Coordinated effort to get merchants to use bitcoin

[giszmo]

Hi

after having introduced at least 15 merchants to bitcoin so far with close to no success I'd like to start something more coordinated and ask what you think about it.

How I do it:
When I see the need for bitcoin for some business, I send one bitcoin to an instawallet, send the merchant a link to that wallet, explain how easy it was to set up that wallet and send a coin to it and how easy it would be for him to just accept bitcoin (up to here it is how I try to promote bitcoin donations), that he could do it more professionally with individual receiving addresses or get bitcoin completely out of the equation by using bit-pay. Usually I don't through it at them all at once and many claimed it was interesting but none took the BTC so far. Finally I tell them that I will take my BTC back if they don't send it elsewhere within a month, so theoretically this practice didn't cost me bitcoins so far. I'm mostly worried about having all those coins at instawallet, which I don't consider to be a save haven.

How I think we could do it:
# Set up a website
# If you see a target (merchant/charity/etc.) that could use bitcoins, you fill in a form at that website with target name, contact email address and the url where others can verify it is their email address
# The website now lists that target with a bitcoin address that everybody can donate to
# As soon as donations reach x$/BTC/€... the target gets a mail explaining what happened and how he could get those bitcoins and eventually profit from using bitcoins himself
# At predefined thresholds the website sends further mails telling the target that there were 12 people that would love to see him accept bitcoins and even gave him a total of 1.3BTC to try it out ....
# The website shows the balance and the amount already withdrawn together with statistics on how many mails have been sent and eventually the target's response if he stated a public response
# Volunteers can step in and write personal messages coordinated and in the name of that project
# The website could offer the possibility to enter a return address and a date until the target may reclaim the donor's coins.

Any thoughts? If I set up such a service, would people compensate me for a start? Maybe on the long run? I know I could do it but I'm a bit worried about yet another project that doesn't pay for my living. Anybody else willing to do it? Maybe together?

[BitcoinPorn]

So something like http://www.youtipit.org/en/faq#whatisescrowtipit , except with the landing page geared toward business speak?

[giszmo]

So something like http://www.youtipit.org/en/faq#whatisescrowtipit , except with the landing page geared toward business speak?

No. In my project, the tipping is merely to say, "I really mean it" than to get the target to take that free money.
The point is I could buy a million email addresses and tell them about bitcoin but most would be repelled. Or I could go to each single one of them and write personal messages but that costs immensely much time so within some months I only contacted 15 people. Or I could have a project dedicated to explain "bitcoin for charities" or "bitcoin for business" in the mass mail style as it is pre-made but with a personal dedication as it comes with real money.
I would like to invite the business people to donate the bitcoins we give them or return them as no matter in what way they interact with that site, they will have bitcoin on their mind afterwards.
Actually I assume merchants will in general not take stashes of 1-10 bitcoins but they might be moved a bit knowing that x people tipped them to look into that new thing.

So again: My service is only to promote the use of bitcoin, not to be a way of moving money in the first place. I would even think of using instawallet as an established service with an easy api.

[qikaifu]

So something like http://www.youtipit.org/en/faq#whatisescrowtipit , except with the landing page geared toward business speak?

No. In my project, the tipping is merely to say, "I really mean it" than to get the target to take that free money.
The point is I could buy a million email addresses and tell them about bitcoin but most would be repelled.

Spamming is not good. But make every single bitcoiner write a person-to-person letter to the merchants, that's pretty good.

[Andrew Bitcoiner]

Direct them to http://bitcashretail.com/ for a quick and easy way to get their website to accept bitcoins.

[BitcoinPorn]

Spamming is not good. But make every single bitcoiner write a person-to-person letter to the merchants, that's pretty good.

I think I see what he is saying, and it wouldn't be spamming, but there would have to be a good way to let a person know that 'x' amount of users want them to accept whatever it is form of payment.   

I would also cut the automated emailing portion after a few days, and actually write an email after a few days explaining everything rather than having it automated.  Tailor that email to their business type by noting specific things about Bitcoin and their specific business.


If somehow you could collaborate with the 1000btc business bounty and this idea http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/l0o54/bounty_1000_btc_for_getting_a_major_business_to/
  ... or maybe close this thread and get that 1000btc, I'm sure you could split it with the business.

[giszmo]

I would also cut the automated emailing portion after a few days, and actually write an email after a few days explaining everything rather than having it automated.  Tailor that email to their business type by noting specific things about Bitcoin and their specific business.

That's what I suggested with the "volunteers can step in"-part. Just in case there is no volunteer for that specific business, I would keep nagging them until they say what should happen with the money sent their way.

If somehow you could collaborate with the 1000btc business bounty and this idea http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/l0o54/bounty_1000_btc_for_getting_a_major_business_to/
  ... or maybe close this thread and get that 1000btc, I'm sure you could split it with the business.

Hmm ... I don't think my such website would qualify to reclaim that bounty.

[c_k]

Accepting bitcoin is the easy part, you guys are missing the points that matter more to businesses:

Turning BTC in to local currency immediately (there are services that do this now with varying fees, infect some that make the whole hassle of accepting bitcoin more than it's worth)

Integration in to accounting systems (this is the biggest problem IMO)

[bulanula]

My solution : Threaten them at gunpoint  !