On the Internet, we all assume double roles you're a
seller and a buyer; I'm an e-zine publisher and a subscriber;
we're web site owners and surfers.
And we're all after one thing to get a piece of cyber pie
and make money online.
Millions go online every day and sometimes it's difficult to
be personal in dealing with people who we either want to
sell to, subscribe to our e-zine, or just plain drag to
our latest web site.
In a place where all things are virtual and it's easy to
stereotype, it takes time and a lot of hard work to build
a good and reliable reputation. And it only takes a short
while for that good reputation to come crumbling down.
I'm a seller, a publisher and a web site owner, but I'm
not here to give you a sales talk, ask you to subscribe to
my e-zines or even implore you take a peek at my web sites.
Today I'm your prospective client or buyer, your potential
e-zine subscriber and your web site visitor so I'm here to
share with you what I think about the things you've been
doing to me and the others.
IF YOU'RE SELLING ME SOMETHING, how are you talking to me?
- Hey, I'm not dumb!
The last thing I want to read from you is an ad implying
I'm dumb. I read you're looking for less than average people
to join you. Gee, what a boost in my self-esteem. I took one
look at your headline and I promptly sent your ad to the
trash. I'd be surprised if you do get a lot of response.
- Give me a break!
I don't need you to give me false praises about how great
you think my web site is. And aww, shucks...you even
attached a snapshot of my web site with itsy bitsy teeny
weeny yellow...err, small people getting pulled to my site
as if my site's a magnet. But you know what? I don't own
that site! Your e-mail harvesting software picked up my
e-mail address from a site that published one of my
articles. So no thanks, I don't want to use your search
engine placement service to drive traffic to my site. You
can't even get my site right!
- I never gave you permission!
I'm a member of legitimate announcement lists so I can
promote myself and read the promotions of others. However,
the lists I joined are clearly not safelists so don't tell
me we're both members of a safelist and that your message
is not spam when I receive an e-mail from you offlist. Our
association is only within the limits of the announcement
lists we're subscribed to and just because we're both in
those list doesn't mean you can keep my e-mail address in
your address book. I never gave you permission to contact me
later offlist to promote the latest get-rich-quick program
you just joined.
IF YOU PUBLISH AN E-ZINE, how are you talking to me?
- What a name plate!
By the time I get to the main content of your e-zine, I've
scrolled 100 lines down causing me to get that glazed
(sometimes crazed) look. When I do reach the first article,
I'm too exhausted to read it. All I could remember are the
numerous top sponsor ads and your verbosity, not to mention
the tons of exclamation marks you've put after your every
statement.
- This here ain't an e-zine!
Ninety-nine percent of your so-called content is nothing but
a bunch of your affiliate links. Has it occurred to you that
I might want real information, not ads? Ok, so you publish
some articles, but 50 other e-zines just published them last
week. And you wonder why you're getting a lot of unsubscribe
requests.
- You expect me to read through your e-zine?
Your format's all messed up and it's obvious you never take
time to double-check how your e-zine looks like when it
lands on my inbox. You could make it easier on me by using
a clean format say, at 65 characters per line and with
lots of white spaces?
IF YOU HAVE A SITE, how are you talking to me?
- Kill me with your pop-ups and pop-unders!
I visit your site out of curiosity or genuine interest in
what you have to offer there, and as soon as I get to your
site, a pop-up well...pops up. But that's OK, 'cause I can
close the pop-up without even looking at it. So I continue
to look at your site. I click a link on your main page and
wow, another pop-up pops up! Again, it's OK, 'cause I can
close it right away. I click 3 other links from your site
and each time I do, there's a pop-up. So I've had it! I
click the X on the browser where your URL is and I get even
more pop-ups. And I discover too late that aside from the
pop-ups, you've got pop-unders working for you. I'm glad
I didn't bookmark your site because I'm not going to go
back there again.
- The least you can do is be professional...
If you don't plan on learning HTML or creating your sites
from scratch, can you at least take advantage of your
WYSIWYG editors and make your site look professional? No,
professional doesn't mean an animated dog running across
the top of your page. No, professional doesn't mean one long
page containing all the affiliate banners and buttons you
can fit in there. No, professional doesn't mean using a
size 1 Arial Narrow font in fuschia against a yellow
background. And no, professional doesn't mean putting a
"Love Me Tender" midi on your site where you're selling
your latest e-book.
So here I am, someone who is on the receiving end of your
message whether you're trying to tell me about your
services or your products, get me to read your e-zine or
visit your site.
Really...how are you talking to me?
About the Author
Shery wrote an e-book on a topic that will help you talk to
your clients, subscribers or visitors instead of running
them over and scaring them away. Creating and offering e-mail
workshops can and will help you build a credible reputation
online. She has a demand-sensitive, one-time offer going at
http://www.EmailWorkshopsHowTo.com but she's not going to
twist your arm and tell you to go there right away.