Spy Pig....The Name Says It All

I am a sucker for new and cool gadgets! I also like to know how my marketing, communication efforts, and time allocation is paying off. Now I do not want to be too big brother, because like everyone else out there I have avoidance and procrastination issues, but knowing when someone has read my email could be useful. In marketing I moved away from mailers because I couldn’t tell when people received the mailer and I didn’t get enough feedback telling me what people thought of the “item of value.” I switched instead to email campaigns and most especially video email campaigns so I could see when my clients/business partners watched the video. The change was astounding, I got more business, and incredible feedback so much so that I have never looked back.

Now after reading a blog post at Creativebits.org I have a new toy that may come in handy. It is called SpyPig, the name alone makes me want to use it. Does anyone ever tell you that they didn’t get your email? Usually it is the email they didn’t want to get. Now you can find out when your email has been read by the recipient! No more guessing: "Has he or she read my email yet?" I know you can send out a read receipt with your email but who really clicks a response when that pops up…I know I don’t. SpyPig is a simple email tracking system that sends you a notification email as soon as the recipient opens and reads your message. It works with virtually all modern email programs: Outlook, Eudora, Yahoo Email, Gmail, Hotmail, AOL Email and many others.

I am still playing with this new and cool gadget but so far I would say that it is a something you may want to use here and there and not on your bulk emails. The website says you can use it on bulk emails you just won’t know who read the email, but you will get notified when it is read.

Best of all, SpyPig is FREE! No spam, no virus, no adware, no spyware. You can use it as often as you like, and there's no catch.

SpyPig Requirements

Both you and the recipient must use an HTML-formatted email, not a plain-text or rich-text formatted email. SpyPig works by using a tracking image (SpyPig image) whose reference to its location on our server is embedded in your HTML email message. When the recipient opens your email, the tracking image will be automatically downloaded from our server, triggering the "email opened" alert on our system.

If you are using Outlook as your email software, you need to change the way it sends a downloadable image in your email, or SpyPig will not work!

1. Under "Tools" in the main menu, go to "Options"




2. On the tab, click "Mail Format"




3. On the entry "Compose in this message format", select "HTML" from the pulldown menu




4. Click the "Internet Format..." button and a new pop-pop window will appear




5. Under "HTML options", uncheck the checkbox that says "When an HTML message contains pictures located on the Internet, send a copy of the pictures instead of the reference to their location"




6. Under "Outlook Rich Text options", select "Convert to HTML format" from the pulldown menu




7. Click "OK" on the pop-up window




8. Click "OK" again on the main "Options" window

This will make sure your Outlook will send the reference (the address or link) of the tracking image instead of a copy file of the image itself in your email. The recipient's email software will then use the address to locate and download the tracking image from our server.

SpyPig General Limitations

SpyPig relies on the image download as the tracking device. Therefore, there are some limitations:

• Insensitive Pig
  
  There are times when SpyPig does not know if the email has been read. That's mainly due to the failure of the tracking image from being downloaded by the recipient. Contributing factors may include the following:








• You or the recipient uses a plain-text email or rich-text email instead of HTML-formatted email




• You use an HTML email, but somehow your software turns the SpyPig tracking image into an inline attachment instead of a downloadable remote image coming from our server (See "Tested Software" below)




• The recipient disables or blocks the automatic image download on their email software




• The recipient's firewall, anti-spyware, anti-virus, anti-spam or anti-whatever software may mistakenly block or alter your email that contains a downloadable image (See "Tips" below)




• The recipient's or your email provider or network does not allow a downloadable image in the email and delete or alter it




• and so on

• Overreacting Pig
  
  SpyPig sends you a notification email everytime your email is opened (unless the image download fails). That means the following situations may also result in getting a notification:








• You open your own email perhaps from the Sent folder




• The recipient opens your email multiple times




• The recipient responds to your email with your original message enclosed and the SpyPig image still intact, and then you open that email




• The recipient forwards your email to others and they open your email (but you won't be able to tell if your email has been forwarded)




• and so on

If getting too many notification emails becomes a problem for our users, we may limit in the future the number of notifications you will get for each email you send.

UPDATE: We now limit the number of notification emails to 5 for each email you send with SpyPig.

Group Emails

If you send out a group email with multiple recipients with a SpyPig in it, you will still be notified everytime a recipient opens your email (up to 5 notifications), but you will not know which recipient. To get an individual notification from each recipient, send a seperate email with a different SpyPig for each recipient.


Tips

It's often better to use SpyPig with the recipients you have been emailing before than with those you never have. That's because these known recipients' firewall, anti-spyware or anti-spam software may have "learned" about your emails, put your email address into their whitelist, and therefore let your emails with SpyPig through without any problem.

In addition, try to avoid sending a very short message and/or gibberish in your email along with SpyPig as this may be mistakenly thought as a spam by the recipient's anti-spam software.


No Notification? Check Your Spam Folder

If you didn't get your notification email, check your junk email or spam folder as it may have gone there. You may also need to adjust your junk email filter to allow emails from the spypig.com domain.

Obsess Much

I have gone crazy with this blogging thing actually crazy doesn’t do it – obsessed! I am consumed with templates, content, linking, traffic, gadgets, tricks, tips, tools, feeds, and so on and so forth. I truly didn’t understand the draw before….so you sit there and you write about your day – get a life dude! Then you get your first comment or feed report and see people really do care! That’s how it gets you, starts with one person reading and now you think you have a fan base better pull out the stops. Can’t let that one reader down, where would they go, they need you!!

I have re-done this template more times than I care to admit. I finally have three columns but I am still not happy because I lost the header graphic I liked and I would like one more left side panel in green. I will have to come back to this my ass has made a permanent impression in the couch! I hope my one reader is an adult. I found my template at http://www.blogcrowds.com/ they have some great 3 column templates for blogger.

I have been adding gadgets and links on the blog, one of my favorites is the mybloglog.com visitor widget. It shows everyone from http://www.mybloglog.com/ that has visited my page….. Oh yeah the tables are turned I see you now buddy. It is getting late and I haven’t had much social interaction-can you tell? Mybloglog is turning out to be an interesting social site everyone there is just looking to connect in one day I went from 2 friends (the mybloglog people & my mom) to 10. I started by looking at communities that I thought had interesting content that I could follow, but then I saw that some members had 100’s of communities they were a part of, how do you stay up on those communities? You don’t, it is all about getting connections, friends, people in your community. The more communities you are a part of the more people see you and check you out- you could spend all day doing it. I think that's why they limit you to 15 communities a day, they are trying to save you from yourself! One great thing is that on your profile page you see what is happening with people in your network and new people that join your community, so if there is an interesting post by a “friend” I can see it pop up without going to their community. Ok, I feel a little bit better about joining all of those communities.

My goal tomorrow is to figure out how I can add all of those book mark links at the bottom of a post, that shouldn’t be too much work right? I better sit on a different couch cushion if they all have the ass imprint people will think it is part of the design.

Show Me The Money!

Starting or even running a small business often requires you to explore multiple options for capital, so once you’ve exhausted your local resources where do you go next? Where banks are scaling back it seems more and more opportunities for private money are popping up. We will look at two venture capital and/or angel money sources and two private people to people lending websites.

A couple of investor-entrepreneur connection websites that may fit your needs are the GoBIGNetwork.com and RaiseCapital.com. Go Big Founded in 2006, already has 70,000 start-ups and 4,000 investors online. They also boast that 82% of the Member Requests that are posted to the system are responded to. RaiseCapital.com started in 2007, lists over 2,300 investors on their site and does not give any other statistics from there.

Both online fund generation portals are free to join but then charge you for upgrades and or premium services, they both also try to supplement the investor-entrepreneur connections by offering links to business resources, news, and communities. Members of Go BIG can either search profiles of other members and contact them or they can post a request (like a classified ad) and let other members see what they are looking for. Members pay a fee to post their requests and to contact other members of the network who they do not have a relationship with. As a member seeking capital on RaiseCarpital.com, you will be able to market your venture to investors using text descriptions, pictures and/or streaming video. Additional free benefits include your own posting blog, a counter that allows you to see how many people viewed your post, a unique URL for your venture, and premium services such as showcase, feature and highlighted posts.

Where Go Big is more basic with text style classified ads, RaiseCapital.com allows you to use pictures, video, and text in your posts which are useful in giving potential investors an inside feel for you business. Go Big has more business resources to offer, with job postings and service provider communities.

So you’ve looked at the investor route and don’t want them messing with your business let’s look at private loan scenarios. Two private loan websites to consider are LendingClub.com and Prosper.com which bring individual borrowers and lenders together. Lending Club is a social lending network where members can borrow money and lend money among themselves at better interest rates. LendingClub.com bases loan rates on the borrower's credit profile borrowers get low interest rates, and lenders get better returns. At Prosper.com, parties on both sides negotiate the rate, though borrowers can set a maximum they are willing to pay. The companies oversee loan repayment and provide all the necessary paperwork. Some borrowers have found this is an easier way to get money, at more favorable terms, than through traditional sources.

Both of these sites are free to join and connect on, their fees start when a deal has been struck and the loan needs to be drawn up and disbursed. There are fees charged to the borrower, lender, and collection fees should the borrower stop paying. Fees for the borrower range from .75% of the loan amount up to 3% depending on the borrower profile and website. A 1% servicing fee is charged to the lender on both sites, and collection fees vary should these services be needed. Interest rates also differ depending on the site and the borrower profile, Lending Club sets the rates on the borrower profile, while Prosper allows the borrower and lender to negotiate terms.

So if you have found that your local bank, government, grant program, or local investors are not interested in your business you may want to take that leap into the Internet world and see what can be found online. The results may surprise you.

What are you thinking About?

I just read a post on the So Cal Women of Arbonne’s blog page and I have to say it inspired me to write this post. The post is called Belief…What You Think About You Bring About written by Trish Kennedy. The title really says it all, the concept is not new and is seems to be growing in popularity every day, maybe there really is a shift in consciousness on the horizon. Oops, that kind of radical talk may get me thrown in with that Oprah cult. I better watch out Oprah’s cult may have me thinking that I can do anything I set my mind to, like become a successful multi-millionaire. Ouch who wants that? I better stay away! Sorry for the obnoxious rant I just get a bit worked up when people act like mindless idiotic sheep and spend their time knocking something positive that might help people.

Trish opens her blog with, ”Your life is not the result of the things you have done. It is the result of the things you have thought about.” So this next level thinking is saying that thoughts control your reality. Uh oh here comes that cult stuff! You can throw out the argument that people act contrary to their thoughts or have thoughts that never come to fruition all of the time. For example, a person that hates their job and continually day dreams about a hammock on the beach, but continues to go to work every day never getting the hammock on the beach. Yes, your thoughts are saying beach and your actions are saying work, but if we look deeper your thoughts are constantly negative and you use the beach as a dreamed escape, never really believing that you are going to make it there. So how can your life be positive? You probably do not get along with many people at work, haven’t had a raise since you started that miserable job, and you haven’t even thought about getting a job you might like! Thought “I am miserable and hate my job” result you are miserable and hate your job. Interesting how that works together isn’t it?

A new thought, “I want to go to a beach lay in a hammock for a week, and meet amazing people so I have a reason to go back next year.” Next thought; “Can I do that with this job?” Answer; “No” Action, get a new job that helps you obtain your goal, thus resulting in a job that you like and a week on the beach. So what started as a thought, moved into a belief, passed through into an action, and then turned into a reality. Thoughts = Reality.

I agree with you Trish I love this concept!

By the way I am reading that book A New Earth Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, watch out it is the 100th monkey all over again!!

You can check out Trish’s blog at http://www.socalarbonne.blogspot.com/

50 Coolest Websites

Like most web surfers I am always hunting for the newest, coolest, and most useful websites. In my never ending quest I sometimes luck out and stumble onto articles where the work has been done for me, here is one such article at time.com. Check out some of these websites there are some cool picks for just about everyone.

50 COOLEST WEBSITES: COMPLETE LIST

NEWS AND INFORMATION
BY MARYANNE MURRAY BUECHNER


NEWS AND INFORMATION (Click here for full Times article)
We'll stay away from the major news organizations; you probably already have those Websites bookmarked. Instead, here are some less obvious links, including an encyclopedia of how-to advice and a Hollywood hot sheet, a lie detector and a blog-sifter, all guaranteed to keep you in the know.
Bloglines.com
BBC.co.uk
Ehow.com
ET.tv.yahoo.com/newslink
Factcheck.org
Fedstats.gov
Nationalgeographic.com/education
News.google.com
PBS.org/pov/borders/index_flash.html
SEC.gov
SSA.gov/OACT/babynames

LIFESTYLE AND CULTURE
Each site listed here pertains to a particular area of interest — politics, science, health, music — but they all have two things in common: great content and great presentation.
Apple.com/itunes/store/
Cancerfacts.com
Engadget.com, Gizmodo.com
FFFBI.com
Freshdirect.com
Kidshealth.org
Metacritic.com
Mojam.com
Noggin.com
Talkingpointsmemo.com
Wordswithoutborders.org
Yoox.com

COMMUNITIES
It's a small world, after all, and the Internet can make it seem even smaller. Each of these sites, in one way or another, and for one reason or another — practical, political, personal or professional — does a good job of connecting people.
Craigslist.org
Friendster.com
Freecycle.org
iPodlounge.com
Meetup.com
Sittercity.com
Tolerance.org
Triggerstreet.com

TOOLS AND ESSENTIALS
Here are some new, exciting and maybe better ways to do a lot of things you probably already do — search the Web, share digital photos, consult a thesaurus, find something on a map and decide what to cook for dinner.
A9.com
Freetranslation.com
Froogle.com
JiWire.com
Local.google.com
Maps.yahoo.com
Mobissimo.com
Photos.yahoo.com
Refdesk.com
ResearchBuzz.org/archives/001404.shtml
Testmyspeed.com

JUST FOR FUN
If you're in the market for new ways to waste time, you're in luck: we found some marvelous examples of flash animation, a rather odd public art installation and one bad-ass movie site, among other worthwhile distractions.
Accessproject.net
Comedycentral.com
eBay.com: Wedding Dress
Newseum.org/newsmania
Puzzlepirates.com
Sonyclassics.com/badass
There.com
Trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy

To Give or Not To Give

I believe in thinking of others and also helping others when you can, but you give and give and give…..does it ever become too much? Is it ever not good to give? My mom and I go back and forth about that all of the time….I mean all of the time. She gives of herself completely without hesitation and sometimes to the detriment of herself. I give but I am a hard ass (or at least that is what my family says) I believe in teaching a person to fish, I know it is over used, but really when you teach they grow when you give they take. I am not referring to charitable or philanthropic organizations I am talking about family and friends here.

In my journey with the So Cal Women of Arbonne I have found a woman a lot like my mother, she is a wonderful woman, but I wonder if she gives so much that she doesn’t have anything left for herself.

This is what I posted about her on their website http://www.socalarbonne.blogspot.com/

Now my impressions of Wendi: (disclaimer….remember this is based off of observations taken in a 2 hour chat session, I have been known to have wrong first impressions.)

Wendi is a very sweet woman and I could tell that her children and family come first for her. She has a dogged determination in what she does and even in down times she will try to see the positive. She is that person that if you needed something you know you could call her because she will listen and do what she can to help. She is not someone who says no a lot. It is those people that are so open, helpful, and unable to set boundaries that get overloaded with everyone else’s baggage. (I’ll tell you about my mother later.)

After our initial meeting she shared some more personal details of her life with me which confirmed what I had previously guessed. She has a lot on her plate and I have to say I am humbled by all that she has chosen to take on and has also been put on her. I don’t know that I could do it.

Wendi truly wants to do well but I feel that she might have difficulty prioritizing and setting up systems. She knows that where there are downs there will also be ups, but I do not believe she knows how to strategically create and stick to business systems that will generate sustainable momentum in her business. The sheer magnitude of her load probably makes her feel like she is always playing catch up. It is hard to go from the structure of the business world to the chaotic life of an entrepreneur. I wonder if she feels at times to be adrift out there trying to do it on her own. In direct selling you can create more with less hours but you must remain consistent to build up that momentum otherwise you may find more downs than ups.

My advice to Wendi would be to take some time out of each day to focus on you as a person, not as a mother, wife, daughter, or friend but as you. It may only be 15 minutes of quite time or a meditation, but that I am sure is more than you currently give yourself. Once you can get into that habit I think that you need to set aside some personal goals that pertain to you alone with strategic plans and execution dates. Finally and this is probably the hardest (I may be wrong) I would like to see a system for time blocking your day and devise a plan to get more done in less time by staying on your schedule. I know that you are a strong, intelligent, and highly motivated person I think that you probably just get pulled into too many directions. If you could control that a bit more I think you would Rock Arbonne!!

My Arbonne Journey while not being a part of Arbonne

So I have joined a multi level marketing group but I am not really a member…how does that work? Well like I said in my last three posts I have become a part of their group to help them utilize this little thing we call the Internet to increase their business. It is a wacky idea I must have dipped back into those pain meds without realizing it!

So like Julie (she is in the post from yesterday) I posted an introduction about Trish, she gave me her bio, picture, and website affiliations then I added my two cents.

My very insightful contribution is as follows:
(to see the full piece go to http://www.socalarbonne.blogspot.com/)

Now I am going to give my impressions of Trish: (I’ll be surprised if anyone likes me after these bios)

My first impression of Trish was that she was very confident and self assured. I got the feeling that she doesn’t mess around, she definitely seems like a down to business type of person. Don’t get me wrong she was very open and friendly, but definitely a let’s get to it business woman. My kind of person! I have to admit that Shannon and I put this together without prepping these ladies. This is really pretty new for them, so how could you prepare them for all of this blogging stuff?

Trish comes from the corporate world and from what you see in her bio the entrepreneurial world as well. I got the feeling that Trish likes a clear defined path, tell her how it is done and then get out of her way because she is going for it. The one thing that surprised me and you will see this same credulity in Beth’s bio blog was the lack of pull through from her corporate life. When I asked both women about their business plans, strategies, networking tools, time management implementation neither of them were utilizing these corporate staples. I point this out not as a negative but more as an observation. I find that most direct sellers do not treat their MLM’s as businesses. To be fair most people enter into this business structure to get away from the 10 hour just over broke corporate lifestyle, but with an attrition rate of 90 to 95% would a little corporate structure be helpful in the direct selling world?

Believe it or not she still likes me after all of that, but the really amazing part is that I wasn’t that far off on my observations. She posted her own blog Staying Plugged In With Arbonne before mine even came out mind you, which just goes to show that if you set her in the right direction she will take off!

Some of the points I especially liked in her piece that I feel can be applied to any business structure are:

You don't have to know everything. It will all come if you stay PLUGGED IN and follow the system.

This business is duplicatable and the success of the other women proves that it works.

I think what really attracted me to this business is you are in business for yourself, but never by yourself.

I am on an amazing journey and whether I get there fast or slow it's okay because this business is not a race. Enjoy the journey and don't think about the outcome.

You learn to take yourself out of the equation and focus on others. This will set you up for not having any disappointments and it works.

As you can see this is some of what I have learned by staying PLUGGED IN. By helping others get what they want you get what you want.

Trish
http://www.trishdewell.myarbonne.com/
http://www.socalarbonne.blogspot.com/