Internet Tip of the Week
by Bob Osgoodby
A Ship Without A RudderWhile I don't condone unsolicited advertisements sent by
email, we all realize it is a fact of life. It is one of the
fastest growing segments of Internet advertising today, and is
expected to triple in volume next year. If you plan to use email
in marketing your business, there are some things that are
critical to know.Those who have been around the Internet for awhile, have
seen this grow to big business. But like any new industry, it is
going through growing pains, and basic mistakes are being made.
Until these mistakes are corrected, if you use it, like a ship
without a rudder, you will eventually founder.The first mistake being made is sending multiple copies of the
same ad to the same person. When you get five or ten copies of
the same email, one right after the other, it is immediately
recognized as junk mail, and relegated to the trash bin.Why do they send so many copies? They get their email addresses
usually by harvesting them from the Internet. They have software
with search capabilities, much like the Search Engines, that can
target specific types of web sites. They collect every email
address they find at a site, and move on to the next.The problem is that most people who own their own domain, have
all email delivered to their main domain address. Example - my
main domain address is "adv-marketing@adv-marketing.com. Anything
sent to anybody@adv-marketing.com will come to my mailbox. So
they find a "bunch" of addresses at a web site and consider them
all "fair game". Until they solve this problem, you are wasting
your money if you contract with them.Misrepresentation is also high on the list. You get the same
email with a different title in the subject each time. Many
times the title has absolutely nothing to do with the contents of
the email. It is simply their way of trying to get your
attention, and entice you to open the email.And then there are those mental giants that deliberately spell
words incorrectly by substituting the number one for the letter
“I”, or other such substitutions. They are simply trying to get
by the spam filters. Yes, many of them do but when they hit my
mailbox they are immediately “trashed”.Formatting errors are rampant. Many advertisers send out
attractively formatted HTML emails. There is a growing use of
these types of emails, and they have a lot going for them on the
plus side. But they don't recognize that all email clients
(readers) are not the same. AOL for example, is probably the
worst ISP to send HTML documents to. If it is not done
to “their” specifications, all their subscribers receive is a
bunch of garbled information.The next error some make, is trying to hide their identity, so
their ISP doesn't cancel their account. Well, it is pretty easy
to superficially mask your identity, but someone who is
determined can find out who your ISP is. The professional
spammers own their servers, so they aren't as concerned. What
are they going to do if they get a complaint - cancel themselves?
Forged Addresses are simply a waste. Do they really expect you
to print a form and mail your order to them?If you are tempted to go with a professional group, make sure the
people receiving the email have agreed to accept it. And, they
should be able to immediately accept online orders. If they
can’t, you are losing the spontaneity of the moment, and will
most likely lose the sale. Get a group that will accept all the
orders and pass them along to you.Can't get off the list is probably one of the biggest complaints.
Obviously if the address is forged, your reply is going to be
returned to you. Responsible emailers honor "remove" requests
immediately.If you do plan to use email as one of your advertising methods,
either build the list yourself, or find a responsible company to
do it for you. The dividends will be worth it, and will not
simply result in your ship foundering in the depths of the
Internet.-----
Bob has been publishing online since 1996. All the “tricks of the trade” are contained in his latest E-book. Learn how to avoid being shut down by your ISP for Spamming, and where to find “E-mail friendly ISP's. Learn which software packages are available to easily manage and distribute your email. For more information - http://www.adv-marketing.com/business/handbook.htm
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Have Zero Tolerance for Spam