Notice I said that this is what my .sig looks like at moment. Your signature is a dynamic thing, and you are free to change it at any time. In fact, you don’t even have to have a standard one. Though most email programs have a place for you to put in automatic signatures, you can also simply type two hyphens, hit return, and type whatever you wish to be your signature on that particular email or posting. Think of possibilities, be creative! Play with formatting and layout, don’t be afraid to create simple shapes & boxes as I did above. Beware however that formatting doesn’t always survive in emails, especially in html format, so you will want to experiment with sending yourself emails a few times while you get it “just right.”

As long as you follow protocol of two hyphens followed by your content, and place this at bottom of your email, this is a universally acceptable method of self-promotion. The absolutely most critical component is, that your actual communication whether it be email or a forum posting must be on-topic!

This means you can’t just post a message saying “I agree!” followed by your signature, on a dozen forums and not expect to be criticized for it. So make sure whatever you have to say is relevant to topic at hand, and then be sure to include your .sig at conclusion of your writing.

I believe that too many investors, business people, artists, and more do not take advantage of this amazingly powerful method of nearly-viral marketing. The major players in web-based email have known about power of this for years! HotMail for example was a success primarily because of this technique! Back when they first started, their only form of advertising was by putting a small message about themselves at bottom of every email each HotMail user sent. This meant that, whether they wanted to or not, every recipient of a HotMail user’s email was exposed to a HotMail ad with a link to sign up. Because of this, HotMail was my first web-based email account back around 1998. Today, I don’t know of any major web-mail provider that does not include a link to themselves in each user’s email messages. This technique works; people do click those links!

In closing, I’d like to make a confession. I myself only created my .sig very recently. Though intellectually I knew all these facts and benefits to be true, I just didn’t take necessary action! Now that I have done so, I have received many more website visitors, and participants in some of my business ventures, because they saw my signature and decided to click. Creating this signature was such a little thing, why on earth did I wait so long to do it?!

Don’t wait – take action now. Needless to say, this advice extends far beyond just creating a good .sig!

When all is said and done, both you and they will have receipts and records of your transaction and it's very quick and easy to use. It's a great tool.

For common recurring transactions like sale of digital products or services, PayPal invoicing probably doesn't make sense. You can automate billing and delivery far better by setting up web pages that do all of work for you.

So, when might you want to use PayPal invoicing? Here are a few situations that might make sense... - One time services (i.e. freelance work) - Collecting money for an ad in a newsletter. - Setting up co-operative advertising. - Collecting payment for physical goods. For example, you just sold a vegetable that had an uncanny resemblance to Bill Clinton to your unsuspecting sister-in-law. - It's April Fool's Day and you just want to invoice next person to walk by your office door.

Automation is great, but there are times when you just need a quick and convenient work-around. PayPal invoicing might be just what doctor ordered.