In a world of short attention spans and crowded inboxes, the most
effective emails share a simple formula:
one picture, about 20 lines of text, and one clear call to action
- One Picture:
Visuals draw the eye instantly. A single, relevant image captures
attention, sets the tone, and supports your message without
overwhelming the reader. Whether it’s a product shot, a happy customer, or an on-brand graphic, keep it clean and focused.
- About 20 Lines of Text:
Less is more. Instead of long paragraphs, limit your message to about ten lines. This encourages quick reading, keeps the focus on your key
message, and respects your readers’ time. Use clear language, short
sentences, and formatting (like bold or bullets) to improve scannability.
- One Call to Action (CTA):
Your email should guide the reader to take a single next step—whether that’s clicking to learn more, scheduling a call, or making a purchase. Don’t distract with multiple links or asks. Make your CTA stand out, and ensure it aligns with your goal.
When you stick to this format, the most effective emails become easier to digest—and much more likely to drive results.
Viruses, Trojans and Worms on your computer are bad. The terms are
often used interchangeably, but each is distinctly different.
A computer virus attaches itself to a program or file, enabling it to spread
from one computer to another, leaving infections as it travels. Like a
human virus, a computer virus can range in severity: some may cause
only mildly annoying effects, while others can damage your hardware,
software or files. Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file,
which means the virus may exist on your computer, but it actually cannot
infect your computer, unless you run or open the malicious program.
A VIRUS cannot be spread without a human action, (such as running an
infected program) to keep it going. Because a virus is spread by human
action, people will unknowingly continue the spread of a computer virus
by sharing infecting files, or sending emails with viruses as attachments
in the email.
A WORM is similar to a virus by design, and is considered to be a subclass of a virus. Worms spread from computer to computer, but unlike a
virus, it has the capability to travel without any human action. A worm
takes advantage of file or information transport features on your system,
which is what allows it to travel unaided. The biggest danger with a worm
is its capability to replicate itself on your system, so rather than your
computer sending out a single worm, it could send out hundreds or
thousands of copies of itself, creating a huge devastating effect. One
example would be for a worm to send a copy of itself to everyone listed in
your e-mail address book. Then, the worm replicates and sends itself out
to everyone listed in each of the receiver’s address book, and the
manifest continues on down the line. Due to the copying nature of a worm
and its capability to travel across networks, the end result in most cases
is that the worm consumes too much system memory (or network
bandwidth), causing Web servers, network servers and individual
computers to stop responding. In recent worm attacks such as the much talked-about Blaster Worm, the worm has been designed to tunnel into
your system, and allow malicious users to control your computer
remotely.
A TROJAN HORSE is full of as much trickery as the mythological Trojan
Horse it was named after. The Trojan Horse, at first glance will appear to
be useful software, but will actually do damage once installed or run on
your computer. Those on the receiving end of a Trojan Horse are usually
tricked into opening them because they appear to be receiving legitimate
software or files from a legitimate source. When a Trojan is activated on
your computer, the results can vary. Some Trojans are designed to be
more annoying than malicious (like changing your desktop, adding silly
active desktop icons), or they can cause serious damage by deleting files
and destroying information on your system. Trojans are also known to
create a backdoor on your computer that gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidential or personal information to be
compromised. Unlike viruses and worms, Trojans do not reproduce by
infecting other files, nor do they self-replicate.
Use good virus protection software. We like Avast (CZ), AVG (NL),
TotalAV (UK), Norton (US), PC-Matic (US). All have free versions! but
there are many others out there. McAfee (US) tends to use a lot of
system resources, so it noticeably slows some systems, especially older
machines.
Install a good firewall. Most virus protection software suites include a
firewall built in.
Keep your operating system updated. Windows can easily be set to
update in the middle of the night for you. Windows will patch any exploits
it finds for free, there is no logical reason not to stay updated. While
updating Windows, also periodically update other software running on
your computer.
Use caution when opening files received by email, or clicking on links. If
you don’t know who sent you some files, better to leave them unopened,
until you can verify who sent them to you. Note, a good virus program will
always check incoming email for infections, yet another reason to have
one!
According to the FBI, slightly over 80% of all infections occur when
someone opened a file that arrived by email.
Think about it!
Several months ago, we warned of pending changes to gmail, hotmail, outlook and a host of other services. That time is now. They are now requiring a SPF record, DKIM record, and are recommending a DMARC record. These are TXT entries made into your DNS server. If you have incorrect or missing entries, sending an email for delivery is either intermittent, or stops entirely. Here are the 3 records, and what they do.
SPF
SPF is used to authenticate the sender, and ensure that only
specific, authorized servers can send emails for your domain. This
makes it much harder for someone else to pretend to be you and
send out emails in your name.
DKIM
DKIM is used to verify that messages haven’t been tampered with in
transit. Because email is generally sent as a plain text, someone
could intercept your email, change it, and release the modified
version to an unsuspecting recipient. Think like a criminal. If you
send out an invoice or bill, they could change the “send a check to”
address. They’d get the payment due to you, you would not be paid,
and your customer would still owe the bill amount. DKIM makes this
much harder to accomplish.
DMARC
DMARC suggests what to do with mail that isn’t legitimate. It tells a
sending server what is wrong with an email. You can set it to pass
suspect emails, or delete them automatically. You can also set it up
to alert you about suspect emails on a daily, weekly or monthly
basis.
For our customers, we automatically set SPF and DKIM, and upon
request will set up DMARC.
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The design and content of a website will vary, depending on the site’s goals and field of expertise. Here are some elements a website should include:
- Clean and Simple Design: Any website should have a clean and simple design that is easy to navigate. Avoid using uncoordinated colors or flashy graphics that may distract visitors from reading your content, which is your goal. Responsive Design: It’s important to ensure that your website is optimized for different devices and screen sizes. A
responsive design ensures that your website looks great on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.
- About Me Page: The About Me page is where visitors can learn more about the owner. It should include a short bio, a professional headshot, and a list of skills and experiences. A business site can include corporate or business history, and anything else of interest to visitors.
- Portfolio: If you’re in any field that requires showcasing your work, a portfolio page is essential. This page should display your best work, and provide visitors with a sense of your skills and expertise. Designer, artist, writer samples of your work are important.
- Contact Page: A contact page is essential for anyone who wants to get in touch with you. It should include a contact form or email address where visitors can send you a message. Almost any business should include their location (city/state at a minimum), and a phone number.
- Blog: If you create content regularly, a blog is a great way to share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences. It can also help establish you as an authority in your field.
- Social Media Integration: If you’re active on social media, it’s a good idea to integrate your profiles into your website. This will make it easy for visitors to connect with you on other platforms. Reposting content from your blog into social media is a smart tactic that pays dividends.
Depending upon your business, you could also include a map to assist in locating your shop, pricing page, resource page, individual product pages, testimonials or more.
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Fidelity Wes Luxury Home Builder
Fidelity Wes is a luxury home builder based in Long Grove, Illinois. Specializing in new construction, they offer a range of custom and semi-custom homes in Chicago’s North and Northwest suburbs. Established in 1991, the company has built an excellent reputation for quality craftsmanship and customer satisfaction.
Fidelity Wes operates primarily in residential construction, focusing on high-end, custom-built homes. They are known for developing luxury communities and working closely with municipalities in the region to ensure high-quality developments.
“From custom luxury homes to semi-custom single-family residences, we pride ourselves on our custom home-planning services ability to deliver superior craftsmanship and outstanding commitment to satisfaction. We invite you to experience our work as high-end luxury home builders in Chicagoland’s North and Northwest Suburbs, in outstanding communities such as Deerfield, Northbrook, Buffalo Grove, Long Grove, Kildeer, Lincolnshire, and Lake Forest, IL.” says Michael DeMar, one of two principal owners.
Their headquarters is located at 201 Robert Parker Coffin Road, Long Grove, IL 60047. They offer various services, including customizable floor plans, visual walk-throughs, and in-person tours (Fidelity Wes Builders) (Long Grove Illinois). Contact them for more information. (847) 883-0131
