A century ago Hans Christian Andersen told a memorable fairy tale about an Emperor loved to show off his clothes. He was extremely vain.

One day two scoundrels appeared before the Emperor, and said,

"We are two very good tailors and after many years of research we have invented an extraordinary method to weave a cloth so light and fine that it looks invisible. As a matter of fact it is invisible to anyone who is too stupid and incompetent to appreciate its quality."

Intrigued, the Emperor ordered a new suit made of this wonderful cloth. But when it came time to dress him in it, the Emperor wasn't willing to admit that he couldn't see the material -- and he was relieved that none of his courtiers seemed to notice. Of course, they didn't want to admit to stupidity, either.

When people saw the Emperor without clothes, they weren't brash enough to voice their thoughts. But inwardly they had doubts. When he paraded his new outfit before his subjects in the square, none of them would admit to stupidity, either. "Look at the Emperor's new clothes," his subjects said. "They're beautiful!"

A child, however, who had no important job and could only see things as his eyes showed them to him, went up to the carriage. "The Emperor is naked," he said.

The boy's remark was repeated over and over again by the bystanders until everyone cried: "The boy is right! The Emperor is naked! It's true!"

Only the Emperor was too vain to admit the truth.

Consultants who aren't up-to-speed on e-commerce can be very much like the foolish Emperor in his new clothes.

Consultants

Are you an Internet Consultant? Maybe you're from Ernst & Young, or PriceWaterhouseCooper, or one of the other Big Five. A number of our subscribers hail from prestigious consulting firms.

Perhaps you serve as an internal consultants for your businesses, a free-lance consultant for small business, or designer/providers who help businesses set up their business websites. What do the people around you think about your grasp of Internet marketing and commerce?

I'm a consultant, too. Our job is to provide the information our clients need to stay up with this rapidly changing field, and to offer knowledgeable counsel to our clients.

Monthly E-Mails Keep You Up-to-Date

Each month we supply this kind of information to our Web Marketing Today Premium Edition subscribers. Each month we e-mail out to our subscribers the URLs and a brief synopsis of 150 or so e-commerce articles and resources.

My link editors and I spend many hours each month scouring the periodicals and searching rabbit trails here and there to find whatever we can to keep you up-to-date. How can you understand and interpret the newest trends? By reading the relevant articles we send you each month.

An Exclusive Searchable Database

Our Web Marketing Today Research Room (how do I say this modestly?) is the richest, most comprehensive electronic commerce resource available anywhere -- on the Internet or off. We've been gathering materials every month since July 1995. To date, we've collected URLs to more than 19,000 articles and resources, about half on e-commerce (these take a subscription to see fully), and the other half on Web marketing (these are completely free to you).

We include full bibliographic references so you can easily use these articles as references in your written reports. Our listings include (where appropriate) author, title, periodical or company, date, brief synopsis, and URL.

We've set this up to save you time, so you can scan quickly, find out where the information is, and then drill down quickly to get it.

Embarrassing Dreams

Have you ever had dreams of getting up in front of people naked (like the emperor)? Probably Freud would say that this is symbolic, indicative of how prepared we feel.

With our e-commerce resources, you don't need to feel unprepared again. We make it easy for you to have done your homework quickly and thoroughly. Due diligence.

Is $49.95 a year too much to ask to "clothe" your mind? Of course not!

You owe it to your business, to your clients ... to your job to subscribe.

Why don't you subscribe right now. In just a few minutes you'll be deeply immersed in our E-Commerce Research Room and finding what you need. Do it now!

Special if you subscribe to Web Marketing Today Premium Edition before the end of the Month I'll give you 13 e-books worth $237.44 absolutely free if you subscribe before the end of the month. (If you're already a paid subscriber, login now at the top left corner of the main webpage to download your e-books). 1. My 89-page How to Develop a Landing Page -- completely revised and written for mid-2008 -- explains how to maximize the effect of your advertising, by pointing to a specific "landing page" that leads the shopper to decide to complete the transaction. This comprehensive guide, now in its third edition, will help you raise your conversion rate and maximize profits. It sells for $29.95 on my website. 2. Guide to Search Engine Optimization (2007 Edition) is a 97-page e-book that explains in simple terms what search engine optimization (SEO) is all about. It is not a guide for experts, nor will it make you an expert. 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This 49-page book leads you through the steps necessary to discover a potentially profitable online business niche, consider the competition, and develop a unique approach that will bring traffic and revenue. We examine the 5 principles of research, examine the various formulas used to spot potential winners, consider the strengths and weaknesses of the existing research software, briefly survey 24 keyword, PPC, and niche-finding research software programs, and provide more in-depth reviews of WorldWide Brands Research Wizard, P.I.P.E. and the Online Research Guide to Picking Products that Sell. Price: $14.95. 7. How to Promote Your Local Business on the Internet. This 44-page book is designed for local business owners and marketing directors, as well as professionals who serve them -- web designers and marketing consultants. While not repeating all the Internet marketing basics, it focuses on the elements that can make local business marketing a success, localized search engine optimization, Yellow Page ads, awareness of local portals, use of local PPC options and geotargeting at Google AdWords and Yahoo Local, e-mail newsletters, etc. I sell this for $13.95. 8. The E-Mail Marketing Handbook (Second Edition). This 875-page e-book provides a broad look at all aspects of e-mail marketing -- publishing your own company e-mail newsletter, e-mail promotions, e-mail marketing programs, formatting the e-mail, ad tracking systems, autoresponders, getting through spam filters, RSS feeds, and obeying anti-spam laws. The book also includes four appendices with user comments and ratings of various programs, a directory of 250 e-mail marketing programs, and detailed vendor answers to 99 questions about their software. This is by far the most comprehensive book on the market, especially as a buying guide to software that could be used by small to medium businesses. I sell this for $27.00. 9. The 766-page Shopping Cart Report, revised in January 2004, is the most comprehensive purchasing guide to e-commerce software ever published. It provides a basic overview of carts and my recommendations of 36 particular carts. There's a shopping guide for 12 different cart applications. I provide a directory to 225 shopping cart programs, with detailed information on 50 of the top vendors. I sell this for $34.95. 10. My 135-page "Report on Affiliate Management Software 2005, looks at the basic and advance features of affiliate software, looks in detail at 48 stand-alone programs and 55 affiliate modules integrated into shopping carts. Then offers candid feedback from about 200 users and makes recommendations. I sell it for $22.95 on my website. 11. My 80-page "10 Steps to E-Business on a Shoestring" helps you see how to envision an e-business, find an unfilled niche, and then develop it a low cost. I tell you where you'll need to spend some money, and where to find low-cost services that can get you started without a high investment. I sell it for $17.95 on my website. PLUS my recent short reports: Reciprocal Linking Tools, 23 pages, $8.95 How to Optimize Your Landing Pages Scientifically, 32 pages, $11.99 But if you subscribe (or renew your subscription) to Web Marketing Today Premium Edition before the end of the month, I'll give you a copy of all these e-books absolutely free. Together they're worth $237.44 -- and if you add in the subscription price of $49.95, the total value is $287.39. But you'll receive the e-books absolutely free when you pay only the subscription price of $49.95 . Don't miss out. Subscribe now!

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