Starting A Web Based Business

Starting A Web Based Business - Some Thoughts On Email Marketing Lists

If you are thinking of Starting A Web Based Business, or have even taken the plunge already; one of the things you must have in order to succeed is traffic.

And not just any old traffic but what is known as 'targetted traffic' - traffic that you know is looking for your goods or services; read on...

Let me explain:

Starting A Web Based Business is the easy part; getting your internet business to succeed is a different matter altogether.  The web is full of so-called gurus trying to part you from your hard earned money and offering the earth in return.

Don't be seduced by 'hypnotic' sales copy and don't be fooled when Starting A Web Based Business into believing that there are 'quick fixes' - the easy, golden road to success.

It's true that one of the many ways of attracting traffic is by e-mail marketing...

But to succeed at this you will need 'A List'.  That is a list of e-mail addresses who, we hope, have opted in to receive your messages.

But Please - Whatever you do when starting a web based business, refrain from buying bulk E-Mail lists.  Ninety nine times out of a hundred you will be wasting your time, and your money.

I'm pretty certain that you'll have come across advertisements (or even received e-mails yourself) that read: “1,000,000 email addresses for $29.99”, and these bulk mail companies may even offer you the names and addresses in a CD delivered to your doorstep.

Sure, having 1,000,000 subscribers is the greatest thing that could ever happen to any Internet Marketer and may sound too good to be true. But very often, let me tell you here and now...

That's because it is too good to be true!!

10,000 (or about 1%) subscribers on a list is probably about as good as it gets for even the greatest internet marketer who has been around for a number of years.

What many beginning marketers, who are just starting a web based business, do not really know is that these bulk companies harvest the email addresses using 'bots' - special internet robots that trawl the internet searching out and harvesting just about anything with an '@' on a web page.

That is how they claim to have 1,000,000, or however many email addresses.

The certainty is that whatever, and wherever these email addresses have come from they won't even be single opt-in subscribers - never mind double opt-in addresses (single is a person who fills in a form, double is when that person receives an email asking them to click on a link to confirm their acceptance as a subscriber.  If they don't click to confirm then they are assumed to not be an opt-in subscriber).

Just imagine this...

Everytime you see a form to subscribe to an ezine or free course, you'll see an 'anti-spam promise' which states that your email address will never be given, lent or sold to another party - that being the case how many of the e-mail lists that you can buy are going to be proper opt-in subscribers?  Very few I would say.

The worst part is that if you purchase any of these so-called 1,000,000 names even at a low price, not only are you wasting your money, you are risking being accused of spamming.
It should come as no surprise how you often receive spam mails on Viagra, OEM Software, Canadian drugs and things you do not even need in your inbox.

The reason you do is because of the so-called 1,000,000 name email lists, no one knows you or even ask to be subscribed.

One way around having your own email address harvested by these 'bots', is to make use of the many free email accounts that you can acquire.  Use them as throw away items and subscribe to lists using those free addresses.

So when you are Starting A Web Based Business, keep your hands firmly in your pockets.

Don't go out buying things like email lists with little or no value, and which may even get you banned for spamming.

Your own list is what you want, full of double opt-in subscribers who have responded to your web page or other offer.

Build it slowly and keep a tight grip on it.  You don't want it falling into the hands of the email list merchants.