What are your online frustrations

Hi,

I'm working on an article that I'll be soon publishing. It's on the frustrations that all of us marketing online are discovering or have discovered. Marketing online isn't as simple as many tell us, and I know that a lot of us are frustrated at making a success of it, getting ahead, getting noticed and hopefully making some money online.

So I have a simple question. I ask it here because I know that this group has encountered frustrations that have driven them crazy and can let me know how they feel. My question is this: What would you consider are the 5 biggest frustrations you or other online marketers encounter in trying to get online success and building a business. You don't have to go into detail if you don't want, just give me a list of 5 (and if you don't have 5 or have more than 5 it's okay to list them too).

I thank you for your help in advance.

David

David,

Here's my latest frustration...

Last week someone using a mailing list-server
(the same one I use) apparently spammed someone
who then complained to the ISP. The ISP shut down
the innocent list-serv instead of going after
the offending "user" of the list-serv.

So no one, including me, could access their lists
or send out any ezines.

So I had to scurry around setting up a backup A/R
and modifying my webpages to try to salvage any
subscribers that might be trying to join my list.

In the meantime, brandxsponder.com is moving to a different
server. After about 72 hours, I received notice that
the list-serv was back online. I checked. Yep, looks
like all my data is still intact. Good job, guys.

Now to test the system. OK, looks like it is working.
I should be getting a test email any second now.

It never came. I tried it again. Still nothing.

What's the problem?

The brandxsponder.com domain has been blacklisted!

My ISP is "protecting" me by blocking that bad boy.

The host of my email account is also blocking the domain.

So even if the list-serv is "working", I can't receive
anything it mails out because it is being blocked!

Now the question is, "how many others are being blocked
from this domain?"

How many on my list will not receive my ezine because of this?

When will the ISPs learn? If you have one bad apple
in the barrel, get rid of the bad apple--don't destroy
the whole barrel!

Who made these blacklist dudes the gods of the internet?!

Now I understand a little of what Paul Myers was
ranting about a few months ago...

Frustrated is not the word for it...

JDB
--
John David Bradshaw - The After50 Online Marketing Coach(TM)
Teaching old dogs new tricks...that make money online!
http://www.makingmoneyonlineafter50.com




Sign up for my list, IF you can...

JDB wrote:

"The brandxsponder.com domain has been blacklisted!

My ISP is "protecting" me by blocking that bad boy.

The host of my email account is also blocking the domain.

So even if the list-serv is "working", I can't receive
anything it mails out because it is being blocked!

Now the question is, "how many others are being blocked
from this domain?"

How many on my list will not receive my ezine because of this?"

(end quote)

JDB, how are you able to tell that you have been blacklisted by these folks? Is there a list of blackballed addresses?

I ask because I am experiencing the same problems with our homeschooling list.

The ISPs that seem to be the worst are Juno and AOL.

Does anyone know HOW to find out for sure your "status" with these people?

Best Wishes,
Jim E




Publish your own local newspaper!

> Does anyone know HOW to find out for sure
> your "status" with these people?

Hi Jim,

Unfortunately, it's a moving target.

I did some research last summer, and found, among other things, that:

ISP's use various lists to determine whether to deliver mail or not. These include Spamcop, RBL (a black-hole list, and ORDB (Open Relay Database).

Criteria for inclusion are very broad. YOU may be the spammer, your PROVIDER may have hosted a spammer, your PROVIDER may have hosted sites that sell spamming tools, or your PROVIDER may be set up to cater to spammers.

(Please note that my use of 'you' and 'your' are generic.)

I began looking into this back then because the mail from very respected sources was being marked by Mailwasher as spam. Mailwasher also indicated the source of the marking, i.e., the list used to compare the incoming mail address to.

Be aware that these lists are looking at every 'hop' between you and the sender, so, while you and your sender are perfectly innocent, if an 'offending' site was one of the 'hops,' "no mail for you!

My provider doesn't "help" me by filtering my mail. Mailwasher lets me view what's on the ISP's server then decide whether to override it's labeling. Consequently, I have a long list of sites from which I receive mail that are labeled "friend."

My intention was to write to each sender and tell him about the labeling, but the list grew too long. As well, I'd discovered the other stuff that would have been problematic for the senders to resolve anyway.

I have had to mark as friends Ehotsheet, Phil Wiley's newsletter, Missouri congressional voting records, Willie Crawford, several technical newsletters I receive, Joe Vitale, Jim Straw, and a host of others.

Then I tried to study each piece of correspondence to determine what kinds of things the senders could do to improve chances that their mail to me would be delivered. Life got in the way, and I let it go for the moment.

I may resume looking into this as time permits.

For now, I'm afraid that the real answer to your question is no, -er, maybe, -uh who knows?

Marye