NONE: Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Newsgroup Postings/Reciprocal link guidelines
Re: ONLINE-ADS>> Newsgroup Postings/Reciprocal link guidelines
Chris (ryave_at_netservices.com)
Wed, 11 Feb 1998 11:17:06 +0000
Andrea and others-
This is an interesting conflict that I've had to deal with myself. I've come
to the conclusion that Newsgroups are an entirely different world -- and one
must be very careful when dealing with them. It's not a good idea to blindly
promote a commercial URL on newsgroups that "seem" relevant. You're setting
yourself up for disaster. Newsgroup participants can be very angry,
aggressive people. As they should be. These actually used to be relevant
discussion groups that were very useful. Now they're so bombarded with
blatant ads, make money quick schemes and porn advertisements, that a user
must spend time filtering through all of the garbage just to find the relevant
posts. "Come visit our web site" is definitely garbage to them.
There are several ways to overcome this:
* Don't just advertise URL's -- participate in the newsgroup and offer
helful/useful advice that may lead them to your client. Give them something
of value, not just a web site address.
* Only post on newsgroups open to advertising: alt.forsale's,
alt.marketplace's, etc. There are a lot of them.
* Take the time to lurk on a potential newsgroup for awhile before you post
something. You many find that even though it's not necessarily open to ads,
occasional web site suggestions seem welcome. You may also find that it's a
very aggressive, negative, argumentative group -- don't go there.
* If you make a mistake, own up to it and apologize to the users for
intruding. I once posted some job openings on alt.computer.consultants. I
couldn't believe the flames I was sent! It wasn't advertising, it was a job
opportunity for goodness sake. Then one of the flamers was kind enough to
tell me there was another newsgroup, alt.computer.consultants.ads for that
kind of post. Then I understood. I apologized and graciously accepted the
enlightenment.
As for reciprocal links, I have never had a problem requesting them. If
you're very professional, and you can provide a good explanation of why your
site is a good resource for their users, you shouldn't have a problem. Only
request once, and kindly accept whatever their answer may be. I've been
turned down many times, but only in the kindest ways. This is an essential
practice for promoting web sites and generating traffic -- don't abandon it.
Good luck.
Christine Ryave
Internet Marketing Director
Internet Services Corporation
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