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Preparing for the Next Terror Attack — Are we ready?

October 21st, 2005 by diana
Is the package at the Capitol an indication of what could happen?

California, October, 2005. Intelligence experts believe that it is only a matter of time before there is another terrorist attack in the U.S. Just today a suspicious package was found by the Capitol. Then you add in the recent scares in New York and Baltimore and the deadly terrorist bombings in Bali, Egypt, London and Madrid. These attacks are aimed at striking terror among millions of people. Of rising concerns is the fear that terrorists will use biological chemicals against us. What if this suspicious package contained a deadly chemical, such as smallpox or anthrax, are we ready? It appears not.

A study listed in Archives of Internal Medicine showed 631 doctors, mostly medical residents, were given a test prior to completing an online training course. On the pretest, half the doctors misdiagnosed botulism, 84 percent misdiagnosed plague and a case of routine chickenpox was misdiagnosed as smallpox by 42 percent of the doctors. “We’ve got a dangerous gap here and we need a much clearer strategic game plan,” said Shelley Hearne, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, which tracks how well states are prepared for bioterrorism or pandemic.

In addition to the lack of bioterror knowledge in health care professionals, high-ranking officials in the US Health and Human Services Department have stated major concerns about the government’s ability to deliver medicines in the event of a bioterror attack. In response to these concerns, steps are being taken to address these issues. To improve the delivery of medicines in the event of a national emergency some suggested steps include the delivery of medicines from local fire stations, police stations, and even via the US Postal Service.

In the book Sledgehammer, Dr. Paulo J. Reyes describes a Smallpox outbreak, and how rapidly the disease can spread, the potentially devastating effects of air-borne contaminants, and the potential for extremely large numbers of fatalities. The point in writing the book, according to Reyes, is to bring to light the high potential for bioterrorist attacks in the United States and to demonstrate how critical it is to develop emergency response strategies to handle the delivery of medicines and the medical treatment.

The combined efforts of the United States government and the medical community are crucial in preventing millions of deaths in the event of such a disaster. Despite global efforts to eradicate terrorism, the threat of a bioterror attack remains high. The United States must prepare emergency response strategies and develop effective means of delivering medicines to all parts of the country. Let’s prepare now so our nation can respond rapidly and effectively resulting in minimal damage and loss of live.

For information on Reyes book, Sledgehammer or current news on smallpox and current events, stop by Paulo Reyes site at http://www.pauloreyes.com

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Contact: Paulo Reyes, M.D.
diana@pauloreyes.com
http://www.pauloreyes.com
(954) 971-4025

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Client, Laurie Hurley gets TV time!

October 11th, 2005 by diana

Not only did Laurie’s press release, Tutoring Business Offers Unique Opportunity for Entrepreneurs get published on KVOA, Channel 4 in Tucson, see here… http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3940534 but she also has an upcoming TV interview!

Way to go Laurie!

Diana Ennen
www.virtualwordpublishing.com

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How to Build an Ezine List from Absolutely Nothing

October 11th, 2005 by diana

Yesterday I was coaching a client who presented me with a not-very-unique problem. We’d just put the finishing touches on her website and blog, and were about to embark on promoting her new workshop series.

“Just one problem,” she said. “I have absolutely no one to promote them to.”

“Well, surely you have someone – like maybe a thousand? Or 500?” I asked hopefully.

“Nope,” she replied. “I have … like, zero.”

Wow. OK, I thought, let’s just put together some speedy and highly visible ways to get folks on your list. And as I thought about it, a number of excellent ways leaped to mind.

Here’s my foolproof way to build your list to thousands in a relatively
short time. (But you do have to do these steps… like, REALLY, honestly do them … or it won’t work.)

1. Get a kick-ass bonus. There’s just no other way to put it. Your bonus has to be something everybody wants and simply can’t resist. Mine for this newsletter used to be a list of ‘25 Top Self Help Literary Agents’ which worked pretty well, except that this limited my market to self help authors.

Then I changed it to the more general ‘Suzanne’s Top 50 Media & Publishing Contacts’ and that works MUCH better. If folks want your bonus, they’ll also get your ezine – because you’ll be adding them to your list.

2. Hold a contest. Last spring I doubled my list and my web visitors by inviting 12 partners to help me put a $4500 Marketing Makeover contest. They all got lots of exposure, and I got lots of entries – almost 1500. And you can bet every one of those entrants got on my ezine list as well. I let them know that joining was the ‘price’ of entering the contest. And they were happy to do so!

3. Announce your contest or other ezine give-away event on prweb.com or any other press release submission service on the Web. But be sure to only plant press releases that are truly newsworthy, and thus likely to get press attention. Even if the media don’t use your words this time, they’ll hopefully file you as an expert for future use.

4. Give away a bonus for other sites to use based on your ezine. A popular web marketing technique is the special one or two-day promo that offers big bonus lists when you buy a certain product on those particular days. (I cover this promo technique in more detail in my e-book/binder, Get Known Now; How to Build Your Platform as a Self Help Expert.) So collect some of your best ezine essays, pack ‘em up in a downloadable PDF-based e-book, and offer it as a bonus these sites can use in their special promos.

Don’t forget juicy descriptive copy about your ezine, and a subscribe link at the end of your e-book. I’ve gotten hundreds of new readers this way, and plenty of hits on my sites.

5. Sponsor other people’s contests. Give away copies of your bonus (and ezine) to pertinent groups, contests, and conferences that request it, regardless of size. (Make sure their target market matches yours.) Simply run an announcement in your ezine that you’d be happy to sponsor comparable events. Ask them to provide a URL for an event description so you know it’s legit. Then offer up your gifts, and ask for a plug for your ezine on their site and in their materials (i.e. handouts, goodie bags, etc.) and for them to talk up your dazzling freebie, as well.

6. Give away something totally unique in your content. Who’s not
covering something important in your world? (And remember, your ezine can be really short.) One of my favorites – at www.tut.com (Totally Unique Thoughts) – is only a few sentences long. But it’s got GREAT pass-along value, and has a huge list of 40,000 because of it. Think about what info you could offer that would REALLY motivate folks to forward the email to friends. And make sure your ‘Join Here’ info is really prominent in each email.

7. Brevity is key. As Tut.com proves, brevity is key. Make sure your ezine doesn’t blab on forever but is so pungent, and boiled down to the essence that in our time-pressed era, anyone can make time for it.

8. Feature the bonus attached to your ezine in all of your email
signatures. Again and again and again. And be sure to make it sound
tantalizing AND hyperlink it. And while you’re at it, load the graphic of that bonus up high on the typelist (margins) of your blog with a direct link to sign up.

9. Consider Google Adwords or other pay-per-click search engine listings. Google’s got the biggest, and for many categories, the most expensive ads but you can’t beat the tra.ffic. (There’s some great information on how to manage this business at http://www.perrymarshall.com/google/ for f.ree pointers on how to use Google Adwords effectively.) And drop by my blog at www.painlessselfpromotion.com as I play with a Google campaign to build my list … and post about the results.

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Download Suzanne’s free list of 50 Top Publishing & Media contacts at http://www.getknownnow.com/ . Drop by her blog at http://www.painlessselfpromotion/ for almost daily tips on how to get known now … the easy way!

Reprinted with permission from Suzanne
Want to reprint this article? Email Suzanne for permission at info@getknownnow.com She’ll send along her bio to attach at the bottom. Thanks!

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