You’ve probably gotten a few emails in your time marked “Urgent!” or “Please Read!” Intrigued by what the message is about, you choose to open the email your friend sent to you. After you scroll through two or three pages of email addresses from folks you don’t know, who have forwarded it to dozens of other strangers, you finally get to the actual message – only to find the message is a hoax or something you’ve seen a half-dozen times before. Don’t do this to your friends and family!
There are some basic rules of etiquette to follow when forwarding email. By following these simple rules you won't risk having your emails deleted without being read, and you'll be a whole lot less likely to tick off your friends.
Before you click the send button to forward that funny joke, or the plea to help find the missing girl, or the petition to adopt the puppies, and certainly before you start deleting files the email warns you about from your computer, take a moment and ask yourself the following:
First - Is It Real? Many of the calls to action you get via e-mail are simply hoaxes. These usually cite seemingly impeccable sources, yet are vague on details. These messages will ask you to forward them to “everyone you know” or some similar wording. If the message sounds iffy, check these Web sites:
Snopes Rumor Has It
Symantec Hoax Page
Scam Busters
Any of these sites can be used to check the current scams being circulated. They also allow you search for key words so you confirm that your email is truthful before you hit that forward key.
If the e-mail still seems legitimate and you want to forward it, read on.
Remove The Names Of Everyone Who Has Forwarded or Received This Email Before You! Nothing is worse than forcing the recipient to scroll through page after page of names and e-mail addresses of people they don’t know. Not only that, it’s simply rude to send the names and/or e-mail addresses of others without their permission. Instead, once you have clicked “Forward” simply left-click and drag to highlight all those names and addresses and press the delete button. Now you are only sending the message that you feel is important or interesting.
Hide Your Distribution List! Your friends will appreciate it if you hide their names from the people you forward the message to. And they will appreciate it if you don’t have a lengthy list of names they have to scroll through before reading what you sent them. This is very easy to do. Most e-mail programs allow you to create distribution lists (check your e-mail program’s “Help” file to find out how). Once you have created a distribution list, you send the mail to yourself with a Blind Copy (BCC) to your distribution list (again, if you don’t know how to use this feature, consult the “Help” file for your e-mail program).
Get an OK to Use the Address You Have! Employers are starting to crack down on personal employees who receive personal email at work. Employees can even be fired for receiving mails with questionable content. And don't just assume it's OK to send messages to a personal address. Many people share their email accounts with the whole family. Recy material could cause some embarrassment for everyone.
Bottom Line: Be judicious when it comes to forwarding e-mail. If it’s been forwarded many times before it gets to you, chances are good that most of the people you are sending it to have already seen it – or soon will. Be selective when it comes to choosing the recipients. Some people get more of these e-mails than others. Some people don’t want to get this kind of e-mail at work; others don’t want to get them at all. (A good rule of thumb - if you wouldn't send it to your grandmother, don't send it to anyone witout checking first). So if you are in doubt about forwarding that e-mail, don’t do it.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Phone Support Hell
So here I sit, listening to bad American music from a phone system in New Delhi as Rohit from Microsoft waits on hold for another vendor's support desk. I've been on the phone for about two hours this morning and a total of over five hours yesterday. All because a previous vendor that installed my customers server apparently didn't do the job properly.
It's ironic that my new-found friend has to wait on hold for support. That seems to be the rule rather the exception any more. I commend Microsoft for getting to me with a minimum of wait time. I did have to listen to lots of plattitudes from several different people who were concerned about pronouncing me name properly (nice, but they almost immediately transferred me to someone who asked the same thing). Each person was obviously reading from ascript, though, so their concern didn't really come across as genuine.
I'm now waiting for Rohit to call me back - he said the queue was pretty long over at Symantec and didn't want to keep me waiting (he even called and asked if I had a direct support number for them that bypassed the queue - as if). Nice. So now I'm stuck waiting here unable to make calls for fear of missing him. Can't leave to take care of other customers. Might was well be sitting on hold listening to crappy music.
I think that's what so many businesses don't grasp. Their efforts to "help" us so often simply waste our time. Call the cable company or phone company when your Internet connection is down. Even after you described your problem to the perky robot answering lady or navigated an endless phone tree to report your Internet outage, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be treated to a long-winded recording inviting you to visit their Web site for answers to commonly asked questions. Does no one at the other end of the phone line see the idocy of that?
To make matters worse, what's usually the first question the live body asks you when you finally get through? Yep, the same one you provided to robot at the beginning of your call: "may I have your phone number/account number?"
I think it should be mandatory that managers and executives of any company be required to call in to their "service centers" at least once a week and try to reach a live person or get the answer to any question other than "how much is my bill and when is it due?" Chances are good you'll get that question answered whether you asked it or not.
When I was a frequent traveler I always wanted to see the CEO of United or Delta fly from New York to L.A. on an overbooked flight. In coach. I figured that would dramatically improve airline performace. Obviously that never happened. And I doubt the CEO of either Comcast or Verizon will be picking up the phone any time soon. But maybe we can collect some of your real-live "support" stories to share with them.
Post your support story from hell here. I'll personally send the best ones to the head of the appropriate company.
It's ironic that my new-found friend has to wait on hold for support. That seems to be the rule rather the exception any more. I commend Microsoft for getting to me with a minimum of wait time. I did have to listen to lots of plattitudes from several different people who were concerned about pronouncing me name properly (nice, but they almost immediately transferred me to someone who asked the same thing). Each person was obviously reading from ascript, though, so their concern didn't really come across as genuine.
I'm now waiting for Rohit to call me back - he said the queue was pretty long over at Symantec and didn't want to keep me waiting (he even called and asked if I had a direct support number for them that bypassed the queue - as if). Nice. So now I'm stuck waiting here unable to make calls for fear of missing him. Can't leave to take care of other customers. Might was well be sitting on hold listening to crappy music.
I think that's what so many businesses don't grasp. Their efforts to "help" us so often simply waste our time. Call the cable company or phone company when your Internet connection is down. Even after you described your problem to the perky robot answering lady or navigated an endless phone tree to report your Internet outage, I can pretty much guarantee you'll be treated to a long-winded recording inviting you to visit their Web site for answers to commonly asked questions. Does no one at the other end of the phone line see the idocy of that?
To make matters worse, what's usually the first question the live body asks you when you finally get through? Yep, the same one you provided to robot at the beginning of your call: "may I have your phone number/account number?"
I think it should be mandatory that managers and executives of any company be required to call in to their "service centers" at least once a week and try to reach a live person or get the answer to any question other than "how much is my bill and when is it due?" Chances are good you'll get that question answered whether you asked it or not.
When I was a frequent traveler I always wanted to see the CEO of United or Delta fly from New York to L.A. on an overbooked flight. In coach. I figured that would dramatically improve airline performace. Obviously that never happened. And I doubt the CEO of either Comcast or Verizon will be picking up the phone any time soon. But maybe we can collect some of your real-live "support" stories to share with them.
Post your support story from hell here. I'll personally send the best ones to the head of the appropriate company.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Who's Your Mail Host?
There's nothing that drives me up a wall farther and faster than getting a business card from someone whose email address ends in aol.com, hotmail.com or yahoo.com. I'm lukewarm on gmail.com, but you get the idea.
If you're serious about your business you can spend less than $10 a month to register your own domain name. Not having a branded email address is just screaming that you are only in this business as a hobby. In my humble opinion you might as well hand paint a sign and nail it on a tree if you're going to promote yourself with anything other than a branded email address.
Once you've got the domain name registered, why not put up a basic Web site? You can do it yourself using a wide array of free or inexpensive Web design tools. All you need is to have our business name and contact information on there. You can add more (or hire someone to do it for you) as your business grows. Companies like Innuity offer inexpensive packages to help you put up a professional-quality Web site complete with Internet publicity (called SEO for Search Engine Optimization). Usually for less than $500.
So get out there and register your own domain name. Find a .com address that works for your business (a .net or .biz or .whatever only drive traffic to the .coms).
If you're serious about your business you can spend less than $10 a month to register your own domain name. Not having a branded email address is just screaming that you are only in this business as a hobby. In my humble opinion you might as well hand paint a sign and nail it on a tree if you're going to promote yourself with anything other than a branded email address.
Once you've got the domain name registered, why not put up a basic Web site? You can do it yourself using a wide array of free or inexpensive Web design tools. All you need is to have our business name and contact information on there. You can add more (or hire someone to do it for you) as your business grows. Companies like Innuity offer inexpensive packages to help you put up a professional-quality Web site complete with Internet publicity (called SEO for Search Engine Optimization). Usually for less than $500.
So get out there and register your own domain name. Find a .com address that works for your business (a .net or .biz or .whatever only drive traffic to the .coms).
Who's Your Mail Host?
There's nothing that drives me up a wall farther and faster than getting a business card from someone whose email address ends in aol.com, hotmail.com or yahoo.com. I'm lukewarm on gmail.com, but you get the idea.
If you're serious about your business you can spend less than $10 a month to register your own domain name. Not having a branded email address is just screaming that you are only in this business as a hobby. In my humble opinion you might as well hand paint a sign and nail it on a tree if you're going to promote yourself with anything other than a branded email address.
Once you've got the domain name registered, why not put up a basic Web site? You can do it yourself using a wide array of free or inexpensive Web design tools.
If you're serious about your business you can spend less than $10 a month to register your own domain name. Not having a branded email address is just screaming that you are only in this business as a hobby. In my humble opinion you might as well hand paint a sign and nail it on a tree if you're going to promote yourself with anything other than a branded email address.
Once you've got the domain name registered, why not put up a basic Web site? You can do it yourself using a wide array of free or inexpensive Web design tools.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Making Money on the Web
I went to an interesting seminar yesterday. The presenter was Fred Gleek. He seemed like a pretty sharp guy. His message was ow to make money using the Internet. He offered up a Website that sets you up with everything you need to start marketing information products on the Web. It includes a shopping cart, client database, client database system that you can use to send out email newsletters and campaigns (double opt-in required). It's got more features than I care to type in right now. The bottom line is that this site has got everything an entrepreneur needs to start selling on the Internet. Even better, you can test drive this incredible system for 30 days for only $3.95. But I believe that once you see all the features you get for only $30 or so you'll sign up on the spot.
Do I sound like I'm trying to sell you something? Well, I am. Fred's message was that you can make a substantial amount of money by providing other people with access to things they need on the Internet. Things like domain name registration and Web hosting. You can even give visitors a chance to become resellers themselves by offering your own affiliate programs. This is just one of many opportunities open to anyone who is willing and able to invest a small amount of money and a little bit of time to get started.
I'm not going to give away all the secrets. You'll need to attend one of Fred's seminars or do ome research of your own to make the big bucks. But as far as I'm concerned there is a lot of potential here. Stay tuned to find out if I'm right.
Do you have any experiences with this kind of marketing?
Do I sound like I'm trying to sell you something? Well, I am. Fred's message was that you can make a substantial amount of money by providing other people with access to things they need on the Internet. Things like domain name registration and Web hosting. You can even give visitors a chance to become resellers themselves by offering your own affiliate programs. This is just one of many opportunities open to anyone who is willing and able to invest a small amount of money and a little bit of time to get started.
I'm not going to give away all the secrets. You'll need to attend one of Fred's seminars or do ome research of your own to make the big bucks. But as far as I'm concerned there is a lot of potential here. Stay tuned to find out if I'm right.
Do you have any experiences with this kind of marketing?
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