A Cost Effective Way to Advertise Online . . . Permission E-Mail Marketing

We all hate e-mail spam, right I even have the coolest software program that will help you combat spam and actually bounces the spam e-mail straight back to the user. http://www.mailwasher.net

However, one thing that we often fail to admit except in private is the importance of permission e-mail marketing, where the members of your mailing list have given you permission to contact them, or where theyre past customers of yours. Obviously, these e-mail lists are always opt-out, so if someone chooses not to continue receiving information from you, they can easily get removed from the list.

Many of you know that I write monthly articles for Planet Ocean Publications, which in my opinion is one of the best sources for up-to-date information in the search engine industry. Their monthly online publication, Search Engine News, is second to none, and if you dont subscribe to it, youre missing out on tips and strategies that could make an amazing difference in your search engine optimization work. For those of you who arent familiar with Planet Ocean, heres their URL. http://www.searchenginehelp.com/moreinfo/

Stephen Mahaney is the editor of Planet Ocean, and hes easily one of the top marketing gurus on the Internet. I spent several hours on the phone with him recently, and he told me that Time Magazine wrote an article in their November 3 edition that dealt with the importance and impact of permission e-mail marketing.

There are a couple of quotes straight from the magazine:

"E-mail marketing is fast, effective and dirt cheap -- a godsend for marketers in an economy that has crunched advertising budgets."

". . . the humble medium of e-mail is blossoming while flashier forms of Internet advertising are going the way of the Pets.com sock puppet."

"Little wonder that old-line companies like Ford and Procter & Gamble are joining early users of targeted e-mail pitches like Amazon.com and J. Crew."

Can we trust Time Magazine I do believe we can! Theyre a highly trusted magazine and have been for years and years. Time is clearly going on the record of saying that permission e-mail marketing is one of the most valuable means of making sales on the Internet, but only if done properly.

In the words of Stephen Mahaney, "If you have yet to correctly integrate permission email marketing into your online business plan, then you risk being thwarted by your competitors that do. Its just that plain and simple."

So, while spam e-mail should always remain locked tightly in a closet NEVER to be let out, permission e-mail marketing is a crucial way for you to keep in touch with your customers and those interested in your products or services.

Lets look at five effective permission e-mail marketing strategies, tips that many Webmasters fail to do, and they ultimately lose business because of it.

1. If someone writes for information on your goods or services, save those e-mail addresses! Remember that sales arent always made the first time someone hears of a service or product. One trusted source told me that you have to hear about a product, service, or company at least twenty times before you begin to trust that company enough to do business with them.

2. Set up an online form where people can sign up with their names and e-mail addresses to receive a copy of your monthly or quarterly newsletter or updates to your site, or to ask you questions. Have the information go straight into a database that contains the e-mail addresses of everyone who has written to you for information. Then, create a newsletter that is not just a sales pitch for your products and services. Offer valuable tips to y