Never Spam! I'll admit in the early day's (16 years ago) I had considered it. But back then the Internet was very young and I only received maybe 1 or 2 a week. Actually getting an unexpected email was more viewed as a surprise. Today I receive over 300 a day per email address. I have Spam software so most of it never makes my in box. But in today's world it's viewed as harassment. If you don't mind getting a negative image for your company and possibly fined and blacklisted, then go for it.
Never, ever buy a list on a CD. The only people making money on these lists are the ones selling them to unsuspecting, but well intentioned marketers. They'll show you all kinds of magic numbers to make it look like you can't lose, but I suggest you learn from my mistakes. Don't do it.
Never opt out from Spam because this tells the spammer two things, 1. They got through 2. The email address is valid. Guess what? Your email address is sold at the speed of light.
When signing up to receive emails or newsletters make sure you read the privacy statement. Most people don't. The most important thing to look for is, are they sharing your information with 3rd parties? This can lead to lot's of unwanted email. You think it's spam, but you actually unwittingly approved it . Many companies tell you that right up front and make it an option to receive offers from third parties. Point being, use integrity and ethics and you'll create happy long term customers.
Your web site should attempt to ethically capture your visitors contact information (e.g. sign up to receive special offers and discounts on our widgets). Many people fail to do this. The truth is all of your marketing efforts should have this end goal in mind. You should be working towards having your own list.
My first client sold a combination land and sea vacation packages. We used a 3rd party to generate our leads. We ran a legitimate "enter to win a vacation" lead generation system with an option to receive discounted vacation offers. We then sent emails to our list offering them our latest vacation offer. The response was incredible; our "cost of sale" went from $450.00 (using direct mail) to $85.00 using email. We were as you can imagine elated. Our budget was self fulfilling because essentially we were buying sales at a profit, not advertising. Why did this approach work so well? It was targeted. We didn't just email anyone with a pulse. We emailed people that expressed their interest in travel.
The secret to our success is that we own and maintain ourr list.....
It's more cost effective to put your product in front of someone who has interest in it!
We aggregate all of our own data. We compile data from over 12,000 different websites and over 1200 different publications; we are the aggregator and not the list broker. You are dealing directly with the source of the data.
We take a person’s self-reported, opt-in information from warranty cards, online registrations, e-newsletters, and surveys. Then, we bounce that information against all the major data sources like Equifax, Axiom, Experian, and Trans-Union. This way we build real data based upon an individual’s self-reported data. Then, we cross-reference, or overlay that information against the databases that we currently manage to find other interests.
This process is called data profiling, and we have over 700 different selects to choose from. Anything from age, income, location, children in the home, ages of children in the home, ethnic backgrounds, vehicles that they drive even specific interests and lifestyles. Many companies buy the list off an affiliate network. This type of buying can be questionable in terms of quality.
...we rent our list at wholesale prices on average of .01 to .05 cents each. Many list rental companies are on average of .10 to .15 cents each, using the marketing strategy of comparing it to the cost of direct mail (a legitimate comparison). I'll admit that some of our list can be costly too, but only when the list criteria or category dictates a small universe (e.g. you sell prosthetic pinky toes but only for the left foot, size 9.5, for females only) As you can imagine, probably not a big market.
The average response rate for Direct mail is about .05%. The average cost of preparing a direct mail piece on the low end is about $1.00. So you mail out to 25,000 people @ a cost of $25,000, let's say you get 50 responses, not sales but inquires. It just cost you $500.00 for a lead. Get the picture. Direct mail can definitely be beneficial (e.g. if you generate leads on the internet or use a lead generating company) you've probably acquired their physical mailing address, it's a good idea to also communicate with them via direct mail, budget permitting.
I'll use a higher end price as the cost of the email. Let's say we're at .05 each. That equals $1,250.00 for the list, once again we'll use the 50 responses (note: email response rates are normally higher) but for the sake of comparing apples to apples. The cost of the lead would be $25.00. But that's not all we discovered. With email we can track open rates (how many people actually opened the email) and click through rates (how many people went to your web site) using the link in the email, and then from there you have your web stats to see what they did once they got to your web site. Want to one up that? Do a split test on the subject line. Two up it? Create different copy in your email to see what pulls best instantly. Three up it? Create different landing pages to see which converts best. That's the beauty of internet marketing, you get instant feedback and get to make immediate changes to maximize your marketing efforts and ultimately your profits.
Well, enough said...if you'd like more details or to get a quote on our email campaigns.
Contact Tony Giuliani: 321-663-4640
or Email Tony@21stcenturymarketingonline.com
|
