Online Etiquette

I hope you will find this information useful for your on-line communcations. If you have any ideas you'd like added to the list please send them to me at hwilcox@tcgcs.com so we can all learn to be on our best on-line behavior!

1. Whether posting to national message boards or doing a follow-up on a business associate, BE NICE! Just like in the breathing community, when you insult someone or someone's practices it comes back to you. You don't want to be pegged as being the local on-line bully. If you are asked to give your honest opinion on something and your response is negative please do it through private e-mail. Also, be sure to include legitimate reasons why you feel that way. "That program stinks!" is not helpful. Tell why you don't like it, or what you would change. Positive feedback is very important.

2. Be careful what you say in your postings. The on-line community relies heavily on interpretation of your words since they can't see your body language or hear your tone of voice. Insert genuine feeling into your messages. Using a "!" when you're excited is good, but don't over use any one form of punctuation.

3. Give helpful information. Whether or not the person reading is part of your downline you'll want them to be educated. Eventaully your online image will be that of a helpful, positive person and those reading your messages will want to follow you in your business activities! education is the key no matter what part of life we're dealing with. It's very hard to get anywhere if you don't have the information. Your readers will know that and thank you for it!

4. Always let people know who you are! Including a 3-5 line signature file at the end of each message is a great way for people to learn how to contact you or what businesses you're involved in. Get personal! You don't have to give away private details, but a little info that only someone in your community would know is nice. The more yous eem like a real person instead of a computer terminal the better your chances of getting people to join you.

5. Be honest! If you haven't made a million dollars in 2 months from a program then don't say that you did! If you haven't been successful yet (but others are) then introduce your curious person to those who ARE making it work! You'll be successful, too, it just takes time. Interested downline folk are more likely to join people they can believe!

6. Talk to people regularly. Even if you don't have any earth shattering news to give, a simple message asking people how they're doing, or offering help if needed gives your contacts a feeling of importance. Don't forget about your downline. Keeping them interested through the initial struggling time is crucial to your success!

7. Your list of contacts will be huge. I've found that keeping a separate physical address book with people's names, e-mail addresses and a little background info is very helpful! It keeps you from forgetting those important details about your online friends. Also, when traveling and you can't take your computer with you, it's nice to have those addresses in case you're around someone else's terminal and want to stay in touch. Your downline is key to your success...DON'T FORGET THEM!