Starting a Mailing List

Of the various options for marketing using the Internet, mailing-lists are not only effective, but economical. The economy comes from the low cost per exposure. ISP (Internet Service Providers) costs can be as low as $25 per month to maintain a small list. Content costs are variable, but can be structured to fit your budget. Effectiveness is easier to measure than with other media because you get instant and timely feed-back from your market target.
Having read about and participated as a subscriber on some mailing-lists that interested me, I decided to start my own. Within two months, I had over 600 subscribers, but, that is only the surface of the experience. Read on for the "good" news and the "bad" news of this experience in Internet Marketing.

First, there is a difference in creating a mailing- list and creating a Usenet Newsgroup.

A discussion mailing list message is only seen by the subscribers, whereas, a message posted to a Newsgroup is seen by anyone who can access that group. I recommend starting by putting together a discussion mailing-list. Newsgroup creation, as you will discover takes longer, and is more structure ridden - you can get some good information on biz oriented hierarchy - Usenet at their FAQ (http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/Services.html).

But, more about mailing lists. Usually, you or your ISP, using a software program called a list server, maintains the mailing-list you sponsor. For example, National Consultant Referrals, Inc. created and sponsored "consulting-tools." All subscribers E-mail messages to a central E-mail address. If the software works correctly and the sender conforms to the format required, it takes the message and distributes it to all the subscribers. That is a big "IF". The problem is two fold. Part of the time the software can be a problem and part of the time, it is the participant. Because of the software/hardware, called an autoresponder which has to be precisely addressed and may be programmed with little regard to ergonomics, the malfunction is caused by "human error".

Once the idiosyncrasies of list servers are understood, the autoresponder can be a real time saver. But, remember, most of the subscribers are not technically oriented and seldom address the system in a way that it understands. You, as the sponsor, have to be prepared to understand thoroughly and to correct the problems of non- conformity by the sending subscriber. If you are not maintaining your own server, it pays to have a good ISP who will respond to your frustration and tolerate your mistakes as you learn.

Your best bet on learning about the level of customer support is to check references. Find out who else is using this ISP, or this software, if you are using your own server, and talk to them about their satisfaction. Learning the "hard way" can be a bitter and frustrating experience that may cause you to give up before the mailing- list returns dividends. It can also cost you part of your audience. Good pre-planning and taking the time to learn can benefit all concerned. Once you have decided on the type of list server or provider to handle the mechanics of your list, you need to tackle many of the same issues you deal with in any marketing program.


The Purpose
The Message
The Recipients
On the Internet, more than with any other medium, you need to deal very seriously with the first two issues before you can define the third. Inappropriate messages can defeat your purpose, and alienate your potential subscribers. If your purpose is ill-defined, you may find yourself bogged down with generating E-mail for its own sake.
Here is a list of some purposes you may want to consider:


Attract more visitors to my Web-site
Generate subscription income
Survey customer demographics / attitudes
Announce new products
Keep up with trends in my business
Offer customer service
Communicate with employees
Generate advertising revenue
Enhance my company image
General public relations

In developing the theme of your mailing list, you will want to consider how much of your company resources you wish to devote to the cause. Will you rely on auto responders, where subscribers can access documents they are interested in reading (much like fax-on-demand)? Will you monitor the list to keep inappropriate messages from being disseminated to subscribers? My companys goals were to give our members and others in the consulting field a forum to discuss their questions and problems as they relate to their professional practices. We also make general announcements, such as consulting association conferences and conventions. Consulting-tools (kline@referrals.com) also is used to attract viewers to our web site (http://www.referrals.com), and to announce new products and features. There is no charge to the subscriber and we encourage introductions and discussions.
But, dont make the mistake of believing your audience (subscribers) will stick with you if all you offer is commercials. Decide early what your format is going to be based on your goals for this marketing vehicle. Remember that even with a targeted mailing-list, subscribers read only a few messages received from you. Their "read or dont read" decision depends on:

1. Who sent the message
2. The "Subject" line content
3. Length of message (the shorter, the more readers)

The format, content and purposes of electronic mailing lists vary widely. In the next article in this series I will discuss some of the ways you can adapt this tool to your unique message.
(Note: This is the first of a series of three articles devoted to the use of mailing-lists as an Internet marketing vehicle)

About the Author

For additional information on the subject of Cyber-Dollars: A collection of papers, articles, reports, and links to Internet resources related to Network Payment Mechanisms and Digital Cash. http://www.wsdinc.com/pgs_www/w7199.shtml

A collection of proposed network payment and/or digital cash systems. http://ganges.cs.tcd.ie/mepeirce/Project/proposed.html

Mr. Kline runs the following websites: referrals.com, http://www.4expertise.com and http://www.theventure.com

kline@referrals.com
http://www.referrals.com