142 MB of Spam And I Didn't Have an Email Address

Okay, we all know spam is a problem, but I got a bit of a surprise today. I know that catch-all addresses are havens for spammers because they'll just email you at support@yoursite.com, admin@yoursite.com and any common name for email addresses.

Well, I didn't realize that one of my web hosts has the catch-all address set up as a default. So, little did I know that over the past year or so, emails were being accumulated on my server.

Today, I got a notice from my host saying I'd used my nearly 200 MB of space. And I'm thinking - WHAT? I only host HTML pages, some PDFs and have a relatively small database. Well, apparently there was 142 MB of spam being saved on the server because of the catch-all address.

That's a lot of spam being sent to nobody in particular. Needless to say, I have to go back and remove the catch-alls on all my accounts with them!

Do They Never Learn?

A while back, I posted a couple blog entries about an affiliate manager who kicked me out their program for inactivity. If you can find the blog entries, I'll send you $25 to your PayPal account...just post the links in the comments area.

Well, I got kicked out again. Here's the wonderful mass email I got:

Dear Alice Seba:

We regret to inform you that XXXXX Jewerly has removed you from their Affiliate Program. There are many possible reasons as to you why we may have removed you from our program, including violation of legal terms, inactivity, changes in site content, etc. If you feel that you have been removed in error, or would like further clarification on why you were removed, please contact XXXXX.

Please feel free to reapply after two weeks or contact the Affiliate Marketing Manager, Lara Stache, to discuss a marketing plan to generate activity with your site.

I admit, this was an affiliate program I signed up for in LinkShare and I never did anything with it. I'm sure a lot of affiliates sign up for programs in the various networks and never do anything with it. But in a world of abundant affiliate programs, it is an affiliate managers job to make sure their affiliates are promoting their products.

I find this email is ridiculous and incredibly rude. They've told me I've possibly violated their terms. I know I haven't, but couldn't they personalize this email a bit more to separate inactive people from the violators? How lazy.

Just like the last time I got kicked out, I've received nothing from this affiliate program besides the welcome email. So, instead of trying to help their affiliates, they'd rather slap them in the face by saying get lost.

I don't do a lot of stuff with LinkShare, Commission Junction, etc. because I find many of their affiliate managers just don't do what they need to serve their affiliates. I hope that with the release of Anik Singal's Affiliate Manager course tomorrow, that some of these network affiliate managers will sit up and start listening. Anik is connected with a number of affiliate networks and I hope this might help make some changes to the way their clients run their programs.

Until then, I'm going to keep concentrating on the independent programs run by people who do more than push pencils and occasionally write disciplinary emails.

Working as a VA or B2B Service-Provider?

In a few minutes, I'm about to get onto a call with Russell Brunson and Stu McLaren and they have opened my eyes to a tremendous opportunity for people who are providing B2B services for an hourly wage...or a less than desirable salary.

(I'm just thinking about the poor lady on one of my forums that hasn't slept since yesterday because she's busy helping her VA clients...that's just not right!)

If you're on my affiliate manager tips list, you would have already received a private invitation to the live call. If you're not on the list, get on it now and I'll tell you more about it later today.

The Internet Marketing Sweetie Library

If you haven't been watching the menu on the right side of this blog, I've been pretty busy expanding the "Sweetie Library". Some are paid courses, but many are just free tips list that you can sign up for. They're just bite-sized chunks of advice coming to your inbox each week that you can easily apply to your business.

Recently added the "Sweetie Library":

By now, you probably know, I have the free affiliate manager tips (and tomorrow, we have a free call you should join us for) list...but there's also:

• Outsourcing tips: You know, it's my favorite topic to help you make more money by getting other people to do the hard work.
• Copywriting tips: I not only talk about sales copy, but article writing, writing for your blog and more.
• Email marketing tips: Tips on building a responsive list that loves to hear from you.

I probably have a few more sweetie tips lists in me...so if you have a suggestion, speak up.

Keeping Business Going in Lazy Summer

As soon as the weather turns nice, I start to feel a bit lazy and a little unfocused in my business...and I definitely work a lot less - but I definitely don't let it affect my bottom line. I put together some tips in the FAQ on how to keep your business going in Summer.

I do hope you'll like 'em. If you have more tips, feel free to post them in the comments area.

Blog Bullies - What Gives?

Seems like I have another resident blog bully. This one doesn't like that I post photos on my personal blog. Shame on me!

Last time I had a blog bully, I had to refer him to this site (warning, naughty language on that link). Perhaps the new bully and any other lurking blog bullies would like to check it out too.

But seriously bullies, what gives? It's okay to disagree with people and share opinions on their blogs, but would you say the same mean-spirited things to the blog owners if you were standing face-to-face? What would your mama say if she knew?

Net Biz Radio in 20 Minutes

Be sure to tune into Net Biz Radio at 7 PM PST / 10 PM EST. I'll be Dennis's cohost and we'll be talking about making the most of your online business as a work at home parent (and even if you're not a parent, there will be some great information to be had).

Listen live or sign up for the recordings:
http://www.netbizradio.com

Talk to you soon!

Stu Schooled Me

The other day, I was talking to Stu McLaren on the phone about our upcoming teleseminar for my Affiliate Manager Sweetie students (yeah, yeah...it's all I talk about these days, but Stu DID teach me an important lesson). Part of the conversation went something like this:

Alice: Do you want to collect email addresses for the teleseminar?
Stu: It's up to you.
Alice: Will you make transcripts?
Stu: If you'd like us to.
Alice: Do you mind if I tell my readers that transcripts and audio will be provided.
Stu: It's up to you.

Now, Stu may sound like a man of few words (...but he's not, that was just part of the conversation), but we he did was very important. As an affiliate of his, he wanted to make sure that everything was done according to my needs.

It doesn't really matter what marketing strategies he thinks is best. He knows that I know my readers best, so I can decide how to put everything together. He also know that's my readers are accustomed to the way I do things.

I definitely learned something in those few minutes. We also talked about the benefits of hiring a full-time affiliate manager, which I will definitely be doing in the next few months. Some of the information he gave me on the call is available in a video he and Russell Brunson created. You can see it by signing up for my free affiliate manager tips.

Talk To You Soon

Keeping busy getting ready for Saturday and the three upcoming affiliate manager teleseminars. How are you doing?

Whatcha Doing Saturday Night?

Now don't tell me you have big plans and you're going out to do something fun! You've got to join me on Net Biz Radio at 10 PM EST. It's a live radio program created by Dennis Lively and it's all about, you guessed it, Net Biz. Dennis has invited me to be his co-host for the evening.

This Saturday's show will be from the work at home mom's perspective and Kelly McCausey will be joining us. Even if you're not a mom, but you're a busy entrepreneur who likes to make the most of his time and marketing efforts...there will be plenty of great info for you.

The show is available live in most parts of the U.S. and several Canadian provinces. If you're out of range of the radio station or you're busy on Saturday night, just sign up for a free membership at Net Biz Radio...and you'll get access to the recording. You also get all kinds of other goodies with your membership, so take advantage of this great resource.

I Mailed This Out - Did You Do It?

If you use AOL or for some reason aren't subscribed to or can't receive my email, I sent this out today:

We've already talked about affiliate programs and promoting
products in return for a commission. It's a great way to add
income streams to your existing business.

We've also talked about information products which make it
easy for you to create more passive income streams than
traditional consumer products.

There's definitely another piece of the puzzle and one I get
questions about all the time and thats....

Running your own affiliate program.

People want to know how to get affiliates to promote their
products and how to get them to sell well.

I've created a free tips list that is going to answer a lot
of your questions, share plenty of ideas to build your
affiliate database AND get them work harder for you.

If you have an affiliate program, want to have one or think
you want to have one - definitely sign up. There will be
lots of goodies offered to this list that I won't be sharing
elsewhere. Please join me at:

http://www.AffiliateManagerSweetie.com

To your affiliate management success!

All the best,
Alice Seba
Your Friend & Partner in Online Success

I hope you do join me. There's a free report on choosing your affiliate system, an offer for a free CD and bunch more coming!

Spelling Bee Opportunities?

I was just watching a bit of thre Scripps National Spelling Bee and WOW...how do those kids do it? Those words are so oscure and it's amazing to watch them at work. I used to be a pretty decent speller (not counting typos), but Microsoft Word and FrontPage ruined me for that. :-(

Anyone created an information product on the topic yet? The spelling bee was on TSN for goodness sake!