Really this topic should be elementary in 2007, however many new website owners are not realising just how big a problem this becomes.

Don’t Hyperlink your Email Address

It is NOT a good idea to publish an email address on any page anywhere on the internet. I can hear some website owners say “but I want prospective buyers to be able to send a request to me easily and instantly, at any time”. Well that is what email is for. However you can make your email available to the prospective customers without publishing it in a way that can easily be harvested and abused.

There are tens of thousands of junk mailers sending million of spam emails every HOUR over the internet. They collect addresses in thousands with spider software (which they can download for free). The software automatically travels the internet pages searching for and storing email addresses. Usually these spiders are directed by keywords, to find more relevant emails for them to spam.

If you get on one of these spammers lists, you are likely to quickly get on many of them and will wish you had not.

Do not Publish an email address in Text Format

There are two simple options to avoid publishing your email address. Either use a form to email page (formmail) where the email address is stored in your web site’s unpublished software. (Make sure you use one that is properly set up so that spammers can’t sent email using your online form, and your domain name as the sender) or the second most sensible option is to publish your email on a graphic. (A small picture of the text).

A graphic representation of your email address should also these days be deliberately distorted so that new graphics reading software can not store the text. A human eye can sort out a carefully distorted graphic image of text and type in the email address.

It is not as convenient as clicking a hyperlinked text or graphic instance of the email address, but any prospective customer who really wants to send a message to you won’t mind typing the email address into their mail program.

Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair

The 2007 Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair is returning to Melbourne and will be staged at the World Class, Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

The dates for the Fair are Friday 23rd to Tuesday 27th March 2007.

The Fair is THE opportunity for buyers and sellers in the Australian and International toy markets to come together and prepare for the upcoming Christmas season.

The Fair provides a world standard environment to display, promote, demonstrate and sell toys, games, hobbies, nursery product and licenses from around the world to retailers, wholesalers, media, government, promoters, marketers and more.

The Fair provides the annual focus for the industry to come together as a region to promote the positive benefits to children and families of toys, games and hobbies.