Business Writing Made Clear

by Jennifer Hicks, CEO, WordsWork

Another way to gain name recognition for your business is to participate in mailing lists.

Mailing lists are subject-oriented email discussion groups. There are more than 50,000 internet mailing lists, covering a wide array of topics. Each list has between 10 and 10,000 subscribers. Although some are closed to the public, many thousands are open to anyone.

Issue #5

originally posted

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 1998

This means your words of wisdom can reach several thousand people each time you post a message. Great, right?

Well, a qualified "yes" is the answer. If all you do is publicize your product or services, you probably won't like the results you get. On the other hand, if you offer information, advice, or participate in ongoing discussions, you may find that your business increases.

Each list is unique. Subjects vary as do participants and discussions. However, there are some qualities shared by all lists. Each list will have a particular tone and local culture. The posts (email messages) will reflect this. Additionally, each list is similar to a community. It is made up of individuals who communicate to the larger group via email.

Specifically, an email discussion group is a list of electronic mail addresses where each address corresponds to a "subscriber". You join a list by subscribing, either directly for open lists or indirectly through a list owner for private lists. When you send a posting to the list, everyone on the list gets a copy. Each list also has an "owner". An owner subscribes people to the list (if it is a private list) and makes sure that the list is running smoothly.

Definition

Finding Groups

There are a couple of ways you can find mailing lists that cover topics of interest to you. You can do it by browsing through Liszt or via email. To browse listserv groups by email,

• Send an email message to listserv@listserv.net.
• Don’t write anything in the subject line.
• Don't include your signature file, either.
• At the top of the message body, type: list global xyz where "xyz" equals a word that best describes what you’re looking for.
• For example, if you send the command "list global disabilities", you’ll get back a list of all known listservs relating to disabilities. (There are 23 of them).

Basic Etiquette in Email Lists

Publicize Intelligently

Contribute to the conversation. If someone asks a question which you can answer, do so. Your willingness to give advice sets you up as an expert rather than a salesperson. While some lists are no more than a collection of self-advertisements, most are centered around topical discussions. If all you do is tout your own business, chances are you'll be ignored or flamed. On the other hand, if you become part of the community and share knowledge and questions, you become part of a larger network--a member who may be contacted if there is a need for your service or product.