AOL and Yahoo may start charging commercial users fractions of a cent to deliver e-mail.

See stories here: Slashdot Clickz

And while you might think this is outrageous- it’s actually a good thing. The Can-Spam act has done virtually nothing to stop SPAM and to increase the effectiveness of direct marketing through e-mail, many people you’ve opted-in for mailings- have pushed way too much junk your into your inbox.

The solution is already here- it’s called RSS. I’ve written several posts about it already- most recently “A site without RSS is like a phone without a ringer.”

RSS allows your customers to choose when to see what new and interesting things you have on your site- and to visit at their leisure. Smart marketers will soon offer different RSS feeds to different types of customers- with different deals on different products. For now, the key is adding RSS to your site- no matter what (WordPress does this automatically).

To read some interesting views on how to make RSS simpler to use see:

Dave Winer “How RSS can bust through” 

Fred Wilson “E-mail vs RSS (Continued)”

While what I’ve read about AOL and Yahoo’s plans seems heavy handed, something has to be done to eliminate junk e-mail- and this is one option.  I remember seeing a proposal not long ago about requiring a secure type certificate for every e-mail server that would be revoked if too many spam complaints were lodged against that server. Earthlink implemented a barrier that would require a response to send e-mail to protected addresses that was highly effective during an outbreak of one really horrible virus a year or so ago. This is not the first time a radical solution has been suggested.

The best spam fighting solution I have seen is the Spam Karma 2 plug-in for WordPress that works through the collective wisdom of a shared knowledge base. It would seem that if implemented Internet wide- this type of Spam filter would quickly stop the current deluge.

How to Build a High-Traffic Web Site (or Blog)

The reason you have a site is to get your message to other people – preferably customers. The blogosopher seminar is all about getting traffic to your site- using the easiest possible way (a WordPress blog) – and working your web stats to make sure you have content that works.

Steve Pavlina has a very well written set of suggestions on how to build your content- and make no mistake- content is king. Useful, helpful, informative content can do a lot to drive traffic to your site- and while he has general tips- here are a few important ones that I think will help:

Think about the questions you get every day from your customers- and write the answers on your blog. If you are the expert in your field, you got that way by answering questions- so do that on your site. In today’s seminar I had two physicians- both of them looking for ways to build their practices. Every day the local paper has at least one health related story- and if it fits your specialty- someone will be reading it- and looking for answers on the web. Write your opinion on the story- and make sure you mention the name of the local paper- and the writer of the story in your post. This will help you localize your blog- and capitalize on the visibility of another media outlet- same goes for segments on local TV news- if it relates to your practice- write about it as soon as possible.

Another client in the seminar was a sign company. They often deal with start-up businesses that need a sign. A good way to have customers find you would be to write about your experiences with local building codes and permits and how to cut through the red tape- people will find you. Another subject would be all the permits you need to open a new business in your jurisdiction- to help the new businessperson find the answers they are looking for- and establish a relationship with your sign company.

It’s this kind of content that can help you get in front of your customers before the competition does.