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Businesses have been granted limited privileges to advertise on the Internet. Many commercial entities in the past abused these privileges, and as we discussed before, it is very important that these entities try to use the Internet for what it is intended -- to provide a valuable and interesting service to the individuals.
The best way to market over the Internet is to think of your advertisements as announcements, not ads. Announce when you have acquired a special purchase which allows you to offer special pricing not available elsewhere. Announce when you have a brand new product which isn't available in catalogs or at stores. Announce that your new website is up and running, and that you have some best-on-the-market prices to go with it. And, don't continuously saturate the market with advertisements. With this attitude, you'll be well on your way to conducting a successful marketing campaign. Indeed the FAQ for all biz.* newsgroups practically requires that posts be primarily announcements, although that restriction is somewhat relaxed in the biz.marketplace.* newsgroups.
A quote from the biz.marketplace charter, the document governing the general-use commercial newsgroups, reflects the commercial direction of all newsgroups and mailing lists:
Because the propagation and storage resources of this hierarchy are supported primarily by the customers, all posters to [the biz.marketplace] hierarchy must recognize that a heavy emphasis is placed on end-user value. Every post to any biz.marketplace group should demonstrate, in a concise manner, its value to the customers. This value should not be easily obtained except through these newsgroups. This value may be monetary, or it may be in the form of services which are not prolifically advertised and are of general interest to the readership.
Commercial entities are welcome to advertise almost any merchandise or services, with a few exceptions. The most successful offerings are one-time special deals. Business A is offering a group of refurbished monitors to individual readers at less than wholesale. Business B is offering a special deal on building web pages to introduce people to their services. The deals must be legitimate, and must uphold the highest ethical standards. A free house if you buy a $30,000 garage just won't cut it. Gimmicky ads won't work.
Some businesses of above-average interest to the readers will be successful with continuous marketing. Prime examples include the deep computer discounters that thrive off Internet business. They get quantity discounts from their suppliers or from unofficial channels, and because of very low overhead and advertising expenses, are able to sell for far less than anyone in Computer Shopper magazine. Internet service providers and freelance programmers also fall into this category. Other businesses, like herbal medicine dealers and MLM operations, are only wasting their time if they try to advertise continuously.
In order to save the network resources consumed by continuous advertising, we have provided a way for many of these businesses to present their organizations on a level playing field with everyone else. This allows readers to sort through the competition to find the best deal much more quickly. In exchange, businesses in these areas are not allowed to advertise continously in the biz.marketplace newsgroups. Special offerings are still allowed.
A list of specific exclusions which should not be advertised on the newsgroups is at the bottom of this page. These topics also are likely to flop if advertised elsewhere on the Internet.
It would be best if your item is shippable and of interest to the major Internet demographic groups. Anything wanted by college students, young professionals, and college professors is definitely fair game. The same goes for relatives of all of the above. You will find quantities of such people reading your ad.
You should not exclude the eclectic, however. Just keep in mind what audiences you need to reach. If you can't ship the cars you are offering from California to Kentucky, try to use local newsgroups only. Also, some kinds of merchandise have specialized markets, like high-end bicycles, airplanes, Japanese animation movies, and so on. And finally, be prepared to answer whether you will ship to Outer Mongolia; the misc.forsale.* newsgroups have readers in even the most remote corners of the globe.
Just remember that you won't be able to fool anybody with gimmicks or out-of-date prices. If 3 competitors over any advertising media are already offering the same price on the same item, then don't bother posting. You'll have to beat their price with a better published price over the Internet.
You may post an ad if everything in your post is offered at a price significantly lower than the lowest price available for the same first-quality merchandise through retail stores, mail-order catalogs, national advertising campaigns, and other nationally-distributed media including TV, magazines, or large discount chains. For computer items in the U.S., the litmus test is the lowest current, not published, price offered by dealers in Computer Shopper magazine. Bulk offerings and offerings not open to the general public must provide an equivalent value to corporate customers. The discount from the best nationally-available prices should be at least 10% for items/lots $500 or more, 12-15% in the $200-500 range, and at least $20 for items/lots under $200. It is your responsibility to research prices before posting.
You offer services or tangible goods that would not otherwise be available nationally, and are of widespread interest to the readers. You still must offer very competitive pricing.
When it comes to appropriate ways to offer your material, two sales methods are recommended:
If you have an approximate knowledge of what your item is worth, then we recommend this method as the most effective. Most people will pay attention to a stated asking price, whereas they will often ignore other means, because they do not want to waste the effort on an auction they might not win. One tip: make sure you mention whether your price is firm or negotiable.
A final method is to offer items for sale through an on-line auction. This method is acceptable, but not recommended. Again, many people will ignore ads without stated prices. In addition, some readers object to auctions because of the bandwidth they consume. The best type of auction is a buy-or-bid auction, where you state a maximum price at which you are willing to sell the item outright. Also, several guidelines for newsgroup auctions have been developed to minimize the problems caused by bad auctioneers in the past:
Except for auctions, all business ads must include prices.
Again, you are welcome to advertise in the appropriate biz.marketplace.services.* newsgroup. Again, you will receive the best response if a large number of readers are interested in your service. Freelance programmers, business-oriented web developers, and Internet consultants may be successful advertisers. But, you need to be competitive with the best deals offered by other posters. If you can't match their price or service, then don't waste readers' time by posting.
Only those items in your inventory which satisfy the criteria may be advertised. Because catalogs use a lot of Internet resources, it is better to pick a few choice items to advertise, briefly describe the rest of your inventory, and solicit e-mail requests for your catalog or announce a web link to it. Please keep your ad to fewer than 40 lines in the interest of bandwidth.
You may offer your merchandise if it would otherwise be acceptable, but marketing or investment opportunities are not included in the Marketplace scope of facilitating the sale of goods and services. Job offerings, except for specific solicitation of contract/freelance workers in the services groups, fall under the same category. In the interest of international trade, limited specific "corporate distributors wanted" advertising will be allowed in the international group, but _only_ if its presentation follows the highest Marketplace standards. NO soliciting for individuals to be distributors, marketers, or entrepreneurs.
All offerings should be of interest to a large number of the readers. In general, most computer-related items or services are appropriate, as are everyday items, furniture, decorations, and other items used by a large percentage of the population. The largest parts of the Usenet audience come from all corners of the world, and include computer-related business employees, high-school and university students, professors, top scientific researchers, and the occasional computer-literate family. Most readers have advanced educations. If your item is not of widespread interest to these populations, then please don't advertise on the newsgroups.
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