Bag Covers and Online Business
by Holly Bentz
©2003 All rights reserved by fruitionMedia

Tell me, would you ever consider placing a bag over your head to close a new business deal? Don't laugh. But I've noticed a new trend/epidemic on the Internet, lately.

It happened a little over a week ago. I was rewriting the web content for a new client, Ashley Russell of Worcheshire, England. (She sells Xbox consoles.) And one of her sentences read: "Unlike my competitors, I've included my contact information." I admit that she went a bit far by including her home address; but you could tell that her business ethic was loyal, honest and sincere.

And then last week I was doing my daily 20 minute routine of surfing for hits. Yes,
I confess that I'm one of those people. I surf for hits at sites, like Ahitz.com and Linkwars.com. (But they really work.)

Anyway back to my story, so I'm reviewing sites, when I notice this one site that
has TONS of typos. Now, as a professional writer, it is my God-given duty to let another
webmaster know that they have well over 12 misspelled words on their HOMEPAGE.
This means 2 things, they're missing the opportunity for their site to be accessed during a search. And secondly, they're losing the credibility of a "legitimate" business.
So here I am, side-tracked from my daily routine, to help this site owner correct the
errors on his web page. I looked, searched, and scoured every single page of this particular site.

Obsessed with this web site that did not have one bit of contact information,
I noticed that only email addresses and payments were accepted on the site. Absolutely, incredulous!! Fascinated with the fact that people actually do business with this site, I was on the precipice of noticing a pattern.

But before I continue, let me first report a very refreshing online experience. Yesterday, I was sending out queries to webmasters who I would like to provide free content, I stumbled across Robert Smiths site, http://www.smithfam.com. On his site, he has a CGI script for his visitor's questions & concerns. I emailed him a very healthy email. Within, 1 hour, I received a non-automated response but a personal email, answering every single question detailed in my email. Although he rejected my offer in a very polite way, he is someone that I would refer my clients who are looking for an ezine.

Flash forward to this morning: I'm reading all the junk mail that I received in my free email box at excite.com. I decide to take a different approach to 439 messages. Instead of being annoyed that one emailer sent me 3 of the same messages in 3 hours, I decide that it's high time that I reply to all of my lovely spammers. I realize that emailing a scathing message, could only set me up for some evil person responding to me with an irreparable virus. So I respond to my anonymous emarketing friends with a pleasant thank you for your opportunity and please feel free to stop by my site.

During my gruesome/laborious feat of personal response emailing, I noticed that over 100 of the people who sent me their offers had the audacity to conceal their email addresses and identities. So here we are: some mystery person wants me to do business with them and they're virtually wearing a bag over their head.

The moral of the story: Good business starts with being accessible to your prospects and visitors. There's a point when we need to turn off our autoresponders and email a personal message. Sales 101 stipulates that 65 percent of all sells are based on trust. If you're concealing contact information, your identity and sending robot replies, you are probably never really going to grow your business the way you want to because your audience does not trust you. However, if you're in it for the long haul, establishing trust on the front end will lessen your sales efforts down the road. Take Robert and Ashley as an example, they will continue to be successful for as long as they chose because their customers will trust and make referrals for them. If quick money is all that your interested in, continue wearing your bag when you conduct business.

Holly Bentz, is one of the premier copywriters of Internet marketing. With over 8 years of film and media production, her expertise in providing truthful marketing copy. Visit her at http://www.fruitionmedia.net to check on her latest specials and E-books.