=> 1. News From the Net => 2. Feature Article-"Essential Tools for Entrepreneurs" => 3. Webmaster Resources => 4. Promotional Resources => 5. Other Ezines of Interest => 6. Just for Fun or Useful => 7.E Books and Things of Interest to Publishers => 8. Freeware and Shareware to Download => 9.Subscribe/Remove Information *************************************** Hi Kids, Boy do I have a headache today. My sinuses are out of whack this week due to the crazy weather we've been having. One minute it's raining and the next is sunshine and 70 degrees. The pressure changes are killing me. I hate taking sinus pills, as they make me so tired. The box lies, says "non drowsy" but they always make me want to fall asleep on my keyboard. Ever notice how attacking people can be if you post something with an affiliate link? Wow....I posted on Anthony Blake's board on where to get a fr.e ebook but used the wrong link as I was in a hurry and I've been getting flack about it every since. People, people you're going off the deep end in the sensitivity department. Yes, I made a mistake, yes there is a fr.e ebook and yes I am an affiliate for software that makes ebook covers. So shoot me. I'm always amazed at how jaded people think your post is if it's for an affiliate program. Hey, we all gotta eat. I've been doing this net gig for over 6 years now and I'd like to think I help people by pointing them to useful resources they can use in their day to day existence. If once in awhile I choose to post an affiliate link after spending hours every week coming up with material for this fr.e newsletter then damn I'm going to include it. My ezine, my prerogative. OK, I'm jumping off this soapbox now. Did I tell you I passed my licensing exam? I can now legally sell insurance in the state of Ohio. I received my official paperwork today. No, I'm not an Insurance salesman but I do work for a large insurance company who wants us all to get licensed. Lucky me I passed on my first attempt. Some of my friends were not so lucky and have to take it again. You get 3 tries then you're out and have to go back to school and take the class again. Not what I would want to do. It's not the most interesting stuff in the whole world. Today's article is a little long but I promise you the resources contained within it are a goldmine so make sure you read it. Don't forget to bookmark the Blog. You'll want to pay an occasional visit for extra goodies I find. http://merlesworld.blogspot.com/ I'd love to hear your comments over at our discussion board. This week's winner for a free ad is...John Glube of http://www.learnsteps4profit.com For your own chance to win fill in the survey. You'll find the link at the very bottom of this ezine. A winner is pulled twice a month. Enter now. Thanks for joining me, let's get to the good stuff. If you have any comments you can send them to Me. Merle http://www.MerlesWorld.com http://www.EzineAdAuction.com http://www.MCPromotions.com

New Look for About.com
http://www.about.com
--------

Taking Stock of Google: IPO Filing Reveals Profitable Company
http://www.bizreport.com/article.php?art_id=7021
-------

FTC Announces First Can-Sp.m Act Cases
http://tinyurl.com/25dmb
-----

Yahoo Soars Again
http://www.clickz..com/news/article.php/3337541

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"Essential Tools Every Online Entrepreneur Needs"

By Merle http://MCPromotionsPress.com

Are you an online entrepreneur? If you make your
income or part of your income on the Internet,
you most definitely are. With more and more people
earning an income online,many tools and software
have been created to help them with their online
business chores.

If you know about these tools, they can make your
life as an "online warrior" a lot easier. There's
a lot of work involved with running your own
Internet business. You need to wear many different
hats and be at least slightly skilled in many
areas.

Let's take a look at some of the resources you
should have in your "Entrepreneur Toolbox."

1) Websites: The structure and design of your
site is very important. It needs to look "clean"
and professional. You can use software to create
your site from scratch, pay someone else, or
use an online template.

A) Some resources for learning HTML:

Dave's HTML Guide:
http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html/

HTML Goodies
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/

W3 Schools- Online Tutorials
http://www.w3schools.com/

B) For Templates, see:

Template Monster
http://www.templatemonster.com/

Basic Templates
http://basictemplates.com/

C) For Software, some free:

The Free Site
http://thefreesite.com/Free_Software/HTML_freeware/

A handy tool to check your website for broken
links online:
http://www.stickysauce.com/cgi-local/linkcheck/linkcheck.pl

To make sure you haven't created an overblown site
that takes forever to download, use this online tester:

http://www.websiteoptimization.com/services/analyze/

2) Utility Programs: There are a few basic utilities
you'll need to have on hand for everyday tasks. These
include a good FTP program for uploading your files
to your web server and a program to zip and unzip
files. You'll need to zip files when they are large,
to compress them for Internet downloading.

Check out:

Sofotex:
http://www.sofotex.com/download/FTP_Software/

Zipper:
http://www.trans4mind.com/personal_development/zipper/

Zip It Fast: http://www.zipitfast.com/

3) Email: As your business grows you'll come to
rely on email as your primary means of communication.
The most common email programs are Outlook and Outlook
Express which come standard with Windows, and Eudora,
which many power users prefer:

Eudora: http://www.Eudora.com

Whatever you use for an email client make sure you're
familiar with how it works, and how to create folders
and autoresponders. With today's spam problem, you'll
have to use a good filtering program, such as:
Cloudmark: http://www.cloudmark.com/

or a third party service like:
http://www.spamarrest.com/

4) Mailing List Management: Any website owner worth
his salt knows the importance of collecting visitors'
email addresses. It doesn't matter if you'll be sending
out a monthly newsletter or just periodic site updates,
you need software that's up for the task. Make sure
whatever you use is capable of handling multiple
lists, as when your online business grows you may
need to keep lists for different things. For example,
you might have one for those who like to swap ezine
ads with you, one for those who have expressed an
interest in advertising with you, etc.

Here are a few great resources:

Groupmail: (the one I use) http://www.infacta.com/

Subscribe Me: http://www.siteinteractive.com/subpro/

Here's a list of some others:
http://www.emailaddresses.com/email_mailing.htm

With everyone using filters on email these days
make sure you download this program that checks
your email for "trigger words" and improves your
chances of making it through to the inbox. It's
called Email Advisor
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/emailadvisor.html

5) Graphics Program: You'll find you need graphics
for many of your online activities. Maybe for your
website, a banner for an exchange, a cover for
an ebook, etc. The two most popular online today
are Photoshop http://www.Adobe.com and Paintshop
Pro http://www.jasc.com/products/paintshoppro/

If you don't want to part with your cash, there
is a free one:
http://oriens-solution.com/enhancer/default.asp

When you create your fancy graphics, do make sure that
they aren't too large and cause delay in downloading.
You want them tight and compressed. Run them through
an online check at Spinwave:
http://www.spinwave.com/crunchers.html

6) Autoresponders: An autoresponder works much like
Fax on Demand and automatically replies to any email
sent to it with a pre-formatted message. For example
you might have a "thanks for emailing me" response
that replies to all incoming messages or you might
want to set one up for "price lists," "product
information," "advertising rates," etc. Autoresponders
are very powerful and can help to automate many
aspects of your daily email chores. You can use
a third party service, or install software on your
server, or configure them from within your email
client itself.

SendFree: http://www.sendfree.com/
Get Response: http://www.getresponse.com/

7) Online Payments: If you're going to be doing
business online, you'll need to be able to accept
online payments. If you don't want the expense
of a merchant account there are plenty of other
inexpensive third party services you can use.

PayPal: http://www.PayPal.com
ClickBank http://www.ClickBank.com
Ikobo: https://www.ikobo.com/
2 CheckOut: http://www.2checkout.com/

8) PDF Software: If you want to offer downloadable
documents from your website or create and sell
ebooks or reports, you'll need a way to convert
Word and text documents to PDF. There are many
other options besides Adobe:

PDF Moto: http://PDFMoto.com
Gymnast: http://www.oakworth.demon.co.uk/gymnast.htm
Win2PDF: http://Win2PDF.com

9) Ebook Creators: Ebooks are very popular and can
be sold or given away for free.If you give them away,
they become very powerful viral marketing tools that
can generate a consistent traffic flow to your site.
If sold, they can produce a nice income for you. Most
ebooks come in PDF (portable document format) or .exe.
To create an .exe format you'll need what's called
a compiler.

HTML Executable: http://www.gdgsoft.com/htmlexe/index.aspx
Ebook Generator: http://www.ebookgenerator.com/
Ebooks Writer: http://www.ebookswriter.com/

Nice directions on how to create PDF Ebooks:
http://www.adobe.com/epaper/tips/acr5ebook/main.html

For professional ebook covers see:
Cover Software http://www.coversoftware.com/
Ebook on Making Covers: http://tinyurl.com/2l4o2

10) Virus/Firewall Protection: It's a dangerous world
online and you need to protect yourself from the "bad
guys" who create and send out viruses. You'll need
to install a good virus protection program and keep
it running constantly in the background in order to
steer clear of infections. If you have a "constant
on" Net connection like DSL or cable, you'll also
need to run a firewall program to keep out hackers.
Take a look at:

McAfee: http://us.mcafee.com/default.asp
Norton: http://www.symantec.com/index.htm
AVG: http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
Firewall Protection:
http://www.tinysoftware.com/home/tiny2?la=EN
Spyware Remover: http://lavasoft.de

11) Accounting Software: As an entrepreneur, you'll
need to be able to generate invoices and track your
income and expenses for the "tax man." Three of the
best are:

Quickbooks: http://www.Quickbooks.com
Internet Tax Helper: http://www.internettaxhelper.com/
Netledger: http://www.Netledger.com

12) Marketing/Promotional: It may have worked for
Kevin Costner in "Field of Dreams," but online, the
saying "build it and they will come" is just not
true. You need to be proactive by promoting and
marketing your website constantly to bring in the
paying customers. Here are some excellent resources:

Self Promotion: http://www.selfpromotion.com/
Jim World: http://www.jimworld.com/
Bruce Clay: http://www.bruceclay.com/
http://www.PRWeb.com
http://www.RankWrite.com

13) Typing Shortcuts: At the end of the day you may
feel you've typed so much your fingers will fall off.
Repetitive typing comes with the territory. You'll
find yourself answering the same questions about
your products and services, as well as posting
your sig line to hundreds of posts in discussion
boards...all of which adds up to a lot of repetitive
typing. A typing shortcut tool stores short snippets
of text for you so when you need them you just hit
a key or a combination of keys, and it will type
out your pre-stored text for you. This really saves
a lot of valuable time.

Type It In: http://www.wavget.com/typeitin.html
ShortKeys: http://www.shortkeys.com/
ClipMate: http://www.clipmate.com/

14) Misc: Here are some tools that don't categorize
easily -- but can be extremely useful to you. As
you move around the Net, you'll find many useful
tools and software that can help you in your daily
entrepreneur life. Make sure you bookmark or down-
load them for later use.

TextPad: A more powerful alternative to Notepad
http://www.TextPad.com

FeedReader: RSS is becoming very popular online so
you'll need a reader to subscribe and read them.
http://www.FeedReader.com

Music: For your musical enjoyment while doing
your web work I highly suggest..
http://www.Itunes.com

WebBBS: A shareware discussion board to install
on your website.
http://awsd.com/scripts/webbbs/index.shtml

The Directory of Ezines: A pay for membership site
that will give you access to over 800 newsletters
you can purchase ad space in or swap ads or submit
articles to. http://www.lifestylespub.com/

ICop: If you'd like to join a group of online
professionals you'll want to take a look at
this organization: http://www.i-cop.org/

Being an online entrepreneur involves juggling a
lot of balls to keep everything running smoothly.
By using the right tools for the job you'll save
yourself a lot of time and energy that can be used
to grow your business in a very successful direction.

**********************************************
Merle http://www.EzineAdAuction.com
"Where some of the BEST Deals in Ezine Advertising are Made"
Buy & Sell Ezine Ads in a live auction setting!
Publishers sell off your excess inventory and Buyers
pick up some Fantastic bargains. Free E-book on how to
write "glowing" ezine ads.....Download Now at
http://www.ezineadauction.com/ebooks/greatezineads.pdf
************************************************

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Master Recommend

"Master Recommend is an easy to install, easy to
maintain CGI program written with Perl 5 that will let
your visitors recommend your website to their friends
or associates. Coded to avoid abuse or mis-use.
http://www.prolinkz.com/library/cgiscripts/mrecommend.html

--------

RSS Feeds From Ebay

"You can generate your own custom RSS feed for your
favorite eBay search. Once you click the Generate
button, your RSS feed will be generated for you.
After it's created, simply copy the RSS location and
paste the URL into your favorite RSS Aggregator."

http://www.freebiddingtools.com/rss/

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***********************************
Useful Tips
***********************************

Windows XP Tip

To easily clean up your hard drive and get back
wasted space do this:

1) Click Start
2) Run
3) Type the word cleanmgr

Check the boxes of what you want deleted and
say ok and you're all set.

Search Engine Optimization Tools

If you're trying to rank higher in the search engines
you need access to tools. You'll find some of the
best here. Track your Google Rankings, check your link
popularity, Check the top 10 results for any keyword
and more.

http://www.gorank.com/

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If you'd like to swap ads with this ezine please send your
requests to mailto:adswap@merlesworld.com Please include
your ezine name and the number of subscribers.
-------------------

ATTENTION: Small Online Biz Owners!

If you're trying to market your Website and are not
sure where to turn, subscribe to MC Promotions Press
Newsletter and get the information you need to be a
success online. Sure-Fire Promotion/Marketing Tips.
Sites that will help you. Little known advertising
tricks.....and much more. Start increasing traffic
to your site Now http://www.MCPromotionsPress.com

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Earthlink Toolbar

"Have you ever received an email from what looks like
a trusted company asking you to click a link, go to
a Web site, and submit personal information? This
could be a "phisher" site, or part of a scam to steal
your credit card, Social Security number ,password, or
identity. These scams are increasingly common and
difficult to detect. "EarthLink new Toolbar featuring
ScamBlocker will alert you when visiting a site that's
on the known scammer list-fr.e for all Internet users!

http://www.earthlink.net/earthlinktoolbar/download/

-------

Pro Flowers

Let's face it we all love to receive flowers now and
then. I have found that the quality of ProFlowers is
stupendous. I've used them for several orders for
family and friends for birthdays and holiday's and
everytime they're just stunning. If you want to make
someone feel good or just send something to brighten
someone's day use Proflowers.com. They'll even maintain
your cc on file if you like so next time you come in
to order all of your info will be saved. Great service
and beautiful flowers. I love this site.

http://www.ProFlowers.com

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Do You Write Articles?

If so why not submit them to one of the largest article
databases online today. Imagine Free exposure of your
work, as it's reprinted in ezines and websites across
the Internet. Be seen by thousands by submitting your
writings now to...

http://www.Family-Content.com

----------

Fr.e Ebook

Need to make an ebook cover? Download this free ebook
which explains the ins and outs of ebook creation. A well
designed cover is important to selling more books. Get
your free copy now...Right click on the link below to
save it to your own hard drive.

http://www.merlesworld.com/e-books/ebookcover_secrets.pdf

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Calisto Forum App

Visiting, reading and posting to discussion board topics
can bring you a nice steady supply of website visitors. The
problem is taking the time to visit them all to see what the
latest posts are. This software allows you to view all of the
forums you visit on a regular basis from one window. You'll
need to enter in the forums you want to track then just
launch the software and read them all in one place. Nice.

http://www.marsjupiter.com/mambo/content/Callisto-Newsreader/

-------

Download Pro

"Free script to protect your digital downloads. Allows you
to collectively mask download urls, and count/ log these
downloads. Users never see the real url of your files
- download.php is all they see, which acts as a barrier
between your files and your visitors. "

http://www.explodingpanda.com/downloadpro.php

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Well, that wraps it up,once again thanks for joining me.
If you have any comments please send them to comments@merlesworld.com or visit the site.

For advertising rates for this ezine visit http://www.merlesworld.com/advertising.htm

Current subscriber base is over 3,850- My list is clean as all email addresses are removed the very first time they bounce.
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If you are not a subscriber and would like to be send mailto:subscribe@merlesworld.com

For great web hosting or if you're in need of a programmer contact mailto:DavidBlack@SiteDesignandHosting.com .He's wonderful and an expert at what he does. Tell him "Merle" sent ya.

P.S. I am currently in need of testimonials for this ezine.If you enjoy it please let me know. Send to mailto:testimonials@MerlesWorld.com
«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»

If you haven't yet filled in the subscriber survey, get your free gifts by doing it now..and be entered into a drawing for a free ad in this ezine. Winner pulled twice a month. You'll find the survey at:http://www.advancedsurvey.com/ when there put 8243 into the survey number box at the right hand side to take the survey.

I'm now offering my articles for syndication on your website All you have to do is paste SOME code where you want the article to appear and every 10 to 14 days when I update it on my end it will display a fresh article on web design/ maintenance on your site. Easy to do and gives you fresh content without any work whatsoever. For more info and to get to the code Click Here.

Thanks for being a subscriber and I'll see you next time!

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Disclaimer: Merle's World does not accept any responsibility for any liabilities as resulting from any claims in this newsletter or by the advertisers in it. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. We respect your privacy and do not share our mailing list with anyone. All content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Comments in this ezine are strictly the opinion of the publisher. Merle does not endorse, and is not responsible for, the above ads. Please use your own discretion when responding to ads in this ezine. Copyright 2001-2004 All Rights Reserved. View our Privacy Policy and our...Site Disclaimer

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