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In this edition of Web Enlightenment we'll be talking about economic incentives on the web, also known as bribing your customers.

This newsletter focuses on giving you practical, interesting insights into how to successfully use technology as a tool to improve the way you do business. Bridging the gap between knowledge and understanding that all entrepreneurs have will help you make money online.

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All the best,

Bribe Them
...economic incentives on the web

As many of my readers know this Internet Education thing is my passion, it lights my fire, it is deep in the center of my heart - but it is just my day job. When I'm not geeking I'm working with my wife Amy on her exotic animal business Spruce Nubble Farm, which is also where I live. I totally love being a high tech homesteader and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone. If you wonder what a high tech homesteader is...well, everything is computerized and yet most of our food (home grown of course) comes from mason jars.

The latest and greatest accomplishment of the farm is the birth of the cutest baby horse ever to walk the earth, also known as Diva. (go ahead, click the link if you like horses, there are even YouTube videos to watch). The primary business of the farm is breeding and selling snakes - Green Tree Pythons.

When they are sold those snakes are shipped all over the country - and the world - by Delta Airlines via their Delta Dash program.

So Delta started sending their invoices via email about two years ago, just a convenience for animal shippers, folks wanted to have all the data in electronic format so people could add it to customer databases. Then Delta proceeded to get a bit more aggressive when they started warning that paper invoices would soon cost money.

About three months ago Delta took the last step - and started charging $10 per month for people that got their bill via paper snail mail.

One of the things that is interesting about this is that Delta is hardly the first company to use economic incentives to drive customers to electronic methods. From bank fees to airline travel our world has been transformed this way and things will continue to change.

As an Internet entrepreneur think for a minute about your own site and customers - are there ways to bribe them to use communication methods that are less expensive for you?

Don't forget to put on your marketing hat for a minute and offer the incentive (don't call it a bribe) in a way that respects your customers and works for them, we most often see this expressed when folks say that things are "free" online. Delta has never been known for amazing service but calling the fee a "billing fee" and then indicating that online bills didn't have billing fees would have been smarter than simply calling the $10 a "paper statement fee".

What are the ways in which your organization can reduce the cost of dealing with customers by bribing them?

Speaking of speaking...
Places to be if you want to get enlightened

Augusta Maine - Profitability Principles of the Web
Tuesday September 16th at 7:30 AM

This event is being sponsored by my strategic partner Marshall Interactive, a division of Nancy Marshall Communications. The tickets to this invitation only event are $100 and of course I think that is a bargain. If you are an Internet Entrepreneur that has an interest in attending just let me know, I have a limited number of complimentary tickets available.