SPAM is #1 Desperate Measure taken by Internet marketers.

SPAM is defined in Internet terms as:

Electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Some people define spam even more generally as any unsolicited e-mail. However, if a long-lost brother finds your e-mail address and sends you a message, this could hardly be called spam, even though it's unsolicited. Real spam is generally e-mail advertising for some product sent to a mailing list or newsgroup. See my article "Desperate" Marketers Take "Desperate Measures" at: http://www.jackofclarks.com/mlmtips.html

You don't have to use those tactics to succeed! You need to use email with care, only emailing those who have requested it. For example if you've got an advertisement and someone emails you about details, then you have their permission to email them. You simply must establish `Trust and Credibility', with your prospects, clients and customers.

You can't expect people to respect you; let alone want to do business with you if you send them email they don't want. You want to contact people who are interested in your product, service or opportunity. You have to earn their `trust'! It's all about 'honesty and integrity'! You can succeed by establishing these principles in your marketing campaign.

Email Etiquette: http://www.iwillfollow.com/email.htm

This type of promotional e-mail can limit your costs of running a promotion, but they are harder for consumer to redeem and they might only target a small segment of your Opt-In list. The first two options are probably more appealing to larger part of your customer base.

4. Sweepstakes

We all have seen sweepstakes offers on Internet, so we won't provide an example here. Sweepstakes can create incentive for your customer to purchase, but they usually do not create urgency for a large segment of your list. Offering a free vacation or trip might be very appealing to you, but is this offer going to cause your customer to make a purchase today. If you decide to offer a sweepstakes, make sure you monitor your incremental sales that are generated. You might find that you only marginally increased sales vs. your regular monthly sales.

You have decided time frame of your offer and what you want to offer. It is time to write your e-mail! When writing your promotional e-mail, make sure you are trying to reach broadest cross section of your Opt-In list as possible. As we stated earlier, your e-mail should promote, excite, educate or entertain.

Make sure your e-mail opens with an offer to unsubscribe. Many companies locate their unsubscribe notices at bottom of their e-mail. You show your customers a great deal of respect, if you offer them opportunity to unsubscribe at beginning of your message. You also quickly eliminate customers that are no longer interested in your products of services.

Have promotional portion of your e-mail as next part of your message. This is where you make your money. If you have four items or services to promote, include them all. Make sure you provide a direct link in your e-mail to spot in your web site where customer can purchase promotional item(s). Do not make them go to your home page and navigate your web site to find promotion!

The third component is to excite, educate or entertain your customers, by providing them with third party information that you have found on Internet. If that information comes from a web site or web page, include that URL, so customer can quickly access your information. If you excite, educate or entertain your customers, they will recommend your Opt-In list to others and your unsubscribe rate will be significantly lower than other companies that only promote their products.

In summary:

Using Opt-In e-mails for promotional purposes is one of most effective and most affordable advertising strategies available to any web entrepreneur. Make sure that you promote, excite, educate or entertain and your Opt-In list will continue to grow and so will your sales.