A Brand New Internet World

by Theresa Cahill
Copyright - All Rights Reserved


A while back I heard the statistic that every 20
minutes 400 people begin using the internet for the
very first time.

400 people every 20 minutes... wow.

For the veteran marketer beginning to feel like there
are no new frontiers to conquer, this should provide
hope :)

Granted, it takes a while for those with the
inclination to explore the possibilities of making a
living online to find our little niche on the net.

And for those of us who've been around for a while, it
may seem like we've talked to every potential
customer, client, and interested party.

But... 400 new people every 20 minutes...!

So it's safe to assume... nothing.

For example, this morning my brother-in-law called
from Texas. Though not heavy internet users, he and
his wife have pre-existing experience on the net and
using email. My basic assumption was since they
already were using the net and their email, there
wasn't a lot I could tell them.

I was wrong.

Recently they decided (rightly) that to do business
online they needed to get rid of their old dial-up and
switch to high-speed access (in their case, DSL). This
much-needed switch now allows them to talk on the
phone and walk perspective clients through the signup
process - in the moment. Very basic, very necessary.

They received their new isp's information by mail, and
proceeded to follow what they thought would get them
up and rolling with their email. Unfortunately, this
wasn't the case. What one reads and what one does can
most certainly be two different animals.

Thinking everything was set up correctly, and still not
being able to get their email, they assumed it was a
problem on their "old" end - the dial-up service. Yet,
they are surfing with their DSL, so in essence that
cannot be the problem (though making sure one isn't
still being billed by the old company most definitely
requires follow up).

So we took a look via telephone conversation at their
outlook express account. Boy, what a mess - either the
directions they received were written totally wrong or
(much more likely) they did not understand or follow
said directions "to the T."

After a bit of screen-by-screen, line-by-line input,
voila! outlook express stopped sending "wrong!"
alerts and seemed ready to use. However, when I sent
them a test email, within seconds I received a
nondeliverable message. The message stated,
"Username unknown."

This, of course, indicates that their new isp hadn't a
clue that suchnsuch@suchnsuch.net even existed. When I
last left them - going as far as I could over the
phone - they were going to place a phone call to their
new isp to get the information to gain access to the
isp's member/client area. Inside there, one must first
create the email account in order to use the email
name to receive and send. Basic to most? Sure, but
again, not so basic to them.

The purpose to my not-so-short story? Never assume
anything!

I've two fre.e reports circulating that explain the
basics of both computer use (some not all) and ezine
a.dvertising. When I first put them together I
thought, "Geez, I hope people don't think that..."
(fill in anything you'd like at this point, but be
kind please, *smile!*). I worried that I might insult
someone by leading them step-by-step through what I
perceived as "simple as pie" usage.

But it's just not the case. These reports are
downloaded almost every day by those who need help.

From a marketing viewpoint?

Never assume when you make a contact or send
information or follow up on a lead that the person on
the receiving end has the computer and internet
knowledge sufficient TO follow up on your advice,
help, guidance. And, from their side of the fence,
not knowing means just that... they won't and don't
know enough to even be able to TELL YOU that they
don't know.

It is your responsibility to "feel them out." Ask
questions to assure yourself that they do in fact
have enough internet, marketing, and/or computer
savvy to take your program, product, or service and
run with it.

Ask them pointblank questions like, "Can you? Do you?
Will you?"

Honestly, it's the little things that fall through the
cracks. Stuff as basic (to some of us) as email and
not-so-basic like research and marketing can be a full
and as-yet-unexplored plate for your lead. Just copying
and pasting one of your ads may be too big a task for
your brand new affiliate. Never assume!

Put your service, product, or program in their hands
and not follow up, and you're sure to have one
frustrated, unhappy, and soon to quit individual.

And vice versa of course! Help them to be able to help
themselves and you've not only gained a friend for
life, but have ensured that - with work - they, too,
become marketing pros :)


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Theresa Cahill is the owner of My Wizard Ads, Online Advertising Co-Op, a true one-stop spot for ezine ad advertising, solo ads, targeted traffic, and more!


Keywords: advertising, marketing, classifieds