Opt-In is not necessarily an efficient means of getting good response. I've
included a snipped quote from someone who has experience with Opt-In lists.
(This comes from a discussion list.)
"I've been in magazine marketing
for ten years and would be happy to share my limited experiences in,
and opinions of, the world of online marketing.
First, I�ve had both very negative and very positive results when
using email as a marketing tool. My negative experience came from
testing opt-in lists: a test emailing of 10,000 pieces yielded only
a 0.4% response to a very soft offer of a free sample copy. Compare
this to the average 4.4% I�ve achieved through traditional direct
mail with double postcards. Even factoring in the reduced cost of
email, I still came out five and a half times better with direct
mail on a cost-per-prospect basis.
The reason? IMHO, it�s too early, and the industry is too young. The
lists are not refined enough: while I can pinpoint precisely my
target market (social studies/language arts teachers, grades 6-9)
through direct mail, the best opt-in email lists I can find are
divided into only the broadest of categories ("education"). I also
think that, thanks to the prevalence of spam, the market is not yet
ready to receive legitimate email offers.
I do believe that things are improving, however. One of the leading
list companies in my industry has started offering legitimate email
addresses: people identifiable by name and job category who have
agreed to receive email through this company. Will it work? Time
will tell, and I�m keeping a close eye on their progress.
My positive experience with email has come about when I�ve
incorporated email into the overall customer communication plan.
I've included a space for email address on our business reply cards,
and receive an email address on 35-40% of the cards I get back. A
few weeks after the sample issue goes out I send a follow-up email,
asking whether they received the sample and what they thought of it,
and regularly receive a 20-25% response to those emails. I've gotten
some wonderful feedback and an excellent start on a true customer
relationship. I should also note that I�ve never been accused of
spamming; in fact, I�ve even had a few customers compliment me on
the way in which we�ve used email to communicate with them.
I�ve only dabbled in ecommerce, so I don't want to throw my
uninformed opinion into the ring. I would, however, recommend that
you immediately start subscribing to Circulation Management Magazine
(www.circman.com), an excellent source for information on
internet-based marketing in the magazine industry. I recall, for
example, an article on effective web marketing, citing Men�s Health
Magazine as a heavy - and profitable - user of the web for
subscription generation."
I thought you might find this useful. Good luck.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Leslie S Pearson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2000 10:42 PM
Subject: [SaF] Opt-in-Mail List Programs
> I have been asked to help someone with managing an opt-in e-mail list
> (NOT SPAM) they wish to use for promotional purposes.
>
> The requestor is looking for the following:
>
> software applications
> that enable us to develop nicely formatted, graphically pleasing
> bulletins/announcements/promotional offers, etc. over e-mail rather than
> the
> plain-Jane e-mail messages normally used for everyday correspondence.
>
> Any ideas? Perhaps they are looking for something like the fancy messages
> Juno uses when they send out their advertisments in user's mail.
>
>
>
>
> Leslie Pearson
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://www.crosswinds.net/~lesliepear
> AIM: lesliepear
>
> ________________________________________________________________
> YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
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> Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit:
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>
