Sitting here at the computer running through our email, the thought came into my head, "Would you eat with your feet?"

Now, you've got to be wondering what the heck does this have to do with anything online? The answer is simple: Net Etiquette.

Okay, no one wants a lecture on how to behave, online or offline, and this really isn't about reprimanding. This is about informing.

As the editor of a successful ezine, and now owner of an equally successful ezine ad submittal service, the one common complaint heard is a person subscribing to an ezine, seeing their ad run, then unsubscribing - sometimes all on the very same day! And, sad to say, we've even seen a few publishers do the same.

Hate to tell you, but as far as the majority of online marketers, affiliates, and surfing people in general go - this is considered rude.

We subscribe to over 100 ezines and receive most of them on a daily basis. Do you think our ad appears in each and every issue, every time? Of course not. Yet, because of the dedication and hard work - coupled with the vast amounts of information gained by reading - we remain loyal subscribers.

More than 90% of successful marketing, in my mind and the minds of others, is based on establishing an ongoing relationship with publishers "in the know."

These hard-working, underpaid, dedicated people are a WEALTH of information! Totally friendly, all you need do is establish a working relationship and they will bend over backward helping you out.

From experience, there is nothing greater than receiving a "thank you" in the inbox! Not that I'm after thank you's, I'm not. But totally unsolicited emails from net people looking for assistance or just taking the time to praise can lift your spirits higher and makes everything worthwhile.

So, keep your subscription. Before you pull the plug consider "What if?" What if everyone who joined that wonderful program you're sweating and straining to advertise signed up and then immediately cancelled? All your hard work down the drain.

Hey, people will unsubscribe. Most for very valid reasons. BUT, if you're a user, that IS the reputation you'll establish. Publishers are not stupid. Give credit where credit is due and stick around.