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Too Good To Be True

Dollars On The Driveway

(With nearly a quarter century of selling newspaper advertising behind me, I am thrilled to be the current Classified Sales Manager at The Sonoma Index-Tribune and SonomaNews.com. Or, as I refer to myself, the Leading Classified Super Hero and Special Section Specialist. I've worked in most aspects of newspaper advertising, from the large daily to the smaller community paper. Starting with legal advertising, my experience includes paid obituaries, classified ads, retail print and digital sales and even an insert or two. My favorite part of my career is partnering with local businesses and watching them succeed. I can be reached at (707)933-2747 or denise@sonomanews.com. Please feel free to contact me with any advertising questions and I will be happy to do everything I can to help you reach your marketing goals.)

We get great ads from loyal advertisers and readers every day of the week. You are our bread and butter and we appreciate each of you.

However, if I believed every ad that finds its way into my Leading Classified Superhero email inbox, I would be living the life of Riley.  

I'm talking about the "Spam" ad. Everyone who has ever accessed a computer is familiar with spam. But in the Classified Advertising world, we seem to be the world's trash bin for "are you KIDDING me??" spam. 

Recently, The Sonoma Index-Tribune's editor received an email which read, verbatim: 

"Exclusive work for US residents. $88200 per week. Requires employees: 2. Employment few hours a week."

At $88K a week, our editor and I contemplated career moves. And we could each accept a position, since they "Requires employees: 2." It's always nice to know a friendly co-worker when you start a new job.

But how many hours are "few"? Let's assume  they mean 20. Okay. I'll do 20 hours a week for $88,200, which breaks down to $4,410 per hour. I'll even go a step further. Maybe the person who composed the ad made a typo. Hey, it happens. Maybe it's only $8,200 per week. Granted, that's a mere $410 per hour. But in this economy, $410 an hour isn't something to sneeze at. No mention of retirement benefits, though. I think I would be ready to retire in a couple of months. I'll have to ask about that on the interview.  

Of course, these ads are scams.


Fortunately, we are aware of what is legitimate and what is not. We ask questions, we talk to other newspapers and we are diligent about what we place in our newspaper and on our website. If ever you are responding to an ad and you think there might be something worrisome about it, let us know. We will definitely check into it.




In the meantime, I will be cleaning out my inbox. 


Safe Advertising, everyone!