I have (finally) written a draft of a marketing e-mail for us to use to begin advertising EGLUG. This is for us to start distributing wherever we see fit, very much like the marketing cmapaign we used for OUR installfest in the Sawy Cultural Center. Back then, we sent e-mail to a very large number of online lists; and no, it wasn't spam since for spam there has to be a profit motive. Here there is none.
Here's the e-mail: tinker with it, translate it to arabic someone please! And let's start advertising our presence.
We are ready.
- BEGIN MARKETING EMAIL
In the last few years, a revolution has been happening in the world of ideas. That revolution is called Open Source, and you may have heard of its most famous child, Linux.
Linux is a free operating system for your computer; it does not belong to any company, since it was developed by the people for the people. Over the years, Linux has developed into a very powerful alternative to Windows and Microsoft, and that is why we (EGLUG) exist.
EGLUG is the EGyptian Linux Users' Group. We are a group of volunteers who share a common passion: spreading the word about Linux, and helping transform our computing culture to suit the open and free ideals upon which Linux was founded.
We offer many things; Linux itself, Linux classes, volunteer Linux support, and above all a caring and passionate and enthusiastic community.
EGLUG (The Egyptian Linux Users' Group) info@eglug.org
It's totally nice movement
Do you think if we made some thinglike visual .i mean an image to describe the activities or the LUG in general in main shoot words.
the idea is when you read an email form someone u may do not know .the action well be go to delete button and remove it. but if something like attractive and light design image.the reader may stop and read carefully and follow the hyper-link . if this will help how we can compress words .to get a short notes.
Diaa Radwan
over my dead body
the moment eglug sends images in its emails is the moment I walk out.
we don't want to spam people, we will not clog their mailboxes and the internet pipelines with useless images, post the image here on the web but not on an email.
repeat after me: EMAILS ARE PLAIN TEXT, EMAILS ARE PLAIN TEXT, EMAILS ARE PLAIN TEXT
next you'll be asking for java applets that follow the mouse, and a flash intro page.
cheers,
Alaa
"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"
EMAILS ARE PLAIN TEXT, EMAILS ARE PLAIN TEXT, EMAILS ARE PLAIN T
on install fest days i have received an image looks like an invitation .it was PDF . I have sent the replay saying this an idea to attract . and linking to image which is small thumb being different of sending people images to mail boxs the point is how we get different scales of users and making them got the idea of the site.
Diaa Radwan
huh?
I did not understand this part at all.
at the installfest time we sent plain text by email.
the images where used as banners in some forums and on the sakia and Linux-Egypt website.
the PDF was published on the wiki so people could print it and physicaly distribute it around.
what is under discussion here is the email promo message which IMO should be nothing but plain text, to link to the image you have to send html emails.
I don't know what you mean by different scales of users and see no point at all in posting an email with an image.
cheers,
Alaa
"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"
my 5 cents.
Perhaps we should also use the stationary provided by Microsoft Outlook/Outlook express so we can attract more people, Perhaps we should also include a flash movie featuring nancy 3agram, hayfaa wahby, tena, And all the other New stars Introduced by The Great "Jad Choueiri" within the last period of time.
I'll tell you a better thing. We should include an ActiveX control that sets the homepage for the default browser to www.eglug.org, Add it to the Favorites menu, To the Quick Launch bar And a shortcut on the desktop, Perhaps also fire Windows Media Player and let it play the GNU/Linux add by EGLUG
Do you want something better ? We can make use of the latest JPEG exploit so we can control the users' PCs and install winlinux2000 on their PCs to force them to use GNU/Linux.
My saluts!
BTW: shouldn't we replace the word "Linux" with the "GNU/Linux" combination in the letter ?
Do not wait
you have collected the best ways to have an absolute lamer behavior , do more efforts and write to IDG " laming for dummies " BTW : i think nancy 3agram, hayfaa wahby, tena will not attract users as it will attract u :P
Diaa Radwan
I consider this email to be o
I consider this email to be offensive to me by calling me a lamer.
nothing offensive
i meant u gave description for art of laming techniques. but u r not ...:)
Diaa Radwan
Okay, come on now.
Phases such as `over my dead body' is overreacting and probably the most negative reaction to someone's feedback I can imagine. Diaa was giving feedback and sharing his thoughts with everyone; lashing out at him like you two did was TOTALLY uncalled for. Don't be so harsh; disagree if you want, but don't be harsh.
For the record, I also think an e-mail should be plaintext, but that does not mean Diaa is not right.
And furthermore, if someone seriously thinks we should embed 600 Mb wav files in the email, then I want to hear about it. I want to hear about it and THEN I'll disagree, and I'll explain CALMLY why I think it's a bad idea. This is not exactly a well-measured reaction:
I'll be sending the e-mail to a couple of yahoo groups I know; I'll include jpegs of the EGLUG logo.
Diaa, thanks for the input. I personally agree with Alaa that images are not a good idea from a technical perspective (this is not what e-mail is for), but I understand the point you're making. On some levels you're right. You are, of course, free to send out the marketing e-mail in any format you wish, so you can add appropriate images. After all, we are NOT leaders and what Alaa, uniball and I say does not constrain you so long as you're sure you're doing something which ultimately works for the good of EGLUG.
Thanks.
--
me calm now
ok sorry for the harsh language.
I was just trying to impress how strongly I feel about this, it does not need to be mentioned that this is my opinion and not an imperial order of any sorts.
there is no official voice for EGLUG anyway.
but there is an aspect to the image problem you marketoids ignore, our image is our identity, if ELUG is something I'm casualy involved in I wouldn't care, but I would not want something that is such a big part of my life to have an image that is repulsive to me.
I know I would ignore any lug that sends images by email, uses flash or exessive javascripting etc, the argument that this appeals to the masses means nothing to me (more so since I don't believe it to begin with).
so sorry for my backlash but I hope my point is made, the moment we adopt heshek beshek marketing techniques is not literaly the moment I walk out but its the moment I no longer truely fitin or belong, and I do believe many would feel the same which is why I'm deeply concerned.
does this mean I want to prevent anyone from sending this email with images, no on the contrary the more creativity and additions you add to this email the happier I am even if the result is repulsive to me, what I'm trying to do is bring to everyone's attention my opinion so that maybe you'd consider it when you embark on creativly transforming this text.
cheers,
Alaa
"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"
With spam and without Nancy Agram
I think such emial marketing could work well if we forward it directly to somebody who is allready waiting it. Last week, I have visited Computer Training Center and Technology Dept of a big government organization and met the key persons - to introduce EGLUG and linux to them and found great interest in inviting us to join one of their seminars - they are waiting for breif about the subject and permission from their superiors. I think I could send them this marketing email - forwarded the individuals that I met as reminder of our earlier meeting. What do you think guys .... does it work this way - or we should shift back to Nancy Agram
Mahmoud Fouad
Translation ... !! ( i think it's bad.. what do you think )
في السنوات القليلة الماضية , حدثت ثورة في لينكس تطوّرَ على مرِّ السنين ليصبح بديل قوي جداً إلى الويندوزِ ومايكروسوفتِ، ولِهذاتم انشاء ُEGlug مجموعة مستخدمي اللينكس المصريين . نحن مجموعة من المتطوعين التي تَشتركُ في عاطفة مشتركةو فكر واحد : إنتشاركلمة لينكسِ، والمُساعدُة على تَحويل ثقافةِ إستعمال حاسباتنا لتناسب المصادر ِ المفتوحةِ والمجّانيةِ التي اسست علي اسس اللينكس َ.
عندنا العديد من الاشياء لنعرضها ؛ لينكس بنفسه، أصناف و توزيعات لينكسِ، دعم لينكسِ تطوّعىِ، وقبل كل شيء مجتمع ودود و متحمس و مهتم جدا باللينكس .
نتَطَلُّع إلى رُؤيتك على
مجموعة مستخدمي لينكس مصر EGlug
Excellent!
Not only well translated, but also it got translated within 12 hours of posting.
So, what's everyone waiting for? Start a wiki page and list the places you've sent the e-mail.
--
Put the text on the wiki
I think we should put the text of the emails (english and arabic) on the wiki, so that we can make any modifications.
for example: I think we should say GNU/Linux not only Linux.
here is the wiki page of the tracing
ok guys i started send the adv. to the yahoogroups that we was collecting since the dayes of the installfest :) and that is not spam since i send every email sprated to each group. send an email english and another one arabic to one address only. and plz who can help plzz help
peace
Live Free Or Die...
There's something I've been w
There's something I've been wondering about... Is someone really subscruobed to all these groups or are they all open to receive foreign mail ?
member in
i have 2 emails accounts every one member in some of this groups and some of this groups needs approval too so we was wait to get in , if u remmber befour the installfest Alaa and me was keeping searching for groups and join them and then send about the fest.
peace
Live Free Or Die...