I got a call at 5:30am today. I was in bed when the phone rang. Actually, I wasn't asleep, but I was trying to fall back asleep.

The guy on the phone asked if I manufactured beef jerky. "No", I said.

He saw my beef jerky review blog and thought that it was some kind of manufacturer. I explained I'm just a guy who likes beef jerky, and I decided to start a blog of my reviews.

"Oh", he said. "Well you must know all about beef jerky then. Do you know of a good supplier?"

I said, "No, I'm not in the industry. I'm really just a guy who likes to eat jerky."

But he wouldn't get off the phone.

I said, "Do you realize it's still dark out where I am?"

"Oh, no I didn't", he said. "Well, I used to have a beef jerky supplier, but he's going out of business, and I need to find another one."

Then he continued on explaining that he runs a small business in Edmonton, Alberta supplying consumers with meat products and seasonings.

I sighed. Actually, I do know of a beef jerky supplier, and wanted to help that supplier too. So I laid there in bed, and said, "Actually, I know of a guy".

Then I proceeded to give the name of his business, and advised he do a Google search. So this caller keeps me on the phone while he does a Google search.

"How do you spell that name?" he asks.

I proceeded to spell it out. But he seemed hard of hearing. I had to spell it out several times, and he still couldn't get it right. So I got out of bed, walked to my office, and pulled up the supplier's website. I gave him the website by spelling out the domain name, very slowly.

He finally found it.

I thought that would be it, but this guy went on to tell me about his business. He asked me to visit his website, and talked on and on about all his stuff. I was close to hanging up on him, but I was trying to be a nice guy.

So after I got off the phone with him, I realized that the "Contact Us" page on my beef jerky review blog doesn't mention my time zone or my hours. So just now, I updated it.

If you're an affiliate marketer, or blogger, I imagine you get calls like these.

I know some of you refuse to put your e-mail, phone number and mailing address on your Contact page, instead opting for a fill-in-the-blank form. That's fine, but I maintain it's more personable to provide all your contact details. In the end, you'll get more business opportunities.

For all I know, this guy in Edmonton, Alberta will end up sending me a set of his steak seasonings for free. Believe it or not, this happened once before. Another guy called me from my beef jerky review blog, to inquire on how to find a good meat processor. I gave him a lead. A few weeks later, he sent me a box of truffles from Godiva Chocolates!

I realize that this guy would have never bothered me at 5:30am if I had left my phone number off. But then again, that's just the pros and cons of being in this business.

And BTW, I'm still converting all my contact info into an .gif image to guard against spam bots. I need to get off my butt and convert the Contact pages on all my sites.  ✓