Do you know how many of your newsletter subscribers have AOL addresses? AOL has approximately 24 million subscribers, so it's likely that a good portion of your subscribers are getting your e-mails at an AOL account.

I checked one on my own opt-in lists, and twenty-five percent of the subscribers to my list were using AOL addresses. That's a whole lot of people that may stop reading your text newsletter if you don't take some easy steps and cater to them.

The current version of AOL (9.0) is doing a nice job of reading HTML e-mail, but text e-mail to AOL is still a problem.

Most e-mail clients will make a URL clickable, but not AOL e-mail. Rather, the programmers at AOL created a system that recognizes HTML tags in text e-mail messages and formats those tags like they would display in a browser.

If you simply include a URL in your text without the formatting, AOL subscribers will have to cut and paste the address into their browser window. As you can imagine, newbies may not understand how to cut and paste, or they might just assume that your link doesn't work.

The solution is to show your links in two formats: a basic URL, and a special text link (it's actually just plain HTML that you'll put in a text email) that is clickable in AOL text e-mail messages.

In order to create the AOL links in your text e-mail, just follow this format:

AOL users < a href= "http://www.yourwebsite.com" >click here< /a >

What AOL users see is: AOL users click here

It's that easy, so start doing it!

http://www.affiliatetip.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shawn_Collins

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You may have heard about "viral marketing," but perhaps you are not sure exactly what it is. Viral marketing simply means using a marketing strategy that is designed to encourage people to pass along your marketing message.

Many Web marketers are using games or short Flash movies to encourage people to visit their Web sites and tell all their friends to come, too. During the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, the clever animation of Bush and Kerry singing "This Land is Your Land" drew massive numbers of visitors to http://www.jibjab.com/

Some book publishers have started offering online trailers, with a preview of the book, at their Web sites. For an example, see http://www.smalldogspress.com/ Book trailers are usually Flash movies that may combine author comments with visuals and music. They are often similar to the movie trailers you see for coming attractions.

Viral marketing is usually spread via email, and it may be contained in an email. For example, a clever "Top Ten" list, a touching story or a funny photo will be forwarded from person to person.

How can you put this to work for you? Look for something you can offer that people will pass along to their friends. It should not be a purely commercial message, it must also include utility, information or entertainment to interest people enough to forward it to their friends.

Send your viral message to your mailing list, and encourage them to pass it along to the people they know.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the IdeaLady, Cathy Stucker helps authors, entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. See the viral marketing tools Cathy uses and download your free desktop calendar at http://www.IdeaLady.com/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cathy_Stucker

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