Mindshare via Craig’s List
Marketing is a Machiavellian exercise.
I suggest those interested in increasing the mindshare of OpenOffice join me in this small project: Regular postings to Craig’s List computer gigs, computer services and other appropriate sections advertising your consulting services in migrating small office/home office users from Microsoft or Corel products to OpenOffice.org. We are not likely to receive many serious responses, but we will spread the name of OpenOffice throughout the Craig’s List group consciousness, and we’ll begin to reinforce the meme that many small businesses are switching right now. (“How could there be a market for geeks to advertise this service if it’s not being used?”)
I started with a post to Craig’s List New York on May 1. (This is an update of that original post.) Feel free to copy any of it you like when writing your own posts:
—————
OpenOffice Migrations and Planning
As author of “The Tiny Guide to OpenOffice.org” and a longtime participant in the OpenOffice.org project, I can provide planning assistance and guidance to any individual or company interested in moving from Microsoft Office or Corel Office to OpenOffice.org.
OpenOffice is LGPL free software, so license headaches are a thing of the past. Compatibility with Microsoft Office is very good, but extra features such as the ability to export natively to PDF and Flash make it a better option.
Reply by email or see my site (www.solidoffice.com) for more information.
– Ben
—————
At its outset, I have thought over some of the positive and negative aspects of this effort. I have also considered whether this could be considered spamming Craig’s List, but I feel it is not. With many of us participating, offering these migration services as a real product, we’re in good faith. (You have to be ready to provide the service if you do get a serious inquiry. But it’s easy! Just talk about OpenOffice like we do every day.) Also be sure to change your text enough so that automatic processes don’t tag us as spam. Remember, posting up to three times a week in your local market is fair, but don’t post halfway around the world or multiple times a day!
Advantages:
- Extremely easy and fast to generate posts.
- No coordination required.
- Some income-earning potential to participants.
Disadvantages:
- How to measure effectiveness?
- Little immediate gratification.
- Long-term, consistent involvement is required.