"Helping Your Business Fly"
Issue 11

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. FLIGHT LINES: Keep learning until your "through"
2. WING TIPS: Shut Down Windows 95/98 Using One Click
3. FEATURE ARTICLE: "How To Skyrocket Your Sales"
4. ALTER EAGLE: Selecting A Web Host That Meets Your Needs
5. EAGLE'S TALON: FREE On line Thesaurus and more!
6. EYE OF THE EAGLE: A woman had two sons...
7. CONTACT THE FLYER: Send questions, comments and articles

1) ======= Flight Lines =======
[Observations on business and life]

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
-- Derek Bok

When you're through learning, you're through.
-- Vern Law (1897 - 1966)

2) ======= Wing Tips =======
[A variety of business helps and tips]

Shut Down Windows 95/98 Using One Click

The default setting used to shut down Windows 95 and 98 requires a minimum of four clicks in order to shut down the system.

To use only one step, carefully follow the directions below.

Right click on a blank area of your computer screen, known as the "desktop", and select New / Shortcut.

In the resulting dialog box, in the command line text box, type C:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows making sure that there is no space between the comma and the "exitwindows" parameter, which is one word, without spaces.

In the next dialog box, type ShutDown Now! in the text box, titled "Select a Name For the Shortcut", and click Finish.

When you are finished with your work for the day, just double-click the ShutDown NOW! icon, and save your wrist a few keystrokes.

3) ======= Feature Article =======

HOW TO SKYROCKET YOUR SALES AND CRUSH YOUR COMPETITION EVEN IF THEY SELL THE EXACT SAME THING YOU DO

By Yanik Silver

Over 70 years ago, one man had the answer to increasing almost any product's sales and literally crushing the competition.

His name?

Claude Hopkins. And today his advice is even more valuable than it was during the 1920s.

Hopkins was one of the most famous ad men and really the Father of modern advertising. His two books "My Life in Advertising" and "Scientific Advertising" are worth reading and re-reading.

If you read on, I'll share with you one of Hopkins' greatest secrets for attracting more business.

Listen closely - the secret is *EDUCATION*.

By educating a prospect about how things are done in your business, even it's the same exact thing any one of your competitors could tell, will produce a tremendous selling advantage.

Don't believe me?

Look around at nearly all the advertising being done based on the plea: "Buy my brand", "Come to my store", "Give me the money which you give to others". Typically this falls in the category of boasting and bragging advertising. Frankly, consumers don't care one lick about you or your company, they care about the benefits they'll get from dealing with you.

Let me share with you how Hopkins used this advertising secret to rocket a so-so beer brand from 5th place into a tie for 1st place in just a matter of months. Listen to this:

Schlitz Beer hired Hopkins to increase their falling market share. Every beer manufacturer at this time was screaming "PURE" in their ads. In fact, companies were spending a fortune just advertising this 4 letter word as big and as bold as they could. They even took out double pages ads to put that word in even bigger letters. All this shouting and no explaining was making zero impressions on the buying public. Nobody ever explained what 'pure' really meant until Hopkins came in.

The first thing Hopkins did was take a factory tour. On this tour the was shown plate-glass rooms where beer was dripping over pipes. Inquiring the reason for this, Hopkins was told that those rooms were filled with filtered air, so the beer could be cooled without any impurities.

Next, he was shown huge expensive filters filled with white- wood pulp that provided a superior filtering process. The manufacturer then went on to explain how they cleaned every pump and pipe, twice daily to assure purity. And also how each bottle was sterilized not once or twice, but four times before being filled with beer.

Then, Hopkins was shown the 4,000 foot deep artesian wells dug to provide the cleanest and purest water available, even though the factory was right on the shore of Lake Michigan. (At this time Lake Michigan was not polluted and could provide clean water.)

Finally, Hopkins was lead into a laboratory and was shown the mother yeast cell, that was a product of 1,200 experiments to bring out the robust flavor. And he was told all the yeast used in making Schlitz beer was developed from that original yeast cell.

After his tour Hopkins exclaimed, "Why don't you tell people these things?"

The manufacturer's response was because every beer manufacturer does it the same way.

And to that Hopkins replied, "But, others have never told this story..." And he went off to create an advertising campaign explaining to people what makes Schlitz beer pure. Once again he told the same story any brewer could have but he gave a meaning to purity. And this is what took Schlitz from 5th place to a tie for 1st place in market share.

Really, this whole process is just educating.

Educating prospects about the how's, the why's, the good, the bad and the ugly. You simply cannot over educate people.

Now maybe you're thinking anything from the 1920's can't possibly work today -- WRONG!

Murray Raphel, a retail direct marketing consultant, tells the story of how he was visiting one of his clients, Ethan Allen Furniture, and he noticed carpenters in the back room repairing furniture. He asked, "Do you make furniture here?"

The reply from the manager of this store was, "No, those are carpenters doing work on Ethan Allen wood furniture." He went on to explain how every customer is given a lifetime guarantee on all their wood pieces. And he quickly added, "But all Ethan Allen stores do this."

But of course no other store advertises this fact.

Soon Raphel ran an ad stating *Every Piece of Ethan Allen Wooden Furniture is Guaranteed For Your Lifetime!*

And wouldn't you know it, a competitor soon ran the same guarantee in their ad. But guess who got the credit for the guarantee?

That's right -- the original store.

So here's the bottom line: Take the time right now to write down exactly what you do in your business (even if it's the exact same as any other competitor). Write down absolutely everything and tell people everything. Don't suffer from the curse of assumption - let people know and they'll knock down your door to order!

(c)2000 Surefire Marketing, Inc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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4) ======= Alter Eagle =======
[Products and services that we recommend]

Selecting A Web Host That Meets Your Needs

Once you've selected a domain name and you're ready to get started, the next step is to find a web hosting company that meets your needs. They'll provide the technology you need to get your web site up and running - so you don't have to invest thousands of dollars on your own hardware, software, and heavy-duty Internet connection.

Your web site forms the very foundation of your Internet presence, and selecting a good web hosting company is not a chore to be taken lightly. Generally speaking, as with just about anything else in life you get what you pay for. Let's consider the options:

Option 1 - Free Web Hosting. A few megabytes of storage space, usually no customer support at all, slow servers, can't use your own domain name, and none of the features you'll need to make money.

Option 2 - Bargain Web Hosting. The bare essentials, little or no real customer support, questionable quality, often unreliable, lacking in features, not for a serious online business.

Option 3 - The Smart Choice. Tons of storage space, lightning-fast servers, live humans to speak with in case of problems, all the features you need to make big bucks.

If you guessed that we recommend Option 3 - you're right! The choice is obvious, yet in our experience nine out of ten online marketers aren't using a web hosting company that allows them to take full advantage of the Internet - and they're losing big money because of it. Here are the features that you should be looking for in a quality web hosting package:

Fast Servers - Quality hardware and redundant T3 connections or better. The speed at which your web pages load is directly proportional to your income, and there's no such thing as a server that's too fast.

Full Domain Support and Registration Services - Must allow the use of your own domain name. Most can handle the registration of your domain name for you, but the best companies work closely with Internic and can normally get things done faster than you can.

No Access, Bandwidth, or Hit Charges - These days there is no reason to use a web host that charges access, bandwidth or hit fees - not until you're getting 50k visitors a day anyway. The best companies offer unlimited bandwidth with standard hosting packages.

Unrestricted CGI Access - You're going to need to use CGI scripts at one time or another, so be sure that you have your own cgi-bin directory - and the ability to upload any scripts you want. Don't use a web host that limits you to the scripts they decide you can use.

Telnet Access and Cron Jobs - Telnet access is not absolutely required, but sure comes in handy for things like debugging CGI scripts. Cron jobs allow automation of behind-the-scenes activities, and this feature is also quite desirable from an Internet marketing standpoint.

Web-based Administration - These days most quality web hosts have some type of web-based admin interface which allows you to manage your server via the web. It's not necessary, but may come in handy for those who don't consider themselves to be the technical type.

Access to Raw Server Logs - You'll need access to your raw server logs in order to best analyze your web site traffic. Do not use a web host that doesn't offer this, you should have unrestricted access to your logs.

Secure Server Capability - If you plan on selling anything directly from your web site, you'll need secure server capabilities. Look for a web host with low or no additional setup fees, and a low or no monthly fee for SSL.

Full Email Services - Your web host should offer full email services, including POP mailboxes, unlimited email aliases, and unlimited autoresponders. Do not pay extra for these features.

Unlimited FREE Customer Support - With a good web host you shouldn't have many problems, but if you do you will want a live human to speak with on the phone. Definitely insist on unlimited customer support via both email and telephone - one day you'll be glad you did.

No Minimum Contracts - Don't ever sign a long-term contract, it's not necessary and by doing so you give up a lot of flexibility. If something should happen down the line and you decide to switch to another host, being locked into a long-term contract could be costly.

Money Back Guarantee - Our web host offers a 30-day money back guarantee, and so do many others. You should insist on it - just in case you're not happy with their services. It's the sign of a professional company that stands behind it's product.

There are a few good databases of hosting companies that you'll want to consult. Namely, TopHosts (http://tophosts.com) and the Web Host Directory (http://webhostdir.com). Each compares over 500 popular web hosting companies, is fully searchable, and gives you all of the info that you'll need to make an informed decision based on your needs.

The difference between a mediocre and an excellent web host is no more than $30 a month, so don't make the mistake of sacrificing quality and necessary features just to save a few bucks. The truth is that using an inferior web host doesn't save you money at all - you'll actually end up paying a lot more due to lost profits which are inevitable.

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Originally published in IMC's Internet Marketing Chronicles.
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5) ======= Eagle's Talon =======
[Tools to help you "get a grip" on things]

"Thesaurus-dot-com" provides a variety of tools for enhancing your vocabulary from any online site.

Look up English words, computer terms, places, biblical names, US ZIP codes, and much more.

The site includes grammar, usage, and style guides, as well as writing tips and other resources that you can use to improve your writing skills.

The site also includes an online translator to quickly convert text and web pages, and tools designed to work with the Thesaurus and Dictionary "dot com" sites.

Visit: Thesaurus

6) ======= Eye of the Eagle =======
[Ideas to help you think creatively]

A woman had two sons who were born on the same hour of the same day of the same year. But they were not twins.

How could this be?

(Answer in the next issue of the Flyer)

***
Answer to Last Month's Puzzler...

[John plays fetch with his dog, named Easy. He calls the dog, and throws a stick for the dog to fetch. John calls the dog, again, throws the stick again, etc.

What famous saying would explain this behaviour?]

"Easy" come... "Easy" go!

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Copyright © 2000-2003 Eagle Computers. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole, or
in part, without the express written consent of the
publisher.

Registered with the Library of Congress. ISSN: 1535-8429
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