terrific Week!
Material in the "Leaving You With a Smile" column may be copyrighted by unknown persons. We accept no responsibility for your use of any contributed information contained herein. All of the information presented in the Internet Marketing Trade Journal(TM) is published in good faith. Any comments stated in this newsletter are strictly the opinion of the writer or publisher. We publish all advertising in good faith but offer no guarantees. Please do your own due diligence in ANY transaction. We reserve the right to edit and make suitable for publication, if necessary, any articles published in this newsletter. We reserve the right to publish all reader comments, including the name of the writer. Reported survey results will NOT use the names of the contributors.
Copyright © 2008 jl scott, ph.d., Director ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cancellation directions can be found at the bottom of your announcement email. |
Volume VI - Issue 1: January 7, 2008
jl
