Using email to promote and market your business

JohnDeVries

I took a poll last week called "What information do you need to start and grow your own business."  In response to that poll, I`ve written a report on marketing and promoting your website with email.  You can check that out at the link below.
Email Marketing: How to do it, when to do it, and why you`ve got to use it.
Keep a look out for further posts.  I`ll be creating some videos, more articles, and even doing some interviews with other entrepreneurs.
If you`re interested you can view the poll results and do some voting yourself!JohnDeVries2007-5-21 21:2:11

JohnDeVries

If you`re talking about companies that sell lists of email addresses for you to send a messages to, then no.  Emails DO have to be targeted towards the correct market in order to be effective.  You are absolutely right.  That`s why I think building your own email list is so important (and worth doing.)
I think that`s what you meant by...
"companies that offer opt-ins of 2.5 million people you can email to"
Let me know if I didn`t answer you correctly.
However, you don`t necessarily have to limit yourself to your own list.  Setting up JV deals with similarily niched businesses and their lists can also work very well.
 

JohnDeVries

Absolutely!!  As far as I`m concerned, you should ONLY email market towards people whom have chosen to receive your messages.  I talk about that in my report.  Contacting someone blindly for things like link building, or setting up interviews is fine.  But you would be a fool to mass email "cold prospects."

JohnDeVries

Well, assuming company "A" and company "B" aren`t selling "crap", you may very well want what it is they are selling.  The details surrounding a Joint Venture email deal can vary greatly, so I can`t really speak to every situation here.  But let me give you an example.  If you join a mailing list you`ll usually get whatever it is they offered you in the first place.  But It`s common practice for businesses to endorse another company`s products and services.  In my personal opinion, you shouldn`t be mailing your subscribers crap offers you haven`t yourself used.  You should at least know you`re giving them something worth while that could benefit them.  There isn`t a legal or ethical dilemma here.  Your email subscribers signed up for your mailings.  Assuming you were honest about what those mailings were going to include in the first place, there isn`t an issue.I personally wouldn`t do a business deal where I let someone else mail to MY list.  If they make an offer and I want to endorse their product through MY list;  That`s solid.  But giving your addresses away for someone else to mail to is totally violating their privacy and your trustworthiness.  Don`t do it.  That wasn`t what I was talking about when referring to a JV deal.
JohnDeVries2007-5-21 21:33:33

JohnDeVries

Ok, guys.  I do not endorse spam and I`m really not sure how this turned into spam issue.  Nothing I`ve suggested so far qualifies as SPAM under the CAN SPAM act.CAN SPAMWikipedia CAN SPAMAnd if you were on my list (which you opted into) and I sent you a message saying "Hey, I just recently purchased Mike`s new gizmo from www.whateverintheheck.com and I think you might find it useful.", that`s not spam.  I`m not lying to you or SPAMing you if I really purchased it and really liked it.  Join a popular newsletter, thousands of people are doing this, LEGALLY.Brand Alchemy,You said, "If your list buddy emails me anything that I did not expressly approve, you`re both getting sued. End of story."Response: I don`t have a "list buddy", and if you read my post more carefully you would see that I would never allow anyone ELSE to email to my list.  And you may not realize this, but anyone can send you unsolicited email so long as they comply with the CAN SPAM Act regulations.  And under the circumstances I described (which were not vague, just general) you could not sue either of us."The bill permits e-mail marketers to send unsolicited commercial e-mail as long as it contains all of:
an opt-out mechanism;a valid subject line and header (routing) information;the legitimate physical address of the mailer; anda label if the content is adult.
The content is exempt if it consists of:
religious messages;content that broadly complies with the marketing mechanisms specified in the law; ornational security messages."  source = Wikipedia CAN SPAM actCraigL,   I agree.  Direct mail works excellently for promotion.  So do a lot of other tactics.I intended to post some content on this forum that would be useful for people.  I have never endorsed spam. 

JohnDeVries

Brand Alchemy,

  As I look back at this post I can totally see where things went bad. 
When I casually mentioned the whole "JV" deal idea, it sounded like I
was endorsing something I was not. 

When I said, "... you don`t have to limit yourself to your own list..." that was indeed a vague comment.  I was not, and do not endorse buying email lists from others or offering yours up for other people to email to.Maybe that will help clear the air a bit.  I feel like we`re talking about two different things here.

Innerstatejt

 It appears this approach is legit and actually fairly useful. I have subscribed to several personal growth mailing lists and I have been turned onto some great books, products and blogs. In fact through a blog, I was turned on to photoreading which I hadn`t previously ever heard of and also a great journaling program. So although I do get some offers I am not at all interested in, I often find other things very useful.  I think of it like this. If I am listening to college radio I may not know any of the music that is being played, but I know for sure that the DJ has good taste. The DJ selects what he/she thinks is good and shares it with me. I may hear a few tunes I don`t like, but the gems I DO hear make it all worthwhile. If the DJ starts playing too much stuff I don`t like, I just stop listening (or for a mailing list, unsubscribe) Being a curious person I join some mailing lists for the purpose of hearing about new products or other forms of imformation that this person I respect might endorse. From there I just say yes to the things I like and no thanks to the other stuff. It`s just that simple.

JohnDeVries

Innerstatejt,

Thanks for your comment.  I too have found a lot of new and interesting products and
resources via this method.  The reason I mentioned it in the first place
was because I felt it benefits both subscribers and email list owners.

JohnDeVries

CraigL,I agree with your points.  I don`t see email lists making us all millionaires, and that certainly is the type of hype a lot of marketers are using.  It`s false, and it`s not true.  And you`re right, I didn`t recommend people make it a cornerstone.  It`s  a promotional method/strategy, not a cornerstone.  On the other hand, email lists are (in some ways) for website owners what DM is for brick and Mortar businesses.  Ok everyone, don`t jump on me.  Lots of studies and have been done proving DM is more effective and receives a higher response rate that email.  But for certain niches, email is THE way to go.  It`s all about staying in contact with your best potential customers, some people use snail mail, some use email, some use relationships, others choose a different method.  I would recommend them all.
JohnDeVries2007-5-23 8:33:9