The Messaging Times

Get the New RSS Feed for The Messaging Times

2006-04-08T16:44:00.000-04:00

Make sure that you add the new RSS feed for The Messaging Times. Simply add the following link to your reader: http://www.messagingtimes.com/content/?page=13

That should do the trick. Have a great weekend!

Best Regards

Tom

Tom O'Leary
Editor, The Messaging Times

The Messaging Times Expands

2006-03-18T07:40:00.000-05:00

I AM HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE that The Messaging Times has a new home. The new Messaging Times site was launched yesterday!

http://www.messagingtimes.com

Modern technology provides powerfully effective platforms for today's communicator. Email, RSS, websites, podcasts, mobile-SMS, Instant Messaging, blogs, discussion boards, digital multimedia applications and online social networks are some of the tools that the modern communicator uses to get her message across. This variety of platforms ensures that today's communicator enjoys flexibility, not only in the method of communication, but in its distribution and reach. More than ever before, individual communicators have access to large audiences that only major media companies could afford in the past.

The Messaging Times is a community designed for modern communicators. Here, we will discuss trends in online communication, review products and services that allow us to communicate more efficiently, and provide resources such as articles, interviews and case studies to help us to do so effectively. As a community, The Messaging Times is a collaborative venture - with members actively interacting and sharing knowledge, advice and expertise with each other. This interactive approach will ensure that each member of the community finds the site to be relevant to his or her needs. Providing relevant content about the wide range of communication platforms available to today’s messenger is the ultimate goal of The Messaging Times.

I hope to see you there!

Best Regards

Tom

Tom O'Leary
Editor, The Messaging Times

Almost There....

2006-03-13T12:18:00.000-05:00

SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED that there was nothing posted last Friday. While it pained me to neglect my responsibilities, I can assure you that there was a very good reason. We are one step closer to launching The Messaging Times mothership at messagingtimes.com, and I was busy populating the site with content and working on some necessary back-end configuration. Hopefully, I'll be writing a post at some stage this week with an invitation to a house warming over at the new place.

Blogspot has been exceptional, hosting my content for more months than I thought necessary. I must say that I had very few, if any problems with blogger. Credit to them for more than adequate temporary accommodation. For a free service, they provided better value than many for-fee services available today.

Have a great day!

Wal*Mart E-Mails Bloggers in a Public Relations Spin

2006-03-09T08:58:00.000-05:00

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Making Your Content More Accessible

2006-03-08T12:32:00.000-05:00

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Craigslist Case Sets Precedent for Host Responsibility

2006-03-07T12:06:00.000-05:00

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What Is Your Sign?

2006-03-07T12:04:00.000-05:00

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Weekend Wonders: Intangible Interference

2006-03-04T16:25:00.000-05:00

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Interview: Robert Scoble Talks About Blogging

2006-03-03T06:47:00.000-05:00

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Article: Online Marketing; A Code of Ethics

2006-03-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

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Pollution Cancer!

2006-03-01T11:08:00.000-05:00

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It's All Geek to Me

2006-03-01T04:10:00.000-05:00

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Audience Tracking Issues as Content Decentralizes

2006-02-28T11:08:00.000-05:00

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Rural vs. Urban Internet Use

2006-02-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

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Weekend Wonders: Wisdom is Ageless

2006-02-25T06:49:00.000-05:00

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Case Study: Growing Your Opt-In Email List

2006-02-24T10:20:00.000-05:00

Buzz Bravado: Brand Propulsion by the Minions

2006-02-24T08:57:00.000-05:00

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GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK), the pharma Goliath, is using it's size to spread some buzz around town. GSK is transforming its 8,000 strong sales force into a buzz marketing machine. Using internal employees as public relations ambassadors was the brainchild of GSK's VP of External Advocacy, Michael Pucci. Some marketing executives have questioned whether it's wise to allow such a large number of ground floor employees to actively represent the brand of the company, especially in the controversial drug industry. Some say that they will more than likely deviate from the script over time, and possibly misrepresent the brand, causing more actual harm than potential good.

Internal employees are already a part of your public relations machine, whether they have a formal brief or not. Your brand is represented by your employees, contractors, outsource partners and affiliates every time they talk about their experiences with your company beyond the corporate walls.

In order for a brand to be successfully absorbed within an organization, and subsequently expressed accurately time and time again outside of the organization, it must represent an holistic and true experience. Otherwise, like a game of Chinese whispers, it will be misrepresented in time because it is carried by content creation and cramming rather than by true substance and understanding.

The only way to ensure that your employees, contractors, affiliates, outsource partners and suppliers accurately represent your brand is if your communication and interaction with them represents it consistently over time. Your brand is not a slogan. It is not something to be recorded, remembered and replayed for customers. It is a representation of your core values, service standards and abilities. Every phone call, every meeting - every action should clearly represent your brand. If it does, your internal and external ambassadors (employees, contractors, affiliates and partners) will understand exactly what your brand is, and, in their own words, express it accurately – time and time again.

Unfortunately, many people fail to understand this, and see a brand as something that marketing departments wrap up neatly in a one-page script as fodder for customers. As a result, employee, contractor, affiliate and partner experiences are often not in harmony with the brand that was created - because the brand is not truly representative of the business – it is a creation.

Don't teach the brand. Be the brand. That's how buzz works best.

Tags: buzz marketing public relations GlaxoSmithKline brand communication The Messaging Times

Article: Customer Service; Make it Personal

2006-02-23T09:20:00.000-05:00

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GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE requires an investment in relationships. Successful relationships require effective communication. Effective communication is the cornerstone to successful customer service. Too often, technology inspires us to focus on the efficiency of communication rather than on its effectiveness. How often have you received a customer service e-mail that failed to make you feel valued as a customer? In this article, I discuss the importance of making your customers feel valued. It's as simple as taking the time to restructure your auto-reponse messages so that they have a more personal feel. Obviously, quality customer service strategies require more than a good auto-response message. But this one simple shift toward keeping people in mind when using efficient technological solutions will do wonders for your brand.

Read: Customer Service: Make it Personal

Tags: customer service technical support autoresponder e-mail technology communication

Most RSS Users Unaware

2006-02-22T08:25:00.000-05:00

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ACCORDING TO AN INTERESTING PIECE by Marketing Sherpa, most people who receive RSS feeds are unaware that they are receiving an RSS feed at all. Statistics show that only between 17-32 percent of users know that they are getting an RSS feed. That means that RSS technology is seamless for around 50 MILLION consumers.

How is this possible?

Well, many users subscribe to content from sites like MyYahoo or MyMSN, thinking that the sites are simply giving them access to content that they sign up for. These same users would most likely bypass the tradmark red/orange RSS button on many websites, considering it something that requires technical expertise - or not understanding what it is at all.

Information like this hints at the potential for applications that combine RSS and email; providing automatic feeds directly into a recipients inbox - a recipient who might not technically understand the need for - or use of - an RSS Feed Reader, but still want control of the content that they receive. It also suggests that the success of your RSS marketing efforts might be better served by re-phrasing your RSS pitch in a style that is understood by your non-technical audience - which is perhaps the majority of your audience!

One thing is for certain. RSS is becoming seamless, as it should be. We shouldn't expect or require our audience to understand the whats, whys or hows of the process. Just offer a buffet of content that they can consume - and they will consume it!

"...Instead of issuing a press release or running a big ad campaign the team [at travelocity] merely sent a single email offer to the members of its house list who were either Yahoo or MSN email users, asking them to sign up for the feed via MyYahoo or MyMSN respectively."

"Of the people that opened the email, over 2/3 actually subscribed to the feed," says Patty Hagar, Travelocity's Principal Account Manager, Strategic Marketing. "That's an enormous clickthrough rate -- enormous! They were really hungry for this information."

For in depth coverage, read: Marketing Sherpa: 50 Million US & UK RSS Users Do Not Know They Use RSS -- How to Reach Them

Tags: RSS email marketingsherpa MyYahoo MyMSN feed content relevance

Get Punchy!

2006-02-21T12:16:00.000-05:00

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Communicate more effectively.

Punch your points.

State your case.

If in doubt, leave it out.

Communicating Online: The Soft Sell

2006-02-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

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YEARS AGO, in an advanced public speaking course, my professor discussed the effectiveness of the whisper. Often, we think that the louder we are the more our audience will hear us. While a louder voice might well be heard more than soft dialog, it is not necessarily listened to as attentively. Expressive points can be very effectively made by lowering, rather than amplifying your voice.

Many businesses utilize online discussion boards, blogs and social networks such as MySpace, LinkedIn and others to promote their brand as part of a guerilla (free) public relations strategy. Unfortunately, not unlike MLM representatives, many over-pitch their value or are too abrupt with their message. Tooting your own horn in a self-promotional manner can actually have a counterproductive effect. Such approaches are often met with distrust and skepticism. And it takes a long time to regain trust after losing it.

The key to using online forums effectively as a public relations tool is to contribute relevant industry expertise to the community rather than preaching to the community about your products and services. By serving the community in a self-less manner, your reputation and credibility will be strengthened. Over time, there will be a more natural and lasting link between your personal reputation as an industry expert and the brand that you represent. A person shouting from a soap box about the latest and greatest widget or opportunity usually reeks of opportunism and insincerity. Contributing to industry-related communities online can be a very effective method to promote your brand. But it will only be effective if it is done consistently, over time in a contributory fashion.

That doesn't mean that you should avoid talking about your products or services. It does mean that your mention of them should be relevant to the discussion at hand and in hopes that it might genuinely respond to another community member's need at that time.

The Messaging Times coffee cups will be available shortly. I'm kidding!

5 More States Propose "Do Not Email" Registries

2006-02-20T07:20:00.000-05:00

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FOLLOWING UTAH AND MICHIGAN'S LEAD, 5 more States have proposed Do Not Email legislation in an attempt to protect children from unsavory marketing and advertising campaigns. Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, and Iowa are now considering the implementation of similar child protection registries, which endeavor to prevent commercial marketers and advertisers from sending inappropriate messages to children with email addresses on the registry.

The original Utah legislation is currently being challenged by four marketing associations and two advocacy groups; to include the American Advertising Federation, American Association of Advertising Agencies, Association of National Advertisers, Inc., Email Service Provider Coalition, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Center for Democracy & Technology. The challengers believe that existing CAN-Spam laws pre-empt the legislation and feel that such registries infringe upon interstate commerce and free speech rights. They consider the legislation, as proposed, overly general in regards to the classification of emails that can be banned. They also express concern that such registries could potentially be dangerous if ever compromised, as it would basically be a database of children's addresses.

Source: Online Media Daily: 'Do Not E-Mail' Registries Percolate In Five States

As marketers should require permission from the recipient for any email that they send in the first place, I can't see such a challenge being effective. But, is it dangerous to compile a database of children's email addresses? Might the solution potentially cause even greater problems?

Tags: e-mail marketing registries advertising Utah Michigan Connecticut Georgia Hawaii Illinois Iowa childprotection legislation spam

"The Internet is like the Yellow River"

2006-02-17T11:01:00.000-05:00

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"The Internet is like the Yellow River. You can guide its course, but you can't block it and you can't turn it back." - Li Xinde

Li Xinde is an Internet investigative reporter who risks jail time each day by continuing to expose corrupt government officials and other injustices on his China Public Opinion Surveillance Net.

He shifts his often unbelievable stories across 49 blogs which he uses to outpace censors; posting entries from Internet cafes - always one step ahead of the authorities.

"They shut down one, so I move to another,"

For the full story, read Reuters: Internet muck-raker challenges China's censors

Tags: lixinde China Internet censorship yellowriver yuluncn.com blogs muck-raker

David Improves Odds Over Golliath Online

2006-02-17T09:40:00.001-05:00

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LOOK ME IN THE EYE. Call me by my name. Engage me. I am your customer. Even with shoestring budgets, small businesses have one advantage over the giants. Big business is laden with processes, and customers would prefer not to get bogged down in the processes of larger competitors. Today’s online consumer wants small town shopping with big city variety and value. They want interactive, seamless experiences - and they want attention. Because of the ability for small businesses to reach out to millions of customers today - right from their basement office - competition with the big boys isn't a laughing matter any more. More and more David and Goliath stories are being realized on the Internet. Trading products and services online gives the smaller player an opportunity to secure a bigger percentage of the wallet share.

To discover 5 ways that small companies can be giants in the online marketplace, read: Small Business, Big Impact: 5 Ways to be a Giant Online

Tags: online internet smallbusiness competition

Music to Marketers' Ears

2006-02-16T07:51:00.000-05:00

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I WATCHED A DR. PHIL EPISODE recently which supported my previously unsubstantiated belief that music affects our mood, behavior and performance. Apparently, there is a plethora of evidence to support the correlation between involvement in music and higher math scores. There is also evidence of music's affect on seratonin activity in our brains. Music therapy has been used for years now in the treatment of autism and other conditions.

In any case, the show prompted me to think more about the psychology of music and specifically, it's use in business and marketing. In a short time, I found studies which show distinct correlations between the use of music and consumer behavior.

The effect of music on perceived atmosphere:

"...In 1996, North and Hargreaves studied the effect of music on atmosphere in a university cafeteria. Results suggested that customers' 'liking' of the cafeteria increased with their 'liking' for the music played within it. In a follow-up study, [they] investigated whether affective responses to music of different styles could influence the perceived characteristics of a commercial environment. Results suggested that different musical conditions influenced subjects' perceptions about the cafeteria. Furthermore, the nature of the subjects' perceptions of the cafeteria showed a relationship to their perception of the music..."

The effect of music on product choice and purchase intentions:

"...a number of studies suggest that music has the potential to influence product choice (Alpert and Alpert, 1990; Areni and Kim, 1993). The idea that music conveys and triggers relevant information that may prime consumers' beliefs about a product has been described as musical 'fit'. Areni and Kim (1993) applied the idea of musical 'fit' to shopping behavior by playing classical music and Top-40 music in a wine store. The results showed that classical music led to consumers purchasing more expensive wine..."

"...the effect of musical tempo on the speed of consumer behavior and the amount of money spent also has been investigated. For example, Milliman (1982) found that slower music was associated with a slower shopping pace, and increased gross sales. In a further study, Milliman (1986) tested the effect of fast and slow music in an upscale restaurant. The results showed that diners ate more quickly when fast music was playing (see also Robally et al., 1985). On the nights when slow music was playing, customers spent significantly more time in the restaurant and more money on alcoholic beverages..."

For the full report of the extracts above, read: The effect of music on perceived atmosphere and purchase intentions in a restaurant

For an interesting study relating to music's influence on computer-mediated problem solving tasks, read: Does Background Music Impact Computer Task Performance?

With the dramatic shift of music creation and consumption online, I would think that more online marketers would take advantage of its influence on our moods and behaviors to support their message.

- Why don't more commercial websites have background music playing?

- Would the use of slow music cause website visitors to stay on-site longer to the same degree as evidenced in restaurants?

- How do you use music to 'fit' your message?

Tags: music marketing psychology mood behavior consumers

Search and Win Promotion at MSN

2006-02-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

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IN AN ATTEMPT TO get a spoonful of the Google pie, MSN has designed a clever incentive promotion for Internet browsers. If your search string matches one of the potentially winning keywords on the engine, you may win a prize. Prizes include mp3 players, hotel breaks, HDTV systems, cameras, snowboards and gift certificates for blockbusters, Amex, Home Depot, Target, Baby Gap, and many more. Unfortunately for many, including MSN themselves perhaps, only residents of the United States are eligible.

To top it off, MSN is also offering donations of $10,000, $25,000 and $50,000. Browsers who strike this prize are allowed to select the charity that the donation will go to.

With Google's stock losing 40 Billion in shareholder value last month alone, MSN's timing couldn't be better.

To learn more about the rules for MSNs promotion, go to msnsearchandwin.com

Tags: MSN Google searchandwin keywords search incentives

You Got The Horse To Water, Now Make It Drink!

2006-02-14T07:23:00.000-05:00

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WORLD TALK RADIO e-marketing talk show will be discussing conversion rates on Friday, March 24th, between 4-5pm (Pacific time). "You’ve spent money on paid-search, banners, emails, etc. to get people to your website. You got the horse to water. Now how do you get them to drink & increase conversion rates? Mark Wachen will go over real-life examples of best practices that drive results, explore what really matters on a webpage, and what improvements you can make today. He’ll also provide an overview of how to test web pages using advanced techniques like multivariable testing."

So, if you're interested in learning more about conversion rates, or more importantly, how to improve them, you might want to mark your calendar.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit World Talk Radio

Tags: conversionrates worldtalkradio emarketing website

Article: 3 Tips to Improve Conversion Rates

2006-02-14T07:06:00.000-05:00

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CLICK-THROUGH RATES ARE INSTRUMENTAL in determining how effective your invitation to your audience is; but ultimately, the bottom line for communicators is to convert invited audiences into action of some sort. Whether that action is the sale of a product, the consumption of an important policy document, the subscription to a newsletter or the completion of a survey, converting your audience to take the appropriate action is the ultimate objective of any campaign. But how do you get that to happen? This article offers three tips to improve your conversion rates.

Tags: conversionrates landingpage measurement SEO marketing messagingtimes

WUBMV?

2006-02-13T11:18:00.000-05:00

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LOVE IS IN THE AIR, transmitted between mobile signals across the UK. In a survey conducted by by Virgin Mobile, it is reported that almost 60 percent of British mobile phone users will consider sending a text message in lieu of a Valentine's Day card this year. In the UK, it is estimated that 30 million Valentine's text messages will be sent this year in contrast to 12 million cards that will be delievered by the faithful postman.

Here is a guide to common loved-up SMS text lingo:

WUBMV?: Will you be my Valentine?
ILUVU: I love you
ImRdy4Luv: I'm ready for love
:'-): I'm so happy, I'm crying
Xoxoxoxoxo: Hugs and kisses
LUWAM<3: Love you with all my heart

Remember though, you can't yet text a box of chocolates to your love!

See the BBC News article, WUBMV? messages set 2 soar, for more on how love is expressed today.

How are you going to express yourself to your loved one(s) tomorrow?

Tags: SMS text valentines textmessaging love messagingtimes

Capitalism and the Internet: Tolls on the Road Ahead?

2006-02-10T06:13:00.000-05:00

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HOW CAN WE MAKE SOME MONEY off of this Internet thing? That's what many of us are asking. Unfortunately, many are thinking of ways to do just that without providing any real value in exchange. As I eluded to earlier this week, the email stamp isn't the only profit-based model being touted these days. The telecommunication giants want a share of our money as well.

If you've never read Martian Antropologist's Blog, you might find it interesting - unless you're politically or religiously sensitive. Here, he talks about how the telcoms are vying for a piece of the pay-to-play pie.

Tags: telecoms internet email messagingtimes blog martiananthropologist

Article: Why RSS Will Never Replace Email

2006-02-10T05:25:00.000-05:00

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These days, RSS lovers have been promising their mistress that they will denounce their old flame, email. In the heat of passion, I suppose I can understand how such promises might be made. RSS is sexy, and a lot of guys would say whatever it takes to continue the relationship with her. But, the fact of the matter is that whether RSS likes it or not, our relationship with email will continue. You see, as sexy as RSS might be, she can't meet all of our needs. To find out why, read Why RSS Will Never Replace Email

Tags: RSS messagingtimes email push pull communication

The Messaging Times Gets Funny

2006-02-09T09:05:00.000-05:00

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Create your own comic at stripcreator.com

Word-of-Email: Spreading the News (especially if it's funny)

2006-02-09T07:16:00.000-05:00

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According to a recent Sharpe Partners Study on viral marketing, it is reported that nearly 90 percent of US Internet users forward information to others via email. The decision to forward content via email is based on the content itself, with humorous emails spreading the most:

What Internet Users Forward by Email

1. Humorous material (jokes, cartoons): 88 percent
2. News: 56 percent
3. Healthcare and medical content: 32 percent
4. Religious and spiritual content: 30 percent
5. Games: 25 percent
6. Business and finance content: 24 percent
7. Sports and hobbies: 24 percent

For email marketers, occassionally sending an appropriate industry-related cartoon or joke in tune with your target audience might be very beneficial.

Tags: emailmarketing messagingtimes viralmarketing marketing humor

And While We're Talking About Email Stamps...

2006-02-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

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...who do you think pays for increases in operational costs?

a. The customer
b. The customer
c. The customer

Select one.

The Importance of Dating Your Content

2006-02-08T09:47:00.000-05:00

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NOT TOO LONG AGO, a friend forwarded me a link to an astronomy site that she thought I would be interested in. I was, and even more so when I read that Mars was going to be almost the size of the moon to the naked eye in the coming weeks. I forwarded the email to all of my friends and family, and spent the next several weeks gazing up at the sky each night when I stepped outside, waiting for this magical event to occur. Each night, I remained disappointed that, for whatever reason, Mars didn't appear any different to my eyes. Eventually I gave up as my hopes had been dashed and the big event, like most big events, failed to impress me.

A short time later, another friend replied to the email that I forwarded on. He advised me that this happened three years ago. "Old news" he said.

When you publish information on the Internet, ensure that you put a date on it. Too often, we are digesting stale information, especially when consuming technology-related material - as it changes so quickly. I'd really appreciate it if all articles, white papers, and other online content contained a clear date of publication. If only so I won't feel like a fool again if I decide to pass the information on!

Tags: mars datestamp onlinecontent publication messagingtimes

Even Great Thinkers Have Bad Ideas

2006-02-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

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BROOKS STEVENS IS RIGHTLY KNOWN as one of history's greatest industrial designers. His most notable designs include the Harley Davidson Hydra-Glide and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile (which just celebrated its 70th anniversary.) But his design of a shoe fitting x-ray machine used by shoe salesmen in the 1940s and 50s didn't go down so well. The contraption was eventually banned when it was discovered that it's not a good idea to radiate your flesh for prolonged periods without any protective measures being taken.

Seth Godin is a great thinker too. He certainly knows a thing-or-two about a thing-or-two in the marketing industry; and I would recommend his entertaining and informative blog to anyone. But yesterday, Seth Godin joined the club of great thinkers who have bad ideas.

Seth, in support of AOL and Yahoo, seems to think that charging commercial emailers a stamp or toll for each email sent will solve (or at least greatly reduce) the problem of SPAM. The fanciful plan would require accreditation of any company that sends commercial email to their customers, clients or prospects in order for messages to be delivered to the recipients' inbox.

In the 1980s, my parent's mailbox was stuffed with post each day. I always felt bad for the mailman lugging all of that stuff around. “Nothing but junk mail!” my father would say. We'd still look at it, and sometimes there were stickers of some sort or another that we kids enjoyed. The point is, SPAM, in one sense or another, has always been around, in the mail, on the phone lines and on the Internet. Several years later, I became a mailman myself for a few years in Ossining, New York. Some people on my route actually looked forward to some of the junk mail that came to them. “Otherwise,', they'd say, 'we'd get nothing.”

The biggest problem with an accreditation system as the solution to this historical nuisance of junk mail is that there are 1 Billion Internet users today. There will be more tomorrow. Seventy-seven percent of people online (US) send and receive email regularly. Only three percent (US) read blogs. A similar percentage would read RSS feeds, perhaps less. The Internet is an international platform with thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of commercial emailers around the globe. Designing an international accreditation system that would satisfy all parties, across all domains, through all ISPs, compatible with all email clients, and accepted by senders and recipients across all geographical and cultural lines is as likely as having a nation of all wealthy people in a capitalist society. It just ain't gonna happen. But do we really want it to?

If you've ever worked in an international organization, you'll understand what I'm on about. When I worked with NATO, for the US Air Force, with a Belgian Contracting Officer, on an Italian military compound, alongside the Russian delegation; it was difficult enough to decide what time lunch would be at, and how long it should last.

Would the accreditation system be managed by an international body? Who profits from the gazzilion dollars (or Euro, or GBP, or Yen) that is raked in through the purchase of email stamps? Will it be a profitable company? A charitable organization? Should it be centrally controlled by the government? The Chinese government perhaps? The United States? The United Nations?? Will we be able to buy shares?

And what other doors is this utopian quest to rid the world of SPAM opening? I'm seeing more and more blog spam around the Internet. Should all bloggers pay a monthly fee? I can't believe how many bad-quality websites I have to sift through in Search Engine results to get the content that's relevant to me. Should you be charged a fee for having your website link on my screen when it doesn't interest me?

The complexity of this solution doesn't improve upon the simplicity of deleting an email from your inbox if you don't want to read it. Personally, I don't get that much of it. I already have a SPAM filter. I whitelist senders that I want to hear from. I block senders that I don't want to hear from again. I opt-out of newsletters that don't interest me anymore. I report malicious and possibly fraudulent SPAM that does get through. But mostly, I just delete email that I'm not interested in. Yea, junk mail is a pain. It always was, even when the mailman delivered it to the mailbox. But every now and then, there is something with free stickers in it. And you know, it's not so bad then.

If you want my specific responses to any of Seth's points, feel free to send me an email. But do it before you're charged for it. And for heaven's sake, don't send it C.O.D.!

Keep the flow of information on the Internet FREE! The telecoms are already talking about a fee-based Internet model. Do we really want to go there? If so, this might be a good start.

Tags: emailmarketing SPAM accreditation AOL internet email ossining NATO telecoms messagingtimes stamps junkmail yahoo

BMW Disqualified from Google Speedway

2006-02-07T06:15:00.000-05:00

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GERMAN CAR GIANT BMW will not be listed on Google's organic results pages after the Search Engine found them guilty of using black hat optimization. Apparently, BMW was engaging in a standard black-hat game by luring search engines with a modified, keyword intense page while visitors were automatically redirected to a different landing page on the click. This is old school black hat, but it's deceptive all the same.

Content is king - but deceptive content is grounds for disqualification.

Read more at Online Media Daily: Google Boots BMW for Web Spam

Tag: BMW Google webspam blackhat landingpage keyword organicresults optimization

Find Seth's Ethernet Port

2006-02-06T09:38:00.000-05:00

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Seth Godin asked where the ethernet port might be in his hotel room:

Where's the ethernet jack? (note to hotels: wifi hubs are cheap.)

Here are my guesses:

1. In the base of the lampshade
2. A data port in the telephone
3. There is no ethernet port
4. Somewhere else - like on the opposite wall, away from the desk! Well, that would just make so much sense from a hotel manager's perspective!

Tag: infacta messagingtimes sethgodin ethernet port hotelroom

A Union for Email Marketers?

2006-02-06T08:39:00.000-05:00

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PERHAPS I'M A BIT CRANKY today because Seattle lost the big game yesterday. Although I'm a NY Giants fan through and through, Seattle will be my new home in several months, and it would have been nice to relocate to the city of Super Bowl Champions. Anyway, it wasn't the Super Bowl result that rattled my cage; it was reading this blog post about AOL and their mafia-style tactics of getting email marketers to pay to have their emails delivered to their users. Extortion comes to mind. I feel as bad for anyone who still uses AOL for email. The bothersome post also suggests that AOLs pay-to-email strategy might somehow persuade email marketers to use RSS more and bench email.

Here are my rants about each issue:

1. AOL will require email marketers to be accredited through their Goodmail partner if they want emails to be delivered to AOL users with links and images intact. Not only is this extortionist, in that it forces email marketers with AOL customers to pay to contact them; it is also discriminatory - because in order to be certified by Goodmail, a company must have a business HQ in the United States or Canada! What? Wait 50 milliseconds - If this effort is supposed to thwart the amount of SPAM that AOL users receive, perhaps AOL might consider that the bulk of SPAM originates within the United States. This isolates AOL users in what is supposedly a global platform. It also punishes legitimate email marketers from doing business with AOL customers.

2. Regarding email marketers being threatened by XML/RSS technology – this is regurgitated nonsense. Rather than taking the time to write it again, read my take on RSS and email that I already wrote today.

Do email marketers need a union?

Tag: infacta messagingtimes RSS email goodmail AOL SPAM marketing NYGiants seattle

Super Internet XL

2006-02-05T19:46:00.000-05:00

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IT'S ALMOST ONE O'CLOCK in the morning here in Ireland, and as I type this, I'm listening to the end of the first half of Super Bowl XL. Pittsburgh just went ahead, scoring a touchdown just after the 2-minute warning. Sure, I'd rather be watching it; but I don't have sattelite television at the moment, and I didn't want to pay for a digital video link. Besides, there's something nice about listening to the radio and using your imagination - and it's FREE - as digital radio should be!

The Internet is Super!

Tags: infacta messagingtimes digitalradio superbowl pittsburgh seattle seahawks steelers fordfield internet

The Super Bowl Shuffles Online

2006-02-03T06:50:00.000-05:00

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ONE OF THE SUPER BOWL'S LEADING ADVERTISERS on television, Anheuser-Busch is using its advertising spend this year to woo viewers online. Much to the dismay of traditional media sellers, this campaign is evidence of the shift of advertising budgets to online channels.

What are you doin'?
Watchin' the game online, havin' a Bud.

Anheuser-Busch, proud makers of Budweiser and other popular beer in America will be launching a direct-to-consumer network. The Bud Screen will pop its cork at some stage during the fourth quarter of Sunday's Super Bowl XL, offering viewers the chance to download advertising, programs and entertainment directly to their computers and mobile devices. The Bud Screen is not a one-off PR stunt. They are launching their broadband video distribution channel that, according to reports, will be branded “Bud TV”.

This might be a great move for Anheuser-Busch, as a recent ComScore Networks report suggests that 72 percent of Internet users will go online during on this Super Bowl Sunday, with 14 percent doing so with the intention of looking for associated ads and video clips. Looking for Ads? That's the Super Bowl legacy. And that legacy is moving online.

For more details of this story, go to:

Media Daily News: King of Beers Becomes King of Content
Online Media Daily: Web Users Seek Super Bowl Ads

Tag: infacta messagingtimes football superbowl advertising budweiser onlineadvertising broadbandvideo NFL

Article: Designing Databases to Support Email Personalization

2006-02-02T11:20:00.000-05:00

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YOUR DATABASE IS THE CORNERSTONE of your email strategy. It simply isn't possible to communicate with your audience unless you have a database with details of your contacts. Regardless of what database you use to store contact information, it is important to think of its functionality when populating it with content. Simply having a database full of email addresses is useless if you want to personalize your messages to groups of recipients. To use your database effectively for personalized email messages, there are two main issues to consider – namely; field separation and data style.

Think Personalization!

When adding data to your contact database, it is important to think how that data will be used when communicating via email. The most common field used in email personalization is the name field. But there are many other ways to personalize effectively beyond using someone's name in your message. To most effectively personalize email messages, it is important to separate fields and input data strategically with email communication in mind. It is also important to think about the style of data that you put into each field.

To read the full article, go to Designing Databases to Support Email Personalization

Tag: infacta messagingtimes emailmarketing

Who Are You Optimizing Your Content For?

2006-02-01T10:02:00.000-05:00

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With prospects of a tumbling Google stock in the air after their failure to meet fourth-quarter forecasts, the vulnerability of the search giant is exposed. So, Google isn't immune to market forces after all? With shares falling by 12 percent on Tuesday, continued fall-out is expected today. But sure, did anyone really think that Google would continue to climb beyond the mountaintop? Everything in life is finite, including Google's rate of growth.

Because of Google's solid growth chart during the past two years, many Search Engine Marketers (SEMs) invested most of their optimization attention and effort on the golliath Google. Rightly so, as their market share warranted it. It still does. But, remember too, that Yahoo! was at the top once too. The Search Engine leader board will continue to shift, with new players coming onto the field with promising talent and old players having good games and even perhaps come-back seasons.

The lesson from this: Optimize your content for your customers. The one thing that all Search Engine companies share is their desire to provide their customers with relevant information. That's the key to their success. If you focus on optimizing your message for your customer, the search spiders will find you, even if, heaven forbid, Google dropped in the standings.

Building Effective Email Subscription Lists

2006-01-31T06:34:00.000-05:00

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BUILDING A SUBSCRIBER LIST IS IMPORTANT for anyone using email to communicate with customers. But compiling an effective list is even more important. Online consumers demand relevance, so list builders must focus on building large, highly-relevant lists rather than just gathering a bunch of email addresses. For a good article on how to increase the size of your email subscribers, read How to Build Effective Email Subscription Lists.

Prophetic? Who? Me??

2006-01-30T05:14:00.000-05:00

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LAST WEEK, I QUESTIONED email marketers' uniform adherence to reports that the best days to send email are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I suggested that it might be wise for email marketers to consider launching their campaigns on off days - Friday through Monday - in lieu of recurring research which suggested that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were the most effective.

eRoi found that Friday was the best day for sending email, in terms of open and click-through rates (21.0 and 4.0 percent, respectively), during the fourth quarter. Tuesday had the second-highest open rate (20.8 percent), and Thursday had the second-highest click-through rate (3.7 percent), followed closely by Tuesday (also 3.7 percent).

Am I prophetic? ABSOLUTELY NOT! But I do still encourage email marketers to think outside of the benchmarking box. Test your own market's response to different days. Even then, be ready for shifts in recipient behavior over time. And be willing to adapt your timiing to suit their needs.

Email Marketing Benchmark Guide, 2006

2006-01-27T06:33:00.000-05:00

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Marketing Sherpa's Email Marketing Benchmark Guide, 2006 is a must for anyone who relies on email for any part of their business. It comes complete with eyetracking images and too many easy-to-interpret charts and graphs to mention.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW about what's working and what's not in the world of email marketing, you could do a lot worse than getting yourself a copy of this guide. For new blood in the industry, the report contains the mother of all glossaries. Even at the high sticker price (over 200 USD), it is a worthwhile investment - if email marketing is important to you.

The Best Day to Send Email

2006-01-26T12:15:00.000-05:00

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For years now, marketing analysts have spent much time, effort and money to research the best days to send commercial email. Most studies repetitively dissuade email marketers from launching their campaigns on Mondays or Fridays, suggesting that messages sent on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will result in the best open rates.

Here's my question: If email marketers are heeding this advice, is it better to send your message out on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday when nobody else is? If most email marketers are relying on email benchmarks to plan their campaigns, then I would imagine that recipient inboxes will be full on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Perhaps, rather than benchmarking your future email marketing campaigns, you should consider futuremarking them, and trying something different to what everyone else seems to be doing.

If your message is hot, and relevant to your audience, it will be opened regardless of what day it arrives.

Internet Light - For Information Dieters

2006-01-25T11:11:00.000-05:00

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Google has agreed to censor its content and limit services (chat, blog, email) on its Chinese version, in compliance with Chinese authorities. Those searching for information on independence for Taiwan and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, for example, will not find it on google.cn. This, following Microsoft's agreement to censor its MSN presence in the area, suggests that content on the Internet is controllable, if the money is right.

Both Google and Microsoft believe that to have even a limited presence in China is more effective than boycotting business altogether there. Of course proponents of freedom of speech and press abhor the action.

At the same time, the US Government is pressuring Google to release the search records of its users as part of a broad investigation and monitoring campaign in support of the Presidents appeal of the 2004 COPA law.

So soon after Web 2.0 had Internet users abuzz about a second wave of growth, with promises of greater information exchange capabilities and innovative social functionality, these events are making many wonder if the Internet is actually devolving rather than evolving.

How significant are these events at this point in time?

Internet Use Differs Among Generations

2006-01-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

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Pew Internet's Generations Online Report, published on January 22nd shows that Internet use differs according to generations. Another great piece of research from Pew, breaking down Internet use across generational segments. Here are some of the findings:

Email use is spread most evenly across all generations, with 90 percent of all Internet users sending and receiving email regularly

81 percent of online teens play online games in contrast to only 25 percent of leading boomers (51-59 years old).

60 percent of Generation Y (18-28) use text messaging in contrast to only 11 percent of Matures (60-69).

51 percent of Teens (12-17) download music in contrast to only 16 percent of Trailing Boomers (41-50).

72 percent of Generation X (29-40) make online travel reservations in contrast to 50 percent of Generation Y (18-28).

Data like this is a goldmine for online marketers and advertisers. It is also paints a very interesting portrait of societal variances between generations. Hats off to Pew for once again providing a valuable snapshot of online trends!

To read the full report, go to Pew Research: Generations Online

The Messaging Times Gets Funny

2006-01-23T10:34:00.000-05:00

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Rex Montgomery Reports: Google People

"Today,Google announced plans for a revolutionary, ground-breaking service that will transform the Internet as we know it. Beginning as early as next week, Google People will give Internet users the ability to schedule time with each other to actually meet face-to-face and talk live. A Google spokeswoman said that this revolutionary platform will enable users to connect in real-time, and even allow for physical interaction like handshakes and playful slaps on the ass."

"Google critics say that the announcement is just a smoke screen, and even if it did happen, it would never catch on to the degree that Google speculates. A spokesman for The Coalition Against Google (CAG) said that people just won't be bothered taking the time to meet each other in person when they are already able to connect with each other over existing platforms on the Internet. Google is just taking advantage of the emotional vulnerabilities of people, the spokesman said, and this time, they've gone one step too far."

The Messaging Times Gets Funny

2006-01-23T10:10:00.000-05:00

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Click image to enlarge

Email Strategy: A Blueprint for Success

2006-01-20T09:33:00.000-05:00

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WOULD YOU BUY A HOUSE that was built without a blueprint? Probably not. Well, you shouldn't engage in an email campaign without a clear strategy either. Every successful business effort is driven by a strategy – an elaborate and systematic plan of action. Without one, you're shooting in the dark. Sure you might hit something, but you'll also miss a lot. Developing an effective email strategy isn't difficult, and it is extremely important if you desire consistent results.

Essential elements of an effective email strategy include platform, list management, format/style, content, frequency and measurement. Of course, each of these elements should be developed in line with strategy objectives and support your overall vision. To take a look at each of these elements in more detail, read Email Strategy: A Blueprint for Success

Typewriter Tributes at Golden Globes

2006-01-19T07:46:00.000-05:00

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The Best Screenplay award at this year's Golden Globes went to Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana for their adaptation of Annie Proulx's short story Brokeback Mountain. Technology has made significant contributions to film over the years. Advances in lenses, editing equipment, sound and so many other industry devices have made life easier for filmmakers today.

But does all of this technology help to make better films?

During his acceptance speech, Mr. McMurtry gave praise to his Hermes 3000 typewriter saying "It's kept me for 30 years out of the dry embrace of the computer."

More than 6 years ago, I created my first personal homepage. At the top, I wrote:

TECHNOLOGY HAS INDEED INCREASED our abilities to create, send and receive information in a more timely and efficient manner. We must be cautious, however, to ensure that we do not confuse the tool with the quality of the material processed by it. Technology, in and of itself, will not make any writing better, any friendship stronger, or any thought more profound. The balance between our fascination with technology and the material that it allows us to process more efficiently is a delicate one. Here, we attempt to merge the brilliance of technology with the beauty of the written word.

Do you rely on technology too much?

Can you, like Mr. McMurtry, be successful without it?

I Can Convey That Message in 2 Notes

2006-01-18T08:10:00.000-05:00

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You've spent years builiding your business, developing strategies, positioning your products and services competitively in the market, and investing in content creation and distribution vehicles. You know your business inside and out.

But can you convey a persuasive message to your audience in 30 seconds? How about 50 milliseconds?

Television advertising for this year's Superbowl is running at 2.5 million per 30 second spot.

New studies show that website visitors make their first impression of your site as fast as 50 milliseconds.

When there are so many things that you want to say - so many things that you can say to convince your customers that your message is valuable; it's not easy to whittle it down to a page, a screen, a sentence, a word - but you must if you want to persuade your audience to tune into your full message.

Making a fast impact is critical. It's like wrapping a great present. You could have the most valuable present in the stack; but if yours isn't wrapped well, it probably won't be the first picked from the pile. Partially, this comes down to design. Partially, it comes from your ability to summarize your value in brief, persuasive bite-size chunks.

Why Are You Still Debating Text vs. HTML?

2006-01-17T06:14:00.000-05:00

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Email marketers have been debating Text vs. HTML methods of email delivery for years. The text camp believes that text-based emails ensure compatibility with all recipients, even those who can receive HTML but disable images in their email client. HTML advocates feel that their message falls flat without some HTML design incorporated in the campaign. The truth is that the debate, while entertaining, is unnecessary today. Email marketing software, like Infacta's GroupMail, allows users to send a message in both formats simultaneously. Obviously, the most effective way to optimize compatibility, and thus deliverability and click-through rates, is to send a message in both HTML-and-Text, allowing each recipient's email client to launch the appropriate version based on the user's settings.

IN A RECENT SPLIT TEST TO 30,000 RECIPIENTS, Infacta tracked click-through rates, comparing recipient response to messages sent in the following formats; HTML only (10,000), Text only (10,000), and HTML and Text (10,000).

HTML Only: 1,436 Unique Clicks

Text Only: 1,353 Unique Clicks

HTML and Text: 1,518 Unique Clicks

*Tracking and reports supplied by GroupMetrics

To see how easy it is to send HTML-and-Text emails simultaneously to your audience, read: HTML vs Text: The Debate is Over

5 Tips for Effective Email-to-SMS Messages

2006-01-16T09:24:00.000-05:00

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The ability of communicators to send email-to-SMS messages responds to the flexibility demanded by customers today. If your message requires a timely response, it might fail to meet your needs if sent only to your customers' email address. People don't necessarily sit at their workstations all day long anymore. We are movers and shakers, and SMS text gives us the ability to be mobile without being out of reach.

Email marketing software such as GroupMail allows communicators to reach this mobile audience with email-to-SMS functionality. But what content is appropriate to send to mobile devices and what considerations must be made when communicating to a mobile platform? For 5 tips on writing effective email-to-SMS messages, read this article!

The Naked Emailer

2006-01-13T11:03:00.000-05:00

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Here's a glimpse at my inbox folders at the moment. How organized is your inbox?

Is Technology Making Us Dumb?

2006-01-12T06:39:00.000-05:00

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I was listening to a radio quiz show this morning on the way into work. Callers were asked a series of questions on geography and history. The caller with the most consecutive right answers would win. They could freeze at any point to secure their score. For example, if they answered five questions correctly, they could bank their score and other contestants would have to answer at least six in a row correctly to beat them. Once a caller got a question wrong, they were out of the contest.

Well, two of the callers I heard were obviously searching for answers to the questions on the Internet. How do I know this?

Gerry Ryan: Who is the Head of State of Australia?

Contestant: long pause

Gerry Ryan: Hello, I need an answer. Are you still there caller?

Contestant: Yes, hold on a second now. [long pause]

Gerry Ryan: I'm sorry, but I need an answer now.

Contestant: Okay. [pause] Sir David Smith?

Gerry Ryan: Sorry, it took you a while, but you're done. Goodbye.

Note: An article by Sir David Smith comes up in Google when searching for Australia Head of State

Bottomline: Our search for knowledge must go beyond Google's first page of results.

Brand Wars Make for Good PR

2006-01-12T06:14:00.000-05:00

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Your brand communicates your business message and makes it recognizable to customers. Good brands help to build loyalty and trust over time. Starbucks has a good brand. But is Charbucks good as well? After an 8 year legal battle, Starbucks failed to convince the courts that Charbucks impacted their business by confusing customers in any way. Family-owned Charbucks coffee will still be available in the small New Hampshire hamlet of Tuftonboro.

But does that make Charbucks a good brand? Well, I doubt that I would have written about it, or even heard about it, if it was called Joes. But I have no idea what their coffee tastes like.

Read this article from CNN Money for more on the story.

Text vs HTML: The Prosecution Rests

2006-01-11T06:53:00.000-05:00

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For some time now, email marketers have debated whether text or HTML emails result in better open and click-through rates. The text camp believes that text-based emails ensure compatibility with all recipients, even those who disable images in their email client. HTML users feel that their message falls flat without some HTML design incorporated in the campaign.

Then comes the flash of light. Why not send both? You might think that doing so would require substantial effort and time. Not so. GroupMail allows communicators to send a message in Text and HTML format. That way, if the recipient's client can view HTML, then the message is launched in HTML. Otherwise, it appears as a text-based email.

For a step-by-step tutorial, with screen shots, go to Infacta: Sending Messages with Both Plain Text and HTML

Note: With Infacta's new version of GroupMail, the process is even easier. This tutorial is associated with the previous release of the software.

Making Email Viral, In a Good Way!

2006-01-10T06:07:00.000-05:00

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Most of us dread the possibility of a viral pandemic. It is amazing how quickly a virus passes from person to person, and region to region. But as communicators, that is exactly what we want. We want our message to spread, like a virus, to recipients that find it relevant.

There is no better way to find a relevant audience than to have existing recipients of your message pass it to those who they know would be interested. Melinda Krueger wrote a great piece today for Email Insider about one way to fuel such viral distribution.

THERE IS NO MORE CONVINCING argument for reading an e-mail than a friend's recommendation. If a friend (or colleague) has taken the time to forward something to you, it is likely to be relevant and you are somewhat beholden to read and respond. So make it as easy as possible for friends to forward your e-mail.

I haven't seen any statistics to support it, but I can only imagine that click-through rates would be higher for emails forwarded by a friend or collegue. Make your next group email viral by encouraging recipients to forward it on to friends, and make it easy for them to do just that. Before you know it, your message will spread like a virus.

In Search of Excellence

2006-01-09T06:51:00.000-05:00

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Once, as a manager of a software localization company in Ireland, I ordered coffee mugs with the company logo and "Excellence" underneath, to distribute to the team during our official launch. When I arrived to collect the mugs, the printer proudly took one out of its box and handed it to me.

"What do you think?"

"That looks great!" [pause] "Doesn't exellence have a "c" in it?"

It was an awkward moment, but it was hard to keep the laughter inside until I stepped outside!

The fact is, we all make spelling mistakes. Nobody is immune. But for important communications, and especially online communication, it pays to take a little extra time to ensure that your message is spelled out - correctly.

P.S. All kidding aside, the man who did the mugs for me was affectionately known as Fast Eddie. Sometimes, fast just isn't enough!

Email-to-SMS

2006-01-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

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I must be SMSing this week. I just can't seem to ignore the giant in the room. The giant is text messaging, and I simply cannot stop drooling over the opportunity to connect with that massive mobile audience. If you haven't read it yet, do take the time to read SMS Messaging: How is your Text Life?, and then ask yourself if your next group email should be sent as a text message.

Happy New Year SMS

2006-01-05T09:11:00.000-05:00

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According to the BBC, a record number of SMS text messages were sent in the UK as the New Year entered. Britons sent over 6.9 million text messages every hour between midnight on New Year's Eve and midnight on New Year's day. So many messages were sent that some networks had difficulty responding to the demand.

The Mobile Data Association estimates that the more than 36.5 billion text messages will be sent in the UK this year, up from 29 billion last year.

Because text messaging is so popular, especially with young people, the Bible Society in Australia has taken the time to translate all 31,173 verses of the Bible into text shorthand to attract young consumers of the medium.

The Messaging Times Gets Funny

2006-01-04T07:26:00.000-05:00

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Click on the strip to enlarge it!

To create your own comic strip, go to stripcreator.com

SMS Messaging: How is Your Text Life?

2006-01-03T12:08:00.000-05:00

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With almost 2 billion global mobile phone users, text messaging is one of the most widely used communication platforms today. Considering that Internet users are hovering around the 1 billion mark, the rapid growth of Short Message Service (SMS) over the past 5 years is very impressive. In 2000, just over 17 billion text messages were sent worldwide. One year later, in 2001, China alone accounted for 18 billion texts! In 2003, the average SMS user in Singapore sent 2,300 text messages! By the middle of 2004, more than 500 billion SMS text messages were sent worldwide.

For more interesting stats about the robust and still-growing text messaging world, read SMS Messaging: How is Your Text Life?

90 Percent of Consumers Rely on Email

2006-01-02T11:42:00.000-05:00

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According to Double Click's Sixth Annual Consumer Email Study, email is more of a killer app today than ever before, even with all of the online communication platforms that exist today. Surprised? I'm not.

Here's a summary of the report's findings:

"Consumers are increasingly reliant on and comfortable with email as a communication channel. It is no longer a novelty, and is fully integrated into the personal and professional lives of most consumers. This integration has facilitated a merging of personal and professional time with most consumers checking work email from home and checking personal email while at the office."

90 percent of consumers check their email several times a day.

44 percent of consumers say that their use of email is constant

51 percent of consumers would like to see email replace telemarketing.

94 percent of consumers expect an email confirming an order.

90 percent of consumers expect an email confirming shipment of an order.

74 percent of consumers would find return policies in marketing emails useful.

The From field is considered the most influential reason for consumers to open an email.

Even though Spam accounts for up to 70 percent of email received, online consumers are much less concerened about it today.

As the Internet surpasses the 1 Billion user mark, it makes sense that more and more people are going to be communicating via email. What is the first thing that YOU did when you got your new PC online? I bet it had something to do with email!

Reflections and Promises

2005-12-31T08:04:00.000-05:00

There is something magical about the dawn of a new year. It presents an opportunity to reflect on the past and make promises for the future. Of course, it is just another day; but many people do make that one day count. Whether it's giving up the smokes or being better organized in business, resolutions can make big differences in your life if they are realized.

Here are some resolutions, as an online communicator, that I want to focus on in 2006:

1. Be brief and to the point
2. Be relevant to my audience
3. Listen consciously and carefully
4. Support innovation and small business
5. Coordinate design, content and delivery more effectively

What do you resolve?

Happy New Year!

Cleaning Up After Christmas

2005-12-29T09:58:00.000-05:00

There's always a mess to clean up after Christmas. Gift wrappings are strewn all over the floor, decorations must be taken down and stored in the attic for another year, and the mountain of dirty dishes must be washed and put back on the shelf. One of the messiest places in the house on Christmas day is the kitchen. This year, my wife and I decided that there will be no more in-house efforts made to prepare a succulent feast for Christmas. We are going to outsource Christmas dinner next year. I didn't see my wife on Christmas day. She was in the kitchen all day, with her mother; while I entertained the children in the living room with their grandfather. And for what? The children didn't touch their dinner, and everyone else was in digestive state after only ten or fifteen minutes of consumption. The ROI on Christmas dinner just doesn't justify doing it again next year. Because we love the idea of the family sitting together at a festive table, we have decided to adapt rather than to cancel future Christmas dinners. Next year's Christmas dinner will be either outsourced to a catering company or simplified to a soup course.

Often, we perpetuate tradition because - well, it's tradition. To be completely honest, neither of us even likes a turkey and ham dinner. And who honestly dreams about brussel sprouts in the months leading up to the big day? We would both prefer lasagna or a good rueben sandwich. Why not enjoy a favorite meal during Christmas, and skip the clean-up required afterwards? We'd be much happier sitting around with the children on the day, playing games and watching movies.

This is a good time of year to reflect. With 2005 quickly approaching exit 7A on the NJ Turnpike; we might think upon the things that we do out of habit or tradition. And we might ask ourselves if our true vision is being realized by our habitual behavior. Albert Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Will 2006 be a year of significant change for you?

How so?

Santa Tracking by NORAD

2005-12-23T07:02:00.000-05:00

We all know how important it is to track and measure email campaigns. Well, now we can track Santa too! NORAD, who normally spend their time tracking air space in the US and Canada in support of national security, are celebrating their 50th year keeping an eye in the sky for Santa and his team of reindeer.

They have a great website that allows users to keep an eye on the sky as Santa makes his rounds on Christmas Eve.

Florida Redefines Spam

2005-12-23T05:40:00.000-05:00

It appears that some US States might be loosening the noose on Spam definitions. After receiving numerous accusations of spamming from constituents who had unsuccessfully opted out from campaign emails sent by Charlie Crist, Florida's Repulican gubernatorial candidate and the State's attorney general; his office responded by stating:

"This is not spam. This is truthful, it's straight forward. We're honest. To be spam it has to be, under Florida law, defined as being deceptive," Myrtetus.

"The attorney general does not consider this spam and is, as you know, at the forefront of protecting citizens against that."

And here I was, all-the-time thinking that I needed permission from recipients before sending them commercial email, regardless of the legitimacy of my message. How silly am I?

For more on this case, read Yahoo! Fla. attorney general says his e-mails aren't spam

Infacta Releases GroupMail 5.0.0.806

2005-12-22T06:06:00.000-05:00

GroupMail 5.0.0.806 Released

The 806 GroupMail build has just been released. It has a scatter of new templates in it, to include 8 new ones in the Personal Edition and 13 in the Business Edition with 3 bonus holiday designs.

For more on this release please see this new article.

Happy Thursday!

Your Customer is the Spam Cop!

2005-12-22T05:01:00.000-05:00

Mark Brownlow from email-marketing-reports hit the nail on the head today when he wrote...

"Let me bore you again by pointing out that spam is defined by the recipient, not the sender and not the government. You can be as Can-Spam compliant as you like, people will still think you're a spammer if you abuse their time."

If your message is sent regularly to a recipient that doesn't find relevance in it, that recipient will consider it a nuisance and file it with other non-relevant messages - to include Spam.

Be Merry Careful

2005-12-21T11:34:00.000-05:00

The fervent online discussion about the cancellation of Christmas amuses me. Although I am not shocked at all by efforts in the United States to be all-inclusive during this time of year; I had to take a step back when I read that Ireland is in the midst of the same conflict. According to the Western People, the manager of the Mayo General Hospital has ordered that a nativity manger set up by staff in the lobby of the hospital be taken down so as not to exclude people of other religious beliefs. Now, Ireland is still well over 95 percent Catholic, with the remaining population being predominantly protestant. So what gives?

Any attempt to satisfy the least common denominator is futile. The fact is, according to PC theory, we shouldn't even say Happy Holidays, because for many, this time of year is anything but happy (cases of depression are rife in December.) Furthermore, many people don't have holidays this time of year. Hospitals, police stations, military posts, hotels, airlines and many other industries are staffed for operations on the 25th of December as they are every other day of the year.

So, where do we draw the line? As a communicator, what message will you be sending out this time of year?

A CAN-Spam Report Card

2005-12-21T07:59:00.000-05:00

In line with previous Pew Research studies, yesterday's FTC report finds that recipients of Spam are becoming more tolerant, seeing it as "an acceptable nuisance rather than a cause for abandoning e-mail".

The report also suggests that most retailers and marketers are complying with the opt-out requirements as outlined in the CAN-Spam law of 2004.

The government report also revealed that although significant progress has been made in reducing the amount of Spam from legitimate advertisers and marketers, malicious spam, to include phising and fraudulent campaigns, have continued to increase over the last two years.

On the Move: Communicating with a Mobile Audience

2005-12-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

We're on the move. Wireless connections, mobile phones, and hybrid cars that cost less to fuel are all responses to our desire to be independent from the confines of one physical space. Technology has provided us the freedom of movement, responding effectively to our demand for mobility. Many people work from multiple locations today simply because they can bring their offices with them wherever they go. For marketers, it's important to be able to reach this mobile market as it moves around the globe. Because of this new social mobility, traditional geographic marketing isn't as effective as it once was. Customers today span geographical lines, and the "local market" requires redefinition. Individual customer connectivity over a variety of platforms at any point in time becomes our local market. The local market is no longer defined geographically. We need to market to individuals, wherever they are in the world. Electronic messaging provides the solution to communicating with this mobile market.

Growing at an alarming rate, the mobile communications market illustrates our desire to be decentralized and flexible. The growing demand for cellular phones, hand-held wireless Internet devices, and digital audio products like Sony's iPod confirms that we want to be in touch while we're on the move. The job of today's marketer is to support customers' mobility by interacting with them over multiple platforms that allow them to get the information, products, services and supports that they need when they need it regardless of where they are in the world.

To communicate effectively in a mobile market, companies must incorporate vehicles that can distribute their messages over a variety of platforms. The most widely used mobile communication platforms today are email and cellular phones.

The ability to communicate with people via email and SMS text messages is essential for companies today. For that reason, we see a surge in marketing professionals using email messaging software that supports both email and SMS text message capabilities for their campaigns. Customer Service and Public Relations professionals in all industries are doing the same. Infacta's group email software for example, allows users to send personalized text messages to cell phone users on over 500 networks around the world with their email-to-SMS gateway tool. This functionality allows communicators to send news alerts, product updates, promotional information, or birthday wishes directly to individual cell phone users as well as to their email account. We can no longer expect customers to sit at a desk for 8 hours each day waiting for our message. It is more important than ever to respond to mobility, and to incorporate communication strategies that are as flexible as the recipients of our message.

The Messaging Times Gets Funny

2005-12-19T14:46:00.000-05:00

Email in the Year 2035

2005-12-19T06:45:00.000-05:00

It certainly appears that some are confident about email being around for another twenty or thirty years; as several websites are offering email time capsule services to users.

FutureMe.org is a service that lets people send messages to themselves for delivery as much as 30 years from now.

Forbes.com also offers an e-mail time capsule, with more than 140,000 emails set for delivery after only six weeks of offering the service.

Other services, to include myLastEmail.com and LastWishes.com offer users the ability to have a message sent after the writer's death. Perhaps you want to set the record straight with someone or say something to those you left behind.

Now can RSS do that?

Don't Believe the Hype

2005-12-16T10:48:00.000-05:00

To say that email is being replaced by evolving communications technologies, like RSS, is misleading. I suppose people said that PCs were on their way out when laptops first came onto the scene. Hype sells, for a while anyway. Perhaps one day it might happen, but the learning curve with any new technology is long, and email will remain an integral communication tool for years and years to come.

Actually, email is getting better and better. Check out GroupMail from Infacta to see why modern email applications are sexier today than they ever have been.

As a matter of fact, it would make a great Christmas gift if you have an online communicator in the house! (oh no, I used the 'C' word!)

I have always appreciated how email can connect me with people around the world so effortlessly; and love GroupMail's ability to let me do it so efficiently. And hey, they have a FREE, try-before-you-buy version, so it won't cost you anything to check it out!

Have a great weekend!

Anything You Can Do, We Can Do Better

2005-12-16T06:13:00.000-05:00

That's what all sides of the email client industry are touting. When Microsoft released their Beta of Exchange 12 this week, they made it clear that open source email competitors are not regarded as any threat.

"We still worry more about Lotus than about the open-source providers, a lot of whom don't have a unified strategy [for trying] to try and address the bigger players in the market. There are interesting things happening with some of them, but they don't come up often in our competitive engagements,"

- Jeff Ressler, Director of Product Planning for Microsoft Exchange

But all competitors, open source included, responded quickly to Microsoft's remarks.

"Microsoft's approach is to give customers an integrated stack, and that is what some customers want. But there is another category of customers that wants the flexibility to create their own stack and customize their ecosystem based on their choice of best of breed components, like choice of directory, for example."

- Julie Hanna Farris, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Scalix Corp.

...more than half of Scalix's customers had switched from Exchange to Scalix, while the other half had switched from a combination of Lotus Notes/Domino, Novell GroupWise and SendMail.

Microsoft competitors, to include Sun and Scalix, suggested that Microsoft was playing catch-up with their release of the Exchange 12 Beta.

For more, read eWeek.com: Exchange 12 Has Competitors, Execs Insist

Dogpile: The Other Search

2005-12-15T12:32:00.000-05:00

If it isn't yet against the law to use search engines other than Google, I recommend Dogpile.com - With Dogpile, you can search Dogpile, Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask Jeeves simutaneously. While I tend to go to Google for quick searches, I still find myself returning to Dogpile when I'm doing research.

It's important for us to remember that a large audience awaits our message outside the walls of the Google Empire.

What's the Buzz?

2005-12-15T08:21:00.000-05:00

Even with all of the technological advances made over the years, person-to-person, word of mouth referrals for a product or service is still one of the most effective marketing strategies today. But what is the difference between buzz, word-of-mouth (WOM), viral and shill marketing? And how are marketers getting people to talk up their clients' products without paying them?

In an interesting interview with the folks at Tom Peters, Dave Balter provides some interesting insights into the world of WOM marketing and clears up some of the confusion about how marketers get people to create a buzz in the marketplace.

Squidoo Steps Forward

2005-12-14T08:11:00.000-05:00

Squidoo has finished its Beta period and has gone live this week. My Squidoo site only took a day to get into a semi-polished state, and I recommend taking the time to do it, if only as an exercise to organize your thoughts about who you are, what you do or where you live.

Here's my example of a Squidoo Lens. Enjoy!

Recruitment Relationships: Communicating Effectively with Clients and Candidates

2005-12-14T06:19:00.000-05:00

Effective communication is the cornerstone of the recruitment business. As the bridge between employer and employee, the recruiter communicates regularly with their clients and potential candidates. Any recruitment professional understands the amount of correspondence involved during a recruitment campaign. Because of the amount of administrative effort required to effectively communicate with multiple clients and applicants; more and more recruitment offices are managing their communication online, with databases and email being the applications most widely used.

While larger organizations might enjoy the luxury of having expensive CRM tools at their disposal, small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have had to rely on standard email packages until recently. Thankfully, email software has evolved over the past several years, and products available today make it easy for SMEs to send personalized communication to large lists of individuals. Let's take a look at some of the features of modern group email software to understand how it makes a recruiter's life easier...

To read the full article, go to Recruitment Relationships: Communicating Effectively with Clients and Candidates

The Stickiness of Email

2005-12-13T06:52:00.000-05:00

Email can be sticky stuff. The interesting observation about this snapshot of my inbox, taken today - after a little house cleaning of course, is that there is one message from December 8th still sitting there. It is something that I want to read, and I know that if I file it in one of my many email folders, it probably won't get read. So I'll keep it there until I get to it.

So, if The Center for Media Research is analyzing their open and click-through rates from that campaign, they will be happy to note that the polls have not yet closed here in Ireland!

Need more evidence that email is sticky?

As part of a special House Committee investigation into the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, thousands of emails from FEMA and the Governor of Louisiana's Office have been included as evidence. Read CNN: Katrina e-mails show Blanco PR worries

So, make sure that your email message is timeless,
because it might just stick around for a while!

Brevity

2005-12-12T06:43:00.000-05:00

Content is King! Hallelujah!

But too much content can fog the message. It is important for online content providers to understand the behavior of Internet and Email users. Google's efforts to digitalize War and Peace in no way means that people will consume such large chunks of content online. Internet and email users scan content hoping to find relevance. Very few people will sit at their PC or laptop to read an entire work of literature. Internet users like nuts-and-bolts information in neat, useable chunks.

Don't bury your key message(s) unnecessarily in your online manifesto. Give your audience the information they need. No more, no less.

I would write more, but I want to keep this brief!

Understanding Your Audience

2005-12-09T06:38:00.000-05:00

One of the fundamental rules for effective communication involves understanding your audience. A message will only be relevant if it is expressed appropriately to the audience receiving it. Too often, we focus our message on the solutions that we can provide with our products and services, rather than focusing on the needs of our audience.

Business Week has a wonderful piece in today's edition: Sell Your Audience, Not Your Product. that talks about exactly that. A recommended read. Here's an excerpt:

When an ad is about your company, you're essentially asking consumers to actively pay attention, process what you're telling them, and compare it to their current reality to see if it fits. On occasion you may hit someone who's in the purchase-decision mode and tell them exactly what they need to hear, but most of the time your ad will fall on deaf ears.

By contrast, if you begin with the target audience and understand what's on their minds and where they're coming from, you're much more likely to capture their attention. You'll get credit for understanding them, and they'll give you a chance to make a point that they can grasp. The key is to start from the customer's perspective, not the company's.

How does it work? The standard-bearer for this type of approach is Nike (NKE). Most people can't honestly say that Nike really makes a better shoe than its competitors. Is its cushioning more resilient? Its arch support stronger? Its durability longer?

I have no idea, and I'll bet you don't either. Yet Nike holds a commanding lead in its industry because nearly 20 years ago it perfected a customer-centric kind of advertising -- one that focused not on a product but on an idea. Nike signed Michael Jordan in 1984, introduced its "Just Do It" campaign in 1988, and has been chased by its competitors ever since. And in its TV advertising, it never sell the shoes.

Podcast in the Dictionary

2005-12-08T07:18:00.000-05:00

Podcast took the title of 'word of the year' according to The New Oxford American Dictionary. Defined as...

"a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the internet for downloading to a personal audio player",
...the word will appear in the online dictionary early next year. Podcast was derived by combining the terms "broadcasting" with "iPod", which may set a precedent by coining a word formulated in part by a brand name product.

Are there any other words you know of that promote a specific product, like the iPod?
For the full story about podcast's inclusion into the dictionary, GO TO BBC News: Wordsmiths hail podcast success

Does Your Message Have Substance?

2005-12-07T14:56:00.000-05:00

According to dictionary.com, substance is

3. That which is solid and practical in character, quality, or importance.

Yesterday, I attended a Bob Geldof concert in Vicar Street, Dublin. It's an intimate venue and the show was great. I'm not a huge fan of his current band, The Indifferents, but I do like some of his old Boomtown Rats tracks. I attended the show predominantly because Bob Geldof's message if full of substance. Even aside from his strong political convictions, his song lyrics are meaningful, and normally came onto paper as a result of some major life event.

I was inspired by Geldof last night to be more substantive with my work, my play, my life. To talk straighter and be stronger. Every moment we communicate online; whether via email, a blog entry, website content, a podcast or an Instant Message; we should try our utmost to make our message substantive.

The Relevance of Group Email

2005-12-05T06:25:00.000-05:00

Email continues to evolve, and group email software developed today allows users to manage and distribute their communication much more effectively than in the past. One important development in email software is its ability to personalize content for each individual in large mailing lists. A personal message will be perceived as more relevant to the recipient. But personalization isn't just about creating a perception of interpersonal rather than mass communication. It is an essential feature for communicators who struggle to effectively distribute large volumes of information to large lists of clients, contacts, customers or prospects.

Keeping in touch with clients, contacts and customers

Keeping in touch with clients, contacts or customers; and providing them with the information they need is important. But sending individual emails to every contact would take up an incredible amount of time – time that could be spent on research and development, project management, administration, human resources, sales, marketing and planning. Personalization features available in group email software today enable communicators to send a single message to a large group of contacts with individually-associated files attached (an account statement for example). So, each contact on your mailing list will receive a personalized message along with their particular file. Preparing one message for delivery to hundreds or thousands of contacts is much more efficient than sending hundreds or thousands of individual emails to those same contacts.

To read the full article, GO TO GroupMail.com

Test Microsoft Live Mail

2005-12-02T07:43:00.000-05:00

Microsoft has sent out a new test version of Windows Live Mail, part of the software maker's push to introduce Web-based counterparts to desktop products.

The beta version, sent out to testers this week, goes out under the banner of "Windows Live," launched earlier month. However, it is actually part of a longtime effort to revamp Hotmail, Microsoft's current free, Web-based e-mail service.

Microsoft is building Windows Live Mail from scratch, keeping Hotmail and its 215 million active users on a separate system, Brooke Richardson, a lead product manager in Microsoft's MSN division, said. The goal in rebuilding the service from the ground up is to improve performance and enable desktop-like e-mail features found in its Outlook program. An emerging programming technology known as AJAX is central to the effort, she said.

Windows Live Mail offers users 2 gigabytes of free storage compared with the 250 megabytes that's available for free with Hotmail, Richardson said. And Windows Live Mail users can keep their Hotmail.com e-mail addresses.

To request access to the test version of the new service, visit Ideas.live.com.

From CNET news.com: Microsoft delivers Windows Live Mail beta

Up on the Rooftop

2005-12-01T12:27:00.000-05:00

Well, December is here and what a wonderful time of year! What better time to communicate good will by sending your customers, clients and employees an email with a little holiday cheer. If you have an online business, there are so many incentives that can be offered to customers this time of year. Discount coupons on products and services, free subscriptions, a complimentary e-book, a fun holiday game on your site...something to say 'thank you'.

If you are an employer, why not give time vouchers to your team. Say 2 hour vouchers so that everyone can take some time to get some shopping done.

Don't wait until Christmas Eve to spread the holiday cheer. Now's the time to let your audience know that you're thinking about them.

Black Thursday: Fridays are for Turkeys

2005-11-30T17:17:00.000-05:00

It appears that Thursday might be blacker than Friday after all. According to Hitwise, not only did Wal*Mart grab more market share than Amazon this season, they peaked on Thanksgiving Day rather than on 'black' Friday. What better to do after a feast? It appears a lot of us see the appeal of enjoying a sumptuous meal and finding some great online bargains while we're digesting.

That should put Wal*Mart's online team in a very festive mood this season!

Sometimes It's Like Pulling Teeth

2005-11-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

My youngest daughter had her 4 front baby teeth extracted today, under a general anesthetic. It was a quick job and she came through brilliantly. But it made me think -- Why do we make communicating online as painful as pulling teeth? We hover over data at times like vultures: "Oh, yummy, another Q3 Deliverability Report"; attempting to figure out where we can pick up a percentage or two in the charts. What are the trends? How is the demographic shifting? Should we send the mailing on a Tuesday? Perhaps we should split the delivery? Html or text? Newsletter or blog -- or both? Podcast or SMS? As communicators, online or off, perhaps it's time to re-focus some concentration on the message itself. If your message is strong, relevant to a large group of people, and attractively positioned in the market; then there is a good chance that your endeavor will be successful.

Communicate your message articulately and appropriately.

To Market, To Market, To Buy a Rhinoceros

2005-11-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

More people are selling items online than ever before, with one out of every six US Internet users reporting online sales efforts. That equates to over 25 million people selling their wares online. Pew Internet revealed that "...the move to online transactions not only has been a boon to people trying to clear out their attics, but it has enormous implications for one of the major revenue streams for newspapers: classified ads. Data from comScore Media Metrix show that the number of Americans using online classifieds has shot up 80% in the past year, led by the rapid growth of the sites organized by Craigslist.org.

A national phone survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that those who sell things online come from all points on the demographic spectrum, but they are particularly likely to be male, in their 30s, relatively affluent and well-educated. They are also relatively intense users of the internet who have broadband connections and go online frequently. The survey data show that 17% of internet users have sold something online.

The Top 5 Online Classifieds Sites

1. Craigslist.org - 8,236,000 unique visitors
2. Trader Publishing Company - 7,468,000 unique visitors
3. Cars.com - 4,298,000 unique visitors
4. Apartments.com - 1,555,000 unique visitors
5. Abracat Property - 924,000 unique visitors

Obviously, this is a dream come true for suppliers of online marketing products and services, like Infacta.

For the full report, GO TO Pew Internet and American Life Project

Localizing Your Message

2005-11-25T11:33:00.000-05:00

Email and the Internet allows even small businesses to affordably access international markets today. But, before branching out into foreign lands, make sure that your message translates accurately!

Visit engrish.com for a humorous look at how even simple language has difficulty translating to international markets at times.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2005-11-24T05:52:00.000-05:00

For many, today is a day set aside for giving thanks and getting together with family and friends. It's also a time of harvest; and every online business hopes that their harvest this holiday season will be bountiful.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, however you intend to celebrate it. Here's a little poem that I wrote when I was a boy:

Turkey dinner with all the veggies
Makes you rounder around the edgies

Happy Thanksgiving!

Warm Regards

Tom O'Leary
Editor, The Messaging Times

2005-11-23T06:35:00.000-05:00

The Bottom Line for Online Communication

Africa Calling

2005-11-23T06:05:00.000-05:00

From BBC News

Worldwide mobile phone sales rose by 22% in the three months to September. Handset sales hit 205 million, said research firm Gartner, which forecast total sales of 810 million for 2005.

Nokia continues to lead the market with a 32% share, but Motorola saw a big boost in sales as it sold 12 million of its Razr phones.

Sales grew more slowly than the 26% seen in the same period of 2004 - but surged over 40% in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America.

"Year on year sales grew in all regions as replacement sales in mature markets such as Western Europe and North America continued to drive growth while users in emerging markets joined mobile networks and acquired their first mobile device," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Personally, I am excited about this seemingly obvious balance sheet. While it doesn't surprise me at all that sales continue to rise, it is exciting to remember that there are emerging markets just getting started with technology consumption. The same is true for the Internet and email as it is with cellular or mobile phones. At times, we might think that the market is already saturated -- then we remember that there are still BILLIONS of people yet to enter it!

Fraudulent FBI Email Alert

2005-11-22T06:25:00.000-05:00

FRAUDULENT FBI EMAIL ALERT

The FBI continues to see reports of email hoaxes similar to the 7/7/04 warning posted on the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) website. The individual closing the internet transaction changes on the email; otherwise, the text of the email is identical to the email circulated in July 2004. The following is the message brought to our attention:

-----Original Message-----
From: IFCC [internetfraudcenter@usa.com]
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2006 6:10 PM
To:
Subject: Internet Fraud Complaint Center

Please note that this E-mail was generated by FBI and IFCC(Internet Fraud Complaint Center) E-mail services and any attempt to reply to this E-mail cannot and will not be answered or received by FBI or IFCC.

The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). IFCC's mission is to address fraud committed over the Internet.

Our records show that you have closed an internet transaction with David Harrys. We are now able to inform you that this person is an internet scam artist. For almost 2 years he had ripped off over 100 internet buyers using Western Union for payment. We were not able to catch him until now because we don't have enough proves and details about him. Here is what we suggest:

Please pretend that you are interested in buying a product from him and accept any offer that he will make you. Follow all the instructions you receive from him regarding the payment procedure via Western Union wire transfer. We will watch this particular transaction and arrest him when he will try to pick up the funds at the Western Union office.

This way we will be able to stop his illegal activity and you will receive this amount you will have to send now and a $10,000 bonus from FBI for your cooperation.

WE SUGGEST THAT YOU KEEP THIS E-MAIL SECRET FOR NOW. PLEASE DON'T ATTEMPT TO CONTACT FBI OR IFCC FOR THE MOMENT. WE WILL CONTACT YOU AS SOON AS YOU COPMLETE THE TRANSACTION WITH HIM. HE WILL TRY PICK UP THE MONEY AND WE WILL ARREST HIM AND CONTACT YOU AFTER THAT.

Regards, FBI team.

WARNING: DO NOT COOPERATE WITH SOMEBODY ELSE BESIDE FBI. OTHER COMMUNICATIONS MAY BE NEGATIVE TO OUR INVESTIGATION. EVEN THE COMMUNICATION WITH WESTERN UNION MAY BE DEADLY FOR OUR PLAN.

If you have received this, or a similar hoax, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.