Hi Everyone and Bogden,
Although I am not in business as I have retired, I will endeavour to support you in your business and also support you to be able to say what it is that you want say. Someone once said "I will support you in what you say and the right in which to say it" I do not know who said it but us in a demcratic world have the God given right tosay what we think how we feel and the uneqibable right  to speak.
So from acroos the other side of the world although I cannot physically support I can but pray to God that all goes well. as always Helen Prowd

I will do what I can; but, I am unable to upgrade at this time. 

Hi Kathy,

I share your sentiments about ALP. It is a great place to meet some very nice people and develop some good online friendships.

There is an activity though that goes on here that is allowed to continue as an acceptable practice, and that is unsolicited advertising.  For inexperienced newbies, the subliminal message that this is ok to do here is an incorrect one since extending the practice of blasting a person with an advertisement in an invitation to become friends, or in e-mail outside of ALP, can land one in legal trouble.

In my opinion, spamming cheapens the otherwise quality experience of being a member here at AdlandPro. There is a science behind effective advertising, that takes into consideration the consumer's personal interests. It's called engagement marketing. The success rate of building a lasting base of satisified repeat customers in appealing to their personal interests thorugh building a personal relationship ahead of time is excellent to say the least.

98% of people do not respond to in your face advertsing since there is no consideration or personal relationship built before hand. I am one of those 98% who does not care to be asked to buy something from them with no introduction and before I even know who they are or what their background is.

It can be described as the cart before the horse scenario. I have never dealt with someone offline that I don't already know, trust and usually have a reference from someone in my circle of friends before  making a purchase of significance. To say that a person can always refer to someone's ALP webpage for more information is ok but it still does not address the problem of the violation of netiquette.    

It's just bad manners in my opinion and until there is a resolution or people can learn to show more respect for one another, I cannot personally justify considering an upgrade of my account.

Is there anyone else who shares my opinion or objects to being continually solicited with spam?

Mark Coussoule 

HI Kathy

Amen to Adland. I've used money for promotions and have paid to get Bogdans help and Joined: Adland Digest Pro which furnished many of us with good ideas on starting our own businesses.  If you have not invested in promotion with ADLAND than you are losing much good traffic.  Upgraded members have an advantage over others at Adland.