An Inc. Online Good Form h t t p : / / w w w. i n c . c o m

An Inc. Online Good Form
h t t p : / / w w w. i n c . c o m
P au l Ri c h ar dso n d esc r ib e s t h e do s a n d do n ’t s o f s e ll i ng i n c yb e r sp ac e…
C HE CK I N F R E Q U EN T LY.
I don’t let these things sit there. I’m on-line every day, so I turn messages around
in 24 hours. If a week or so goes by without a reply, the person who posted the
message will figure nobody can help, or will even forget about it. E-mail is a
quick-response thing; you really need to get back to people in a day or two.
P U T U P T HE R IG H T
B I L L B O A R D .
Since some people search
these postings by key
word, I keep the subject
fairly general. Something
like “Russia Travel” will
ensure that these users
turn up our postings.
K E E P I T B R IE F.
I could have told mor e
stories, but he doesn’ t
want to hear them be -
cause they won’t apply to
him. The medium dictates
being direct and to the
point. Before I started
posting I listened in for a
month to get the tone,
and I learned there’s not
a lot of gab, as in some
forums.
16-Sep-94
Sb: Travel to Russia
From: John Doe
To: All
I am interested in information on the Kosmos Hotel, in Moscow.
Specifics on safety, bathrooms, service, food, etc. will be appreciated.
I leave next month.
16-Sep-94
Sb: Travel to Russia
From: Paul E. Richardson, 71740,1473
To: John Doe
I lived in the Kosmos for 9 months, back in 1989-90, and not much
has changed since then, except that the food is worse, the service
is surlier, and it has gone private. Widely known as a major
Mafia and prostitute hangout, it is seedy but mainly clean a
safe if you are discreet. A bit far out (20 minutes-plus metro ride
to the Kremlin, after the ride down the deep escalators).
For further preparation, you might want to pick up a copy of our
Russia Survival Guide: Business and Travel (5th ed). To order call
555-5555.
Paul Richardson
RIS Publications
Montpelier, VT
Copyright 1999 Goldhirsh Group, Inc.

G O O D F O R M
L O O K F O R T H E RI G H T L EA D .
I don’t imagine there are too many peo -
ple in the world who’ve lived in the Kos -
mos Hotel for nine months, as I did. This
was a clear case of my having some -
thing germane to add.
D O N ’ T
S C AT T E R S H O O T.
The best address is that
of a specific individual.
B A D F OR M
D O N ’ T
‘ B I L L B O A R D . ’
You might as well say ,
“This is an ad.”
LE T O TH E R S E AV E S D R O P.
John Doe’s name is in the “To”
slot, but I post these responses
to the whole forum. That’s because
we get responses all the time
from people who see a message
we posted to someone else.
People “listen in” all the time.
Sb: Tax-Deduct Your Travel!
To: All
I would like to introduce you to a
business that helps you reduce your
taxes, with some exciting elements:
It has great income potential.
Lots of great tax-saving ideas.
It does not take much of an
investment to get started....
E-mail me for a video of free information.
TA I L O R T H E P I T C H .
Your pitch depends on the quer y. If he’d
been most concerned about security, I’d
have mentioned another title. Part of the
trick is keeping messages personal and
addressing needs directly. You figur e
that someone else who reads the mes -
sage may think, “Hey, if they have in -
formation on that, maybe they have in -
formation on what I’m interested in,”
and will contact you.
D O N’ T B E A T E A SE .
This message promises
only a barrage of marketing
materials, not specific informa -
tion of immediate use.
D R O P A B U S IN E S S C A R D .
It’s important to have a “signature file” like this, because sometimes
it’s not appropriate to make a pitch in a message. But you want to
dangle something out there. This isn’t a standard signature file like
the ones some businesses use, with a blurb about the company at
the end of the message. I like to be more low-key. Putting something
like “We’re your #1 supplier!” at the end of our E-mail would be too
much chutzpah for this medium. Blatant ads are really a turnoff.
… an d h o w t he st or y e n ds .
This customer sent back E-mail thanking me for my help and
said he would pass along the information to everyone travel -
ing with his delegation. He bought the book four days later .
Copyright 1999 Goldhirsh Group, Inc.