03/31/07 - Your FDA Compliance Notebooks, Affiliate Marketing

VLUeM – 03.31.07 - VITAMIN LAWYER UPDATE e-MEMO

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1. Your SoP & Substantiation Notebooks & FDA Inspections
2. Grow Your Online Affiliation Program!
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1. Your SoP & Substantiation Notebooks & FDA Inspections

Updated here: www.VitaminIndustryCompliance.com

I’ve been asked what a Dietary Supplement marketer ought to have available for an FDA visit, in the event of a surprise agency inspection.

Ideally, you ought to have a couple loose leaf note books, (a) one entitled "Standard Operating Procedures Notebook" (or “SoP Notebook”) and (b) the other entitled “Substantiation Notebook.”

(A) The first Notebook should contain your:

(1) Operations Manual/SoPs and Employee Manual
(2) Formula sheets
(3) Label copies (with dates as to when they were in use)
(4) Literature copies (likewise dated)
(5) Copies of your Structure and Function Notices
(6) Insurance Policy binder page
(7) Certificate of Incorporation (or LLC Certificate of Formation)
(8) EIN and Bank Account number information

(B) The second Notebook contains information that substantiates the claims you are making. This Notebook should have a section for each product and each claim for the product, by ingredient.

(1) Abstract pages of scientific journal articles regarding the ingredients
(2) Clinical study reports about the ingredients and combinations of them
(3) Ethnographic reports on traditional uses
(4) Expert opinion letters

If you are ever visited by FDA, for one of their famous "surprise visits" having this stuff together so you can give them a copy would make them very happy.
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2. Grow Your Affiliate Program

The Vitamin Lawyer Consultancy does provide Affiliate Program Rules. Let me know if you want to establish an Affiliation Program.

Besides the right Rules, of course, you need the right software. One good program that I can recommend is the program used by BiomagScience.com for its online biomagnet sales program. It is a two step program, so, typically, you will see two banners from it on Affiliate web sites. One is for retail sales of biomagnets (for which you receive a sales commission), and the other is a “Become a Biomagscience Affiliate” banner, where another web site can join as an Affiliate, and your site earns an override on all retail sales through that site. If you go to the following page, you can see that banner: http://home.earthlink.net/~lifespirit23/support-lifespirit.htm .

But that’s just the start. After you have your web site and your affiliation program, you need to market it! If you do it right, you can expect very significant sales growth!

Here are excerpts from a piece through Add Me Newsletter about being an affiliate marketer.

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www.addme.com
How To Immediately Boost Your Affiliate Marketing Sa'les
By Titus Hoskins

Affiliate marketing is a very competitive field. Savvy affiliate marketers use every tactic they know to get the upper hand over their competition. It can mean the difference of whether or not they get that all important sa'le.

One of the best ways to boost your affiliate sa'les is to take full advantage of brand name recognition. … Popular brand names with popular trendy products sell the best.

If you're an affiliate marketer you must choose the products you promote with the utmost care; in many cases this is where you will determine the outcome of your marketing efforts…

As an affiliate marketer you can promote anything, why not choose the most popular brands and products. Just look for popular trends and join the bandwagon. Sure, the competition might be stiffer but the demand for these products will also be greater.

If you join affiliate networks like Commission Junction [or, for another example, eAffiliatez.com – rf] they will show you the companies with the highest sa'les volume in their system. Study this sa'les data before you pick your affiliate companies or products.

You can even use Google Trends to tell which products are popular and in which countries. Do some market research first and pick the most popular products to promote.

Many marketers keep an eye on their PPC (Pay Per Click) keywords for any surges in searches or impressions. A big jump could mean an increase in popularity for that product or company.

* Be Aware of “The Buzz” Factor …Certain brand names and products have buzz. …

* Can It Only Be Bought Online? … One of my most successful tactics has been to pick products or offers that are only available online. Dell products come quickly to mind. … Online coupons and exclusive deals also increases your affiliate sa'les. Look for these and display them along with your popular brands for they will increase your sa'les. Everybody loves a deal!

* Use Brand Names In Your Site Copy and PPC Advertising … You must always check with your affiliate company what rules they have about displaying brand names and trademarks on your site copy. Most companies will supply their affiliates with web content they can use for promotion.

Most Companies have strict rules prohibiting affiliates from using certain brand name keywords in their PPC advertising. Each company is different, so check before you proceed with any PPC campaigns.

However, one of the most effective ways for PPC advertising is to use the particular brand name and product name in your PPC ads. Savvy affiliate marketers have figured this one out long ago, it mainly has to do with finding the buyer at the right stage in their buying process. If they're looking a particular product ; they may already have their minds made up and are ready to buy…

* A Rose Is A Rose Is A Sa'le! … In conclusion… Keep your eyes peeled for popular trends and shifts in the marketplace so you can adjust your marketing to meet these new demands….

About the Author - The author is a full-time online marketer. For the latest and most effective web marketing tools try: Internet Marketing Tools - http://www.titushoskins.com/ © 2007 Titus Hoskins.

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Well, that’s all for now.

Ralph Fucetola, JD
The Vitamin Lawyer.com Consultancy
http://www.vitaminlawyer.com
All Rights Reserved

03/16/07 - Making Claims, SoP Outline, Health Freedom Site attacked

03.16.07 - VITAMIN LAWYER UPDATE e-MEMO

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1. Making Claims & New Dietary Supplements
2. Record Keeping SoP and Employee Manual – Online Outlines Available
3. Health Freedom Site Attacked
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1. MAKING CLAIMS & NEW DIETARY INGREDIENTS

Say your company needs a "DSHEA compliance" letter from The VitaminLawyer.com Consultancy about a new product. The threshold issue is whether the product is a "new dietary ingredient". We start by noting whether the product is found in the IBIDS data base. Then we check to see if similar products are found in the general FDA data base and look for references indicating whether FDA treats the product as a new dietary ingredient.

Journal abstracts showing the product being studied prior to the DSHEA "grandfathering" date of June, 1994 can be useful. Such information could show that the product was part of the food supply before the grandfathering date. This will negate the new dietary ingredient issue (which would have required prior FDA approval before marketing -- with proof of safety).

The other part of the DSHEA compliance issue has to do with the claims to be made for the product. If there are no claims being made, other than "a good source of [ingredient]" or "advanced bioavailable form of [ingredient]" (with substantiation for these claims, of course) then there would be no claim issues. Simple general “support of normal structure and function” claims are allowed. Even “immune system support” claims could be allowed:

"A “claim that a product "supports the immune system" is not specific enough to imply prevention of disease because the immune system has both structure/function and disease fighting roles. A general claim of this type doesn’t specifically focus the intended use of the product on the disease aspect of the system’s function."

Here is access to the FDA guidance: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/98fr/98n-0044_gdl0001.pdf. Once these threshold issues are resolved, it becomes possible to provide a DSHEA compliance letter for use with potential distributors, online affiliates and joint venturers.

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2. RECORD KEEPING SoP AND EMPLOYEE MANUAL

SoP – Standard Operating Procedures – are an important part of cGMPs (current Good Manufacturing (Marketing) Practices. I’ve created a new web page with outlines of the contents of the SoP and EM documents - http://tinyurl.com/2eu6yj

A primary concern of small, leading edge dietary supplement purveyors is how to deal with the new wave of regulation that seems to be sweeping the industry. The first rule of bureaucracy is, “Are your papers in order?” Well, are they? In the context of current Good Manufacturing/Marketing Practices (cGMPs) your “papers” are the documentation of your business activities, from buying your products, through advertising, selling and shipping them. And then, dealing with customer issues, refunds, recalls, adverse event claims, etc., etc.

To make it as simple as possible, I’ve developed a shorter and simpler “Record Keeping SoP” version of my Standard Operating Procedures/Employee Handbook (SoP/EMs) that is made for smaller, Internet oriented dietary supplement and alternative therapy companies. For a bit over an hour of my time, I can customize the Record Keeping SoP format for your company, so you will know what documents you need to keep and for how long. Just email me at ralph.fucetola@usa.net with “Record SoP” in the subject line and I’ll let you know what information I need and how you can reserve the time for your SoP.

You can now also take a look at the Tables of Contents of the Record Keeping SoP (actual document: 5 pages), the Standard SoP Manual (16 pages) and the Employee Manual (22 single-spaced pages) that I’ve posted at: http://tinyurl.com/2eu6yj

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3. HEALTH FREEDOM SITE ATTACKED ON 03/12:

The websites of the Natural Solutions Foundation - www.globalhealthfreedom.org and www.healthfreedomusa.org – disappeared from the Internet within hours of the site exposing the genocidal agenda “the illness industry.” The sites are online again, but with a number of images and other information still missing. You can read the original article and the Internet attack at: http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/index.php?page_id=219

Here is what Dr. Laibow had to say in an email blast while the sites were down: “…our hosting company… locked our site with no reason given, no warning and no explanation. When I called to talk to someone about this I was told that the supervisor was "on leave," the manager was "not here," probably would not call me back when he got there, and that there was no one to talk to about the fact that my site was locked for no apparent reason at all. All this after 19 minutes and 45 seconds of international phone call holding. Why is our site blocked? Because, according to the technical services person, the site was locked in the computer with no explanation and can not be unlocked until I talk with the right person. Who is that? He does not know… The War on Freedom IS a War on Health Freedom… I wrote about the genocidal intent of the illness industry called Big Pharma in my latest email to you. Funny, immediately after that our site is mysteriously locked for no reason. Hmmmmm. Could it be that the Power Beast does not want you to know about these realities? Looks like it, doesn't it…”

As of today, the two parts of the site that still do not work, curiously, are the email sign-up and the Organics 4 U Shop. So no one can join or help support NSF*. Curious and curiouser… If you’ve chosen to be in this industry, you need to acknowledge its realities.

Ralph Fucetola JD
http://www.vitaminlawyer.com

* The Foundation can receive donations through PayPal, however.
You can PayPal to naturalsolution@optonline.net and the donation will go directly to the Foundation.

Also, do see Nutricide, now on YouTube at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5266884912495233634&q=Nutricide

03/02/07 - More SoP, more attacks... Web 2.0

03.02.07 - VITAMIN LAWYER UPDATE e-MEMO
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1. Record Keeping SoP and Employee Manual – Online Outlines Available
2. New Meta-Analysis Attacks Antioxidant Vitamins: Is it flawed? What to do?
3. Web 2.0 – What the Entrepreneur Should Know
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1. RECORD KEEPING SoP AND EMP MANUAL

[I was asked to repeat this information from previous eMemos. I’ve created a new web page with outlines of the contents of the SoP and EM documents -
http://tinyurl.com/2eu6yj    Updated: www.VitaminIndustryCompliance.com]

A primary concern of small, leading edge dietary supplement purveyors is how to deal with the new wave of regulation that seems to be sweeping the industry. The first rule of bureaucracy is, “Are your papers in order?” Well, are they? In the context of current Good Manufacturing/Marketing Practices (cGMPs) your “papers” are the documentation of your business activities, from buying your products, through advertising, selling and shipping them. And then, dealing with customer issues, refunds, recalls, adverse event claims, etc., etc.

To make it as simple as possible, I’ve developed a shorter and simpler “Record Keeping SoP” version of my Standard Operating Procedures/Employee Handbook (SoP/EMs) that is made for smaller, Internet oriented dietary supplement and alternative therapy companies. For a bit over an hour of my time, I can customize the Record Keeping SoP format for your company, so you will know what documents you need to keep and for how long. Just email me at ralph.fucetola@usa.net with “Record SoP” in the subject line and I’ll let you know what information I need and how you can reserve the time for your SoP.

You can now also take a look at the Tables of Contents of the Record Keeping SoP (actual document: 5 pages), the Standard SoP Manual (16 pages) and the Employee Manual (22 single-spaced pages) that I’ve posted at: http://tinyurl.com/2eu6yj

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2. FLAWED ANALYSIS – OR NEW APPROACH NEEDED FOR PRODUCTS?

Study alleges link between antioxidants and increased mortality.

“2/28/2007 - A meta-analysis of 68 randomized trials with antioxidant supplements has reported that vitamins A and E, and beta-carotene may increase mortality risk by up to 16 per cent, but vitamin C did not have an effect on mortality and the antioxidant mineral selenium was associated with a nine per cent decrease in all-cause mortality. … The pooled analysis, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, could have significant negative effects on the sale of antioxidant dietary supplements… The new pooled analysis has already drawn criticism from both inside and outside the dietary supplements industry concerning the methodology applied, and the conclusions drawn. … The most prevalent criticism of the study has come from the diverse nature of the studies pooled together, described by one industry expert as comparing "apples and oranges"… A wealth of epidemiological evidence has linked dietary antioxidant intake to reduced risk of a wide-range of diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, but when such
antioxidants have been extracted and purified, or synthesized and put into supplements, the antioxidants, according to randomized clinical trials (RCTs), do not always produce the same positive results. … [The meta-analysis] findings contradict the findings of observational studies… that antioxidants improve health.”

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=74582&m=1NIU228&c=jegwylrviswtnqa

The language used in the reports about the meta-analysis does appear carefully chosen to overstate the risks and understate the benefits. The bottom line for vitamin purveyors: (1) if these allegations begin to impact the market, consider substituting whole food sources of ingredients for extracts; (2) budget the funding needed for RCTs and (3) note the astoundingly positive results for Selenium: a 9% decrease in mortality. Think Whole Food Supplements!

[03/02 Update: Linus Pauling Institute blasts AMA fake meta-analysis: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070228172604.htm -- the Institute points out obvious flaws in the report and show the bias of the authors, who started with 815 trials, selected out 68 of them, ignored the most valid trials, and then manipulated the statistics to provide the preordained result. Voodoo science at its most obvious.]

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3. WEB 2.0 FOR “NEWBIES”

Excerpts from: Becoming the Spider: Next Generation SEO Tactics

"Just when you believed you had all your SEO tactics figured out, the web goes and changes on you. ... Web 2.0 changes the whole ballgame. It not only places the Internet user squarely in the middle of things, but it gives that user the means and power to create and manipulate data. Web 2.0 dramatically changes how we view and use the web. ... Just what exactly is Web 2.0? ...perhaps the simple definition can be found in the word "you"! Time magazine probably summed it up best by making reference to the "you" in user generated content. Web 2.0 is basically all the platforms that give us this brave new user-powered interactive Internet, generally referred to as 'social media'. .. Web 2.0 can be seen or manifested in such sites as YouTube, MySpace, Del.icio.us, Digg, Squidoo. ... Web 2.0 uses scripting languages such as Python, Perl PHP, RSS... to construct interactive platforms that websites can use to create all this user-generated content. ... If you have used Google Earth, you will realize how powerful and revolutionary these new applications
can be, not to mention, they are a whole lot of fun. ... all webmasters should optimize their sites for this new Web 2.0 and take full advantage of all the SEO possibilities presented by this brave new Internet. … Here are a few SEO suggestions you can try:

1. RSS/Blogging. You must place a blog and RSS feed on all your sites. This is a fairly simple procedure to do with free server-based programs... Having a blog and RSS feed will place your site into the whole tagging process. Each category you create in your blog will be seen as a tag by such sites as Technorati. RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' and your RSS feeds will get your content distributed across the web. ...

2. Create some Google Juice! Join as many of these highly interactive sites as you can: MySpace, YouTube, Del.icio.us, Digg, Wikipedia ... my favorite is Squidoo, where you can create Lenses on different topics that interest you. User driven content that's utilized by all the major social media sites. Of course, link back to your sites in your posts and creations in these user-created content havens and watch your PR ratings go way up.

3. Use Interactive Scripts. Place interactive JavaScripts and platforms on your own sites. Have membership forums, polls, blogs, feedback forms, user-contributions... to build unique content driven sites. Become the spider!

4. Tagging (Folksonomy). Be constantly aware of the tags (keywords) you're creating with your blogs and sites. This can have a very beneficial effect on your traffic and rankings. Closely relate these tags to the content on your sites and build higher rankings in all the major search engines.

5. The Long Tail. Especially important for affiliate marketers, you need to cover special niches where there is less competition and content. These narrow niches make up a large portion of the whole vast web, creating content in these unique areas will get your site included in the search engines a lot quicker and keep them there a lot longer.

6. Holistic Web 2.0! Be constantly vigilant in placing your sites in the whole 'Interactive Game', building links and partnerships with the important YouHubs: MySpace, Del.icio.us, YouTube, Digg, Squidoo... the more connections you have, the more your own sites will prosper.

"... Web 2.0 will play an ever increasing role in the development and evolution of the web. Make sure your sites are optimized and in the 'You' game. Create blogs, RSS feeds, interactive forums, membership areas, user-generated content and truly make your sites interactive havens in their own right. Just remember to tag everything and your sites will reap the benefits of this new Web 2.0 generated SEO gold rush. ... The author [Titus Hoskins] is a full time Internet Marketer with numerous sites on the web, including two niche sites on Internet Marketing. His main site is www.bizwaremagic.com ...”

Well, that’s all for now. Remember to check the SoP contents tables at: http://tinyurl.com/2eu6yj



Ralph Fucetola JD
http://www.vitaminlawyer.com

02/23/07 - Record Keeping SoP, attacks and opportunities

02.23.07 - VITAMIN LAWYER UPDATE e-MEMO
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1. Harvard Joins Anti-Nutrient Crusade
2. The Future for Healthcare: $4.1 Trillion!
3. Record Keeping Short Form SoP
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1. HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL REPORT PERPETUATES ANTI-NUTRIENT LINE

The report speaks for itself, but do note how it is being used to create publicity for the idea of implicitly pre-market controls over nutrients, as though nutrients were not as safe as any other category of food.

“The report, "Vitamins and Minerals: What You Need to Know", gives consumer advice…Directed at the general public, the report could stir up the issue in the nutraceutical industry surrounding what body should give a stamp of approval for supplements, and whether an independent body is needed for such a purpose.

“"Choose products that bear the US Pharmacopeia Dietary Supplement Verification Program (USP-DSVP) mark, which indicates that the supplement manufacturer has complied with certain standards," says the report.

“Via its recommendations, the Harvard report is also critical of dietary supplements that go beyond the vitamin and mineral category.

“"Generally, if you're hoping for phytochemical benefits, you'll do better in the produce department than the supplement aisle," according to the report. "There is virtually no evidence that herbs and other nonvitamin ingredients added to supplements, such as echinacea, are essential for your health."

“The report questions another key area for the supplement industry - the benefit of different sourcing for vitamins in minerals.

“"It doesn't matter whether vitamin C is derived from organic rose hips or synthesized in large batches in a laboratory," says the report. "Your body will use the resulting product similarly."”

www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=74406&m=1NIU221&c=jegwylrviswtnqa

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2. HEALTHCARE SPENDING TO INCREASE

FDA News reports today: “”Healthcare spending will continue to grow more quickly than the economy over the next decade … according to a report from economists at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Healthcare spending in 2016 could reach $4.1 trillion, representing 20 cents out of every dollar spent, according to the report, which was published in Health Affairs. In 2006, healthcare spending was $2.1 trillion, the economists estimated. … spending growth will reach 7.8 percent by 2009 because of accelerating medical price inflation and increases in pharmaceutical use. By 2016, health spending could be 19.6 percent of the gross domestic product, the report said.

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3. RECORD KEEPING SHORT FORM SoPs

A primary concern of small, leading edge dietary supplement purveyors is how to deal with the new wave of regulation that seems to be sweeping the industry. The first rule of bureaucracy is, “Are your papers in order?” Well, are they? In the context of current Good Manufacturing/Marketing Practices (cGMPs) your “papers” are the documentation of your business activities, from buying your products, through advertising, selling and shipping them. And then, dealing with customer issues, refunds, recalls, adverse event claims, etc., etc.

To make it as simple as possible, I’ve developed a shorter and simpler version of my 50+ page Standard Operating Procedures/Employee Handbook (SoP/EMs) that is made for smaller, Internet oriented dietary supplement and alternative therapy companies. For an hour of my time, I can customize the Record Keeping SoP format for your company, so you will know what documents you need to keep and for how long. Just email me at ralph.fucetola@usa.net with “Record SoP” in the subject line and I’ll let you know what information I need and how you can reserve the time for your SoP.

www.VitaminIndustryCompliance.com

Well, that’s all for now.
Ralph Fucetola JD
http://www.vitaminlawyer.com

02/09/07 - FTC enforcement... Situational Selling

02.09.07 - VITAMIN LAWYER UPDATE e-MEMO

The purpose of the ...VLUeM e-memo is to update the Vitamin Lawyer and Vitamin Lawyer News web sites for my contacts and client list. You got on this e-list by opting in or becoming a client of the Vitamin Lawyer.com Consultancy. If you want to be taken off the list, please “reply” to this email with the word “remove” in the subject line. On the other hand, you are welcomed to forward this to your own eList… ;)
And do remember to check out the ...VLUeM Online Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rkneb and my Online Seminar compilation of briefs and white papers: http://tinyurl.com/ua9lq .
This issue focuses on two areas: (1) FTC plans to police the vitamin market and (2) some more tips from Entire Web.

Updates, see: www.VitaminLawyer.com and www.VitaminIndustryCompliance.com

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1. FTC Enforcement Plans
2. Increase Conversion with Situational Selling
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1. FTC Enforcement Plans from Nutra Ingredients USA (article excerpts below)

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=74055&m=1NIU208&c=jegwylrviswtnqa

“2/8/2007 - The Federal Trade Commission has said that it will continue to prioritize policing dietary supplement marketing practices, thereby sending out a warning to companies making exaggerated or unsubstantiated claims. .

“The deceptive marketing of products that may affect consumer health and safety will continue to be an FTC priority,” said the FTC in its budget request summary submitted to Congress on February 5. “The FTC will focus on health care products, including dietary supplements.”

“The authority rang in the New Year with a $25m-clamp-down on parties behind the deceptive marketing of four major weight-control supplements: Xenadrine EFX, CortiSlim, TrimSpa, and One-A-Day WeightSmart. [The Vitamin Lawyer notes: none of my clients!] . . .

“Going forward, the FTC will continue its aggressive program by focusing its law enforcement on violations that create the greatest risks to consumer health.” . . .

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2. Increase Conversion with Situational Selling from EntrieWeb - www.entireweb.com (article excerpts below)

“. . . [R]eally good salespeople are trained to discover details about the customer before trying to pitch a particular item. A question like, "Hi, how are you? What sport do you play?" is a great opening line. It gets the customer to focus on a general topic, and then persuades him or her to narrow down the choices. And a focused customer is a buyer, not a browser.

“What does this have to do with your online sales? Plenty. Especially if you'd like to increase your conversion by 50 percent or more.

“You see, if you focus just on increasing traffic without increasing your profit per visitor, well, you're missing out on more money. Or more e-mail opt-ins. Or whatever it is that you do to monetize your site. Fewer clicks and more sales should always be the goal. You'll improve those two metrics when your site successfully gets visitors to focus right away on the homepage and then proceed directly to checkout.

“That's where the "situational sell" can be your super-cybersalesperson. On a website, you can give visitors a few choices that best describe their situation, and entice them to click on the description that puts them into a specific segment of the market.

“The situational sell is a way to pitch products and information strictly from the customer's point of view. If you're selling sports merchandise online, you would want to get customers to click on their favorite team right away, and then choose the item they want to buy. … Think of the situational sell as pre-qualifying your visitors, before they get a chance to wander aimlessly through your site. If you pre-qualify them, you can funnel them through the sales process a lot faster.

“One traffic school website who tried this tactic ended up increasing its email opt-ins by a whopping 60 percent! How did they do it? Instead of simply listing the names of the courses it offers, the website asks visitors what type of driver they are, literally. On the site you'll see 3 boxes in a row in the main body area. Each box contains a unique headline, a photo to illustrate the idea, and a description of services within the category.

“Box #1 contains the headline "New Driver?" and includes a picture of teenagers laughing and hanging out in a school parking lot. Box #2 carries the headline "Too Many Tickets?" and includes a picture of a driver getting a ticket. Finally, Box #3 has the headline "Trying to pass the state exam?" along with a picture of a recent immigrant holding paperwork.

“Under the headlines, a series of links appear. This is also a great place to include your top-tier keywords. Once a visitor clicks on one of those links, he or she is guided to a page specifically geared to sell products or services to their demographic

“The beauty in setting up a 'situational sell' website is that it's a very flexible way to market one type of product to a wide selection of site visitors.

“If you're selling e-books or informational products, there will be different features or advantages that you'll want to highlight, depending on the visitor. By segmenting your visitors first on your homepage, you can funnel them to specialized pitches.

“The situational sell sounds logical because it is logical. But in the day-to-day minutia of maintaining a website, the big details sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Take a fresh look at your homepage and give your visitors a fresh perspective. Try the situational sell. It will make your visitors comfortable, they'll feel as if you already understand their point of view, and you'll most likely be rewarded with higher conversions.”

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About the Author: Diane Metz writes about website marketing and development. She offers free, unique content to select websites. Her companies include Crown CD Manufacturing, which specializes in CD duplication and CD replication, for marketing, music, promotions and software - http://www.crowncd.com/ .

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I am happy to be able to bring you Diane Metz’ interesting piece on Situational Selling. I think it is a useful marketing concept that can help you design a stronger web site. The great genius of the Internet is its ability to connect people and information. The more you are able to link the right people with the right product the more likely you are to have a sale. So good luck on your web site optimization!

Well, that’s all for now.
Ralph Fucetola JD
http://www.vitaminlawyer.com

01/27/07 - New attacks on vitamins... and AER - DEATH by Medicine

01/27/07 - VITAMIN LAWYER UPDATE e-MEMO
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Vitamin Lawyer on HealthRadio; Vitamin Shoppe under attack; DEATH by medicine

Vitamins are under major media attack -- again. A new Adverse Event Reporting Law has been signed by the President. These issues are so important for Dietary Supplement Purveyors, that I reproduce below most of the report from Nutraingredients-USA and devote this entire issue of my Update eMemo to the attack:
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The Vitamin Shoppe calls for independent testing procedures - By Clarisse Dou

1/26/2007- Following the withdrawal of its women’s multivitamin product - as a result of allegations of high lead content by ConsumerLab.com - the Vitamin Shoppe has expressed both its desire to get to the truth of the matter and for industry to devise new testing methods.

NutraIngredients-USA ran an article Wednesday on the Vitamin Shoppe's decision to withdraw its "Especially for Women" multivitamin. The decision was sparked by the highly publicized results of a study conducted by industry watchdog ConsumerLab.com that pinpointed 11 products - out of 21 tested - as not meeting their labeled contents and standards.

The Vitamin Shoppe… said… “Our industry badly needs an independent testing procedure that truly has the best interests of the consumer at heart…”

ConsumerLab said the Vitamin Shoppe’s multivitamin was contaminated with 15.3 micrograms of lead per daily serving. This is more than ten times the amount of lead permitted without a warning label in California – the only state to regulate lead in supplements – and several times the normal daily exposure to lead…

The Vitamin Shoppe has also stood by its assertion that its products are manufactured according to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). “We have strict checks and record keeping requirements that follow "Good Manufacturing Practices" for food and all products delivered to our distribution facility.”

Draft current GMPs were published in 2003, but the final version of the guidelines are reported to still be going through a law-making process at the Office of Management and Budget.

“There is a proposed regulation for GMPs that are specific for dietary supplements that have been in discussion since 1995… “We regularly audit our contract labs to assure that they are complying with our educated best guess as to what these proposed regulations will entail and for the legally required compliance with food GMPs.”

Copyright - Unless otherwise stated all contents of this web site are © 2000/2007
http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/printNewsBis.asp?id=73719
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So, what does this mean to the average vitamin company? These are the points to consider –

First: cGMPs are about to become a center of the attack on the industry.

Second: the attack continues, in different ways and places. Just a week ago Tuesday, the New York Times carried a major article attacking vitamins as potential poisons – my comments and those of Maury Silverman – prepared for my appearance last Saturday on HealthRadio - Dr. Alan Pressman, www.drpressman.com - are below:
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Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:26:45 PM EST
From: "Ralph Fucetola JD"

Subject: The Safety of Dietary Supplements

Well, Dr. Pressman, I looked at the NY Times propaganda piece.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/health/16diet.html?ref=science

I'd be happy to appear on your show this Saturday. What strikes me is the extraordinary SAFETY of supplements -- one death in 60,000 complaints, for example, with many ten millions of users - 230 deaths in 23 years. Compare that to aspirin - 1,500 deaths per year, every year. Etc.

With the new Adverse Event Reporting law, we may get better statistics over the next few years. See: http://www.aer-consultants.com .

Among other failures, the Poison Control people are not collecting the right information. It has been suggested by some critics of such studies that often the adverse reaction is caused by the interaction with drugs and it is the drug that is to blame, not the food substance.

Maury Silverman recently wrote me (about implementing the new AER law):

"Implementing 'objectively' has been stated many times here, meaning to first identify concurrent use of foods and dietary supplements with drugs of any kind, be they prescription, OTC, or illegal/illicit/counterfeit.

"Once that is done on the MedWatch form your company now must fill out once a complaint comes to you that must be reported to FDA, the FDA should screen out drug-drug interactions & drug-nutrient interactions, (which are inherently drug problems). The current MedWatch form is very inadequate to gather this
information.

"This is important so that:

" (1) the dietary supplement ought not be blamed for a serious adverse event prompting a lawsuit against your company, or yourself since you are so
numerous on the record as disbelieving and/or being delusional on this matter.

" (2) The FDA can require labeling of the drug, for contra-indications, known drug-drug and/or drug-nutrient interactions. As drugs are so inherently
more dangerous than foods and dietary supplements, better labeling of drugs, first, is vital importance to the nutrition industry and the public health.

" (3) Drugs can be labeled for the nutritional deficiencies they cause. That goes also for alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine when poor nutrition is concurrent.

" (4) More 'E' can be put into the full implementation of DSHEA. This means more quality information from the nutrition community on how to avoid
adverse events, when there is concurrent usage with drugs.

"The problem is too often that the medical establishment does not educate or train its practitioners on nutrition and the healing qualities of natural products. They are more likely than not, drug salespeople. From when I was a youngster, I do remember that people grew up on food and good nutrition, not DRUGS.

"I suggest here that you look at the article in the October 9, 2006 issue of Archives of Internet Medicine titled: "Factors Associated with Dietary Supplement Use among Prescription Medication Users". (166: 1968-74, 2006)"

Allen, Thanks for the opportunity to respond to obvious BS.
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Third: The current attack on vitamins needs to be seen in light of AER – Adverse Event Reporting. AER implementation will be directly tied to these developments. And, a word to the wise: The new AER law is not concerned with the general propaganda that nutrients are not safe, as a class of food. Nutrients are generally recognized as foods, and foods are generally recognized as safe when ingested as directed. AER is concerned with specific batches of specific products and whether they are contaminated or otherwise unwholesome. AER may provide the ammunition to yet again prove nutrients safe.

Please review what we have to say about AER developments on the AER Consultants web page, www.aer-consultants.com – we will post information on developments there. AER Consultants will engage with the FDA on the issues that need to be covered by the AER regulations to protect the industry as well as the consumer. Your thoughts on that would be appreciated, so please let me know what you think needs to be included.

What can concerned citizens, health freedom activists, alternative practitioners and dietary supplement purveyors do to protect their access to wholesome, high potency nutrients? Stay informed! Be ready to make your views known. Support health freedom groups like www.healthfreedomusa.org - if you are in the industry, realistically analyze the situation and remember, “Management manages…”

And now for the counter-punch... DEATH by medicine:

Previously published by the Life Extension Foundation, Gary Null and several other healthcare professionals lay it out: government-approved, standard medicine is the single greatest CAUSE of preventable death in the USA. While we've known this for a while, it's useful to see the statistics all brought together in one article, especially now that Dietary Supplements and natural alternatives seem under heavy media attack.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_awsi_death_02.htm

Well, that’s all for now.

Ralph Fucetola JD
http://www.vitaminlawyer.com

01/13/07 - Industry growth - Handling negative publicity

01/13/07 - VITAMIN LAWYER UPDATE e-MEMO

For those of you who are new to the ...VLUeM, the purpose of this e-memo is to update the Vitamin Lawyer and Vitamin Lawyer News web sites for my contacts and client list. You got on this e-list by opting in or becoming a client of the Vitamin Lawyer Consultancy. If you want to be taken off the list, please “reply” to this email with the word “remove” in the subject line. On the other hand, you are welcomed to forward this to your own elist… :)

And do remember to check out the Online ...VLUeM Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rkneb and my Online Seminar listing of briefs and white papers: http://tinyurl.com/ua9lq .
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Here’s what I cover in this memo:

1. Vitamin Industry continues rapid growth.
2. Handling negative search engine postings
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1. RAPID GROWTH! -- It’s going to be a great new year! The latest figures show that Vitamin Industry sales have increased to over $28,000,000,000 – that’s 28 billion dollars – per year! As recently as 1993 some sources list annual dietary supplement sales at under one billion dollars. In about a decade and a half, sales may have risen at the astounding average annual rate of two billion dollars a year! What’s your share of the industry? Where will this rate of growth take it over the next decade? Are you ready to rise with this rising tide – or, rather, with this tsunami of sales? Looks like an interesting year ahead!
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2. NEGATIVE WEB PUBLICITY -- I’ve recently been asked by several people to help clear search engines of negative postings. While their own web sites rank near the top for their chosen search terms, or for their own names or company names, they also found some rather negative postings also having very high search engine positions. This is especially true regarding negative postings from such sources as the now largely discredited “Quackwatch” web sites. Once a “quack attack” has been launched, though, it tends to linger on the web. When, as was recently the case, a negative posting including confidential government investigative materials that are privileged by law, a strongly worded Cease and Desist letter from a lawyer to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) providing the web space for the offending site will often cause the deletion of the page. Other times, litigation is necessary. See my site, http://www.internetinjunctionlawyer.com . The Vitamin Lawyer is available to send C&D notices for you, or to consult with local counsel if litigation is needed. The sooner you start, the quicker the negative web pages will disappear!

But, often, there are “lawyerless” approaches that can help reduce the search engine ranking of negative postings. The following excerpts from a recent issue of Entireweb Newsletter contain a wealth of ideas to deal with negative press.

"Entireweb Newsletter * January 9, 2007 * ISSUE #299
www.entireweb.com - Ten Tips To Clear Search Engines of Negative Press

"What do you see when you search for your company or brand name? Is there anything on the first page of the search engine results that you wouldn't be proud to display on your home page? Consumer review sites, blogs and forums have made it easy for anyone to say whatever they want about your company, whether they be disgruntled customers or competitors who like to play dirty. ... If you're in a situation where negative publicity is front and center in search results, there are ways you can reclaim search engine real estate for your corporate identity. Though you can't make negative results disappear from the search engine indexes entirely, the following strategies can help them slip off the first few pages of search engine results.

"1. Good Old Fashioned Networking - Even if you take none of the advice following in this article, the first thing you should do is contact the webmasters of the sites in question with a polite request for removal of negative comments. There's a good chance they'll be willing to co-operate. ...

"2. Tap Into the Power of Wiki - Wiki websites allow users not only to add their own content, but also edit pages. ... There are many wiki pages like AboutUs.org and LoveToKnow.com that you can use to create content about your company. ...

"3. Raise Your Profile - Some websites like PR.com allow you to post your company's profile. ...

"4. Wet Your Pen - Articles can help you kill three birds with one stone. Not only can articles rank for your company name, they also build valuable backlinks to your site and position you as an expert in your field. You can use your company name in the resource box at the end of an article along with a link back to your site...

"5. Become A Socialite - Using social bookmark sites like Netvous and Del.icio.us is an easy way to quickly create a page that ranks for your name. ... The links themselves are not given much weight by search engines, but you have an opportunity to use your company name in the titles and descriptions of your bookmarks and photos. ...

"6. Become A Lensmaster - A company blog is certain to rank well, and it's easier than ever to create one with Squidoo.com. When you create a "lens" for your site, you can easily upload pictures and also make use of tags. Unlike other blogs, Squidoo won't show the posting date, so your lens won't look neglected if you ever stop posting. You can build your blog's link popularity by submitting it to blog directories like LSBlogs and BlogHub, and linking to it from your site...

"7. Broadcast Yourself - Do you have promo videos or other visual media about your site? Why not create a channel [on sites like YouTube]..

"8. Explore Shopping Engines - If you sell products online, consider listing them in comparison shopping sites, or "shopping engines" like Shopping.com, Bizrateor Nextag. ...

"9. Use Directories For Deep Links - Search engines still consider a page's number of relevant backlinks to be a strong indicator of quality and relevance to a search term. Octopedia, WorldSiteIndex and Microsoft's Small Business Directory are a few examples of solid directories ...

"10. Post An E-Help Wanted Sign - Leverage the strength of sites like Craigslist.org to post your company's current job offerings. Make sure you use your company name first in the posting headline...

"Tracking Results - I strongly recommend setting up an account with Google Alerts (free) which monitors the top 50 results, or with Google Alert, a professional tracking system that will monitor the top 200 results for you for as little as $4.95/month. You will be notified daily when new references to your name have been found in Google - not only to see when your articles, profile pages, blog posts and so on get indexed, but also to keep on top of any new negative or positive references to your name outside of your own reputation management efforts.

"How Long Will This Take? - Results may vary but they won't come overnight. You will get out of your reputation management efforts what you put in. It could take anywhere from a few months to a year. Expect monitoring and tweaking your strategy to be a long-term activity. As new pages are being added daily to the Web, search results for your name can fluctuate daily, even hourly... The key is to look at reputation management as a long term activity and to take advantage of all the options you have to keep the search engine results positive.

"About the Author: Linda Bustos is the Marketing Director for Image X Media, a Vancouver web design and Internet marketing firm. She also blogs about social media and business."
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Well, that’s all for now.
Prosperous New Year!


Ralph Fucetola JD
http://www.vitaminlawyer.com