KAREN DILLON WROTE:
> I'm a small business and I want to send e-mail press
> releases to relevant (and select) sites, ad agencies
> and industry pundits so that I can promote my
> site, our new features and (as appropriate) encourage
> ad sales. So how do I do this so that it's not spam?
I'm not sure how this turned into a discussion of spam,
and I'm surprised at how many people down-thumbed this
idea. Karen specifically refers to *press*releases* to
pundits - not user emails. Press releases are
generally unsolicited, no matter how they are
delivered.
Karen, I have done this often and have never been
flamed for spamming when it's done appropriately.
"Appropriately" means you do your list research
thoroughly. Check the site of each contact to make
sure they can use the info. If you don't have an
appropriate contact name, call or email and ask "who
should I send this to?" Address the email to them
personally. If necessary, explain why it's relevant to
their company. Like "I read your commentary in the NY
Times and agree that there needs to be a more efficient
whizzit on the Internet. Our product is a significant
improvement over the whizzits you mentioned; you should
check it out."
This is not spam, if well-researched, well-targeted,
well-written. It's just "old-fashioned PR", done by
email rather than phone or fax.
Kim Brooks
Internet Marketing
kbrooks_at_bardo-brooks.com
http://www.bardo-brooks.com
Received on Thu Dec 02 1999 - 12:22:13 CST
