Re: E-mail list valuation

From: Brandi Jasmine <brandi_at_brandijasmine.com>
Date: Thu 08 Feb 2001 12:33:22 -0600

NELSON E. TIMKEN <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?

Two words: Awesome content :) ... This particular list
is daily horoscopes. Regardless of the credibility
people give this form of entertainment, it is hugely
popular. We license this content to other sites, sell
it to newspapers and provide it on our own site. Our
main web client right now is a national ISP portal. On
that site, we're the third-most popular section right
after Search and the Main Page. It's a major
traffic-driver. I can now say publicly (whoopie it's
live today!) that we also sell them to Fido for their
new cellular portal :)

> How do you begin to really pick up numbers in an age
> when people are so concerned about "Spam".

People are happy to opt-in, when they get what they
want, when you respond to their concerns quickly. It
hasn't been an issue for me.

> Second, what is the viability as a marketing tool of
> HTML email vis a vis regular text?

I maintain a weekly newsletter for a client which is
customizable. One of the features is a choice of HTML
vs. Text. I am not sure how many choose HTML vs Text.

I only use plain text right now. I think it is an
option you want to offer - but that no-one should be
thinking exclusively in terms of HTML for the
foreseeable future. I call it the "Wired Syndrome".
That's when people go overboard with fonts and colours,
just because they can. Myself, my email reader is
perfectly capable of reading HTML, but for security
sake, and for plain readability, I prefer text. I would
be surprised to learn that more than 30% of subscribers
were going for HTML. I will see if I can get a firm
figure from my client's email fulfillment company.


Brandi





Received on Thu Feb 08 2001 - 12:33:22 CST