In
this issue...
EZINE
KICKSTART
WHAT
DO YOU THINK?
BIGRESOURCES.COM
UPDATES
LAST
HEARD IN THE COMMUNITY
WEEKLY
FEATURE
WHY
SUBMIT?
EZINE
KICKSTART
Hi all! Well, it's been two
weeks since our last mailing, and while we're still not quite back to our
weekly ezine schedule with all of our big changes, we're getting closer!
Anyway, we have a great issue
for you this week. There's plenty of opinionated reader responses (which is what you
like best according to your feedback), as well as some provoking forum
threads which I'm sure you'll want to get in on (if you haven't already).
I'd also like to reiterate that if you have any specific topics that you
would like to see covered, or new features that you'd like to see on a
weekly basis, my inbox is open to suggestions.
Jason M. DesRoches
Big Resources Ezine editor
in chief
editor@bigresources.com
[TOP]
|
WHAT
DO YOU THINK?
Last week's question asked for your opinions about a specific advertising issue; the skyscraper
(tower) ad. I asked if you thought that this could help to stabilize falling
CPMs with the many advantages that it has over traditional banners. I was
surprised to see such a gamete of conflicting information.
Paul McCowen from Australia
writes:
"I believe that this
would be successful. I know that I look at the shortcuts at the side quite
a lot. This would be great, if nothing else but to keep the content
free."
Makes sense enough to me
Paul, there is indeed something to be said for the ad's location.
Next, I received an opposing
statement from Max which reads:
"I believe tower ads will
fail for two reasons.
1.) The
amount of space an ad will take up on a viewers screen.
2.) The
amount of time the ad will take to download.
"
Well Max, not that I'm saying
skyscraper ads are without flaws, however I have to disagree with your
reasoning. I think that the amount of space taken up on the screen is actually
a benefit to the sponsor, which is why it might help falling CPMs, and
the download time can be dealt with by responsibly keeping the ads 7k and
under.
Finally, Shari writes in:
"I don't know much about
these things but when a skyscraper comes on my screen it is irritating
enough for me to look at. I cannot resist wanting to know what
is there. Quite honestly, I hardly ever hit on sponsors unless i
need them. So my answer is yes it is obvious enough to get a lot
more hits than a regular sponsor spot. hope this helps.
P.S. I appreciate what
you do for us as we search your site."
Seems Shari thinks that a
skyscraper is just irritating enough to work. Personally, I agree. I think
that the skyscraper is large and in your face, and I find myself clicking
them much more frequently than banners out of pure curiosity. So if you're
selling advertising on your website, and have not yet offered the skyscraper
to your clients, it's probably worth your efforts to pursue. I personally
would pay more for a skyscraper campaign that I would for a banner campaign.
BTW, thanks for the note
of appreciation Shari, it's always nice to hear :).
This week, I'd like to pose to
you a question which finally moves off of the advertising subject,
and gives one to the backend programmers. PERL -- will it to become
the next COBOL; made extinct by the rising popularity of PHP and MySQL?
It seems the web has gone into a frenzy with PHP over the past several
months, but does this mean that PERL will take a unrecoverable back seat?
I want all of you out there to tell me, What do you think?
To reply to "WHAT DO YOU
THINK", write to: editor@bigresources.com.
[TOP]
BIGRESOURCES.COM
UPDATES
Have you seen the latest
updates on our network sites?
A1JavaScripts.com (http://www.a1javascripts.com)
A1JavaScripts.com is the
network's JavaScript and DHTMLscript depot filled with hundreds of free
cut and paste scripts with live working examples.
Text
Fader
by WarpGear.com
This is an excellent cross
browser text fader that will gradually fade out any text that you input.
You can use it with hyperlinks, and adjust the font size, color, and style.
Frame
Enforcer
by Dan Hildreth
This JavaScript will force
any web page into a specified frameset, making is safe to submit your framed
pages into the search engines one by one.
Color
Picker
by C Small
Allows you to select a color
from a generated color palette of 216 colors. Very tidy and cross browser
compatible, including support for NS6.
New
Window Slider
by Steven B Cratier
This cool javascript will
open up a new browser window on click, and then stretch that window to
a given size right before your eyes.
123Webmaster.com (http://www.123webmaster.com)
123webmaster is the largest
directory of free webmaster resources on the planet. This week, it got
better.
Techniques
of the 21st Century Webmaster
by Corbbmacc O'Connor
Corbbmacc discusses various
methods of managing your email, your time, while utilizing effective promotional
techniques.
Error
Code and Status Messages
by William Crooks
The above is a table of
error and status messages that you may see when trying to visit a webpage,
and the explanations behind theses messages.
New
Links Added
As always 123webmaster has
updated with many new free resource links to it's large directory of 3085
FREE Resources to help you grow your site.
FresherImage.com
(http://www.fresherimage.com)
FresherImage is your source
for free clipart, graphic design tutorials, and artist interviews.
Images Thumbnailed
This week several of the
FresherImage clipart categories have been thumbnailed for faster and friendlier
viewing.
FontFiles.com (http://www.fontfiles.com)
FontFiles is host to thousands
of free PC TrueType and Mac fonts for download, and use anywhere!
Font of the Day
A new daily font is now
displayed on the main page of fontfiles. We've hand picked the best ones
so you'll always be greeted with a treat.
PerlAccess.com (http://www.perlaccess.com)
PerlAccess was designed
to help you learn or brush up on your perl scripting techniques. Perl is
currently the most popular programming language on the web.
Most
Common Boolean Operators
by Jacob A Wheeler
Learn some of PERL's most
common boolean operators, and the syntax in which they are used.
HTMLforums.com
(http://www.htmlforums.com)
HTMLforums is our free webmaster
help community, and offers assistance in the departments of developing,
designing, promoting, and profiting from your website.
New
Hardware Forum
We've opened up a hardware
support forum this week to complement our software forum. The question
was asked earlier this week by Ian McDonald as to if it was needed, and
you guys replied with a resounding yes. This forum will be helpful in providing
support for your mouse, monitors, scanners, and discussion on brands.
[TOP]
LAST
HEARD IN THE COMMUNITY
It can be said that this
section goes hand in hand with the one above. Taken from our community
forums, at http://www.htmlforums.com,
are some of the more interesting conversations that are taking place right
now.
Will
someone please kill flash?
Posted by fonzerelli_79
(a Level 6 Chevalier):
"I'll keep this short and
sweet. Is there anyone else out there getting annoyed with web sites with
5 minute flash intros. Sure it's nice but what we want is text."
How do you feel about flash
intros? Post your opinions on the subject:
http://www.htmlforums.com/showthread.php?s=
a5459f809270450a0737fef527977136&threadid=3585
Rate
Flash!
While we're on the subject
of flash, you might want to participate in this poll posted by Dr Web (one
of out forum Gurus):
"POLL: Does Flash have
a future?
Flash will RULE the future!
Flash will be IN the future
surely.
Flash is on rocky ground
right now.
Flash is on the way out
as we type...
What is Flash??!
Flash has a future integrated
with HTML"
To participate in this poll,
visit:
http://www.htmlforums.com/showthread.php?s=
a5459f809270450a0737fef527977136&threadid=3604
Frames:
are they good or bad?
Special_k (a novice to the
forum) posts:
"Hi,
I am just wondering what
your opinions are on the use of frames. I want to use frames in the redesign
of my site, as it will reduce loading time because the navbar will only
have to load once. Of course, there is no frame border, the frames aren't
resizeable and so on, so it isn't really obvious that frames are in use.
What are your opinions on this? Basically, are frames good, bad or past
it?"
To post your opinion on frames,
visit:
http://www.htmlforums.com/showthread.php?s=
a5459f809270450a0737fef527977136&threadid=3655
Get
a FREE review of your website!
Need peer opinions on your
website? Stop by our free
review forum at HTMLforums.com for advice from seasoned webmasters
on how to tweak up your site!
[TOP]
WEEKLY
FEATURE
Techniques of the 21st
Century Webmaster
by Corbbmacc O'Connor
http://www.justforwebmasters.com
Today's webmaster is faced
with many challenges: time management, e-mail, maintaining fresh content
etc. I get e-mail from webmasters asking what they should do to be successful.
The following are some of my suggestions. These are based on my experiences
only, so some techniques discussed below might not work for everyone. Remember,
most things are trial and error.
1. Deal With E-mail...Quickly
Responding to e-mail should
always be number one on your list of things to do. If you put it off for
too long, it might seem overwhelming. The best way to deal with it is to
use e-mail filters or sort your e-mail into different categories. For example:
-
Personal (E-mail from friends
and family)
-
Web Site Submissions (Things
that your web site visitors might want to contribute to the site)
-
Business Inquires (People asking
for work from you)
-
Newsletters (Newsletters/e-zines
that you receive)
-
Important (Things that must
get accomplished TODAY)
-
Miscellaneous (E-mails that
don't fit into any other category)
Now, you must prioritize each
category and respond (if necessary) to all of the e-mails.
-
Important
-
Business Inquiries
-
Web Site Submissions
-
Miscellaneous
-
Personal
-
Newsletters
You may prefer to put the personal
e-mails first. As I said above, arrange these categories how you see fit.
Now onto the fun stuff: spam.
Don't you just love it? I have found this great article by Harmony Major
about how to deal with spam to be very helpful. You can read it at: http://www.justforwebmasters.com/article.php?id=21.
2. Keep The Content of
Your Web Site Fresh
Visitors of web sites seem
to be very demanding at times. They always want fresh content. They don't
want to read yesterday's news...they want this minute's news. A way to
do this is to subscribe to a news service such as Moreover ( http://www.moreover.com).
Moreover is a fairly new service that basically works in the following
manner:
-
You sign up for what news feeds
you want and how you want them displayed.
-
You paste HTML code into your
web site that pulls the news headlines off of Moreover's servers.
-
Your visitors see the headlines
as links and then click to read the full story.
Your web site's visitors will
keep coming back to see new headlines. This means more traffic to your
site. Which means that advertising space is more valuable. Which means
that you will make more money.
There are many other services
that provide free news feeds as well as other types of free syndicated
content. E-mail me for the links to these services' web sites.
3. Use Autoresponders
to Your Advantage
Most of us have used an
autoresponder at one point or another in our Internet adventures. For those
of you who haven't, you send a blank e-mail to a specific address and you
receive a response within a couple minutes that is a pre-formatted message.
Some examples for using an autoresponder are:
-
Train somebody on a certain
topic that you are familiar with.
-
"Buyers remorse" letter - when
somebody makes a large purchase, they go through a time of whether they
should have bought the product or not. Use an autoresponder to tell somebody
that the decision to buy the product was a good one and that they shouldn't
worry about wasting money.
-
Advertising Follow-up - If you
sell advertising on your web site, send a letter to an advertiser asking
them what the results of their campaign were good. Ask them to send you
testimonials or suggestions to make the advertising more worthwhile.
You can get an autoresponder
at several places for free including:
http://www.autobots.net
http://www.biz-reply.com
http://www.sendfree.com
(Highly Recommended)
http://www.autorespond.com
http://www.getresponse.com
http://www.smartautoresponder.com
Most web hosting companies offer
free autoresponders as well. Contact your host and ask them. (This is usually
a better alternative because there is no extra advertising in your response
message and it looks more professional with the @yourcompany.com address.)
4. Create a Newsletter/E-zine
Studies have shown that
newsletters or e-zines often cause repeat traffic. Often this is because:
-
People might forget about your
web site or company, but then they receive a mailing from you with valuable
information.
-
E-zines are more current than
a web site could be, so people rely on a newsletter to keep them informed
of the latest headlines.
Publishing an e-zine might seem
complicated and time consuming at first, but they really aren't that hard.
I publish a weekly e-zine entitled "The Guided Webmaster". It is rewarding
(after the first issue is published) to add "Publisher and Editor" to one's
list of titles.
The hard part about publishing
and/or editing an e-zine is finding a topic that you have enough things
to talk about and are interested in. For example, you wouldn't want to
publish an e-zine about beetles if your passion is cars. Write about what
you know and love.
5. Time Management
Managing your time can seem
like a daunting task, but it really isn't that hard. Why manage your time
I hear you asking? Well, there are several reasons:
-
If you have a newsletter to
publish, you must get it out on time. Readers start to expect things at
a certain time, and if they aren't there, they may lose trust in you.
-
If you are working for a client,
they might want their web site done by a certain date for a reason. Again,
they might lose trust in you and not recommend you to other people if they
are disappointed.
You do not want to gain a bad
reputation online. I know that a friend of mine was working on a web site
for a client once, and didn't finish it until four weeks after the client
asked for it to be completed. That client probably would have given my
friend a lot of attention, but because the project was so late, he didn't.
Now onto how to organize
your time to avoid what happened to my friend...
Get a day planner or Palm
Pilot and make a list of everything you want to have done and when you
would like it done. Be as specific as possible. Don't just put "Work on
web site." Put "Change Tip of the Month." This way, when you look at what
you have to do later on, you will know what to do. Plus, this way you won't
get carried away doing things that aren't extremely important. Then number
the items for today in order of importance. Start accomplishing your tasks.
To sum everything Up...
All in all, you should do
what works for you. If one of the things above doesn't work for you, try
another approach. If that doesn't work, try another one. There is no right
or wrong way to do things, it is all trial and error.
[TOP]
WHY
SUBMIT?
Why should you submit original
content for us to publish? Check out what Corbbmacc O'Connor from http://www.justforwebmasters.com
had to say about it, after submitting an article to us for publishment:
"You recently featured my
article in The BIG Resources Newsletter. The article was called How to
Build a Database-Driven Site Using SSI. I would like to thank you very
much for doing this. I have received subscribers to my newsletter and have
received a lot of hits to my web site. Thanks again!"
Get in on the great exposure
we offer, submit your work to us! We're looking for original articles,
tutorials, and product review submissions to be featured in both our Ezine,
and on http://www.123webmaster.com.
If you feel that you are a talented web writer, and are knowledgeable with
website promotion, webmaster tools, graphic design, webmaster tips, or
web scripting (any language) then please send your article submissions
to editor@bigresources.com.
All approved articles will
be published with full credit to their author (including a link, email
address, and any other information that you would like included), and will
be read by over 65,000 webmasters. Submit today, and get published!
We are now also looking for
graphic tip submissions for FresherImage.com, read the criteria for graphic
tip submission here: http://fresherimage.com/Tips/Submit/.
[TOP]
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contact the editor at: editor@bigresources.com
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