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FAQ - Composing Your Advertising -

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Chris Gunn

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May 11, 2011, 12:38:19 AM5/11/11

This is one of the FAQ's we're building to help folks get more productive
results from the biz* newsgroups. Suggestions and contributions are
welcome.

1. First and foremost: No matter how well written your advertising is,
you need to put your products on the right shelves so folks can find
them. Do not post your advertising to biz.general or the other
discussion groups. There are other FAQ's on where to post.

2. Keep your messages short and to the point. If it's more than two or
three screens, it belongs on a Web Page. Like any advertising, you
want readers to pick up the phone and ask for more.

3. Being too brief is also a waste of space and time. Make sure the
reader can understand why interest in your product or service is
important and don't play "I've got a secret". Folks will figure you
have a reason why you need to hide the information and go on by.

4. Spelling errors, poor grammar, or a messy layout can seriously detract
from the impact you want to make. Folks will figure if you don't care
enough to present a professional appearance you are also likely to be
careless in handling their business.

5. DO NOT try to put pictures in your messages. Turn off all MIME and
HTML coding and compose your message with plain non-proportional ASCII
text formatted for 76 character lines. That's how you'll reach your
largest audience.

6. Folks often don't have time to do a web page link the moment they see
your advertising. Web pages are a great way to show folks in detail
what you have going but they should never be your only way of
interfacing with potential clients. You really need your E-Mail
address, physical address, and a phone number in your messages.

7. You may have a very good service to offer. However, using a fake
return address is like trying to conduct business with a secret PO Box
or an unlisted phone number. It may help avoid some junk mail but it
also helps convince folks there is something wrong with your enterprise
and you won't see their E-Mail responses as well.

Your message heading is like the top of your business stationary:

a. Put your real name or company name in the From: line. Don't stick
silly handles or advertising in there. Cute E-Mail addresses can also
detract from your image. If can't afford something besides @hotmail,
that will get you negative reactions as well.

b. Ensure folks can click [Reply] and you'll see their message.

c. If you have an auto-responder to send more information, DO NOT use
it in the heading. Put it in the text. Nothing is more annoying than
to have a short question and get a whole commercial back.

8. Don't use all CAPS in the text and leave out all the extra dollar signs
($$$) and exclamation marks (!!!). They've been indicators of "Quick
Buck" offers and scams for many years.

Since the biz.* groups are for significant business folks, all messages
posted should observe the above. It's part of establishing a business
atmosphere that brings folks back looking for more. We need everyone's
cooperation to get there.

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