- cypherpunks-legacy - lists.cpunks.org

Re: Re: Add To Your Monthly Income!!
by Sid Westcott 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Quantum Communications Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Direct Email Marketing Contents: 1) What are your minimum orders? 2) Why can't I just do mailings myself? 3) What about Floodgate and other similar software mailing programs? 4) What if I have my own list? 5) What about the other Email Advertising companies? 6) What is the legal status of Email Advertising? 7) What about blocking by AOL? 8) What is "flame-filtering"/"Email Aliasing" ? Will anyone see my real Email address or complain to my provider? 9) What is an "autoresponder"? 10) What about ad copy design? 11) What about proof-of-mailing? 12) What is the "response rate guarantee"? How does it work? 13) What is your mail sending capacity? 14) What is the average lead time before my ad can be sent? 15) What type of mailing should I do? (Bulk stand-alone, MEGA-MAILER co-op, Targeted mail) 16) What categories are available for targeted lists? 17) Do you have sub-agent opportunities? 18) What is your list like, where are the names from, how big is it, how do you maintain it, etc? 19) What about undeliverables? 20) Contact Info 1) What are your minimum orders? Our minimum orders are 5,000 pieces for targeted mailings (in even lots of 5,000), 100,000 pieces for stand-alone bulk mailings (in even lots of 100,000), and 5 MILLION for the MEGA-MAILER co-op mailing (the full 5 million is the only size). As long as y our order is for at least the minimum amount of pieces, and in even lot sizes, you may stagger the actual sendings any way you wish (50,000 per week, etc.). Note, however, that the MEGA-MAILER is only sent once per week and is sent to the full 5 million address list. The reason we have minimums at all is due to the fact that the majority of our cost in terms of man-hours comes as a result of setting up a mailing, and so we cannot spend the time and money to setup too small a job. 2) Why can't I just do mailings myself? Technically, you can. For practical purposes, you can't. There are three reasons why it is implausible to even attempt to do your own Email Advertising: 1) Every single internet service provider on the planet will shut down your account. You will not even get 1000 pieces of mail out, and you will be shut down, because some uptight, self-appointed net-cops will complain to your provider. Do not kid your self. It WILL happen. Sending unsolicited commercial Email of any type is a violation of virtually every ISP's Terms of Service. Even if your ISP tells you it's OK (which will not happen 99% of the time), they will very quickly change their tune after th eir technical people receive a mailbox full of angry mail (commonly referred to as flames). When your account is cancelled, you will NOT get a refund, and, worse yet, you won't even be able to retrieve your replies! 2) A very large technical capacity is required to send bulk Email. You MIGHT be able to send 5,000 or so pieces of mail per hour, with a 28.8 modem, except that with dial-up internet connections, there are always dropped connections and so you can neve r be sure your mail went out unless you constantly sit and monitor the mailings all day and night, and send very small pieces at a time. 3) In order to have a list of addresses to send to, you have two choices: either spend months collecting names, or purchase an over-used list from a list vendor, who has sold the same list to dozens of others, who will bomb the list into uselessness. I n addition, most lists are so old that the names are 40% undeliverable, or from newsgroups, which are the WORST kinds of people to solicit. These three factors make it a practical impossibility to actually do your own bulk Email advertising, even though the vendors of the bulk Email software will not tell you this. The reason we do not have these hassles is because Quantum Communications IS OUR OWN INTERNET PROVIDER. We do not purchase service from anyone, and Email advertising is our only business! We have our own in-house servers, high-speed T-1 connections to the Internet, and full-time technical and customer service staff, yet our only customers are advertisers! Our lists are constantly maintained, updated, and cleansed, and are ONLY from high-quality sources. We DO NOT sell our names, or let anyone see them. See Question 18 for more on our lists. 3) What about Floodgate and other similar software mailing programs? Those programs can actually be fairly useful for extracting Email addresses and if you would like to build your own lists to your own specifications, that is an option (See Question 4 "What if I have my own list?"). However, building mailing lists is an EXTREMELY time-consuming and monotonous task, not to mention expensive in on-line charges. In addition, having these software programs will not help in the least in the sending issues you need to consider (See Question #2, above). We handle all aspects o f the mailing process, leaving you free to concentrate on your business! 4) What if I have my own list? We are fully able to use your list and send your mail to it. The price is 50% of what it would normally be. We simply have you Email or ftp your list to us, with ad copy (and autoresponse copy, if necessary). 5) What about the other Email Advertising companies? There is some competition in Direct Email marketing for your advertising dollar, and we have never purported to be the cheapest. We simply are the best. Most of the other "cheapo" companies who claim to offer a zillion pieces sent for $39, or some simil ar lowball deal, are quite frankly, scams. No legitimate company can afford all of the hardware, software, and personnel that a true advertising company like ours posesses, without charging a reasonable fee for providing of the service. Most of the low-r ent Email marketing companies are here-today, gone tomorrow. Perhaps gone with your money. Almost certainly gone without providing the actual service you paid for. Many of them look great until you investigate them further. Try calling them and getting a real live person on the phone. Or try asking them some of the questions referred to in this document. Most will disappear when you start asking serious questions. Or try asking for references. Good luck. There are so many fly-by night operators and snak e-oil salesmen on the 'net, it is hard to know what to believe. But the basic truths in business hold true. You should be able to call and get a live person on the phone, you should be able to check references and ask pointed questions, you should have a ccess to customer service and technical support, and you should be able to get a clear understanding of who you are dealing with, and how they do business. One mailing with us and you will be convinced that we truly are the cadillac of the industry. 6) What is the legal status of Email Advertising? Direct Email Advertising and solicitation is legal. It always has been. There are many self-styled legal eagles who dislike Email solicitation, and they will sometimes misquote federal statutes which apply to sending of unsolicited FAXES. There has never been a higher-court ruling supporting this supposed link between Email and unsolicited FAX. It is highly unlikely that such a ruling will EVER occur. If it does, we of course will need to adjust our business practices to stay in accordance with the law. However, at the present time, and for the foreseeable future in our opinion, Email solicita tion is just as legal as postal mail solicitation. The only real negative point which anti-Email advertising people address is that SOME people pay for their connect time at a timed/metered rate. Thus, the milliseconds which it takes to download an unsol icited piece of mail does cost the recipient (albeit tiny fractions of a penny). However, almost all ISP's (even America Online) have moved, or will be forced by competition to move, to an unlimited time rate structure. Therefore, this will no longer be an issue, and the persons who oppose Email advertising will have no legs to stand on. As this happens, Email advertising will become exactly like postal mail solicitation ( it is actually LESS intrusive than postal junk mail), and therefore we believe i t will NOT be regulated or legislated against. As a side note, we do provide a very clear, brief disclaimer at the header of ALL of our mailings which gives quick, simple removal instructions for persons who do not want to be on our lists. We act on all such requests immediately. In fact, it is an a utomated process. We do not want to be sending mail to unwilling recipients any more than they wish to receive it. 7) What about blocking by AOL? America Online has recently taken to blocking Email solicitations to it's members by certain Email Advertising companies. These companies are the ones who had been abusing their power, and had in fact been over-mailing (sending multiple pieces to the sam e recipients PER DAY). The most well-known of these companies was Cyber-Promotions. We feel that since we only send mail no more than 3 times per week to any single recipient, AOL is unlikely to begin blocking our transmissions. We also could take counte rmeasures technically and send to them again if necessary. However, our list only consists of about 25% AOL members, and that percentage is shrinking, as most of our newer names are coming from indepedent ISP sources (see Question # 18), so a blockage, w hile unlikely, would not affect us in the least in any event. Incidentally, we find it interesting that AOL does not apparently mind soliciting it's members (one cannot be online with them without getting at least 3 pop-up ads PER SESSION), they simply d on't want others soliciting their members without compensating THEM. 8) What is "flame-filtering"/"Email Aliasing" ? Will anyone see my real Email address or complain to my provider? Flames are the hate mail which is a part of Email soliciting today. Flame filtering is the automated filtering process we use to ensure that replies forwarded to you (by us) are only positive, serious inquiries, requests for information, orders, etc. We assign customers an Email alias at OUR domain. We are the only ones who know your REAL Email address. We then have all replies to your advertising sent to the alias we have assigned you so that we can filter out flames, then forward the "good" replies to you. No one can complain to your ISP, because as far as anyone knows, WE are your ISP (and we of course will not pay any attention, except to promptly remove them from our lists). In this way, you are totally insulated and protected, while still getting all "good" replies! Good replies are forwarded to you automatically as they come in. There is NO lag time or waiting. 9) What is an "autoresponder"? An Autoresponder is just an Email alias which we can have prospects who see your advertising respond to. When the response hits the autoresponder, it kicks back an automatic text file reply via Email, which is typically a more detailed package of informa tion (up to 20 pages) regarding your product or service. This effectively helps you weed out the "tire-kickers", so you are free to concentrate on fulfilling orders and more serious requests. A typical procedure is for a small "teaser" ad to be sent, wi th an autoresponder as the reply-to address. In the autoresponse text, you would typically include another Email alias for orders or more serious or specific questions. 10) What about ad copy design? We do have a copy editor on staff who is available to either write your copy from scratch or revise existing copy you already have. This is usually a wise investment, because the copy can be reused many times in different mailings, it will be done by a s easoned professional with over 10 years of experience in copywriting, and the actual copy is more than anything the key difference between success and failure when doing an Email marketing campaign. Think about it. Email is text only. No graphics, no mov ing pictures, sounds or colors. The content is all-important. Charges are $80 per hour, with typical costs being 1/2 hour for a revision, 1 hour for a small ad design, and 3 or more hours for design of ad copy plus autoresponse copy. 11) What about proof-of-mailing? When sending mail via the US Postal Service, a proof of mailing receipt is provided. There is no such counterpart in the world of Email. Although you will receive confirmation of your mailing once it is sent, the best way to become comfortable with deali ng with us is by first talking with our references, then by doing a single mailing to see what we can do for you. Once you have done business with us you will agree that we deliver exactly what we promise. Our minimum response rate guarantee is further e vidence of this, and renders the question of a proof of mailing as somewhat moot. We do actually have a log of all sent mail which is generated by our mailing software, but we only disclose the log under extenuating circumstances, and for a fee of $50 pe r 100,000 pieces sent, as it lists every mail sent, which discloses our list. 12) What is the "response rate guarantee"? How does it work? Our unique "response rate guarantee" is a clear indication of not only our rock-solid commitment to each and every advertiser, but also of our belief in direct Email advertising as a marketing medium. We know of no other advertising agency (Email or othe rwise) who actually GUARANTEES a minimum number of responses. Our guarantee is the following: 1) If you do not receive AT LEAST the minimum guaranteed responses from your Email Advertising, we will send on your behalf again, and again, and again..until you get the minimum amount! 2) You must allow 10 business days from the date your mailing was completed and you received confirmation, before requesting a remailing. 3) Of course, only positive, interested replies are counted towards your guaranteed minimum. 4) For this guarantee to apply, we must be able to verify the amount of replies you receive, so your ad must direct interested persons to an autoresponder or Email alias which we provide. 5) Any remailings are done on the same scale and amount as the original mailing, but to different recipients (except for the MEGA-MAILER or targeted lists)). 6) You must request a remailing by sending an Email to our customer service department, or by calling our office (ask to speak to customer service). We do not monitor replies automatically and automatically resend. 7) You may, at no charge, alter your original advertisement in any way you wish, as long as it is the same type of mailing as the original (targeted must be to the same group), and the same length as paid for in the original. Optionally, you may have t he ad revised professionally by us (See Question # 10). The Minimum responses guaranteed are as follows. We have had to make the numbers guaranteed purposefully low, because we extend this guarantee to ALL advertisers, regardless of whether or not they have effective ad copy or an appealing product or service . We of course strive for much higher responses for everyone, but is helpful to know that there is a "safety net", just in case. MINIMUMS: GENERAL STAND-ALONE BULK: 100 REPLIES PER 200,000 PIECES SENT TARGETED BULK: 150 REPLIES PER 5,000 PIECES SENT MEGA-MAILER: 200 REPLIES This allows advertisers to plan on a maximum cost per inquiry, which can be essential when planning a marketing budget. This guarantee, more than any other single factor, shows that Quantum Communications is a cut above the rest in the world of Marketing and Advertising! 13) What is your mail sending capacity? We have the technical capacity to send over 2 million pieces of mail per day. We have invested heavily in hardware, software, and high-speed mail transmission facilities to be able to achieve this capacity. We can handle your job, large or small. 14) What is the average lead time before my ad can be sent? The current lead time is 7-10 business days. This allows time for your ad copy to be submitted and for any revisions you may have before the mailing date. We actually work very hard to keep the lead times to a minimum, however, there has been a very high demand for Email advertising services, and it has been difficult just keeping up. If you have a special need to expedite an order, call or Email our customer service department, and we will make every effort to accomodate you. 15) What type of mailing should I do? (Bulk stand-alone, MEGA-MAILER co-op, Targeted mail) This depends entirely on your product or service. If you have a product or service which has a broad-based appeal, it is definetely better to send to a larger group of people. If you have an offering which you think needs 20-30 lines to entice people or grab their interest, then you need a stand-alone (the MEGA-MAILER is not for you). If you are announcing a website and just want mass exposure to 5 MILLION people, the MEGA-MAILER is just the thing. Of course, if you are trying to reach a select group, y ou need to have a targeted mailing. You may Email or call our sales department and a sales representative will be happy to assist you in selecting the right type of mailing to suit your offering. 16) What categories are available for targeted lists? We custom build all of our targeted lists from scratch, and 90% of our targeted lists are never re-used. We are able to build a custom-designed list to YOUR specifications. So, in other words, you tell US what the category is, or the demographics of the persons or businesses you are trying to reach. We then get an estimate from our List staff for approximately how many names we will commit to being able to find. Our sales staff will work with you on this issue. Of course, it is always a much lower volum e of names than a normal bulk list, but we have seen response rates of over 5% when mailing a targeted group! 17) Do you have sub-agent opportunities? Yes we do. We are currently accepting sub-agents who wish to promote and re-sell our services, or simply send us referrals. For a copy of our agent registration kit via Email, send an Email to agent(a)quantcom.com 18) What is your list like, where are the names from, how big is it, how do you maintain it, etc? Our Lists department is continually extracting fresh names for our lists from many sources. The sources include the membership directories of all the major online services (AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, Delphi, MSN), plus the "white pages" Email databases su ch as 411, IAF, etc. We NEVER extract names from newsgroups, except to build targeted lists. We NEVER send mail to Listserv's, .edu's, .gov's, etc. We automatically delete removal requests immediately, as well as undeliverables. We add 400,000 to 800,000 fresh addresses each week. For these reasons, we feel that we have a super-high quality database, which consists of over 6 MILLION addresses. This high list quality is another feature of our service, and boosts response rates dramatically over our compe titors. Although we add addresses constantly, and are attempting to reach 10 MILLION addresses by 2nd quarter of 1997, it is difficult because we lose about 10% of our database each week to removal requests and undeliverables. 19) What about undeliverables? We are consistently losing about 10% of our list each week to undeliverables and removal requests (combined). In order to somewhat compensate our advertisers for this, without incurring all the logistical nightmares we would have to endure if we tried to account for removals and undeliverables for each particular mailing, we send 110% of the actual order amount as a general rule. For example, if you paid for 100,000 we send 110,000. This approach has worked very well for our customers. Also note that th is becomes a less significant issue when the minimum response guarantee is taken into account. Contact Info: Quantum Communications 6 Laurel Lane Stratham, NH 03885 (603) 772-4096 (603) 772-7297 fax general correspondence: staff(a)quantcom.com sales: sales(a)quantcom.com customer service: cusserv(a)quantcom.com http://www.quantcom.com

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Re: Re: A Remarkable Income Opportunity!!
by Sid Westcott 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Enclosed is the information you requested from Quantum Communications regarding bulk Email advertising services: Contact Info: Quantum Communications 6 Laurel Lane Stratham, NH 03885 603-772-4096 603-772-7297 fax staff(a)quantcom.com (general email) sales(a)quantcom.com(sales) cusserv(a)quantcom.com (customer service) http://www.quantcom.com Quantum Communications Proudly presents: BULK E-MAIL ADVERTISING SERVICE! Would you like to offer YOUR product or service to potential customers via E-mail? Consider the advantages of sending your marketing letter ALONE or Co-op to MILLIONS of persons directly via E-mail: + NO sharing of space in a cluttered publication + NO being buried amidst 100 other postcards in a card deck + NO wondering if your prospects will see/read your offer + NO having to fight for your prospect's attention + NO price-shopping, having your offering compared to others nearby it + EXTREMELY COST EFFECTIVE - as low as .009 cents per letter!! + Your piece/letter goes out ALONE or Co-op, depending on YOUR needs and budget + Everyone reads their Email! + NO need to wait for a publication date! We mail according to YOUR timetable, and all mail reaches the target within 1 day! Bulk Email is the perfect way to reach new prospects! Our state-of-the-art servers and proprietary software allow us to send your offering to MILLIONS of fresh prospects. All names on our list have been sent a test letter, enabling us to delete undeliverables and persons who do not wish to receive unsolicited Email advertisements. Therefore, all the prospects we send YOUR offering to are responsive, quality prospects! As part of our standard service package, we also provide the following: + An autoresponder,which allows a prospect to simply click reply and instantly receive a complete package of detailed further information via Email from your company (up to 20 pages in length!) + A unique Email address to which inquiries for your offering are forwarded, allowing you to build up your own database of hot prospects. + Complete design/copy assistance based on your goals and objectives We offer a service package designed to fit every need and budget! Choose either General Bulk (your letter sent ALONE), Co-op Bulk (your ad sent with others), or Targeted Bulk (custom-built lists to YOUR specs). Consider the benefits of using Quantum Communications for sending your bulk email advertising: * Highest quality list of hot prospects! * Largest database (over 5 million, mostly online service members, NOT newsgroup posters)! * Lowest rates in the industry! * FREE features included such as autoresponders, email forwarding, and copy design assistance! * No-Nonsense response rate guarantee! * 100% approved FINANCING. No one turned down! * Top-notch customer service. The best in the industry, as our references will confirm! * Targeted lists available, custom built for YOUR project! Rate Card: ___________________________________________________ Bulk Email Advertising Service Stand Alone Ad, up to 40 lines of text: $299 per 100,000, in even lots of 100,000 ____________________________________________________ Co-Op Bulk Email Advertising Service THE "MEGA-MAILER" Sent to our full database of 5 million hot prospects! Sent with other ads, up to 5 lines of text: $599 6-10 lines of text: $849 lines are 70 characters (spaces count) long number of pieces 5 MILLION _____________________________________________________ Targeted Bulk Email Stand Alone Ad, up to 40 lines of text: under 10,000 9.0 cents per piece 10,000 to 25,000 8.5 cents per piece 25,000 to 50,000 8 cents per piece over 50,000 7.5 cents per piece *Contact us with areas to target and we will quote you a price. ______________________________________________________ PAYMENT TERMS: 10 % Prepay Discount for 100% pre-pay OR FINANCING- NO Credit check. ALL APPROVED! 50% down, balance broken up into 2 equal monthly installments. EFT only ( drawn on US bank account ) for financing. _____________________________________________________ No-Nonsense Response Rate Guarantee: There are many scams alive on the Internet. Although the Net represents the greatest opportunity for a business to expand and grow that has ever existed, dozens of "snake-oil" purveyers prey on such businesspeople daily. Bulk Email Advertising is, in effect, the grass-roots basis at the foundation of all Net advertising. It is effective, economical, fast, relatively inexpensive (in comparison with other media, sometimes almost ridiculously so); in short - it works! The only glitch with this new advertising media is the con artists, as we have mentioned. Quantum Communications is committed to providing a quality service to advertisers at a reasonable price. No, we do not offer to supposedly send out a billion email ads for $39. No legitimate company can afford to promise that AND actually do it. Unfortunately, by the time most advertisers find that out, they have lost their money. We believe, instead, in guaranteeing our responses at a minimum level so each and every advertiser can rest assured that their money is well spent. We guarantee the following minimum responses to your advertising piece. If the responses do not reach the minimum amount, we will continue to include your piece in our co-op (if it was a co-op), or we will continue to mail the piece by itself, in sufficient amounts until the minimum responses are reached. These replies are only the POSITIVE responses and inquiries. Flames or negative replies, etc. are filtered by us, and you never see them! (they of course are NOT counted towards your minimum response guarantee). Minimum Responses: General Bulk Email: 100 replies per 200k pieces sent "MEGA-MAILER" Co-Op Bulk Email: 200 replies Targeted Bulk Email: 150 replies per 5,000 pieces sent (3.%!) As you will notice, this fixes the MAXIMUM cost PER REPLY at $2-3. Knowing how much each reply will cost you AT THE MOST allows you to plan your marketing budget and plan for success! This also causes us to take extra care when helping to examine your ad copy and suggest any revisions. Professional ad copy design is available for a surcharge of $80 per hour. We have a stake in making sure you succeed! We have many references who will vouch for our resolve and character as a company. Please feel free to call and speak with them. Also, feel free to either email us ( staff(a)quantcom.com) or call our offices at (603) 772-4096 and speak with us at any time Mon-Fri, 9AM to 7PM EST PAYMENT FOR SERVICES: We accept personal and business checks and money orders. We DO NOT accept credit cards at this time. If you would like to utilize your credit card, we recommend you get a cash advance from the card and deposit the funds into your personal or business chec IMPORTANT NOTE: All payments remitted must be in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank. EFT's must be drawn on an account in a U.S. bank. International customers outside the U.S. may either send an international bank money order (cashiers/bank cheque) drawn on their bank in U.S. dollars (by postal mail/overnight mail), or may have funds wired directly to our U.S. bank account. Email or call TO PLACE AN ORDER: Please make sure and include all of the information listed below, plus your ad copy (unless you are requesting we design it for you) and autoresponder copy, if needed (again, unless we are designing it for you). You may place an order in one of four ways: 1) Call our sales dept at (603) 772-4096. One of our sales reps will be happy to assist you, answer your questions, and help you get started. 2) Email us your phone # and best time to call, and one of our representatives will call you. 3) Send us an email with the following information included. Be sure and include ALL information. If anything is unclear, please feel free to email us (staff(a)quantcom.com) or call our sales dept. Also be sure and include ad copy and autoresponder copy, in 4) Print out the following "Needed information" form, and fill it out. Then fax it to us at 603-772-4096, or send it via postal (snail) mail to: Quantum Communications, 6 Laurel Lane , Stratham, NH, 03885 (optionally, you may include a regular check/money order. Your Email advertising will be sent within 10 business days. We can handle staggered or variable send schedules but in all cases require 10 days lead time. You will be sent a copy of your mailing when it is sent so you will know that it has been sent. Needed information for Processing of ad form order via email/fax: Name: Contact: Postal Address: City,State,Zip: Voice Phone #: Fax Phone #: Email Address: Services Ordered: (General Bulk / Targeted Bulk / MEGA-MAILER) How many recipients? Do you need us to design ad copy? (y/n) * If yes, there is an $80 surcharge for professional ad copy design, plus $80 per hour for autoresponse copy design Total Price: Referred by: Do you need an autoresponder? Do you have a preference of email alias? (whatyouwant(a)quantcom.com) *** Make sure Ad Copy and Autoresponder copy are included or attached*** Before filling out the payment info, please decide how you will be addressing the payment terms. See the section above on prices for available terms. Payment Info: The following information is all located on the face of your check. Please realize that providing the information electronically is no different than sending a paper check. When a paper check is sent, all the same account numbers are visible. Account name: Bank Name,City,& State: Amount:$ Check #: Authorized Signature: Transit #: (also referred to as the ABA routing number, this is the group of numbers which is usually in the lower left portion of the check and is enclosed in funny looking brackets that look like this |: The number is exactly 9 digits long.) Account # : (Another group of numbers on the bottom edge of the check, should be the rest of the numbers there besides the transit #. The check # should be part of this grouping also. ) *** If you have any questions about which numbers are which, simply call your bank and ask them what your account # and transit # (or ABA routing #) are.***

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Re: Re: A Remarkable Income Opportunity!!
by Sid Westcott 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Quantum Communications Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Direct Email Marketing Contents: 1) What are your minimum orders? 2) Why can't I just do mailings myself? 3) What about Floodgate and other similar software mailing programs? 4) What if I have my own list? 5) What about the other Email Advertising companies? 6) What is the legal status of Email Advertising? 7) What about blocking by AOL? 8) What is "flame-filtering"/"Email Aliasing" ? Will anyone see my real Email address or complain to my provider? 9) What is an "autoresponder"? 10) What about ad copy design? 11) What about proof-of-mailing? 12) What is the "response rate guarantee"? How does it work? 13) What is your mail sending capacity? 14) What is the average lead time before my ad can be sent? 15) What type of mailing should I do? (Bulk stand-alone, MEGA-MAILER co-op, Targeted mail) 16) What categories are available for targeted lists? 17) Do you have sub-agent opportunities? 18) What is your list like, where are the names from, how big is it, how do you maintain it, etc? 19) What about undeliverables? 20) Contact Info 1) What are your minimum orders? Our minimum orders are 5,000 pieces for targeted mailings (in even lots of 5,000), 100,000 pieces for stand-alone bulk mailings (in even lots of 100,000), and 5 MILLION for the MEGA-MAILER co-op mailing (the full 5 million is the only size). As long as y our order is for at least the minimum amount of pieces, and in even lot sizes, you may stagger the actual sendings any way you wish (50,000 per week, etc.). Note, however, that the MEGA-MAILER is only sent once per week and is sent to the full 5 million address list. The reason we have minimums at all is due to the fact that the majority of our cost in terms of man-hours comes as a result of setting up a mailing, and so we cannot spend the time and money to setup too small a job. 2) Why can't I just do mailings myself? Technically, you can. For practical purposes, you can't. There are three reasons why it is implausible to even attempt to do your own Email Advertising: 1) Every single internet service provider on the planet will shut down your account. You will not even get 1000 pieces of mail out, and you will be shut down, because some uptight, self-appointed net-cops will complain to your provider. Do not kid your self. It WILL happen. Sending unsolicited commercial Email of any type is a violation of virtually every ISP's Terms of Service. Even if your ISP tells you it's OK (which will not happen 99% of the time), they will very quickly change their tune after th eir technical people receive a mailbox full of angry mail (commonly referred to as flames). When your account is cancelled, you will NOT get a refund, and, worse yet, you won't even be able to retrieve your replies! 2) A very large technical capacity is required to send bulk Email. You MIGHT be able to send 5,000 or so pieces of mail per hour, with a 28.8 modem, except that with dial-up internet connections, there are always dropped connections and so you can neve r be sure your mail went out unless you constantly sit and monitor the mailings all day and night, and send very small pieces at a time. 3) In order to have a list of addresses to send to, you have two choices: either spend months collecting names, or purchase an over-used list from a list vendor, who has sold the same list to dozens of others, who will bomb the list into uselessness. I n addition, most lists are so old that the names are 40% undeliverable, or from newsgroups, which are the WORST kinds of people to solicit. These three factors make it a practical impossibility to actually do your own bulk Email advertising, even though the vendors of the bulk Email software will not tell you this. The reason we do not have these hassles is because Quantum Communications IS OUR OWN INTERNET PROVIDER. We do not purchase service from anyone, and Email advertising is our only business! We have our own in-house servers, high-speed T-1 connections to the Internet, and full-time technical and customer service staff, yet our only customers are advertisers! Our lists are constantly maintained, updated, and cleansed, and are ONLY from high-quality sources. We DO NOT sell our names, or let anyone see them. See Question 18 for more on our lists. 3) What about Floodgate and other similar software mailing programs? Those programs can actually be fairly useful for extracting Email addresses and if you would like to build your own lists to your own specifications, that is an option (See Question 4 "What if I have my own list?"). However, building mailing lists is an EXTREMELY time-consuming and monotonous task, not to mention expensive in on-line charges. In addition, having these software programs will not help in the least in the sending issues you need to consider (See Question #2, above). We handle all aspects o f the mailing process, leaving you free to concentrate on your business! 4) What if I have my own list? We are fully able to use your list and send your mail to it. The price is 50% of what it would normally be. We simply have you Email or ftp your list to us, with ad copy (and autoresponse copy, if necessary). 5) What about the other Email Advertising companies? There is some competition in Direct Email marketing for your advertising dollar, and we have never purported to be the cheapest. We simply are the best. Most of the other "cheapo" companies who claim to offer a zillion pieces sent for $39, or some simil ar lowball deal, are quite frankly, scams. No legitimate company can afford all of the hardware, software, and personnel that a true advertising company like ours posesses, without charging a reasonable fee for providing of the service. Most of the low-r ent Email marketing companies are here-today, gone tomorrow. Perhaps gone with your money. Almost certainly gone without providing the actual service you paid for. Many of them look great until you investigate them further. Try calling them and getting a real live person on the phone. Or try asking them some of the questions referred to in this document. Most will disappear when you start asking serious questions. Or try asking for references. Good luck. There are so many fly-by night operators and snak e-oil salesmen on the 'net, it is hard to know what to believe. But the basic truths in business hold true. You should be able to call and get a live person on the phone, you should be able to check references and ask pointed questions, you should have a ccess to customer service and technical support, and you should be able to get a clear understanding of who you are dealing with, and how they do business. One mailing with us and you will be convinced that we truly are the cadillac of the industry. 6) What is the legal status of Email Advertising? Direct Email Advertising and solicitation is legal. It always has been. There are many self-styled legal eagles who dislike Email solicitation, and they will sometimes misquote federal statutes which apply to sending of unsolicited FAXES. There has never been a higher-court ruling supporting this supposed link between Email and unsolicited FAX. It is highly unlikely that such a ruling will EVER occur. If it does, we of course will need to adjust our business practices to stay in accordance with the law. However, at the present time, and for the foreseeable future in our opinion, Email solicita tion is just as legal as postal mail solicitation. The only real negative point which anti-Email advertising people address is that SOME people pay for their connect time at a timed/metered rate. Thus, the milliseconds which it takes to download an unsol icited piece of mail does cost the recipient (albeit tiny fractions of a penny). However, almost all ISP's (even America Online) have moved, or will be forced by competition to move, to an unlimited time rate structure. Therefore, this will no longer be an issue, and the persons who oppose Email advertising will have no legs to stand on. As this happens, Email advertising will become exactly like postal mail solicitation ( it is actually LESS intrusive than postal junk mail), and therefore we believe i t will NOT be regulated or legislated against. As a side note, we do provide a very clear, brief disclaimer at the header of ALL of our mailings which gives quick, simple removal instructions for persons who do not want to be on our lists. We act on all such requests immediately. In fact, it is an a utomated process. We do not want to be sending mail to unwilling recipients any more than they wish to receive it. 7) What about blocking by AOL? America Online has recently taken to blocking Email solicitations to it's members by certain Email Advertising companies. These companies are the ones who had been abusing their power, and had in fact been over-mailing (sending multiple pieces to the sam e recipients PER DAY). The most well-known of these companies was Cyber-Promotions. We feel that since we only send mail no more than 3 times per week to any single recipient, AOL is unlikely to begin blocking our transmissions. We also could take counte rmeasures technically and send to them again if necessary. However, our list only consists of about 25% AOL members, and that percentage is shrinking, as most of our newer names are coming from indepedent ISP sources (see Question # 18), so a blockage, w hile unlikely, would not affect us in the least in any event. Incidentally, we find it interesting that AOL does not apparently mind soliciting it's members (one cannot be online with them without getting at least 3 pop-up ads PER SESSION), they simply d on't want others soliciting their members without compensating THEM. 8) What is "flame-filtering"/"Email Aliasing" ? Will anyone see my real Email address or complain to my provider? Flames are the hate mail which is a part of Email soliciting today. Flame filtering is the automated filtering process we use to ensure that replies forwarded to you (by us) are only positive, serious inquiries, requests for information, orders, etc. We assign customers an Email alias at OUR domain. We are the only ones who know your REAL Email address. We then have all replies to your advertising sent to the alias we have assigned you so that we can filter out flames, then forward the "good" replies to you. No one can complain to your ISP, because as far as anyone knows, WE are your ISP (and we of course will not pay any attention, except to promptly remove them from our lists). In this way, you are totally insulated and protected, while still getting all "good" replies! Good replies are forwarded to you automatically as they come in. There is NO lag time or waiting. 9) What is an "autoresponder"? An Autoresponder is just an Email alias which we can have prospects who see your advertising respond to. When the response hits the autoresponder, it kicks back an automatic text file reply via Email, which is typically a more detailed package of informa tion (up to 20 pages) regarding your product or service. This effectively helps you weed out the "tire-kickers", so you are free to concentrate on fulfilling orders and more serious requests. A typical procedure is for a small "teaser" ad to be sent, wi th an autoresponder as the reply-to address. In the autoresponse text, you would typically include another Email alias for orders or more serious or specific questions. 10) What about ad copy design? We do have a copy editor on staff who is available to either write your copy from scratch or revise existing copy you already have. This is usually a wise investment, because the copy can be reused many times in different mailings, it will be done by a s easoned professional with over 10 years of experience in copywriting, and the actual copy is more than anything the key difference between success and failure when doing an Email marketing campaign. Think about it. Email is text only. No graphics, no mov ing pictures, sounds or colors. The content is all-important. Charges are $80 per hour, with typical costs being 1/2 hour for a revision, 1 hour for a small ad design, and 3 or more hours for design of ad copy plus autoresponse copy. 11) What about proof-of-mailing? When sending mail via the US Postal Service, a proof of mailing receipt is provided. There is no such counterpart in the world of Email. Although you will receive confirmation of your mailing once it is sent, the best way to become comfortable with deali ng with us is by first talking with our references, then by doing a single mailing to see what we can do for you. Once you have done business with us you will agree that we deliver exactly what we promise. Our minimum response rate guarantee is further e vidence of this, and renders the question of a proof of mailing as somewhat moot. We do actually have a log of all sent mail which is generated by our mailing software, but we only disclose the log under extenuating circumstances, and for a fee of $50 pe r 100,000 pieces sent, as it lists every mail sent, which discloses our list. 12) What is the "response rate guarantee"? How does it work? Our unique "response rate guarantee" is a clear indication of not only our rock-solid commitment to each and every advertiser, but also of our belief in direct Email advertising as a marketing medium. We know of no other advertising agency (Email or othe rwise) who actually GUARANTEES a minimum number of responses. Our guarantee is the following: 1) If you do not receive AT LEAST the minimum guaranteed responses from your Email Advertising, we will send on your behalf again, and again, and again..until you get the minimum amount! 2) You must allow 10 business days from the date your mailing was completed and you received confirmation, before requesting a remailing. 3) Of course, only positive, interested replies are counted towards your guaranteed minimum. 4) For this guarantee to apply, we must be able to verify the amount of replies you receive, so your ad must direct interested persons to an autoresponder or Email alias which we provide. 5) Any remailings are done on the same scale and amount as the original mailing, but to different recipients (except for the MEGA-MAILER or targeted lists)). 6) You must request a remailing by sending an Email to our customer service department, or by calling our office (ask to speak to customer service). We do not monitor replies automatically and automatically resend. 7) You may, at no charge, alter your original advertisement in any way you wish, as long as it is the same type of mailing as the original (targeted must be to the same group), and the same length as paid for in the original. Optionally, you may have t he ad revised professionally by us (See Question # 10). The Minimum responses guaranteed are as follows. We have had to make the numbers guaranteed purposefully low, because we extend this guarantee to ALL advertisers, regardless of whether or not they have effective ad copy or an appealing product or service . We of course strive for much higher responses for everyone, but is helpful to know that there is a "safety net", just in case. MINIMUMS: GENERAL STAND-ALONE BULK: 100 REPLIES PER 200,000 PIECES SENT TARGETED BULK: 150 REPLIES PER 5,000 PIECES SENT MEGA-MAILER: 200 REPLIES This allows advertisers to plan on a maximum cost per inquiry, which can be essential when planning a marketing budget. This guarantee, more than any other single factor, shows that Quantum Communications is a cut above the rest in the world of Marketing and Advertising! 13) What is your mail sending capacity? We have the technical capacity to send over 2 million pieces of mail per day. We have invested heavily in hardware, software, and high-speed mail transmission facilities to be able to achieve this capacity. We can handle your job, large or small. 14) What is the average lead time before my ad can be sent? The current lead time is 7-10 business days. This allows time for your ad copy to be submitted and for any revisions you may have before the mailing date. We actually work very hard to keep the lead times to a minimum, however, there has been a very high demand for Email advertising services, and it has been difficult just keeping up. If you have a special need to expedite an order, call or Email our customer service department, and we will make every effort to accomodate you. 15) What type of mailing should I do? (Bulk stand-alone, MEGA-MAILER co-op, Targeted mail) This depends entirely on your product or service. If you have a product or service which has a broad-based appeal, it is definetely better to send to a larger group of people. If you have an offering which you think needs 20-30 lines to entice people or grab their interest, then you need a stand-alone (the MEGA-MAILER is not for you). If you are announcing a website and just want mass exposure to 5 MILLION people, the MEGA-MAILER is just the thing. Of course, if you are trying to reach a select group, y ou need to have a targeted mailing. You may Email or call our sales department and a sales representative will be happy to assist you in selecting the right type of mailing to suit your offering. 16) What categories are available for targeted lists? We custom build all of our targeted lists from scratch, and 90% of our targeted lists are never re-used. We are able to build a custom-designed list to YOUR specifications. So, in other words, you tell US what the category is, or the demographics of the persons or businesses you are trying to reach. We then get an estimate from our List staff for approximately how many names we will commit to being able to find. Our sales staff will work with you on this issue. Of course, it is always a much lower volum e of names than a normal bulk list, but we have seen response rates of over 5% when mailing a targeted group! 17) Do you have sub-agent opportunities? Yes we do. We are currently accepting sub-agents who wish to promote and re-sell our services, or simply send us referrals. For a copy of our agent registration kit via Email, send an Email to agent(a)quantcom.com 18) What is your list like, where are the names from, how big is it, how do you maintain it, etc? Our Lists department is continually extracting fresh names for our lists from many sources. The sources include the membership directories of all the major online services (AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, Delphi, MSN), plus the "white pages" Email databases su ch as 411, IAF, etc. We NEVER extract names from newsgroups, except to build targeted lists. We NEVER send mail to Listserv's, .edu's, .gov's, etc. We automatically delete removal requests immediately, as well as undeliverables. We add 400,000 to 800,000 fresh addresses each week. For these reasons, we feel that we have a super-high quality database, which consists of over 6 MILLION addresses. This high list quality is another feature of our service, and boosts response rates dramatically over our compe titors. Although we add addresses constantly, and are attempting to reach 10 MILLION addresses by 2nd quarter of 1997, it is difficult because we lose about 10% of our database each week to removal requests and undeliverables. 19) What about undeliverables? We are consistently losing about 10% of our list each week to undeliverables and removal requests (combined). In order to somewhat compensate our advertisers for this, without incurring all the logistical nightmares we would have to endure if we tried to account for removals and undeliverables for each particular mailing, we send 110% of the actual order amount as a general rule. For example, if you paid for 100,000 we send 110,000. This approach has worked very well for our customers. Also note that th is becomes a less significant issue when the minimum response guarantee is taken into account. Contact Info: Quantum Communications 6 Laurel Lane Stratham, NH 03885 (603) 772-4096 (603) 772-7297 fax general correspondence: staff(a)quantcom.com sales: sales(a)quantcom.com customer service: cusserv(a)quantcom.com http://www.quantcom.com

1 0

Re: Re: ATTENTION HOMEOWNER
by Sid Westcott 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Quantum Communications Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Direct Email Marketing Contents: 1) What are your minimum orders? 2) Why can't I just do mailings myself? 3) What about Floodgate and other similar software mailing programs? 4) What if I have my own list? 5) What about the other Email Advertising companies? 6) What is the legal status of Email Advertising? 7) What about blocking by AOL? 8) What is "flame-filtering"/"Email Aliasing" ? Will anyone see my real Email address or complain to my provider? 9) What is an "autoresponder"? 10) What about ad copy design? 11) What about proof-of-mailing? 12) What is the "response rate guarantee"? How does it work? 13) What is your mail sending capacity? 14) What is the average lead time before my ad can be sent? 15) What type of mailing should I do? (Bulk stand-alone, MEGA-MAILER co-op, Targeted mail) 16) What categories are available for targeted lists? 17) Do you have sub-agent opportunities? 18) What is your list like, where are the names from, how big is it, how do you maintain it, etc? 19) What about undeliverables? 20) Contact Info 1) What are your minimum orders? Our minimum orders are 5,000 pieces for targeted mailings (in even lots of 5,000), 100,000 pieces for stand-alone bulk mailings (in even lots of 100,000), and 5 MILLION for the MEGA-MAILER co-op mailing (the full 5 million is the only size). As long as y our order is for at least the minimum amount of pieces, and in even lot sizes, you may stagger the actual sendings any way you wish (50,000 per week, etc.). Note, however, that the MEGA-MAILER is only sent once per week and is sent to the full 5 million address list. The reason we have minimums at all is due to the fact that the majority of our cost in terms of man-hours comes as a result of setting up a mailing, and so we cannot spend the time and money to setup too small a job. 2) Why can't I just do mailings myself? Technically, you can. For practical purposes, you can't. There are three reasons why it is implausible to even attempt to do your own Email Advertising: 1) Every single internet service provider on the planet will shut down your account. You will not even get 1000 pieces of mail out, and you will be shut down, because some uptight, self-appointed net-cops will complain to your provider. Do not kid your self. It WILL happen. Sending unsolicited commercial Email of any type is a violation of virtually every ISP's Terms of Service. Even if your ISP tells you it's OK (which will not happen 99% of the time), they will very quickly change their tune after th eir technical people receive a mailbox full of angry mail (commonly referred to as flames). When your account is cancelled, you will NOT get a refund, and, worse yet, you won't even be able to retrieve your replies! 2) A very large technical capacity is required to send bulk Email. You MIGHT be able to send 5,000 or so pieces of mail per hour, with a 28.8 modem, except that with dial-up internet connections, there are always dropped connections and so you can neve r be sure your mail went out unless you constantly sit and monitor the mailings all day and night, and send very small pieces at a time. 3) In order to have a list of addresses to send to, you have two choices: either spend months collecting names, or purchase an over-used list from a list vendor, who has sold the same list to dozens of others, who will bomb the list into uselessness. I n addition, most lists are so old that the names are 40% undeliverable, or from newsgroups, which are the WORST kinds of people to solicit. These three factors make it a practical impossibility to actually do your own bulk Email advertising, even though the vendors of the bulk Email software will not tell you this. The reason we do not have these hassles is because Quantum Communications IS OUR OWN INTERNET PROVIDER. We do not purchase service from anyone, and Email advertising is our only business! We have our own in-house servers, high-speed T-1 connections to the Internet, and full-time technical and customer service staff, yet our only customers are advertisers! Our lists are constantly maintained, updated, and cleansed, and are ONLY from high-quality sources. We DO NOT sell our names, or let anyone see them. See Question 18 for more on our lists. 3) What about Floodgate and other similar software mailing programs? Those programs can actually be fairly useful for extracting Email addresses and if you would like to build your own lists to your own specifications, that is an option (See Question 4 "What if I have my own list?"). However, building mailing lists is an EXTREMELY time-consuming and monotonous task, not to mention expensive in on-line charges. In addition, having these software programs will not help in the least in the sending issues you need to consider (See Question #2, above). We handle all aspects o f the mailing process, leaving you free to concentrate on your business! 4) What if I have my own list? We are fully able to use your list and send your mail to it. The price is 50% of what it would normally be. We simply have you Email or ftp your list to us, with ad copy (and autoresponse copy, if necessary). 5) What about the other Email Advertising companies? There is some competition in Direct Email marketing for your advertising dollar, and we have never purported to be the cheapest. We simply are the best. Most of the other "cheapo" companies who claim to offer a zillion pieces sent for $39, or some simil ar lowball deal, are quite frankly, scams. No legitimate company can afford all of the hardware, software, and personnel that a true advertising company like ours posesses, without charging a reasonable fee for providing of the service. Most of the low-r ent Email marketing companies are here-today, gone tomorrow. Perhaps gone with your money. Almost certainly gone without providing the actual service you paid for. Many of them look great until you investigate them further. Try calling them and getting a real live person on the phone. Or try asking them some of the questions referred to in this document. Most will disappear when you start asking serious questions. Or try asking for references. Good luck. There are so many fly-by night operators and snak e-oil salesmen on the 'net, it is hard to know what to believe. But the basic truths in business hold true. You should be able to call and get a live person on the phone, you should be able to check references and ask pointed questions, you should have a ccess to customer service and technical support, and you should be able to get a clear understanding of who you are dealing with, and how they do business. One mailing with us and you will be convinced that we truly are the cadillac of the industry. 6) What is the legal status of Email Advertising? Direct Email Advertising and solicitation is legal. It always has been. There are many self-styled legal eagles who dislike Email solicitation, and they will sometimes misquote federal statutes which apply to sending of unsolicited FAXES. There has never been a higher-court ruling supporting this supposed link between Email and unsolicited FAX. It is highly unlikely that such a ruling will EVER occur. If it does, we of course will need to adjust our business practices to stay in accordance with the law. However, at the present time, and for the foreseeable future in our opinion, Email solicita tion is just as legal as postal mail solicitation. The only real negative point which anti-Email advertising people address is that SOME people pay for their connect time at a timed/metered rate. Thus, the milliseconds which it takes to download an unsol icited piece of mail does cost the recipient (albeit tiny fractions of a penny). However, almost all ISP's (even America Online) have moved, or will be forced by competition to move, to an unlimited time rate structure. Therefore, this will no longer be an issue, and the persons who oppose Email advertising will have no legs to stand on. As this happens, Email advertising will become exactly like postal mail solicitation ( it is actually LESS intrusive than postal junk mail), and therefore we believe i t will NOT be regulated or legislated against. As a side note, we do provide a very clear, brief disclaimer at the header of ALL of our mailings which gives quick, simple removal instructions for persons who do not want to be on our lists. We act on all such requests immediately. In fact, it is an a utomated process. We do not want to be sending mail to unwilling recipients any more than they wish to receive it. 7) What about blocking by AOL? America Online has recently taken to blocking Email solicitations to it's members by certain Email Advertising companies. These companies are the ones who had been abusing their power, and had in fact been over-mailing (sending multiple pieces to the sam e recipients PER DAY). The most well-known of these companies was Cyber-Promotions. We feel that since we only send mail no more than 3 times per week to any single recipient, AOL is unlikely to begin blocking our transmissions. We also could take counte rmeasures technically and send to them again if necessary. However, our list only consists of about 25% AOL members, and that percentage is shrinking, as most of our newer names are coming from indepedent ISP sources (see Question # 18), so a blockage, w hile unlikely, would not affect us in the least in any event. Incidentally, we find it interesting that AOL does not apparently mind soliciting it's members (one cannot be online with them without getting at least 3 pop-up ads PER SESSION), they simply d on't want others soliciting their members without compensating THEM. 8) What is "flame-filtering"/"Email Aliasing" ? Will anyone see my real Email address or complain to my provider? Flames are the hate mail which is a part of Email soliciting today. Flame filtering is the automated filtering process we use to ensure that replies forwarded to you (by us) are only positive, serious inquiries, requests for information, orders, etc. We assign customers an Email alias at OUR domain. We are the only ones who know your REAL Email address. We then have all replies to your advertising sent to the alias we have assigned you so that we can filter out flames, then forward the "good" replies to you. No one can complain to your ISP, because as far as anyone knows, WE are your ISP (and we of course will not pay any attention, except to promptly remove them from our lists). In this way, you are totally insulated and protected, while still getting all "good" replies! Good replies are forwarded to you automatically as they come in. There is NO lag time or waiting. 9) What is an "autoresponder"? An Autoresponder is just an Email alias which we can have prospects who see your advertising respond to. When the response hits the autoresponder, it kicks back an automatic text file reply via Email, which is typically a more detailed package of informa tion (up to 20 pages) regarding your product or service. This effectively helps you weed out the "tire-kickers", so you are free to concentrate on fulfilling orders and more serious requests. A typical procedure is for a small "teaser" ad to be sent, wi th an autoresponder as the reply-to address. In the autoresponse text, you would typically include another Email alias for orders or more serious or specific questions. 10) What about ad copy design? We do have a copy editor on staff who is available to either write your copy from scratch or revise existing copy you already have. This is usually a wise investment, because the copy can be reused many times in different mailings, it will be done by a s easoned professional with over 10 years of experience in copywriting, and the actual copy is more than anything the key difference between success and failure when doing an Email marketing campaign. Think about it. Email is text only. No graphics, no mov ing pictures, sounds or colors. The content is all-important. Charges are $80 per hour, with typical costs being 1/2 hour for a revision, 1 hour for a small ad design, and 3 or more hours for design of ad copy plus autoresponse copy. 11) What about proof-of-mailing? When sending mail via the US Postal Service, a proof of mailing receipt is provided. There is no such counterpart in the world of Email. Although you will receive confirmation of your mailing once it is sent, the best way to become comfortable with deali ng with us is by first talking with our references, then by doing a single mailing to see what we can do for you. Once you have done business with us you will agree that we deliver exactly what we promise. Our minimum response rate guarantee is further e vidence of this, and renders the question of a proof of mailing as somewhat moot. We do actually have a log of all sent mail which is generated by our mailing software, but we only disclose the log under extenuating circumstances, and for a fee of $50 pe r 100,000 pieces sent, as it lists every mail sent, which discloses our list. 12) What is the "response rate guarantee"? How does it work? Our unique "response rate guarantee" is a clear indication of not only our rock-solid commitment to each and every advertiser, but also of our belief in direct Email advertising as a marketing medium. We know of no other advertising agency (Email or othe rwise) who actually GUARANTEES a minimum number of responses. Our guarantee is the following: 1) If you do not receive AT LEAST the minimum guaranteed responses from your Email Advertising, we will send on your behalf again, and again, and again..until you get the minimum amount! 2) You must allow 10 business days from the date your mailing was completed and you received confirmation, before requesting a remailing. 3) Of course, only positive, interested replies are counted towards your guaranteed minimum. 4) For this guarantee to apply, we must be able to verify the amount of replies you receive, so your ad must direct interested persons to an autoresponder or Email alias which we provide. 5) Any remailings are done on the same scale and amount as the original mailing, but to different recipients (except for the MEGA-MAILER or targeted lists)). 6) You must request a remailing by sending an Email to our customer service department, or by calling our office (ask to speak to customer service). We do not monitor replies automatically and automatically resend. 7) You may, at no charge, alter your original advertisement in any way you wish, as long as it is the same type of mailing as the original (targeted must be to the same group), and the same length as paid for in the original. Optionally, you may have t he ad revised professionally by us (See Question # 10). The Minimum responses guaranteed are as follows. We have had to make the numbers guaranteed purposefully low, because we extend this guarantee to ALL advertisers, regardless of whether or not they have effective ad copy or an appealing product or service . We of course strive for much higher responses for everyone, but is helpful to know that there is a "safety net", just in case. MINIMUMS: GENERAL STAND-ALONE BULK: 100 REPLIES PER 200,000 PIECES SENT TARGETED BULK: 150 REPLIES PER 5,000 PIECES SENT MEGA-MAILER: 200 REPLIES This allows advertisers to plan on a maximum cost per inquiry, which can be essential when planning a marketing budget. This guarantee, more than any other single factor, shows that Quantum Communications is a cut above the rest in the world of Marketing and Advertising! 13) What is your mail sending capacity? We have the technical capacity to send over 2 million pieces of mail per day. We have invested heavily in hardware, software, and high-speed mail transmission facilities to be able to achieve this capacity. We can handle your job, large or small. 14) What is the average lead time before my ad can be sent? The current lead time is 7-10 business days. This allows time for your ad copy to be submitted and for any revisions you may have before the mailing date. We actually work very hard to keep the lead times to a minimum, however, there has been a very high demand for Email advertising services, and it has been difficult just keeping up. If you have a special need to expedite an order, call or Email our customer service department, and we will make every effort to accomodate you. 15) What type of mailing should I do? (Bulk stand-alone, MEGA-MAILER co-op, Targeted mail) This depends entirely on your product or service. If you have a product or service which has a broad-based appeal, it is definetely better to send to a larger group of people. If you have an offering which you think needs 20-30 lines to entice people or grab their interest, then you need a stand-alone (the MEGA-MAILER is not for you). If you are announcing a website and just want mass exposure to 5 MILLION people, the MEGA-MAILER is just the thing. Of course, if you are trying to reach a select group, y ou need to have a targeted mailing. You may Email or call our sales department and a sales representative will be happy to assist you in selecting the right type of mailing to suit your offering. 16) What categories are available for targeted lists? We custom build all of our targeted lists from scratch, and 90% of our targeted lists are never re-used. We are able to build a custom-designed list to YOUR specifications. So, in other words, you tell US what the category is, or the demographics of the persons or businesses you are trying to reach. We then get an estimate from our List staff for approximately how many names we will commit to being able to find. Our sales staff will work with you on this issue. Of course, it is always a much lower volum e of names than a normal bulk list, but we have seen response rates of over 5% when mailing a targeted group! 17) Do you have sub-agent opportunities? Yes we do. We are currently accepting sub-agents who wish to promote and re-sell our services, or simply send us referrals. For a copy of our agent registration kit via Email, send an Email to agent(a)quantcom.com 18) What is your list like, where are the names from, how big is it, how do you maintain it, etc? Our Lists department is continually extracting fresh names for our lists from many sources. The sources include the membership directories of all the major online services (AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, Delphi, MSN), plus the "white pages" Email databases su ch as 411, IAF, etc. We NEVER extract names from newsgroups, except to build targeted lists. We NEVER send mail to Listserv's, .edu's, .gov's, etc. We automatically delete removal requests immediately, as well as undeliverables. We add 400,000 to 800,000 fresh addresses each week. For these reasons, we feel that we have a super-high quality database, which consists of over 6 MILLION addresses. This high list quality is another feature of our service, and boosts response rates dramatically over our compe titors. Although we add addresses constantly, and are attempting to reach 10 MILLION addresses by 2nd quarter of 1997, it is difficult because we lose about 10% of our database each week to removal requests and undeliverables. 19) What about undeliverables? We are consistently losing about 10% of our list each week to undeliverables and removal requests (combined). In order to somewhat compensate our advertisers for this, without incurring all the logistical nightmares we would have to endure if we tried to account for removals and undeliverables for each particular mailing, we send 110% of the actual order amount as a general rule. For example, if you paid for 100,000 we send 110,000. This approach has worked very well for our customers. Also note that th is becomes a less significant issue when the minimum response guarantee is taken into account. Contact Info: Quantum Communications 6 Laurel Lane Stratham, NH 03885 (603) 772-4096 (603) 772-7297 fax general correspondence: staff(a)quantcom.com sales: sales(a)quantcom.com customer service: cusserv(a)quantcom.com http://www.quantcom.com

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Re: Re: ATTENTION HOMEOWNER
by Sid Westcott 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Enclosed is the information you requested from Quantum Communications regarding bulk Email advertising services: Contact Info: Quantum Communications 6 Laurel Lane Stratham, NH 03885 603-772-4096 603-772-7297 fax staff(a)quantcom.com (general email) sales(a)quantcom.com(sales) cusserv(a)quantcom.com (customer service) http://www.quantcom.com Quantum Communications Proudly presents: BULK E-MAIL ADVERTISING SERVICE! Would you like to offer YOUR product or service to potential customers via E-mail? Consider the advantages of sending your marketing letter ALONE or Co-op to MILLIONS of persons directly via E-mail: + NO sharing of space in a cluttered publication + NO being buried amidst 100 other postcards in a card deck + NO wondering if your prospects will see/read your offer + NO having to fight for your prospect's attention + NO price-shopping, having your offering compared to others nearby it + EXTREMELY COST EFFECTIVE - as low as .009 cents per letter!! + Your piece/letter goes out ALONE or Co-op, depending on YOUR needs and budget + Everyone reads their Email! + NO need to wait for a publication date! We mail according to YOUR timetable, and all mail reaches the target within 1 day! Bulk Email is the perfect way to reach new prospects! Our state-of-the-art servers and proprietary software allow us to send your offering to MILLIONS of fresh prospects. All names on our list have been sent a test letter, enabling us to delete undeliverables and persons who do not wish to receive unsolicited Email advertisements. Therefore, all the prospects we send YOUR offering to are responsive, quality prospects! As part of our standard service package, we also provide the following: + An autoresponder,which allows a prospect to simply click reply and instantly receive a complete package of detailed further information via Email from your company (up to 20 pages in length!) + A unique Email address to which inquiries for your offering are forwarded, allowing you to build up your own database of hot prospects. + Complete design/copy assistance based on your goals and objectives We offer a service package designed to fit every need and budget! Choose either General Bulk (your letter sent ALONE), Co-op Bulk (your ad sent with others), or Targeted Bulk (custom-built lists to YOUR specs). Consider the benefits of using Quantum Communications for sending your bulk email advertising: * Highest quality list of hot prospects! * Largest database (over 5 million, mostly online service members, NOT newsgroup posters)! * Lowest rates in the industry! * FREE features included such as autoresponders, email forwarding, and copy design assistance! * No-Nonsense response rate guarantee! * 100% approved FINANCING. No one turned down! * Top-notch customer service. The best in the industry, as our references will confirm! * Targeted lists available, custom built for YOUR project! Rate Card: ___________________________________________________ Bulk Email Advertising Service Stand Alone Ad, up to 40 lines of text: $299 per 100,000, in even lots of 100,000 ____________________________________________________ Co-Op Bulk Email Advertising Service THE "MEGA-MAILER" Sent to our full database of 5 million hot prospects! Sent with other ads, up to 5 lines of text: $599 6-10 lines of text: $849 lines are 70 characters (spaces count) long number of pieces 5 MILLION _____________________________________________________ Targeted Bulk Email Stand Alone Ad, up to 40 lines of text: under 10,000 9.0 cents per piece 10,000 to 25,000 8.5 cents per piece 25,000 to 50,000 8 cents per piece over 50,000 7.5 cents per piece *Contact us with areas to target and we will quote you a price. ______________________________________________________ PAYMENT TERMS: 10 % Prepay Discount for 100% pre-pay OR FINANCING- NO Credit check. ALL APPROVED! 50% down, balance broken up into 2 equal monthly installments. EFT only ( drawn on US bank account ) for financing. _____________________________________________________ No-Nonsense Response Rate Guarantee: There are many scams alive on the Internet. Although the Net represents the greatest opportunity for a business to expand and grow that has ever existed, dozens of "snake-oil" purveyers prey on such businesspeople daily. Bulk Email Advertising is, in effect, the grass-roots basis at the foundation of all Net advertising. It is effective, economical, fast, relatively inexpensive (in comparison with other media, sometimes almost ridiculously so); in short - it works! The only glitch with this new advertising media is the con artists, as we have mentioned. Quantum Communications is committed to providing a quality service to advertisers at a reasonable price. No, we do not offer to supposedly send out a billion email ads for $39. No legitimate company can afford to promise that AND actually do it. Unfortunately, by the time most advertisers find that out, they have lost their money. We believe, instead, in guaranteeing our responses at a minimum level so each and every advertiser can rest assured that their money is well spent. We guarantee the following minimum responses to your advertising piece. If the responses do not reach the minimum amount, we will continue to include your piece in our co-op (if it was a co-op), or we will continue to mail the piece by itself, in sufficient amounts until the minimum responses are reached. These replies are only the POSITIVE responses and inquiries. Flames or negative replies, etc. are filtered by us, and you never see them! (they of course are NOT counted towards your minimum response guarantee). Minimum Responses: General Bulk Email: 100 replies per 200k pieces sent "MEGA-MAILER" Co-Op Bulk Email: 200 replies Targeted Bulk Email: 150 replies per 5,000 pieces sent (3.%!) As you will notice, this fixes the MAXIMUM cost PER REPLY at $2-3. Knowing how much each reply will cost you AT THE MOST allows you to plan your marketing budget and plan for success! This also causes us to take extra care when helping to examine your ad copy and suggest any revisions. Professional ad copy design is available for a surcharge of $80 per hour. We have a stake in making sure you succeed! We have many references who will vouch for our resolve and character as a company. Please feel free to call and speak with them. Also, feel free to either email us ( staff(a)quantcom.com) or call our offices at (603) 772-4096 and speak with us at any time Mon-Fri, 9AM to 7PM EST PAYMENT FOR SERVICES: We accept personal and business checks and money orders. We DO NOT accept credit cards at this time. If you would like to utilize your credit card, we recommend you get a cash advance from the card and deposit the funds into your personal or business chec IMPORTANT NOTE: All payments remitted must be in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. bank. EFT's must be drawn on an account in a U.S. bank. International customers outside the U.S. may either send an international bank money order (cashiers/bank cheque) drawn on their bank in U.S. dollars (by postal mail/overnight mail), or may have funds wired directly to our U.S. bank account. Email or call TO PLACE AN ORDER: Please make sure and include all of the information listed below, plus your ad copy (unless you are requesting we design it for you) and autoresponder copy, if needed (again, unless we are designing it for you). You may place an order in one of four ways: 1) Call our sales dept at (603) 772-4096. One of our sales reps will be happy to assist you, answer your questions, and help you get started. 2) Email us your phone # and best time to call, and one of our representatives will call you. 3) Send us an email with the following information included. Be sure and include ALL information. If anything is unclear, please feel free to email us (staff(a)quantcom.com) or call our sales dept. Also be sure and include ad copy and autoresponder copy, in 4) Print out the following "Needed information" form, and fill it out. Then fax it to us at 603-772-4096, or send it via postal (snail) mail to: Quantum Communications, 6 Laurel Lane , Stratham, NH, 03885 (optionally, you may include a regular check/money order. Your Email advertising will be sent within 10 business days. We can handle staggered or variable send schedules but in all cases require 10 days lead time. You will be sent a copy of your mailing when it is sent so you will know that it has been sent. Needed information for Processing of ad form order via email/fax: Name: Contact: Postal Address: City,State,Zip: Voice Phone #: Fax Phone #: Email Address: Services Ordered: (General Bulk / Targeted Bulk / MEGA-MAILER) How many recipients? Do you need us to design ad copy? (y/n) * If yes, there is an $80 surcharge for professional ad copy design, plus $80 per hour for autoresponse copy design Total Price: Referred by: Do you need an autoresponder? Do you have a preference of email alias? (whatyouwant(a)quantcom.com) *** Make sure Ad Copy and Autoresponder copy are included or attached*** Before filling out the payment info, please decide how you will be addressing the payment terms. See the section above on prices for available terms. Payment Info: The following information is all located on the face of your check. Please realize that providing the information electronically is no different than sending a paper check. When a paper check is sent, all the same account numbers are visible. Account name: Bank Name,City,& State: Amount:$ Check #: Authorized Signature: Transit #: (also referred to as the ABA routing number, this is the group of numbers which is usually in the lower left portion of the check and is enclosed in funny looking brackets that look like this |: The number is exactly 9 digits long.) Account # : (Another group of numbers on the bottom edge of the check, should be the rest of the numbers there besides the transit #. The check # should be part of this grouping also. ) *** If you have any questions about which numbers are which, simply call your bank and ask them what your account # and transit # (or ABA routing #) are.***

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Re: overview.htm
by Dale Thorn 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Dr.Dimitri Vulis KOTM wrote: > Jim Choate <ravage(a)einstein.ssz.com> writes: > [For the record, I have serious doubts whether the HIV virus causes AIDS.] Both homosexual males and IV drug users are well known to take a lot of antobiotics, which lowers the efficacy of the immune system enough to allow most anything to happen, ultimately leading to auto-immune problems.

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US Info Supremacy
by John Young 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

>From Financial Times 26 January: "Defence experts in both the US and western Europe have commented recently that the US forces' lead in information technology is growing to the point where Washington may question the military usefulness of allies." Pointers to these comments would be appreciated. Further, if the speculation of US supremacist go-it-alone policy is correct, how might this affect: 1. US crypto export policy. 2. Crypto czar Aarons' role in promoting global GAK. 3. Other nation's suspicion of the US and its technological prowess, caused, for example, by the NSA's avowed intention to surveil all the world's communcation, and if encrypted to crack it at any cost. 4. Increasing isolation of the US from foreign innovation and talent -- the imperialist incest decline. 5. The future of treaties such as US/UK/AUS, NATO, SEATO, and the like for intel-sharing and crypto control. Two observations: One, last year's NRC crypto report said that strong crypto should not be a problem, and that other, unidentified, technologies should be supported instead to assure domestic and national security. Two, the recent InfoWar-Defense report has been criticized as unduly alarmist, because the US has sufficient means (Perry and others claim) to protect against information attacks. One NCSC commentator on talk.politics.crypto said that the IW-D techie panelists were out of touch, unlike Stewart Baker, a lawyer! Hence, it might be worth considering that both the NRC report and the IW-D reports are diversionary, disinformation to conceal US true capabilities -- strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, the crypto debate itself might be diversionary from other more crucial information defense technology -- for surveilling, sifting, interpreting, analyzing, decrypting, mining and securely storing. As well as offensive means to counterattack US communications attackers. Or, turning the matter one more time, perhaps crypto is in fact the heart of the national security problem and the avowed other, unidentified, more crucial, technology is a sham to mislead about US and other government's true weaknesses. The Commerce Control List is almost incoherent in trying to definitively regulate advancing technology. Paranoia may be increasing among governments due to the crypto debate and related issues of information security, such that each may, like the US is allegedly doing, retreating to within its own technological borders, while at the same time engaging in PsyWar about threats, defenses and offenses. Hello, Tim May and our other solons and Solomons.

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$$$ 9,780 $$$
by idea4u＠concentric.net 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

You have Nothing to lose!! Me: "Do you own a personal computer?" You: yes. Me: "Running WINDOWS 3.xx or WINDOWS 95?" You: sure, why? Me: "Wanna make $9,780 cash in the next 48 days?" You: who wouldn't? Me: "Without leaving your home?" You: really? what is it about? Me: "I own a SOFTWARE PROGRAM that explains the business. Do you want me to send you out one?" You: are you going to tell me what it is all about? Me: "That is not the way I work, the answers are in the program. Do you want the business package and software?" You: I have nothing to lose! If people are making that kind of money..... I HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK! NEW!! NEW!! NEW!! NEW!! NEW!! NEW!! NEW!! NEW!! COMPUTER BASED SOFTWARE BUSINESS SYSTEM CAN EARN YOU MEGA BUCKS!! If you've been looking for the ULTIMATE home-based business.......... THIS IS IT!!! It's simple, lucrative, & your ticket to the lifestyle you dream!!! Our computerized, software-driven business system is so simple to operate....... A CHILD COULD RUN IT! Does the potential of making thousands of dollars a week from home using a TOTALLY AUTOMATED SOFTWARE Business System excite you? If you own (or have access to) an IBM-compatable computer, and are willing to invest an hour or two a day to start -- with the potential of making MORE MONEY THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE --- THIS BUSINESS IS FOR YOU!! Our extraordinary computer-based software business is VERY EASY TO OPERATE. Your complete business package, including software, is only $24.95 up front (Money Back Guarantee), then you decide. NO COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE NECESSARY!! STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED. (p.s. This is as tough as it gets) STEP 1 : Insert disk into computer. Push a couple of buttons. Sit back and have a cup of coffee while your computer and printer crank out $20 purchase orders. Place in window envelope (no tedious hand addressing). Stick on one of those self stick stamps. Mail. STEP 2 : Insert disk into computer. Push a couple of buttons. Remove disk and insert into envelope. Mail. Repeat as required. STEP 3 : Go to mailbox. Collect a ton of $20 money orders. Repeat daily. STEP 4 : Laugh all the way to the bank. If this sounds like the kind of "work" you could easily get used to, RUSH your address and $24.95: -------------------------------------------------------------- SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE---SAVE (ACT NOW!!! BEFORE Feb. 5th AND RECEIVE THE SOFTWARE & BUSINESS PACKAGE AT AN INCREDIBLE (40%) OFF!!! WITH THE SAME "NO RISK" 100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!) DON'T DELAY, YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO LOSE and EVERYTHING TO GAIN! RUSH: YOUR ADDRESS and $14.97 check, cash or money order payable to: Alan H. (Vision Unlimited) (Before Feb 5th) -------------------------------------------------------------- TO: Alan H. (Vision Unlimited) 316 Pine Ridge Ln Lavergne, TN 37086 1 (615) 254-2894 14 day, No-questions-asked Money-back guarantee on $24.95 business package if you are dissatisfied with it for any reason whatsoever. *non activated software disk only. All orders shipped 1st class mail. For expedited delivery, please add $3.00 for Priority Mail.

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Voting to require Photo ID in Michigan
by lwp＠mail.msen.com 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

Late last year, in the final days that Republicans controlled both houses of the Michigan Legislature, they passed a new law requiring citizen-units to show a picture ID in order to vote. This law was signed by Governor John Engler earlier this month. Here I reproduce without permission a news brief from the Lansing State Journal, which gives some reactions to the new law. Particularly interesting to me is the promise of selective enforcement from the Governor's spokesman. ' LAWMAKER SEEKS VOTER LAW REVIEW ' Pontiac -- A Republican lawmaker has asked the U.S. Justice ' Department to review a new state law that will require voters to show ' photo identification to cast ballots. ' Rep. Greg Kaza of Rochester Hills wrote to Attorney General Janet ' Reno this week to seek the review, The Oakland Press reported Thursday. ' The new law requires all voters to have a state photo ID card, such ' as a driver's license or an ID card people receiving public assistance ' are required to have. ' Kaza said Wednesday he wrote to Reno that "Public Act 583 of 1996 ' has the potential to intimidate certain classes of voters, including ' senior citizens, from exercising their democratic right to vote. They ' should not be disenfranchised from exercising their right to vote ' under the United States Constitution." ' Gov. John Engler signed the bill last week. His administration ' says it is needed to protect the integrity of the voting process, but ' critics, mostly Democrats, say it would exclude some people from voting. ' "It is our belief you need an ID in society today," Engler spokesman ' John Truscott said. "And only if you are challenged at the ballot box ' do you have to show an ID." ' Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley already has been asked to ' issue an opinion on whether the new law is constitutional. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "We are surrounded by :: Lou Poppler <lwp(a)mail.msen.com> :: insurmountable opportunity." :: http://www.msen.com/~lwp/ :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Pogo (Walt Kelly)

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Re: Encrypting ZIP disks
by Lucky Green 17 Dec '03

17 Dec '03

At 11:40 AM 1/25/97 -0500, Adam Shostack wrote: > >Paul Kocher announced that he has cracked it, and can recover data >quickly. He is not publishing details of the break. Why? -- Lucky Green <mailto:shamrock@netcom.com> PGP encrypted mail preferred Make your mark in the history of mathematics. Use the spare cycles of your PC/PPC/UNIX box to help find a new prime. http://www.mersenne.org/prime.htm

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