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(c) Bulletin Board Services and News-Groups

Another way to market products is via bulletin board services (BBS) and news-groups. These are set up for people with similar interests. Once you find your area of interest (i.e., business opportunities), you can join these groups either for free or by registering with the “SYSOP” (person that runs a bulletin board service) and paying a small fee.

Once you join a BBS or news-group, you then have the ability to post messages. A typical message posting in a business area would be similar to a classified ad. It would contain your offer and your E-mail address, to allow people to request more information (your sales literature).

Some news-groups and BBS’s allow members to download as well as upload files or programs for free. A download means transferring files TO your computer. An example of something you would download would be shareware. Shareware is software that you can try out for free. If you like it, you are expected to register it with its creator by paying a nominal fee. An upload means transferring files (such as information to attract interest in your product) from your computer to a BBS, these uploaded files are then downloaded, by other PC users, this is a good way to get free exposure for your product.

When you join one of these groups, it’s a good idea to just observe for a little while. This way, you can get a feel for the way users do things in that particular group. This is a good way to avoid breaching the group regulations or “netiquette.”

(d)	On-Line Marketing Companies

Another way to get your message out is to hire someone else to do it for you. All of these companies charge some type of fee to get your message across to potential customers.

There are already a number of companies offering on-line marketing strategies of one type or another. One example of another marketing strategy being utilized is direct E-mail magazines and newsletters. The companies that send these E-mail magazines offer paid advertising to small business owners for a relatively low fee. The fees are based on the size of your ad, as well as the circulation or number of E-mail addresses that receive the issue.

To find some of these companies and get more information, simply use whatever search engine you use to search the Internet. Search on the words “Internet marketing” or “business marketing.” You’ll get a nice long list to check out. Send an E-mail to the ones that sound the best, and they will be more than happy to E-mail you some free details.

As I stated earlier, the world of on-line marketing is still in relative infancy. This means that a smart entrepreneur will stay very open-minded and receptive to new marketing strategies as they are being introduced. The businesses that make the most money will be the ones that keep a keen eye out for the potential winning strategies.

4. E-Mailing Your Sales Message

Once you have some E-mail addresses to send your sales letter to, you need to be able to do so quickly and efficiently. This may take a little practice at first.

If you’ve gotten this far along in this venture, you obviously know how to use E-mail. I also realize that all E-mail packages operate differently. However, whether you use AOL, Genie, Netcom, or any other Internet service provider, if you run Windows, you can utilize the basic “cut and paste” feature to simplify your E-mailing.