What About Spam?

In a word -- DON'T

Unsolicited commercial e-mail has thoroughally worn out its welcome.

Spamming can get you kicked off your ISP.

Spamming can also get you thrown out of almost all reputable associate programs and multi-level marketing systems.

Even if you manage to get away with it, spamming is counterproductive. Most people simply throw away spammed messages without bothering to read them. Those who do read them will likely remember your company and product the worst way possible.

Many people will refuse to buy certain products for years because the company spammed them before learning better. Worse, spam victims will tell their friends.

In marketing circles it is said that a satisfied customer will tell ten friends about the company. However, a dissatisfied customer will tell a hundred.

Do you want the recipients of your advertising program to all be telling a hundred of their friends that they got spammed? Do you want them to be telling people not to buy your products or have anything to do with you?

If someone tells you that sending unsolicited bulk e-mail is the only way to get the word out about your business, don't believe them for a minute. There are better, more effective ways to use e-mail to get the word out to the people who really want to know about your products.

There are a number of companies which specialize in "opt-in" targeted e-mail lists. "Opt-in" means that the people on the list have specifically requested that they be sent e-mail on specific subjects.

Check out Bullet-mail, which provides a page of free tips on writing commercial e-mail.

E-TARGET is another provider of targeted opt-in e-mailing.

Targeted Listings is yet another opt-in provider, and has links to a number of other useful resources for Webmasters and owners of online businesses.

Search for other opt-in e-mail providers: