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       ** DEMC ** Volume VIII No. 5 **
          The Truth About Email Marketing!
    Serving the Internet Since November 1995

 
Quote for today:

"Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be
not altered for the better designedly." - Francis Bacon

_________________________________

WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE - FEATURES

1) Editor's Note: "The Customer Experience"
2) Business Insights: "Punch Up Your Sales' Speak"
3) Feature Article: "Habeas License Fee's Explained"
4) SOHO Help Desk: "Habeas, Inc. CEO Responds"
5) DEMC's - Advertising Information

 
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Forward DEMC to your friends and associates.
Anyone can subscribe for Free by emailing:
Subscribe@sendfree.com

 
=============
1.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

"The Customer Experience"

In the course of my ongoing research to stay informed about
the Internet and email marketing issues, I came across a
new *buzz word* about Internet marketing which struck
me as being incredibly accurate. It was the term:
"customer experience".

The idea behind this terminology is to focus on making your
site usable, rather than concentrating on what was
previously thought important, making your site "sticky".
In today's marketplace when people visit your site they
should be able to quickly find the information for which
they're looking, buy it if desired and access help if needed,
promptly.

The idea of offering as much content or activity as possible
on your web site is no longer touted as the secret to success.
Instead, good customer service, listening to what your
visitors want and providing it as well as designing easily
navigable web sites are the keys to giving customers a
positive experience.

Upon reading about the customer experience, a light bulb
went on in my head. And I realized why conversion rates at
our SendFree site have been slower recently. The fact is our
SendFree web site is in need of a major redesign. The
SendFree site was constructed in 1999, about 4 years ago.
Since then the basic sales process of the site has remained
the same. We provide massive amounts of information to
visitors and members to make the site "sticky".

We provide so much information because over the years,
new members have contacted us to say they don't
understand how to use an autoresponder, they don't
understand the ad exchange, they don't understand why to
send out email broadcasts. With their requests for help they
ask for step-by-step instructions. We have obliged and
regularly we've written up new explanations to add to the
site and our email updates. To date we probably still receive
at least one email a week asking for even more explanations.

Now add to this scenario the fact that we have other
members contacting us complaining that we provide too
much information and they're overwhelmed.

Who do you please?

Similarly we have older SendFree members requesting new
features and functionality for their autoresponders which we
put into place for everyone. But these additions frequently
cause newer members to complain that there are too many
features to learn!

For weeks I have fretted over the dilemma. My thinking has
always been to make sure the autoresponder service works
and that we've answered every conceivable question.
However, I've learned that having everything working and
offering lots of help files is not enough to be keep members
satisfied.

The old paradigm of keeping a "sticky" website is no longer
working. The SendFree site is over-loaded with information!

Discovering the idea of focusing on the "customer
experience", has pointed out to me our problem. We have a
one size fits all sales strategy. The fact is every user is
different and the goal of our site must be to accommodate
each user's individual needs.

Thus rather than emailing every new member, pages of
helpful information, we need to let the user choose the
material that interests him/her. We also need to offer help
files at different levels. Write beginner explanations for
newbies, with newbie language and provide more advanced
help files for experienced marketers.

What's more as an autoresponder service it makes sense to
provide targeted explanations about each feature and have it
accessible by autoresponder. This tactic will allow members
to request just the help file they're interested in reviewing.

Similarly, we need to consider different interfaces in the
member area and allow users to select their preferred
design. And rather than assuming every member will want
the same package, provide different packages to meet
customers' needs.

Most importantly, in evaluating how to improve the
SendFree site's "customer experience" it is critical to
listen to our members and implement what they want. So as
I embark upon changing the SendFree's sales process, it
will be essential that I continually check in with members
and make sure the updates are improving their overall
"customer experience".

Now, if you have found your web sites sales to be declining,
consider your "customer experience". Ask for feedback
from your visitors and customers. Find out what you can
improve. Then focus on fulfilling your customer's requests
and I expect your conversion rates will rise.

Note: There will be no issue of DEMC E-Magazine next week.
Look for your next issue on Wednesday, February 12, 2003.

 
Abbie Drew
DEMC Editor
mail@demc2.com

 
=============
2.

EMAIL MARKETING INSIGHTS

* Exclusive *

"Punch Up Your Sales' Speak"
By: Yvonne DiVita

In the sales world, meek and mild never accomplished
anything. I heartily recommend you hit your customers right
between the eyes with your sales message this year. And the
best way to do that is to punch up your sales' speak.

My email box is overflowing from Web site owners that
thought their Web site was their ticket to success online
only to find out that the ticket they bought was for a location
on the outskirts of town, down a side road going nowhere.

I get questions on being listed in Google and other Engines;
questions on getting more customers; and questions on
marketing beyond engines; for example:

How do I get my Web site to show up in Google and other engines?
You optimize it. How do you optimize it? That's a long,
complicated process that you should be researching in great
detail, or paying a professional to accomplish. A good place
to start is at - http://www.highrankings.com/

I was recently hired to optimize a Web site that has great
sales potential. However, within its niche market, it was
invisible. Why? Because the sales copy on the site did not
persuade nor inspire folks to buy. It stated the obvious and
offered some testimonials. But it didn't answer the most
important question visitors have: "What's in it for me?"

It's the active sales copy on a site that attracts both surfers
and the engine spiders. Words tell them what they need
to know; things like how your product is better than
someone else's. Or, how you're going to make their life
better, more successful, simpler, whatever. Spiders rely on
the words to clue them in to your product when someone is
searching for it online. Surfers rely on the words to convince
them you have what they want.

For instance: "Handmade Cotton Quilts," should read,
"Old-fashioned quilts- handmade with love and care, just like
your Grandmother uses on her bed!"

How do I get more new customers?

The better question is: How do you make existing customers
so happy that they refer all of their friends and family to
you?

Customer relationship management is rapidly becoming a
cliché. As a wordsmith, I cringe when I see it, but it's an apt
description of customer care. Care is a primary requirement
for getting new customers and keeping old ones. A recent
email from a woman asking me what she could do to bring
in more clients after submitting her site to the
engines prompted me to look over her site.

I saw immediately that she was in for trouble-both from
would-be customers and from the engines. There were no
links on her site to any other sites, and a check at
http://linkstoyou.com/CheckLinks.htm told me she had no
links coming in, either. That limits credibility with the
engine spiders. They want to see that someone other
than YOU thinks you're worth visiting. So do your
customers.

Offering links to sites that complement your product or
service shows your customers that you care about them
beyond the sale you're hoping to make.

Q. How do I market myself better?
A. First of all, displaying your products online is not
marketing. Offering free shipping is nice, but if your Web
site doesn't attract visitors, how will anyone know about
your free shipping? The process is simple; after great sales
copy and engine optimization, you should be promoting your
site is through an ezine and/or email marketing campaign.
It's easier and cheaper than any offline campaign.

The content for an ezine promoting quilts could discuss how
quilts are sewn; different quilt patterns and their history;
and information on the handmade quality of the site's own
quilts. The site owner should use current customers to
promote it, always suggesting that the reader forward the
ezine/email to interested friends.

Brand new sites should consider calling in the troops.
Contact 50 friends; family and former colleagues, then send
them an email to announce your new site, and ask them to
send the announcement to 5 other people who might be
interested in what you're selling-with permission, of
course. If you've written persuasive copy, you should end
up with dozens of subscribers and possible new customers.

Be creative when you ask for feedback. Ask the customer
what her/his favorite color is; ask what hobbies s/he has; ask
what his/her favorite ice cream is. These kinds of questions
reveal personality types. Once you've identified your
clients' personalities, you can write your Web site and email
content to appeal to their inner desires. Visit
www.psychotactics.com and learn a little more about the
psychology of the human mind. Knowing how the brain
processes sales copy will help you improve yours to start
making more sales.

This year, vow to fight the good fight. Don't take that,
"Not interested," sitting down. Stand tall and say, "Them's
fightin' words!" Find out why they're not interested by
asking the precise questions, then knock'em dead with great
sales copy that keeps'em coming back for more!

###
Yvonne DiVita is the owner of Windsor Enterprises,
offering web content writing, editing and marketing.
She is an avid Internet guru specializing in cutting edge
technology, website development and promotion,
and Internet marketing.
Contact her at, divita@windsorenterprises.com

 
=============
3.

FEATURE ARTICLE:

* Exclusive *

"Habeas License Fee's Explained"
By Laurie Rogers

Due to the overwhelming response from my last article,
Abbie has graciously invited me to review the Habeas
license fee's more closely in this issue. (If you missed
my last article, "You ARE going to PAY to send Email"
you can access it from DEMC's email marketing newsletter
archive.)

Many of you after reading my last article contacted me and
commented that, although they did visit the Habeas FAQ web
page, they left feeling uncertain if they would have to pay
any of the other fees or if they could in fact obtain a
license for their business to begin with. I will also note,
that the majority of the reader feedback (over 760 emails
and still counting) was opposed to paying any type of fee
(no matter what) to a company that is represented by
anti-spammers. Although these readers do NOT condone the
use of spam, they are opposed to the use of filters, as
filters have been the down fall of many legitimate
publishers businesses.

Here's an outline of the Habeas fee's. (I would like to thank
jl scott, ph.d., Director of iCop - http://www.i-Cop.org - for
her assistance in confirming these license fees.)

- "Individual and ISP licenses are free."
Although they may be free, your messages must be completely
non-commercial. That means you can not email your friends
and family regarding any business matters.

- "Bulk Commercial Mail licenses are based on email volume."
You'll pay from 1/2¢ to 1¢ a message, with a minimum fee of
$200 up to a maximum of $3,000 a month. On the Habeas site
it notes the following about Bulk Commercial Mail license:
"Please note that if your business includes sending marketing
or other commercial or promotional mailings to mailing lists
on behalf of either your customers or your own business, or
the provision or enabling of such mailings to or for others, you
will need to apply for a Bulk Commercial Mail license, rather
than a Business license. "

Therefore ANY ezine that is promotional rather than content
oriented would have to pay for a Bulk Commercial Mail license.
And ezines that want to send solo ads would have to pay the
Bulk Commercial Mail license fees to do so!

Originally, I had thought small businesses under $100,000
annual business revenue could qualify for the less expensive
Business license, but this is incorrect. Upon double checking
the Habeas site I learned that only non-commercial ezines with
under $100,000 annual business revenue get special treatment.
The Habeas site states:

"Small Business Newsletter Enterprises: If your primary business
model is the sending of Bulk email newsletters at no charge to
the recipients, the content of which is not primarily marketing
or promotional material, and your annual business revenue is not
more than $100,000.00, then you may sign a Business License,
rather than a Bulk Commercial Mail license, under our Small
Business Newsletter exception."

Therefore only if you publish a free newsletter - that is
predominately informative content rather than sales promotions
and ads - AND you don't make over 100 grand - THEN you can
qualify for the less expensive Business license.

- "Business licenses are $200 a year."
This license is for online business owners that send out email
for any reason other than to friends and family! And for
business' who publish a non-commercial newsletter with under
$100,000 in annual revenue.

When we apply the Habeas license fees to an actual example and
calculate the costs for an average ezine with 10,000 subs that
publishes a weekly sales flier the monthly total to send out
the flier is $430 for the month! This is based on 4.3 weeks in
a month which has 5 Mondays, or whatever day you publish on.

But gee, Abbie - you would get a BIG BREAK! Instead of the
$8,000+ a month you could pay for your 215,000 subs, with
the cap, you would pay just $3,000 a month! Still an
impossible sum for most small business owners.

Based on these license fees it's obvious small businesses who
choose to use Habeas will have their profit margins decreased
dramatically. The Habeas site also states that these may simply
be temporary prices: "Habeas may eventually raise the price of
the business and commercial B^lk licenses, ..." And as with
anything else, when something is "popular", the fees always go up!

I hope that this short piece has provided you with some of
the answers that you may not have understood. Although
these fees may sound reasonable to some of you, think about
"WHO" it is that you're paying the fees to! And this will not
prevent spam. If you are looking for more detailed and
accurate information, jl scott the founder of iCop has put
together a number of web pages that should answer any of your
questions. Go to: http://www.i-Cop.org/jgb/012003.htm

###
Laurie Rogers is the co-author of the Ezine Resource Guide
that she wrote with Jimmy D. Brown and is the author of the
Ultimate Resource Guide, featuring OVER 500 FREE and
Low Cost Resources for Business Owners (not just publishers).
http://www.optinfrenzy.com/ultimateresourceguide.html and she
is the owner of Optin Frenzy http://www.optinfrenzy.com

 
=============
4.

~/~ SOHO HELP DESK ~\~
http://www.demc.com

"Habeas, Inc. CEO Responds"

Today's SOHO Help Desk offers a another viewpoint and
explanation on the company, Habeas, Inc., which we have
been discussing in DEMC.

I received the following letter from Anne P. Mitchell,
the CEO of Habeas, Inc. in response to Laurie Rogers'
article, "You ARE going to PAY to send Email". If you
missed this article you can access it from DEMC's
email marketing newsletter archive.

I wanted to share Ms. Mitchell's letter with you as she
clarifies some concerns readers expressed about Habeas,
Inc.. In addition she provides a different perspective
on the potential benefits of Habeas' services.

It will be up to you to decide if Habeas will help or hurt
the Internet. So email your thoughts, opinions and feedback
about Habeas, Inc. for next issue - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

=== LETTER TO THE EDITOR ===

Ms. Drew,

I would like to respond to the article which appeared in your
most recent issue, entitled "You ARE going to PAY to send Email",
by Laurie Rogers. Unfortunately, although I'm sure it was
unintentional, Ms. Rogers made several incorrect assertions on
key points about Habeas, and as a result mischaracterized what
we do, and how and why we do it.

To start, I'd like to hasten to reassure you and your readers
that not using Habeas does *not* mean that the email you
send will not be delivered! Habeas has *no* effect on email
which does not contain the Habeas information! The
existence of Habeas has no impact at all on senders who do
not use it, and their email will continue to be delivered just
as it always has. In addition, not only is it untrue that some
day ISPs will only accept Habeas-warranted mail, but, in
fact, we don't even recommend it!

Rather, Habeas is a value-added service. Much like the post
office's special delivery service: if you don't use it, your
regular mail will be delivered just as it always is. If you
choose, you can pay a bit more for special delivery, and the
attendant added assurances. (Although Habeas differs in
that individual senders do not even have to pay for those
extra assurances - individual Habeas licenses are free.)

Where we really add value is for those for whom delivery is
already being impeded, or for those who want reassurance
that their delivery will not be impeded, because their
mailings may look "spammy" even though they are not.
This is happening with increasing frequency as the spam
problem causes receiving sites to draw their spam filters
ever tighter.

In fact, odds are good that some of your readers' mail is
already being filtered or blocked, NOT because it's spam,
but because some IT person, somewhere, decided that it
looked spammy. If your mail is already being filtered
(wrongly) as spam, using us helps with that. If it's NOT
already being filtered as spam, not using us is NOT
going to make it suddenly start being filtered as spam. Not
to put too fine a point on it, but it bears repeating:
not using Habeas will *not* make you any more likely to be
filtered - it will have zero effect.

The only effect using/not using Habeas has is if you *do*
use it, in which case we help your mail get through where it
otherwise might not. For example: AOL and Juno are two
ISPs which make sure that mail from our licensees is
delivered, and not filtered as spam. Neither AOL or Juno is
going to *start* filtering your email as spam just because
you don't use Habeas! But, if they are *already* filtering
your email as spam, if you start using Habeas, your mail
will start getting delivered again.

Does use of our mark in your email say that "it is ok for
people to receive email from you", as Ms. Rogers asserted?
No - that is a judgement call that is certainly not ours to
make! What the Habeas mark says is this: "I, the sender of
this email, self-certify that this email complies with the
Habeas license". We have expended a great deal of effort
and resources to get our ISP and spam-filter partners to
recognize the Habeas mark. The standards of our license
are such that Habeas-compliant mail is email that they can
*know* they should deliver and not block, because their
users have *asked* for it.

For example, they know if mailing list mail comes through
with the Habeas mark, it is promised to be from a double
confirmed list. Does this mean that email from non-confirmed
lists is bad, or will be rejected? No, it means that if the
email would *otherwise* (and wrongly) be rejected as
spam, it will still be delivered, because no matter how it
scored on the "looks like it might be spam" scale, the ISP
knows that because it is warranted to be double confirmed,
it couldn't possibly be spam by any definition.

Another important point is that we don't dictate to anyone
how they should build their mailing lists, or what is or isn't
"ok". We simply say "if you want to include our mark in
your outgoing email, it has to meet this criteria". So, if
I may use DEMC and SendFree as examples, if DEMC has
some mailing lists which are double confirmed, and some
which are not, you could absolutely use our headers in the
double confirmed lists, and continue to send to the other,
single response lists - you simply would not include our
headers in the latter. In fact, many of our licensees who are
in the process of switching to double confirmed will use our
headers in the email to their newer, double confirmed
subscribers, while sending without the headers to their
legacy list members.

Similarly, SendFree could offer the Habeas headers for
those customers who wish to pay for this value-added
feature and have their email list subscribers double confirm,
while your free members would simply continue the service
without the Habeas headers. In fact, we have several
licensees who do just that, and who also take part in our
affiliate program, allowing them to actually offer Habeas at
a discounted rate to their customers.

Finally, I'd like to take a moment to address our pricing. It
is true that our prices for *Bulk commercial mail* are 1/2 to
1 cent an email sent per month, with a $3,000 a month
cap. However, again, that is for B^lk commercial email -
the content of which is primarily marketing or advertising in
nature. And we do have a newsletter exception (for newsletter
email which is not primarily marketing or advertising in nature),
and that is just $200 a year.

So, to recap, the Habeas service is *not* obligatory, it is not
and will not be required by ISPs, and you do *not* have to
start double confirming all of your lists. It is a value-added
service for those who choose to use it, and has no effect at all
on those who don't.

Sincerely,

/s/

Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.
CEO
Habeas, Inc.
http://www.habeas.com

===

 
Please keep sending in your feedback. The help and
resources we've been able to share has been terrific.
Send in your questions, answers and thoughts by
emailing: helpdesk@demc2.com

Be sure to include your SIG and contact URL with your
post as we'll be sharing any viable ideas/information in
an upcoming issue of DEMC E-Magazine.

 
=============
5.

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175,000 subscribers for as little as $36, plus details on
How To Get a FREE Ad in DEMC E-Magazine Visit Our Web Site:
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(c) 2003 DEMC All rights reserved

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