The Power of Online Friendship

By Timothy Ward
Posted Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Friendship is a word that is seldom heard around the World Wide Web. Everyone seems to be doing his/her own thing, and don't seem really concerned about the other guy. This is only natural considering the nature of the Internet. But creating friendships with the right people on the internet could actually benefit you and help your online business or website.

A good example of what I mean by 'the right people on the internet', are ezine publishers. Ezine publishers have a lot of power and influence on the internet. In a virtual world filled with so-called 'gurus' and 'experts', ezine publishers are unique because they actually get to prove their expertise week after week, issue after issue. This allows their subscribers to get to know them and develop a trust in what they say. 'Trust', that's a word you don't hear often on the Web. The point is ezine publishers have a large base of subscribers who take their word as truth, and look to them for advice.

Now imagine how much your online business or website would benefit, if an ezine publisher with a moderate number of subscribers mentioned your business in their ezine and said something like 'My friend _______ has a new oppurtunity that I think you might enjoy." Because the publisher is trusted by the subscribers and he/she called you 'friend', you are now considered trustworthy and your website or advertisement will be given more than the usual consideration. So you can see, just from that one example, the benefits of gaining a ezine publishers friendship. But how can you go about doing this?

It's actually easier than it may at first appear. All it takes is a little initiative. For example, how many times have you seen sections in ezines where the publisher mentions that he/she would welcome any feedback from subscribers? Also in every ezine, right. Well, this is an open invitation to start a friendship. You'd be surprised at how happy publishers get when they receive feedback from loyal subscribers. Most of them will probably write you back and thank you for your feedback, and they may even include some personal comments or ask you how you found out about the ezine, how long you've been a subscriber, what do you do on the internet etc. At this point you've got a conversation going, and a friendship flourishing. All you have to do is respond back and pretty soon you may be on your way to making a power friend.

Of course friendship is a two-way street. So if an ezine publisher helps you out by running your ad or giving you an endorsement, try to see if there is a way you can help him/her out. If you have a website, why not place a link to their ezine on it. Or forward a copy of their ezine to a few friends every week. By doing this you will be showing that you appreciate all that the publisher did for you, and you will strengthen your online friendship, and soon both of you will be experiencing the power of a good friend.

About the Author
Timothy Ward is an author and ezine publisher who currently lives in Florida, USA. For more info on his latest ezine, The Free Promotion Tips Ezine, visit (http://www.linkcounter.com/go.php?linkid=210240)