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Unfortunately for sales-hungry businesses, it doesn't work that way--though that hasn't stopped some entrepreneurs from trying. On the Internet, the traditional rules of sales and marketing are turned upside down. Not only does junk mail fall on deaf ears on the global network, but it often drives away the customers it was meant to attract. Slick ad copy with little or no informational content just doesn't fly, and businesses that send unsolicited advertisements to Internet users are more likely to generate a negative response than any interest in the product. Companies that don't take the hint even risk attack by angry hackers hurling huge payloads of system-clogging data.
Even if you've successfully marketed a product online before, it's important to recognize that what works on CompuServe, America Online, or Prodigy can backfire on the Internet. Just because you know how to drum up business on a commercial online service doesn't necessarily mean you're going to win customers on the Net--in fact, probably just the opposite. While the commercial online services try to restrict overt advertising to the "classifieds" sections of the service, they're typically less picky about what constitutes an ad posted on a special-interest bulletin board. Likewise, people who use commercial online services tend to be more tolerant of thinly disguised sales pitches than some of the purists on the Net.
The bottom line: Caveat vendor (Let the seller beware).
On a service like America Online, most groups tend to be fairly autonomous: If you alienate people in one forum by violating a guideline, others on the service are unlikely to hear about it. On the Internet, by contrast, users jealously guard what they view as the last bastion of non-commercial, non-advertising computer space, and a violation in one group, or even on a single mailing list, can often have far-reaching consequences. Worse, you need to be doubly careful because once you alienate users on the Internet, it can be difficult to return to their good graces. Like the proverbial elephant, Internet users have long memories.
No matter how lightly you tread and how religiously you adhere to the tenets of Internet culture, even the most subtly worded commercial message is bound to offend somebody on the Internet. Net-repreneurs who tell you they've never been flamed--attacked by hostile e-mail--are probably lying.
Once the flame war died down, Rosalind began tacking up monthly press releases about her new newsletter, Interactive Publishing Alert, on the same list where she'd been attacked--and other lists as well. Though she has received a few flames, she has also received subscription orders from People, America Online, U.S. News & World Report, Apple Computer, Inc., the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ziff-Davis, and dozens of other major media and technology companies around the world.
When Dave's last book--Teach Yourself UNIX In A Week--was published, he posted a low-key press release explaining the book, how it differed from others with similar titles, and indicated that he was interested in hearing from journalists and other reviewers who would be interested in a copy of the text. Within 72 hours he'd heard from more than fifty qualified journalists, including writers at U.S. News & World Report, the Library of Congress, a German public TV program, Dallas Morning News, and the Charlotte Observer. Even with distribution across more than fifteen different forums, he never received a single flame or hostile e-mail message.
Without a doubt, posting the press release proved an important element in marketing Dave's book and Rosalind's newsletter and consulting firm.
The purpose of this chapter is to show you what works and what doesn't in the wild, woolly, and always unpredictable world of Internet marketing: You'll find out why the Internet can be a direct marketer's dream come true--and how it can just as easily turn into a nightmare. You'll also hear from top marketing gurus and professionals and learn about new marketing strategies and techniques. You'll get tips on how to avoid getting flamed plus a glimpse of where Internet marketing is headed in the future.
According to a study released in February by The Internet Society, an international organization that promotes cooperation among Internet networks worldwide, the Internet currently reaches over 2,220,000 host computers around the globe. Fifty-three percent of the Internet's smaller "internetworks" are commercial, 27 percent are devoted to research (including commercial enterprises), 9 percent are governmental, 6 percent are defense-related, and 5 percent are educational. Currently, 146 countries are connected to the Internet.
How fast is the Internet growing? No one really knows, and estimates vary widely. Newspapers and magazines, perhaps a bit too gullibly swallowing all the hype about the information highway, have estimated that over 1,000,000 users are joining the network each month. The Internet Society offers a more conservative estimate of one new user each 20 seconds, adding up to a more tranquil growth rate of 133,920 users each month.
We believe that the truth is somewhere in between. Our estimate is around 250,000 new users each month, and even that may be too high. Even if we're close, however, that still adds up to 3,000,000 new users on the network each year.
But that's the future--maybe. Let's look at the Internet today. Despite the network's vast promise, it's still much like the Arctic when it comes to marketing--a giant continent that's mostly under ice. The reason: Most consumers--the people who actually go out and buy the products--are not on the Internet. It's too difficult, it's too costly, and it fails to deliver the information they want in the way they want at the time they want it.
Here's the rub: Everybody is excitedly talking about the capabilities offered through an expensive high-speed Internet connection using powerful workstation hardware, and quoting the number of users who are signing up for cheap dialup accounts. As we've discussed in earlier chapters, a $20-per-month Internet account does not allow you to use a Mosaic browser or to view graphics, and according to market estimates by The Internet Group, inexpensive dialup accounts are by far the fastest growing segment of the Internet community.
Though Case's views are a little self-serving--after all, America Online has begun offering a limited array of Internet services through its commercial network--we believe he's got a point. Graphical browsers such as Mosaic can be difficult to install, and as Rosalind knows from her experience in accessing Mosaic through a 486 PC and a 14,400 bps modem, the program can be as slow as molasses when retrieving large amounts of graphics.
The related issue of how many of the millions of Internet users actually are the "technological elite," with sophisticated workstations and high-speed connections to the Internet, is another puzzle with lots of estimates but few solid facts. Case estimates those with full Internet capability at 1 in 10; others have suggested numbers that range from 15 percent to as low as 2 percent.
That's bad news for Internet advertisers who are banking on Mosaic to turn the text-based Internet into the cyberspace equivalent of the Home Shopping Network. Robert Raisch, president of The Internet Company, agrees, noting in a recent Internet posting that "Mosaic is a publishing tool designed by technologists, not publishers. This is a problem. A big one. Mosaic sells well to advertisers until they ask for demographics, to publishers until they ask for presentational control, and to users until they understand the cost." But, just because the Internet has some limitations as an advertising platform, the network can still be a very powerful medium through which to broadcast your commercial message. Think of it this way: If you're selling baseball cards to teenage boys, it wouldn't make sense to take out a full-page ad in The Washington Post or the European edition of the Wall Street Journal. But it may make sense to post a press release in the rec.collecting.cards Internet newsgroup.
For now, companies seeking to market products on the Internet must rely on e-mail messages, postings to Internet discussion groups, and other text-based announcements if they want to reach the widest possible audience. Include snazzy graphics by all means, with the expectation that more and more users will be able to access the World Wide Web with Mosaic and similar tools, but don't ever forget that the majority of your customers will be unable to see it for now.
"Are these inquiries from computer hobbyists asking for info merely to see how the process works?" Bonney asks. "Are they `tire kickers?' Or are they really good prospective customers, readers, or subscribers? I've seen lots of these kinds of audience claims, but I haven't seen any solid analyses."
From his perspective as an advertising agency president, Bonney sees two fundamental problems with marketing on the Internet:
First, is the audience on the Internet representative of a new group of consumers, or does it merely duplicate an audience reached through other, potentially less-expensive means?
Second, how does a company make its presence known to the Internet's users? Lacking a single, centralized place to search for information, potential customers may not know that your company is online. Bonney foresees a day when advertisers will pay a fee to be listed at popular access sites, and Dave sees the same thing happening today, as companies offer to sponsor the Internet Mall in return for being listed there.
Of course, many concerns about Internet marketing could vanish as more companies achieve commercial successes on the Internet. Think back to the fight that the Home Shopping Channel had in achieving legitimacy; advertising gurus initially ridiculed the idea as appealing only to poorly educated couch potatoes and doubted it would succeed. Then, one night, designer Diane Von Furstenberg went on and sold several millions of dollars worth of clothes in just a few hours.
Is Internet marketing ready for prime time? Probably not. But that doesn't mean that your company should wait until Internet advertising becomes as popular and as costly as a 30-second TV spot on Superbowl Sunday before deciding to test the waters. With the cost of Internet advertising so low and the size of the potential market so huge, it pays to jump in and get your feet wet today.
Unlike TV or radio, no government agency regulates what can and cannot be said or sold on the Internet. In fact, four-letter words are zapped around the network every day with impunity. Nonetheless, there are still parts of the Internet--specifically, the National Science Foundation (NSFNet) backbone--that ban commercial traffic entirely. The NSFNet's Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), which applies to all systems connecting to the Internet through the NSFNet, reads, in part, as follows:
NSFNet Backbone services are provided to support open research and education in and among U.S. research and instructional institutions, plus research arms of for-profit firms when engaged in open scholarly communication and research. Use for other purposes is not acceptable.Elsewhere on the Internet, this commercial ban does not apply--though people connecting through university accounts or community free-nets are also likely barred from using the Internet for commerce.
Although many Internet access providers and discussion groups have their own rules governing what's acceptable and what isn't, there's usually a considerable leeway for commercial messages--especially if they combine promotional material with a generous dose of informational content.
As long as you're not bound by academic or non-profit acceptable-use policies, the only real restrictions that you'll face are those imposed by the Internet community itself. That's why it's so vitally important that any advertiser take the time to learn about the multifaceted Internet community, finding out what is and isn't considered acceptable practice and only then beginning to market their products and services.
What's more, there's no need to pay thousands of dollars to rent a targeted mailing list. Internet users have already organized themselves into mailing lists and discussion groups focused on a variety of topics ranging from Star Trek to medieval literature, imported cars to cooking, investors to educators.
"Advertisers spend billions of dollars every year to communicate their message to potential consumers," says Internet advertising consultant Michael Strangelove. "Now businesses are discovering that they can advertise to the Internet community at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods...When 1998 rolls around and there are 100,000,000 consumers on the Internet, we may see many ad agencies and advertising-supported magazines go under as businesses learn to communicate directly to consumers in cyberspace."
For small businesses, the Internet can be a tremendous tool for achieving market equity with larger competitors and even for breaking into expensive--but potentially lucrative--foreign markets, markets traditionally reached through personal visits, attendance at international trade shows, or expensive worldwide advertising campaigns.
Thanks to the Internet, you can dial up your local Internet access provider and post a message that potential customers throughout the world will see. Take Rosalind's newsletter as an example. Interactive Publishing Alert now boasts subscribers from Canada, Britain, South Africa, Brazil, and Argentina, most of whom learned about her publication through the Internet itself, an advertising medium that cost Rosalind nothing.
Just as important as the international aspects of the Internet are its capability of leveling the playing field in the domestic market. On the Internet, no one knows how large your company is, so one-person shops can create an advertising and marketing presence in cyberspace that rivals the presence of much larger competitors. If you want to compete with a large multinational in cyberspace, you need merely make your presence known and offer customers an irresistible deal.
One barrier is cultural--many Internet users come from academia, the government, and other non-profit environments and vehemently oppose the idea of the Internet being "exploited" for commercial purposes.
Another barrier that's just as important is financial: Not only does Internet "junk mail" sent to users waste their time, but, in some cases, it also costs the user money. CompuServe, for example, charges subscribers 15 cents for every Internet message they receive--whether it's a come-on for a get-rich-quick scheme or a letter from their daughter at college. Internet services that charge by the minute also penalize users who receive unsolicited commercial messages. The more mail a user receives, the more time it takes to retrieve.
Unlike the passive information resource services that we've considered earlier--the Web, FTP archive sites, and the like--active marketing strategies, particularly messages to e-mail lists, cost the receiver, too. Imagine how well advertising on television would be received if everyone watching a show was required to pay a dime for every commercial they viewed!
The fact that mailings cost the recipients money and transgress the implicit privacy of individual e-mail mailboxes is a big reason why companies that violate the cultural restrictions on Internet commerce can face the wrath of the entire community. Although few people bother to fire off a letter of complaint to an advertiser sending a glossy flier into their home mailbox, many Internet users are ready to react with significant hostility--to flame, in the lingo of the online community--towards a business they view as an Internet intruder.
"It was as if we had molested their daughters," Seidel noted wryly.
The negative reaction, Seidel says, has not deterred from Magma sending out additional mass mailings, however. Now, the company removes from the list anyone who objects to being on it.
Although Canter & Siegel may have reached millions of people by spraying electronic graffiti on thousands of cyberspace walls, the Internet community was outraged that the firm had violated the unwritten rules of the global electronic community.
The results of the poorly considered attempt were fast and furious: Not only was Canter & Siegel attacked by thousands of "flames," but the firm immediately lost its Internet access account (and subsequently other accounts with other access providers) and Internet community members quickly spread unflattering information about the firm throughout the network.
When asked about its marketing tactics, the firm told The Wall Street Journal that it has received thousands of inquiries as a result of its posting and more than $50,000 worth of business. The firm's partners say they've been encouraged by the response and plan to send out additional mailings in the future from new accounts on different Internet access providers.
In the case of Canter & Siegel, the good will of the entire Internet community may not be too important.
On the other hand, as we've noted before, the Internet community has a long memory and because the distribution system is based on electronic communication, some Internet sites have already taken the violation as a call to arms and added safeguards, or filters, intended to block similar advertising blitzes from entering their systems.
Blitzing the Internet with junk mail isn't the only mistake that marketers can make on the Internet, however. Here are four more to keep in mind before you launch your marketing campaign:
Almost everyone on the Internet believes that crass, overt advertising is inappropriate and shouldn't appear on the network. Consider what Ken Hampton teaches international business and management at Marylhurst College in Oregon, has to say:
In general, I think all-out advertising on the Internet is a bad idea. While advertising can contain worthwhile information, advertising does span the full spectrum from pure scam on one end to genuinely useful information on the other. The Internet is a single channel, unlike commercial television, radio, or billboards. Once an advertiser has your address, as a consumer I do not have the option of changing the channel. Only at some expense and considerable inconvenience to those with whom I want to communicate can I change my electronic address.
Hampton sees some parallels between the prohibitions on overt advertising on public television and a similar cultural limitation on the Internet. He suggests that many of the people who are active Internet users are likely to also enjoy public television, for precisely the same reason--information without advertising clutter.
To find out some of the current thinking on the topic, we polled some marketers who regularly participate in a marketing discussion group on the Internet. One of the most interesting responses came from Mark Hornung Sr. of Bernard Hodes Advertising. He says he sees three main advantages to marketing on the Internet, a community he characterizes as upscale, well-educated, and likely to be more highly paid, and to be early technology adapters:
Hornung, like many marketing professionals, has also spent a lot of time trying to ascertain what kind of products would sell best through the Internet. He believes that the products that can most benefit from online advertising remain those of a technical nature.
One example of a technical service that has become quite popular on the Internet is professional recruitment: With an audience of potentially thousands of qualified technical professionals, the Internet is in many ways a "head hunter's" dream. Indeed, Bernard Hodes Advertising recruits new employees of its own through the network, noting "it's been successful for us because we're not asking users to send money, we're offering them the opportunity to make some."
As more private companies pour in and more users join the Internet from commercial online services, the community is rapidly assuming the characteristics of the online world as a whole--less technologically elite and more receptive to business.
For now, however, those who seek to market their products and services on the Internet must still tread cautiously and spend some time learning the in's and out's of this virtual marketplace. It may be better to miss out on a few sales now than to gain a reputation as a virtual carpetbagger, a reputation that could linger for years to come.
Seidel, vice president of the circuit board company that drew scores of flames with its direct mail blitz, told us that he's planning another direct e-mailing on the Internet and doesn't care if he tramples a few electronic toes along the way. The bottom line, he says, is that his company rang up sales of $30,000 from its first mailing without spending a dime to do it.
While there are as many different ways to market products on the Internet as there are products to market, they tend to fall into a number of basic categories.
We've already looked at passive techniques that respect the culture of the Internet, but there are other effective approaches to selling products on the network, too.
For example, a bicycle manufacturing company could hang out in the rec.bicycles newsgroup for a few days, scoop up several hundred names and e-mail addresses, and then send pitch letters promoting its new mountain bike.
Although direct mail may be the most straightforward way to reach Internet users, it's also the most risky--and the fastest way to receive hostile electronic mail, faxes, and other feedback from the very community you seek to sell. Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped some companies from trying it with greater and lesser degrees of success.
At the same time, McBride says, he has suspended selling Internet mailing lists for now because several of his customers have abused them by sending long-winded solicitations that he felt violated the spirit of the Internet culture. However, he says he's continuing to build a demographic database of users, which now has roughly 2,500,000 e-mail addresses.
Mailing lists can be especially effective. By posting a press release to a mailing list--that is, a discussion group about a particular topic or issue--you can broadcast your message to all of the list's subscribers while posting it only once. That's because anyone who subscribes to that mailing list automatically receives a copy of anything that's posted to the group.
The downside, of course, is that, if the members of the list find your posting offensive, you've turned off your entire target market in one fell swoop.
When posting a press release on the Internet, keep two things in mind: the rules (both written and unwritten) of the group you're posting to and the ratio of information to hype that your press release contains.
After you subscribe to a mailing list, you'll sometimes receive a "form letter" containing information about what should and should not be posted there; some groups make FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) documents available through e-mail. Read these files carefully to determine the nature of the forum and acceptable-use policies.
Don't forget to spend a week or two as a cyber-tourist, watching what kind of topics are discussed and how participants react. If you're not sure whether your posting is appropriate, we recommend sending a brief note to the list moderator, or discussion host, and asking for advice.
Some lists, such as net-happenings and com-priv, are very receptive to new product announcements, conference announcements, and the like concerning Internet-related products and services. Others, such as the Association for Computers & Writing, a potentially excellent place to market word processing and grammar software, are much less so.
leases that were well received on the Internet.
The first is an announcement regarding the contents of the March, 1994, issue of Interactive Publishing Alert, the monthly newsletter that Rosalind publishes. Notice the information to promotion ratio as you read the press release and recall that the target audience for the posting are professional journalists and others associated with newspapers and magazines. Most importantly, this press release didn't generate a single hostile message or response from the Internet community:
*** The March issue of Interactive Publishing Alert is now available. This month's issue contains highlights of last month's Interactive Newspapers '94 conference, co-sponsored by The Kelsey Group and Editor & Publisher, which drew more than 600 editors, publishers and consultants from around the world. The issue includes profiles of Mercury Center, The San Jose Mercury's joint venture with America On-line, and News in Motion, a full-color multimedia newspaper published by Todd Chronis of WalkSoft Corp. There are also reports on audiotex, on-line shopping, database marketing, personal digital assistants, N11 and interactive television plus a sampling of reader opinion on Bicycling Magazine On-line, one of America Online's newest electronic publishing alliances. The issue also contains a roundup of the latest on-line publishing deals and excerpts of speeches by Interactive Newspapers '94 speakers and panelists. Here are some of the highlights: * Donald Brazeal, editor and publisher of Digital Ink, a Washington Post subsidiary formed to develop and manage the company's electronic products: "There are some visionaries out there in other industries that ... want to rent us a hotdog stand in their electronic shopping mall. ... As traditional publishers, our greatest risk is letting others define us." * Ross Glatzer, president of Prodigy Services Co., the United States' largest on-line service with over two million members : "I believe the marriage of major newspapers and national on-line services makes the most sense. ... The newspaper brings to the table its editorial strengths along with skill in marketing to newspaper readers. The on-line service brings a proven delivery mechanism, knowledge of the intricacies of the information highway, network- management capabilities and skill in marketing to computer users." * Randolph Charles, director of marketing and new business development, Newsday and New York Newsday: "The move to multimedia for newspapers is an imperative, not an ancillary product opportunity. ... A position you should take is one of placing many small bets, ... [to] try to get your toe in lots of different pots of water as you move into the new world." * Chris Jennewein, general manager of Mercury Center, an on-line and audiotex extension of The San Jose Mercury News: "This is not a small risk. This is a medium-to-large risk." Here are some key numbers presented at the conference that publishers ought to consider before venturing into interactive media: * Newspapers' advertising share is continuing to shrink even as large newspaper chains report hefty profits. While newspapers continue to command the greatest share of U.S. advertising dollars, raking in $31.8 billion last year, according to McCann-Erickson, their share of the advertising market has slipped from 27.6 percent in 1980 to 23.1 percent today, losing ground to direct mail and Yellow Pages. * Though 33 percent of U.S. households now own computers and 13 percent have modems, on-line services are still far from a mass market. Roughly 4 million people subscribe to the four major on-line services, Prodigy, CompuServe, America On-line and Genie; more than 16 million people read TV Guide. * Nevertheless, newspapers are betting heavily that interactive media will grow. The number of newspapers offering audiotex, fax-on-demand and/or on-line services has soared from 42 in 1989 to 2,700 today, according to The Kelsey Group. Interactive Publishing Alert, a monthly on-line newsletter tracking developments in interactive publishing and electronic media, provides hands-on information and advice for editors and publishers thinking about going on-line and for publications that have ventured on-line already. Each issue contains a timely analysis of current trends plus interviews with key managers and decision-makers and case studies of publications that are doing things right (and wrong!). Future issues will explore on-line advertising, Internet storefronts, newspapers on the Net, multimedia, niche marketing, and other topics related to interactive publishing. Interactive Publishing Alert, is edited and published by Rosalind Resnick, a veteran business and technology writer who specializes in on-line services and consults with newspapers and magazines expanding into interactive media. Ms. Resnick is also the author of Exploring the World of On-line Services (Sybex, 1993). She can be reached on the Internet at rosalind@harrison.win.net. ______________________________________________________________ Subscription Info: A subscription to Interactive Publishing Alert is available for $149 for 12 monthly issues; $79 for six monthly issues; $45 for three monthly issues, and $15 for single issues. To order this newsletter on-line, use Gopher to connect to marketplace.com, an Internet information mall, by typing `gopher marketplace.com'. Once you see the MarketPlace menu, select the `Interactive Publishing Alert' menu item. To subscribe via e-mail, send a message to ipa@marketplace.com. Please include your name, title, company name, phone number, billing address, credit card number, expiration date, desired subscription length, and the electronic mail box to which you'd like your issues sent. ***The second example we'll show is a more succinct message about the release of Dave's previous book: Teach Yourself UNIX in a Week. The goal of this press release was to simultaneously announce the book's publication and to differentiate it from the many other UNIX books on the shelf.
The ostensible target audience was book reviewers and educators, but, in fact, the hope was that it would pique the interest of users throughout the community. It was posted to a variety of different Usenet groups and mailing lists, and the response was terrific:
From: taylor@Netcom.Com (Dave Taylor)
Subject: New Book: Teach Yourself UNIX In A Week
Date: Sun Mar 13 22:06:28 PST 1994
I'm pleased to announce the publication of "Teach Yourself UNIX In A
Week" from SAMS/Prentice-Hall. This is a new addition to an admittedly
crowded market, but with a few differences that might just pique your
interest...
Most importantly, I have gone to great lengths to include the *output*
of all commands discussed in the book (it's amazing to me how many
intro books show users the command to type, but then don't show what'll
be displayed as a result), and I also focus on the most important and
common flags and commands rather than an encyclopaedic listing of flags
or rewritten man pages: there's no reason to pay for either of the
latter styles of book!
"Teach Yourself UNIX In A Week" is over 700 pages, quite extensive (it
includes a long discussion of Usenet, gopher, and FTP, for example, as
well as a foray into programming and Unix programming tools), and is
widely available at bookstores near you, notably Borders, Barnes & Noble
and all technical bookstores. You can also order it directly from
the publisher by calling (800) 428-5331.
The full citation:
Taylor, Dave, "Teach Yourself UNIX In A Week", SAMS/Prentice-Hall,
1994, $28.00 US/$36.95 CAN. 714 pages, including two appendices
and an extensive glossary. ISBN: 0-672-30464-3 [for both BSD & SVR4]
Questions? Thoughts? Interested in a review or evaluation copy for
professional purposes? Drop me a note!
Thanks for your time.
-- Dave Taylor
Internet Traveller taylor@netcom.com
Internet press releases can also be succinct pointers to more extensive information
available through the Web, FTP, or even an automatic e-mail respondent. The
latter is a strategy we recommend because every one of the millions of Internet
users has access to electronic mail, whereas few people can access more
sophisticated systems like the Web.Many Internet shopping mall services offer this service along with their Gopher sites and World Wide Web sites. This way, you can neatly sidestep the risk of a flame war--a series of hostile messages from angry users--by keeping the promotional information out of the press release. Even better, most of the popular automatic e-mail response systems (filter, procmail, majordomo) keep track of who requested information, offering a ready database for future direct mailings.
Here's an example of a press release that takes this approach:
InterBEX (Business Exchange) is a commercial information service that
provides a round-the-clock e-mail accessible resource from which Internet
users can request - on demand - 24 hours per day - classified advertising
material and content oriented advertorial e-text posted by individuals,
and by business and professional vendors of products and services.
Access to InterBEX for information retrieval is FREE to all Internet users.
Advertisers can have classified advertisements and advertorial e-text made
available to the global Internet through InterBEX at nominal cost.
InterBEX respects, agrees with, promotes and supports a philosophy of
non-intrusive and non-solicitous commercial use of the Internet. E-mail
advertisements are sent to Internet users only upon request - no unsolicited
ads will be distributed through InterBEX.
FOR A CURRENT INDEX OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE SEND E-MAIL TO:
InterBEX-index@intnet.bc.ca
(automatic info server - no subject or body is req'd)
For advertising rates and data send e-mail to: InterBEX-FAQ@intnet.bc.ca
(multiple to: addresses and C.C.'s are not processed)
We should caution you, however, that blatant or extensive blurbs like "Make Money Fast: Send E-mail!" are sure to raise hackles in any Internet discussion group. Internet users consider it perfectly acceptable, however, to include a line or two about your company and what it does in the signature portion at the end of your message.
It's also perfectly acceptable to include your telephone, fax number, and postal address on business postings. This way, people who see your posting and like what you have to say can call or write if they're interested in learning more about your business.
Here's a good example of what we're talking about from Gordon Cook, publisher of the COOK Report on the Internet. All articles or messages that Gordon sends to mailing lists or Usenet discussion groups include the following few lines at the bottom:
Gordon Cook, Editor Publisher: COOK Report on Internet -> NREN 431 Greenway Ave, Ewing, NJ 08618 cook@path.net (609) 882-2572 COOK Report Subscriptions Range in price from $85 to $500.Consultants will also often use the signature space as a spot for some succinct advertising, as this example from Jerod Husvar of Kent State University demonstrates:
/ Jerod J. Husvar \ / Computer Consultant at large. \ :> jerodh@mcs.kent.edu <:> Industrial Hygiene Technician <: :> Kent State University <:> Certified Asbestos Hazard Evaluation Specialist <: \ Kent, Ohio USA / \ I speak only for myself, thank you. /Another type of Internet billboard is associated with the Internet finger service, a simple way to ascertain whether a user is logged into a system and learn more about that user.
What makes a commercial plan file acceptable on the Internet is that it remains invisible until other users request it using the finger utility. And how does the Internet user know what account to "finger"? Because you've advertised it in your signature. With a plan file, you can be as promotional as you want to be because the Internet user is seeking information from you; therefore, it's not considered unsolicited advertising.
Here's an interesting example from Celestin Company, a Macintosh hardware vendor that supplies cables for high speed modems. Though the company has a brief blurb in Dave's Internet Mall, Internet users can use the finger utility to check out more detailed information on the company's products (celestin@pt.olympus.net):
IS YOUR STORE-BOUGHT CABLE PROPERLY WIRED FOR YOUR HIGH-SPEED MODEM?
Many Macintosh users and retailers are unaware that high-speed modems, such
as the new SupraFAXModem v.32bis, require a special hardware handshaking
cable for optimum performance. The CompUnite High-Speed Mac Modem Cable
supports hardware handshaking; its support of DTR also makes it compatible
with standard modems as well as software packages such as Appletalk Remote
Access.
The CompUnite High-Speed Mac Modem Cable is a BMUG Choice Product. BMUG is
the largest Macintosh user group in the world. According to the Spring 1993
BMUG Newsletter, "Most high speed modems can take advantage of hardware
handshaking modem cables. They can increase data throughput by up to 20%.
Generally the cables you get at the store don't support it, and those that
do tend to cost over $25. These [CompUnite] cables work fine with non-high
speed modems as well, and that's cool."
The CompUnite High-Speed Mac Modem Cable is available for only $14.00, and
this includes standard shipping, as well as sales tax for Washington
orders. Customers who for any reason are dissatisfied with their purchase,
can take advantage of our 30-day return privilege. Here is our pinout:
Mac function RS-232 function Mac pin DB-25 pin
------------ -------------- ------ --------
RxD (receive) Receive Data 5 3
TxD (transmit) Transmit Data 3 2
Ground Ground 4 & 8 7
HSKi CTS 2 5
HSKo RTS & DTR 1 4 & 20
GPi CD 7 8
If you are interested in the CompUnite cable, EMAIL the following
information to us:
Yes, I'd like to purchase the CompUnite High-Speed Mac Modem Cable, part
number 7001.
Your Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Phone:
Quantity:
Total amount of order (Quantity * $14):
VISA/MC Number:
Expiration Date:
Name on Card:
You may EMAIL your order to any of the following email addresses:
AOL: Celestin
CompuServe: 71630,650
Internet: celestin@pt.olympus.net
Or, FAX your order to 206 385 3586
Or, order via voice at 800 835 5514
Celestin Company, 1152 Hastings Avenue, Port Townsend, WA 98368. 206 385-3767.
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