I couldn’t talk about this when I first learned about it, but now that it’s public I wanted to pass the info along.

You may or may not know Julie Perry.

She’s a very dear friend of mine, a well-known Internet marketer, and an entrepreneur. We constantly see each other at seminars and always have a great time. She’s always laughing, fun to be with, and a great person.

If you can’t picture her, to help you here’s a photo of the both of us — you might have seen her at Internet marketing seminars, yourself:

She’s known for her love of boats. She’s written a book on yachting, and she’s also the host of TheBoaters.tv, a website for yachters and boat lovers.

Now, the sad news…

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In the wake of rumored proposals to regulate the web during its early days, Canada’s telecommunications watchdog, the CRTC — comparable to America’s FCC — officially declared in 1999 that the Internet is not a broadcasting medium.

Technically, the Internet is indeed a medium.

But the government based its decision on the fact that the web is interactive with its audience — unlike other one-way media such as the TV or radio. As a result, regulators concluded the Internet could therefore police itself.

(The “Net Neutrality” debate of late is a perfect example that it is different.)

Nevertheless, my point here is not a political one but a marketing-related one.

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The most common mistake newcomers to business make is to think that by expanding their portfolio they will secure more business. Conversely, they think that by narrowing their market they will also narrow their chances of getting more business. In either case, nothing can be further from the truth.

A management consultant who I believe had a knack for human resources also offered bookkeeping services, thinking that having more to offer will keep her busier — she then wondered why she wasn’t getting any work!

The truth of the matter is the fact that specializing and narrowing your focus as much as possible will increase your likelihood of getting more business.

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Some of the tests results I love to follow are those from The Poynter Institute. Their eyetracking studies are some of the largest ever conducted in this space.

While their tests are primarily done for, and funded by, major newspapers, their studies are incredibly revealing nonetheless. For instance, they've tested how readers read stories in three different formats: tabloid-style (folded vertically), broadsheet (larger size, folded horizontally), and online.

Of course, my interest is certainly focused on the online version. But their newspaper studies are very revealing in terms of what captures people's attention, how they read, and how much of it they do read.

Their website has come out with five key findings. (Their full report is due out in a few more weeks from now.) But let's take a closer look at these findings, and my interpretation of what they mean for the web.

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Some people have asked what Web 2.0 tools do I use. Now, that question is two-sided. One is, what tools do I use with my copy? And the answer is, “not many.” I do use a few, and I’m testing a lot more, too.

Other than video and graphics, such as using YouTube.com and Flickr.com, which are the most popular but not really important when you have your own dedicated server like I do, there are some tools to allow my websites to be a little more interactive.

(If you remember from my report, The Death of The Salesletter,” I talk about the rise in “samplification.” If there are any tools that I would prefer, other than video and audio, they would certainly be those that helped to give my readers more proof, and to make their buying experiences easier and more secure.)

I will blog about those once I get more statistics to share with you.

But the second part of that question is, when it comes to running my business, there are a few Web 2.0 tools and services that have helped my life quite tremendously. Here’s a list of some of them.

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Some people have asked me to give a few tips and tricks they can start using right away to apply some of the strategies I wrote about in my “Death of the Salesletter” report, without resorting to audio or video.

Aside from the various technology you can start applying to make your sales experience more dynamic, there are some very simple things you can do to your salesletter, right now, to improve its readership. And ultimately, its response.

It’s easy, it’s fast, and it’s proven to increase results.

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After browsing the fast-growing MySpace.com for a while, I was bewildered by how many of my friends, clients and associates were on it. For example, there’s Armand Mori… er, I mean, Michael Lee Austin, Tellman Knudson, Marlon Sanders, Tony Blake, and more.

After hemming and hawing for a while, I decided to take the plunge. And finally, I now have my own space! I’ve listed my favorite books, photos, interests and music, including a few MP3s of my bands old and new. But more importantly, I’ve seen that some of my friends are using it for marketing purposes. So guess what I’ll be testing in the coming weeks?

What do YOU think of it?

Anyway, go take a look and post a comment…