Email serves many different functions and the structure of that communication can be very important.

Tips for a business email

1.  ALWAYS put as first paragraph what you want the recipient to do.

Then you can expain at any length the reasons and details.

Just this simple step will increase productivity and reduce confusion.

2.  If there is no action required, please start email with For your information only. That way those you correspond with know that they will be kept informed and when they need to act.

I know this seems simple but when applied it streamlines email communication.

3.  Also make sure to keep the subject of the email relevant to the current content. Frequently in back and forth emails the subject can vary away from original email subject. This makes filing and searching more complex.

4.  Take the time to re read an email before you send.  It is amazing how a small typo can change the meaning of a message.

5.  If you are a WallCannRewards Advocate remember to include a link to your site or best selling products where relevant in your signature.  That way every email you send can be adding to your income.

As Prosumer advocates we drive to supermarkets and pick goods off the shelf and carry them to the check out to pay. We drive into service stations and pump petrol, check tyres, put coolant into our radiators and check our own oil and proceed to the checkout counter to pay. We also visit the online bank or ATM, complete our own direct deposits and payments. We book our own travel and accommodation online and we fill in consumer surveys and then we pay at the purchasing gateways. More and more consumers are doing value added for producers and at the same time sharing our experiences, good and bad, with others.

Have you ever been so happy with an everyday product or service that you have referred family, friends and associates to a particular vendor? Imagine if you found a vendor so appreciative of your advocacy they would be willing to pay you to publish your views. You could learn how to turn your every day experience into an advocate referral activity and earn a steady stream of cash, to save or spend as you wish!

From these few examples of prosumer advocacy, we can see that most consumers have simultaneously become a producer (one who does the work) and an advocate (one who promotes, refers and transfers experience to others). In other words we do a lot of work, generally as unpaid PROSUMER ADVOCATES!!

WallCann has studied this trend and increasing frequency and nature of unpaid work. So, we thought that it was about time for WallCann’s prosumer advocates to be properly recognised and get a better deal! We invite you to find out more about generating a prosumer advocate income stream.

Please visit here and join. Become a WRAPA (WallCann Rewards Affiliate Prosumer Advocate), it is easier than it sounds!

Beginning December 1st the USA FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is bringing in new policy affecting bloggers, social media and affiliates. Anyone who publishes about a product or service on the internet, if they are likely to gain from it, they had better disclose the relationship. Currently improtant is you are marketing to US or hosting in US.

Personally I am not a fan of the new rules as being way too overbearing and impractical. I think the web is very good at self regulating.
As an Aussie I could ignore the new guidelines. However, transparency and integrity are important and also a cornerstone of WallCann. There are good reasons for providing your customers and visitors with all the information they need to make an informed choice.

Steps to take before December 1st 2009:

• If you live in USA or host your site in USA or promote to USA better to comply with the guidelines. As WallCannis a global sales and marketing organisation we will be taking reasonable steps to meet the intentions of the policy.
• If you have affiliate links, partner links or paid advertising banners then clearly add a Disclosure Policy to your site or in your About Us information. Be aware that affiliate links are a form of endorsement for monetary gain.
• If you have results claims in testimonials make sure they comply with the new rules. See this link  to review. http://www.ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf
• Watch for developments. Many changes are being made as people apply the policy to the real virtual world.

As for Twitter, the FTC expects you to fit in a disclosure regardless of the 140 character limit. Not sure how this will work as over 80% of tweets seem to be endorsing something, a local restaurant, an ebook, a movie, a holiday.

For twitter and facebook we will be watching to  see how it is managed. However if you apply honesty to your communications online and also make sure to add transparency you will build a more useful site.

The FTC will be after gross infringements like – unproven cures or unproven weight loss endorsements. As in all business choose carefully the products and services you endorse and how you let people know your reasons for endorsing.

A new era of internet sales and marketing has dawned and a whole new industry is emerging that is desperately short of skilled people. The places of higher education are just coming to terms with the skills that are required for this online industry. In this situation the students often become the teachers.

Today, consumers are in control of products, brands and messages. The leaders of this seismic shift are the members of the world wide social web. They are the bloggers, microbloggers, forum posters, social networking participants. These knowledge era leaders who produce and use products and services (producers and consumers or prosumers) spread messages, influence people, and drive global demand (advocates).

Prosumer Advocates (also referred to as online publishers, affiliates and promoters) are the online influencers that organisations must now acknowledge, respect and develop relationships with if they want their brands to thrive. The high level step for you to leverage your power as a Prosumer Advocate is to learn about online marketing from successful online companies, like Google, Amazon, Ebay and WallCann.

Online Marketing is where a business rewards you for each new customer and sale they gain from your research, editorials, advocacy, advertising and or promotion. Basically a well managed way of earning money for products and services that you promote.

The concept of revenue sharing — paying for referred sales— predates affiliate marketing and the Internet.  When you buy advertising space on TV, Radio and Newspapers you are paying the advertising media owners for sending you their viewers and readers. You pay for the media in advance, regardless of sales generated from the advertising.
By comparison, the internet provides an excellent mechanism for tracking, measuring and rewarding the delivery of customers. So in a win win for organisations and Prosumer Advocates payment for promotion occurs once the sale is transacted. This helps relatively small organisations to compete more effectively and introduce many new products.

Amazon is an example of an early Prosumer Advocate (affiliate) program. Amazon launched its associate program in July 1996. Amazon affiliates placed banners or text links and added relevant reviews on their own site for individual books linked directly to the Amazon webpages. As visitors click from their affiliates’ websites through to Amazon and then purchased a book, the Advocate (affiliate) is paid a commission.

Online marketing has grown quickly and WallCann has many programs offering payments for Advocates. These Advocates just advertise directly to our websites or build their own websites, with research content and comparison reviews.

WallCann Head Office is in Adelaide and employs a team of talented people building and managing online marketing solutions. WallCann also works with over 500 Prosumer Advocates worldwide. To get started as a Prosumer Advocate the cost is minimal and mainly requires time.  It is not physically demanding so suits those who have restricted mobility.

Social media trends that are evolving support the prosumer advocate marketing of the future. A concept WallCann has worked on since 2002.

No doubting the importance of mobile in social media – however, the evidence also shows just like writing paper letters, emails have their place. For much of business transactions, confidential information, documentation email transfer will not easily be replaced by mobile phone transfer. Just as most kids like cartoons most adults like movies, while lots of blurring occurs fundamentals remain. As gen Y and Z grow up and move to management and commerce situations they will need a more formal confidential communication documentation that twitter and social media currently does not provide.

All this means is that companies who continuously explore beyond traditional marketing will move ahead of the pack. The new customers we are winning are testament to that growing need.