Bulk Email Versus Opt-In Email
| Category: E-mail Marketing | Date: 2002-06-10 |
SPAM...Everyone is talking about it...And Most Everyone hates it. For those who dont know what "Spam" is, it is the practice of sending email to thousands or millions of people who have not requested it or have never contacted your company before.
I know you get "spammed"....Everyone does. Personally, I receive around 50 or so a day of these emails selling whatever product or service they have to offer. I delete most of them with barely a glance, yet they keep on coming.
They are usually (Though not all of the time) poorly written and full of extremely hyped messages. One will be for bulk email products. The next might be for search engine submissions (I wonder why they have to bulk for it if they are so good at search engine submissions?).
The list goes on and on. I get ads for dolls, cars, credit cards, merchant accounts, and more. We wont even talk about the worst stuff which is sent out. One piece after another has to be deleted...and it just keeps coming.
Why So Much Bulk "Spam" Email...
If everyone is deleting it, then why do they keep sending it? Its simple. Although the response rates are extremely low, they still do get orders for their product or service.
Their financial cost in sending it is almost nothing, so it is looked upon as a good advertising vehicle. Some sales are better than nothing...Right?
Wrong...In all of the offers about bulk emailing, notice that you never seem to receive the other side of the story. What happens after you send bulk email?
You could lose your local Internet Service Provider, your web sites, your email addresses, and more. Just a few complaints (Which you will get even if you try to hide) and your server will cancel your account.
This doesnt even cover your reputation or the legal ramifications of sending unsolicited bulk email. Currently, several states have laws on the books or in the works which can fine you $500 or more for each piece of bulk email you send without a prior business relationship.
Bulk email just isnt worth the ramifications. If you have considered bulk email, dont do it. There are SO many other more effective ways to market your product or service on the net that it is not necessary to take the risks that go with bulk email.
"What Should You Do?"
I can tell you in one sentence what you should do instead of bulk email... "You should start building Your Own Opt-In Email List TODAY!"
Email Marketing is effective. That is why so many people are using it in the "Spam" arena. It can produce sales constantly in your business!
Anytime I see someone trying to build a business online without developing any type of Opt-In list I know they are shooting themselves in the foot. It is possible to build a business online without a list, but WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO?
Email is free to send out. Even if you have to purchase a listserver or some other type of application to do your email, we are talking about only a couple hundred dollars a year to send out UNLIMITED communications to your prospects and customers. Go to your local post office and ask them if you can send out as much mail as you want whenever you want for one low lump sum. I guarantee you will be laughed at!
Usually when I tell this to people, they give me One of three excuses about why they cant do it:
1) They dont know how.
I usually am the least patient with this excuse, because everyone of us had to learn at some point in time what to do. I dont think anyone jumped on the internet and all of a sudden knew exactly what to do every step of the way. As a matter of fact, I know they havent.
There are many resources online to learn how to start your own ezine. Dozens of ezines come out every week talking about the subject...not the least of which is this one you are reading!
Ignorance is no excuse. You can learn How to do your own Opt-In list and you can learn how to profit from it. Dont let me hear you use that excuse!
2) They cant come up with that much content.
Maybe, you dont believe you can come up with that much content, because you arent a writer. First of all, I hope you know a lot about whatever subject it is that you deal with in your business. Whatever you are selling...whatever problems you are solving...can be the basis for much of your content.
The second thing you can do is use other peoples content. Hundreds of ezine publishers will allow you to use their articles in your ezine as long as you leave their contact information attached to the bottom of all of the articles. All you have to do is ask and most of them will give you their articles free to use. I know I will!
3) There are already too many ezines and newsletters out there.
Who said your Opt-In Email List had to be an ezine? When I speak of Opt-In Email, it doesnt have to just mean ezine, although this is the most popular application.
Being innovative and creative in your online business can often be a major key to your success. Ezines are not the only Opt-In lists which I have seen become extremely popular and profitable. To get your creative juices flowing, I want to give you some other ideas for your own Opt-In list.
Besides ezines, a quick mention of other types of Opt-In lists which I have seen which are very successful are "____ of the Day" lists. The most popular of these that I know of is "Joke of the Day." There are also "Recipe of the Day," "Business Tip of the Day," and more. What idea could you come up with in this area?
What about a daily diary of your business? This is one I have started seeing much more recently online. In these, the publisher writes down something involved in their business everyday that happened. They did this or that...whatever they know will be of interest to their readers. This one not only keeps you in contact, it can also help you develop trust even quicker with your prospects.
What about a Free Online Class? You could develop a 6, 12, 24 lesson class on a certain subject and have them receive the next issue every week, every 2 weeks, or once a month. Then, once they complete that class, you may have advanced classes, etc. You could also put them on an updates list for new information constantly.
How could you use any of these ideas in a new way? Dont limit yourself.
One admonition I want to leave you with though is to get started TODAY! If you dont get started in one way or another today in either the development of an idea or in the actual set-up of your idea, you by odds will NEVER do it. Owning your own Opt-In list is so important to the effectiveness of your business online that I have to stress you need to get started today if you want to succeed in your online business.
About the Author
Terry Dean, a 5 year veteran of Internet marketing, will Take You By The Hand and Show You Exact Results of All the Internet Marketing Techniques he tests and Uses Every Single Month" Click here to Find Out More: http://www.netbreakthroughs.com
webmaster@bizpromo.com
http://www.bizpromo.com
I know you get "spammed"....Everyone does. Personally, I receive around 50 or so a day of these emails selling whatever product or service they have to offer. I delete most of them with barely a glance, yet they keep on coming.
They are usually (Though not all of the time) poorly written and full of extremely hyped messages. One will be for bulk email products. The next might be for search engine submissions (I wonder why they have to bulk for it if they are so good at search engine submissions?).
The list goes on and on. I get ads for dolls, cars, credit cards, merchant accounts, and more. We wont even talk about the worst stuff which is sent out. One piece after another has to be deleted...and it just keeps coming.
Why So Much Bulk "Spam" Email...
If everyone is deleting it, then why do they keep sending it? Its simple. Although the response rates are extremely low, they still do get orders for their product or service.
Their financial cost in sending it is almost nothing, so it is looked upon as a good advertising vehicle. Some sales are better than nothing...Right?
Wrong...In all of the offers about bulk emailing, notice that you never seem to receive the other side of the story. What happens after you send bulk email?
You could lose your local Internet Service Provider, your web sites, your email addresses, and more. Just a few complaints (Which you will get even if you try to hide) and your server will cancel your account.
This doesnt even cover your reputation or the legal ramifications of sending unsolicited bulk email. Currently, several states have laws on the books or in the works which can fine you $500 or more for each piece of bulk email you send without a prior business relationship.
Bulk email just isnt worth the ramifications. If you have considered bulk email, dont do it. There are SO many other more effective ways to market your product or service on the net that it is not necessary to take the risks that go with bulk email.
"What Should You Do?"
I can tell you in one sentence what you should do instead of bulk email... "You should start building Your Own Opt-In Email List TODAY!"
Email Marketing is effective. That is why so many people are using it in the "Spam" arena. It can produce sales constantly in your business!
Anytime I see someone trying to build a business online without developing any type of Opt-In list I know they are shooting themselves in the foot. It is possible to build a business online without a list, but WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO?
Email is free to send out. Even if you have to purchase a listserver or some other type of application to do your email, we are talking about only a couple hundred dollars a year to send out UNLIMITED communications to your prospects and customers. Go to your local post office and ask them if you can send out as much mail as you want whenever you want for one low lump sum. I guarantee you will be laughed at!
Usually when I tell this to people, they give me One of three excuses about why they cant do it:
1) They dont know how.
I usually am the least patient with this excuse, because everyone of us had to learn at some point in time what to do. I dont think anyone jumped on the internet and all of a sudden knew exactly what to do every step of the way. As a matter of fact, I know they havent.
There are many resources online to learn how to start your own ezine. Dozens of ezines come out every week talking about the subject...not the least of which is this one you are reading!
Ignorance is no excuse. You can learn How to do your own Opt-In list and you can learn how to profit from it. Dont let me hear you use that excuse!
2) They cant come up with that much content.
Maybe, you dont believe you can come up with that much content, because you arent a writer. First of all, I hope you know a lot about whatever subject it is that you deal with in your business. Whatever you are selling...whatever problems you are solving...can be the basis for much of your content.
The second thing you can do is use other peoples content. Hundreds of ezine publishers will allow you to use their articles in your ezine as long as you leave their contact information attached to the bottom of all of the articles. All you have to do is ask and most of them will give you their articles free to use. I know I will!
3) There are already too many ezines and newsletters out there.
Who said your Opt-In Email List had to be an ezine? When I speak of Opt-In Email, it doesnt have to just mean ezine, although this is the most popular application.
Being innovative and creative in your online business can often be a major key to your success. Ezines are not the only Opt-In lists which I have seen become extremely popular and profitable. To get your creative juices flowing, I want to give you some other ideas for your own Opt-In list.
Besides ezines, a quick mention of other types of Opt-In lists which I have seen which are very successful are "____ of the Day" lists. The most popular of these that I know of is "Joke of the Day." There are also "Recipe of the Day," "Business Tip of the Day," and more. What idea could you come up with in this area?
What about a daily diary of your business? This is one I have started seeing much more recently online. In these, the publisher writes down something involved in their business everyday that happened. They did this or that...whatever they know will be of interest to their readers. This one not only keeps you in contact, it can also help you develop trust even quicker with your prospects.
What about a Free Online Class? You could develop a 6, 12, 24 lesson class on a certain subject and have them receive the next issue every week, every 2 weeks, or once a month. Then, once they complete that class, you may have advanced classes, etc. You could also put them on an updates list for new information constantly.
How could you use any of these ideas in a new way? Dont limit yourself.
One admonition I want to leave you with though is to get started TODAY! If you dont get started in one way or another today in either the development of an idea or in the actual set-up of your idea, you by odds will NEVER do it. Owning your own Opt-In list is so important to the effectiveness of your business online that I have to stress you need to get started today if you want to succeed in your online business.
About the Author
Terry Dean, a 5 year veteran of Internet marketing, will Take You By The Hand and Show You Exact Results of All the Internet Marketing Techniques he tests and Uses Every Single Month" Click here to Find Out More: http://www.netbreakthroughs.com
webmaster@bizpromo.com
http://www.bizpromo.com
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