| Spam nuisance 'can be combated'
Consumers are becoming increasingly angry about rampant SMS and email spam, but what they do not know is that the law is on their side and that there are ways to stop and even prosecute persistent spammers. This was the message from Cape Town-based privacy lawyer Brendan Hughes, of Michalson and Associates, in a presentation on data privacy legislation to Durban businesses last week. Hughes, a member of the appeals panel that adjudicates complaints for the Wireless Application Service Providers' Association (Waspa), said that direct marketing using consumers' personal information was "big business". However, Hughes said businesses that continued to send marketing material or spam to consumers who had asked to be removed from mailing lists could be criminally prosecuted under Section 45 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002.
Guerrilla Marketing Guru Al Lautenslager Provides Small-Business Owners With Tips on How to Market Their Business
REDMOND, Wash. (Map) - What: Many small-business owners do not have enough money to promote themselves effectively. If budget is an issue, some proven nontraditional marketing methods such as guerilla marketing can help get the word out. The author of "Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days," Al Lautenslager recently offered small businesses advice on marketing to maximize profits and increase customers as part of a free Microsoft(R) Office Live Web seminar series. Lautenslager uses his own practical experience of running and managing a small-business print shop to provide small-business owners with helpful advice and insight on topics critical to success and to nontraditional forms of marketing and word of mouth. The seminar can be found at http://www.officelive.com. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO ) For small businesses that seek to market themselves on a budget, Lautenslager provides the following tips: .
Customer Surveys: A Powerful Link Building Tool
One of the most effective link building tools I use is a customer survey. Surveys are usually written from a customer service standpoint: companies want to know the opinions of the people who buy from them and crave feedback on how they're doing. Honorable intentions for sure but in today's link marketing, it's less about where customers stand and more about where they're going. In the past, I provided a general questionnaire to the company that contracted my linking services, then pulled demographic information from the site's web logs. Using web logs is still a viable tactic but I've come to understand that today's Internet is different and I need to adapt what I do along with it. The explosion of Web 2.0 and social media type sites is changing the way we work and the way I market for links.
NextMark Awarded Patent for Its System for Generating Highly Responsive Mailing Lists
NextMark, Inc., a leading provider of tools and resources to buy mailing lists, sell mailing lists, and learn about mailing lists, announced today it has been awarded a patent for a new mailing list selection technique it has invented. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued NextMark patent number 7,246,077 for its Systems and Methods for Generating Highly Responsive Mailing Lists. .
CATA Named #1 Transit System in North America
The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) has been named the best transit system of its size in North America by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). "This is the highest honor in our industry," said Sandy Draggoo, CATA's CEO/Executive Director. "We couldn't be more excited or proud!" Draggoo also won the prestigious General Manager of the Year award from APTA in 2003. CATA was ranked #1 in the competitive 4-30 million passenger trips category. This category includes 106 transit systems. APTA gives out the Outstanding Transportation System Achievement Award annually to honor transit systems demonstrating exceptional efficiency and effectiveness. Transit systems are judged on services and programs, safety, operations, customer service, financial management, attendance and employee costs, advancement of minorities and women, marketing, policy and administration, and community relations.
Customer Surveys: A Powerful Link Building Tool
One of the most effective link building tools I use is a customer survey. Surveys are usually written from a customer service standpoint: companies want to know the opinions of the people who buy from them and crave feedback on how they're doing. Honorable intentions for sure but in today's link marketing, it's less about where customers stand and more about where they're going. In the past, I provided a general questionnaire to the company that contracted my linking services, then pulled demographic information from the site's web logs. Using web logs is still a viable tactic but I've come to understand that today's Internet is different and I need to adapt what I do along with it. The explosion of Web 2.0 and social media type sites is changing the way we work and the way I market for links.
Stop junk mail before it's garbage
Each year, more than 100 million trees are chopped up and 28 billion gallons of water are used to create the paper that goes into junk mail, according to the company GreenDimes. And Alameda County garbage officials estimate that 5 percent of the waste sent to landfills is junk mail. You can go a long way toward reducing the amount of garbage you create by getting off the mailing lists used to send such unsolicited mail. You can find a company to do the legwork for you. Companies like GreenDimes, www.greendimes.com, can notify all the mailing list companies in exchange for a fee -- about $36 a year for GreenDimes. You can also do it yourself. You can get help by ordering a kit at www.stopjunkmail.org or call (877) 786-7927. You should also write to request that your name is removed from mailing lists.
AlphaGraphics seeks investors to open stores in EP
Salt Lake City-based franchising company AlphaGraphics is in the midst of a major expansion effort and has its sights set on El Paso. The company, which provides marketing and visual communications solutions for small- and medium-sized businesses, plans to open its first El Paso location in the next six months to a year, said Art Coley, senior director of franchise development. The company hopes to have three to four El Paso stores, all of which will be franchises, within three years, he added. "The shortest and simplest way (to describe us) is we are a solution provider," Coley said. "We provide marketing and visual communications for small- and medium-sized businesses. What does that mean? Everything from Web sites, e-mail campaigns, direct mailing, printing services for business cards and letterheads.
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