Guerilla Web Promotion and Marketing (v. 1.2)
Newsgroups

What are They?

Newsgroups are world wide bulletin board systems organized by the Usenet news system. There are over 40,000 newsgroups available right now.

You may not be able to access each one. It really depends on your Internet Provider. When a new newsgroup is formed, your IP may or may not choose to offer it.

If you need to access a group that is not offered by your provider, you can configure your newsreader to access a public access news server.

Here are a couple of public access news servers and also a URL where you can find a more comprehensive list of the public servers:

news.sexzilla.com
news.caribsurf.com
demonews.mindspring.com (read only, no posting)
If none of these work, follow the link below and try some of the over 800 listed there.

Extensive List of Public News Servers

You can also try these web browser based news services.

DejaNews
feedME

As a Marketing Tool

There are two different ways to use the newsgroups and both are powerful. You can post simple advertisements or make contacts indirectly. There are some important things to consider in both methods so read carefully.

 

Simple Advertisements

This is the most common method for marketing on the newsgroups. Basically, this entails writing an ad and posting it on a newsgroup. Free advertisement for all, right? Well, it's not that simple.

Firstly, most newsgroups don't care too much for unsolicited ads. In fact, you may get flamed or e-mail bombed or worse if you do this in some newsgroups. Generally, netiquette dictates that you only post messages related to that particular newsgroup.

Don't despair, though. There are some newsgroups that welcome ads. Most of the business or MLM related newsgroups should be OK.

If in doubt, read several posts of a newsgroup to get the feel of it. Just because you see a bunch of ads doesn't mean it's OK, though.

Some people will post ads anyway. I advise against this as it will probably do more harm than good.

Here is a list of some newsgroups where ads are generally OK. Remember not to use too much hype. Write a concise, informative ad; it will be far better received than a bunch of unprofessional hype.

1. <biz.*> This hierarchy of newsgroups generally welcomes ads. Each group is different, though so look before you post. Here are a few examples:
   
   biz.misc
   biz.general (see this group for posting suggestions and restrictions)

2. Most groups that have words like "mlm", "business", "money" etc. in the title will be OK. Once again, be careful. <alt.make.money> will gladly accept your post, but <rec.collecting.paper-money> probably won't be too interested in what your selling (unless it's paper money).

3. <comp.newprod> This group is moderated meaning that your message will have to be approved by the moderator. If what you're posting isn't about a new computer product, don't bother.

4. Most newsgroups that have .forsale or .marketplace somewhere in the title. Most of these are good for selling single items. Do a search and look around. For example:
   
   alt.forsale
   alt.marketplace.funky-stuff.forsale

5. <misc.forsale.*> This hierarchy is mainly used to place classified style ads like above. Commercial postings are probably not welcome.

 

Making Contacts

Another way to increase your presence in the newsgroups is less direct. It entails looking through the newsgroups and responding to existing discussion threads. I'm not proposing that you break into a thread and throw in your ad. This is highly unadvisable.

I am proposing something far less obtrusive and far more effective. There are several techniques you can use to make contacts, but essentially they can be divided into two categories: signature ads and prospect seeking.

1. Signature Ads
   This is a simple and effective technique. Here you respond to off topic threads with pertinent information. At the bottom of your post, include a little blurb about your business. Be sure to include URL, email, and short description.
   
   Don't make this signature too long, this is considered bad netiquette. Also, don't just break into a thread to say something like "yeah, me too". If you don't have any genuine pertinent input, go find a thread that you can contribute to.
   
   Just getting involved in various threads will help build your name and build contacts online. You never know when one of these people will need your services. And as more people see your name, the larger brand presence you have.
   
2. Prospect Seeking
   This is an extremely powerful technique. Basically, it entails searching the newsgroups for people who would be interested in your product.
   
   For instance, you sell silver widgets. You do a search on DejaNews for "silver widgets" and you find a post from someone who is "dying to find a silver widget, but can't find one."
   
   In comes you to the rescue! "I sell silver widgets and some mighty fine ones." You simply give them a URL, a number, and an email address. Chances are, you probably just made a sale.
   
   Little light bulbs are probably popping up around your head right now. There are many ways you can apply this powerful technique.

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