How to do mass mailing without revealing the email addresses of recepients

I have a blog Blogger Tips and Tricks which is pretty popular with bloggers using the Google Blogger platform and which they found indicated by the comments and the emails I received. For example, this comment left by a reader: "Your text is very well explained and leaves no doubts about the use. I'm finding your site very useful and easy to follow. Thanks for your help!". Further, today, to my suprise and delight, I received an email from a DMOZ (Open Directory Project) editor, saying he found my blog informative and have listed it in the directory, and I didn't even submit my blog to DMOZ! You can read about it here: DMOZ, the most important and most difficult directory to get listed - Blogger Tips and Tricks got listed even without submiting.

Anyway, this blog gets lots of request for help in the comments as well as by a special email meant for blog visitors to contact me. I use gmail for blog readers to contact me, and with gmail, email addresses of people who contacted me via that email address are automatically added to the contact list. I have a long list of email addresses in the contact list, the great majority of which were obtained from emails requesting for help with Blogger. Anyway, I make all links to external sites open in new windows, and there are views that it is back practice as it irritates visitors and may discourage return visits. Anyway, I set up a poll to get the blog visitors views and if you are interested in voting (I hope you would do that) or if you are just interested in viewing the result, visit Real Poll: Should links to external sites open in new windows?. It is also a post to show how a poll can be set up.

I was genuinely interested in the result and was hoping for a wide participation. I though it a good idea to mass mail those in the contact list as the majority had received help from me and I thought a request to participate in the poll is not too much to ask in return for the favour. I realise too late that by doing so, I am exposing the email address of all those in the list. Some complained, and one apparently replied to all, which caused further upset. One demanded I sent out an email to all those receipients apologising for my mistake, asking them not to reply to all, delete the original mail and delete all the email addresses from their contact list. Well, I am the type who are willing to be corrected and to apologise if I make a mistake, but don't want to repeat the same "wrong" by mass mailing and exposing the email addresses again. He taught me to us put the email address via the "Add BCC". I had to copy-paste the email addresses of all those in the list into Notepad and tried to send out the mail that way. Unfortuantely, it returned an error message saying some email addresses in the BCC was not well formed (or something to that effect). I did some testing and found out that it would work if you add a comma to the end of each email address. I did that and successfully sent out the apology without the email address being revealed. So I think this is a good tip for you if you ever want to mass mail people in your contact list, but don't want to expose their email address.

5 Tips When Choosing Multiple Domain Hosting

5 Tips When Choosing Multiple Domain Hosting
by: Ricky Lim

If you have or are planning to have several domains running on the web, then you should consider getting a multiple domain hosting. Multiple domain hosting allows you to host several domains under a single hosting plan. Most web hosting companies call it shared hosting.

The main advantage of multiple domain hosting is it helps to consolidate all your domains under one hosting plan. It makes domain management a breeze. It also makes it easier to modify any settings since you are doing it from the same control panel.

Here are a few tips you might want to bear in mind when looking a shared hosting service.

Hard Disk Space

Nowadays most shared web hosting plans provide more than enough disk space to satisfy your needs. It is important you know before hand how much disk space your web site will be using not just currently but projected 6 months, 1 year and 2 years down the road.

Some web applications requires more disk space than others. One example are file hosting sites. Also remember to check the cost of upgrading your disk space in case you need one. Most web hosting providers charge on a per GB basis.

Bandwidth

Most web hosting providers cap a limit on each hosting plan’s bandwidth. Check to make sure it provides sufficient bandwidth for your current websites and also room for growth. Most web hosting providers will charge you on a per GB basis for exceeded bandwidth.

The speed is also important for websites. No one wants to visit a website that loads slowly. File hosting and video sites for example requires an acceptable speed in order to deliver file download or streaming video.

Number of Domains Allowed

Some web hosting limit the number of domains for each hosting plan. It is best to get one with unlimited domains so you have to worry about the limit.

Emails/FTP accounts

You probably will need separate email accounts for each domain you have. Most web hosting services provide webbased or as well outlook based email accounts. Preferably try to get one that has unlimited email/ftp accounts.

Ease of control panel

With many domains, emails, ftp accounts etc to manage, it is important that the control panel is easy to use and all information can be accessed easily. Most web hosting services provide cpanel. Some web hosting services do use their own customised control panel. A good example is godaddy.

Whichever control panel you are using, familiarize yourself with the interface and get used to it as fast as possible.

About The Author
Ricky Lim runs a cheap web hosting reviews site. Visit his site www.epromote.info for more information on free web hosting services and cheap web hosting services

How to get out a cork inside a bottle

If a cork is inside a bottle, just how can we get it out? Well, if you want the answer, just watch the video:



The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

I think therefore I am

I think therefore I am
Originally uploaded by bloggerfordummies.

Testing blogging direct from flickr as part of preparation for this post Adding images to your Blogger post


Also, hoping the cartoon will help creat environmental awareness. Hope you will visit Enviroman Says. And while the cartoon copyrighted, you are free for you to use, but a link back to my blogs will be required.

Planning an advertising campaign in London? Before embarking on one, it is wise to check directories first

Are you or your company planning an advertising campaign in London? Here is a good tip. Do some research first. Find out more about the resources that is available to you. A good place to start researching online is London Advertising Directory.

You can find over 900 links in London Advertising Directory organised into 12 categories -
Advertising Agencies
Events & Related Agencies
Market Research and Related Agencies
Public and Media Relations
Audio and Video Services
Graphic and Related Services
Marketing Consultants, etc.
Replication Services
Direct Marketing
Interactive Advertising & Related
Photography and Related Services
Signage & Promotion Related Services

which are further organised into sub-categories. With this wide choice of services availble for you to research online, I am sure you can find what you need for your advertising campaign.

How to get rid of tea stains

Got a good tip from my daughter yesterday on how to get rid of tea stains.

Background

My nickname on the net is enviroman and my first blog is Enviroman Says. I am retired and glued to the computer most of the time. Occassionally I take a break from the computer and walk around the house or drink Chinese tea. It is supposed to be healthy (see English tea is a healthier drink than water). Now I have told my family to reserve one particular mug for me, so no one else uses it except myself, and it is mainly used to drink tea or water. I see no need to use dishwashing liquid to wash it as I believe a good rinse with water is good enough. After all, no one else except me uses it. Furthermore, by doing this, I don't add to the pollution of the drains and the rivers and an added bonus is I save some dish washing liquid plus some money. However, the result is that the mug is stained with tea stain. I see no harm in it though. It is only tea stain and should not have any effect on my health.

Tip: Getting rid of tea stains

My daughter told the maid to soak the mug with salt water for one day, then wash it. Sure enough, this morning, I saw the mug is snow white - no tea stain.