Do email advertising safe lists work anymore|

by David Callan

In recent years there has been growing controversy over email and especially email delivery. Spam or unsolicited emails have become a very major issue. Many ISP services in their noble attempt to fight this menace have erected such powerful filters that they often keep out email that we want to receive.

This has led many online entrepreneurs to the conclusion that any promotional effort or online marketing campaign that involves email is automatically a non-starter. Actually despite all the problems and challenges that email has faced in recent years, nothing could be further from the truth.

Even as you read this, there are online publishing enterprises that have ignored SEO and PPC (pay-per-click) methods of generating traffic to their sites and have instead put all their focus on only email safelists or opt-in email lists. One company in particular that was heavily involved in direct marketing methods in its’ offline days is now approaching the staggering annual turnover of $100 million. And the only promotional method that they know, understand and use has to do with email.

Will RSS Feeds Replace Email Marketing?
The truth of the matter is that despite what folks have been saying about RSS (Really simple syndication) feeds replacing email the facts on the ground are that there is really no replacement in site for email.
There has been a lot of excitement about RSS because it delivers content right on the desktop of users all over the world. Some of the advantages that RSS enjoys is that it is not subject to ISP spam filters. Then there is the fact that consumers can customize their feeds so that they receive very specific information based on their niche area of interest. In a world where here is too much information being churned out too fast, this make plenty of sense and is bound to save people a lot of time.

However, despite its’ merits RSS feeds are different from email and there is no way that it will replace email any time soon.

Blogs Have Replaced Numerous Email Newsletters: What Does This Mean?
At the height of the spam crisis, it is true that many online entrepreneurs and publishers opted to have blogs running side by side with their email newsletters while others totally shut down their email lists in favor of blogs.
In fact this is one of the reasons why blogs shot up in popularity so quickly. The fact that there are many online marketers who have opted to stay away from email and have instead embraced blogs and RSS feeds does not change the facts on the ground.

The truth is that there are many other online entrepreneurs and marketers who totally rely on email marketing to make their money.

Opt-in Email Lists Can Hardly Be Replaced
Although folks are much more bound to subscribe information coming through an RSS feed rather than opt to receive a regular email newsletter the fact is that the latter is still one of the most valuable assets any online marketer can have. An opt-in email list is usually highly targeted and there are many online entrepreneurs who make a very good living from an opt-in email list with as little as 5000 names. These smart guys simply ensure that as they send out their valuable information, they include highly relevant ads and offers within their content. They never attempt to send out exclusively advertising messages to their opt-in email lists because people hate to be advertised to. But they do not mind relevant textual ads that are very closely linked to the area of interest being covered by the email newsletter that they have subscribed to.
Many owners of huge opt-in email lists never attempt to sell anything through their lists, they instead use them to drive repeat traffic to their sites and blogs where they predictably click on the Adsense ads adjacent to the new content. At the end of the day the site owner ends up making a substantial income from their opt-in email list without attempting to sell anything.

Email Safe Lists
In the same way people join massive advertising email lists at sites like yahoogroups.com and send out their ad messages to millions of people at a time. Despite the fact that not all recipients of such messages open all the email messages they receive, the fact of the matter is that catchy subject headings will tend to get a lot more readership. In fact there are some very respectable affiliate programs run by reputable corporations that have thrived on training their affiliates on the proper use of email safe lists.

Conclusion
So the answer to the question we started off with is a resounding “yes” despite all the problems, email safe lists and email marketing in general is still very much alive and thriving.

7 Ways to Self-Promote Within Your E-zine
by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”

We all know that an e-zine won’t attract and keep subscribers without offering insightful, practical content. If you only drone on and on about how wonderful you and your services/products are, your readers won’t stick around for long.

But let’s think about WHY you began your e-zine in the first place. It was likely to use it as a vehicle to promote you and your services/products, right?

You have every right to toot your own horn in your e-zine, as long as you don’t drown out the useful content your readers are looking for. You work hard on your e-zine, so let’s make your e-zine work foryou!

Here are 7 simple ideas on how to accomplish this:

1) Make sure your MAIN ARTICLE always provides information that your readers will find valuable.

By having a main article as the foundation of your issue, readers will feel they got what they came for — helpful information. Try a list of top 10 tips, a “how-to” article, a list of resources, a review of a trend in the industry — that sort of thing.

So remember, if your e-zine is tonight’s meal, your main article should be the entree. Any promotional info should be your side dishes!

2) Begin each issue with an EDITOR’S NOTE or PUBLISHER’S NOTE.

I began doing this during the fall of 2001, and have found it’s the perfect place to let readers know about what’s happening with me and my business, give them a taste of my personality, and announce any upcoming events or workshops. Because this is a personal message from you to them, and because it’s NOT your main content, you have more leeway in being direct and self-promotional.

3) In your article, throw in LINKS to related articles you’ve written or been featured in, when appropriate.

Your readers will appreciate the additional information and resources, and it’s one more chance for you to demonstrate your expertise and credibility.

4) Directly after your article, give a quick PROMO BLURB, mentioning your e-books, reports, or workshops, if you offer them.

Why right after the article and before anything else? If someone reads your article and says to themselves, “Gee, that was great information!” They’ll be ready to hear what else you have to share on that subject.

A great lead-in for your blurb is: “Did You Like Today’s Article? If you did, you’ll LOVE my [e-book, report, upcoming workshop, etc.]...”

5) In each issue, offer a TESTIMONIAL from one of your clients or customers.

I saw another e-zine publisher doing this last year and thought, “What a great idea! She’s giving her readers further reason to try her services.”

I now also do this by featuring a short testimonial in each issue from someone who has bought my book and loves it.

6) Tell us what YOU’RE all about!

At the end of your ezine, take at least 10 lines and give a concise description of YOU and what you have to offer your readers.

For example, here’s what I put at the bottom of every “E-zine Queen” newsletter:

Marketing writer and consultant Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine: 283 Secrets to Planning, Writing, Publishing, and Promoting an E-Mail Newsletter That Gets Results.”

It’s a step-by-step manual that walks you through the entire process. It’s available, along with “The E-zine Queen Resource Report” (more than 219 e-zine promotion resources!), at http://www.ezinequeen.com.

7) Occasionally, make a special announcement in a SOLO MAILING.

A solo mailing is any mailing you make to your E-ZINE subscriber list that is NOT a regular issue of your ezine.

Now, some e-zine publishers blatantly abuse this privilege, sending out announcements every two days about the latest and greatest product or affiliate program.

If you do send out any solo mailings, keep it to a minimum (I'd say no more than one or two a month), and make sure they're truly newsworthy. Perhaps one of your special offers is coming to an end, you need your readers” help, or you”re offering a last-minute workshop and need to fill seats. Get the idea?

IMPORTANT: Make sure to still include your masthead, contact info, and unsubscribe info in your solo mailings. This way your readers won’t mistake them for junk mail.

(c) 2002 Alexandria K. Brown ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these,at her site.

To review the products by "The E-zine Queen" Click on this LINK