http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog DreamForge news, special promo, and useful Web site articles, tutorials, tips, and links. Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:19:01 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Email spam. We all get it. We all hate it. What might be surprising is how many in the industry of book publishing are not just receiving spam but also sending it. But what exactly constitutes email spam? Wikipedia says, E-mail spam, also known as unsolicited bulk email (UBE) or unsolicited ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2008/06/07/how-to-not-become-a-spammer/ I get this question every once in a while from unpublished writers inquiring about our services. It’s always been tough for me to answer it, since from my side of the table as the developer of websites, it’s hard to judge the real value of taking this plunge. The question ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2008/04/06/should-aspiring-authors-establish-a-web-presence/ I’ll be blunt: I don’t get book videos. As a reader, they generally do nothing for me. And as a web designer involved with author promotion, I’ve been struggling to understand the value vs. the cost of them. So in an effort to educate myself and perhaps shed some ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2008/02/06/book-trailers-my-two-perspectives/ I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like free stuff. The great thing about anything that’s free is that if it disappoints you, you’ve essentially lost nothing except the time it took you to check it out. Today I’m going one step further to save you that time and give ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2007/12/11/bring-on-the-freebies/ One of our clients recently was looking for a redesign, and because of a limited budget, she went to a different designer who could cheaply do a fresh design and set up a Wordpress website for her. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out between her and that designer, who couldn’t come ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2007/08/10/know-what-youre-signing-up-for/ Until recently, I’d been laboring under the impression that once a client paid for a design, it was legally theirs to do with as they pleased. Then I heard of a client of ours whose site was designed by another company, who wants to switch to host with us, but ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2007/06/21/who-owns-your-website/ Consider this: You could lose your webmistress/master. It could happen any number of ways. The two of you could have a falling out. Or your webmistress could out of the blue announce that she’s pursuing a different career path and doesn’t have time to maintain your site anymore. Or she ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2007/06/21/losing-your-webmistress/ The message here is short and sweet. If you’re setting up a Web site, no matter who you’re hosting with, make sure you have control over your domain name. This is Very Important! If you sign up for a deal where your host registers your domain for you and you ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2007/06/21/be-the-master-of-your-domain/ There seems to be quite a bit of confusion and, yes, outright deception going around about Web site statistics. So, here’s a quick breakdown for you. I’m going to use as an example the stats program AWStats. It’s a very common feature offered by hosts as a way of tracking ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2007/06/21/interpreting-web-site-statistics/ This is a comprehensive guide to websites for authors. It was originally written by a partner of our company who is no longer with us and has requested that her name be withheld. Introduction: Your Purpose No author would dream of scrawling out messages on index cards and cutting them up to ... http://dreamforgemedia.com/blog/2007/06/21/the-authors-website/