A faithful reader and customer wrote me a letter this past week. In it, he described his frustrating situation. As he was not the first to write about this particular dilemma, I felt I should address it.

Being new to internet marketing, with a limited marketing budget, this fellow had been utilizing many low cost advertising resources. These consisted mostly of free classified sites and newsgroups. As most marketers know, this form of advertising can be very time consuming and the results somewhat discouraging.

His question went something like this...

"Instead of making sales and getting leads, I seem to be getting more and more unsolicited email. Most of the offers tell me bulk email works much better than other forms of internet marketing. I'm thinking of trying it, are there any reasons why I shouldn't?"

Okay, just the facts...

There are basically two types of direct email marketing.

1. "Unsolicited Bulk Email"

2. "Opt-in" Direct Email

1. "Unsolicited Bulk Email"

This is the practice of transmitting mass quantities of email to large lists of "unqualified" email addresses.

This practice in itself is a very controversial subject. You must be very careful when considering using bulk email to market your wares on the internet.

Why? Let's just say your reputation is at stake.

Unsolicited bulk email is NOT illegal. It is, however, frowned upon by many internet citizens. You may have heard this practice of sending unsolicited bulk email referred to as "spamming." (Yes, the name comes from the famous comedy skit "Spam! Spam! Spam!" by Monty Python.) In the online world, spamming means sending unsolicited email directly to a list of unsuspecting email addresses or newsgroups.

Just why is bulk email so popular? Simple. It’s far cheaper than traditional bulk postage mail. The costs associated with traditional bulk mailing can cut deeply into potential profits immediately. Postage costs alone can break the bank. Bulk email is very cheap.

So why not try it?

The simple fact is, unsolicited bulk email is considered bad "netiquette" by many netizens. If you send unsolicited email to addresses that do not want commercial email, you can get into more trouble than you would expect.

What kind of trouble?

A. Since a large number of internet citizens DO NOT approve of unsolicited email and WILL complain to your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

B. Many ISP’s will discontinue your account when they get complaints from angry recipients of your unsolicited bulk email.

Does sending your ad to thousands of unsuspecting addresses really work anyway? Do you really get any genuinely interested leads mixed in with all those flames? Well, although unsolicited bulk email probably isn’t as effective as some people would like you to believe, it has received praise from some business owners.

Once again. It's YOUR decision. If you want to play it safe though, you should consider the next type of direct email marketing.

2. "Opt-In" Direct Email

"Opt-In" Direct Email is the practice sending commercial email to recipients that HAVE approved of commercial email. If you really want to try bulk email marketing but aren’t up to the rigors of unsolicited bulk email, consider hiring a company that specializes in direct email.

In addition to targeted ezines such as my BizWeb Gazette, there are now many companies on the internet offering "Opt-In" Direct Email advertising. Interest in opt-in direct email has been rising sharply during 1997 and 1998.

Why is this becoming so popular?

These opt-in lists are targeted email lists which offer marketers a "politically correct" way to reach their target audience on the net. Not only will your offer be sent to a targeted list, you won't have to worry about flames and ISP cancellation.

Although this targeted direct email marketing is more costly than unsolicited bulk email, it is proving to be far more effective. It is quickly becoming one of the most powerful internet marketing methods available.

Here are some excellent resources for targeted Opt-In lists:

(Be sure to bookmark us before you leave!)

Bonusmail - Direct response e-mail communication from Intellipost Corp.

Bulletmail - Target your market by e-mail in a net-appropriate manner.

The Direct Email List Source - Web directory of 1,000's of voluntary and opt-in e-mail lists.

Htmail - Direct e-mail advertising - without spamming!

NotifyMe.Com - Internet Advertising for Highly Qualified Leads by Ersys, Inc.

PostMaster Direct - Choose from 3 million email addresses in 3,000+ categories.

Targ-It - Targ-it's claim is "100% opt-in e-mail lists".

* Article by Jim Daniels of JDD Publishing. Jim's site has helped 1000's of regular folks profit online. Check out their FREE "how-to" cybermarketing assistance, free software, business opportunities, manuals, web services and more! Real money is being made on the net -- to visit click here and get in on it... Can't get to the web? Subscribe to their FREE, weekly BizWeb E-Gazette: mailto:subscribe4free@JDD-Publishing.com

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