Shonda Ponder at 40

October 30, 2008 was my fortieth birthday. I was behind on bills, again. I had no money to party with; and, I was fighting depression because I had no phone minutes and couldn’t even talk to my kids. However, I had a lot to look forward to.

The first thing I did on my fortieth birthday was settle disputes on my email list that threatened the integrity of the Citizen’s Network Alliance if it wasn’t addressed. The dispute was religious in nature, and the fight was over who’s religion was the true religion. In the end, God won out; not because He was forceful, but because He was, period.

I left the house to pay some bills, so I could prepare for the celebration ahead. On the way back home from paying my computer bill, I got stopped by a cop for going 13 miles over the speed limit. He let me go because it was my birthday (and I have no record). I thanked him and went on my way.

Around 5:00 PM, I was disappointed and depressed. No one said “Happy Birthday” to me. No one called me. There was no cake. My boyfriend usually gets cake for all his friends on their birthday, and I felt he wasn’t even thinking about me. I started crying. Brad, my boyfriend, said, “Cheer up, it’s your birthday.”

I said, “Why. I got no phone call, and no cake, and no money.” He brought out a big Chocolate cake with chocolate candy icing and the words, “Happy Birthday, Shonda” on top. Everyone in the bar sang “Happy Birthday” to me, and we all ate cake. Then he said, “I can’t believe you thought I wouldn’t get you a cake for your birthday.”

We ate at China King, my favorite restaurant, and then we went bar hopping. I wanted to go somewhere different, because the Arrow bar was too much like home. I wanted to do something different. We went to the Frosty Mug, and I drank wine coolers and sang a song on Karaoke with Dave and Vickie Vaughn.

Then, we left there and went to the Double R, where Brad almost had to back up a Banshee who was trying to cool a potential problem in the bar. I drank two margaritas and a Budweiser, and I met Patty, and Christy Kirby, who knows my mom. We talked about how men have testosterone and women have pheromones, and how men will always go for the women who will use them rather than the good girls, and vice versa.

When we decided to go home, I accidentally tripped on the step out the door at the Double R, and landed on the concrete with a skinned knee and elbows. Brad thought I hurt myself, and asked, “All you alright?”

“Yes, I just need the courage to get back up.” The wind had been knocked out of me, but I got up, and walked to the van and we went home and finished up the night.

=======================

Introduction to Email Protocols

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 7: Introduction to Email Protocols
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Okay, now that we've spent time highlighting some important pointers about how to make your web site promotion-friendly, now we are going to talk about how to make recruits work for you. Once you have mastered the art of managing all of what we have covered so far, and a few more pointers we will cover, please be advised: your journey in the promotional arena is far from over.

We will discuss many more ways to promote your messages, and we will offer you many ways to enhance your skills on these subjects. But, for now, if all you are hoping for is a good solid web site that works at the grass-roots level, what you have already learned is sufficient for that. This section will help you to enhance that effort and make the grass-roots promotional quality even better.

Once you have your web site up and running, and you have laid out all the points of communication and interraction with your potential recruits, you will want to find a way to make that potential even stronger by putting your recruits to work. One way to do this is through the use of email. Most, who are amateur recruits in this area, simply will copy and paste your message from your web page onto their email and then send it to everyone in their address book. This is great for promotional value, but it also tends to open up other potential recruits to problems that they would rather not have.

For instance: most people who are likely to talk to other people about your work do not want their email addresses publicized for the world to see. If other recruitERS see that email address, they are likely to abuse it by adding it to their lists without permission, simply because the message may be in line with their own, and they make the assumption that the person who received that message is also an active recruitER. This may sometimes cause potential recruits to ask to not be sent any more messages from this person, and could cause them to drop out as an active player completely.

So, when sending emails about your message to great numbers of people you will need to have followed certain rules of thumb in order to keep the peace and to gain the trust of any potential recruits that may come to help you in the future. You must always be mindful of their privacy. You must always be thankful for their efforts. And, you must always work to make sure they are representing you in the best way possible so as not to cause any future misconceptions about your message.

It is virtually impossible (no pun intended) for you to know who your many recruiters are on the World Wide Web. So, here, we are going to discuss some wasy to cover your own behind in light of certain problems that may or may not arise in the future.

At Friends of Liberty, from time to time, I'll get emails that ask me to stop sending them emails from my lists. Sometimes, these are from people who are not even on my list. In order to insure that I am not violating any laws against spamming, there are certain rules that I must adhere to in order to be assured that no interruption of my networking ability will occur. We will speak about how to go about this as well.

This is Part 7 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

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Losers

Originally written on May 16, 2002 - by Shonda Ponder

One of the things that frustrates me the most about Patriots and Freedom-lovers is their overwhelming desire to lose. While we keep griping on email lists and websites about how the government is infringing on our rights, we are, in essence, contributing to the government's efforts to expunge our Bill of Rights by refusing to do anything about it.

Here are some common phrases that I get tired of hearing on a day to day basis.

***"The American People are uneducated. What the American People needs is to be educated on how their rights are being taken away, then they will do something about it!"

The reality is, most Americans DO know what is going on. The problem that the general public has with this "educated information" is that they don't know what to do with it, or about it. What needs to happen, in my honest opinion, is that the American People need to be taught how to write letters to their congressmen. They don't need to be told that they should. It isn't that they don't think it would work, it's that they don't know how to do it!

I know this because I can sit here and tell someone who runs yourwebsiteforfreedom.org that they should send out a press release about their website, and nine times out of ten, I will get ignored. When I finally get down to the root of the problem, it turns out that they do not feel confident in sending those press releases because they don't know how, or who to send them to.

***"That organization only wants to make money. So, I won't support them"

Okay, let's look at this phrase for a minute: Let's say the organization in question has a website at 101gunfacts.org. And, let's pretend that this website gets five million hits a day. That would make their internet bill closed to $600 per month. Their phone bill is likely $500 per month, due to phone calls to radio stations, and
people who need their story verified on gun infringements. And, if 101gunfacts is a news site, they have to use the telephone to do interviews, and $500 is really a REAL low estimate of what it probably actually costs. This does not include postal newsletters for people who do not own a computer. The monthly mail-out costs including shipping and handling can run close to $200 per month (again, a REAL low estimate of the probable actual cost). The organization probably employs someone to work and update the site if it is updated daily -- which amounts to at least another $500 per month in service fees for scripts and software, and let's not forget labor.

Now, let's say they send out an email that asks people to donate. They get 2% of the total emails sent out that will respond. That is roughly one hundred thousand people who visit their website who will more than likely write to encourage them to keep up the good work. But, the scary part is that only 2% of those will donate anything to support them. So, 2,000 people end up sending a donation that they probably
will only send once per year. Do you think that will cover the costs of running such a large organization (especially if the organization has a recruitment program, complete with Television and radio ads that also cost quite a bit of money -- and let's not forget the staff members who often have to work full time for the organization and have families to feed and bills to pay as well!) for the whole year?

And you wonder why they keep asking for donations, or they start offering products for sale to meet their expenses? There is no such thing as a free ride, even when it's free.

By not supporting that organization you are helping the government infringe on your rights.

***"We had a rally for (your favorite cause) the other day, and none of the media showed up!"

Oh, that's a good one. Let me ask you this: Did the chairmen of the organization who put together the rally send out timely press releases that were professionally written? By this I mean, did they check for spelling, punctuation and grammar, and did they provide the correct contact information, complete with dates and times. And did they hold a press conference about the rally at the rally, after sending a media
advisory inviting the media to attend? Nine times out of ten, the answer is "No".

But, people like to complain about being ignored, don't they?

***"No one supported (your event)"

Before the event, did you solicit the support of nearby businesses? Did you search for sponsors aggressively? Or, did you just put up a passive note on your web page about needing sponsors, while you negated to send a press release out about the existence of your website?

If you want to do something pro-active, rather than complain about what is not being done, the best thing you can do for your cause is learn how to promote it.

Friends of Liberty offers that information for free in our Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur. All you have to do is sign up for it. Friends of Liberty doesn't just tell you what you need to do, we show you HOW to do it.

If you aren't signing up for it, do us all a favor and stop griping over things you refuse to do anything about.

==============================

Link Exchanges

Part 13: Link Exchanges
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Another good way to insure great promotion is through link exchanges. Most web site owners love to be able to see their sites listed on other sites for recommended eading. And, you will be tempted, as you travel the internet, to list everyone you come across on your links page.

This is great, if you are looking to help everyone. However, this does not insure that you, yourself, will be helped.

When you are creating your web site, you will want to create a separate page for just links. This will insure that people who come to visit your site will see only what you want them to see on the front page of your site. Then, if they want any more information from other sources, they can go to your links page and check out all the great links there.

In order to further promote your links page, you can place an email address where people can write to you if they wish to be listed on your links page. At Friends of Liberty, we provide a submission form for our readers to submit their web site if they wish to have it linked to us.

When you get requests to have another site listed on your links page, you must first be certain that your own site has a chance for promotion on their site before you accept. For instance, when you get a link submission, the first thing you do is go to their website and check to see if they have placed a link to your site on their site. If they have not, you should write to them with a simple email to explain to them that the policy at your web site is to only provide a link to those sites that provide a reciprocal link. You should tell them that you will re-check their site in a few days and then reconsider placing their link on your links page. Usually, the link is found on their site with-in one or two days, and then you can follow up by placing their link on yours.

But, don't stop there.

Be sure to also list those sites who have simply linked one of your articles of interest to them. Sometimes they won't tell you they have done so, and you find out when you are checking your referring URLs in your stats area. Anyone who helps to further your work should be listed on your links page -- even if the site is not related to what you are doing.

The promotional value of a simple link on a good web site is highly profitable toward getting your message out.

This is Part 13 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

===========================

What are Meta Tags?

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 11: What are Meta Tags?
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

If you've followed all of the ideas and information I've presented to you so far, then you are well on your way to making your message work for you. With the information that is presented so far, you have completed all the necessary steps in making a grass-roots effort come alive. With the new recruits you gather using these techniques, you will be able to make your message go further than you have ever dreamed possible.

So, now we are going to discuss a few more ways to tweak your work so that your message will be seen by many more eyes, and we will discuss the importance of each of them as they relate to your success.

Let's talk about metatags for a moment.

"What in the world are Meta Tags?!", you are thinking.

According to one marketing business on the internet, "Meta tags are an important part of a site's Internet presence and visibility. They are specific instructions for search engines spiders and robots." But, if you're like me, that didn't tell you what you want to know. The best way I know how to explain it is like this:

In most of the HTML mark up of nearly all web sites on the internet is a section where you can place the title of your page. This section is usually marked in the HTML code by the HEAD <> tags. Inside these tags, you can put a keyword and description code into your webpage that will attract search engines.

Search engine companies will regularly "spider" the internet for new sites and pages to add to their search engine's performance. This automated process also serves to "rank" your site's visibility. Most people on the internet will use a search engine to find what they are looking for.

Wouldn't it be nice if that person saw a link to your site every time they looked for something on the internet?

The goal is to get your site ranked in the top ten position when using certain keywords in a search engine to look for information. Many times, it is useless to put one keyword in a metatag that best describes your article. The best thing to do is type in several good keywords that describe your website.

To demonstrate how this works, go to http://www.1blink.com (a search engine web site that searches about five or ten engines when you type keywords about information you are looking for into the search field at the top of the page). When you get there, type in "Friends". This is a good keyword for Friends of Liberty, since the word is widely used, and is part of the title. When the search completes, you will probably not see "Friends of Liberty" on the front page.

Most people who use the search engines don't go past the first couple of pages of results. So, we want to try to get on the first page. Another fact: Most people will type in more than one keyword when they are looking for information. So now, type in Friends and Liberty. (separate the two words with a comma). The first thing you see in the results of the search is a link to the Friends of Liberty web site.

"How did you do that?" you ask.

We use Meta Tags. There are many ways you can insert metatags onto your web page file. If you are reading this from the article at the Friends of Liberty website, here is what you can do to see what it looks like if you use Windows 98. (I don't use other versions of Windows, so am unfamiliar with how to tell you to do this with other versions).

At the top of your window, you will see, in the grey area, some buttons that are titled "file", "edit", "view", "go", "favorites", and "help". Click on "view"
Click on "source" in the "view" drop down box that you just accessed You will see a notepad open up with the HTML source code of the web page. To see what the metatags look like, look between the HEAD <> sections, below the TITLE <> section. You will see Meta Name <> tags with the variable for "Keywords" and "Description" which will be entered into any search engine that "spiders" this page. Notice the keywords in the "Keywords" section of the meta tags: promotion, advertising, amateur, Friends of liberty. This means that if a search engine has spidered this page (which is rather doubtful if this page was just published) then you can access this page using that search engine via those keywords.

When creating meta tags, make sure your keywords and description are relevent to the content of the page on which they are encoded.

If you are looking for ways to create your own meta tags, you can find scripts pretty much anywhere on the internet. Here is one that will get you started at Hotscripts.com . According to one webmaster, "Don't be discouraged if you fail to get meta tags to work for you. Sometimes, even your best efforts will fail."

This is Part 11 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

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Announcement Lists Vs. Discussion Lists

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 10: Announcement Lists Vs. Discussion Lists
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Some people confuse announcement lists with discussion lists. Here I'll try to be brief in explaining the difference between the two.

An announcement list is simply that: a list that is used for making special announcements. Most organizations use such lists to relay action alerts or special announcements concerning upcoming events, or simply announcing what is new on their web site. For web sites that update more than once per day, it is good to wait until the very end of the day to make any announcement.

Most people who will sign up to your lists do not want to get a barrage of emails every day. Yes, the information is good. Yes the information is important. But for those who only have a limited amount of time to spend on the internet, deleting hundreds of messages a day is not an option.

Discussion lists are great for think tanks who like to exchange emails concerning a project or idea. When you have a substantial amount of subscribers to your discussion list, this effort can sometimes be overwhelming for new recruits, who struggle to keep up with what each message is referring to. So, you must make sure that your discussion list stays on topic, or is at least informational in its content.

Some new recruits will join a discussion list without understanding that the list is meant to support group participation and exchange of emails. This could cause them to want to unsubscribe quickly, due to the amount of emails they will receive. When this happens, rather than be angry at them, try to find out why they are unsubscribing, and then offer to sign them up to your announcement list, which they may be able to handle better.

It is always better to try to hang on to your recruits than to let them go away angry.

In order to insure that each recruit is signing up to the list that they feel comfortable with, make sure you have included on your subscription page a description of each list, and how many emails they can expect to receive (approximately). This way, they will have no excuse not to know that the list that they will sign up to will be either high or low volume.

Another good strategy is to build your list with a company that allows you to put messages in a digest form. Some email list companies have a feature that allows you to click a button that will automatically change the format in which you receive emails into a once-daily digest. This way, if your recruit wants to stay abreast of the discussions, they can opt to receive just one email per day with all the latest discussions included in it, rather than have each email mailed individually.

Tailoring your message to fit what your recruits can handle allows you to be able to individualize each recruits' talents to your own benefit. Remember, not everyone is alike, nor is everyone pleased by the same things. In order to accomplish your goals, you will have to learn to do it in such a way that makes other people willing to work with you to the best of their ability.

This is Part 10 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

==============================

Managing Email Lists

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 9: Managing Email Lists
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Email is one of the most productive ways to get your message out. There is nothing like clicking a button and having a message delivered to hundreds of people at once. But, in today's atmosphere of contempt against spammers, it is vitally important that you follow certain protocols and netiquette in order to not offend those you send your messages to.

One way to help you ward off any accusations against you as a spammer is to make a list of ONLY those people who are interested in the same subjects you are interested in. Then, rather than decide you are going to email them every time you have a message to send, ask them if they are interested in receiving your messages. For first time efforts, it won't hurt to send out a one time promotional email, with a note at the beginning of the email telling the recipient why you are sending them the message, and asking him or her to reply with "subscribe" if they wish to continue to receive your messages.

Once you get an idea of who all is interested in your messages, you will want to change the format in which you send the messages. For instance, you need to find a way so that you are not having to go through your address book every time you send a message. Most people do this by creating a third party email list with a company such as Yahoo! or Topica. At both of these companies, all it takes is signing up, following a few simple instructions, and you are on your way. Also, both companies will provide you with promotional sign up boxes so that your readers can sign themselves up to your lists (which you can place on your web site) without you having to do it for them. Likewise, they can also unsubscribe if they wish without you having to do that for them as well.

Click Here http://list-etiquette.com/ for some great tips on how to best manage your lists using proper netiquette!

Starting your own email list with a 3rd party company will save you many headaches when it comes to managing your lists. You will hardly ever have to worry about getting the email addresses wrong. If someone wants to unsubscribe, they can do so for themselves (most of the time). And, you can set it up so that they can even subscribe themselves, if you want. All you have to really be concerned with is letting others know that your list is there, and how they can sign up.

Never sign someone up or send them email if you do not have permission to do so. This can cause confusion, headache, and a lot of angry would-have-been recruits.

Do NOT go through your address book and put everyone on the "TO" line of the email message. If you do not have an email list from a 3rd party company, use the BCC field or send them one at a time. Potential recruits do not like to have their email blasted out for the world to see. (Trust me, learn from one who found out the hard way...)

Do not start a discussion list until and unless you have ample time to spend managing it. It will be your responsibility to keep up the quality of the emails, prevent spammers from attacking your lists, and insure that cross-posting is in line with your own messages. It is strongly suggested that you have a good-sized announcement only list before you venture into the world of discussion.

Once you have set up your 3rd party list, make sure that with every email you send, you send instructions for how to opt in and opt out for the reader. This way, they can do so without having to email you and request that you take them off. And, they can do it themselves.

This is Part 9 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

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Correspondence

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 8: Correspondence
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder
Let's face it. As Patriots, in today's world of Anti-American propaganda and the twisted mindsets of those who like to villify the Founding Fathers for their beliefs, it is obvious that as Patriots we already have one strike against us. That is, we already have an offensive message, in the eyes of many of the brainwashed public today. Our job is to win people over to our cause, and in order to do that, we have to be vitally careful about how we go about doing so.

So, here are a few rules to help you "win" people, rather than drive them away.

We must remember that there are those who do not understand your contempt of the United States Government. As patriots, we must paint the picture that we are not ANTI-GOVERNMENT. When someone confronts us as being too extremist in our anti-government points of views, we must take the time to explain to them that we are not anti-government. Instead, we must explain to them that we are PRO-CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT, and then we must explain to them how what we have taught is in line with the Constitution.

In doing so, we must never resort to personal attacks. The sheeple out there that you are teaching are mere children in a classroom of millions of megabytes of information. With this picture in mind, you must constantly and consistently be patient, and sensitive that what you are teaching them is something that is very foreign to them. The schools and classrooms of today's world have totally warped their thinking, and the allegience that they have been taught has been a lie. But to them, it is truth. To them, it is all they know. And, they will defend it until you lead them by the hand and show them a better way and make them want it.

Put yourself in their place: How would you feel if someone came and attacked you for doing something wrong that you thought you were doing right, rather than patiently explaining to you why you are wrong and showing you how to do it right? We all make mistakes. We all are human. We all will offend someone for something sometime in our lives. It is how we react to those challenges that will show your worth as a teacher, a preacher, or a leader in any way.

There are times when you will receive hate mail that causes you to scratch your head and wonder what in the world made those people write such mean things? Why are they attacking you? What did you do to deserve the mean words they said to you? When this happens, think of them in terms as little children who's parents have given you charge over them for a day. When you don't let them play on the swingset all day, and you make them come inside for their nap, they will scream and holler at you and tell you how much they hate you. Tomorrow, when they think about their actions, they will feel ashamed of how they reacted toward you.

They may still feel that they were right and you were wrong, but the contempt will go away if you are patient and do not reply in kind.

When you ask people to take part in something, many times they will act like teenagers who have been told by their parents to do their chores. Some of them are good kids. They won't like what they have to do, but they understand that if they don't do it, their lives will be miserable. Others are mediocre kids. You have to keep pushing them to get them to do whatever you need them to do. And then there are those who are spoilt rotten and used to doing what they want when they want and think that if they don't do it, it won't matter. Those are the ones you have to either spank, or give up. In today's world, spanking has received much controversial discussion. So it is much more productive to work with those few who will go out on a limb to get the job done, and the rest you treat as Christ instructed to his disciples.Shake the dust off the bottom of your feet and walk on.

Do not shut them out, lead by example. The only time you should ignore a potential recruit is if he has consistently shown contempt for your work, and has not stated why he feels the way he feels.

I know you are asking, "What does this have to do with promotion?", at which I will take this opportunity to explain:

When you go to your local Burger Joint, USA and order a whopping beef burger with everything, and you only get half of what you ask for, would you accept what you are given? No. You would likely return your burger and demand that the management make your order right. If the management shows contempt for you in return, you will never return to that business ever again. BUT, if the management has sympathy for your trouble, and offers to help you personally, and shows attention to your aggrivated condition, and works to make the order right, it will likely leave you with the impression that maybe it was an honest mistake, and you're willing to give that business a second chance. You may even tell others how great the management is there.

If you consistently return, however, and you know the burger is going to be
bad, and you consistently ask for help in correcting the problem, the management will eventually start ignoring your contempt.

As the messenger, you are the manager. Your burgers are the message. If someone doesn't understand the message, they will return it back to you with contempt. How you react to them will determine whether they will return to hear more of your message in the future, and whether they will tell others about you.

If however, the potential recruit continues to return, and you consistently have the same problems with this recruit until it is obvious that he has no desire to accept your message or there is nothing you can do to please him, then you have no choice but to stay in line with what you are doing and focus on those who do appreciate your message and show promise of becoming a recruitER.

This is Part 8 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

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Permission granted to repost any article in its entirety, so long as the URL is included in the post, and proper credit is given to the author, unless otherwise specified.

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Unforgettables

Part 6: Unforgettables
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

When building your website there are certain rules that you must follow in order to insure that your site will get promoted through the natural process of "word of mouth". So, in this section we are going to talk about a few of those rules.

Do you remember (if you are old enough...) back in the 70's when you would watch television and see all the commercials that would appear during your favorite prime-time tv show or sit-com? One that comes to me are the Coca-cola commercials:

Coke: It's the Real Thing!

Or, there was the song: "I want to buy the world a coke and live in harmony...." (or something like that, don't quote me).

And then, there were the Dr. Pepper commercials. My mom still remembers one from when she was a child:

"Dr. Pepper is the friendly pepper-upper"

And, of course, there is the famous Oscar Mayer commercials:

"My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R
My bologna has a second name it's M-A-Y-E-R
I love to eat it every day,
and if you ask me why I'll say ...
Because Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!"

Who could forget that?

It's that very quality -- the "unforgettableness" -- that makes promotion work. The way a business goes about implanting images or "seeds" in your mind about their product by the way they present their product is called "branding". As a web-site, Friends of Liberty uses branding techniques to help get the word out about Friends of Liberty on the World Wide Web. After all, writing, "Dear Friends of Liberty" is much better sounding than "Dear whoever values freedom and liberty". The meaning of the words, "Friends of Liberty" can change to fit whatever context you are using it in at the time.

For instance: Friends of Liberty, as the name of a website, makes it obvious that when you come to this web site, you are going to be presented with information from those who value liberty. Friends of Liberty as an organization makes obvious that this organization is about and for those who believe in Liberty. Friends of Liberty as a person, when speaking to those on our email lists, makes the title a more personal one for our readers to understand and enjoy. And, last of all, the title "Friends of Liberty" is an invitation in itself to become involved.

This type of advertising is also called "Branding". Branding is usually done by using logos. Logos are "subtitles" that tell the potential recruit what your site is about in about as easy as possible a language so that they will remember. Branding is like putting a face on the written word.

Your title should be something that everyone in America can relate to and identify with. In the Patriot Community, in some cases, it should be something that America should identify with if they don't. Your title and logo will be what makes or breaks your organization.

Before Friends of Liberty was Friends of Liberty, our title was "Freedom-Lovers International". Some family-friendly search engines would not accept our links because the filters on those engines would quarantine the title, due to the "lovers" part of the title. This caused the filters to treat it as a possible pornographic site. So, rather than be stubborn and take the chance of much needed information getting out to the public, we changed our name. As I look back on this, I am sometimes thankful, because Friends of Liberty has had much more success than Freedom-Lovers International ever had.

The name "Friends of Liberty" was suggested by a nomination process, and agreed upon by our readers before we ever used the title. (At this point, I'd like to give a big "THANK YOU" to Daniel New, who first presented the title as a possible alternative).

Once you have your title and your logo all planned out, you need to make sure your site has certain pages on it that the readers can go to for reference about yourself. You should have a page dedicated solely to telling the readers who you (or your organization) are and what you believe, and why you have created that web site or organization.

Then, you need to put your organization's contact information on another page. Some smaller organizations can include the contact on the "about" page, but for larger organizations that use multiple email accounts, a separate page is more convenient.

You should NEVER post everything on one page. This is because if you have great numbers of different types of information, the page can become rather large, and it makes it hard to download. If a potential recruit sees your link and decides to find out more about you, and then when he gets to your page he has trouble downloading it, or it takes more than 60-seconds to download it, he will simply skip it, and you will have lost another potential recruit -- plus many more under him.

A good rule of thumb to remember is that most people are in a hurry even when they are not in a hurry. Most people, by nature, are impatient and demanding. This is not a bad thing. This is why and how things finally get done. But, coupled with impatience and demanding attitudes are people who constantly seek to get away with doing as little as possible. If you make them work in order to get your message, then they will simply not read it at all.

This is why good communication skills are a must.

Last, but not least, you should ALWAYS include a press release page on your website. Let's face it, the reason most media won't touch the content on your website is because they don't have permission to do so. Press releases that are issued regularly help the media by giving them certain permissions to contact you that you otherwise would not have.

We will go into more about press releases later, as they will be the most important work you will do in your promotional endeavors.

This is Part 6 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

-----
Permission granted to repost any article in its entirety, so long as the URL is included in the post, and proper credit is given to the author, unless
otherwise specified.

===============================

How to Get Started with a Web Site

Part 5: How to Get Started with a Web Site
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder
Let's say you have information about a certain congressman that you believe the public needs to know. Your first question is going to be, "How do I get my information out to the general public?"

There are many ways to do this. Among the most popular ways are email lists and web sites. Most good email lists work better with a web site to accompany it, so you might want to consider starting a web site first. We'll talk about web sites in this section.

Of course, the first thing you will need to do is learn HTML. (That's short for Hyper-text Mark-Up Language). The language is really simple to understand, once you get the hang of it. Here are a few sites that will help you:

HTML made REALLY easy (I recommend this one completely!)
HTMLementary
HTML for Beginners

Or, if you have time to sit down and read for awhile, you can buy HTML For Dummies®

I would also strongly recommend that you obtain a free web site from someone like lycos who offers them, or geocities. This is so you can have a "dummy" site to practice with.

If you are looking to get started with a more professional web site, there are lots of great hosting companies out there who will be happy to help you out. At this point, I'm going to make a shameless plug to the web hosting company I use for Friends of Liberty, Intersurge. The people there are really great about helping you fix any problems you may encounter while managing your site (and best of all, they're Patriot-friendly).

Another great company out there is FreeHostingWeb.com. They will host your site for only one initial start-up fee, including the registration to your domain of choice, and then for up to 500 mb bandwidth for free, for as long as you own your site.


If you are still unsure about how to build your own web site, and don't understand certain terms like "bandwidth" and "disc space", you can also get Web Design for Dummies


This is Part 5 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

=========================

Heading Off Email Problems

Part 4: Heading Off Email Problems
by Shonda Ponder


© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Once you have a website, you may be concerned that putting your email out on the world wide web will open you up to abuse by spammers, hecklers, and stupid people. This is to be expected. If you have a problem with receiving such emails, then (speaking from experience) public service is not for you.

You might as well hang it up.

As a matter of fact, you might as well get completely off the internet.

If, however, you feel you can put up with this in order to reap the benefits of having the ability to promote your cause, you may wish to take certain steps that will help you manage your email box.

Here are some simple rules that you may wish to follow:

1. Obtain an email box that will be specifically used for information regarding your website or business on the internet.
2. Use this email box that you have created for ONLY the work you will be doing for the furtherance of your message.
3. Never put your private email box address on the world wide web.
4. Never sign up to links pages with your private email address. Always use a special address that you have created specifically for the furtherance of your message.
5. Check your public email box often. This is because it will be filled quickly if your message is successful in being promoted -- whether by spammers or by true inquirers.
6. Never sign up your public address to lists, or allow anyone to invite you to their lists using that address. You may want to set up another email box specifically for lists. (And never, EVER, anger a list owner! Getting vital information out to email lists is a big part of your promotional endeavor, which we will be getting into later.)
7. There is really no way to get rid of spammers, short of starting an email war. And, usually, when you finally get rid of one, ten more will take its place.

There are a number of options you can use to split up your email into manageable slots. The most popular way is the use of free email boxes. (Especially among those of you who like to keep your identity at a low profile, while promoting your message).

But, the most professional way is the use of your own domain. For instance: Friends of Liberty has an email box at yahoo, which I use for some business purposes, such as managing all the yahoo lists I am a member of. But, for communication on the website, I will use one of two different addresses. For public correspondence, I use editor@.... For more private correspondence concerning my work, I use shonda@.... While my very own, non-business private junk address is ponderaa1@... (I usually go in about four times a day now to delete everything, I get so many emails through there, that is why I use the alternate email addresses for business correspondence).

For some reason, people in the media are more likely to take an organization that has their own domain set up more seriously than free email address domains or web sites. The more professional you look, the more seriously people will take you.

This is Part 4 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

================================

Open Yourself Up

Part 3: Open Yourself Up
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

In Part 2, we discussed the importance of making your message easy to understand for potential recruits. In this part, we are going to discuss how you can keep those potential recruits and make them solid recruits. The best way to keep potential recruits coming back is to not only give them something they can understand, and is simple to follow, but to also allow them to interract with you so that they feel comfortable following up on the simplistic information given them.

How many times have you been to a website and thought it was great, but you felt uncomfortable about disseminating that information to others because you had no way to answer questions by those you would send the message to? For instance, let's say you are new to 2nd Amendment studies. You have come accross a great website with lots of information about the Constitution and the 2nd Amendment. You are totally supportive of gun rights. And, in your excitement, you copy and paste the message on that page to a number of people in your address book.

In less than twenty-four hours you have received three emails asking you questions about whether or not the 2nd Amendment is reserved only for the military and police.

Uh Oh.

Being new to 2nd Amendment studies, you aren't sure how to answer that, and their questions have caused you to formate your own questions in your mind. So, naturally, you return to that website that gave you that information -- because if you don't come up with an answer, your credibility has been shot among those you sent that information to.

You search the website, and you see lots of great information, but no answer to your question. So, in desparation, you search for someone you can email with your questions.

There is no email address to be found.

The potential recruit in this scenario is likely to never return to the site, and never recommend the site to anyone else, ever again. Your attempt at trying to send the message to the American People just lost a viable recruiter, and countless recruits to your cause has been lost.

Most people, on the internet today, use their email religiously. It is so much simpler to click a button than to handwrite a request and spend 35 cents for a stamp. And then, who wants to wait two weeks for an answer to a simple question? So, it would stand to reason that if you are looking to promote a message, you need to provide a simple, easy way of communicating with your potential recruits, and you need to be sure you look forward to that communication as often as possible.

When someone writes you an email and you don't answer it until a week later, many times, by then, the potential recruit has forgotten all about it, and any chance of sowing the seed that you planted into his mind is already gone. That is why you should take the time to answer each and every email that comes your way. (There are some emails that are not worthy of being answered if you want to keep the momentum of your message going. We will discuss this later).

So, let's look at where we are now:

1. First you have to have a product, idea, thought or service. Without this step, none of the others matter.

2. Then you have to make that product, idea, thought or service available to
the public.

The message has to be easy to understand, and simple to follow. There has to be a simple way of communicating with any potential recruits who have questions about your message Many times, a potential recruit will want to know who is giving them the
information that they have received, and what, if any, their ulterior motives for giving this information is. It is always good to have a section of your website dedicated to telling the potential recruit about yourself, or your organization. A good example of this would be the American Center for Law and Justice web site http://www.aclj.org/ . As you enter the site, you see a navigational column on the left side of the page that makes it easy to obtain only the information you are looking for. This makes it easier for potential recruits to find information that will help them decide whether or not they wish to join such an organization.

In the navigational column, you will also find a link that is titled, "About us" (or something similiar). After clicking on this link http://www.aclj.org/about/welcome.asp , you are directed to a page that explains in detail who the ACLJ is, and what they believe and promote on their web site. This is professional, quick, and easy to understand.

While we are looking at the ACLJ web site, let's look at the top bar. What do you see in the center? That's right, a great big "Contact the ACLJ". However, when clicking on the ACLJ contact link, you are taken to a page that gives the impression that if you are not donating to their cause, they don't want to hear from you. This may or may not be the case, but the impression is there. How many of you would continue to make an inquiry from there?

I remember an incident recently where, as media, I visited a certain website. On this website, I found some information I thought my readers would enjoy. But, in order to post their material, one of the requirements is that we had to have an email address so that the readers could make inquiries to the author about any questions they had. I was unable to find the email address on the website, so I wrote to the webmaster and asked him if there was a specific email I should use to contact the organization. I received a reply that gave me the Post Office box to mail any inquiries to. This just simply would not do, and the post never got posted on my site.

When dealing with internet media, most of the time you are going to see a requirement that any person who submits any writing has to have a working email address. The scenario above is a good example of why.

When getting your message ready for promotion to a wider audience, you should always ask yourself: "If it were me looking at my message for the first time, how would I react?" Nine times out of ten, your impression will be your reader's impression, and you will need to work to correct any problematic scenarios that may confront you in the future.

In the next section, we will be talking about problems you will encounter publicing your email, and how to fix those problems before they become problems.

This is Part 3 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

Building Your "Pitch"

Part 2: Building Your "Pitch"

by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

The first thing that any potential customer, buyer, or listener (which we will call "recruit" for the sake of the discussion) will look at is the quality of the message. So, when you start thinking of promoting your product, idea, thought or service (message), you have to think about how attractive that message is to the general public. In Part 1, we discussed the essential foundation of promoting: that is, having a message to promote to begin with. In this part, we are going to discuss how to tweak that message so that when you start using your promotional skills, you get to keep the benefits that go along with it: solid recruits.

What is the first thing you look for when you go to an advertiser's site?

Information.

That's right: information. Whether it be information about the product or information about the producer, either way, you are looking for information. So, naturally, before that advertiser ever sent out that advertisement, he had to make sure that the information was there for you to follow through with if he hoped to make a sale.

This means, in plain english, if you have a message to give out to the American People that you want them to follow through with, you have to tell them what the message is in simple terms. And then, if you want the American People to do something with that message, you have to explain it to them so that it is easy for them to understand and follow through with.

After all, what happens when you get to that advertiser's site and the product is not there? Suppose you see a picture of the product, but no information about how to purchase it? Would you buy it upon looking at first glance? In your busy day, would you look around the website for a few minutes to try to figure out how to purchase it? Would you find an email address and write to the advertiser and ask? Most people would not. Most potential customers would simply go to the next site or the next email if what they see from a first impression is not what they expect.

Suppose that the message WAS there? Suppose you saw the product, and you read about how great that product was and what it could do. Then, suppose you were really hyped up about that product, but could find no information about what to do in order to get that product for yourself. The advertiser just lost a sale. In about three or four weeks, you will go to your local shopping center and then you may see that product. Chances are, you will buy that product from them. But, the advertiser who sold the product to you will get nothing to support the advertising dollars that they spent telling you about the product.

If you own your own web site, and you spend quite a bit of time maintaining the information on that website, then you understand the frustration that comes with telling someone about a great book and having them buy it from another bookstore rather than you, so you can support your work. That's why making sure you give your potential recruits the information they need is important. Most people, by nature, want to support something they believe in. If you don't offer them a way to do that, they won't.

So the best way to get your message out is not only to have a message, but to be able to present that message in as simple of terms as possible, so that the potential recruits have only minimal work to do for themselves in order to follow through.

Let's take a look at where we are now:

1. First you have to have a product, idea, thought or service.

Without this step, none of the others matter.

2. Then you have to make that product, idea, thought or service available to the public.


The message has to be easy to understand, and simple to follow.

I can't recall how many times I've visited a website that had lots of information on it that didn't make sense. The cause was just, I'm sure, but the presentation of the information was so hard to follow that I would skip the whole message and go on to the next web site.

How many of you have ever read the Bible all the way through? If you weren't a literary person who enjoyed Shakespeare or any of the other classic literature, then you probably are thinking, "Not me, all those thees and thous and whatsoevers get me confused." In the Patriot Community, there are a lot of great web sites out there who are very information-oriented, but forget that most people do not speak legal talk.

When I was a child, my mother worked full time. So, to help ease her burden, she decided to let me do the cooking so when she came home, dinner was already done and ready to eat. She would set out a peace of paper with instructions for me to follow each day when I came home from school. It would look something like this:

Shonda,

Please make sure you put a load of clothes in the washer. There are some clothes on the bed that need to be folded. When you are done with that, clean that mess off the coffee table. Then you can start cooking at 5pm.

Here is what we are having for dinner tonight: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes.

To fix the meatloaf, first you will need to get all your ingredients together.

====

(I'm going to skip this part because I think you got the idea)

One of the ingredients happened to be diced onions. Keep in mind, for a nine year old who had a limited vocabulary but a high IQ, which my mom knew I had because of previous testing at school and arguments with school administrators who wanted to skip me up a grade or two, I had no idea what "diced" meant. I sat there dumb-founded for the longest time, trying to figure out what "diced" meant. Finally, I knew it was going to get me in trouble, but I figured I'd be in more trouble if I didn't get dinner fixed, I called my mom at work.

Of course, she answered with: "YOU CALLED ME AT WORK JUST TO ASK ME WHAT DICED MEANT?" and then told me to look it up in the dictionary. DOH!

But the point is, had I not had my backside to worry about, I probably would have never had supper done that night. Most of your readers don't have backsides to worry about, (some of them simply are...but we won't go into that here...) and if you don't tell them in simple terms the first time, they'll probably just go somewhere else.

This is Part 2 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

So many people, so little response

Part 1: So many people, so little response
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

As a Friend of Liberty, one of the problems most of us have on the World Wide Web is getting visitors to our web sites, or getting information out to the people, period. Some of us wonder how that one web site attracted thousands of visitors while we struggle daily to even get as many as twenty. Well, because I am a Friend of Liberty, I thought it would be nice to share some of my secrets with you in how to obtain good quality promotional skills.

Much of the information I am going to share with you on this website may require you to make an initial investment in order to make it work. Don't worry, I'm not going to send you to a site where you will have to pay thousands of dollars in advertising fees. I'm not going to ask you for any money here. I'm simply going to show you how you can do it yourself for free, or at the very least, cheaply.

When I am done showing you everything I know, I will be offering this information in an E-book form, so you can download all of the information instead of certain parts. Of course, I'll have to charge for that. But for now, sit back, visit the Friends of Liberty website often, and enjoy the information I am going to share with you.

When you read these articles that I am presenting to you on how to get your information out, I want you to sit back in your chair, close your eyes, and think of a business that you know of is very successful. Then, I want you to ask yourself why it is successful.

Of course, the first answer you are going to come up with to the question "Why is this business so successful? If I were to sell that product and start my own business, how could I be just as successful?" would be: Advertising.

That's right. Advertising.

Think of it this way: Everytime you present something to the public, you are advertising a product, an idea, a thought, or a service. When you put together a web site, you are advertising what you know. But, as many of you know, putting together a web site isn't exactly all there is to it. Once you put together your web site, you will want to make sure everyone knows about your web site so they can come and visit it. So, once you advertise what you know, you have to advertise the advertisement.

Let's take a quick look at where we are right now:

1. First you have to have a product, idea, thought or service.
2. Then you have to make that product, idea, thought or service available to the public.
3. Then you have to advertise the availability of the product, idea, thought or service.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Of course, many of you out there who have their own email lists, web sites, products or services that you have already put out there for the public exposure know that it's not as simple as that. For one, you are now asking, "How do I advertise so that others will be willing to buy it?"

For instance, you have your product, idea, thought or service (which we are now going to call just message, for short, from here on out). You decided you wanted everyone to know about this great message you have. So, you sent out a message either by website or email and got a minimal response. Now, you are stuck. What do you do from here?

Sure, it would be GREAT to advertise it on TV, but with a minimum wage or fixed income, that just isn't feasible for most of us. (Believe me, I know.). And, most of you in the Patriot Community understand that other Patriots are not going to dish out what it is going to take to help you, even though they know it would be in their best interest to do so.

So, the purpose of my information from here on out will be to help you to understand what is available, and how to use it to the best of your advantage. I don't guarantee results, but I do guarantee that if you follow all of my instructions, you will be much better off in the long run for knowing the information that I have to present.

=====
This is Part 1 of "Promotion for Dummies: How to Get Your Information Out to
the American Sheeple"




-----
Permission granted to repost any article in its entirety, so long as the URL
is included in the post, and proper credit is given to the author, unless
otherwise specified.

I'm Tired

I'm Tired
March 14, 2002 - by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Friends of Liberty is going to see significant changes, once again.

This is due to a number of factors:

Lack of help. Friends of Liberty has has great success in getting the news out to the public. We have been instrumental in helping all of our contributors at the FLI website get their information out to a wider audience. As a result, we have acquired a great many contributors. Most would call this success. However, when you have 50 submissions per day, and time enough for only one person to post 10 - 15, this causes a backlog of posts that need to go up on the site, and one person doing it all would require (literally) a 72 hour day.

Failure to help Friends of Liberty is not letting me down, it's letting all those contributors down.

Lack of confidence. Even though we have been successful, there are too many mentally retarded people who like to still tell us why it won't work. I'm tired of beating my head against the wall.

Lack of financial support. It seems that the more people come to visit the FLI site, the more demanding the bills get. We have to pay for the web host, the computer upkeep, the telephone calls, the internet service, and the electricity to keep it running -- not to mention training tools for the new volunteers who won't buy their own stuff (if we ever get volunteers -- which we have failed to do) And, since I am the only person who has been working FLI and begging for help for the past 8 or 9 months, I would literally be on here for 15 hours a day working. That is not an exaggeration. Therefore, my groceries have to be paid for and my rent.

Stagnation. It is obvious that in the Patriot community there are those who bound and determined that anyone who is helping someone else must be chastised and insulted on a daily basis, called crazy, made passes at, called senile, called a troublemaker, called an attention junkie, ignored, accused of profiteering for personal gain, and talked about behind their back without getting any facts from the person who is directly involved, or any confirmation that anything that was said about them is true.

If this is what being a patriot is about, I no longer wish to be one. I am simply an American who was wronged by the system and abused by those I have tried desparately to help until I cannot stand it any longer. I am through helping other "Patriots". I'm done with the jealousies, the innuendos, the lies, the deceit, the egos and those who would publicly call themselves a Christian and then privately ask for a picture of you -- naked.

I'm tired of those so-called Patriots who like to talk big about what they will do when, if, however, that is, when the time comes -- when the time has already come several times and there was no help to be found for the Patriots who called for help.

I'm tired of being told by a bunch of assholes who like to wear camoflauge and play with Paintball guns on the weekends telling me I'm not doing enough to secure our liberty when I work from the time I get up until the time I go to bed -- and then only to be insulted by the very people I'm trying to help.

I'm tired of having people angry with me when I fail to attend an event when no one offered to give me a ride to the event after I have lost my car due to not having the money to pay the payments after I have given EVERYTHING I HAVE to my work for Patriots.

I gave up everything. For this -- this is the thanks I get.

One thing is for sure and for certain -- I have great respect for Viet Nam Vets who went to fight and returned home only to get spit in the face and called names. Many of them are still suffering the effects of VietNam. I sympathize. After all this, I know EXACTLY how they feel.

I want to be able to go out with my family (what family I have left) and enjoy life now and then. I want to be able to leave home and not have to worry whether or not a site will get updated on time. I want to be able to answer the phone and not be barraged with accusations about my sanity. Insane? Insanity is hoping that Patriots really care enough to pull together and get the job done. The cold hard fact is they won't, and Norm Olson can tell you why.

My health has been damaged. My emotions have been on edge for too long now, and I suffer insomnia, depression and mental fatigue constantly due to overwork with little appreciation to show for it by way of help doing what I wanted to see happen for everybody.

I simply do not have faith in so-called Patriots anymore. Only a lunatic would stand there and get hit over and over again and not do any hitting back. Yet, that is what it all has come to for me, and for anyone out there who refuses to bow down to tyranny -- whether it be tyranny by the government, or by fellow men.

It is beyond me why anyone would keep supporting a liar. It isn't about truth, if you really stop and think about it. No one wants the truth. They want a social club. It's about numbers. The Associated Press is so big in their distributorship that it doesn't matter whether they tell the truth or not. It doesn't matter how anti-gun their articles are -- or how many times they try to ruin someone's reputation for doing the right thing. The American Public (including the patriots) will still post their articles on their websites and give them support.

And those in the Patriot Media are just as bad.

The Patriots will still gripe when they get ignored even though there was a time when they could have taken ABC, NBC, and CBS to task by creating a rival media that had great promise -- had they only had the courage and time to spare to help out, or the money to give if they couldn't.

I don't want your emails about how I shouldn't give up. I've had those for over two years now. No help has come. Your prayers have gone unanswered if you have been praying for me as many have said they would. The cold hard fact is "faith withouts works is dead". I want to thank all those who did give something. You will forever hold a special place in my thoughts. Unfortunately for all of us, it wasn't enough.

I'm not going to apologize and be diplomatic. Diplomacy, sometimes, is just another form of compromise. The time for compromise is over. The time for patience and waiting is over.

Friends of Liberty has never been about me. But, since I'm paying for it out of my own pocket, and since I have no help on the website, and since I own the domain name, from now on, I am going to take the time to write my own articles. I am going to do my own research, I am going to post my own stuff up there -- that is, when I feel like it -- after my house gets cleaned, my kids get called, my pets get bathed and my significant other is taken care of.

So, go ahead and get mad. Call me names. Tell me I'm crazy, and while your at it, go tell everyone that Friends of Liberty is about Shonda.

For now, it will finally be true.

That is, after I can figure out what to do with all these submissions..

Human Rights?

Human Rights?

by Shonda M. Ponder
Originally written on May 8, 2001

We abort our babies and then watch those same mothers on the lawn of the White House try to do everything in their power not to give their children adequate protection against intruders or rapists by trying to take our gun rights, while they chant about how it's all for the children. Give me a break. We kill our babies for the children?

We allow the police to target white men for hate crimes while they turn the other cheek at black men who rob our homes and throw bricks at our cars. And then, in the name of equality, we open the prison doors and let minorities with chips on their shoulders out into the world just because there are too many of them compared to the number of caucasions who commit crimes. We let sex-offenders out of jail so they can live next door to us, while we jail someone with maximum penalties for having a joint in the ash tray of their car.

We medicate our children for being hyper instead of teaching them manners because we allow the state to call it child abuse if we discipline them. We refuse to teach our children moral values because we are afraid they might tell on us when they go to school, and God forbid we take them out of school and spend as little as two hours a day home-schooling them! Instead, we let high school teachers teach with nothing but a sports bra on, and elementary teachers with HIV sodomize and ultimately murder our children as they hand out condoms and talk our daughters into killing their unborn. We give them books entitled "Heather Has Two Mommies" while we suspend them for reading the Bible on campus.

We refuse to support the great community services that have always been there due to the work of the Boy Scouts because we want our boys to have a homosexual sleeping in a tent with them. After all, we are too busy trying to stay within the lines, keeping up with the politically correct way to do things.

Yeah. The U.S. now has no vote in the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission. Of course, after committing genocide on its own people for so long (WACO, RUBY RIDGE, etc.), barging in on people and holding them at gunpoint even though they are innocent just because they want to get tax records, kicking down church doors and dragging out members, threatening an 8 year old with a gun, kidnapping him and sending him to a bunch of tyrants, throwing people in jail for crimes that they create, and then incarcerating children for the simple act of pointing a finger...gee. Is it any wonder?

What exactly are Human Rights?

Presentation

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 12: Presentation
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

While working on (and off) the internet, I've come across some really great people who have some really great messages that need to get out. However, some of those people would do well in radio or as seminar or rally speakers, but when it comes to presenting their information on the internet, they are better off hiring someone to do it for them.

On the other hand, I've met some really great people who know how to say what they want to say in writing, and are skillful at crafting the use of the english language in books or on websites, but tend to stammer and stutter when it comes to getting in front of a crowd of people, or standing in shining lights. I am one of the latter type. If I were to get in front of a crowd of people and attempt to tell them what I am attempting to convey here, I would freeze. Or, I would stammer. I start to sweat, my knees start knocking, I fight tears...I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

But, what is even worse, if I were to do an interview on radio, or have my own show, very few people would take me seriously, even if I were a master orator. The reason is simple: I have a very thick East Texas accent that tends to make people think that I am "slow" or "stupid". So, I try hard to stay away from crowds of people unless I am attending an event merely for supportive or informational purposes.

Sometimes just knowing HOW to do something isn't enough.

When writing articles that you intend to submit to publishers, or even if you intend to publish it yourself, you should always be wary of the presentation of your work. For instance, mis-spelled words and bad grammar are usually a turn-off for some people in high places who are well-educated and are able to better help you by providing credence to your work, if they were to become one of your recruits. Also, the usage of proper english and language arts skills create charisma for your message by making it easy to read and understand.

Another benefit of learning proper language arts skills is the likelihood of promotional ability. If you write a great article, and you place it on the internet after making sure your work is checked, to the best of your ability, for good grammar and spelling, you increase the likelihood that an editor who can publish your work, where it can be seen by many thousands of readers, will ask permission to use your article in their next publication. The non-ability to use proper grammar and spelling skills is the equivalent of turning on the radio to hear some slow-talking southern drawl who can't pronounce words right, or tends to stammer and stutter throughout the program. It tends to grate on people's nerves, and most of the time they'll change the channel -- or, in this case, delete the message.

A good book to get you started would be English Grammar for Dummies.

Another good tool to have is a spell-checker on your email or Word program, which you should use religiously. Also, while writing articles or letters you know are going to be seen by important people (and your potential recruits are more important than anyone you will ever meet), it is good to have a dictionary and a thesaurus handy.

This is Part 12 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

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The Benefits of Using Press Releases in Email Ad Campaigns

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur

Part 22: The Benefits of Using Press Releases in Email Ad Campaigns
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

If you know how to write a great press release, and if you know where to send them, one press release will give you more exposure than 100 paid advertisements. A good email campaign for press releases will benefit the distribution of your message over a thousand times more efficiently than any messageboard campaign, website, or advertisement. So let us discuss what a press release is, how to write one, who to
send them to, when you should send them, and what makes them so beneficial.

Let's face it: most of us, in the freedom movement, find it hard to "break into the media". Most of the time, if you stop and look at the overall picture, you will find that the fault does not necessarily lie with-in the media. For the most part, it is our inability to inform the media.

For instance, if you have a birthday party, and you fail to send out invitations, no one is likely to show up. Right? A good, newsworthy event is not newsworthy if no one knows that it exists. So, a press release is basically an invitation to cover a story, much like an invitation to a birthday party.

Speaking of which, if you send out an invitation, what are the protocols of all birthday party invitations? On a birthday invitation, many times you will find an RSVP contact information, as well as date of the party, place of the party, and an overview of what you can expect at the party. A press release works in much the same manner. Without the necessary protocols, your email may find its way to the trash can, and then you will get your feelings hurt because no one will show up.

It is much easier for one to blame the media for failure to cover a good story than to look at where the fault ultimately lies and to do something about it. This is why many organizations fail to get their message out to people who would benefit from the message the most -- mainstream America.

So, what is a press release? A press release is an invitation to the media to use information and to cover a story, giving them the necessary tools that will enable them to do the job efficiently and effectively to better benefit you.

According to one press release distribution service, Advanced PR, "The value of the exposure and recognition that a newspaper or magazine write-up, editorial or product feature, can have is often times enough publicity to launch small companies into multi-million dollar businesses and mid-to-large size companies into the millions!!!" They go on to say, "The golden rule is… 'If you get press attention, you
WILL GET ORDERS!' Businesses in today's world, cannot ignore this simple rule."

Yes, I know what you are thinking. You do not consider your message or event gathering a "business". But, in the grand scheme of things, your distribution of information is exactly that. And, if you want people to support your work by purchasing a product or making a donation, it is, in essance, a business. And, without press exposure, your organization or message will die a lonely death.

In the previous sections we discussed email lists, and now would be a good time to review what we discussed. The reason reviewing the email list section is important is because your announcement list (See Part 10 for a definition of "announcement list") will be the main tool you have for getting out good press events.

In the next section we will discuss the distribution of your press release.

This is Part 21 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

Casual Encounters with Business Cards

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 17: Casual Encounters with Business Cards
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

How many people do you talk to every day when you leave your home? As you go about your daily errands, you'll probably talk to at least five new people every day. Wouldn't it be nice to tell them about your message without saying a word?

Business cards are perfect ways to do that. For those of you who are in a hurry to get done what you need done so you can return to the comfort of your home, business cards provide a way for interested parties to get in touch with you at a more convenient time.

The great thing about business cards is that, for some, they are collector's items. Many people will file them away in a rolodex when they get home, even if they never contact the owner of the card. I, personally, use an old shoebox. But, sometimes, you might make an impression on someone who will call you out of curiosity.

In order to make business cards work best for you, you will need to make sure you place certain information on them that will invite the holder to seek information. For instance, if you have a favorite quote that conveys the message you have, you can place that on the card for decorative purposes. The background of the card should also convey your message in some way, although a plainly colored background works just as well -- so long as the needed information is on the card.

A few items that you should try to place on your cards are:

Your name
Your email address
Your web site address
Your phone number
And a post office box address (if you have one)
The name of your organization
Not necessarily in that order.

If you do not have a mailing address with a post office box that is designated for your work, it is always better to leave it off of the card, unless you don't mind strangers knowing where you live.

Business cards are great, for the simple fact that you can give them to anyone without saying a word. When you see that gal at the grocery market, discreetly slip her a card when you hand her your cash. When you go to the movies, or when you are standing in line at a check-out counter or concert, hand that person in front of you a card when you strike up a conversation with him, or vice versa. You don't have to introduce your message when you are busy. Just let them come to you.

Another great idea is to place your business cards in every piece of mail you send: your bills, spam mail return envelopes, letters, inquiries, etc.

Just think of a business card as being you, carried around to many different places, by many different methods. That person who got your business card may take it home with her and throw it in a shoe box for collection purposes. Days later, while she is at the dentist, she may strike up a conversation with someone who mentions a message similiar to yours. She will remember your card, and may possibly get that person's information so she can send them your card.

Never underestimate the value of a casual encounter.

Affiliate Banner Exchanges

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 14: Affiliate Banner Exchanges
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

Banner exchanges are similiar to link exchanges, except they are usually administered by a third party company, sort of like your email list managers, which we discussed earlier, are. Of course, if you wanted to, you could use your advertising banner rotation tool to exchange banners, on a much smaller scale, which would probably only be as effective as link exchanges.

Some banner exchange companies will pay you to promote their banner scripts on your website. These types of programs are called affiliate programs. We will discuss affiliate advertising programs later, as they will be a good source of revenue to help support the cost of keeping your web site online, and they work a little differently than affiliate banner exchanges.

Getting visitors to your site is only the first step. Let's face it, most Patriots out there are more concerned with working with solid recruits than paying any mind to how many visitors come to their web site. The problem with that way of thinking is that it tends to stall the process of gaining new recruits.

In certain marketing circles, a study was done to determine the effectiveness of web site advertising. This study turned up some interesting statistics. For instance, did you know that only 2% of your visitors will ever click on any advertisement on your site? If they all did, you'd have a better chance at getting your own message out to the public, due to the revenue it would generate for your organization. But, the cold hard fact is, they don't.

Out of every one-hundred people who visit your web site, only two will click on a banner. But, what is worse, only 2% of all the people who click on banners (which is only 2% of the people who visit your web site) will ever purchase anything from an advertiser that is on your website. Wouldn't it be nice if all your visitors clicked on an advertisement and followed through with making a small purchase? If this were the case, affiliate advertising would be all you would ever need to support your cause.

The truth is, affiliate advertising is a great way to support your cause. The trick is getting enough people to visit your web site on a daily basis in order to be able to reap the benefits. This is why link exchanges and banner exchanges are important to your promotional endeavors.

"But, I am not concerned with making money. I'm concerned with getting my message out."

What you have just said in that one sentence is where a lot of the Patriot community have failed. For instance, every month you have to pay for the bandwidth that your traffic uses on your web site. Let's suppose you barely have enough to cover your bills and you live on minimum wage. Especially if your work OFF of the internet requires phone calls and travelling expenses. The costs of supporting a growing organization can be tremendous -- especially if you want it to grow. The cold hard fact is, without money, you will never be able to do anything with the information that you have. And, without visitors, you will never be able to recruit. Attracting financial support will allow you to pay for advertising that will help you get your
information out to millions of people that you could never reach before.

But, if you are only concerned with being a small web site owner, and you have no plans to do any more recruiting or to grow, or to do more than you can afford to do out of your own pocket with no help, stop here. After all, if recruits were all you needed, then you should ask yourself why those websites who are getting millions of hits every month are still begging for donations?

Of course, it's easy to put a link up on your web site and say, "Please donate to my cause." The problem with that is that the general public sees that as a sign of failure. Most of the public won't support something that is not widely supported, and they will not invest in a company that does not turn a profit. Yes, it is a catch 22 in most areas. Without money your organization cannot grow. And without visitors, you do not get support. Also, the ratio of visitors to your site who will donate to your cause is equal to the ratio of visitors to your site that will respond to advertising.

Banner exchanges will help you attract visitors to your website. And, many times a banner exchange will do the job better than a link exchange simply because your banner will be posted on a great variety of web sites that are seen by many people who have never heard of you before -- whereas link exchanges only work by word of mouth if the visitor has been to your site and requested an exchange. Most banner exchanges do not pay you to host their banners, although some do. Rather, they will return a one to one exposure.

For instance, if someone clicks on the banner you have placed on your website, then your own banner will be advertised throughout the exchange everytime someone clicks on the banner exchange company's banner that is on your site. Some companies have millions of member sites in the exchange.

It's always good to find the one that works best for you.

This is Part 14 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"

Handling "Problem Posters" on Your Email List

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur
(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 16: Handling "Problem Posters" on Your Email List
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

When managing your discussion lists, you will, no doubt, have some recruits on your list that you would rather not see post on that list. This is to be expected, as not everyone thinks like you do, and most people are interested in a variety of subjects -- some of which you could do without. Handling these type of posters, sometimes, is like walking on eggshells -- especially if the poster has their own individual following, many of whom may be members of your own list.

When confronted with these types of posters, never address them in public with your concerns. Always address them in private, in order to save them, and you, any embarrassment. If the situation looks like it might get hostile, stop any emails going to your list from that poster by setting that poster to moderated status. It is probably a good idea to temporarily do that while you correspond with him privately. You can save yourself some needless bickering if you do not have an autoreply that tells the poster you are moderating his emails.

If the situation does not resolve itself after a few emails, simply ban the poster from posting to your list. This can be done quietly. If the poster responds with contempt, simply treat him as you would any other contempt you receive: DELETE. Do not respond in kind.

In the same light, there may be times when you, yourself, are asked not to post. Depending on the situation, always treat list-owners with more respect than they give you. This will keep the door open for more communication in the future. Never close an "open door". And, if you ever do, never let them know you've closed it unless, and until, you have no other option.

Sometimes people you think you don't need right now, or have no use for, will be the most important people that you will have to deal with later. It's always better to shake the dust off of your sandals and walk on.

These rules should also be used for people who are not in leadership position. The simple, honest truth is no one knows what tomorrow may turn up. You should do well to prepare yourself for the unexpected at all times.

Promotional Skills for The Chronically Amateur

(How to Get Your Message to the American Sheeple)

Part 15: Using Other People's Discussion Lists
by Shonda Ponder

© 2002, Shonda Ponder

As your message begins to make it's rounds, and more people begin to patronize your work, you will, no doubt, be barraged with many invitations to join other people's organizations and efforts. At first you will find this as a source of excitement -- knowing that your message has reached so many people. But as your organization grows, this may become overwhelming, and if you don't take steps to control it early, you will likely find yourself buried in a heap of ... emails.

We discussed earlier about designating email boxes for different tasks in your organization. One such email box should be a sizeable box dedicated to list management. Lists, that is, that belong to other people.

It is never a good idea to turn down invitations to join discussion lists. But, before accepting invitations, you should check the 3rd party list manager that they are working on and see if there is anyway you can turn their list to "Read it on the web only" and still be subscribed to the list so that you are able to make posts to that list when and if you so desire.

Before posting on any discussion list, you will need to set your signature up so that it has a link to the web site where your information is located. This way, every email you send will be an invitation for others to check out your message.

Also, make sure that when you post to other people's email lists, you follow the subject matter at hand, and only post your message if it is in line with what the theme of the list is about.

Be very careful about replying to flames and insults. When someone insults you, or your message, it is sometimes wiser to push the delete button than to acknowledge ignorance. The same rules for replying to private emails should be used in discussion lists and chat rooms. If someone wants to debate your point of view, feel free to set up a separate list and invite people to join to continue the debate, without causing the list owner to have to step in and moderate the discussion in order to keep the peace.

The more polite you are, and the less work you give the moderator, the more likely you are to be invited to join other lists.

Do not post someone's information to another list you are on without their consent.

Be cautious in posting replies to what looks like personal requests for information or inquiries about your organization on a public discussion forum. Some people are not net-savvy and do not understand that when they reply to a certain address it is distributed to everyone on the list. How such people get on these lists is a mystery, but it does happen -- often.

Never respond to any discussion messages unless you have something to say. One liners often do nothing but cause an overload of messages for those who choose not to have the messages sent in digest form. Try to write at least one or two paragraphs in any response. This will serve to show those on the list that you have some knowledge of what you are discussing, and will also cause those who agree with you to check your own work out more often.

And, last but not least, do not post any information from another website on a public discussion forum without including the URL (or web address) that tells the reader of your message where you got that information. It is rude to do otherwise. Anytime you use information in anyway, the author and their URL, or, at the very least, their email address should always be included.

If you ever decide you wish to unsubscribe, please attempt to do it without fanfare. In other words, check to see if there is a way you can unsubscribe yourself, first. If this is unsuccessful, privately send a message to the list owner. Never post your request publicly unless it is as a last resort.

These same rules apply to messageboards and community clubs. This is Part 15 of "Promotional Skills for the Chronically Amateur"