=> 1. News From the Net => 2. Feature Article-"Search Engine Optimization & Copy Writng a Winning Combination" => 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 *************************************** Hey Gang, Happy New Year! 10, 9. 8. 7, 6, 5, 4, 3....Just making you practice for midnight. Another Christmas come and gone and now a brand new year only hours away. Did you have a good holiday? Mine was ok, but it seemed to come and go so fast. Anyone know how to slow down time? If you do drop me a line we can make millions together. So what's on your agenda for New Year's Eve? Me? I'm not feeling too well so I'm just laying around the house. Not much energy to do anything and my throat is raw. Me thinks I was around a sick person this week who was nice enough to share their germs with me. Let's hope this is no indication of the deadly disease about to inflict me. Maybe I'll be strong and will be able to fight off this bug before it gets me down. I did buy the ColdEze medicine. Who knows. I do know I hate being sick. All I want to do is rest and Merle doesn't accomplish much work in a horizontal position. I do other things well in this position but work isn't one of them. My "Significant Other" Jim, whom I call George had a Birthday yesterday. I actually threw him a party. Ordered him a cake and invited his kids over for special day. It made him happy. Don't know what got into me, but it seemed to please him. Believe it or not I got him a "FoodSaver". Now you would think that would be a chick gift but he's not your typical man so he found it to be very exciting. We watched the video on how to seal foods properly and it was quite a thrill. If you believe that I've got some swamp land to sell you. If my life gets anymore exciting I'll just kill myself from over stimulation. I did take the whole week off work this week which was very sweet. I imagine this is what it feels like to be a rich person minus the money. Total freedom. Being a slave to an 8 hour a day job sucks. I think I've heard it called "corporate prison". Most people have jobs they hate and spend 40 or more hours there a week. That's a huge chunk of your life to spend being miserable. I say find something you at least find a little bit interesting as life is too short to be completely miserable on a daily basis. If you can do something you love and make money at the same time you have found true success. I do want to say "thank you" for being a subscriber over the years. I do appreciate each and every one of you. It makes me feel good knowing there are still people in the world who enjoy my twisted way of thinking. If you'd like to have your very own MerlesWorld.com toolbar now you can. I designed it myself. Download it now at and while you're there make one for your own website to give away. http://www.effectivebrand.com/LandingPage.aspx/CT7480 If you still haven't downloaded my latest f-r-e-e ebook, shame on you. It's called "50 Easy Ways to Promote Your Website". Get your copy over at my new site http://WebSiteTrafficPlan.com I'd really like to see you over at the discussion board. Please give me your thoughts at http://www.merlesworld.com/webbbs/ Don't forget to bookmark the Blog. You'll want to pay an occasional visit for extra goodies I find. http://merlesworld.blogspot.com/ This week's winner for a free ad is.. Marty Winsor of http://www.netvista.167aday.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

Google and Overture Define Click Fraud
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3453201
------

MSN Video Watches Ball Drop
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3452881
------

The Marketer’s New Year’s Resolution
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/4841.asp
------

About.com Debuts Video Ads
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3452701
-------

BidClix to Offer Co-branded Ad Serving
http://www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3453021

Go Back Up

"Search Engine Optimization & Copy Writng a Winning Combination"

by Merle http://MCPromotionsPress.com

There are plenty of ebooks that purport to teach
you how to write copy for the Web or put together
a website that the search engines will love. But
every once in a while, something special comes
along that makes you sit up and say "nicely done."
This is the case with Karon Thackston's "CopyWriting
Course" and Jill Whalen's "Nitty Gritty of Writing
for the Search Engines."

If you have an online business, you need to know
how to write copy that converts site visitors into
buyers. All the traffic in the world won't help
you if your copy doesn't "speak to the browser"
and make him or her want to click the "buy" button.

Karon Thackston is a copy writing expert and her
knowledge really shines in "The Step by Step
Copywriting Course." Weighing in at 164 pages,
this ebook is no lightweight. It is broken down
into ten thorough and complete lessons such as
The Most Overlooked Aspect of Copywriting, What
type of Copy Fits Your Target Audience, Men and
Women are Different, Headlines, Adding Emotions
and Dreams to Your Writing.

Karon takes you by the hand and shows you step
by step how to write copy by illustrating four
different communication styles and how to use
them to your advantage. Each lesson includes
built in assignments, and there's even a final
exam at the end of the ebook. By getting you
involved in each lesson, the concepts are made
clearer and you'll actually be able to apply
what you have learned. The ebook even includes
before and after writing samples from actual
client work done by Karon, so you can see the
difference between dry, dull copy and exciting
copy that gets the readers involved and makes
them feel like you are speaking directly to
them.

According to Karon, "Before you begin to write,
give due consideration to the brand you'll be
portraying, and be sure to write your copy to
fit the brand, the consumer, and the image."

It's the same with the search engines. If your
pages aren't optimized for the right keywords,
you won't rank very well with them. Jill Whalen
is a search engine optimization expert, which
means she does this stuff for a living and knows
what she's talking about. And in the ebook "Nitty
Gritty of Writing for the Search Engines," she
gives us an intimate glimpse of her craft and
exactly what she does to a web page to improve
its ranking.

This ebook doesn't use "techno-Geek" language but
simple every day English that anyone, from the most
basic web user to the more advanced marketer, can
use and apply.

There are eight sections in the ebook, with Chapter 1
explaining the importance of keyword phrases as
opposed to keywords. Ever wonder if you should use
singular or plural form? Chapter seven tackles that
topic with variations in spelling and avoiding
excessive repetition. Jill doesn't include a bunch
of fluff. At 27 pages, this ebook allows you to
benefit from her years of experience and tells you
exactly what to do with your keyphrases to create
a site that the search engines will love. It also
includes a wide range of writing samples from some
of her past S.E.O. campaigns.

In my opinion, these two ebooks belong on the computer
of every serious online business owner. No matter
if you're a Search Engine Optimization Consultant
trying to improve on your craft, or a professional
copywriter who wants to expand your services to
include Search Engine Optimization copy work, or just
a site owner trying to improve your sales and your
rankings.

If you can't write copy, your sales will suffer and
if you don't optimize your pages for the search
engines, you'll never achieve a decent ranking. These
two authors are experts in their fields and actually
"walk the walk." They're not self proclaimed gurus
writing about topics they don't understand; this is
what they do for a living and from where I stand
they're quite good at it.

You'll find both of these ebooks available at: http://copywritingcourse.com/combo/

=====================================
Merle of WebSiteTrafficPlan.com offers a
F-r-e-e ebook and an e-course that will
teach you how to promote and market your
website. Grab your copy now at
http://WebSiteTrafficPlan.com

Go Back Up

ASPBite Free CMS

Looking for a content management system with a
zero price tag? Check out ASP Bite modular ASP
application which deals with memberships, categories
(content management), news, articles, uploads,
downloads etc. Simple to use and it comes with
very high ratings from those who have used it.

http://www.AspBite.com

---------

Webmaster Tools 3

Free download you just have to see to believe.
"A suite of 30+ easy to use wizards and tools that
will have you creating stunning JavaScript effects
in minutes. Popups, Popunders, Affiliate Link
Cloaking, Banner Rotation, Meta Tags and Image
Protection are just some of the great wizards
available." This would be great to have around
when creating any website.

http://webmastertools.sawpit.net/webtools3.html

-------

Whois Source

Bored with the limited information in a typical
Whois Directory? This service gives you a lot
of detailed information on any domain, including
a snapshot of the site, how many other url's
are hosted on the same server, IP location
and more. Pretty cool

http://www.whois.sc/

Go Back Up

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

Index File- Protect Your Directories

If you have directories within your website
structure make sure to include a index.html file
within each one. If you don't anyone can view
every file within your directory just as if they
were looking in a folder on their Windows PC.
And that my friend, is not a good thing.

"50 Easy Ways to Promote Your Website"

This f-r-e-e ebook contains over 100 resources that
will help you get traffic to your website quickly
and inexpensively. Grab your copy now at:

http://www.websitetrafficplan.com/ebook.htm

Go Back Up

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

Go Back Up

Your Disease Risk

Worried about Cancer? This site calculates your
risk factor for you and may help you sleep
better at night.

http://www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu/

----------

Yelp

Do you know where to buy the best pizza in
your city? Ask Yelp. They say word of mouth
is the best advertising will this concept
of friend referral has been taken online.
Share what you know or ask.

http://www.yelp.com/

Go Back Up

Got Goals?

A f-r-e-e ebook on setting goals that comes complete
with worksheets. This is by Paul Myers of Talkbiz
News offered with no strings attached in PDF format.
Download each separately or both as a zip file.

The Goals Book
The Worksheet Booklet

http://www.yourfreebook.com

----------

"Discover Success Secrets of Mastermind Group"

A free 78-page ebook in PDF format written by ten of the
participants in Yanik Silver and Jim Edward's exclusive
apprentice program. Yanik and Jim took these people by
the hand and taught them the ins and outs of Internet
marketing. You'll have to give up your email address
to download it but it looks like good stuff.

http://www.freegift.internetmarketingscoop.com/

Go Back Up

PalFun

"A feature enhancer plug-in for AOL ® Instant
Messenger ™. It can help you to modify your
Instant Messenger on your choice, making your
conversations easier and more comfortable."
Customize your instant messenger and make it
do what you've always wanted with this
enhancement.

http://www.palfun.com/

-----------

Detagger

"A utility that removes some or all of the tags
from a HTML file. Detagger makes it easy to convert
HTML to text allowing you to extract text from your
web pages for use elsewhere, or to tidy up your
HTML code to make clean, faster-loading web pages
for your website." 30 day f-r-e-e trial or
purchase for only 25.00

http://www.jafsoft.com/detagger/

---------

Gmail Toolbar

Want to know if you have new mail without going
to Google's site to log in. Download this free
toolbar that alerts you to any new messages. While
still in Beta it displays an icon in your system
tray to let you know new messages are waiting,
and shows you their subjects, senders and snippets,
all without your having to launch your browser.

http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/

Go Back Up

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 3,300- My list is clean as all email addresses are removed the very first time they bounce.
Back issues can be reviewed here...http://www.MerlesMission.com

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!

If you enjoy this ezine and would like to make a small donation please go to http://tinyurl.com/21se


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

Go Back Up

- Back Issues
- Privacy Policy
- Disclaimer
- Contact Merle
- Make Donations
- Discussion Board
- Tell a Friend
- Syndicate Articles
- My Fav Links
- MM Blog