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Low Cost
E-Marketing!
by Jim Daniels
Like many small
business owners, I work with a small marketing budget. Okay,
truth be told, I hate to spend money on advertising. Especially
if I can get better exposure at a very low cost, sometimes even
FREE!
During the past
three years online, I've learned some great ways to do just
that. Today I'd like to share them with you.
Don't worry, I'm
not going to tell you to spend days and days at free classified
sites or newsgroups. The methods I'll be sharing with you are
much more powerful.
So how does the
cost-conscious marketer get the best free and low-cost exposure?
Simple. By
utilizing various forms of the best free marketing tool ever
invented... Email!
There are many
ways to utilize email marketing. For the most part, email
marketing can be broken down into two distinct categories...
Targeted
and Untargeted.
First I'll touch
on the untargeted, just to show you why it is a waste of time.
UNTARGETED
EMAIL MARKETING
Untargeted email
marketing on the internet usually takes on the form of
"Unsolicited Bulk Email". Whether you are doing it
yourself or hiring one of the thousands of email blasting
companies online, it makes no difference. Bulk email is NOT a
smart way to market.
Let me explain
exactly why...
"Spamming",
or sending mass email to "unqualified" email addresses
is considered bad "netiquette". If you send
unsolicited email to addresses that do not want commercial
email, not only do you risk the reputation of your business, you
can get into more trouble than you would expect.
What kind of
trouble?
Well, since many
ISP's do not allow this activity, they will discontinue your
account as soon as the inevitable complaints start to trickle
in.
If you want better
results without the risk, consider the following alternatives...
TARGETED
EMAIL MARKETING
Targeted email
marketing works. Truly targeted email means getting your email
to recipients that HAVE approved of it. Not only do your get
better results, you won't have to worry about ISP cancellation
and more importantly, the reputation of your business.
Here are the best
targeted email marketing methods I've used. (Listed from most
expensive to least expensive.)
-
"Opt In" email list rental.
- Ezine advertising.
- Ezine publishing.
- Email Discussion group participation.
Here are details
on how I utilize each...
-
"Opt In" email list rental
Did you know that
you can actually rent email lists of people who have approved
email about certain topics.
(Just about any
topic imaginable!)
This method is not
the cheapest form of targeted email marketing, but it works! On
average, you'll have to spend about ten to fifteen cents per
address. The companies that rent the addresses even do the
mailing for you. You just sit back and wait for the orders!
When I released my
book, "Insider
Internet Marketing", I used this method
and sold a few thousand dollars worth of books in a two day
span. The company I used is called Postmasterdirect
.
Here are three
more companies that offer direct "opt-in" email
marketing...
Bulletmail - http://www.bulletmail.com
Htmail - http://www.htmail.com/customer.html
Targ-It - http://www.targ-it.com
- Ezine
advertising
I'm a big fan of
ezine advertising and regularly utilize this low budget
technique. I'm not just saying that to drum up advertisers for
my own newsletter, actually I have a waiting list of about a
month just to get an ad in here. Why? Quite simply, email
advertising works!
Take a look at the
advertising section of your favorite email ezine. The reason
there are so many ads there is because the advertisers get
results. Not only do you reach your target audience, you reach
them by the thousands. Of all the online marketing methods
available, ezine advertising could be the most effective.
Many larger
companies are just starting to realize this and are entering
into this exciting new advertising medium. Compared with the
high costs of web site banner advertising, ezine advertising is
a bargain.
- Ezine
publishing
One step better
than "advertising" in ezines, is actually publishing
your own. If you are not already publishing your own
e-newsletter, I highly recommend you do so. It is much easier
than you might imagine.
Your customers and
prospects will constantly be "in touch" and your ezine
can keep them abreast of new products and services as you make
them available. You can also generate income offering classified
or sponsorship advertising if you wish.
Unlike traditional
newsletters, there are no printing or postage costs. Since your
own cost is zero, you can offer free subscriptions, thus
insuring a steady flow of new prospects.
To get started
publishing your own ezine, you do not need to pay for list
management. You can manage and deliver your ezine yourself with
a good email program like Qualcomm's Eudora or Pegasus Mail by
David Harrris. These are the best email
programs available on the internet and they can be downloaded
for free at the following URL's
http://www.eudora.com
http://www.pmail.com
Once you have your
email program installed, practice mailing to a few people at
once by using the BCC (blind carbon copy) feature. It's
important to use the BCC field when mailing to a list. This
insures that everyone on the list does not see other email
addresses on the list. No one wants their email address
publicized all over the net.
After you've
perfected your emailing skills, all you need is some
subscribers. That's easy, simply post a message announcing your
newsletter to the "NewList Announcement List". Full
details on posting can be found here.
- Email
discussion group participation.
An email
discussion group is delivered via email like an email
newsletter. But a discussion list differs from an email
newsletter in one major way -- you are allowed to voice your
opinion, usually through a moderator.
Discussion lists
also allow you to ask for help from others with similar
interests. What's more, you can assist people in need while your
sig file (the footer you include at the end of every email
message you send) invites readers to your site. Discussion group
marketing works because the posts are delivered directly TO a
targeted audience. Once again, push marketing at it's finest! In
addition to posting to discussion groups you should consider
advertising if the group you join offers it.
No matter what you
are marketing online, participating in discussion lists makes
sense. Not only will you learn some valuable information, it's
is a great way to soft-sell some of your wares.
To find some
discussion groups on your particular area of interest, visit http://www.egroups.com
. While you're there you can even start a group of your
own!
Now that you are
armed with the facts about email marketing, go out and start
your email marketing campaign today! And remember, whatever
email marketing method you choose, be sure that everything
single email you send out includes your URL and a brief
description of exactly how YOU can be of service to anyone who
may be reading that email!
Article by Jim
Daniels of JDD Publishing. Jim's site has helped 1000's of
regular folks profit online. Visit http://bizweb2000.com for
FREE "how-to" cybermarketing assistance, software,
manuals, web services and more. No time to visit the site?
Subscribe to their Free, weekly BizWeb E-Gazette email
freegazette@bizweb2000.com
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