How should I make referrals?
At Interactive Ventures, we understand that our members are interested in responsibly promoting their A-Respond Online™ website and encouraging their friends and family to sign up as referrals. While we are quite vigorous in enforcing our Anti-Spam policy, we understand that many members are not experts in Internet "netiquette." Therefore, we have assembled some Do's and Don'ts for promoting your marketing projects:

DO - mention A-Respond Online Network to friends and family in person, following up with an email message later.

DON'T - gather up random email addresses and send unsolicited messages to individuals with whom you have no ongoing relationship.

DO - include a brief mention of A-Respond Online Network in an email that you were already intending to send to your friends, family members, immediate co-workers or classmates with whom you regularly communicate by email.

DON'T - send referral solicitations to friends whose email addresses you've managed to dig up but with whom you haven't spoken in years.

DO - use mailing lists or mailing services that are verified "opt-in." ("Opt-in" means that the people on the list have *specifically* requested to be on the list and are willing to receive messages of the type you are sending.)

DON'T - use mailing lists or mailing services that claim to be "opt-in" but cannot prove it. (They must be able to demonstrate that the only way people have gotten on the list is through an affirmative act on their part.)

DO - participate in ongoing discussions in Usenet newsgroups and include your Member ID as part of a very short "signature block" at the end of the message. For example: Sincerely, Malcolm A. Williams - Join Group and use Website ID i.e.: http://members.arespond.com/malcolm.htm.

DON'T - post a referral solicitation to Usenet newsgroups, message boards, or Web-based discussion sites, EXCEPT those specifically designated in their charter or by their operators for postings of a purely commercial nature. (Even for locations where commercial messages are *explicitly* authorized, postings may still be a violation if they are excessively cross-posted or posted more frequently than necessary.)

DO - mention the A-Respond Online Network in cards, letters, or on your Web site. Also consider printing your referral number on the back of your business cards.

DON'T - print out flyers and stick them on car windshields or distribute them where doing so constitutes trespassing or otherwise violates applicable rules, regulations, or laws.

DO - think of new and creative ways to gain new referrals.

DON'T - act on those ideas without first considering whether they might be inappropriate or prohibited. (When in doubt, ASK FIRST!)