All Spammed Up put together a list of 10 things you should not list on your subject lines of your emails.
If you do dare to do so, you may be subject to having your email being sent directly to the SPAM folder.
Spammers or some email marketers use these terms in their email subject lines and we suggest you rethink before sending out your next email.
Don't use these subject lines in your email:
1. Meet Singles - This subject line is used endlessly in many types of porn spam.
2. Work From Home - Work from home scams are among the most common types of spam. Work at home jobs are highly sought after, especially in today’s shaky economy.
3. Business Opportunity - Have you ever gotten a 419 or Nigerian Scam message? These spam messages often offer fake business opportunities along with the fake inheritances and pleas for help smuggling a fake family fortune out of an obscure country.
4. Buy Direct - A favorite phrase for spammers hawking counterfeit designer goods and pharmaceutical products.
5. Clearance - Another favorite phrase. Spammers like to create a sense of urgency to help make recipients think they are getting a huge deal.
6. Pre-approved - A tell-tale sign of financial spam. Mortgages, credit cards, payday loans, you name it.
7. Hello - This innocent sounding salutation has been thoroughly exploited by spammers thinking the casual and familiar feel it gives their messages will make them more likely to be opened and read.
8. You Have Been Selected - The favorite subject line of spam messages claiming the recipient has won a fake foreign lottery or one hosted by Yahoo! or Microsoft.
9. Weight Loss - Weight loss pills are often touted along with other shady drugs and supplements in pharmaceutical spam.
10. Limited Time - Subject lines like this create a sense of urgency, which spammers love.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Google Adwords Top 5 Myths
Google Adwords sent out a newsletter today listing the top 5 myths about using Google to drive consumers and sales for your business.
Myth 1: “Online advertising is not for local businesses.”
Actually, research says 89% of people in the US search online for products and services before they make a purchase - even when the purchase is made at a business in their area1). What most people don’t know is that with Google AdWords you can set your ads to show only to people in your area whether that’s your city, state, or just your zip code.
Myth 2: “If your business is already on Google; advertising on Google can’t help you.”
Sure, your business may already appear in the natural search results on the left side of the page. But test it: Does your website appear on the first page of search results? 2nd? 10th? Does it come up for all possible search terms that your customers may be using when they are looking for what you have to offer? Even if the answer to both questions should be "yes", studies have proven that search advertising can still increase traffic to your site. In fact, appearing both on the right and on the left side of the page at the same time increases the perceived relevance of your website and as a result even increases the number of free clicks you get to your website2).
Myth 3: “Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is better than paid search.”
Google strongly encourages you to optimize your site for search engines by applying webmaster best practices. However, paid search such as Google AdWords has a few key advantages: It is easier and quicker to setup, it offers much more control over when and where your ads appear, and its impact is easier to measure. We recommend that website owners do both apply good SEO practices and advertise online.
Myth 4: “Google AdWords costs too much, I can’t afford it.”
Long time AdWords advertisers consider Google AdWords an investment, not a cost. You only pay per click so there is a direct return on however much or little you spend. How much you spend is entirely up to you. There’s no minimum spend requirement and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. You can even set a maximum that you are willing to bid per click and you can start and stop your advertising at any time. “With every dollar I spend on AdWords, I make $3 in sales.”– Dakota Routh, Body Renew gyms
Myth 5: “You need to be an expert to get started.”
Actually, getting started is easy - no expertise is required. You don’t need to start out with the perfect set of keywords or ads; after getting started you can see what works and what doesn’t. From there, it’s easy to adjust and fine tune your campaigns based on results.
Myth 1: “Online advertising is not for local businesses.”
Actually, research says 89% of people in the US search online for products and services before they make a purchase - even when the purchase is made at a business in their area1). What most people don’t know is that with Google AdWords you can set your ads to show only to people in your area whether that’s your city, state, or just your zip code.
Myth 2: “If your business is already on Google; advertising on Google can’t help you.”
Sure, your business may already appear in the natural search results on the left side of the page. But test it: Does your website appear on the first page of search results? 2nd? 10th? Does it come up for all possible search terms that your customers may be using when they are looking for what you have to offer? Even if the answer to both questions should be "yes", studies have proven that search advertising can still increase traffic to your site. In fact, appearing both on the right and on the left side of the page at the same time increases the perceived relevance of your website and as a result even increases the number of free clicks you get to your website2).
Myth 3: “Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is better than paid search.”
Google strongly encourages you to optimize your site for search engines by applying webmaster best practices. However, paid search such as Google AdWords has a few key advantages: It is easier and quicker to setup, it offers much more control over when and where your ads appear, and its impact is easier to measure. We recommend that website owners do both apply good SEO practices and advertise online.
Myth 4: “Google AdWords costs too much, I can’t afford it.”
Long time AdWords advertisers consider Google AdWords an investment, not a cost. You only pay per click so there is a direct return on however much or little you spend. How much you spend is entirely up to you. There’s no minimum spend requirement and you only pay when someone clicks on your ad. You can even set a maximum that you are willing to bid per click and you can start and stop your advertising at any time. “With every dollar I spend on AdWords, I make $3 in sales.”– Dakota Routh, Body Renew gyms
Myth 5: “You need to be an expert to get started.”
Actually, getting started is easy - no expertise is required. You don’t need to start out with the perfect set of keywords or ads; after getting started you can see what works and what doesn’t. From there, it’s easy to adjust and fine tune your campaigns based on results.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Groupon to Launch Groupon Now - Realtime Deal Mobile App
Coming in April, Groupon will be launching a new game-changer: Groupon Now, a mobile app that will allow you to find nearby deals under two categories, "I'm hungry" or "I'm bored."
With this app, users will be able to find deals by the hour.
It's like near field communications (which uses proximity sensors to get more specific with location), but for daily deals! Merchants will be able to specify exact time frames for their deals so that, for instance, restaurants that normally don't get customers between 2 pm and 5 pm can specify that window of time for their deals to get more traffic. But what they're really bound to love about it is the fact that they'll have more control over the onslaught of Groupon users they're bound to encounter. One of the complaints merchants typically have about Groupon is the fact that they might run a deal for a day, but if the expiration date is four months off, they're going to face unperdictable swarms of Groupon subscribers leaving bad tips around the clock for months.
With the new Groupon Now app, merchants can designate exact windows of time for when they're open to Groupon customers.
And then of course there are the subscribers, themselves. Think about the millions of times you've left your home without a plan for lunch--maybe you go on a day trip to visit your sister who lives three hours away. You get there, you're hungry, you want to go out, but you don't want to spend a lot of cash. Now you can have nearby Groupon deals ready for on-the-spot use at all times.
This new App means that after inventing the social commerce space, which has since been flooded with Groupon copycats, Groupon Now will finally launch it out of the water to set the company apart from the clones. Of course, one could argue that other daily deal sites can just create real-time apps of their own, but the service is so time-specific that Groupon's Andrew Mason believes that merchants will only be able to use one or two services, max.
With this app, users will be able to find deals by the hour.
It's like near field communications (which uses proximity sensors to get more specific with location), but for daily deals! Merchants will be able to specify exact time frames for their deals so that, for instance, restaurants that normally don't get customers between 2 pm and 5 pm can specify that window of time for their deals to get more traffic. But what they're really bound to love about it is the fact that they'll have more control over the onslaught of Groupon users they're bound to encounter. One of the complaints merchants typically have about Groupon is the fact that they might run a deal for a day, but if the expiration date is four months off, they're going to face unperdictable swarms of Groupon subscribers leaving bad tips around the clock for months.
With the new Groupon Now app, merchants can designate exact windows of time for when they're open to Groupon customers.
And then of course there are the subscribers, themselves. Think about the millions of times you've left your home without a plan for lunch--maybe you go on a day trip to visit your sister who lives three hours away. You get there, you're hungry, you want to go out, but you don't want to spend a lot of cash. Now you can have nearby Groupon deals ready for on-the-spot use at all times.
This new App means that after inventing the social commerce space, which has since been flooded with Groupon copycats, Groupon Now will finally launch it out of the water to set the company apart from the clones. Of course, one could argue that other daily deal sites can just create real-time apps of their own, but the service is so time-specific that Groupon's Andrew Mason believes that merchants will only be able to use one or two services, max.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Google Updates Algorithm
Google announced what may ultimately be one of the biggest changes to their algorithm yet.
From the Official Google Blog: "Many of the changes we make are so subtle that very few people notice them. But in the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking—a change that noticeably impacts 11.8% of our queries—and we wanted to let people know what’s going on. This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful."
Notice the language being used. Specifically, "...reduce rankings for low-quality sites..." That means it's not only individual posts or pieces of content will be penalized for being deemed "low-quality" but entire websites. The announcement also mentions "low-value add for users" and sites that "copy content from other websites." The target? Content farms, to start. These sites exist and profit based on volume. The more content produced (often for a pittance) the better they do – or did.
To most observers and users, this focus on volume resulted in millions of low-quality pieces of content cluttering the search engine results pages (SERPs). The writers producing content for these content farms are paid largely based on views. No indexing in Google, no views. No views, no pay. No pay, no writers ... and no content.
Sites such as Yahoo Contributor Network and those of Demand Media (including eHow) fit the bill, to be sure. But one must wonder if others sites such as Examiner.com or pure user-contributor sites such as Yahoo Answers will also be affected. (Read Website Magazine's in-depth review of Yahoo Contributor Network.)
The update will also impact Bing and every other search engine. Simply put, if Google's results get better in the eyes of users, Bing and the others cannot afford to be viewed as having inferior results.
Without question, the focus is now on producing original, quality content. So-called scraper sites are doomed. But even bloggers need to be careful about posting content that could be considered "low-quality" or that which could be viewed as being a simple re-publishing of existing content. In other words, if you don't have anything original to say about an existing story ... be careful. Now more than ever, the focus seems to be shifting toward quality, not necessarily quantity.
In all, this update should be a good thing for the Web – both for users and those who work tirelessly to produce quality content.
From the Official Google Blog: "Many of the changes we make are so subtle that very few people notice them. But in the last day or so we launched a pretty big algorithmic improvement to our ranking—a change that noticeably impacts 11.8% of our queries—and we wanted to let people know what’s going on. This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful."
Notice the language being used. Specifically, "...reduce rankings for low-quality sites..." That means it's not only individual posts or pieces of content will be penalized for being deemed "low-quality" but entire websites. The announcement also mentions "low-value add for users" and sites that "copy content from other websites." The target? Content farms, to start. These sites exist and profit based on volume. The more content produced (often for a pittance) the better they do – or did.
To most observers and users, this focus on volume resulted in millions of low-quality pieces of content cluttering the search engine results pages (SERPs). The writers producing content for these content farms are paid largely based on views. No indexing in Google, no views. No views, no pay. No pay, no writers ... and no content.
Sites such as Yahoo Contributor Network and those of Demand Media (including eHow) fit the bill, to be sure. But one must wonder if others sites such as Examiner.com or pure user-contributor sites such as Yahoo Answers will also be affected. (Read Website Magazine's in-depth review of Yahoo Contributor Network.)
The update will also impact Bing and every other search engine. Simply put, if Google's results get better in the eyes of users, Bing and the others cannot afford to be viewed as having inferior results.
Without question, the focus is now on producing original, quality content. So-called scraper sites are doomed. But even bloggers need to be careful about posting content that could be considered "low-quality" or that which could be viewed as being a simple re-publishing of existing content. In other words, if you don't have anything original to say about an existing story ... be careful. Now more than ever, the focus seems to be shifting toward quality, not necessarily quantity.
In all, this update should be a good thing for the Web – both for users and those who work tirelessly to produce quality content.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Q4 MARKETING AND GREEN AMERICA LAUNCH GREEN DEALS: “GROUPON FOR GREENIES”
Online Daily Deals Available From a Variety of Green Companies Around U.S.; This is the Start of Something Big: More than 100,000 Signed up Green Deals in the Testing Phase.
Fans of deal-of-the-day sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial now have an environmentally friendly shopping option.
Boston based Q4 Marketing and Media Group and it’s partner, Green America have launched Green Deals, a Web site that provides members with daily deals from local and national online green companies. Over 100,000 individuals have already signed up for Green Deals memberships. Participating companies are carefully examined and certified by Green America for their commitment to social and environmental responsibility in their policies, practices, and products.
Green Deals also features tips on everyday green living, coupons, and other offers from their Green Approved Businesses. Recent deals have included organic chocolates, green cleaning supplies, and environmentally friendly water bottles.
Q4 Marketing President Jonah Mytro said: “We have developed a great tool to help consumer’s learn about and connect with thousands of Green Approved (and screened) Businesses of Green America’s Green Business Network. We are very excited about the partnership between Green America and Q4 Marketing and we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship offering GreenDeals to targeted consumers locally and nationally.”
Green America Executive Director Alisa Gravitz said: “Green Deals helps Americans who are tightening their belts live a green life and save money at the same time. From household necessities to great gift ideas, Green Deals provides terrific products from businesses that have been screened by Green America for their social and environmental responsibility.”
There is no shortage of green companies that want to be part of Green Deals. "While there are a number of daily deal sites on the Web, GreenDeals is composed entirely of the kind of values-driven consumers we want to reach” said Rosamaria Caballero, founder, Green Irene LLC.” They appreciate the screening Green America performs on us as a member of the Green Business Network to assess our business practices.
Jay Parekh, chief operating officer, Hydros Bottle, said: “Running a Green Deal helped connect us directly with conscious consumers that are often thought-leaders within their social networks -- the very customers that have the potential to become brand evangelists -- all within a group buying model. For us, it was a win-win.”
For more details about the Green Deals
(Green America, Q4 Marketing, and Green Deals are in no way associated with Groupon or LivingSocial. Both of those organizations are referred to in this news release strictly to encourage an understanding of the type of deal-of-the-day site that Green Deals is.)
ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is United States’ leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. Green America’s green economy programs encourage corporate responsibility, tackle climate change, build fair trading systems, advance healthy, local communities, and provide green purchasing and investing information for families and businesses.
ABOUT Q4 MARKETING
Q4 Marketing and Media Group (Boston, MA) is a boutique Internet Marketing firm that has extensive experience in B2C lead generation, web site development and management, and online media buying and planning services. Our team works with clients both small and large to help them achieve their ROI goals utilizing online marketing including social media, search marketing (PPC), organic search (SEO), email marketing, lead generation, and affiliate marketing.
Fans of deal-of-the-day sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial now have an environmentally friendly shopping option.
Boston based Q4 Marketing and Media Group and it’s partner, Green America have launched Green Deals, a Web site that provides members with daily deals from local and national online green companies. Over 100,000 individuals have already signed up for Green Deals memberships. Participating companies are carefully examined and certified by Green America for their commitment to social and environmental responsibility in their policies, practices, and products.
Green Deals also features tips on everyday green living, coupons, and other offers from their Green Approved Businesses. Recent deals have included organic chocolates, green cleaning supplies, and environmentally friendly water bottles.
Q4 Marketing President Jonah Mytro said: “We have developed a great tool to help consumer’s learn about and connect with thousands of Green Approved (and screened) Businesses of Green America’s Green Business Network. We are very excited about the partnership between Green America and Q4 Marketing and we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship offering GreenDeals to targeted consumers locally and nationally.”
Green America Executive Director Alisa Gravitz said: “Green Deals helps Americans who are tightening their belts live a green life and save money at the same time. From household necessities to great gift ideas, Green Deals provides terrific products from businesses that have been screened by Green America for their social and environmental responsibility.”
There is no shortage of green companies that want to be part of Green Deals. "While there are a number of daily deal sites on the Web, GreenDeals is composed entirely of the kind of values-driven consumers we want to reach” said Rosamaria Caballero, founder, Green Irene LLC.” They appreciate the screening Green America performs on us as a member of the Green Business Network to assess our business practices.
Jay Parekh, chief operating officer, Hydros Bottle, said: “Running a Green Deal helped connect us directly with conscious consumers that are often thought-leaders within their social networks -- the very customers that have the potential to become brand evangelists -- all within a group buying model. For us, it was a win-win.”
For more details about the Green Deals
(Green America, Q4 Marketing, and Green Deals are in no way associated with Groupon or LivingSocial. Both of those organizations are referred to in this news release strictly to encourage an understanding of the type of deal-of-the-day site that Green Deals is.)
ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is United States’ leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. Green America’s green economy programs encourage corporate responsibility, tackle climate change, build fair trading systems, advance healthy, local communities, and provide green purchasing and investing information for families and businesses.
ABOUT Q4 MARKETING
Q4 Marketing and Media Group (Boston, MA) is a boutique Internet Marketing firm that has extensive experience in B2C lead generation, web site development and management, and online media buying and planning services. Our team works with clients both small and large to help them achieve their ROI goals utilizing online marketing including social media, search marketing (PPC), organic search (SEO), email marketing, lead generation, and affiliate marketing.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Don't Use These Passwords!
Huffington Post published an article from the Wall Street Journal listing the top 50 most common passwords people use. Get a little creative with your passwords and protect your email accounts, banking, and other important logins.
On Sunday, hackers exposed usernames and passwords stored in the Gawker Media user database.
The Wall Street Journal analyzed the leaked data and produced a list of the top 50 commonly used Gawker passwords. Believe it or not, the list is rife with security no-nos, such as ascending numbers and easy-to-guess words.
The following are the top 13 most popular passwords, according to WSJ's examination of the 188,279 passwords that were leaked:
1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. lifehack
5. qwerty
6. abc123
7. 111111
8. monkey
9. consumer
10. 12345
11. 0
12. letmein
13. trustno1
It is startling to note that over 3,000 users chose "123456" as their login password, according to the Journal. Almost as jarring: Nearly 2,000 people went with "password," and more than 1,000 users decided that "12345678" was a secure choice. The list also includes "gizmodo" (#19), "starwars" (#23), "f---you" (#31), "gawker" (#40) and "internet" (#50).
The hack has been affecting other websites: Twitter was hit by a spam attack that is believed to be linked to the Gawker hack. According to All Things D, "LinkedIn has temporarily disabled the accounts of any users whose email addresses turned up in the public database of hacked accounts. It's asking those users to reset their passwords." Given the simplicity of some of the most popular passwords, let's hope that nobody recycled these passwords for email or online bank accounts.
On Sunday, hackers exposed usernames and passwords stored in the Gawker Media user database.
The Wall Street Journal analyzed the leaked data and produced a list of the top 50 commonly used Gawker passwords. Believe it or not, the list is rife with security no-nos, such as ascending numbers and easy-to-guess words.
The following are the top 13 most popular passwords, according to WSJ's examination of the 188,279 passwords that were leaked:
1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. lifehack
5. qwerty
6. abc123
7. 111111
8. monkey
9. consumer
10. 12345
11. 0
12. letmein
13. trustno1
It is startling to note that over 3,000 users chose "123456" as their login password, according to the Journal. Almost as jarring: Nearly 2,000 people went with "password," and more than 1,000 users decided that "12345678" was a secure choice. The list also includes "gizmodo" (#19), "starwars" (#23), "f---you" (#31), "gawker" (#40) and "internet" (#50).
The hack has been affecting other websites: Twitter was hit by a spam attack that is believed to be linked to the Gawker hack. According to All Things D, "LinkedIn has temporarily disabled the accounts of any users whose email addresses turned up in the public database of hacked accounts. It's asking those users to reset their passwords." Given the simplicity of some of the most popular passwords, let's hope that nobody recycled these passwords for email or online bank accounts.
Monday, December 6, 2010
New Beach Volleyball Tour - The National Volleyball League
With the bankruptcy and selling of the AVP assets, it will be interesting to see who steps up to promote and manage Beach Volleyball Leagues around the US. USA Volleyball has stated they plan to run 4-6 events in 2011 (mainly on the West Coast) and The National Volleyball League (launched by Albert Hanneman, 18-year AVP Alumni) will launch in 2011 and run 3 events with expansion into 2012.
Press Release from The National Volleyball League
The NVL is proud to announce plans to produce three tournaments in 2011. They will include Miami, Atlanta and Las Vegas!
We are in deep discussions with USAV and IMG to work directly with Beach Championship Series to enhance the number of quality events so that players can have a larger series of legitimate events to play in. USAV and IMG stepped up first and announced their 5 events. It is a great opportunity for the National Volleyball League to partner with the only known series for 2011 and work with IMG who is regarded as the best event company in the world. Our events will follow the BCS operational expertise and quality of execution to ensure that each tournament will be of the highest quality for players, fans, and our sponsors.
USAV will sanction National Volleyball League events as we have strategically picked our events in locations that are geographically complimentary to the BCS schedule allowing more of the country to experience pro beach volleyball. We are planning to host events in Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas in 2011 and at least double that number of events in 2012.
Having USAV's sanction and IMG's proven track record alongside valuable sponsors
immediately provides the National Volleyball League credibility in the fragile market
place left behind by the AVP. The fact is that volleyball is still very popular and
companies and cities are thrilled to have a fresh start and be involved with pro beach
volleyball. We will offer $150,000 prize money and set the same standards for player
services and concerns with identical referees and medical services so there is uniformity
across the board.
There are many more details about the National Volleyball League that we will announce shortly. Stay tuned!
Press Release from The National Volleyball League
The NVL is proud to announce plans to produce three tournaments in 2011. They will include Miami, Atlanta and Las Vegas!
We are in deep discussions with USAV and IMG to work directly with Beach Championship Series to enhance the number of quality events so that players can have a larger series of legitimate events to play in. USAV and IMG stepped up first and announced their 5 events. It is a great opportunity for the National Volleyball League to partner with the only known series for 2011 and work with IMG who is regarded as the best event company in the world. Our events will follow the BCS operational expertise and quality of execution to ensure that each tournament will be of the highest quality for players, fans, and our sponsors.
USAV will sanction National Volleyball League events as we have strategically picked our events in locations that are geographically complimentary to the BCS schedule allowing more of the country to experience pro beach volleyball. We are planning to host events in Miami, Atlanta, and Las Vegas in 2011 and at least double that number of events in 2012.
Having USAV's sanction and IMG's proven track record alongside valuable sponsors
immediately provides the National Volleyball League credibility in the fragile market
place left behind by the AVP. The fact is that volleyball is still very popular and
companies and cities are thrilled to have a fresh start and be involved with pro beach
volleyball. We will offer $150,000 prize money and set the same standards for player
services and concerns with identical referees and medical services so there is uniformity
across the board.
There are many more details about the National Volleyball League that we will announce shortly. Stay tuned!
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