Black Belt Web Marketing.pdf - Costa del Sol

Exercise 3-6 -- Improving Your Announcement's Reception
Online audiences are a touchy bunch. Many will see nothing unusual about your
announcement providing you have correctly found an audience who will be interested in
what your web site has to offer. Others however expect more than an empty
announcement. They will look to see you are not an outsider merely cross-posting (i.e.,
posting the same announcement to many newsgroups at the same time) without making any
effort to connect with their newsgroup. They will look to see how well you fit in the group’s
culture. They want some sign that you are one of them. Postings from "one of the gang"
seldom get flamed.
Improving the Acceptability of Your Announcement Worksheet
For the little extra time required, it is well worth your time to cater to the members of each
newsgroup. Some techniques that will improve your reception are:
1.Vary the subject line to conform to the group’s interest
2.Personalized your announcement adding a comment to show that this announcement is
for them and nobody else ("I thought my fellow writers would want to know that…").
3.Offer something of value to the group such as a free report, FAQ, special discount,
valuable directory of resources, etc. If you add a deadline such as "for 30 days only" or
"the first 100 visitors" that will usually spur some to act.
4.Customize your signature if necessary to "strengthen your ties" to the group. Usually the
best way to do this is to substitute another promotional text at the end of the signature to
appeal to the specific group. Most newsreaders will allow you to maintain a large
number of signatures. The challenge comes in remembering to attach the right signature
before posting to a newsgroup.
Worksheet for Exercise 3-6
Improving the Acceptability of Your Announcement
1) Review each newsgroup selected in the last exercise. Consider how you can improve the
appeal of your announcement to each newsgroup. Focus on:
Modifying the subject line
Lesson 3 Pg. 19