Effective Promotional Use of Newsgroups 211

and so on, to find potential newsgroups for your marketing effort. A benefit
of the Google site is that you can post to the newsgroups directly from
the site. You don’t have to go through alternative software to do so.
Read the FAQ Files and Abide by the Rules
Read the FAQ files, charter, and rules about posting
and advertising for each of your target
newsgroups. It is very important that you abide by
all the rules. If the FAQ files do not mention the
group’s stance on commercial advertising and announcements,
then go back to Google Groups. Conduct a search based
on the group’s name and charter. This tells you where the newsgroup
stands on commercial activity.
Lurking for Potential Customers
Once you have narrowed your potential newsgroup list, visit each one
to determine whether its participants are, in fact, potential customers.
Spend time lurking. Monitor the types of messages being posted. Is there
likely to be an opportunity for you to contribute?
Are the participants your target market? Research
the newsgroup to ascertain if it might appeal to your
customers. The name of the newsgroup might not
reveal what the newsgroup is about, so take your
time and make sure.
Tips on Posting Messages
After you have become familiar with the rules of your selected newsgroup,
have spent some time lurking, and have decided that the newsgroup
is one where your target market is participating, you can begin to
post messages. Remember to abide by the rules! If the rules do not allow
advertising, then do not blatantly post an ad. To take full advan-
Lurking
Browsing without
posting.
Charter
Established rules and
guidelines.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
212 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
tage of the newsgroup, you have to gain the trust of its members. With
one wrong message, you could outrage all of the potential customers
who participate in the newsgroup.
It is a good idea to run a test before you post a message to a newsgroup.
Doing a test shows you how the posting works and prevents you
from making a mistake when it comes to the real thing.
Becoming a respected member in a newsgroup is a way to promote
yourself as well as your company. Provide valuable responses—the readers
can tell when you are making a valuable contribution and when you
are just advertising. In time you might forget that you began reading the
newsgroup to promote your business. You will find yourself reading
newsgroups in order to participate in stimulating discussions. You will
be discussing anything and everything about the newsgroup subject.
Only mention your Web site when you find an opportunity to bring
your business knowledge into the conversation.
Newsgroups exist for specific purposes. They can be designed for
discussions, news announcements, postings related to particular topics,
and even buying and selling goods. They might have hundreds of messages
sorted and available for access at any moment. Newsgroup participants
will decide whether to open or pass up your posted message
based on the words in the subject area. Make your subject short and
catchy so that your message will be read. Try to put the most important
words of the subject first. This is a critical part in posting a message to
a newsgroup. Some people adjust the screen to see only the first few
words in the subject area. When deciding on the text for the subject
area, think about what keywords someone would use to search for information
on the content of your message. The worst thing that you can
do is post a message to a newsgroup with no subject at all. This will
definitely receive no attention and is a waste of your time.
Start your message with a short description of how it relates to the
group’s main topic. People are looking for answers to specific questions,
so it is rude to jump into the conversation with a topic that doesn’t
match the one in the subject line. You should attempt to get your message
across right away. You should get to the point of your message in
the first sentence. By doing so, you catch the readers’ attention and
ensure that they read the entire message.
Message length should be short, no longer than 24 lines. Short paragraphs
of six or seven lines work well. Write for scannability.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotional Use of Newsgroups 213
When responding to a message in a newsgroup, you have the option
of privately responding to the individual who posted the message or
responding through the newsgroup. Determine which is better under
the given circumstances. If your message is of value to the entire group
or promotes your company’s capabilities, then post the response to the
newsgroup for all to see. If you think that your company has a solution
for the individual and would like to provide details to the “target customer,”
but feel that it would not benefit the other members of the
group, then deliver a private response. Often you do both because once
the answer to a question has been received, the original poster might
not visit the newsgroup for awhile and you want to make sure he or she
has the benefit of your posting. Whichever approach you take, make
sure that you respond as quickly as possible so that the first message is
still fresh in the mind of the recipient.
Tips to Ensure That Your Messages Are Well Received
Here are some basic rules to help you post well-received messages.
Keep to the Newsgroup Topic
Make sure you always stay on the newsgroup’s topic of discussion. People
participate in specific newsgroups because of that subject and don’t
appreciate off-topic postings.
Stay on the Thread
When responding to a message, use the Reply option. When you reply
without changing the subject line, your message will appear immediately
below the message you are responding to in the newsgroup. This
is referred to as “staying on thread” and makes it easy for others to
follow the discussion.
Make a Contribution
Informed, quality responses to people’s questions give you credibility
with the group and reflect well upon you and your company. If you post
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
214 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
positive and useful information, visitors will return to the newsgroups
and look for your posts.
Don’t Post Commercials or Advertisements
Advertising is not welcome in most newsgroups, and many charters
specifically forbid the posting of ads. Read the FAQ files before posting
a message. If the newsgroup does not allow commercial messages or
ads, don’t post them.
You Don’t Have to Have the Last Word
Don’t post gratuitous responses in newsgroups. Never post a message
with just a “Thanks” or “I like it” if you have nothing else to contribute.
If you feel such a response is warranted or would like to discuss the
issue privately, send a private e-mail to the person to convey your appreciation
or opinion.
Newsgroup Advertising Hints
Newsgroups have been developed for different audiences and different
topics. Some newsgroups are dedicated to posting advertisements. If
advertising is appropriate for your company, the following newsgroup
types might be included in your Internet marketing strategy. Most of
the newsgroups that allow advertising are readily identifiable. The
newsgroup name itself might include one of the following:
• biz
• classified
• for sale
• marketplace.
Again, read the FAQ files and lurk to determine if the newsgroup is
appropriate for your target market before you post. Use a short, catchy
subject line with keywords at the beginning—the subject will determine
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotional Use of Newsgroups 215
whether your message warrants a read or a pass. Avoid ALL CAPITALS.
This is equivalent to shouting on the Internet. Stay away from
!!!!, ****, @@@@, and other such symbols.
When you have found a newsgroup whose participants include your
target market but the newsgroup does not allow advertising, don’t despair.
When responding to queries or providing information that is of
genuine interest to the newsgroup, you have the opportunity to attach
your sig file. A sig file can be as effective as an ad if it is designed properly.
Your message should offer valuable information pertinent to the
discussion. (A thinly veiled excuse to get your sig file posted will not be
appreciated.) If your information is relevant and of value to the participants
of the newsgroup, the fact that the tag line in your sig file is an
advertisement will not matter—in fact, it could add credibility to the
information you have provided and enhance your company’s reputation.
See Chapter 9 for discussion on signature files.
Cross-Posting and Spamming
Cross-posting is posting identical messages to a number of relevant
newsgroups. Doing this is considered to be inappropriate because of
the number of common users in associated newsgroups. Spamming is
posting identical or nearly identical messages to irrelevant newsgroups
without care or regard for the posting guidelines, the newsgroup topic,
or the interests of the group. Cross-posting and spamming annoy the
readers of the newsgroup. Doing these things reflects badly on you and
your company and prevents you from achieving your online marketing
objectives.
Earning Respect with Newsgroup Netiquette
Following are ten rules for netiquette. Incorporating them in your
newsgroup posting will gain you respect by the other participants.
1. Don’t use CAPITALS. They are akin to shouting on the Internet.
2. Don’t post ads where they are not welcome.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
216 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
3. Do provide valuable, on-topic information for the newsgroup.
4. Don’t be rude or sarcastic.
5. Don’t include the entire message you are replying to in your
response. Only quote relevant sections of the original message.
6. Do a thorough review of your message before you post. Check
your spelling and grammar. Check your subject; it should be
short and catchy with the keywords first.
7. Do provide an appropriate sig file.
8. Don’t post messages that are too lengthy. Online communication
tends to be one screen or less.
9. Don’t spam or cross-post.
10. Don’t post replies that contribute nothing to the discussion (e.g.,
“I agree” or “Thanks”).
Internet Resources for Chapter 12
I have included a few resources for you to check out regarding
newsgroups. For additional resources on a variety of topics, visit the
Resources section of my Web site at http://www.susansweeney.com/
resources.html. There you can find additional tips, tools, techniques,
and resources.
Google—The Source for Internet Newsgroups!
http://groups.google.com
The Web site where you can read, search, participate in, and subscribe
to more than 50,000 discussion forums, including Usenet newsgroups.
Google has recently bought Deja.com, a resource for finding people,
getting noticed, and getting answers to all sorts of questions. You can
find discussion forums on any topic imaginable.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotional Use of Newsgroups 217
Internet FAQ Archive
http://www.faqs.org
Formerly at the University of Ohio, the Internet FAQ Archive is the
place to look for Usenet newsgroup descriptions and Frequently Asked
Question (FAQ) lists. They also have quite a bit of general information
about Usenet as well.
MG’s House of News Knowledge
http://www.duke.edu/~mg/usenet
A great resource filled with information on every aspect of newsgroups,
from how to post to how to create your own newsgroup.
Newsgroups
News.newusers.questions
News.announce.newusers
News.newusers
These provide information to new Usenet users on posting, finding appropriate
newsgroups, netiquette, and other frequently asked questions
new users are faced with.
Tile.net
http://www.tile.net
A service for finding newsgroups and mailing lists as well as their descriptions.
Worldnet User’s Service Desk
http://www.wurd.com/cl_news_faq.php
The Worldnet User’s Reference Desk (WURD) is dedicated to providing
AT&T Worldnet members the very best information available about
AT&T Worldnet Service and how to use third-party software.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
218 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
218
13
Effective Promotion through
Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists
Internet mailing lists are quick and easy ways to distribute information
to a large number of people. There are thousands of publicly
available online lists. You can also create your own Internet mailing
lists to keep your clients and prospects informed of company
events, product announcements, and press releases. In this chapter,
we cover:
• How to identify useful publicly accessible mailing lists (discussion
lists)
• Subscribing to the mailing list
• Writing messages that will be read
• Mailing list netiquette
• Creating your own mailing list.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotion through Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists 219
Connecting with Your Target Audience
Discussion mailing lists are publicly accessible and are focused on a
particular subject. Participating in a discussion list relevant to your
line of business can help you attract new customers. Discussion lists
are organized hierarchically by subject in a way similar to Usenet newsgroups.
Likewise, the membership of each discussion mailing list varies.
People subscribe to particular lists to participate in that list and to
receive all of the postings that are sent to the group, generally because
they have an interest in the topic. When you post a message to a mailing
list, the message is sent out by e-mail to everyone who has subscribed
to the list.
Discussion mailing lists offer an efficient way to distribute information
to masses of people interested in a particular topic. The difference
between discussion mailing lists and newsgroups is that while anyone
on the Internet can visit newsgroups at any time and anonymously read
any articles of interest, a discussion list delivers all messages posted
directly to the subscribers’ e-mail. Only discussion list subscribers can
receive these messages. To subscribe to a discussion list, you have to
send a subscription message to the list administrator and request permission
to join the mailing list.
Types of Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists
Publicly accessible mailing lists can be one of several types, each with
varying degrees of control. Following is a discussion of the two major
types of lists.
Moderated Discussion Lists
This type of list is maintained by a “gatekeeper” who filters out unwanted
or inappropriate messages. If you try to post an advertisement where it is
not permitted, your message will never make it out to the list of subscribers.
Similarly, flames (i.e., publicly chastising another list member) are
screened out. The gatekeeper also keeps the topic of discussion on track.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
220 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
Unmoderated Discussion Lists
An unmoderated list is operated without any centralized control or
censorship. Many publicly accessible lists are of this type. All messages
are automatically forwarded to subscribers. Unmoderated lists tend to
have more blatant advertisements and flame wars because there is no
gatekeeper to guide the discussion. It is then the responsibility of the list
members to police their own actions. If the list participants aren’t rigidly
abiding by the rules and reprimanding others who stray, the list
could end up being a landfill for spammers. When this happens, many
members simply leave the list.
Targeting Appropriate Discussion Mailing Lists
There are four types of mailing lists:
• Publicly accessible mail lists
• Direct mail lists
• Private mail lists
• Bulk mail lists.
There are thousands of publicly accessible lists on-line and a number
of sites that provide lists of these mailing lists. Several of the most
popular and comprehensive are:
• Topica at http://lists.topica.com/ (Figure 13.1)
• Tile.net at http://tile.net/lists.
There are also companies on-line that specialize in providing targeted
lists for a fee, much like purchasing a direct-mail list in the offline
world. One company that provides this type of list is Post Master Direct
Response at www.postmasterdirect.com. This company rents e-mail lists
of people who have requested information on a particular topic. These
direct-mail lists are discussed fully in Chapter 15.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotion through Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists 221
Another option is to develop your own private mailing list. This
concept is discussed in Chapter 14.
Still another option is to purchase bulk e-mail lists—not. We’ve all
received e-mails that say, “Reach 5 million with our mailing list available
for $29.95.” After all, one of the major benefits of the Internet is
reaching large numbers of people quickly—right?
Wrong! Do not use these! This is an unacceptable
practice because it involves spam. Bulk e-mail lists
are generally sold without the permission of the
addressees, much like junk mailing lists. The recipients
did not ask to be put on a mailing list and often
do not appreciate being sent unsolicited e-mail.
Another drawback is that usually these lists are not
targeted. By using bulk e-mail lists, you run the risk
of not reaching any of your target market. You also
risk annoying those addressees who under other circumstances
might have been interested in what you were trying to sell.
The best approach is to choose a list whose subscribers fit your
target market as closely as possible. For example, if you are selling geographic
information systems to municipalities, a shotgun approach is a
Figure 13.1. Topica provides access to thousands of mailing lists and discussion
groups.
SPAM
Sending the same
message to a large
group of people who
didn’t ask for it, or
Sending People
Annoying Mail.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
222 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
waste of both your time and your resources. By using bulk e-mail, you
raise the ire of thousands of recipients, destroy your corporate image,
and potentially damage your professional credibility. In this case, a targeted
list, even though much smaller, would get a much higher-quality
response rate. Less is sometimes better.
Finding the Right Mailing List
Whether you join a publicly accessible discussion mailing list or choose
to purchase an opt-in e-mail list from one of the many online sources,
you want to find a list whose members are your target market. You
need to do your homework here, because there are thousands of lists to
choose from.
There are various meta-indexes of publicly accessible mailing lists
where you can search by title or by subject. Some of these sites provide
detailed information on the lists, such as their content and the commands
used to subscribe. We have provided information on a number
of these in the Internet Resources section at the end of this chapter.
Once you have identified mail lists that have your target market as
members, subscribe to those lists. To confirm that the list is right for
your marketing purposes, lurk a while to monitor the discussion taking
place. Then you can begin participating in the list by providing valuable
content. If advertising is not allowed, abide by the rules. However, signature
files are generally allowed, and you can always have that oneline
tag line or mini-ad to advertise where advertising isn’t allowed.
Subscribing to Your Target Mailing Lists
Topica (http://lists.topica.com/) and tile.net/lists (http://tile.net/lists) are
great resources that provide a huge roster of accessible mailing lists plus
specific instructions for joining those that interest you. After you subscribe,
you generally receive an e-mail response with the rules, FAQs,
and instructions on how to use the list.
For the most part, the rules for posting to newsgroups apply to
mailing lists as well. Read the rules carefully and abide by them. A
lurking period should be considered before you post a message. This
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotion through Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists 223
helps you observe what types of messages are posted and the commonly
accepted practices for that particular group.
List Digests
When subscribing to a mail list, quite often you are given the option to
subscribe or to subscribe to the digest. When you subscribe, you receive
each message as it is posted. When you subscribe to the digest, the messages
are accumulated and sent in one e-mail, usually overnight. The
compilation of many individual messages is sent to each subscriber as
one bulk message. Many digests contain a table of contents. The good
thing about a digest is that you do not receive as many separate e-mail
messages and your mailbox doesn’t become clogged.
Composing Effective Messages
As discussed in the previous chapter, your e-mails must be carefully
prepared before you post to a mailing list. Remember to make your
subject line relevant, keep your messages short and to the point, and
always include your sig file. If you are unsure whether your posting is
right for the group, you can send a test message to the moderator asking
for advice.
Unlike newsgroups, the members of mailing lists receive all the messages
directly into their mailbox every day. Some people prefer to receive
the postings in digest form; that is, all the messages for that day
are compiled into one e-mail sent to the recipient at the end of the day.
At the beginning of the e-mail, the digest provides a listing of all the
messages with the “From” and “Subject” identified, followed by the
complete messages. Just as individuals who visit a newsgroup don’t read
all the messages, subscribers to publicly accessible discussion lists do
not read every posting. They decide which messages to review based on
the subject line. Thus, the content of the “Subject” field is extremely
important.
Never repeat the same or similar messages to a mailing list, as you
might do in a newsgroup. Once members of a mailing list have seen
your posted message, they don’t appreciate seeing it again, whereas a
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
224 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
newsgroup has different readers all the time and similar postings are
acceptable if they are timely. The following tips on mailing list postings
should assist you in becoming a respected member of their online
community:
• Make sure that your messages are on the subject. List subscribers
don’t want to receive announcements unrelated to their topic.
• You should be a regular contributor to your list before making
any commercial announcement. If your mailing list does not allow
advertising (most do not), use your sig file. Sig files are generally
accepted. Be sure to make effective use of your tag line to
get your mini-ad into discussion mailing lists where blatant advertising
is not permitted.
• Track and record your responses when you use a new mailing
list. You should have a call to action in your posting, encouraging
the readers to visit a specific page on your site or to send
e-mail to an address designated solely for this purpose. Only by
tracking responses can you know with any certainty which mailing
lists are successful and which are not. It’s amazing how well
calls to action work. For some reason, people tend to do what
they’re told.
• Set reasonable and achievable goals. As a benchmark, in most
e-mail marketing campaigns, a 1 to 3 percent response rate is
considered a good response. However, if your mailing list is
well targeted and you are offering something of interest or value
to a particular group, your response rates should be significantly
higher.
Building Your Own Private Mailing Lists
You might want to build your own private mailing list. Generating your
own lists is often beneficial because of their many marketing uses. They
can be used to maintain dialogue with existing customers regarding
updates, support, specials, and so on. They can also be used to communicate
with current and prospective customers through distribution of
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotion through Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists 225
corporate newsletters, price lists, new catalogues, product updates, new
product announcements, and upcoming events. A full discussion of private
mail lists is provided in Chapter 14.
Starting Your Own Publicly Accessible Mailing List
You can create your own publicly accessible Internet mailing list. This is
something you should carefully consider before you make your final
decision. It takes lots of time and effort to do this right, so be sure
you’re ready and that it would bring sufficient return on your investment.
First you must give it a name that reflects the desired discussion
and is enticing for your target market. You must draft an FAQ file or
charter containing information on what the list is all about. You must
develop guidelines for participation.
You should create a Web page for your list to provide information
about the list as well as its charter and guidelines. You should provide
an opportunity to subscribe from the Web site as well. This adds credibility
to your mailing list.
Once the list is up and running, advertise it so that people actually
subscribe. You can promote your list by participating in newsgroups
that relate to your mail list topic. Remember not to post blatant ads
where advertising is not allowed. Contribute to the newsgroup with
your postings and use a tag line in your signature file to promote your
mail list. You can also trade e-mail sponsorships with other mailing lists
for promotion purposes.
There are a number of places to announce your list. Get your mail
list linked from the many lists of lists on the Internet. We provide some
of these in the Internet Resources section at the end of this chapter.
Make your list worth reading by ensuring that you and others have
valuable information on the topic to share. You should make sure you
include an opportunity for your subscribers to spread the word or to
recommend your mail list to others. You can do this in your mail list
messages and also through the companion Web page. In the newsletter
or announcement mail lists where messages go only one way, it is easy
to encourage your subscribers to send a copy to a friend who they think
might be interested. If you encourage viral marketing in this way, you
want to make sure you have included the how-to-subscribe information
in the messages as well. When encouraging viral marketing through the
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
226 101 Ways To Promote Your Web Site
companion Web page, make sure you include a call to action. It’s amazing
how well this works!
Internet Resources for Chapter 13
I have included a few resources for you to check out regarding publicly
accessible mailing lists. For additional resources on a variety of topics,
visit the Resources section of my Web site at http://www.
susansweeney.com/resources.html. There you can find additional tips,
tools, techniques, and resources.
AOL, Prodigy, and CompuServe
All have their own areas where you can search for mailing lists.
Campaign E-mail Marketing Software
http://www.arialsoftware.com
This is e-mail marketing software used to conduct legitimate e-mail marketing
campaigns. Campaign can import your contact database information
and send personalized e-mail messages to all of your contacts.
HTMARCOM
A mailing list that discusses high-tech marketing. To subscribe, send the
message “subscribe htmarcom your name” to the e-mail address
listserv@usa.net.
Internet Marketing Mailing List
http://www.o-a.com
The Online Advertising Discussion List focuses on professional discussion
of online advertising strategies, results, studies, tools, and media
coverage. The list also welcomes discussion on the related topics of online
promotion and public relations. The list encourages sharing of practical
expertise and experiences among those who buy, sell, research, and develop
tools for online advertising, as well as those providing online public
relations and publicity services. The list also serves as a resource to
members of the press who are writing about the subject of online advertising
and promotion.
TEAM LinG - Live, Informative, Non-cost and Genuine!
Effective Promotion through Publicly Accessible Mailing Lists 227
L-Soft’s CataList
http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html
CataList, the catalog of listserv lists! From this page, you can browse
any of the 56,423 public listserv lists on the Internet, search for mailing
lists of interest, and get information about listserv host sites. This information
is generated automatically from listserv’s lists database and is
always up to date.
List-Etiquette’s Guide to E-mail List Guidelines, Rules and Behavior
http://www.arialsoftware.com
Helpful tips for publishers, subscribers, moderators, and discussion list
members regarding good mailing list netiquette.
Topica
http://lists.topica.com
A very big directory of mailing lists and newsletters organized by subject
categories. Topica provides details on how to subscribe to each of the
mailing lists in its database and provides information on content as well.
TEAM