Bulk Email, Spam and Email Marketing

Excerpted from PlanetLink's Enews - an email newsletter delivered for FREE to your computer. To subscribe, go to www.planetlink.com

This issue focuses on effective use of email lists and bulk email for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists of sending same message to some number of recipients at same time. Spam is characterized as sending bulk mail to recipients whom you have had no prior contact or permission.

The issue of whether or not to send Spam can be summed up in three words - "don't do it." While it's not currently illegal under Federal law, (although sending bulk non-approved faxes is), it is generally not permitted by Internet Service Providers under their "terms of service" agreement (PlanetLink's terms of service can be found at http://www.planetlink.com/policy.html). Most ISPs will issue a warning on first occurrence and cancel a client's service on second. The reason for zero tolerance is that while responsible party can literally send millions of messages almost for free, costs associated with sending, delivering and receiving spam are incurred by recipient whose time is spent processing unwanted mail as well as ISPs that transport and store email. A recent European Commission report found that world wide cost is $9.36 billion per year.

A successful website is something that everyone venturing into new arena of Internet marketing and communications wants to have. Your website will often be a potential client’s first impression of you and your business. That being said, it is vitally important that your website represent you in a favorable manner. Your website is a component of your overall marketing strategy and should be reflective of your business and current marketing presentation. Just as your brochures and other print materials represent a level of quality and professionalism, your website should also represent that same level of quality and professionalism. As a point of comparison, you most likely wouldn’t have just anyone design your company’s marketing materials or for that matter, prepare your tax statements. Similarly, it is important that person creating your website know how to effectively communicate both your message and style, and be able to create an effective experience for those visiting your site.

What does it really take to have your website be successful, and what are some of most important steps you can take to make that happen?

1. If you intend to have a unique domain name for your website, you must first check to see if it is available. You can check to see if a domain name is currently registered at http://www.internic.net.

2. Set a budget for your website. It is important to know how much you can spend on your project. In considering costs, remember that a website is a complex matrix of text and images and a professional execution is very important. As a generalization, larger your investment, greater your return. In order to spread your investment over time, you can also grow and expand your website gradually. Don’t forget to include costs for promotion and advertising.