Re: Email List Sponsorships

From: John Harvey <jharv_at_mjsainc.com>
Date: Fri 02 Feb 2001 10:50:00 -0600

NELSON E. TIMKEN, ESQ. <netimken_at_erols.com> WROTE:
> I have two questions in addition to yours about email
> marketing. First, a very basic one- how do you grow an
> email opt-in list to that size? How do you begin to
> really pick up numbers in an age when people are so
> concerned about "Spam".
>
> Second, what is the viability as a marketing tool of
> HTML email vis a vis regular text?

First, it's not spam if it's useful to the recipient
AND if the recipient opts into getting the content. If
you promise usefull content but in reality 90% of your
e-newsletter consists sales pitches for
products/services your subscribers don't care about,
then you'll find that your list has a high user turn
over rate.

Also, make sure that users understand how often you are
going to be sending out e-mails, and stick to that
schedule. If you promise them a monthly e-mail, but
they're getting "special offers" from you on a weekly
basis, you will lose subscribers.

As to growing your list, it depends on your company or
organizations outreach. I work at a trade association
where I can promote my e-newsletter via our print,
broadcast fax, and trade show vehicles. I also have a
link allowing users to join my list appearing at the
very top of my association's Web site.

Perhaps even more valuable is word-of-mouth. If your
e-mails are on-topic, useful, and consistent, then
users will frequently recommend joining your list to
their peers. That is how I found out about this list.

John Harvey
Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America
http://mjsa.polygon.net





Received on Fri Feb 02 2001 - 10:50:00 CST