Internet Tip of the Week
by Bob Osgoodby
Best Hundred BucksDid you know there is software available for about a hundred
dollars, which will allow you to automatically submit your ads
to web sites that accept free ads, and to newsletters that do
likewise? This software will submit any number of ads you wish,
in any frequency you desire."Wow - what a great idea!", you might think. I can submit my ads
to thousands of these sites with a single keystroke. "What a
time saver!"Some people send out a dozen or more like this everyday. Is this
doing them any good? Well maybe yes, and maybe no. Let's first
examine the different types of web sites that accept free ads,
and why.Many web sites that accept free ads, do it purely to collect
email addresses, which they can then sell as targeted lists.
They don't really care if your ad is ever seen. In fact, many
have a high limit of 300 ads. When the next one is submitted,
the oldest is dropped, and the process continues.With thousands of ads submitted hourly, how long do you think
your ad will remain on their site - a minute or two - hardly
worth your time. The flip side is you will suddenly find a lot
more unsolicited email arriving daily from those who bought
your address. If you like receiving unsolicited email, I guess
this is good.Other web sites do care if your ad is seen. So what is their
motive? They are trying to build an advertiser base, and hope
you will purchase a paid ad from them. Ads submitted to sites
like this usually have a life of a week or more, and can be
renewed indefinitely. Their goal is to attract people to their
site and hope that you do business as a result of your ad.The first group couldn't care less if you send them multiple
email addresses on a frequent basis - they never see the ads.
Their software automatically collects your email address, checks
for duplicates, and adds it to their file.The second group however, and all newsletters published on a
regular basis that allow free ads, are a different story. When
they receive ads, each one is checked manually. They usually only
permit one ad per cycle, and if you submit 7-12 ads a day, you
will quickly overwhelm their processing capabilities. To them,
this is spamming. Their only recourse is to "fight fire with
fire". What they do is automatically filter out the ads
submitted using this type of software. They will never see your
ad submissions.So what does this automatic submission software do for/to you.
In the first example, your ads might have a useful life measured
in minutes. In the second case your ads are "blocked" from the
sites that will produce your best results.Once you are blocked (depending on how they do it) you may never
be able to submit ads to these quality sites again - even if you
do it manually. Some block at the email address level. Once an
address is blocked, their filters will automatically delete your
incoming email, whether it is an ad or not.Maybe that automatic submission software isn't the best hundred
bucks you could ever spend.-----
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