Letter to a company about Bitcoin

[FreeMoney]

I haven't sent it yet, please critique. Also feel free to adapt and use.
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you're already familiar with Bitcoin, but just in case I want to give you a quick overview. You'll probably find it interesting at least even if you decide not to use it now.

Bitcoin is peer to peer money. No banks are required, any user can send bitcoins directly to another user without permission and without restriction. No one at all has special privilege with regards to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is code that people run on their computers. It is also the name of the network that emerges when those computers are connected.

Bitcoin is a different currency, not another form of dollars like PayPal or Dwolla. It's value is set only by what people are willing to pay for it. Recently it's been fairly stable around $4.90/BTC, but historically it fluctuates a lot.

MtGox.com is the largest exchange, in the last day people traded about $200,000 worth of Bitcoins there.

Bit-Pay.com helps businesses integrate bitcoin and if desired sell them automatically upon receipt to avoid exchange rate risk.

Bitcoin.org is the 'official' site and has links to more information.

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

[1715278090]

1715278090

[1715278090]

1715278090

[1715278090]

1715278090

[1715278090]

1715278090

[markm]

So far it just seems like spam.

What is it you want from the recipient?

Why is it them you are writing to and why is it you who is writing to them?

(Like, are you a customer of theirs? A prospective customer? A spammer who has some stake in selling bitcoins? Or what? Are you addressing them, or all the people on your CD of ten billion business' addresses? Etc.)

-MarkM-

[adamstgBit]

I haven't sent it yet, please critique. Also feel free to adapt and use.
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you're already familiar with Bitcoin, but just in case I want to give you a quick overview. You'll probably find it interesting at least even if you decide not to use it now.

Bitcoin is peer to peer money. No banks are required, any user can send bitcoins directly to another user without permission and without restriction. No one at all has special privilege with regards to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is code that people run on their computers. It is also the name of the network that emerges when those computers are connected.

Bitcoin is a different currency, not another form of dollars like PayPal or Dwolla. It's value is set only by what people are willing to pay for it. Recently it's been fairly stable around $4.90/BTC, but historically it fluctuates a lot.

MtGox.com is the largest exchange, in the last day people traded about $200,000 worth of Bitcoins there.

Bit-Pay.com helps businesses integrate bitcoin and if desired sell them automatically upon receipt to avoid exchange rate risk.

Bitcoin.org is the 'official' site and has links to more information.

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

honestly, i think we should refrain from actively PUSHING bitcoin

let them figer it out by themselves, it has more of an effect.

if you happen to be their, and bitcoin happens to pop in your head. then ya feel free to share. but go spamming bitcoin

[benjamindees]

I made it through the first three sentences before looking for the spam button.

[FreeMoney]

I'll add some specific to them stuff for sure before sending. Glad I put it here first, thanks for the feedback.

[jim618]

Lots of small merchants pay a good chunk of their profits for credit card fees, point-of-sale equipment hire, this fee, that fee etc. They hate it.  If you emphasise more that using bitcoin is VERY inexpensive you might get more buy-in from the company.

[bb113]

I think targeted evangelizing is kind of a bad idea. If you plan on using the service just ask if they take bitcoin, its cheaper for everyone once the system is in place.

[istar]

Yes I agree,

Keep it simple and to the point, let them do the digging.


I love your service since I like your product/offers but I hope you will take Bitcoin here soon.

(Some valuable feedback, why you like them. Short and to the point.
Dont give them a escape reason such as, I understand that you dont have it because...Save it for your reply to their reply and than give them a reason for not waiting.)

It simpler and I dont like to pay for creditcard fees.
(Why you want it.)

When will you add it? It should be easy.
(As if it was natural that they should and they are incompetent if they dont )
 
Its cheaper for everyone.
(Thats a great selling sentence.)

Thanks!

[evoorhees]

I think targeted evangelizing is kind of a bad idea. If you plan on using the service just ask if they take bitcoin, its cheaper for everyone once the system is in place.

+1

Rule number one of your first email to someone in business (who you don't know) is that it can't be more than 4 or 5 sentences. This means, you should basically just say something like, "Hey are you guys planning to accept Bitcoin as a payment option soon? "

Then if they respond with the question "WTF is that?" then you can write a couple short paragraphs of what it is, and why they as a merchant might like it.

Then if there is a second response from them, it means they're clearly interested and you can provide some links, more comprehensive info.

But yeah the way the OP is written now, it's very spammy and is highly unlikely to have any positive effect (and likely a negative one).

[Gabi]

I think targeted evangelizing is kind of a bad idea. If you plan on using the service just ask if they take bitcoin, its cheaper for everyone once the system is in place.

+1

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I think targeted evangelizing is kind of a bad idea. If you plan on using the service just ask if they take bitcoin, its cheaper for everyone once the system is in place.

+1

Rule number one of your first email to someone in business (who you don't know) is that it can't be more than 4 or 5 sentences. This means, you should basically just say something like, "Hey are you guys planning to accept Bitcoin as a payment option soon? "

Then if they respond with the question "WTF is that?" then you can write a couple short paragraphs of what it is, and why they as a merchant might like it.

Then if there is a second response from them, it means they're clearly interested and you can provide some links, more comprehensive info.

But yeah the way the OP is written now, it's very spammy and is highly unlikely to have any positive effect (and likely a negative one).

+1

I would heed any advice evoorhees offers up. You could take what he pens to the bank. In fact, if evoorhees told me that camel poop is good for you, I couldn't drive (or MagLev) to Walmart fast enough to buy some, albeit I'll probably purchase the "Good Value" version unless, of course, a convincing argument was made on not getting the generic stuff.

~Cackling Bear~

[Matthew N. Wright]

I'll probably purchase the "Good Value" version unless, of course, a convincing argument was made on not getting the generic stuff.

I actually liked the Good Value version of Graham Crackers more than HoneyMaid.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I'll probably purchase the "Good Value" version unless, of course, a convincing argument was made on not getting the generic stuff.

I actually liked the Good Value version of Graham Crackers more than HoneyMaid.

Great post, offering up excellent value. Can we sticky this? Better yet, I tweeted it:

I actually liked the Good Value version of Graham Crackers more than HoneyMaid. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=68353.msg797511#msg797511 #Bitcoin

[hazek]

I haven't sent it yet, please critique. Also feel free to adapt and use.
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you're already familiar with Bitcoin, but just in case I want to give you a quick overview. You'll probably find it interesting at least even if you decide not to use it now.

Bitcoin is peer to peer money. No banks are required, any user can send bitcoins directly to another user without permission and without restriction. No one at all has special privilege with regards to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is code that people run on their computers. It is also the name of the network that emerges when those computers are connected.

Bitcoin is a different currency, not another form of dollars like PayPal or Dwolla. It's value is set only by what people are willing to pay for it. Recently it's been fairly stable around $4.90/BTC, but historically it fluctuates a lot.

MtGox.com is the largest exchange, in the last day people traded about $200,000 worth of Bitcoins there.

Bit-Pay.com helps businesses integrate bitcoin and if desired sell them automatically upon receipt to avoid exchange rate risk.

Bitcoin.org is the 'official' site and has links to more information.

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

Please forgive me for being blunt but your message is uninspiring, boring and borderline spam.

How about you try something like this instead:

I don't know if you're up to date on developments about online payment processors and similar services or if you or your clients even use services like Paypal for doing business but if you do I'd like to give you a heads-up about something relatively new you might want to look into.

If you are using any such service and you, like me, really hate their outrages fees, you hate giving out your information for fear of ID theft and you hate their almost dictatorial control over your funds via charge backs or account freezing this is really going to interest you.

Personally I got rid of all those problems by using Bitcoin. It's a new thing that was recently invented. It's kind of like a digital commodity currency people trade on the internet but the cool thing about it it isn't owned by anyone. It's one of those open source projects as they call them, where a bunch of programmers developed it completely openly for everyone to see how it works but because of it's ingenious design it's still very secure and very private to use.

It's protected by military grade encryption and practically impossible to counterfeit. There are no bank accounts, no giving out info if you don't want, no company imposing their will on your transactions, and no charge backs possible. It's much like cash on the street but on the internet.

I know this sounds highly geeky but people actually use this and value bitcoins at about $5 a pop right now.. There are several online exchanges where one can buy them and it's pretty easy to get or sell some.

Here are a few links if you'd like to find out more:

www.weusecoins.com
www.bitcoin.org
www.mtgox.com - online exchange
www.cryptoxchange.com - online exchange
www.intersango.com - online exchange
www.bit-pay.com - payment processing

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

Also I'd invite you to watch and learn from this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I haven't sent it yet, please critique. Also feel free to adapt and use.
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you're already familiar with Bitcoin, but just in case I want to give you a quick overview. You'll probably find it interesting at least even if you decide not to use it now.

Bitcoin is peer to peer money. No banks are required, any user can send bitcoins directly to another user without permission and without restriction. No one at all has special privilege with regards to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is code that people run on their computers. It is also the name of the network that emerges when those computers are connected.

Bitcoin is a different currency, not another form of dollars like PayPal or Dwolla. It's value is set only by what people are willing to pay for it. Recently it's been fairly stable around $4.90/BTC, but historically it fluctuates a lot.

MtGox.com is the largest exchange, in the last day people traded about $200,000 worth of Bitcoins there.

Bit-Pay.com helps businesses integrate bitcoin and if desired sell them automatically upon receipt to avoid exchange rate risk.

Bitcoin.org is the 'official' site and has links to more information.

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

Please forgive me for being blunt but your message is uninspiring, boring and borderline spam.

How about you try something like this instead:

I don't know if you're up to date on developments about online payment processors and similar services or if you or your clients even use services like Paypal for doing business but if you do I'd like to give you a heads-up about something relatively new you might want to look into.

If you are using any such service and you, like me, really hate their outrages fees, you hate giving out your information for fear of ID theft and you hate their almost dictatorial control over your funds via charge backs or account freezing this is really going to interest you.

Personally I got rid of all those problems by using Bitcoin. It's a new thing that was recently invented. It's kind of like a digital commodity currency people trade on the internet but the cool thing about it it isn't owned by anyone. It's one of those open source projects as they call them, where a bunch of programmers developed it completely openly for everyone to see how it works but because of it's ingenious design it's still very secure and very private to use.

It's protected by military grade encryption and practically impossible to counterfeit. There are no bank accounts, no giving out info if you don't want, no company imposing their will on your transactions, and no charge backs possible. It's much like cash on the street but on the internet.

I know this sounds highly geeky but people actually use this and value bitcoins at about $5 a pop right now.. There are several online exchanges where one can buy them and it's pretty easy to get or sell some.

Here are a few links if you'd like to find out more:

www.weusecoins.com
www.bitcoin.org
www.mtgox.com - online exchange
www.cryptoxchange.com - online exchange
www.intersango.com - online exchange
www.bit-pay.com - payment processing

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

Also I'd invite you to watch and learn from this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp0HIF3SfI4

Now that's a fuckin' great letter!

+(a very big number)

~Cackling Bear~

[hazek]

Thanks.

[Cosbycoin]

I haven't sent it yet, please critique. Also feel free to adapt and use.
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you're already familiar with Bitcoin, but just in case I want to give you a quick overview. You'll probably find it interesting at least even if you decide not to use it now.

Bitcoin is peer to peer money. No banks are required, any user can send bitcoins directly to another user without permission and without restriction. No one at all has special privilege with regards to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is code that people run on their computers. It is also the name of the network that emerges when those computers are connected.

Bitcoin is a different currency, not another form of dollars like PayPal or Dwolla. It's value is set only by what people are willing to pay for it. Recently it's been fairly stable around $4.90/BTC, but historically it fluctuates a lot.

MtGox.com is the largest exchange, in the last day people traded about $200,000 worth of Bitcoins there.

Bit-Pay.com helps businesses integrate bitcoin and if desired sell them automatically upon receipt to avoid exchange rate risk.

Bitcoin.org is the 'official' site and has links to more information.

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

honestly, i think we should refrain from actively PUSHING bitcoin

let them finger it out by themselves, it has more of an effect.

if you happen to be their, and bitcoin happens to pop in your head. then ya feel free to share. but go spamming bitcoin

Fixed for you!

[Cosbycoin]

I haven't sent it yet, please critique. Also feel free to adapt and use.
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you're already familiar with Bitcoin, but just in case I want to give you a quick overview. You'll probably find it interesting at least even if you decide not to use it now.

Bitcoin is peer to peer money. No banks are required, any user can send bitcoins directly to another user without permission and without restriction. No one at all has special privilege with regards to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is code that people run on their computers. It is also the name of the network that emerges when those computers are connected.

Bitcoin is a different currency, not another form of dollars like PayPal or Dwolla. It's value is set only by what people are willing to pay for it. Recently it's been fairly stable around $4.90/BTC, but historically it fluctuates a lot.

MtGox.com is the largest exchange, in the last day people traded about $200,000 worth of Bitcoins there.

Bit-Pay.com helps businesses integrate bitcoin and if desired sell them automatically upon receipt to avoid exchange rate risk.

Bitcoin.org is the 'official' site and has links to more information.

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

Since when does anyone start a "letter" out with "Maybe you're already familiar with..."?


How about starting it with "Hey Suckah!"? At least then they know what your intentions are. 

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I haven't sent it yet, please critique. Also feel free to adapt and use.
-------------------------------------------------------

Maybe you're already familiar with Bitcoin, but just in case I want to give you a quick overview. You'll probably find it interesting at least even if you decide not to use it now.

Bitcoin is peer to peer money. No banks are required, any user can send bitcoins directly to another user without permission and without restriction. No one at all has special privilege with regards to Bitcoin or the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin is code that people run on their computers. It is also the name of the network that emerges when those computers are connected.

Bitcoin is a different currency, not another form of dollars like PayPal or Dwolla. It's value is set only by what people are willing to pay for it. Recently it's been fairly stable around $4.90/BTC, but historically it fluctuates a lot.

MtGox.com is the largest exchange, in the last day people traded about $200,000 worth of Bitcoins there.

Bit-Pay.com helps businesses integrate bitcoin and if desired sell them automatically upon receipt to avoid exchange rate risk.

Bitcoin.org is the 'official' site and has links to more information.

I'm not an expert, just an enthusiast but I'm more than happy to help you find answers to any questions you have.

honestly, i think we should refrain from actively PUSHING bitcoin

let them finger it out by themselves, it has more of an effect.

if you happen to be their, and bitcoin happens to pop in your head. then ya feel free to share. but go spamming bitcoin

Fixed for you!

Now you ruined it! I saw that, but opt to not fix it, thus creating a little titillation to hopefully spark their interest. Now, upon seeing the word 'figure', they'll correctly surmise that Bitcoin is some type of geek money, whereas the word 'finger' would get them excited.

Why don't you go and help Gavin fix some code or something, and leave well enough alone?  

~Bruno~

EIDT: Oops! I was in reference to the second draft. Nevermind! Carry on.

[FreeMoney]

It is actually reasonable to think they would know bitcoin by now. They have anarchist/libertarian literature in their storefronts. I'm not actually near any of their locations now. I'm not going to use that letter, maybe I'll write one sentence. Maybe it'll be their fourth exposure and they'll look into it now.