10 Tips for a Better Website

By Merle

There are just some things that need to be included in every website. If you integrate these tips into your site your visitors will "thank you" for it later:

1) Navigation:  Keep it simple (KISS), and make sure it's consistent from page to page. No matter where you place your menu bar -- either at the top or down the side --always include a small text menu at the bottom of every page.  To create a site map see http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/

If you're one of those people easily impressed with Flash, don't design your navigation with it. There are still some people who don't have or want the plug-in, so they won't be able to navigate your site. Besides, search engine spiders have a harder time reading it, so that could lead to some of your site pages not being included in their index.

2) Privacy Policy:  With all of the concern over privacy on the Web if you collect any type of information from your visitors (even if it's just an email address) you need to include a privacy policy. There are many online templates that will help you to create one easily. Once made, post a link to it on every page of your site. Here’s a site that will help you in creating a privacy policy http://www.dmaresponsibility.org/PPG/

3) Contact Information: Nothing drives me more insane than having to search through an entire website just to send the owner an email. Post your contact info at the bottom of every page of your site, along with your email address. Don't make me fill out a whole form when I just want to send a simple comment. Include your email address, hot-linked and ready to go.

4) Logos & Graphics: Please keep your graphics down to a reasonable size. No one wants to wait two minutes while your huge, beautiful logo loads onto the screen. If you must use a lot of graphics to get your point across, I've got one word for you: Compression.

5) Fonts: Remember if you stray from using the standard fonts that everyone has installed on their computers (such as Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman) the viewer won't see your fonts as intended. Your users' computers will display your site in their default fonts. Stick to standards. If you must have a certain font used you'll have to turn it into a graphic to maintain its look.

6) Make It Sticky: Include interactive features if possible, such as live news feeds. or widgets. Use chat rooms, discussion boards, blogs, etc. You want to create a sense of community where people will want to  return.  See http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open

7) Newsletter/Blog: If you're going to have a website you need to offer a newsletter or a blog, even if it's strictly going to be about sale items, specials or site updates. You need to start collecting a list of your visitors'email addresses so you can keep in touch with them. Ezines help to keep your site fresh in the client's mind and helps to establish trust and credibility. For more on how to start your own ezine see http://www.ezineuniversity.com/

8) Browsers: You'd be amazed at how differently your website appears in different browsers. Make sure you take a peek at your site in Firefox and Internet Explorer. Try http://browsershots.org/

9) Index Page: This may seem like a given, but I'm going to mention it anyway. On the very first page of your site (the homepage) the first paragraph should answer the "5 W's"; basically telling them who you are and what you're offering. You'd be amazed at the number of websites that leave this out; making me think "what do these people do, and what's in it for me?" You need to answer these questions and do  it fast. Surfers are a very impatient group. Stop them  before they click away.

10) Disclaimer: Along with your privacy policy you’ll want to include a standard disclaimer page. You could have a lawyer draw one up or use an online generator and modify it to what you need. Here’s a free online one, remember, use at your own risk http://www.easyriver.com/free_disclaimer.htm

If you remember the above 10 pointers when putting together your next website, you'll create a winning site that visitors will want to return to, and not run away from in frustration.

PS. For more help with your site see http://www.merlesworld.com/required_website_elements.htm

Free PDF’s to Download

Nicole Dean from EasyPLR.com has taken her most popular "Online Success" podcasts and had them transcribed into downloadable PDFs.

The first is her interview with affiliate marketer, Lynn Terry

http://www.merlesworld.com/e-books/SuccessCast3-lynnterry.pdf

The second is her interview with PLF Champ, Ronnie Nijmeh

http://www.merlesworld.com/e-books/SuccessCast9-Ronnie.pdf

Go ahead and download them to your own computer and feel free to pass them onto your friends. Their good stuff Maynard!

“Teleseminar Training MP3”

I've got a real treat for you today. My friend, Ronnie Nijmeh, has a PLR club that provides the best self-help PLR content out there, plus he does monthly mastermind coaching teleseminars for members-only.

Well, I was able to twist his arm to give me a free MP3 recording from one of his past members-only teleseminars.  It's called: "PLR PROFITS" Go here to get your no cost access now:
http://www.plr.me/id/plrtraining/msmerle

If you've always wanted to use PLR (or want to explode your traffic and sales with PLR), then you should listen in. Here's a sneak peek of what Ronnie covered in the MP3:

- What PLR is and why you need it

- How to use private label content for traffic generation,
  loyalty building, and product creation

- Creative approaches to use and profit from PLR

Get access to this free training MP3: http://www.plr.me/id/plrtraining/msmerle

P.S. This coming Tuesday the 15th, Ronnie's releasing this
must-have PLR pack. It's five complete, ready-to-sell products.
On the bottom of the page, there's an Early Bird sign-up form.
You'll want to enter your name and email so you'll beat the rush:
http://www.plr.me/id/plrtraining/msmerle

“Learn about Twitter Tools”

Heaps of people are happily devoted Twitter users, a social network and even so, there are still a lot of other people who aren't acquainted with the mini blogging web site. For the twitter uninitiated this information will be just perfect to learn more about this latest online craze. 

With the release of Twitter in 2006, those from the younger generation were quick to realize the sites ability to keep them connected with friends and their day to day activities. Personal text messages can be transmitted and received fast by using tweets. Tweets are limited to a maximum 140 characters and come to be also known as a micro-blogging. The topic or purpose of these tweets are limited only by the creators imagination - you can share your personal point of view, the things that you are doing or simply to also view some areas that may interest you. As its community began to rapidly increase, private organizations saw the opportunity for it to work as a promotional tool. Some companies have been able to improve their business but there have also been those who would have spent substantial money and resources on twitter only to derive little benefit.

The premise of Twitter is to basically follow anyone or anything of interest to you. Once you follow a certain person, you will receive their tweets. When a member follows you, the profile of that person can be checked in order to decide if you want to follow them in return. When you want to send the tweets, you do not have to do so manually because there are tools can be used to automatically send your messages to all your subscribers. Most of these Twitter tools are available for use at no cost and can be big time savers. There are twitter applications like 'PostLater' and “autotweeter” to automate many of the processes such as to follow users who follow you.

When writing your tweet updates, make sure that you aim to generate a reaction from its reader. If your tweets are appealing, you can easily gain more valuable followers. This is very useful when you do blog posts or performing internet marketing.

Online business is a very competitive industry now and twitter can be a cost effective way to get precious leads for getting new clientèle. In order to gain a custom list of followers, you need to make friends before swamping them with advertising propaganda. Having lots of trusting friends will help your business marketing success. When you have a lot of fans, you can mention your business and services that you want to advertise. You can provide a url link to your service or programs, and if they have confidence, they will not hesitate on clicking on the text links.

Twollo is a another free application designed to track targeted individuals based on keyword terms. All that is required is provide the keyword that interests you and the tool locates people who are also talking about that niche. If these people want to, they will also follow you back too.

Beware that just because you choose to follow a member, it does not assure that they will follow you back. Always check your statistics. When someone is not following you, unfollow that person and its recommended that this clean out of your account account occurs weekly. The program from "friendorfollow.com" is just one such available tool that is perfectly suited to this account maintenance job.

"TV for All Contest"

TV advertising can be expensive for small businesses. So Google TV Ads and Spotmixer have joined forces to bring you the "TV for All Contest". Create and submit your own TV commercial for a shot at winning 25,0000 of free national TV advertising on select cable channels.

A panel of celebrity judges will pick the finalists around mid October. Then the YouTube Community will chose the three winners. If you need help in creating your own TV ad it's easy with Spotmixer and can be done from the contest page above. Entries must be received by Oct 5, 2009 For more information go to-

http://www.youtube.com/tvforallcontest

“Everything you need to know about Twittering”

It is fair to say that Twitter has had an gigantic effect on how social networking communities are designed. After just 3 years of existence twitter has already climbed to the 3rd most used social  media website with Facebook being the largest followed by Myspace in second place. For June 2009, Alexa traffic statistics indicate Twitter is ranked 33 overall for the most visited sites and is estimated to have 9 million registered users from the world over. So,  have you taken the plunge yet and started twittering?

Twitter is often coined as a micro-blogging web site which allows anyone to stay in communication with others 24/7. You can register by surfing to 'twitter.com' site and writing your personal details in the spaces provided. It is advisable to provide your real info so you are able to connect with real people. In your account profile settings you can unselect ‘protect my updates’ to let everyone read your tweet updates or leave it ticked in order to restrict your  messages only to those close allies or followers.

Sending your Twitter account url link to all your friends and relatives can let them now know that you have an account on Twitter.

Even when you aren't actually on the net, Twitter can still be used. When you're a registered member on Twitter, you can also enter your personal profile by  using Instant Messenger application or cellular phone. To set up this feature with your profile, first you have the right settings checked to link your mobile and instant message accounts to Twitter.

Once this is done, tweeting messages can be sent by any of the registered devices. To transfer tweets via your mobile phone, a text sms is sent to the number 40404. The unique caller ID from your mobile device is than stored on your profile so those tweets will be identified in the future. If you’re in AIM, you can send the IM to TwitterIM but if you’re in Yahoo or MSN they can be sent via instant message to Twitter so it makes no difference where you are, friends and followers will have access to your tweets and can even receive tweet updates on their mobile device.

But you may still ask how do I read my friends messages that they send? Well, to do this you need to log into Twitter and add your friends user names to your own list. In your account there is an ‘Actions’ tab box, use your mouse to click on the word 'Add’. Another good feature is the search box that will let you find user profiles of more friends and maybe even close relatives or school friends you have lost contact with. It is important to note twitter users that have account profiles selected as private will have to accept a follower request from you before it is possible to start reading their tweets.

Managing your list of contacts is difficult via cell phone so it is much simpler to do it online. You can also choose to restrict phone use to only receive the tweets so even if you are away from your computer, updates will still be sent.

Twittering can really bring a lot of enjoyment. It is worth the time it takes to register there and configure your profile to suit your life.  Go meet up with all your mates and find out what they are doing. Just remember to post tweets regularly too so everyone will be kept up to date. There are also many useful tools that help save the amount of time that it takes to do some of the more mundane processes and allow twitter to be a more enjoyable experience.

Ebay Ebooks for Free

Skip Mcgrath is an expert when it comes to Ebay. He's been making a full-time income from Ebay for years. He also has several print books to his credit. Today I'm offering up two free ebooks he's written for your enjoyment.

The first is 32 pages-

EbaySecrets Mini-Course- "How Ebay Professionals Consistently Make $ on Ebay"

The second is all of the changes that have taken place on Ebay in 2009 and what's coming in 2010. It's 28 pages and can be downloaded here.

"Don't Just Type Your "Tweets"- Speak Them"

By Merle http://MerlesWorld.com

When it comes to social networks, Twitter is definitely king. With millions of users, and new ones coming on board daily, this micro-blogging service is a very powerful communication tool.

In the space of 140 characters, you can type short messages and instantly send them to your "followers".  But what if you don't have Internet access and you still want to send those tweets? No problem. If you have a phone, you can speak your messages, and within a short amount of time see them posted on Twitter.

Let's review some of the services that can be used to make this possible.

1) http://www.TwitWoop.com

Your voice message can be up to 140 seconds long. Your followers can even use reply codes and respond in kind to your messages. You can register up to two phones per Twitter account. After registering, you'll need to call a New York or California phone number to record your outgoing tweets. If you live out of state, you will be charged long distance call rates.

2) http://www.CallTweet.com

Local access numbers are provided which you can call.  All you need to do is enter in your username and password, and start talking. Your followers will receive a tweet that contains a link back to your audio message. Simple.

3) http://www.TweetCall.com

It doesn't get any easier than this. Once registered, call 877-TWEETCALL and speak your "tweet". Within minutes, it’s passed on to your Twitter account. Your user name and password for this site are the same as your Twitter account.

4) http://www.TwitterFone.com

No Internet access? This free service makes it possible to speak your message into any phone, and within 5 to  10 minutes have it posted on Twitter. You'll need to ask for an "invitation" to be able to register for TwitterFone. Local numbers are provided. "Twitter Streams" can also be replied to, or direct messages can also be sent.

So, the next time you want to tell the world what you're up to, forget the computer and “speak your tweets”. Now that you know how easy it is to do, you might find that this is your favorite way of updating your followers,and "Tweet Speak" might just become your second language. I sure wish they would have taught this in High School.<grin>

Matt Cutts Explains Caffeine Update

"Google announced yesterday that it has been working on a project called “Caffeine” that will re-write the architecture for Google’s Web search." Listen in as Matt Cutts tells you all about it. It's good stuff Maynard!

More WebProNews Videos

Me and Missy G 2009

A lot of people say I’m “dog crazy”. I have  3 dogs and love them all and try to provide the very best home and life I can for them. If that makes me “crazy” then I guess I’m guilty as charged. I see nothing wrong with giving them my all.That means good food, exercise, love and companionship.  My dogs are the best thing that ever happened to me and I’m not ashamed of that fact.  If you want to experience unconditional love from someone who will never leave you, insult you, doesn’t care how much money you make or where you live….go and get yourself a dog. You can thank me later.

Baxter Gray- Age 3 

Dakota Arson- Age 14

“Social Networking with Twitter”

It sort of goes without saying that Internet relationships are very dissimilar from real world relationships. Despite this, masses of online users continue to connect with other people through social network sites and among these web sites is Twitter. In fact if you're a subscriber to Twitter, you have the potential to cross paths with millions of other people such is its vast reach. Out of all those other fellow twitterer's it is safe to say you will be able to find people that share a common interest either business and or personal.

Also while using Twitter - the newest of the social networking online crazes you will be able to do micro-blogging. Why is it referred to as micro you may ask? Well, it is because you can only compose a message (tweet) of just 140 characters maximum. It could be considered too short for going into much detail but easily long enough to report whatever is occurring in your day at that particular point in time. You see, if you become a frequent Twitterer, you'll be regularly required to answer the question; "What have you been doing? And the replying tweet must be written within that character limit.

When you reply to this question or when you perform updates, the tweets are sent to all your profile subscribers to alert them to what you are doing. The Twitter developer designed the site with this exact purpose in mind, one centralized  platform to find out all the activities of his friends and that is precisely what you'll be able to get from Twitter.

For example, you go out to do some shopping at the local mall. You'll be able to update your tweets and inform your followers of this situation. Now, some friends may reply to your tweets but some won't. The receiver of the tweets isn't forced to respond straight away and that is one of the best strengths of the twitter system. In fact, they could ignore the update, if they want. There is enough flexibility to suit every user, dependent on their own situation and its a simple matter of you changing the settings from your profile page.

You can limit which of your friends receive the tweet messages. As well as determining when and where you'll receive the tweets. For example, you receive the tweets on your cell phone so that wherever the location, you'll know what your friends are up to; and you are able to even answer them back via your own cell phone if desired. As time is spent learning the ropes and you will soon come to enjoy it even more once you realize the many other capabilities beyond just communicating with friends, family or colleagues. Thanks to a huge explosion in 2009, Twitter is fast closing in on the amount of traffic received by the other two online networking giants MySpace and Facebook. Visitor growth jumped 83 percent to 17 million unique visitors in April 2009 according to www.comscore.com.

Why not stay connected all day long? There is no requirement to access your Twitter account whenever you want to update messages on your profile page. Twitter itself as well as third party programmers have developed many great widgets and software that help make changes to an account without even logging into the site. Making use of these applications can be enjoyable and reduce the time needed to be an active user.  

User surveys have shown people actually prefer twitter because of its ease of use compared to other such social sites. Go ahead and try the Twitter experience, it costs nothing to join or utilize and see if you can track down any past friends as they probably already have their own profile.

"Graphics GiveAway 2 Event"- SignUp Now

Hi Kids

Last year Odinn Sorensen and Eric Tan ran the successful Graphics Giveaway with a huge amount of ready-made products, contributed by top marketers around the world for everyone to download at no cost.

Now they are back with an even bigger and better one - the Graphics Giveaway 2, launching August 18th and running until September 1st. This event not only offer great graphic products, but is also a great opportunity to help you build a list of prospects for your design/graphic niche market.

Join now:


NOTE: The Partner Upgrade on this giveaway is very attractive, so I definitely recommend that you grab it to improve your gift ranking, get more subscribers and earn greater commissions.

Have a great day!

Merle

"No HTML? Need a Website? No Problem"

So you have this great idea for a website and you're all excited about getting your "feet wet" as an
online entrepreneur, but there's one problem: You have no idea how to create a site. ("HTML? What's that?")

If this sounds familiar, have no fear –templates are here. (Sorry for the rhyme; I just couldn't help myself.)

Templates are prefabricated websites; complete with graphics and sometimes even a cascading style sheet attached. You download them, edit in your information and upload them to your server. Presto, instant website!

If you take some time and do a search around the Net you'll find some beautiful templates, some
even free, that will have you looking like a true online professional before you can say "CSS or HTML."

Let's take a look at some options:

1) APlusTemplates: http://APlusTemplates.com

A professional template membership site where you pay a one time membership fee of $29.95 and
gain access to over 200 Web templates and their "Flash Intro Builder." Browse templates by
category; even download a free template to check out the quality. There's some real nice stuff
here.

2) ATemplate.com: http://ATemplate.com

All Web templates come complete with CSS or image rollovers and PSD files. If you're looking for
something a bit fancier, they also offer an assortment of Flash templates. All templates are compatible with Frontpage and Dreamweaver.

3) BasicTemplates: http://BasicTemplates.com

I really love this site. The templates are top quality and designed using external CSS. You can join as a member for a one time fee and access all of the templates or purchase them individually. Easy to browse by category.

4) TheTemplateStore: http://TheTemplateStore.com

This site offers a nice selection of templates searchable by the editor you plan on using, such as
Dreamweaver or FrontPage. They also have templates for GoLive and even Swish. Most start at only $15.00and they go up from there.

5) Template Monster: http://TemplateMonster.com

Although a bit on the higher end, the designers at Template Monster are a talented group. You'll find
some real gems to download here. Each template comes complete with PSD files. Download the free site template to get a small sample of what you'll be purchasing.

Don't let your lack of design skills stop you from being the proud owner of the site you've always
dreamed of. With the right template you can have a professional looking site and no one need know
you didn't design it yourself. Shhhh, it'll be our little secret!

Merle's Mission Ezine- July 31, 2009 Issue

The latest issue of my ezine is now online at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/merlesmissionezine/message/6

As usual it's packed full of resources and goodies from around the net that you probably didn't know about but should. If you'd like to subscribe you can do so at my site http://MerlesWorld.com

“Facebook Users Respond to Aging Social Network”

A few years ago Myspace was the king of social media but not today. Facebook has taken over with it's fast growth now claiming to have over 250 million users. Once only used by the young, Facebook's demographics are all over the place from teenagers to the elderly. Listen in on what some Facebook customers had to say about using the service.

More WebProNews Videos

Send & Receive Money with PayPal: "No Computer Required"

Paypal is pretty much the standard online when it comes to buying goods and services. But what about offline? Paypal has decided to combine their service with the mobility of cell phones, calling the new service "Paypal Mobile." It is presently available in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

PayPal Mobile gives you the ability to send people money and also buy things with what they call "Text to Buy." When you see something advertised at an event or in a magazine or even on a poster, if it has "Text to Buy" next to it, you can use your cell phone to purchase it.

So what can you buy? Things like DVD's, CD's, books, electronics, accessories and more. The price of the item includes shipping and any tax. The item is then shipped to the address listed in your Paypal account within one day. Delivery takes about 5 to 7 days. All merchandise is sent by the Merchant, not Paypal.

Here's what the order process looks like:

1) You see something advertised you want to buy with the words "Text to Buy" in the ad.

2) You send a text message with the item code to the number shown in the ad.

3) You'll receive a call back to confirm the order

4) The item ships out

You can also use Paypal's new service to send money. There is no charge to send funds with your cell phone or to receive it if you have a personal Paypal account. Business accounts are charged the
standard rates for receiving payments. Depending on your cell phone and calling plan, you may be charged for your text messaging.

There are two ways to send money with your phone:

1) You text to 729725 (Paypal) With the amount and the recipient's phone number.

Example: Send 10 to 2167804970 (put the recipients phone number here, this is just an example.)

Note: You must use the words "send" and "to"

2) Paypal will call you back and you must enter your secret pin # to confirm.

3) The person you sent the funds to is immediately notified by Paypal and told how to claim their
funds.

The other way to send money is to use their 800 number:

1) Call 800-472-9725

2) Type in your mobile pin #

3) Enter the amount and phone number to send it to when asked.

4) Again, the recipient is notified on how to claim the funds.

To use Paypal Mobile you'll first need to have a Paypal account. Then you'll need to activate your cell phone. To do this you'll need to log into your Paypal account, type in your cell phone number and select a 4 to 8 digit pin number. Paypal will call you to confirm the account.

If you're worried about security, all transactions made with your phone are protected by your unique
mobile pin number and are covered with the same protection you get with your online Paypal account. For more information see...http://tinyurl.com/r97m5

So next time you need to send money with Paypal, or have an urge to buy something,you no longer need to wait until you're in front of a computer with an Internet connection.

With people growing more and more mobile and demanding technology that keeps up with their
busy lifestyle, Paypal now has a place to call home off-line as well as on.

==============================================
"How to Use Articles to Drive Website Traffic".
At last all of the resources you need in this
brand new F-R-E-E ebook. Download now at...
http://articleannouncer.mcpromotions.com

Google Voice

Bring all of your phone numbers under one roof....or should I say one number. Very cool.

Want to Catch the Google Wave?

In September Google will be launching its own social networking site called "Google Wave". Invites will be sent to a small group of people to start. If you'd like to be on that list go to this page and fill out the form
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/wavesignup/ or see http://wave.google.com/ for more information.

What is this thing Google calls 'The Wave" from their site, this is how they describe it.

"A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more."

You know everything Google does is cool so if you want to get in the doors early make sure you get on the list above. I love Google! All Hail Google!!

"How to Make Your Blog Earn Its Keep"

By Merle http://MerlesWorld.com

If you've been blogging for any length of time, and have built up a nice following, it may have crossed your mind to try and earn some cash from all your efforts. When you can earn an income from something you really enjoy doing, it's a great feeling.

There are plenty of bloggers who are doing it. The question is:  How? There really are a multitude of ways to put this plan into action, and most successful blog owners know this and don't rely on one method but several, in order to get the job done.

Remember, if your blog is new and you haven't established any traffic yet, your main priority should be getting traffic. Without it, any attempt to turn your blog into a cash generator won't work.

Let's take a look at some of the ways to make your blog start earning its keep:

1) Utilize Ad Networks:  Google Adsense is the most popular when it comes to contextual ad networks, but there are many others to choose from such as:

http://www.Widgetbucks.com
http://www.Kontera.com
http://www.Adbrite.com
http://www.Chitika.com
http://www.Bidvertiser.com

Contextual and inline ads are text and/or image ads placed on your blog, and the ads displayed are related to the page content. Money is earned when someone clicks on an ad and visits the website being advertised. You won't get rich from this method, but with a decent amount of traffic it can sometimes be a steady monthly check to look forward to. The trick here is to test to find the best ad placement for the ads.

2) Sell Text Ads: Again, if you don't have a lot of traffic, there won't be many people chomping at the bit to buy an ad on your blog. If you have a decent amount of traffic and your Google page rank is good, you'll find plenty of people who would like to advertise on your blog with a text or image ad.  You can add a graphic to your site that says "advertise here" or use an outside service such as text-ads.com to find possible advertisers for you.

3) Ask for Donations: Another old stand-by is to place a button on your blog where readers can donate any amount of cash they wish. Believe it or not, if people like your posts and are benefiting from them, some will actually want to "tip you" for that information. The easiest way to set this up is to use Paypal. They have a cut and paste button generator for this or you can utilize one of those "buy me a drink" scripts. This is also a great method to employ on your websites and newsletters. For further resources see:

http://tinyurl.com/n9fbuu

http://tinyurl.com/2fv26u

http://tinyurl.com/ku3qx7

4)Affiliate Programs: If you're active online you're probably a member of an affiliate program or two. These are programs that allow you to sign up, they give you a special link to paste on your site, and when someone purchases a product or service through your link, you are compensated. Just make sure you choose affiliate programs that are related to your blog’s topic. There are two ways to approach this: One is to occasionally make a post using your special link, generally like a review. The other is to weave affiliate links into your blog design, usually placed in the right or left hand borders. Make sure you give full disclosure somewhere on your blog or in your disclaimer that you may earn money from some of your postings.

5) Sell Your Own Products:  If you sell your own products or services, why not toot your own horn? Now don't get crazy here. It really isn't all about you, but your readers won't mind an occasional plug or two on your goods. The keyword to keep in mind here is “occasionally”.

6) Blog Review Services:  If you look around the net, you'll find plenty of services where you can sign up and get paid to review an advertiser’s services or products. This is a controversial area. Some say it will ruin your blog's integrity, but if you're selective and only write about things you really believe in, and you’re honest in your reviews, you may want to consider it.

Again, you don't want to make every post on your blog a paid review, but an occasional sprinkle here and there is fine. Again, just make sure to include full disclosure that it's a "sponsored review",
either in the review itself or add it to your blog's disclaimer that some posts may be paid for. This is
generally required by the pay-per-click review services as well as it being the right thing to do to keep  yourself out of "hot water". Here are a few services to consider:

1) http://www.PayPerPost.com
2) http://www.Smorty.com
3) http://www.BuyABlogger.com
4) http://www.Blogsvertise.com
5) http://www.SponsoredReview.com

If you're serious about trying to earn some cash from doing something you love, start out by implementing a few of the suggestions here. Remember, don't put all your eggs in one basket, rather implement a few different strategies for best results.

It really is possible to have your blog earn some cash, but your first priority is good content and traffic. Without these two essentials, your blog may be in the unemployment line sooner than you think.

Baxter Gray- Trying to Hide

You can't escape Baxter!

Gia Serena Giallombardo

Can't a dog get any peace around here?

Baxter Gray

Is this a cute face or what?

SupaLogo- Create Fun Text Logos

Want to have a little text fun? All thumbs when it comes to making cool graphics for your website? Well, that's no longer a problem. Supalogo is a way cool online editor that allows you to create some fun images then download them or embed them on your site, Facebook, or Myspace pages. See the "Merle" image below for an example of what you can create. The size of the text and font are up to you. So go have some fun.....work can wait. Go to http://supalogo.com/

"How to Get Your Blog Published on Amazon's Kindle"

By Merle

When Oprah announced on her show that she "LOVES" Amazon's Kindle, millions of people rushed out to get one. First introduced in 2007, the "Kindle" is Amazon's electronic replacement for books. It's a portable, wireless device that allows you to download books, magazines, newspapers, even blogs instantly and take them with you anywhere.

Since the Kindle can hold over 1,500 books, that's like carrying around an entire library in the palm of your hand.

The wireless connection is built in and provided at no charge by Amazon. There's also a built in browser for viewing websites and reading emails.

Amazon's Kindle Store has over 230,000 ebooks to download, plus U.S. and International newspapers, magazines, even blogs. Almost all of the ebooks sell for $9.99 or less. The latest model is a larger more improved Kindle DX which was made available this year. Boosting a bigger screen and longer battery life, it can even read to you out loud. Now that makes for a nice bedtime story. It also holds over 3,500 books and sells for about $489.00.

The Kindle can also display PDF's which you can transfer from your computer with a USB cable. The older versions of the Kindle could read PDF's and Word documents, but they had to be emailed to Amazon first to convert them to a format readable by the Kindle. This option is still available as well.

So what does all this mean to you? Well, if you're a blog publisher you can now publish your blogs in the Kindle Store where users can subscribe to them for a monthly fee. This is a great way to make some money and increase your subscriber base all at the same time.

First you'll need to go to http://kindlepublishing.amazon.com to set up an account and submit your blogs for approval. Once approved your Blog "goes live" in the Kindle Store within 12 to 48 hours.

The Kindle gives the user full text and images from the blogs they are subscribed to, which unlike an RSS feed only gives you the headlines.

When submitting your blog for approval here's the information you'll need:

1) Blog Title
2) Blog Tagline
3) Description
4) Image from top of your blog (banner or masthead)
5) Screenshot of your blog (optional)
6) Posting Frequency

It's really pretty simple to get your blogs listed.

So how does the payment process work? Good question, nice to see you're paying attention. You'll be paid 30% of the monthly blog subscription price. Amazon sets the price, not you. It's priced on what they think is a "fair value" for their customers. For example, my two blogs were set at $0.99 a month.

All blog subscriptions are free for the first 14 days. Then they're billed at the monthly subscription price.Blogs are wirelessly updated throughout the day.

You'll be paid by check or EFT, your choice. Electronic Funds Transfer has no charge, but if you opt for a paper check and live in the U.S. you'll have an $8.00 fee attached. Payments are sent once your earnings reach $50.00.

If you publish a blog I'd strongly encourage you to get it listed in Amazon's Kindle Store. It won't
cost you a thing but a few minutes of your time and makes for great free exposure..

For more on the Kindle see:

http://tinyurl.com/lqhcug

There's a forum for issues related to Kindle for blogs
at http://forums.kindlecentral.com/forums/index.jspa

Merle’s Mission Newsletter Now Posted Online

The latest issue of Merle’s Mission Ezine is now posted online. If you’d like to receive my monthly ezine in your inbox every month make sure you subscriber over at Yahoo Groups.

This issue focuses on how to get your blog listed in Amazon’s Kindle Store:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/merlesmissionezine/message/5

Banished by Facebook- Just My Thoughts and Opinion

Last week I attempted to log into my Facebook account, the same account I had for several months and lo and behold my account had been blocked. At first I thought it was a mistake so I tried to log in a few more times. Nothing. It wasn't an accident. There was a link by the message that told me I was blocked but when I clicked on it there was no specific reason why I had been banned. Pretty much just a general FAQ with an email address you could write to if you thought your account was banned in error. So I wrote and I waited. By the third day, no response so I wrote to 3 different email addresses and also found a phone number online that when you call says Facebook does not offer phone support. How stupid is that?

After about a week I did receive this vague email message below:

"Your account has been disabled because you have violated Facebook's Terms of Use by misusing the site's features to spam others. We do not allow users to send unsolicited messages promoting or advertising a product, service, or opportunity. You will no longer be able to use Facebook. This decision is final.

Thanks for your understanding,"

Understanding?? What understanding. I received no warning and no explanation. What’s up with that?

Ouch! Me a spammer?? I've been a legitimate online marketer for years and yes I do use social media in hopes of increasing some of my traffic, but not in the wrong way, and spamming. I don't think so. Besides I used Facebook to communicate with family, friends and people I worked with. They had all asked to be my friend. So how exactly do you spam people who invited you to be their friend. That makes no sense to me. And since I never sent any type of email communications to any of these people only sharing my updates daily on my wall and including links that I thought they might find interesting. How is that spamming? My interpretation of spamming would be sending unsolicited email to people who had not opted in. There was no email and updating my status should not constitute spam. Should it?

I know I should just have let the whole thing go but I couldn't. My mind was racing with possible reasons why my account could have been banned. I did a little research online, which is what I always do when I encounter any type of problem. Here's the conclusions I came up with. Remember, this ismy opinion and I have no way of knowing for sure why Facebook blocked me.

My Theories:

1) A few weeks back Facebook opened up custom url's to anyone who wanted one. I waited until midnight on the registration date to grab "Merle". That's my nickname, also the name I use offline and online for about 20 years. I started to think I may have been banned as I did not use my "real name" rather my nickname. Some research indicates this may cause blocking. Also since my name is shared by famous people and companies like Merle Haggard and Merle Norman Cosmetics, I thought maybe they had wanted the "Merle" name and felt like I was infringing on it. Again, no way to know for sure but it is possible they contacted Facebook when perhaps they tried to register it for themselves. I don’t know.

2) My next theory is "Obama", as in the president. One of the last links I had posted on Facebook before being blocked was a bit about the news story where he had killed a fly during an on camera interview and Peta had a few words to say about it. Upon further research for blocking reasons I found some people online who claim they were blocked after making political commentary or sharing links about Obama on Facebook. Is this possible? Censorship in this day and age?? I hadn't said anything bad only linked to what I thought was a funny story my friends might want to read. Again, just a possibility.

3) My third and final theory of why I may have been blocked is that instead of logging into Facebook I was using Tweetdeck to post to my Twitter account and had included all postings to go to my Facebook page as well. My though process here is that any kind of automated posting to Facebook signals something on their end that you are using some kind of software and therefore must be some kind of crazed spammer. I only thought of this as recently my blogs which are hosted by Google's Blogger service were tagged by Google as maybe being spam. I had to log in and write to them and tell them to review my blogs to get myself out of hot water there. Again, I had been using an automated software program to post to my Google Blogs instead of logging in.

Is it possible that not logging into these services but rather using any kind of automatic software to post could cause blocking or banning of accounts?

Like I said, I'm not sure what the real reason was. I just wanted to share my experience and see if any of you have had any type of similar experience. To say I'm not happy with Facebook for doing what they did without any warning or explanation would be an understatement but I guess it's their website and they can choose to throw off anyone they want. Similar to "It's my party and I can cry if I want to".

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks
Merle

Adsense Now Offers Bigger Font Size

Notice anything different about the Adsense ads being displayed on your website lately?

Google Adsense has announced that they have now given control to users over the font size in the ad units displayed on their websites. You can now log into your account and control the size being displayed. If you're ad units are set to the default your ad units will now show a med size instead of small as they have in the past.

For more help see- https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=118574&sourceid=aso&subid=ww-en-et-asblog_2009-06-22&medium=link

Who Doesn't Like Free Software?

Did someone say free? Nothing seems to capture (no pun intended) the publics attention faster then that word. Sometimes it doesn't even matter what it is, if it's free people want it. Well, finding quality with the word free is even better.

If you do any kind of computer work there will come a time when you need screen capture software. Check out Jing. Once captured you can send it or do with it as you please. Need to point something out in the graphic? No problem. You can easily mark up the screenshot with text box, arrows, rectangles and more. Available for Windows and Mac.

"How to Get Google to Index a New Page"

"How much time is Google taking to index a new webpage, and how can you accelerate the process besides using Google Webmaster Tools?"

Google Website Optimizer Tool- Tutorial

Google Website Optimizer Tool- Tutorial

Free Ebook by Marlon Sanders

Free report by Marlon Sanders-

"How to Escape The Time For Dollars Trap and Follow My Tested, Proven 'Amazing Formula' For Finding Personal Freedom, Independence and The Lifestyle You Dream Of In Your Own Home-Based Business"

In this report Marlon covers topics such as:

-- The case against trading time for dollars
-- Brief synopsis of my story
-- The real secret of the 4 hour work week no one understands
-- The 3 components you must have to trade products for dollars
-- Why your system must SCALE (and why many don't)

and much more.....download your copy at this link. Feel free to upload it to your own server then give it away to others, courtesy of Marlon.

http://www.merlesworld.com/e-books/go.pdf

What happens when you shorten those links?

In this video find out if Google follows url shortener services links the same:

Twitter Client Apps

The biggest problem with the standard Twitter web application is that you have to keep an eagle eye on your replies and Direct Messages as you only see the main Tweetstream on the screen. It is also limited in that it only displays about the last 20 tweets, so if you want to see older ones, you have to keep going back pages. So what to do?

Easy, download Tweetdeck from http://www.tweetdeck.com The first thing you will probably notice is that you will need to change the settings as the default is white text on a black screen. Makes it hard to read I've found, but each to their own.

Tweetdeck is brilliant in that it displays the Tweetstream, your replies and your direct messages all on the one screen. The message columns allow for 500 tweets as a default, so scrolling down allows you to go back a fair way or search for tweets you may want to refer back to.

The screen has a continuous right hand scroll, so you can set up different groups and their tweets will appear in that column. You might have a group called best friends and another for gardeners for instance. That way you don't miss important tweets from people who are more important to you than others. At the time of writing, Tweetdeck is probably the most widely used application for Twitter and I would highly recommend it to you.

122 Social Media Sites With Page Rank

Yea, I admit it. I do like social media. Presently I use Facebook, MySpace and I'm a Twitter Junkie too. Do they have classes for that? Social Media Marketing is hot right now and for good reason. Many companies and people are using it to brand themselves, listen to their customers, and help to drive the one thing we all crave "website traffic".

If you're not sure where to start, here's a nice list of 122 Social Media Sites which also includes page rank. Very nicely done. Kudos to the author. Check it out

http://www.squareoak.com/blog/122-social-media-sites-sorted-by-pagerank/

Too Much to Do??

I don't know about you but lately my "to do" list looks more like a scroll. It gets bigger and bigger by the week and many times I don't finish what I've started so I'm continually bringing tasks forward from week to week. Does all this sound familiar? We all have a lot of responsibilities from personal, to work, to hobbies so trying to cram it all into the space of one day is tough.

Need some help? I was browsing the net and found this wonderful article that includes 77 ways to get more done. It's very insightful and for an "old dog" even I learned a new trick or two. So don't let this languish in your "to do" file, rush over and see if there's a trick or two you can incorporate into your day in order to be more productive.
http://aureliustjin.com/77-ways-to-help-you-get-more-done

Gia and Baxter

Two Trouble Makers- Thinking up their next plan.

Gia the queen relaxing in the summer sun! It's a dogs life, but someone has to do it.

"110 Success Quotes"- Free Ebook

Aurelius has a great blog filled with advice for internet marketers. With this post he's giving away a free ebook filled with 110 success quotes you can use every day to inspire yourself. We all can use a little inspiration from time to time, right? If you like it feel free to download it and give it away to your own subscribers or from your website.

Download your free PDF version here:

http://aureliustjin.com/110-success-quotes

Google Web Elements

With Google Web Elements you can easily add your favorite Google products onto your website. It's easy to add by just copying and pasting some code onto your page.

Here are some of the things you can add to your site:

1) Google Calendar
2) Conversation Element
3) Custom Search
4) Maps
5) News
6) Presentations
7) Spreadsheets
8) YouTube News

Where to Find the Best Free Photos Online

The Internet is full of photos and graphics, so what? Well, did you ever think of the possibilities and what you could do with some of them? Maybe you have, maybe not so much. Well this site will show you where to find the absolute BEST free photos online and gives you some very creative ideas as to what you can do with them. For example, how about making your own greeting cards? Might save a buck or two a the store.

The Library of Congress and NASA and the New York Public Library all have their collections online, there's plenty of copyright-free graphics to go around. So if you have some free time on your hands take a walk down days gone by. You might just find something really cool.

"Google Docs Makes Your Documents & Presentations Portable"

One of the things I love about Google is that they're constantly coming up with new inventions. Not just content to be the king of the search engines - they actually have a full house of powerful tools and gadgets.

Have you ever been traveling, at work or maybe a friend'shouse, and wished you had access to a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, or Excel spreadsheet that was at home on your hard drive? This actually happened to me, which is when I found and fell in love with Google Docs. http://www.google.com/docs

Imagine having access to your documents from anywhere,with just a computer and Internet access. Google docsis compatible with Microsoft Office so it can handle any of your existing documents, but even if you don't own it, now you don't have to. Google Docs is a full fledged word processor, presentation creator and spreadsheet maker all rolled into one. No need to buy and install expensive software that takes upvaluable hard drive space. This online beauty can do it all for you, even offering an extensive array of templates at your disposal.

All docs created with Google can be exported and savedto your computer in these formats: Doc, ODS, ODT, PDF,RTF, even HTML. This makes it easy to save the finished product to your hard drive and print them out later. It even includes a "print preview" feature if you need to check your formatting.

Another nice benefit of using Google Docs is the ability for multiple people to edit and work on the same projectall at the same time. It's easy to invite others to viewor edit your docs by sending them an email invitation. You can even choose to be notified by email when others you're working with make any changes to it. How cool is that?

Google Docs offers support for 40 languages. Need to turn a project into a web page? Not a problem. Are you a Blogger?Type up your post and when it's done have it posted to your Blog with one click. This is a handy tool for any Blogger to add to their toolkit.

So what else can you do?

- Create drawings and diagrams and easily use them in your creations.

- Add footnotes to reports

- Create forms- you can even grab the code to embed the form on your web page.

- Making a presentation? It's easy to add those speaker notes.

- Add videos to your presentations.

- Color code all of your Google Doc folders to sort and find things easily.

- Need to put images in a spreadsheet? No problem.

- Upload PDF's to share. You can't edit them yet, but you can select sections of text and copy them to other documents.

- Take slideshows you create and embed them on to any web page, or your blog.

- Need access to your docs from your cell phone? Google's got you covered. Just point your browser to http://docs.google.com/m

- Chart creation is a snap

- OffiSync- Brings the power of Google Docs to Microsoft Office http://www.offisync.com/

This is just a small sampling of some of the things you can do with this online document creator. Now that you know your options, the next time you need to create a presentation or document, why not try Google Docs? It's free and you'll absolutely love the fact of all of your documents being "portable". I know I do.

(photo above courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ )

Domains 101: How to Choose A WinningName- Part 1 of a 3 Part Series

What's in a name? When choosing one for your domain, it could mean the difference
between success and failure. Giving birth to a website requires the same thought and effort you'd put into naming your flesh-and-blood babies. After all, you're going to have to live with it for a long time. So you need to choose something you're not only going to love, but will also work to your benefit.

Let's begin by examining domain extensions that are available to you:

1) .COM- Still the King and the best choice for most online businesses

2) .NET- In the beginning this was meant for ISP's but now it's the most common alternative
when the .com extension of a domain you really want is already taken.

3) .ORG- Designed for Non-Profit sites

4) .INFO/.BIZ- Fairly new but starting to spread in usage

5) .US- Country extension domains are also available for most countries

As you can see, you have many extensions available to choose from but if possible, always go with .com. It's the most widely recognized and still the default people use when looking for a website.

After registering your .com name you may want to "lock up" the .net version to keep out any would-be competitors from registering it and trying to infringe on your traffic. You can also use these other domains as "mini-sites" that concentrate on one aspect of your business that also link to your main website.

The next step is choosing your name. If you ask ten people how to pick a domain name you'd probably get ten different answers. Get out a sheet of paper and just start writing names that appeal to you or that pop into your head. Keep the following pointers in mind:

1) Keep it Short- Under 13 characters is the ultimate in length.

2) Include Keywords- If possible, try to include your
most important keyword in your name. You'll hear many
conflicting stories on this, but opt for a keyword in
your domain name if possible. It helps with the search
engines and is also more descriptive of your site
and what you do.

3) Odd Characters- Stay away from dashes and numbers
in your domain name. This will make it harder for
people to remember it when they go to type it in.

4) Be Memorable: Try to choose something that will
stick out in people's minds if you can.

5) Spelling: Make sure it's easy to spell. You don't
want people mis-typing the name in and not being
able to find you at all, do you?

6) Trademarks: Make sure the name you choose is not
trademarked to avoid any problems down the road.
Do a free quickie search here...
http://www.nameprotect.com/

If you're having problems coming up with good names you may want to try an online
"name generator" services for some quick inspiration:

1) NameBoy.com- http://www.nameboy.com/

Type in a primary word or if you like, a secondary one and hit go. NameBoy will come back with a list of names showing what is and isn't taken.

2) DomainFellow.com- http://www.domainfellow.com/

Type in a keyword and choose a category, then hit search. The list generated shows what's available and what's not.

For even more tips on domain names check out..
http://www.domainguru.com/

So now that you have taken your list of possibilities and have finally narrowed it down to your best selections, so where do you go to register your new found beauties? In part 2 of this series we'll discuss some of the cheapest and best places to register names, the fine art of buying expired and deleted domains and some of the best domain management tools to help you keep track of your new treasures.

“Generate Your Own Disclaimers and Privacy Policies”

First my own disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be and this is not legal advice. In case you didn’t know if you offer anything for sale on your website you need to have a privacy policy and a disclaimer. Many times it’s hard to know where to start. This site allows you to generate basic templates which you can then edit to suit your needs.  Check it out at:

http://www.easyriver.com/free_utilites.htm

There are also a few other nifty tools which you can use to generate other items you may need for your site. Very cool.

“Shorten and Track Those Twitter Links”

TwitPwr is a short url service that will track the number of clicks the links you send out to your Twitter followers actually get. Good information to know right? I mean you spend a lot of time communicating with Twitter every day, but is anyone really listening??

This site also assigns a power rating to users who’s links receive the most clicks. It’s free to sign up and once you register and send out a link, here’s what you’ll see on your profile page: A Screenshot of the site, Traffic Data, Alexa Stats, Related Links and more.

If you’ve been sending out aimless links to your Twitter followers why not try out this free tracking service and find out who is really paying attention to you. It should be a real eye opener.

http://twitpwr.com/

“My Personal Online Shopping Tips”

Do I have your attention? Good. What I’m about to tell you is “top secret”….ok, maybe not, but when it comes to shopping online I am a pro. I love to shop, like most women when I find a great deal I get excited as a turkey on Thanksgiving. Yea, maybe that was a bad analogy. But seriously you can find some really good prices online if you know what you’re doing. Here are my personal tips and what I do before making a purchase.

1) First for a little comparison pricing I hop over to Froogle http://www.froogle.com/ if it sounds familiar it’s owned by Google and it’s their shopping engine. Just type in what you’re looking for and out it goes to scour the net and come back with what you’re looking for from various sites. You can then sort by price “lowest to highest” and browse away for the best price. This is a smart thing to do before making any major purchase to make sure you’re not paying more then you need to.

2) Once i decide on what I’m going to pay and who I’m going to purchase from…I jump over to http://www.retailmenot.com/ to see if there are any discount offers or free shipping offers for the particular vendor I’m buying from. Many times you’ll find another 10 or 20 percent off that you would not have known about, so check here first. You can also subscribe to be notified of any special coupons for your favorite vendor while you’re there.

3) If you’re purchasing a big ticket item you can always use one of the free services that will monitor the price and let you know if it detects a price decrease. Check out: http://www.priceprotectr.com/

4) One final tip: When it comes to electronics and techy gadgets these are my fav sites- http://www.buy.com/ (offers free shipping on most big ticket items) and http://www.woot.com/ Woot offers a daily special and sometimes they are AWESOME! Once you become addicted to Woot you'll be a "Wooter" for life.

There you have it. A few simple “Merle Secrets” that will save you some money. Don’t worry….you can thank me later. Now get out those credit cards and “go shopping”!

Part II- "Dress Up Your Website With Fantastic CSS Tricks"

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the different ways of implementing style sheets into your site and the basic layout of tags. Now, let's move on to some of the fun ways you can dress up your site with some standard CSS tags.

Have you ever been to a website and saw text that appeared to have been highlighted with a yellow highlighter pen? Many sales-oriented sites use this technique to call attention to ad copy they want to stand out.

The tag looks like this:

<span style= "background-color:yellow"> Text Here </span>

Pretty simple, really. How about sites that remove the underlining from hyperlinks? Think it can't be done? Think again. Here's how to do it:

<style type="text/css">
<!--
A:link {text-decoration:none}
A:visited {text-decoration:none}
-->
</style>

or like this -

A:link, A:visited, A:active { text-decoration: none }

How about setting your link colors? And how about making the links change colors when you hover over them? This is easy, too, but be aware it only works in Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher.

<style type="text/css">
<!--
A:link { color: #0000FF }
A:visited { color: #000000}
A:hover { color: #FFCC33 }
-->
</style>

Many sites you go to these days have fancy colored scroll bars instead of boring gray ones. This code only works in Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher; Netscape users will still see the standard gray.

<STYLE TYPE="text/css">
<!--
body {scrollbar-3dlight-color:#ff9909;
scrollbar-arrow-color:#000099;
scrollbar-base-color:#ff9909;
scrollbar-darkshadow-color:#000099;
scrollbar-face-color:#ff9909;
scrollbar-highlight-color:#000099;
scrollbar-shadow-color:#ff9909}
-->
</STYLE>

If you'd like some free software that will generate the colored scroll bar tags easily, go to
http://www.harmonyhollow.net/cool_web_scrollbars.shtml  You'll also find an online tool you can use to generate the code at: http://www.draac.com/mouseover-scrollbars.html

Page Margins are easy to control with CSS and can be set in mm,cm,in,points (pt) or pixels (px).

Example: To set a left margin
margin-left: 2.0 in;

To set all 4 margins at once use
Body {margin: 2 in }

To set individual margins at once use
Body {margin: 2% 5% 10% 12% }

Did you know some sites even use CSS to lay out their tables? This is a pretty advanced topic and not for the faint of heart:

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/02/28/table-based-layout-is-the-next-big-thing/

Want to keep a background image from tiling on your pages?

Body {background: #333399 url (filename.gif) no-repeat center}

Think indenting paragraphs online is impossible?

P { text-indent: .50in }

Tables don't have to be boring. You can give em fancy borders by inserting this instruction into your table tag:

Style= "border: 4px solid red"

You can change the above color and px size to whatever you'd like.

Ever notice how almost all submit buttons are all dull gray? Yours doesn't have to be. Use the following tag between the <form> tags.

<form>
<input type= "submit" value="submit" style="background-color:
#333399>
</form>

For more information on dressing up your forms with CSS see these tutorials:

http://outfront.net/tutorials_02/adv_tech/funkyforms1.htm

These are just a few of the page elements you can control with CSS. For more tricks and tips, visit some of these sites:

http://www.boogiejack.com/intro_to_CSS.html
http://www.w3.org/Style/Examples/007/
http://www.mako4css.com/Tutorial.htm

Using CSS to dress up your site is really pretty simple. Just a few tags can have you looking like an instant Webmaster Genius. Try some today and your friends will be dying to know your secrets. Whether you share or not is up to you.