Web template tips, External CSS (cascading style sheets), "effective" web design for your targeted market, worthwhile resources and other relative topics of interest to webmasters will be discussed by the Web Template Designers at BasicTemplates.com. You can also meet our designers on a personal level, discover their personal and professional trials and tribulations and join in on the office chatter regarding many popular (and sometimes) controversial topics.
25 Valentine's Day Icons & Web Page Accents [Product ID: G5094] were recently added. These icons can be used with 100s of our HTML CSS Templates. Get all 25 in PSD file format for only $10.00 USD.
// posted by BasicRic on 1/30/2006 08:08:00 AM / Permanent Link
2006: The Year of Change for BasicTemplates.com
Tons of new projects are going on behind the scenes here at BasicTemplates.com and have been for more than 5 months. What could possibly be SO HUGE it could take such a long time to implement? :)
Well, let me first say that 2006 will be the year of change for us. One thing you can be assured of is that all changes will benefit you, our loyal customers.
Look for more news on February 1st. It will be arriving in our "News Articles & Tips" newsletter, so if you are not subscribed to that specific newsletter, you'll want to click the "Update Profile" link at the bottom of any of the newsletters you receive from us and checkmark the appropriate box.
// posted by BasicRic on 1/27/2006 08:01:00 AM / Permanent Link
Affiliate Summit, Orlando - July 2006
UPDATE! The Affiliate Summit 2006 in Orlando is now scheduled for July 9th thru July 11th.
Read my latest blog post about what I personally learned at the conference, who I met, etc. I've consolidated all of my past blog entries about my experience at the Las Vegas 2006 Affiliate Summit for your convenience.
Consolidated and Updated blog entry about my Affiliate Summit experience:
I hope to see you in sunny Orlando in a few short months. I know that together we can find a network niche so we can all make money through our merchant websites and affiliates websites.
Susan Milligan, Co-Founder BasicTemplates.com
--------------------------- OLD NEWS:
The next Affiliate Summit is tentatively scheduled for July 2006 in sunny Orlando.
If you want more information about the next conference, I'd be happy to send it to you as soon as it is available. You'll be one of the very first to hear about it.
Tickets sell out fast and there was a waiting list of more than 400 people for the Las Vegas conference, so the quicker you reserve your tickets, the better you'll feel and best of all, you'll get the early bird price!
This newsletter will only be sent out when I have news about the next conference. It will not be used for any other mailings or purpose.
Perhaps I'll see you in sunny Orlando in July. After the weather we have been having here in Ohio lately, I'm ready ... now!
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/26/2006 03:30:00 PM / Permanent Link
How to Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
If you have an online business you’ll want to learn how to optimize your website for search engines. You want to ensure that your website positioning and placement are as effective as possible so that you rank high in search engines.
There are several steps to follow so that you ensure you’re getting the most out of your Search Engine Optimization and draw as many visitors and customers to your website as possible.
Some of the more important concepts that you should focus on include:
Increase the number of relevant key words that you use in your web pages. Do your research so that your marketing campaign includes Adwords, backlinks, and keywords so that the quality of your website pushes you up in the engine listings.
Make sure that your website submission includes popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
Use PPC, or pay per click, to guarantee more hits to your website.
Use successful affiliate marketing techniques.
Keep careful track of demographics and customer info in your business database.
Always remember that the higher you rank in the search engines the more your popularity will increase. There are many multiple media advertising techniques that you can incorporate into your website, such as Adsense, Dmoz, and algorithms to increase the effectiveness of your ads, if paid advertising is an option you wish to try.
Positioning your business on the Internet all comes down to standing out among your competitors either through effective search engine optimization strategies, customer referrals and lots of return business or all of the aforementioned. If you offer quality information, products and services your targeted traffic will come naturally from return and referral customers.
// posted by BasicMichelle on 1/25/2006 07:15:00 AM / Permanent Link
Business Blogging & Affiliate Summit Review, Part 5
Since I love to talk and write I couldn't resist attending Dave Taylor's pre-Affiliate Summit presentation on the subject of business blogs.
Who is Dave Taylor? I asked myself the same question. The name sounded somewhat familiar but the face and his website URL did not ring any bells for me. Then when he started talking about the books he had written, and I did a little Amazon research, bells and whistles sounded. Dave has written many books about various topics but of course the one's I recall are regarding website development. Here is an excerpt from his website about his book, Creating Cool Web Sites with HTML, XHTML, and CSS
"There's no time like the present to learn more about how to get the best possible results for your Web page building efforts. After all, you can certainly build good Web sites with free tools like NotePad, TextEdit, or even vi, but regardless of your tools, you still have to know what you're doing and why!" ~ Dave Taylor, Intuitive.com
I couldn't agree more with Dave. There is a common misconception that just using website building tools whether manual or automated is all you need to do to achieve your website's goals. When in fact, designing your website is the easiest (as it should be) part of all. If you have listened to our podcasts, Effective-Website-Secrets.com, then you know that there are specific steps you need to take before you even begin designing your website or looking for a web designer. These critical steps are often skipped by the majority of website owners because they get caught up in the passion of the design concept. We refer to this mindset as backwards website development. Days, months, weeks are often wasted deciding on which graphics to use when in fact the search engines don't care about graphics at all. If you build your website correctly the first time, you can add your permanent graphics later and it will not effect the search engines indexing process.
Also, Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980 which is amazing if you think about it. If we started working with the Internet when digital dinosaurs roamed the earth (1994), Dave must have witnessed the creation of planet digital earth: "In the beginning, ..." ;)
The most intriguing attribute about Dave's presentation was his talent as a professional speaker. If you have been business blogging for awhile, and you are getting a considerable amount of traffic from the search engines, then some of the information might be a repeat for you. BUT it was interesting listening to Dave as he captivates his audience with no-hype, straight-to-the point little side stories from which I learned a great deal. I walked out of the conference with many ideas for future articles, tutorials and podcasts as well as improving our own blogs. I'm sure our authors and copywriters will be thrilled.
Although I didn't get to speak to Dave Taylor to any great length on a one-to-one basis, (which is by no means Dave's fault), I hope we can meet up again at a future conference. I briefly saw Dave at PartnerCentric’s Imagination Chocolate party held at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel but did not get a chance to chat since there were so many people and so little time. Just as I was about to approach him, I was snagged away by another networking buzz.
If you ever get the chance to hear a presentation by Dave Taylor, don’t hesitate.
Until next time, as always .... Keep it Basic.
Susan Milligan, Co-Founder BasicTemplates.com
p.s. Important Note: As of the writing of this blog entry, the Wynn website URL is an example of an ineffective way to develop a website. If you have to explain to people why your website has an unusually slow load time even using broadband access, you are only reaching less than 20% of your website visitors. This is a perfect example of how passion and creativity interferes with good business judgment. I'm sure Dave Taylor would likely agree; how about it Dave?
You should never force your visitors to wait on your website to load. If you want to use large files such as video, audio or Flash presentations to illustrate your product, give your visitors the option to initiate the playing process. If your website is built completely with Flash, give your visitors the option to view a static (fast loading) version. Contrary to what most broadband companies would like you to believe, more than 80% of the world does not have broadband connections. It's not like these people are too cheap to pay for it either. It's because it is not available in their area and for many, it never will be - at least in the sense as we know broadband today.
With all due respect to Steve Wynn who's initial audio statement says that unlike other website's their website is filled with surprises, and he says to have fun finding them. My first surprise was that such a classy hotel and casino's website would load so slowly and a Flash popup would force my internet service provider to load a very large movie file. In the mid to late 1990s hidden surprises on websites also known as Easter eggs or hunts hit their peak in popularity. But that was then. Today people want the information they are looking for now and don't like surprises on websites unless, of course, it dispenses cash. ;)
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/24/2006 07:10:00 AM / Permanent Link
GUI Web Interfaces
5 GUI Web Interfaces [Product IDs: N0006T thru N0010T] were recently added to our template and graphics gallery. These graphics are in PSD format, web resolution and vary in size.
All can be licensed individually for only $5.00 USD each or subscribing members get them FREE.
// posted by BasicRic on 1/23/2006 08:40:00 AM / Permanent Link
How Often Does Googlebot Visit Your Website?
Is Your Website Spider Friendly?
If you are not baiting the search engine spiders, you are missing out on some much needed search engine traffic that nearly every website craves. In a near future podcast we will go over a few basic search engine optimization techniques that will surely be spider food for your website.
How often does the infamous Googlebot visit our website? Every day! In fact, Googlebot spiders 6 of our 8 network websites every single day, 365 days a year. Pretty effective spider food wouldn't you say? Who else then could best advise basic SEO techniques to others? ;) Stay tuned ...
In the meantime though, sign up for our upcoming, (NEW!) newsletter, Basic Web Marketing. If you are already a subscriber of any of our newsletters, log into your account and change your newsletter preferences to include this soon-to-be-published newsletter.
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/20/2006 07:11:00 AM / Permanent Link
Cash Keywords & Affiliate Summit Review, Part 3
Finally! After attending the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas last week, my brain has adjusted back to Eastern time. Generally jet lag does not affect me to any noticeable degree and the first couple of days back I was fine. It's great to be my old self again. Enough about my jet lag, let's get back to what you came to our blog to read about, and that is ... What happened at the Affiliate Summit?
In a previous blog entry I wrote that I met several BasicTemplates.BIZ customers and subscribing members. I anticipated I would since we are generally listed among the top five web template providers, have a large customer database going back as far as 1994, and well, it is a conference where webmasters understand that an effective website using clean and basic designs are the keys to obtaining your goals. Super affiliates who understand that spending time working on content and less time worry about their website's graphics were everywhere. :) I wasn't disappointed.
The first customer I met was Roxanne McHenry from Cash Keywords. Roxanne was one of the people who selected a meeting with me during the Speed Networking event the night before the official start of Affiliate Summit. She's a bubbly gal with a passion for her product. There is a special place in my heart for people who love what they do, and who are willing to share what they know to help other people. Roxanne and her partner Steve Juth, are co-founders of Cash Keywords which is a CSV/TXT Adsense report service supplying their customers with the highest bid Adwords keywords that convert well as high paying Adsense revenue. There are a handful of companies that offer this type reporting tool, but Roxanne and Steve have taken their reports to a more effective level than their competitors. Is it any wonder then that Cash Keywords and BasicTemplates.BIZ are a good mix?
Before I go into the advantages of Cash Keywords vs. their competitors, let me illustrate a scenario which most people can relate.
How long do you think it would take you to determine the top 10,000 Adsense revenue generating keywords? One day? Three days? A week? Perhaps two weeks? Purchasing Cash Keywords' reports is in effect outsourcing this project to professionals who are experienced at analyzing this type of data every day. For an unbelievably low price, you can get your hands on a report that will make you more money with the Adsense program than you could imagine possible.
If you develop multiple websites on various topics that are original content rich, it will also give you insight on new niche markets that convert Adsense revenue well.
Why is Cash Keywords different than other companies that provide this service? Their Mega Report provides you with over 160,000 top keywords, the top AdWords bid estimate for each keyword, the number of competing ads running in Google AdWords, search popularity and competition metrics, the estimated number of AdWords clicks per day, up-to-date information that is less than 30 days old, and all of it comes with a 30-day guarantee.
Two weeks ago Roxanne McHenry was interviewed by Greg Niland of WebmasterFM Radio, and well, you will just have to listen to the audio MP3 of Show #35 to feel the excitement and understand the value of this innovative service that anyone can afford. Also on the same show, is an interview with Ken from WordTracker which is another popular keyword research tool.
To learn more about Cash Keywords, and how it can dramatically increase your Adsense revenue, Click Here.
Until next time, as always ... Keep it Basic,
Susan Milligan, Co-Founder BasicTemplates.com
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/19/2006 06:42:00 AM / Permanent Link
What is Search Engine Optimization?
Search engine optimization is the process of positioning your websites so that their rankings increase in search engine directories and so that they are as relevant and high up as possible.
A SEO website is one that uses keywords and articles that are based on keywords that that Internet browsers commonly use for their search. When you’re building your websites you want the development to include effective keyword placement in the content as well as in the HTML coding of the web pages.
Some of the more popular data friendly search engines are Yahoo, Google, and MSN. Submission of your website to these search engines, making sure that your web content includes a full listing of important optimized keywords, is easy and quick.
Keywords are chosen through the research of the track records and results of the information that web visitors search for in a search engine directory. Ranking in a directory is highly related to the quality of your website and for the promotion of your online business in your competitive market. You want to see as many clients visit your website as possible so that you can see your profits generated from your marketing campaigns.
The more understanding that you have of the importance of targeted keywords the more solutions and methods you’ll generate for your business. Websites that aren’t SEO have little chance of reaching the higher ranks of the search engines.
You want to improve your position and rank by doing an analysis of successful websites and improving on their methods. Your business counts on your ability to make yourself stand out among the competition!
// posted by BasicMichelle on 1/18/2006 03:13:00 PM / Permanent Link
Do you have an original content rich website? By "original content rich" I mean, do you write your own articles, tips, tutorials, blog entries and then publish them on your websites? If so, are you utilizing Google Adsense on your website? If you answered "yes" to the first two questions, but "no" to the last question, let me ask you this, "Why not?"
Adsense is one of the largest revenue sources for quality content websites. It's a perfect way to offer ads to your website visitors relative to the content you publish. Are you worried you would be sending your website visitors to your competitors? If you offer a quality product or service at a competitive price, like we do at BasicTemplates.BIZ, let me be the first to say, don't let it worry you another second.
We began mid 2004 testing Google Adsense on several of our network websites. Six months later, we concluded that in most cases on most of our sites, our sales increased. We also had a nice supplemental check from Google arriving every month. Why did our website sales increase if we were sending our visitors to our competitors? How could that be?
First of all, you cannot be 100% everything to everyone 100% of the time. In order to be successful, you need to realize that not everyone may be interested in what you are selling. Don't take it personally, that's business. So sending them to a competitor earns you revenue from Adsense, a potential lead arrives for your competitor, and the customer is happy too because they found what they were looking for on your website (in effect). Everyone wins. Likely those who buy from your competitor after visiting your website may not have bought from you anyway.
However, if they visit your competitors' website, and then come back to buy from you after they realize you offer a better product at a better price, you win again! It's one thing to state you have the best products at the best prices, but when you illustrate it through competitive ads, well do I need to say more?
If you are new to the concept of Google Adsense, look no further. First though, don't just jump in and mass copy/paste Adsense code all over web pages. Study up on the best Adsense techniques with Joel Comm, author of Adsense Secrets. I have personally purchased every Google Adsense Secrets ebook that Joel has published, and I can tell you first hand that he's the godfather of Adsense. So you can imagine my excitement when I attended Joel's special pre-Affiliate Summit Adsense presentation and had the honor of speaking to him personally several times throughout the Affiliate Summit conference.
Another great resource for Adsense optimization tips is Google's Adsense blog, of course. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in an Adsense teleconference, I can truthfully say you will learn some eye-opening insightful information. It is also a great opportunity to get the "real" scoop from the staff behind the Adsense program.
It is important to note that with the popularity of this contextual advertising module, eventually it will get harder and harder to make a nice income with Adsense - for some websites. That is why it is important that you don't make the mistake I've seen so many webmasters fall victim. That mistake is publishing content that is not originally written by them and is also over-published on countless other websites. Sooner or later the search engines will pluck out the duplicate content and leave those sites that provide "original, rich content" as search results for their website visitors.
After all, it is in the search engine's best interest to make sure the search results they are providing their visitors does not contain countless URLs of the same content. It makes sense to me. I don't like wasting time searching on a particular topic of interest only to be presented with irrelevant or duplicate information. When you do a search on a particular topic and you see "15,000 results found" you tend to get excited that you might just find the info you need. It's very disappointing to discover that most of those results are irrelevant to the topic or duplicated information. I'm sure you have experienced this scenario yourself countless times too.
Trickery isn't a smart move with the search engines if you value your business. Play the search engine game fairly and by their rules. In the long run, you'll naturally grow content rich websites with original information everyone will want to come back to read.
Also, there is nothing more annoying than receiving an email from an author you thought you respected about an article that is new and available on their website, only to find out you wasted your time because you've read that same article or promo on other websites before.
Remember to Think ... natural growth and original, rich website content. You'll be years ahead of those websites who are simply copy/pasting redundant articles. The time will come when search engines say 'enough is enough' and you will be ahead of the game.
Adsense Template Tips! Read our "Adsense Template Tips" published last year. They are very effective for content publishers. Consumer Alert: Beware of template designers who market their templates as "Adsense compatible" or "Adsense Optimized Templates". It's a silly and unethical marketing trick. Any HTML web template like those we provide will work fine for a website using any contextual advertising like Googe Adsense.
Until next time, as always ... Keep it Basic,
Susan Milligan, Co-Founder BasicTemplates.com
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/17/2006 08:20:00 AM / Permanent Link
Affiliate Summit Las Vegas Review, Part 2
One of the great things about my attendance at the Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas last week, was being able to personally meet many people we do business with us on a continual basis.
The good folks over at Kowabunga Technologies, for example, who have been supporting our own Affiliate Program for several years had a number of their staff present at the conference. I was able to meet the owners of the company, Todd and Theresa Farmer.
Also from Kowabunga, Jeff Doak, who I have communicated with many times via email over the years. When I found myself suddenly in charge of migrating our current affiliate program to Kowabunga's software several years ago, Jeff was there to help. He must be about the most patient fellow I've ever meant especially in light of the many panic buttons I hit. Regardless of what problem I encountered, Jeff was quick to help even though I'm sure we are small in company size compared to the list of their many customers. We were treated well even though we are a small company. For that I'm grateful.
When I told the Kowabunga group we were migrating to a new shopping cart service soon, did they cringe and scurry away? No. Their technician in the group, Jarod Johnson, quickly handed me his business card and told me to contact him personally if I ran into any problems. Now that is service, folks!
Want to Know More about Kowabunga and their Popular Affiliate Management Software? Click Here
As you might expect, I was asked quite often if BasicTemplates.com has an affiliate program. Why, yes we do! We pay 25% first tier and 5% on second tier commissions with a 365 day cookie.But wait! Since most of our web templates are only $5.00 USD each, is it really worth applying for our affiliate program? Well, let me ask you this, "Would your target market be more likely to buy multiple $5.00 USD web templates that are designed cleanly with External CSS and interchangeable graphics concepts than they are to buy a single $50+ template that boxes them into one heavy, ineffective graphic oriented layout? I rest my case. :)
We've been building effective, clean website templates since 1994, so it isn't difficult to sell your visitors on buying multiple templates or even a $150 full access membership with that kind of value and stamina. When a product or service is good and affordable too viral marketing comes naturally for everyone involved - including our affiliates.
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/16/2006 11:12:00 AM / Permanent Link
TIP! Our newest gorilla website template would work perfectly for Gorilla Marketers ...! Are you into Gorilla Marketing? > Check it out
// posted by BasicRic on 1/16/2006 07:15:00 AM / Permanent Link
Website Interfaces
5 Website Interfaces [Product IDs: N0001T thru N0005T] were recently added to our template and graphics gallery. These graphics are in PSD format, web resolution and vary in size.
All can be licensed individually for only $5.00 USD each or subscribing members get them FREE.
// posted by BasicRic on 1/16/2006 07:02:00 AM / Permanent Link
SEO Templates - The Whole Truth
A question I was asked a couple of times at the Affiliate Summit last week was whether our company, BasicTemplates.com, offers SEO ready templates. I had to scratch my head on that one for a second, and then I realized that obviously there must be designers erroneously labeling their templates as SEO ready as a gimmick for people to buy. {sigh}
FACT: To search engine optimize any web page you need page content.
Are you ready for the whole truth? There is no such thing as an SEO template. To search engine optimize your website you need content. Period. But before you need a template or a web designer, you need to set your website's goals and know your target market which includes researching your keywords. Only then should you build your website. Otherwise, you are making the mistake of developing your website backwards.
Did you read it? Everything listed in Google's Webmaster Guidelines requires that you have web page content in order to completely prepare your website for search engine indexing.
Some SEO experts say that you need your navigational menu on the right side of the page, others say the left, and believe it or not, some will say at the top and bottom of the page. But again the textual hyperlink containing your anchor text (Anchor text is the keywords you are targeting.) cannot be provided by any template designer until YOU do your keyword research and make that critical decision yourself.
H1, H2, etc. tags are important. Yes, that is true. BasicTemplates.com designs come with an external cascading style sheet with some of these tags already provided as should any worthwhile template design you purchase. Copy/pasting more of these tags through H6 using Windows Notepad into the .css file, and editing a six digit hex color code or background color takes less than a minute.
Would you pay someone $50 for a minute's worth of work? Not me. No, I'm not cheap; I'm basically realistic and wise to tricks. Don't worry, you will be too especially if you ever fall victim to this unethical marketing tactic.
Why do templates designers resort to not-so-honest marketing tactics? Because they still do not "get it". To build loyalty, trust, and a high rate of referral business and return business you need to provide a no-gimmick product at a reasonable price. Most fail at this simple business concept and have to resort to these types of gimmicks.
Page Titles are important but also cannot be provided by a template designer selling a pre-packaged design without your page content.
Meta keywords and a site description cannot be provided by a template designer selling a pre-packaged design without your page content.
Internal page linking cannot be provided by a template designer selling a pre-packaged design without your page content. When they develop multiple pages for you in advance, they are already determining how many pages you will need. Thus causing you far more work deleting and changing internal navigation menu hyperlinks than reasonably necessary.
Site maps are important but they too cannot be provided by a template designer selling a pre-packaged design without your page content.
Reciprocal linking and back linking cannot be provided by a template designer selling a pre-packaged design.
Some SEO gurus will swear that pure CSS template layouts are the way to go while others, yes, you guessed it - will say that table-based layouts are best. The latter believe that tables render properly across most types of web searching media including cell phones, Blackberrys, PDAs and other small or handheld wireless Internet access devices. Since handheld devices are getting smaller and smaller these days, websites that wish to reach a diverse audience need to consider that desktop computers and laptops are not the only devices through which people may find their website. Pure CSS is a great concept and it (or something similar to it) will be the future, but it's not quite the time for mass use.
Choosing an appropriate DOCTYPE and CHARSET is important, but unless the template designer pre-decides for you who will be your target market, they cannot ethically provide you with a template that is appropriate for 100% of the websites that might be using it.
Validating your template is a nice added assurance that the code is correct. But that validation is "prior" to you adding anything to it, plus the template designer has to decide for you which DOCTYPE and CHARSET you will be using in order to get the template to validate. Validating a template today doesn't mean it will always validate years from now as technology changes especially after content has been added to it. Simply opening a template in Frontpage for example, sometimes adds Frontpage proprietary code that W3C will return as invalid. Some successful website owners are die-hard validation advocates and others not. Some templates designers use the validation label as another gimmick to sell to newbie or unsuspecting buyers. We produced a prodcast about the misconception of validation last year. Go to Podcast 005: Most Effective CSS Method and the Truth About Validation to listen to find out what even the most seasoned web designers don't know about validation.
A good rule of thumb is to remember that if the websites of the big players are not using it, then you likely should not use it yet either. Learning about new technology is great. Playing with it to create test sites or websites that are not dependant on your household income is also fine.
Above all - TEST. If you think that a pure CSS layout works best for you. Test it. If you think a right-side vertical navigational menu is better, test it too. What works for one website may not work for another. Each website's needs are different as each webmaster behind them.
Most of all, remember that being honest and fair with your customers will ALWAYS work. That is usually a 100% guarantee of a high rate of referral and return business. Providing quality products and services at a fair and affordable price is the simplest form of viral marketing. It's virtually free too.
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/15/2006 12:01:00 PM / Permanent Link
Revisiting the Affiliate Summit 2006
As many of you may have read in my blog post yesterday, I attended my first Affiliate Summit in Las Vegas this past week. If you have ever wondered whether the time and expense are worth it, my answer is a resounding "YES". The networking alone is priceless not to mention the number of excellent speakers and the continual tips you learn from each other. Three thumbs up to Shawn Collins and Missy Ward for their innovative efforts making this year's conference "the best one yet". This is a quote I'm repeating from many long-time attendees with whom I personally met.
Let me give you an example. Within a 20 minute time span while working the room consisting of hundreds of people, I spoke with a Product Engineer from Microsoft. Then a fellow walked up to me to initiate a chat and he was from Walmart. Minutes later I found myself chatting for the second time during the event with a lady representing Yahoo. These three powerhouses alone in one room could have created a cosmic energy field of magnetic proportions. A magnetic event is actually the perfect description of the Affiliate Summit. Once you experience the exhilarating mood of this conference, you are continually drawn to it much like an addiction. I almost felt sorry for the money loss endured by the casinos because the Affiliate Summit attendees were certainly engaged elsewhere.
The event kicked off Sunday night with Speed Networking which is much like speed dating. You choose which people you want to meet from a list of attendees, and you are matched up to eight people through computer voodoo (aka algorithms). I felt fortunate that 7 out of the 8 people who were matched with me were available for a 5-minute speed meeting, (and I do mean it was fast paced). Many folks had more than a 50% no-show rate. Not only were several people I chose on my networking list, but so were several people who picked me, one of which is a very happy BasicTemplates.com customer. I'll write more about her and her awesome business concepts next week.
Breakfast and lunch were part of the conference package, and one morning I sat down at a table for breakfast with a friendly lady which within a few minutes I learned was the editor of Revenue Magazine, Lisa Picarille. (You can read Lisa's blog post about the Affiliate Summit here.) Lisa and I share an entertaining interest in the infamous "Question Mark Man", Mathew Lesko. You know the guy, I'm sure. You see him on many infomercials and several TV shopping channels selling books about how to get free money or discounted offers from various sources including the U.S. government. I find it quite interesting that he was attending the Affiliate Summit and cannot wait to see what type of books he publishes regarding affiliate marketing. Indeed a product to look forward to, wouldn't you agree? And yes, if you are wondering ... Mathew Lesko was dressed in his trademark attire. He sported brightly colored suits with large question marks. The man is a marketing genius and a great deal can be learned from his marketing techniques.
I could write non-stop about my experiences at the Affiliate Summit today, but then I wouldn't have anything to write about later this week. ;) NOT! Stay tuned for more Affiliate Summit news, tips, and resources in the coming weeks.
For now though, I leave you with some food for thought. If you didn't get to attend the Affiliate Summit or attending conferences of this type is currently not within you budget, you have a stream of educational material coming at you every day. You likely didn't realize it; most people don't.
The next time you receive junk mail in your snail mail box, DON'T throw it away. Save it, and when you have a chance later to lay several pieces out in front of you, compare their similarities. Analyze the techniques these companies use to promote their products or services. Pay particular attention to their headlines and copywriting.
Yes, we all hate junk mail and I wouldn't suggest sending out junk mail. BUT many of the techniques these companies use work or they wouldn't be doing it. Determine a way to apply some of these techniques or spin-offs of these techniques within your business' marketing module.
Another great marketing educational source is infomercials. Tape them so you can review them over and over again. Yes, some of us do hate infomercials. They can be cheesy, I agree. But they too are loaded with marketing techniques that work.
Just be sure what techniques you use are ethical and grow your business through customer trust, referrals and return business. It's approximately six times easier and virtually expense free to resell to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new customer.
Until next time, as always ... Keep it Basic,
Susan Milligan, Co-Founder BasicTemplates.com
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/14/2006 11:10:00 AM / Permanent Link
Affiliate Summit 2006 Las Vegas
Hello everyone. I am happy to report that I just returned from this year's Affiliate Summit 2006, Las Vegas. More than 1,200 attendees plus many speakers and vendors contributed to yet another successful conference. It was the perfect opportunity to network with other companies on both a merchant and affiliate level. If I met you there, I'd like to take the opportunity to say hello again and thank you for helping to make this event a success. Many of the attendees expressed to me that this was the best Affiliate Summit yet.
I also had the opportunity to meet several BasicTemplates.com's customers and members. What a treat! What a rush to hear personally how much you like us! I will be contacting each of you very soon to followup on our discussions.
In the coming days I will be sharing with our newsletter subscribers my personal experiences and some very valuable resources and tips I discovered while at the Affiliate Summit. If you have not yet signed up for our News & Articles newsletter, you can do so at:
Today though I am recovering from jet lag, unpacking, catching up on emails, reviewing/organizing the bazillion business cards I collected at the summit and coordinating/re-prioritizing our staff's existing (and new!) projects. You will be hearing from me again real soon.
Until then, as always ... Keep it Basic!
Susan, Co-Founder BasicTemplates.com Website Templates with External CSS and Removable Graphics
// posted by BasicSusan on 1/12/2006 02:55:00 PM / Permanent Link
Photoshop Keyboard Shortcuts
In this article you will find the 25 most commonly used Photoshop keyboard shortcuts. The Photoshop software program, by Adobe, is a popular graphics editor.
There are many keyboard shortcuts for Photoshop that make the editing of graphics and photos faster and easier. These are the most frequently used shortcuts.
Ctrl + N This command opens a new file.
Ctrl + O This command opens an existing file.
Ctrl + Shift + S This the shortcut for the “save as” command which enables you to name and save your file.
Ctrl + S This command saves a previously named document. It is a good idea to use this command periodically to save your work.
Ctrl + + Pressing the control key and the plus key simultaneously zooms in on a selected area. The “Z” key used alone also activates the Zoom tool.
Ctrl + - The control key used with the minus key zooms out.
+ The plus key is used to add a shape.
B The B key activates the paintbrush tool.
C The C key activates the cropping tool.
E The E key activates the eraser tool.
K The K key activates the slice tool.
J The J key activates the airbrush tool.
T The T key activates the type tool.
U The U key activates the shape tool.
H The H key activates the hand tool.
Alt + ] This command is used to ascend through layers.
Alt + [ This command is used to descent through layers.
Ctrl + Shift + ] This command is used to bring a layer to the front.
Ctrl + Shift + [ This command is used to send a layer to the back.
Ctrl + Shift + N This command is used to create a new layer.
/ This command is used to preserve the transparency of an image.
Ctrl + C This is the command for copying.
Ctrl + V This is the command to paste.
Ctrl + Z This is the Undo command that reverses your previous action.
Ctrl + Shift + L This command aligns text to the left.
Ctrl + Shift + C This command centers text.
// posted by BasicMichelle on 1/10/2006 07:15:00 AM / Permanent Link
Dreamweaver Keyboard Shortcuts
The following are the most commonly used Dreamweaver keyboard shortcuts for the Windows version of the HTML editor software program, Dreamweaver developed by Macromedia.
Keyboard shortcuts speed up the process of creating and editing HTML. There are many keyboard shortcuts for Dreamweaver. These are the 25 most frequently used shortcuts:
CTRL + N Pressing the control key with the N key simultaneously will open a new document.
CTRL + O This command is used to open an existing document.
CTRL + Shift + S This is the “save as” command that enables you to name and save your document.
CTRL + S This save command is most useful for documents that are already named. It is a good idea to save frequently so you don’t lose your work if an unexpected outage occurs.
CTRL + C This is the keyboard shortcut to copy.
CTRL + V This is the command to paste. Using Shift + Insert prompts the paste function as well.
CTRL + Z This is the shortcut for the Undo command. It will undo your last action.
CTRL + X This is the command for Cut. Using Shift + Delete accomplishes the same action.
Shift + F7 Using the shift key and the F7 function key simultaneously will check spelling.
Home The Home key moves the cursor to the beginning of a line.
End The End key moves to the end of a line.
CTRL + Shift + C This command is used in design view to copy HTML.
CTRL + Shift + V This command is used in design view to paste HTML.
CTRL + ‘ This shortcut is used to switch back and forth from code view to design view.
CTRL + E This command is used to insert a tag.
CTRL + F5 Using Control and the F5 function key enables you to edit a tag in design view.
Enter The enter key starts a new paragraph.
Shift + Enter Using shift and enter simultaneously inserts a line break.
CTRL + A This is the command for “select all”.
CTRL + B This is the command to bold text.
CTRL + I This is the command to italicize selected text.
CTRL + P This is the shortcut that enables you to print code.
Shift + F6 When editing code, pressing the shift key and the F6 function key together validates markup.
CTRL + T This command opens the Quick Tag Editor
Delete The delete key is the shortcut for the CLEAR command.
// posted by BasicMichelle on 1/07/2006 11:16:00 AM / Permanent Link
// posted by BasicRic on 1/02/2006 08:06:00 AM / Permanent Link
Vintage Lithograph Fine Art
10 Side Panel Inserts with Victorian Lithograph Fine Art themes [Product ID: G1202P] were recently added to our template and graphics gallery. These graphics are 200 x 700 px and are provided in .JPG format. They are Interchangeable with our HTML CSS Templates #1201 thru 1210. Get all 10 for only $10.00 USD.
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25 Valentine's Day Icons & Web Page Accents [Product ID: G5094] were recently added. These icons can be used with 100s of our HTML CSS Templates. Get all 25 in PSD file format for only $10.00 USD.
One realty themed website template was added. View new Template Design (#1220) 
10 Victorian and Vintage Fine Art Backgrounds [Product ID: K0461P] were recently added to our template and graphics gallery. These graphics are provided in .JPG format. They are Interchangeable with our 100s of our HTML CSS Templates. Get all 10 for only $10.00 USD.
10 Side Panel Inserts with Victorian Lithograph Fine Art themes [Product ID: G1202P] were recently added to our template and graphics gallery. These graphics are 200 x 700 px and are provided in .JPG format. They are Interchangeable with our HTML CSS Templates #1201 thru 1210. Get all 10 for only $10.00 USD.
