The Changing Face of Email Advertising

by: Cary Christian

I receive hundreds of unsolicited email ads every day.  Most of them are obviously just a canned ad that has been sent to thousands . . . maybe even millions . . . of people from lists farmed off the Internet.  But many of them claim to be from people who have visited our site or who otherwise seem to know more about us and what might be of interest to us.  Some of those are worth a laugh or two.

Let me explain by example: one such email was from someone who had visited our site and thought their services would be perfect for us to use to increase traffic.  Never mind the fact that our site contains several articles and a product review stating in no uncertain terms that such services are useless.  They must have missed that point when they visited. 

The same thing happens with people proposing joint ventures for products that have nothing to do with the theme of our site.  If they had spent two minutes actually browsing our site they would have realized the error of their ways.

I generally do not mind when people send a personal email to us about a joint venture or a product they would like to see us try out and maybe recommend.  We are open for business and publish contact information so I believe it is quite appropriate for people to approach us with ideas or proposals as long as the proposal is not some mass-mailed advertisement.

For example, if I were to receive an email from someone telling me about a service they offer that they believe would be a valuable resource for our visitors and the service makes sense when you consider the content of our site, I would seriously consider the proposal.  Why shouldn't I?

Even better if they state that they read certain information on our site, possibly quote from that information in the email, and point out how their product or service fits into that theme.

The same is true of most types of advertising.  You may not attempt to do joint ventures and you may not approach people you do not know to ask them to sell your products on their site.  That doesn't matter and, at this point, you may be better off if you do not.  The point I want to make is that your online communications must be targeted and individualized regardless of the form they take.  Targeted communications are going to be hundreds of times more effective than a shotgun approach no matter what  the purpose of the communication or the medium used.  That has always been true and is even more true now.

Most list sellers will tell you they provide "targeted" lists for you to mail to.  Let's not confuse that type of targeting with what I'm talking about here.  The type of targeting I'm talking about is getting back to the one-on-one relationship in business.  Forget targeting a group that are interested in your TYPE of product or service in general.  Target instead those people that are interested in YOU specifically.

The Internet has made it very easy to reach millions of people at low cost and very quickly.  That doesn't mean you should.  Twenty well thought out, targeted communications to appropriate recipients will get you further than thousands of canned ads sent out to people you know nothing about.

The online business world is changing.  Most small businesses are beginning to realize that.  Home business owners who grasp that knowledge early and act on it will find themselves in a great position to grab market share.  Now is when you need to start learning to work smarter.  The days of mailing to thousands in the hope that ten or so might be interested are gone.

Email has always been the equalizer for home businesses, but email marketing is almost dead . . . at least in its traditional form.  People are becoming immune to email ads.  But email can still be a powerful tool if used thoughtfully and only after the relationship building process is successfully initiated.

If you still want to use email advertising, the key is in building relationships.  Wherever possible, build into your website the capabilities for people to interact with you.  Give them appropriate contact information that is easy to find from any page on your site; use forms everywhere feasible to allow people to request additional information; include content that will make people want to contact you; offer something of value they can take with them that keeps your name in front of them; run surveys to get their opinions on issues, products and services; and so on.

These ideas are not new.  They are primary methods used to build opt-in lists.  But the focus now needs to be on building the relationship, not just getting a name you can mail to.  Personally, I'd rather have a list of 200 people I can interact with and know something about than a list of 10,000 anonymous people I know nothing about.

Don't let your site become a billboard.  People are adept at ignoring billboards.  Give them a reason to interact and those that are most interested will indeed interact with you.  That gives you the opportunity to begin building a relationship with them which, in turn, will allow you to eventually turn them into a loyal customer.

(c) copyright 2003