One morning I asked him how he could possibly be in such a good mood every morning. His response was " It takes just as much energy to be pleasant as it does to be grumpy."

I have tried to use that formula in my life and 90% of time, I carry it off.

This morning however is one that has been very difficult to practice that policy. I am normally an early riser. This morning was no different.

I fired up my computer and after getting online, I started bringing in my mail as I usually do. I went to do my other morning chores, starting a fire, putting on my wife's water for tea, pampering cat, all of normal things.

I returned to find an unusually large number of emails. I started browsing through them to find that I had at least fifty copies of same offer.

Now don't get me wrong, I think traffic generating programs are great. I also think Mark Joyner is a bright young man with some good ideas. I am also sure that his latest brainstorm will also bring him a great deal of publicity.

If you possibly escaped email barrage announcing his latest venture, it is a website pop-under program. There are already a few of them around. but Mark has added a new wrinkle or two.

My problem is not with ingenuity of program. I enjoy seeing people come up with new twists to programs that already exist. My problem is direction that marketing is taking.

There are now pop-ups, pop-under, exit programs and some other things that I am not sure even have names.

Now let's think a little. Would you really try to sell summer clothing in middle of winter? Not many people would. Why? There is little if any market for summer clothes in winter.

How about winter coats in Bahamas - sure an occasional "snow bird" might buy one, or a Bahamian, who was travelling north. But to open a store that sold nothing but winter clothing there should not be on top of your priority list.

Why is answer to both of above no? Simple - they don't match your target market. Your target market should consist of people who not only need your product or service, but also have wherewithal to pay for it.

Does Internet have this same requirement? Sure - while Internet is worldwide and covers most of globe, it is probably more important to find your target market there than anyplace else.

Most places you might advertise in don't have detailed demographics on their visitors or readers. Some companies are trying to get this information, but it is a long uphill battle as most people are unwilling to give out personal information on web.

This is one instance where you have to use some common sense. While you may not have detailed demographics available, there are some things you can do to sharpen focus a bit. If you were selling a health product geared toward older people, you can automatically rule out "kiddie sites" or ones that appeal to a young crowd such as sites where you download free music.