Tips for configuring both Outlook Express (OE) and Microsoft Outlook (MSO) particularly to block viruses hitting your computer automatically. These precautions will save you a lot of trouble.

Ther's gold in them thar hills... or more likely, in good graces of your prospects and customers.

We are out of dog days of summer and holiday season is quickly approaching. Now is time to make sure that you are maximizing impact of your sales/marketing process, specifically your communications with your opt-in email base of prospects and customers.

Your opt-in email can be a lot of things including your newsletter, order acknowledgements, customer service follow-ups and so on.

If we approach our customer's right, using one of our most power tools our opt-in email communications, we can significantly improve our sales.

The October 2002 Consumer Email Study by DoubleClick revealed some customer preferences that can help you improve your results.

First, getting your prospect/customer to open email can be no small task. No matter what you say in your email, if they never open it, it's a lost cause.

In study, 60% of respondents said that most important factor in opening their email was who email was from, while 35% said subject line was most important. So treat your opt-in base like gold and you have addressed 60%.

Remember, every message that you send to your list will be evaluated by your customers and THEY will make decision if your email will be worthy of a look in future. If you have blown their trust in past they may never open what you send them or may permanently route you to trash folder.

Still subject line is most important to a significant portion of email users. Some interesting gender based results came out of study.

Compelling Information/News 69% Male 46% Female

Discount offer 50% Male 64% Female

New Product Announcement 37% Male 39% Female

Free Shipping 28% Male 43% Female