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A few days back I was asked to find out a live help support system for an online store. My client gave me the following criteria.

1. Very easy to install
2. Simple to work around
3. Easily Customizable
4. Multiple Operators
5. Multiple Departments setup
6. Limited Sub-Admin logins.
7. Should be FREE

The above features are usually easy to find in almost all the live chat software out there but not all of them come free! In fact most of the software would charge you a minimum of $19 a month for just 1 operator.

That’s when I stumbled upon Crafty Syntax which is available for automatic install on most cpanel’s under Fantastico. I will admit that at first, I was a bit skeptic to try it out as their website was quite dull and I was used to seeing those flashy websites of other paid chat software provider but then I decided to give it a try as it was free and I would not have to take any pain in installing it.

I must admit that I was wrong, though the software lacks the flashy graphics it is very well laid out and is very easy to understand even without reading any help document. My clients online store was a statup and so they did not have any dedicated support person to be on chat all the time. They wanted to make the chat button invisible on the user end so that they can passively monitor who is online and only they could initiate the chat. This way the user never sees the “Chat Support Offline” button which looks bad when your customer is looking for live help and no one is there to provide it. This was very easily accomplished by Crafty, there was a setting in the admin to make the button invisible.

Another thing my client was adamant about was the interface of the chat window. They wanted that the support window should look like a part of the website and not like we were using a free software. This was quite easy to do as well… I downloaded a graphic file which was used as the header of the chat window and created our custom header with PhotoShop and replaced it. That simple!

The Admin section of the software is web based, which means that it can be operated from any computer with a internet connection, though I think the desktop version is in the making. There are lot more features which you can explore, check out some of the Live Help Screen Shots.

The above is just a basic of what this software can do, I have to give a shout out to Eric Gerdes who is the brain behind it and has kept the software free… If you do use the software and find it useful, I would urge you to donate some money to Eric as a way of thanking him for the hard work.

If you are an Adsense publisher, you would have received an email from Google letting you know about the upcoming launch of interest-based advertising.

“Interest-based advertising will allow advertisers to display ads based on a user’s previous interactions with them, such as visits to advertiser website and also to reach users based on their interests (e.g. “sports enthusiast”).”

What does this mean to you as an Adsense publisher?

Basically… now the Adsense ads on your website / blog will not just be limited to context but also user behavior. Suppose your website is about Latest Digital Cameras and a visitor happens to visit your blog after looking at various sports websites, since Google is tracking their behavior and surfing patterns… your blog will display sports related advertising rather than digital cameras.

It is too early to debate whether it will increase or decrease your Adsense revenue but there definitely will be an impact.

If you are not comfortable with Adsense displaying behavioral adversing, you can opt out by logging on to your publishers account and then by clicking My Account… scroll to the bottom where you will see “Interest-based Ads Preference.” Click edit and change your preference.

Being in regular touch with your clients, prospective clients or your blog readers is a very good idea. To do that effectively on the internet you need to use a email campaign manager or an email server. Why can’t you do that form your own server? Well… you can, if you have a limited email base of say 100 subscribers to whom you send out email every few days but what if you have subscribers excess of 200-300 and you are sending them emails daily. Chances are that your hosting provider will ban your account so that he can safeguard his IP from being black listed with ISP’s. For this very reason, I prefer sending my marketing email from a dedicated mailing list provider.

If you think of the cost associated with using such services, you will be surprised how cheap they are. For starters, the services are free; provided you have limited emails to send but even if you need that extra bit the services start as low as $8 / month for 500 email subscribers who you can email everyday. I think its worth the money considering your hosting being banned right after your big promotion after your send mails from your own server. This is what nightmares are made of.

For more information check our the fabulous Mad Mimi Email Marketing.