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Online Golf Solutions monthly golf Newsletter (from Dan Perry)
http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com
danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com
Issue 2, Volume 1, March, 1999
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In this issue:
* From Dan's Desk
* Golf Quote of the month
* Link of the Month
* Feature Article "The Importance of Online Promotion"
* Feature Tip "Browsing with the Right mouse button"
* Site Updates
* Guest Article (Future Addition)
* Email Q & A
* Subscribe/Unsubscribe info
* Advertising in this Ezine
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* From Dan's Desk
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I've just confirmed my reservations for the Web Design 99 conference in Atlanta,
GA, for the week of April 5. I have never attended a large conference like this,
so I am very excited, to say the least. I'll be staying at the Hyatt Regency
the nights of April 5 and 6, so if you're at the conference, and want to say
Hi, please do!
The conference will cover everything related to business on the Web today, including:
Layout, CSS, XML, Javascript, DHTML, Graphics, META Tags, and the list goes
on. Some of the speakers are going to be very big. I've been reading their info
on the Net for years, and I finally get to meet them! For more info on this
great conference, please visit http://www.thunderlizard.com/
The ironic part is that it is also the week of the Masters at Augusta. I'll
be in Georgia the week of the Masters, and not be able to attend. Boy is that
a shame, eh?
On the plus side, I have family about an hour north of Atlanta, so I'll be visiting
them for a few days too.
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* Golf Quote Of The Month
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"What the hell are you doing on Tour?"
Ben Hogan to Gary McCord
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* Link of the Month
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http://www.excite.com/games
This is probably the best place on the Net to play games with others for free.
Becoming a member of Excite is painless, and takes only a few minutes.
I use it (rarely, but I do) for playing Euchre. The last time I visited (Friday,
Feb 26, 11am EST) there were 597 people playing Euchre. As far as card games
are concerned, you can also play Hearts (565), Solitaire (877), and Spades (721).
But it doesn't end with just card games. There are also board games (Backgammon,
Chess, and Checkers) and word games (Jumble, Crosswords, Sports Crosswords and
Word Search). There is definitely something here for everyone.
After getting logged in, it takes about 1-2 minutes to load the appropriate
Java on a 28.8 modem. Once inside, you can either watch others play, to get
a feel of the game, or jump right into an open table. There are areas (at least
in the Euchre room), for fun (casual rooms) or points (Sharks rooms).
If you ever see DPerry in a Casual room, be sure and say Hi!
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* Feature Article "The Importance of Online Promotion"
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I had a presentation this week for a prospective client, and the topic of online
promotion came up. First, a little back- ground on the client. He is a head
pro of a rather large golf facility near my home. In the past, he was a head
pro at a smaller facility. He had someone else design a web site for his previous
golf course, and I was putting a bid in on his current facility (which doesn't
have one at all).
At his previous facility, he had a salesman approach him with the pitch that,
for an annual fee, he would ensure that he was listed in all the golf course
directories and listings on the Internet. Of course, he agreed to it, and in
our meeting, stated what a great service this salesman performed.
Little did he know that I also offer this service to my customers. I had also
went to the major (and free) golf directories in search of his old course, to
see how many he was listed in. If it was only a few, i would have some ammo.
There are roughly 25 national sites that will accept (for free) golf course
listings, and roughly 5 or 6 regional directories. How many was he listed in?
2 national, and 1 regional. I had (as ammo) already created a list of all the
sites, and high- lighted the ones (3 total) that had him listed. Sad, to say
the least.
Regardless of what your business is, there are probably some related sites out
there that will add a link to your site for free.
Another great form of online promotion is the reciprocal link. You post a link
on your site to another business that is related (not competition) to your type
of business. Then, send the webmaster of that site an email, stating that you've
already placed a link on your site, and would appreciate him (or her) returning
the favor. You'll be surprised how many will (and, by looking at my log files,
some sites really do add a lot of hits).
The third easy way to promote your site online is to create a good signature
file for all of your outgoing emails. Here is my sig file:
Dan Perry ICQ# 6622347
=====================================
Web site Design, Hosting, and Reviews
for the golf community
http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com
We offer a generous affiliate program
and a golf-related newsletter
=====================================
Gets the point across, doesn't it? I also have a few different variations of
this sig file, depending on who I'm sending an email to.
Hopefully, these points will help you to think about different ways to promote
your business online.
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* Feature Tip "Browsing with the Right mouse button"
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One of the best tips I know for speeding up your Internet browsing is using
the "Open in New Browser Window" option, which is available with both Netscape
and IE. This tip comes in most handy when you've come upon a page that has many
interesting links, and you want to follow a few, but not reload the page a bunch
of times. Instead of just clicking on the link, move your mouse over the link,
click your RIGHT mouse button, and choose "Open in New Window". Then, another
page of your browser will open, exposing whatever the link was pointed to.
Once you get used to browsing like this, you'll wonder how you got along without
it. If I find a page with, say, 4 links I'd like to visit, I'll right-click
on the first one, choose "Open in New Window", and when the new window appears,
minimize it, then go to the next link. I'll open up all 4 in new windows. By
the time I'm finished opening up all of them, the first page has loaded, and
I can read it at my leisure. As I'm reading it, the following pages are downloading
in the background.
It is a great timesaver, to say the least. Try it out, and you'll see what I
mean.
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* Site Updates
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I've added an ICQ Status bar on the main page, which lets you know whether I'm
on or offline at the moment you visit the site. Either way, you can follow the
link, and leave me a message. ICQ is a great program, and it's free. If you
don't have a copy, you should definitely consider it. It can be down- loaded
at http://www.download.com
I'm currently working on a small site redesign, with the new navigation bar
on the left side. I've added it to a few pages, and will be deleting the old
links at the bottom of most pages soon.
I am also working on a complete redesign, but that is a month or two away (at
least).
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* Guest Article (Future Addition)
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I'd like to use this section for head pros, greenskeepers, or superintendents
to share their thoughts and helpful insight on topics related to the business
of golf. Lessons, turf, insect control, aerating, etc., are all welcome. Of
course, if I choose to print your article, the address of your course will get
some free promotion.
If you have anything that you think will be helpful to others in your field,
please send email to danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com, and include "Guest Article
Submission" in the Subject Line.
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* Email Q & A
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This section will be for you, the subscriber to this Ezine. Any questions that
you may have concerning the Internet, Web browsers, CSS, HTML, META Tags, Online
marketing, etc. will be answered. I'll pick a few every month and answer them
here. If you think the question is too simple, ask it anyway.
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*Subscribe/Unsubscribe Info
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To unsubscribe from this Ezine, please visit any page on my site, and type the
email address where this Ezine is being sent into the appropriate box, check
"Unsubscribe", and click the button that says Subscribe Me. You will automatically
be unsubscribed.
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* Advertising in this Ezine
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This Ezine is targeted towards all golfers, web users, and webmasters, but particularly
to head pro's, and superintendents. I will accept advertising that will be beneficial
to my user base only. If you are interested in reaching this very targeted market,
please send email to: danperry@onlinegolfsolutions.com and place "Advertising
Info" in the Subject Line.
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http://www.onlinegolfsolutions.com/