CliqueFriends Newsletter

Issue #10

Ash Grey T-Shirt

In This Issue:

1. New Ways to Meet Penpals

1. New Ways to Meet Penpals

We've expanded our list of topic-related, open penpal lists at www.CliqueCafe.com -- check them out!

What do we mean by "open" lists? These lists allow you to add a few lines about yourself and your interests.

Also, you do not need to be a member of CliqueFriends to use these lists. However, CliqueFriends members (free and premium) can use their CliqueFriends ID and thereby protect the privacy of their email address.

We'll be adding more topics in the coming days, but right now, you can choose from:

- model railroading
- pets
- photography
- plants
- weddings

Follow the link below to take a look!

Link: http://www.CliqueCafe.com

CliqueFriends Newsletter

Issue #9

Tote Bag

In This Issue:

1. New Name
2. Meet Alexa
3. New Places to Post

1. New Name

Earlier this month, CliquePals became CliqueFriends. This change is helping us to add more features that expand your ability to meet people of your style.

We just updated our logo-ware, as you can see by the tote bag on the left, but we may have missed a place or two elsewhere in our software, so pardon us if you occasionally see our old "CliquePals" name floating around.

If you bookmarked our old home page, please update it to our new home page, www.cliquefriends.com

2. Meet Alexa

If you are like us, you don't like all those annoying pop-up windows while browsing the Internet. We found a great FREE tool offered by Amazon.com called "alexa" that loads into your browser and blocks pop-ups as well as gives you a search box. We've added it to our browser and suggest you consider doing so, too. You can get it for free by clicking on the "Alexa Toolbar" box at the bottom right corner of our home page or by following the link below.

Link: http://download.alexa.com/?amzn_id=cliquepals-20

3. New Places to Post

As a part of our latest enhancements, we've launched CliqueCafe, a collection of topic-specific bulletin boards where you can post a short note. You may also include either your email address, or if you would like to protect your address, your CliqueFriends member ID.

This is another great way to reach people who share your interests. Just follow the link below to have a look.

Link: http://www.cliquecafe.com

CliquePals Newsletter

Issue #8

Tote Bag

In This Issue:

1. More Enhancements
2. Scam Alert
3. Notification: Meeting Others

1. More Enhancements

Over the last few weeks, we've added several new features to CliquePals, and we'd like to highlight two of them: Diaries and CloseUps

Diaries, are a copy of all the notes you have sent and received. These notes are organized by member and time sent. How often have you sent a note with a question ("What time is best for you?") and received a reply ("tomorrow") that left you wondering what question they were answering?

By consulting your diaries, you can see the notes in sequence so that you can easily follow conversations.

Diaries are kept until there is no activity for at least 15 days, which means that you won't have to worry about inactive diaries clogging up your screen. Also, you can easily see which diaries include a new note. The default is always 24 hours, but by clicking on the tabs you can highlight the diaries with a new note in the last hour or week.

Our Premium members can also call up members' Listings and send replies directly from the Diary page -- a handy, time saving feature. In addition, the diaries for Premium members will remain until there is no activity for 60 days, to recognize the fact that our Premium members are generally engaged in many more exchanges than our regular members.

To see your Diaries, follow the link below to the My Account screen, sign in, and select "Diary."

The CloseUp page provides additional information on each member. You can find when a member joined, how many notes they have received, and the percentage of notes they replied to. This information can help you to pick the right penpal for you.

Also, if they have submitted additional pictures, you will find them there as well.

To access the CloseUp page, simply do a normal 'Search" and once you have a Listing that you are curious about, sign in at the top of the page (if you havent' already) like you would to send a note and then click the "more" link in the Listing.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

2. Scam Alert

Although the vast majority of CliquePals are genuinely interested in friendships or friendships leading to romance, there are sometimes someone who abuses our open membership policy. For example, we recently uncovered a user signing up several times as different persons (different genders, different cities, different ages, etc.) and trying to get the email addresses of other members. When we find such abusers, we remove them immediately. However, we cannot catch all of them, so you must be the first line of defense.

Here are some tips:

1. CliquePals allows the exchange of notes through our system without disclosing your address. That means that you never have to tell your email address to another member, and we will never ask you for it (we already have it in our records).
2. If you decide to give your email address to another member, a good practice is to set up a new email address specifically for that purpose. That way, if it turns out that giving out your address leads to a lot of spam mail, you can simply close the account.
3. Never disclose personal information (address, telephone number, etc.) to someone you meet on the Internet. As nice as a person sounds, the only thing you know about them is what they have told you about themselves....including what they say others have said about them.
4. If you choose to meet someone in person that you met online, always meet in a safe, public location. Tell someone where you are going, who you are going to be meeting with, and when you expect to return. You may even want to bring along a friend.

The Internet is a wonderful tool for meeting people. Just remember, that as is true everywhere else, there is a very small number of people that abuse any system. Be cautious in what you do...it will help to keep the Internet a fun and wonderful place to meet others.

3. Notification: Meeting Others

Be sure to take advantage of our "notification" function...it's now free to all members. Looking for someone interested in Gardening, someone in Utah, or both? Set your criteria on the Mail tab of the My Account page, and every time a new member joins that meets your criteria (and you meet theirs), we'll send you a notice so you can be among the first to welcome them to CliquePals and start what might be a lifelong friendship (or romance!).

You can find the Mail page by following the link below to the My Account screen, signing in, and selecting the "Mail" tab.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

CliquePals Newsletter

Issue #7

Tote Bag

In This Issue:

1. In Search of Friendship
2. In Search of Friendship and Romance
3. Just Romance: FREE Help from MatchMaker

1. In Search of Friendship

Pen pals are a great way to meet new people, learn about new places, and hone your own social skills. There is no greater joy than opening up your email and finding a new note from a new friend in a far away place.

CliquePals help you find those friends by listing our members by location and providing some information on their hobbies and interests.

To help our members sort through who is seeking just friends and who is open to -- or perhaps actively seeking -- more, we allow you to designate your listing as "Friendship Only" or "Friendship and Romance."

Make sure your listing is set to the right category and pay attention to the category in which others are listed when initiating contacts. This will help to ensure that members who are looking for "just friends" don't trip across members looking for more in their long distance relationship.

And, it goes without saying, that if you are looking for a dedicated pen pal, look for the Premium members -- indicated by a gold star next to their listings. Premium members have made a financial contribution to CliquePals, and by doing so, have indicated their higher degree of commitment.

2. In Search of Friendship and Romance

But maybe just friendship isn't your cup of tea; perhaps you're in search of that special someone with which you can share a higher commitment. Well, we have always believed that the best and lasting relationships are firmly built on a friendship. And what better way to build a new friendship than through a pen pal?

Can romance blossom at CliquePals? Absolutely! We're aware of several cases where future lovers met. So get going! Get writing before someone else swoops up your potential soulmate! :)

And, to make it clearer as to who is looking for what, we've recently added the "heart" icon next to members who are in search of more than just friendship. Take a look at the listings and seek out those members while respecting the desire of the other members to find "friends only."

3. Just Romance: FREE Help from MatchMaker

For those of you with strictly romance on your mind, we suggest you look into Internet dating sites. One of the most popular Internet services, Matchmaker.com, is also an ongoing sponsor of CliquePals and helps us provide a free service.

You don't want to miss Matchmaker's great FREE trial. Unlike other companies, you get to use the services at Matchmaker that are typically reserved for paying members -- like sending AND receiving notes from members. That means, for a week, you can try out their service and see if it is right for you for FREE.

If you are looking for romance, we encourage you to click this link: bsdsvgfvenyg.cd39314.directresponse.com/c/ and sign up for their trial -- no obligation -- no credit card required.

To learn more about how the major Internet dating services compare, click on the link below. There you will find a comparison of Matchmaker and all the major dating and matchmaking sites.

Link: http://river2u.com/entertainment/datingsites.htm

CliquePals Newsletter

Issue #6

Teddy Bear

In This Issue:

1. Meeting Pals in the Chat Room
2. Turning One
3. Become a Premium Member

1. Meeting Pals in the Chat Room

Still looking for a CliquePal to exchange mail with? Why not stop by the chat room, where you can meet other CliquePals in "real time."

We've recently enhanced our software to make sure that everyone (except those using firewalls) can use the chat room. If you cannot get into the chat room, we'd like to know -- just contact us at chat@cliquepals.com and we will help you.

The best time to stop by is the first fifteen minutes of each hour. Come in, sit down, and wait to see who else shows up. C'mon! Don't be shy! There are a lot of nice CliquePals out there waiting to meet you!

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/chatentry.htm

2. Turning One

We just celebrated our first full year of operation at CliquePals! Thanks for helping us to be the vibrant community of friends that we are. Hundreds of notes get exchanged each week, each one strengthening the bonds of friendship (and in some cases, romance!) around the world.

If you haven't already joined us, please do. It's free and easy. Just follow the link below.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/join.htm

3. Become a Premium Member

You can help support CliquePals and take advantage of some additional features, such as posting your photo, by becoming a Premium member of CliquePals. It is only $4.95 for 6 months or $7.95 for a whole year.

For more information, check the FAQ's or click on the "Become a Premium Member" button in Your Listing

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

CliquePals Newsletter

Issue #5

Ash Grey T-Shirt

In This Issue:

1. Premium Membership Rate Increase
2. Look at All the New Members
3. Best Opening Lines Contest

1. Premium Membership Rate Increase

To help fund additional paid advertising to recruit additional members, we are raising our 6 month price for a Premium membership from $2.95 to $4.95 on May 9, 2003. Premium membership has many advantages, including

- sending up to 5 new notes a day
- posting your picture, which on average increases mail by 75%
- email notification when a new member meeting your selection criteria joins
- access to members who have restricted their CliqueNotes to "Premium only"

To become a Premium member, follow the link below to the "Your Listing" page and click on the "Become a Premium Member" button.

Upgrade your membership before May 9th for only $2.95 for the entire six months and save $2.00. Current Premium members can renew at the old price until May 9th by clicking on the "Six month renewal - $2.95" button, and six months will be added to the end of your current membership.

We will, of course, continue to offer a basic FREE membership for those who cannot or do not wish to support our efforts.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

2. Look at All the New Members

As of this moment, our active member count has reached 1556. How best to keep track of them? Many of you have been using our "Notification" option -- normally a Premium feature, but one that we've been letting all members try out. It allows you to specifiy criteria, and when it matches a new member's profile, we send you an email with a link to that new member's listing.

1500 is a lot, but we've set our sights on 15,000. To help us get there, we've launched a new Affiliate program, similar to the member referral program we announced a few weeks ago. The Affiliate program is targeted at webmasters in an effort to encourage them to send more members our way.

If you have a web page or web site and would like to know more about our Affiliate program, click on the "Affiliate" link at the bottom of our home page or on the following link.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/affiliateinfo.htm

3. Best Opening Lines Contest

We'll be announcing the start of a contest for the best "opening lines" in a few days, and we'll be giving out cash and prices to celebrate the best ones. So put on your thinking cap and take note of the best lines you've heard or used.

More details coming soon.

CliquePals Newsletter

Issue #4

White T-Shirt

In This Issue:

1. Scam Alert
2. Automatic Notification of New Members
3. New T-Shirt

1. Scam Alert

From time to time, we think it is important to remind our members to watch out for "scam" letters circulating through the Internet. These letters generally promise large sums of money in return for virtually no work.

One of the most common form of scam involves seeking help to secure millions of dollars that for one reason or another is available to the note writer but the note writer is unable to obtain without the assistance of some "honest" person. Many of these scams involve third-world countries and play on the willingness of most people to offer assistance to someone in need, especially when there are great financial rewards promised for doing so.

Our thinking has always been, if it sounds too good to be true, it is probably not true.

Our rules prohibit our members from using CliquePals to solicit other members. If you receive a CliqueNote from another member that appears to you to be a "scam" letter, please forward it to us at info@cliquebar.com by using your regular email system. We will remove any member that sends "scam" mail from our list. We want CliquePals to be a pleasant place to exchange email; thank you in advance for helping us keep it that way.

2. Automatic Notification of New Members

Now you can automatically be notified when someone who meets your criteria joins CliquePals.

Normally, this feature will be available only to our Premium members, but from now until May 10th, we will provide this service FREE to all members.

Simply go to "Your Listing" at the link below and enter your "Notification" criteria. As soon as a member who matches this criteria joins, you will receive an email with a link directly to their listing. We hope this makes it even easier for you to meet another member that matches your "style."

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

3. New T-Shirt

Now is the time to pick up a new CliquePals t-shirt at a reduced price. The updated shirt (shown at the upper left) has the distinctive CliquePals logo on the front and an image of the CliquePals home page on the back. Not only is it new and stylish for summer, it's also a dollar less than what it sold for this winter. To order your t-shirt, click on the image on the left.

CliquePals Newsletter

Issue #3

Tote Bag

In This Issue:

1. Now, Make Money
2. Change Password and Email
3. Growing and Going Strong

1. Now, Make Money

We have just launched our "Referral Program," which pays you for referring a friend to CliquePals. Why? We're spending a lot of money with Google to list our web site, and we thought, why not pay our friends instead? So, all you have to do is tell your friends to enter your Member ID when asked on the enrollment page (take a look for yourself by going to the "Join" page). It's that easy. Restrictions apply, including you and your friend must be US residents; see the full description at the Help/FAQ page link below.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/FAQs.htm?#referral

2. Change Password and Email

You can now change your Password and Email address by going to "Your Listing." A word to the wise: make sure you get the new address correct; otherwise, you will not receive any CliqueNotes from other members! Also, changes there will not change the address used by this newsletter.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

3. Growing and Going Strong

Welcome and thanks to all of our new members! We recently passed the 1300 active member mark and there is no sign of growth slowing down. We now see between 30 and 40 new members per day, so if you are looking for a new Pal, check out the main search page. It always shows all the members that have joined within the last 24 hours.

Would you like to be listed on the main search page as one of our featured Members? To be eligible, you must become a Premium member and upload your picture. Premium memberships are only $2.95, last for 6 months, and entitle you to extra privileges such as contacting up to 5 new members a day. We use the money we collect from Premium memberships to defray our costs of running and advertising our site. To become a Premium member, go to the "Your Listing" page.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

CliquePals Newsletter

Issue #2

Women's T-shirt

In This Issue:

1. Changing Your Password
2. Collecting City Information
3. More Members, More Fun!
4. New Look

1. Changing Your Password

You can now change your CliquePals password anytime you want. Simply sign-in through the "Your Listing" page with your current password and then enter your new password (twice) where indicated on the following page. The change will be immediate.

Forget your member ID or password? No problem, just use the link on the "Your Listing" page to retrieve your member ID and password by entering the e-mail address we have on file for you.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

2. Collecting City Information

If you are from the U.S. or Japan, you will find that when you go to the "Your Listing" page, you will be prompted to enter the major city closest to you.

In the coming days, we will also be requesting this information from members from other countries.

Why are we now collecting city information? In the coming days you'll hear about improved search capability -- something that can come in handy if you are planning a trip and would like to make a friend in a particular city before you leave home. However, to preserve privacy, we will be using only the largest cities in our list. If you live outside a major city, you can pick the city closest to you.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/modify.mv

3. More Members, More Fun!

We have crossed over the 1000 active member mark...thanks to all of our new members! You can see a list of all new members from the last 24 hours by going to the main search page.

If you're looking for a new Pal, try contacting a new member and make them feel at home with CliquePals.

Remember, to stay an active member, you must send at list one note through the system once every 30 days.

Link: http://www.cliquefriends.com/cliquepals/search.mv

4. New Look

You have undoubtably noticed that we have given the CliquePals web site a cleaner, brighter look. We have also slipped in a few other new features not discussed in this newsletter. For example, from within the chat room, you can now see a list by location of recent visitors...just click on the "Who's Been By" button inside the chat room.

We hope you like the changes...and rest assured that we are continuing to make more to keep CliquePals.com the best pen pal website anywhere.

Link: http://www.cliquepals.com

CliquePals Newsletter

March 24, 2003

Women's T-shirt

In This Issue:

1. Finding a Pal Who's Right for You
2. Tell Others about CliquePals
3. Adding Your Picture

1. Finding a Pal Who's Right for You

The most common question we get from new members is, "What's the best way to find a new pal?" Well, we've provided you with several tools.

First, look at the "Search" pages. The main page gives you a list of new and featured members. You might want to drop them a line and invite them to be your Pal.

You can use the search table to find Pals in a specific country. In the case of the US, Canada, and Australia, you can narrow it down to state or territory.

You can also search the data base of members by interest areas. For example, you can get a list of all members, arranged alphabetically by location, that like sailing. Or children. Or any one of the other interest areas defined on the profile page.

Once you've found a person that meets your criteria, it's time to compose that note to introduce yourself.

We recommend being upbeat and brief, but include enough about yourself and why you think you have something in common so that the recipient has a reason to reply.

Don't get a response? Don't worry, not everyone is the right Pal for everyone else. There are hundreds of other members -- just repeat the above steps and fire off a note to the next person in line.

2. Tell Others about CliquePals

Tell your friends and neighbors about CliquePals. The more people that use CliquePals, the more diversity and more fun all members can have.

One good way to spread the word (and be fashionably correct) is to pick up one of the items from our logo store. We just added an eye-catching women's tee shirt just in time for the northern hemisphere's spring. This tee includes an eye-catching logo on the front and a large slogan on the back that is sure to generate conversation as you walk down the street.

Yes, the prices are a bit high, but hey! where else can you get neat CliquePals logo-ed merchandise?

You can also use our "Tell a Friend" option from the home page or from inside the chat room to send an email to a friend and let them know about CliquePals.

3. Adding Your Picture

Lastly, we wanted to tell you that it is possible for you to have your picture included with your listing on the members page and in the chat room.

This is the only 'fee' part of the web site and covers the cost of preparing your photo. The cost is only $2.95 (USD) and your picture will appear in about 1 to 3 days.

In order to post your picture, you will need to become a "Premium" member, which also allows you to contact up to 5 new Pals each day.

Just go to the "Your Listing" page to upgrade your account.