Networking Explained (Part 2): Spam Networking

Everyone has heard of spam. There are many that do not know what spam can encompass. Spam is unsolicited ads, no matter where those ads are posted or to whom. Your friends and family don’t deserve spam in their inbox. Message boards do not deserve unsolicited ads in inappropriate forums, and your newsletter lists are definitely a bad place to post ad after ad with no content. You may not even understand that you are hurting your business and wasting your time with bad networking techniques that are actually spam.

I’ll start with message boards because that is my biggest pet peeve. I teach people to not click on any links unless they know the user. By knowing, I mean the user has been active on the boards for a little while or you have had direct dialogue with them. Many WAHM’s are especially wary of clicking on links, so you are wasting your time if you haven’t participated in the community yet. None of us can afford the time or expense of being downed by a virus.

Don’t waste your time going from board to board and only posting in the ads forum. The majority of users that are viewing the ads forum are only there to post their own ads. They aren’t very likely to click on your ad. Instead, use your time more wisely and be active on a few boards. Build some relationships with other users and you will see better conversions from your traffic.

I have a “friend” that spams me with email periodically. I get emails about helping this family or that family. Not even people in our area usually. Or I get emails about Mary Kay sales because she is an assistant for a few of them. I was never asked if I’d like to receive these emails and quite frankly I don’t open anything from her anymore. These are unsolicited emails and while she may think they are ok, they actually aren’t. They fill up my inbox and take time out of my day to go through. So ask your friends and family if they’d like updates from you. Don’t alienate those that are closest to you.

Your email list is an iffy place. Yes, they signed up to get updates from you about a subject or company. But you have to watch that you don’t abuse that. Make sure that you are giving them the information that they signed up for and not just constant ads. If they did sign up for updates about your company, then try to put some tips in your newsletter as well. Also be wary of sending out emails too often with just an ad for a company that they did not sign up to hear about. It’s very tempting to email your list about a new company you signed up with or a new affiliate. If they start getting too many emails about subjects they didn’t ask for they are more apt to delete them without opening and unsubscribe from your list. Converting every subscriber is a big key to online business. You don’t want to tick off those that have already shown interest.

Spamming is not just those using hacker software to mass email and post to boards. Many small business owners do it every day and usually just out of ignorance. Don’t be one of them. Use your time productively and wisely. Make good business relationships from the get go and then work on turning them into sales.

Val Selby is co-owner of www.MyWAHMSpace.com a site dedicated to the true art of networking. Helping other Mom’s in business and their personal life is her passion as a business owner and personal fitness trainer. She also owns www.NetworkingWAHM.com another resource for your business.

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