Two advanced warnings accompany this week’s marketing tip:

1) The resources we will be providing you can lead to all sorts of content, including “adults-only.”

2) This tip is not meant to be an instructional how-to for going out and spamming newsgroups with your marketing messages. Please respect the rules of proper Internet etiquette (as well as those of each individual resource).

Onto the good stuff. Let’s start by trying to explain what newsgroups are. They can be perceived of like email discussion lists, but they work a little differently. Like email discussion lists, participants have a common interest or focus; unlike email discussion lists, email is not usually the vehicle for delivery of message threads (also known as “articles”).

Newsgroups are organized in a hierarchical fashion, usually with nothing more than a few letters to indicate the classification (alt., news., rec., comp., etc.). Within each classification reside multiple but yet related newsgroups (biz.entrepreneurs, biz.marketplace, biz.jobs, etc.).

People use newsgroups to communicate with others about a common subject, be they looking for advice, answering another’s question, or sharing helpful information. Unlike private emailing or online chatting, newsgroups are not meant to be for clever conversation (that’s why they’re called NEWSgroups!). When you post to a newsgroup, your message is being sent and read by members the world over, so you want to be cautious about wasting their time.

Since newsgroups are primarily used to convey information, they can be a good tool to have in your Internet marketing arsenal. Flashback warning #2, however. Proceed judiciously as you might otherwise incur the wrath of newsgroup members in the form of nasty, negative responses (called “flames”).

It used to be a bit complicated to access newsgroups. You used to need a newsreader which allowed you to download, receive, read and respond to newsletter messages. Nowadays, there are Web-based interfaces which have made the whole process a lot easier. Though these Web-based newsreaders each have their own set-up and way of presenting newsgroup message threads, for the most part you register, find a newsgroup you’re interested in, read the messages and post responses.

As an online marketer, you can use newsgroups in several ways:

* to convey information about a new product or service
* to find out about you or your client’s industry
* to do some “competitive intelligence”
* to ask questions of people who match your target audience (like free, mini focus groups)

If you’re interested in marketing through newsgroups, here’s a simplified version of what to do:

1) Define your criteria (who are you targeting; what do you need to communicate)

2) Locate (and register for, if required) a newsgroup that meets your criteria (you can use any of the Web-based newsreaders listed at the bottom of this tip)

3) Read through a dozen or so random threads so you get the tone of the group. You might also want to note how active the group is — if there seem to be only a few posts a month, it’s probably not a great place to spend your time.

4) Compose a message that *matches the tone of the group*. You don’t want this message to be an obvious, blatant ad for yourself or your client (unless you’re in the “biz” hierarchy, which is explicitly “advertising-allowed”, and which is carried only by those sites that want to allow it). Try to be informational, newsy, helpful.

5) Send your message and check in a little later on to see if you’ve received any return responses. If so, try to post another response — threads that have multiple responses seem to get a little more attention from others.

6) Move onto next newsgroup (AVOID POSTING THE SAME EXACT MESSAGE EVERYWHERE YOU GO! You will be ratted-out!).

 

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You may even want to create an email alias, to protect both your identity and the integrity of your true emailbox. Since newsgroups can also be stomping grounds for spammers email harvesting software, you may want to modify your e-mail return address. For example, it can look like so: [email protected]. If someone wants to use my email address, they’d need to manually remove the “NOSPAM,” and that’s too much of a hassle for most folks to bother with.

Here’s a list of Web-based newsgroup readers and resources you might find handy:

Deja News
LiquidInformation.com
MailGate.org
WebUseNet.com
InterBulletin

Instructional How-To:

Master List of Newsgroup Hierarchies:

To find newsgroups:
Newsbot