Why you should have an opt in listWritten by Robert Nixon
Why Should You Have An Opt-In List Anyway?As e-commerce heats up and changes way business is done in world today, it will become increasingly important to have your own in-house list of prospects and customers. It is most valuable asset a business could have. It is lifeblood of your business and is where lions share of your profitability will come from. Why? To get a new customer is most costly activity you can take part in. When you figure your marketing costs, your costs to convert a customer, your fulfillment costs a shocking truth is revealed. It may of cost you $75 to get just one sale. If your profit on that item is only $25 you're $50 in hole. And no, you can't make it up by "doing volume". :-) Hopefully you have a back-end system of other products and services to offer that customer so you can take unprofitable transaction and turn it into a profitable relationship. This is where e-mail marketing excels. With low-cost e-mail technology, what was too expensive in off line world of marketing, such as direct mail, is suddenly very attractive. You can communicate, educate, up sell and resell your customers for pennies. Not for thousands it would cost with postal mail. You also get an unlimited number of chances to convert prospects to first-time buyers. The most critical step in sales process. Once someone buys from you, trust starts to build and they will be more inclined to buy more from you in future, adding to your profitability.
| | Networking on the NetWritten by C. J. Hayden
Networking is one of most effective ways to find clients for any consulting or professional services business. But if you limit your networking to only what you can do in person, you'll be missing out on a huge number of possibilities. Networking is more than entering a room full of people and exchanging business cards. It's creating a pool of contacts with whom you can exchange clients, referrals, resources, ideas, and information. Networking can happen by phone, by mail, over coffee, and increasingly, over Internet. The growth of Internet has created many new ways to network without ever leaving your home or office. Pick a topic, any topic, and there will be multiple web sites and online communities devoted to it. Almost any type of Internet presence offers opportunities for networking. In your favorite search engine, type name of your profession or specialty, e.g. "interior design" or "marketing communications." Or, if you have a clearly defined target market, you can use that, e.g. "baby boomers" or "biotechnology." Skip sponsored links or banner ads and focus on detailed results. What you will find is following: Professional Associations & Schools -- Many association or school sites provide member rosters, resource pages, back issues of newsletters, event calendars, and bulletin boards or discussion lists. Not all of these features will be restricted to members or students. Resource Sites & Online Communities -- These include directories of people in profession, vendors, articles, event calendars, bulletin boards, discussion lists, live chats, and links to even more resource sites. Publications -- Magazines and newsletters maintain sites that offer everything from back issues to complete online communities. Job Postings -- These may appear on any of above sites, and often include opportunities for independent professionals, not just those looking for full-time employment. Colleagues & Competitors -- Colleagues and competitors may be exactly same people, depending on your relationship with them. Their sites will tell you more about them and their work, and may offer many of same features as resource sites. Potential Clients -- Their sites will tell you about work they do, current and upcoming projects, and even names of executives and managers. Also, if you subscribe to an online service offering interactive "channels," like America Online, CompuServe or MSN, there may be an entire area dedicated to your profession or target market. Some of these resources are available to non-members as well. Now, how can you use all this information to network? Here are some of most common ways: Bulletin Boards -- These are web pages where you can view and post questions and comments on a specific subject. Answering a posted question is an excellent way to demonstrate your expertise, become known to people who frequent board, and get to know others in your field.
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