Internet Marketing: The Fine Line between Internet Marketing and Spam

Savvy business owners who take advantage of Internet marketing realize there is a fine line between marketing and spam and orchestrate their marketing campaigns to gain the maximum amount of exposure without running the risk of being viewed as spam. The definition of spam is open to interpretation but most people agree on the fact that spam is equivalent to junk mail you receive at your residence. In general spam is unsolicited emails which are part of an advertising campaign. The term spam can also apply to message board postings which are posted solely for advertising purposes. This article will examine the differences between effective Internet marketing and spam.

First we will consider the use of message boards for the purpose of Internet marketing. Message boards are essentially online meetings places for Internet users who share a particular interest to exchange idea, ask or answer questions or just socialize. These message boards allow users to register and post messages. Most message boards have asset of guidelines which the users must follow when making posts. These guidelines may vary widely with some being very strict about acceptable content and others not being nearly as strict. It is important to follow these guidelines because failure to do so may result in the moderators deleting your account and other members not paying much attention to your posts.

Message boards are ideal for Internet marketing because they can provide a business owner with access to a specialized target audience. If you are in the business for finding jobs for employees who wish to telecommute, you might join a message board dedicated to working from home to find members who may be interested in your products. Here you may learn a great deal about the concerns of your target audience. You can also take the opportunity to post links to your website when appropriate and in accordance with the message board guidelines. This is considered to be smart Internet marketing. However, if you opt to respond to each and every post with a link to your website even when it is not relevant and do not offer comments of value to other members, they are likely to view your posts as spam. This can be damaging because these members may opt to avoid your website even if they have a need for your services.

E-newsletters and email advertising are one area of Internet marketing which is most likely to be viewed as spam if not done properly. Most Internet users to not appreciate unsolicited emails especially when these emails do not pertain to a subject that interests them. This is often the case when business owners buy email lists and send their advertisements to everyone on the list. This is not effective because you are not likely to reach a large population of your target audience. Additionally, recipients of the email may block your email address so future communications are automatically sent to a spam folder. Some recipients may even report you to their Internet service provider who may investigate the claim that you are a spammer. A better way to approach the concept of email marketing is to only send e-newsletters and advertisements to past customers who have specifically asked to receive such emails and potential customers who have requested additional information.

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6 Profitable Ways To Use Autoresponders

1. Offer an email course.

Write up a course or use your articles to create a course that you can offer to your visitors.

You'll be able to educate people about your product, and increase your sales by showing them the benefits they'll get from purchasing from you.

2. Send excerpts of your ebook.

Increase your sales by showing your visitors firsthand the valuable information you have to offer them.

Simply string together excerpts of several or maybe just one chapter of your ebook, and then offer your autoresponder series to your visitors.

If you have an affiliate program, increase your sales by making this autoresponder series (as well as any email course you offer) available to your affiliates.

3. Publish an ezine.

With broadcast capable autoresponders, you'll be able to double opt in all your new subscribers and send out your issues on the schedule you want.

Promote your ezine on your site, and submit it to ezine directories and ezine announcement lists.

If you write articles, you can also get more new subscribers by using your resource box to promote your ezine.

You can also promote your ezine in your signature file and get more new subscribers through your day to day emails and also from your posts to discussion lists and forums that you're a member of.

4. Offer a sample issue.

Make one of your best, current ezine issues available by autoresponder.

Then offer it on your site, and also, when you can, include it along with your other ezine information when you submit your ezine to ezine directories.

5. Publish an article announcement list.

Get more ezine publishers and webmasters to publish your articles on a regular basis by creating a list that announces when you've written a new article or articles.

You'll be able to keep in touch with people that enjoy your writing, helping you to get your articles published more often and increase traffic to your site.

6. Make a training course available to your affiliates.

Offer a generic email training course that your affiliates can use to learn how to successfully promote your products and earn commissions.

Your affiliates will have a handy resource that they can print out and go back to again and again, and you'll be able to increase your profits by helping your affiliates get started on the right track.

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4 Miscellaneous Email Marketing Advices

Email is one of the most personal advertising medium ever invented. Here are four of the many ways you can improve your email marketing results.

Spread the Word

Get others to sign up for your mailing lists with their consent. Spread the word about your mailing list through word of mouth. The beauty in this is that the list of emails will be self-screened and the database will only contain the people who are interested in your offers. Make sure you have their consent beforehand. You don't want to risk losing reputation or SPAM penalties.

Persistence

Before the internet, they used to say it takes around 7.3 impacts to make an impression with an ad. Today I would guess it to be over twice as high with the internet present. Make sure you are reaching out to your clients at least once a month in emails or other medium. Just because you emailed a list of people and had little or no response does not necessarily mean your audience isn't interested in your product. Experiment with different emails, get to know which email strategy works best, and keep using it to reach out to your audience.

They Want Useful Information

Emails should contain something that the customer wants. It shouldn't be just a summary of your company or your resume. Focus on giving more than just what you sell. Specific content, messages, and other targeted information that interests your customers are good to include. For example, if you were selling makeup, you may want to include advice on how to apply the makeup or any makeup in general.

Make Sure Your Audience Reads Your Emails

Graphics, Flash animations, logos are often blocked by email filters. Although they look impressive on an email, they will often lower your impression statistics. I recommend using flat text with hyperlinks to your site. Once they get to your site, you can show them as many graphics as you want. Although some businesses have both a plain and a rich text edition of their email, for starters, stick to the plain text.

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