By J. Gregory Wilson
While bulk e-mail is dangerous to your online presence,
and while targeted e-mail lists of any quality are likely
to pose some danger to your ISP (as well as your wallet),
there are more effective means to take control of your
marketing via targeted e-mail.
No, we're not talking about buying a Postmaster Direct
mailing. This is about YOU, and YOUR WEBSITE, and the
target audience your website is trying to reach. What
do your visitors want? What are they looking for when
they hit your home page? Knowing the answers to these
questions can help you build a targeted mail list, right
from your website.
No matter what your website is "about", it is
about marketing. If you're not marketing a product or
service, you're marketing an idea. And you want others
to know about it. That's marketing, my friend. And a solid
Internet marketing campaign usually involves collecting
the e-mail addresses of your visitors, wherever possible.
This allows you to contact them again in the future: when
your website undergoes radical transformation, or when
your unbeatable offer just got... well, more unbeatable.
These, then, are your contacts and future prospects.
"How are they my future prospects?" you ask.
"They didn't take advantage of our offer." Well,
they may not have bought / responded / joined in the manner
you expected. That doesn't automatically take them out
of the pool of future prospects. Perhaps they didn't have
the finances when they visited. Maybe they weren't convinced
before. Maybe they were interested, but needed further
"push". That's where having a solid mail list
can convert more "prospects" than anything else.
They've been to your website. The familiarity factor usually
plays to your advantage. They've already shown an interest
in what you do / sell / believe. You simply haven't made
him or her an offer they can't refuse.
Good thing you're not like the majority of web marketers,
who simply let countless anonymous persons wander in and
out of your site, without feedback, without acknowledgment,
without interpersonal contact. You know better. You've
determined why the majority of folks visit your site (for
the product, the amusement, or the opportunity). And you've
determined a way to reward the visitor in exchange for
their e-mail address and minimal contact info. And you
tailor this reward to your target audience.
No, this isn't rocket science. Simple marketing principles
at play here. Your visitors go to your humor site, presumably
to get a chuckle out of something. Make them an offer
they can't refuse. Your site's collected "100 Funniest
Jokes of All Time". Or the Joke of the Week e-zine,
featuring the five most outstanding submissions for the
week. It's not a big deal. But it adds value to your web
presence, and nets you the e-mail info you need in return.
(continued on next page...)
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