"We've gotten so dependent on the net that many of us have forgotten how business communication works in the material world."

The Internet is omnipresent. It has enmeshed with the culture. There’s already and entire generation that doesn’t know what life was like before the World Wide Web. We’ve gotten so dependent on the net that many of us have forgotten how business communication works in the material world. Either that or some of us never knew how to do it in the first place. The handshake. The phone call. The written letter. These are skills that are vital and effective yet severely underemployed by today’s adult webmaster.

I have this nifty tweaking utility that allows me to change the text of the title bar on my IE browser window. Mine says “Wow! Isn’t the Internet cool?” All sarcasm aside I still think the web is pretty fucking cool. I love the immediacy of email, instant messaging and message boards. I’m infatuated with search engines as research tools. I think it’s a damn miracle that I can do business with people from all over the planet because I have an Internet connection.

The net is where I work and where I make my living. Yet I know how to find answers and make contacts the old-fashioned way. In the next few paragraphs, I will show you low-tech methods for getting high-tech solutions.

The Handshake

If the company or webmaster you need to contact is in the same town as you, you are one lucky pornographer. Face-to-face contact is still the best method for doing business or for acquiring a solution from a person or company. On the Internet you can never be positively sure who it is you’re dealing with. In person you can tell more by one handshake that you could ever discover in a year of emails and instant message logs.

That’s why attending adult webmaster events is considered a good business move. Nobody says you have to go to all the events but the more you go, the more you show. Your peers will remember you better. Big players are more likely to give you face time. Potential customers are more receptive to your sales pitch. Half the trick to success is showing up, sticking out your hand and saying “hello”.

If there’s a company or webmaster in your town, arrange a visit or meet for drinks. If there’s an event you can afford to go to then go. Don’t be an asshole. Act like a grown up. Show up and sell yourself. You’d be surprised what you can achieve with a round of drinks and a business card.

The Phone Call

Do you remember the days when the phone was something other than a conduit for your modem? You know, back in the time before electronic mail and ICQ? Used to be that the telephone was our primary source for long-distance communication. If you needed to speak to someone far away you could call them. You can still do that, you know.

If you have a problem with your affiliate account or you need more detailed answers from a content provider, try calling them up. Look through their site, find their telephone number and use it old-school style. As an adult webmaster, you should think about calling your desired party first when you have a question or dilemma. Email is swell. But most cybersmut mongers get a heck of a lot of email each day. When you speak to a live person you get your answers faster. You can explain your issue better.

Don’t be afraid to call and don’t be rude. Don’t yell. Don’t lose your cool. If you get an answering machine or voicemail when you call, leave a proper message. Tell them who you are, what time of day and date you’re calling and include a small description of your inquiry in your message. Keep in mind that some businesses close for the weekend or have limited support staff on hand after daytime hours.

The Written Letter

The advent of the telephone made letter-writing a lost art. Email has all but killed the practice. Ironically, this lack has given snail mail more power than ever. In a world of email, there’s nothing that stands out more than the simple combination of paper, envelope and stamp.

A mailed letter can be used as hard copy proof if you do it correctly. For example, say you send a letter to a hosting provider requesting that they close your account. If you send that letter via certified mail with a return receipt, you’ll know positively that the targeted party received your message. If you keep a carbon copy of that letter along with the signed return receipt, you can use them both in a court of law.

You can also use courtesy copies (cc) as an effective communications tool. For instance, if you send a compliant letter to an adult sponsor as well as a courtesy copy of said letter to that sponsor’s billing processor, your sponsor will know that their IPSP is aware of your complaint.

If you want to look like a professional, it’s best to send a typewritten letter. For more personalized letters like a thank you note, hand-written missives work best. If you’re not sure how to write one properly, word-processing software like Microsoft Word include templates for some of the most popular forms of letters.

Use these forgotten tools. Just because you work on the Internet that doesn’t mean you can’t apply the instruments of real world business communication. If you need high tech answers and solutions, try using low-tech methods.