ad box #1 Cardstar Store
An eye-catching card can keep your
name on a client or prospect’s desk, or pinned to their cubicle wall
for weeks -- right at hand when it is time for them to purchase the
service or product you offer.
Besides saving you time and money,
Greeting Cards are personal, humorous, effective and all around
unique. Cardstar Store
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Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
Feature Article
Opt-In Basics - Just the Facts Ma'am
First of all, let's define this much misused and often
loosely interpreted word 'opt-in.'
When a potential customer makes a conscious decision
to join your list, she has exercised an option, or 'opted-in' to your
mailing list. She has also demonstrated a pre-determined interest in
whatever it is that you are offering, making her a 'targeted' opt-in
subscriber.
However, many common methods of collecting email
addresses have nothing in common with a true opt-in process. In other
words, a list of true opt-in subscribers is not . . .
- Gathered from postings to links directories, FFA pages, or online
classified ad pages.
- Not other 'members' of a 'safe-list' you
belong to.
- Not purchased from a 'hot email leads' mill.
A true opt-in relationship is a one-on-one situation,
between you and the subscriber. She has made a
conscious decision to hear more about your offer, and
has granted permission for you to send future emails
pertaining to the original topic of interest. With that
ideal in mind, if your candle factory is the original topic
of your subscriber's interest, it may be considered grossly
out-of-bounds for you to arbitrarily begin sending her
information about an online business venture.
Beginning From Scratch
First of all, you have to entice people to voluntarily
opt-in to your list. It's likely that no one will subscribe
to your list just to help you in your business endeavour,
or just because she is a nice person. So, two factors
become critical at this point.
Critical Factor #1
There must be a clearly explained benefit or
incentive; something the subscriber will gain in return for taking her
time to opt-in and read your material.
In the information marketing business, the offered
incentive commonly takes the form of a report delivered by
autoresponder, or an electronic book download. When using
this sort of an incentive for new subscribers, it is much
more than important that you provide valid and useable
information in a professional format. Anything less will
harm your credibility from the start.
ad box #2 30,000 products
(Office supplies, CD-RWs, CD-Rs & Disks, Paper,
Notebooks & Pads)
Guaranteed Low Prices
Fast, Free
Delivery on Orders Over $50! Only at Office
Max
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Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
It is also recommended that you be as fresh and
original as possible with your incentive offer. Even a truckload of
outdated information and worn out ebooks will not generate much
interest with potential subscribers.
Other types of business will find that the incentive
can bederived directly from the business itself. A travel broker
may successfully offer hotel discount coupons. A culinary
artist may offer her newest original recipe, or designs
for attractive table presentation.
Regardless of the type of business you're involved in,
the cost of delivering the incentive must remain relative to the
potential profit that can be earned from any individual subscriber. In
other words, don't give away the farm just so you can sell the cow.
Critical Factor #2
The opt-in process itself must be as quick and
hassle free as possible for the subscriber.
Internet users are notorious for being typical Type A
personalities, always in a hurry. A cumbersome, confusing,
or time consuming subscription process will kill your list
before it even gets started.
The Subscription Process
At the time of this writing, there are essentially two
common methods used in fulfilling the subscription process
at a website location. Both methods are currently in common
usage, and both are touted by divergent schools of
marketing thought as being superior over the other.
Webpage based sign up form box or email link
This is normally a static form box or a simple email
link placed on a webpage, usually feeding to an autoresponder of
some sort. This method does little to draw the attention of
the visitor, and practically nothing toward the tweaking of
an impulsive human nature. Yet it provides an inherent
advantage in that it doesn't offend anyone who might be
aggravated by a pop-up window.
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Pop-up window with a form box or email link
This is more widely regarded as the most effective
method of gaining new subscribers. A pop-up window on a webpage can
be, in some ways, likened to the racks of impulse items that are
commonly placed near a supermarket cash register. You may not have
entered the store specifically for that item, but there it is, and
it's a good deal.
An unfortunate disadvantage here is the growing use of
pop-up blocking softwares on many PCs, as well as those
being offered by some major Internet service providers.
We suggest that both webpage based and pop-up methods
be employed, to maximize the potential for getting new subscribers. If
the pop-up window is initially ignored, or is blocked altogether, your
visitor will still have an opportunity to subscribe through a static
link or form box on your webpage.
Another Question - Forms or One-Click Links?
By forms, we mean the little blank fields where the
subscriber is required to manually enter her email address,
her name, and possibly other information. A few years back,
forms were the preferred method of gathering opt-in
subscribers, as webmasters strove to create 'interactive'
webpages where the visitor could actually 'do' something.
More recently, form based subscription boxes have lost
at least some degree of effectiveness, seemingly across the board. As
Internet users are coming to expect ever faster results in just about
every venue, a growing number of people who might otherwise subscribe
to your list will bypass the task of filling in and submitting a form
box.
Other disadvantages to forms surround the possibility
of typographical errors in the email address as well as the
subscriber's name. She may also, at her option, subscribe with her
second or even third line email account, where she may not frequently
check the inbox.
A one-click subscription process, in our own recent
testing (Fall 2003) has proven superior over form boxes by
generating better than twice the number of subscribers on any given
day from a given number of visitors. An added advantage is found by
the greater chance of the visitor's primary email address being used
in the subscription process.
However, a disadvantage can be perceived in the fact
that, depending on the identifier configured into her email client,
her first name may not be available to your database. This would make
it impossible to send any 'personalized' email in the future, which is
a strong attention getting mechanism in and of itself.
Altogether, there is no single best method for
executing the actual subscription process. Each configuration has its
inherent advantages and disadvantages. We simply hope this
information will enable you to make a good decision to suit your own
needs.
Keep in mind that the keys to effectively gathering
opt-in subscribers lie in providing an incentive to subscribe, and
then providing a subscription process that is user friendly, quick and
convenient.
**************
Dan B.
Cauthron offers original marketing insights
and a 7-Volume eMarketing Library to all new subscribers.
Join
his list by visiting www.Earn-
Revenew.com or send your name and email address to
Dan@Earn-Rev
enew.com
**************
As part of our ongoing commitment to provide quality content, we
would like you to take a moment to rate this article on a five point
scale.
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ad box #3 Office Depot
Looking to stock up on business essentials?
Shopping is always a snap when you shop Office Depot. From pencils to
PDAs to small business services, Office Depot’s got you covered with
everyday low prices and FREE delivery on all orders over $50 in local
trading areas. And best of all, you can shop and ship - right from
your computer. So don’t wait - shop today!
Office
Depot
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Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
......................................................................
..........................................
This week's TIP
Points vs. Pixels
When specifying point size using Cascading Style
Sheets, the text will appear larger on PC than on Mac. While "font-
size: 10pt" can be a comfortable size on a PC, on a Mac it can be a
bit of an eyestrain.
Also, when specifying point size, the user can
increase and decrease the text size on the page.
Specifying pixel size, on the contrary, will result
in essentially the same size text on both PC and Mac monitors; i.e.,
"font-size: 12px" In this case, the user can not (with most browsers)
change the text size.
Which you specify, points (##pt) or pixels (##px),
depends on your preference and on what you want the user to
experience. If you want to let the user adjust the text size at will
or let the user's browser preference determine the size, specify
points. If your design depends on a rigid text size or if the text
size must be consistent across platforms, specify pixels.
* Get these syndicated tip feeds for your
web site, free. *
ad box #4 ABCinkjets.com
Tired of getting defective inkjet cartridges? Try ABCinkjets where
quality matters and the price is right. You tried the rest; now buy the
best compatibles and remanufactured inkjet cartridges and Laser Toner
around.
ABCinkjets.com
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Imagine your ad above!
For rates click HERE
Second Article
3 Hot Traffic Generation Strategies!
- ♦ Make It Worthwhile
- Make your web site worth revisiting. Give your
visitors original content, free e-books, information
web site links, free useful software, etc. For
example, if thousands of other web sites are pro-
moting the same free e-book and that's what you're
promoting too, people are likely to have already
downloaded it and won't visit your web site.
- ♦ Make People Talk
- Tell your customers if they refer four customers to
your web site, they will receive a full rebate of their
purchase price. This will turn one sale into three sales.
You could also offer them other things in return for
referrals like free e-books, free software, coupons,
discounts, etc.
- ♦ Make Strategic Deals
- Find a strategic business partner. Look for some-
one who has the same objective as you. You can
share marketing information, trade ads, sell package
deals, etc. You can find them in search engines,
e-zines, message boards, newspapers, yellow pages,
magazines and offline gatherings.
**************
10,000 Sales-
Producing Words And Phrases!
Just visit: www.ldpublishing.com
**************
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ome of you received a blank E-mail from me Tuesday. No this was not a scheduled delivery. I accidently clicked the wrong button. Isn't technology wonderful? Sure it is.
eanwhile I'm trying to wrap up loose ends around here. I'm planning on taking vacation starting about June 3rd. No huge plans for it. I'm just going to jump in the car and let it go where it will. Oh, I do have to make a delivery in Mobile Alabama, so I guess the general direction will be south.
eople ask me why I don't fly. It's not that I'm apprehensive about it. In fact, I love flying, however, I love driving even more, so it's the car for me. I should've been a trucker.
e'll see how it goes, but I'm thinking I'll mail out the June 12th edition from the road. I'll keep you posted.
