"Bulk Email
Versus Opt-In Email: How To Make Money Online Using Email the
Right Way "
By Terry Dean
SPAM...Everyone is talking about it...And Most
Everyone hates it. For those who don't 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 won't 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? It's 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 doesn't 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 isn't worth the ramifications.
If you have considered bulk email, don't 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 can't do it:
1) They don't 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 don't 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 haven't.
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.
Don't let me hear you use that excuse!
2) They can't come up with that much
content.
Maybe, you don't believe you can come up with
that much content, because you aren't 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 people's
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 doesn't 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? Don't limit yourself.
One admonition I want to leave you with though
is to get started TODAY! If you don't 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. |
