NFIB

Don't Spam Potential Customers--Use Opt-in Email Vendors
04/ 15/ 2002

Your small business could benefit enormously by sending out bulk emails to thousands of prospective customers simultaneously. But Internet etiquette says email should be sent only to individuals who are expecting it--or who have authorized email to be sent to them on specific topics, commonly referred to as "opt-in" email. Sending spam-- email the receiver never asked for--can have extremely negative results. It's like junk mail -- people don't read it, they just throw it away.

Fortunately, a number of online firms now offer extensive opt-in email lists that allow your business to send email to thousands of potential customers. Such bulk emails shouldn't generate too many negative responses from recipients. And usually, such opt-in mailings will be received and read with interest, providing a degree of response that almost always exceeds that of regular direct mail campaigns. In today's Workshop, Jeffrey Moses discusses opt-in lists and gives information about a few online vendors of such lists.

An opt-in email campaign can provide significant cost savings over direct mail campaigns. To mail a postcard, you have to print the card, purchase labels and pay for postage. In contrast, the cost of sending opt-in email ranges from about $0.14 to $0.20 per person.

Another advantage to sending opt-in email is the immediacy of the mailing. Email is instantaneous, while regular mail may take three to seven days to arrive. Email also makes it quicker and easier for recipients to click on Web sites included, since customers are already online when they receive email.

A few of the leading opt-in vendors are described below. All offer extensive email lists of both residential customers and businesses, ranging in size from the thousands to the hundreds of thousands.

1. Postmaster/Netcreations (www.postmasterdirect.com)

Postmaster gives an outstanding definition of opt-in email on its home page:

"We guarantee that every name on our lists belongs to an Internet user who has come to our network of more than 400 partner sites and signed up to receive commercial email messages about topics of interest. Our unique double opt-in system ensures that no Internet user will ever be signed up without his knowledge or consent. "

Postmaster advertises more than 9,000 lists and charges 20 to 25 cents per name for list rental with a minimum order of $400.

2. Bulletmail (www.bulletmail.com)

Bulletmail has extensive lists for business-to-business, gifts and collectibles, money and finance, computing and software, hobbies, sports, travel and electronics. 3. HTMail (www.htmail.com/customer.html)

HTMail offers lists at the price of about $0.1495 per name. As with the vendors previously mentioned, it has extensive opt-in lists in a wide variety of categories.

Each of the above vendors handles the actual emailing for you, with the standard email containing 55 lines of text. The companies can also work with you to fine-tune your message for optimal results, while also providing tracking services that let you know how many people responded to your mailing.

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