An ad by any other name ...

Ezine Publisher Alert! Now, heres a new one. I recently received an email which began, "If you publish news releases ..." This seemed like an interesting line since very few ezine publishers DO publish "news releases." Maybe it was designed to make ezine publishers think they SHOULD print news releases - Gee, what if everyone else was doing it?
What followed was not only interesting - it was hysterical. I was being presented with a "news release" for an online product! The darn thing looked like one of those solo ads - URL and all!

This little missive wasnt even close to a news release! No news here - only self promotion. Nothing newsworthy whatsoever. Wouldnt have made it past a wadded up ball of paper in the newsroom.

Ill give the sender one thing. This "news release" came in personalized to me as the publisher of MONDAY MEMO! Unfortunately, the former publisher of MONDAY MEMO! also received the same message.

Nice try - but no matter what you call it - publishers, online or off - charge money for ads. Trying to slip it by as a "news release" could have been downright insulting. I almost had to admire the audacity of it though.

Please note. An ad by any other name is still - an AD! Buy em or swap em. But, dont try to run them by me as a "news release!" Good Grief!

jl scott, ph.d., Author
Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved

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About the author

Dr. JL Scott is the Director of the International Council of Online Professionals (iCop) - and also the publisher of MONDAY MEMO! - the ezine dedicated to upgrading Professionalism on the Web. For your FREE subscription: Monday-Memo-on@MondayMemo.org

:To contact see details below.


jlscott@i-Cop.org
http://www.i-cop.org/