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       ** DEMC ** Volume VIII No. 6 **
          The Truth About Email Marketing!
    Serving the Internet Since November 1995

 
Quote for today:

"The man who makes no mistakes lacks boldness and the
spirit of adventure. He never tries anything new. He is
a brake on the wheels of progress." - M.W. Larmour

_________________________________

WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE - FEATURES

1) Editor's Note: "How To Find a Profitable Email List"
2) Business Insights: "Swap Articles to Get More Subscribers"
3) Feature Article: "Yanik Silver - Autoresponder Marketing Master"
4) SOHO Help Desk: "Habeas, Inc. Reader Feedback"
5) DEMC's - Advertising Information

 
For details on advertising to DEMC E-Magazine's
175,000 subscribers for as little as $36.
http://www.demc.com/Advertise/advertise.html

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

 
=============
1.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

"How To Find a Profitable Email List"

Thank you for letting me skip out last week, I definitely
needed a little vacation! I hope you did not miss your issue
of DEMC E-Magazine too much. <smile>

Upon my return, I had an exchange with a new subscriber
which I'd like to share with you.

The new subscriber contacted me, asking me for a link
to the DEMC archive. As we do not have a DEMC E-Magazine
archive I offered to send the subscriber some back issues.
Thus I forwarded on to him 10 recent issues of DEMC.

The subscriber wrote back after reviewing the issues and
asked if any of our writers, rather than focusing on building
your own permission list, focused on helping his business
effectively use others' existing email lists. Essentially, he
wanted to know how to find lists that would produce results.

I was not surprised by his request as survey's show 84% of
marketers think the list is the most important element in the
success of an email campaign. Therefore, I wrote back to
the subscriber and said, I would have a writer begin to
research and write up some articles on the topic for future
issues.

What I was interested to note from our conversation,
however, is that the new subscriber had not grasped an
important concept illustrated in the 10 back issues of DEMC.
The point he'd missed is that your own in-house list
generates better results than any rented or purchased list.
Study after study shows the most profitable list is your
own in-house, permission-based email list.

In his email the subscriber commented, that he believed his
sites do not offer content to enable them to build lists. I
think, unfortunately, that many small businesses suffer from
similar thinking. As a result the subscriber as well as many
small businesses fail to even contemplate that there are
content possibilities for them to have business newsletter.

If you are a small business who has this belief, I would
recommend that you look beyond the products you offer and
try brainstorming various content ideas. You also should
consider asking your visitors what kind of information they
might be interested in learning more about. Plus, I would
encourage you to spend some time conducting web searches
for your products and see what type of related sites you
can find.

Taking these steps will help you develop a content base. You
then can begin building your own in-house permission list
sharing this information. The time you invest in developing
your lists will result in just as many sales, if not more
sales then the investment you make in advertising to others'
existing list.

The fact is developing your own permission email list is the
best way to find a profitable email list! Your own list should
be an essential part of your marketing efforts.

If you don't believe me, here's a quick story that proves it!

When I walked in to Disney World last week, (my favorite
vacation spot), I was amazed that a representative approached
us and asked just one question, "Do you have an email address
you would like us to add to our Disney World emailing list?"

I kid you not! The secret is out ... If you want to have a
successfully business, online or offline, you need to ask
your visitors for their email addresses, add them to your
in-house list and deliver good content.

 
Abbie Drew
DEMC Editor
mail@demc2.com

 
=============
2.

EMAIL MARKETING INSIGHTS

* Exclusive *

"Swap Articles to Get More Subscribers"
By: Charlie Page

An article swap is something like an ad swap, only more
powerful. The idea of exchanging, or swapping, ads has
been around for years. An ad swap is simply when two (or
more) publishers exchange ads run ads in each other's
publications. There are many good reasons to do this;
including publishers getting more ads in their respective
ezines while their advertisers reach a larger audience. A
classic win-win. In some cases publishers swap ads when ad
sales are low so their publications look fuller, which can
also lead to increased ad sales.

In much the same way publishers can save time and enhance
the value of their publication by swapping articles in
addition to, or instead of, ads. Swapping articles can be
a huge win-win for publishers and readers too when done
well.

The benefits of running a successful article swap are many.
The publisher's writing workload is decreased. Their
readers get to hear a fresh voice. Successful article swaps
can lead to joint ventures, running solo ads in each other's
ezines and more. If you use your resource box wisely, and
readers like your style, you should gain subscribers every
time your article is run. In addition, a successful article
swap means readers you might not reach otherwise will see
your name.

Here are the steps to create a successful article swap, along
with some ideas to go deeper and create lasting value for
both yourself and the publishers you swap with.

1) Chose your publishers well. While this should be
obvious, don't send your articles on duck hunting to
publishers of Internet marketing ezines. As with all
marketing, the more targeted your approach is the better
your results will be. Use ezine directories or search engines
to find publishers based on the category that best fits your
article topic.

POWER TIP: Once you've chosen a publisher, take time to
read a couple of issues of their publication. If you can send
them an article that reinforces a point they have made to
their readers you might just make a friend. If you can't,
mention what you liked about their publication in your
opening email. This shows the publisher respect and
elevates you out of the group that just emails their
request using a form letter.

2) Be careful with your opening letter. In your opening letter
let the publisher know you want to swap articles, not just
have your article published. Publishers often receive so
many article-publishing requests that they filter them for
later review. Don't let your request fall into the 'to be read
later' pile. Make sure your subject line is clear and to the
point. Publishers hate being tricked by a subject line that
doesn't relate to the actual email message.

POWER TIP: Include the word count and format of your
article in your opening letter. (Example: 856 words
formatted to 65 characters with hard returns at the end of
each line.) This will save publishers time and show them
you know your business. To really impress them, run your
article through a spam filter reporting service and let the
publisher know your article is clean and won't hinder the
delivery of their publication.

3) Use an autoresponder for the article itself. Don't send the
article in your article swap request. Set up the article in an
autoresponder instead so that publishers can get the article if
they want it. This way you will know who is interested by
watching the requests to the autoresponder. Your message
will be shorter (some people filter mail based on length of
message) and you will appear more professional too. I hear
you can get a great autoresponder without paying a dime at
http://www.sendfree.com ;)

4) Offer to combine an ad swap with an article swap. Don't
make the article swap contingent on swapping ads or it will
seem like blackmail. Do offer to extend the arrangement to
include ads, if appropriate for you, in order to save yourself
and the other publisher's time. Getting both ads and articles
in one email means less administrative work for all
publishers involved. And that's a good thing.

5) Send publishers a courtesy copy. While it's important to
be clear in your communications about when their article
will run in your publication, it shows style to send them a
courtesy copy. If they offer to subscribe to your ezine, that's
great. If not, be sure to send them a copy when you run their
article. For added power, forward a copy of any feedback
you receive after the article runs. These little things are
how relationships are formed.

One last tip; after you do a few successful article swaps with
a publisher offer them a multi-part series. These series are
perfect for when publishers want to go on vacation. All
publishers live under time pressure. If your series can fill
their article needs for three weeks while they are gone and
save them time too you'll have a winner.

Article swaps are a powerful way to get your name out to a
broader audience, develop new relationships with publishers
and more. Best of all, very few people are doing them now
so if you get going you will be a trendsetter!

While anyone can spew out a few hundred emails with an
offer for an article swap, the more personal and targeted
your requests are the more likely you will be to get what
you want and make lasting friendships in the process.

When that happens you will be in a league of your own.

###
Charlie Page owns the Directory of Ezines as well as several
other successful web sites. His newest site, Real World
Tactics, teaches specific marketing techniques (like the one
in this article) that work in the real world. Like the
Directory of Ezines, Real World Tactics helps real people
make more money in less time.
Visit Charlie at http://www.realworldtactics.com/demc.html
or email him at mailto:charlie@charliepage.com .

 
=============
3.

FEATURE ARTICLE:

* Exclusive *

"Autoresponder Marketing Masters Series"
By: Mike Merz

An interview with THE autoresponder marketing master,
and Internet marketing legend, Yanik Silver.

Yanik is the owner of Surefire Marketing Inc.
and has earned himself a spot among Internet marketing's elite,
largely due to his top notch, direct response copywriting skills,
and the creation of highly regarded automation tools, courses,
services, and resources geared, but not restricted, to Online Marketing.

So, let's find out how "Mr. Autoresponder Magic", himself,
utilizes automated follow up ...

MM

So glad you found the time to interact with us, Yanik!
I'm sure that our DEMC readers will be as pleased as I am
to have you ... not to mention taking this opportunity to
learn a few of your tricks, of course! ;)

YS

Absolutely! My pleasure.

MM

How important a role does autoresponder marketing play in
your day to day operations?

YS

Extremely important. Now you got me thinking about it - it
would be very tough to run my online business without the
help of my autoresponders (or as I like to call them --
my favorite little email robots) :)

MM

In regards to building, and maintaining, a targeted list of
prospects/customers, are you a major proponent of the "your
list can make or break your Online success" theory?

YS

Absolutely. Just think about it - the money is in your list.
But size doesn't always mean the bigger the better. You see,
someone could have a list of 500,000 people and another
marketer could have a list of 8,000 - but the person with
the 8,000 name list could actually make more money. I
won't reveal names but this is a true incident. You have to
nurture your list and treat them fairly. You can just keep
pitching them every single day. That won't work. However,
if you treat your list with integrity and respect you can
count on HUGE returns every time you mail.

MM

Have you developed any of your own unique methods
and/or strategies for maximizing autoresponder marketing
campaign results (that you'd be willing to share ...)?

YS

There are several:

1. For customers I like to follow-up via autoresponder with
a thank you, then an unexpected gift, content and then
additional offers mixed in with more content.

2. For affiliates I use my autoresponder sequence to train
them on the best ways they can increase their commission
checks and introduce them to helpful resources and tips.

3. For my permission list I try to get them happy they
subscribed by giving them lots of content for several
sequences before unleashing a couple offers on them. :)

MM

If you don't mind me asking, what strategies and methods
do you use to acquire new subscribers?

YS

1. Exit pop-up offering a free course when people come
to our site
2. Delayed pop-up when people come to our site offering
a free course.
3. Giving out our free ebooks and asking people to \
subscribe to get a free report.

MM

Is it safe to assume that you have at least 3 separate lists?
One for regular, permission list members, one for affiliates,
and one for customers? How do you follow up to these lists over
time?

YS

Well more than that - but those are the 3 main groups.
Affiliates receive way more training and resource material.
Customers receive more freebies and "feel good" stuff plus
offers and permission list members receive a mix of content
and offers.

MM

The ongoing HTML vs. text formatting debate ... which side
are you on, and why?

YS

I'm on the text side because of this simple point; Have you
ever received an HTML email from one of your buddies?

MM

What are your views regarding ISP filters, and other SP*M
oriented issues? Has they affected you, and if so, how have
you dealt with them ... personally?

YS

A lot of the autoresponder services now give you the ability
to do a Spam filter check and I use that. However, I haven't
gone over board trying to get around them either.

MM

Is there any advice you'd like to give our DEMC readers in
regards to email marketing, in general?

YS

Absolutely! You should develop an email list and regularly
email your subscribers being sure to treat them the way
you'd want to be treated. I think David Ogilvy (founder of
Ogilvy & Mathers Ad Agency) said it best with this quote:
"The consumer is not an idiot, she is your wife".

MM

How about giving us the inside line on your latest project?

YS

It's something called "21 Mind Motivators" and knowing
this information unlocks your customer's mind (and wallet)
anytime you want. In fact, this information is so powerful
buyers have to promise to only use it in an ethical manner.
21 top-secret methods for influencing and persuading are
revealed here. Check it out at (www.mind-motivators.com)
and you can even get a preview of 11 of the motivators used
right on the sales letter. (Pretty neat!)

MM

Yanik, it's been an absolute thrill to have you!

YS

Thanks - it was fun. I appreciate it.

-------

Future "Autoresponder Marketing Master" interviews are
being booked as of this writing to be run in DEMC in the
months to come ... so stay tuned!

Who would YOU like to see featured in our series?

Send your requests to ... and I'll do my best to track them down! ;)

Regards,
Mike Merz

###
Mike Merz is a well known Internet Marketing consultant, specializing
in Online newbie campaign start ups, and is the owner of ...
Internet Marketing For Newbies - http://im4newbies.com/
Top 5 Internet Marketing News - http://top5news.im4newbies.com/
Infoproducts To Sell! - http://infoproducts2sell.im4newbies.com/
IM4Newbies Forum - http://internetmarketingforums.im4newbies.com/

 
=============
4.

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

"Habeas, Inc. Reader Feedback"

Today's SOHO Help Desk wraps up our recent discussion on
Habeas, Inc.. First you'll find another quick clarification
from Anne P. Mitchell, CEO of Habeas, Inc on their licensing
fees. Then a number of our DEMC readers have written in to
share their opinions about Habeas, Inc.

If you missed the discussion on Habeas, Inc. our last E-Magazine,
you can access the back issue from our email marketing newsletter archive.

But before we get back to Habeas we have a DEMC subscriber
who needs your input on finding a email sign-up script. You
can send your answer to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

And if you have any questions or feedback for our next issue
again just send your email to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

Thanks for your input!

=== HELP REQUEST ===

From: Vijay Kumar

Hi,

I need a permission newsletter sign-up script for my site.
Can someone let me know where to find a script like this
and the costs involved?

Thanks very much in advance,

Vijay Kumar ...
(The Man who Realized God in 1993)
http://www.godrealized.com/

=== CLARIFICATION ON HABEAS, Inc. ===

From: Anne P. Mitchell

In Laurie Roger's last article there were a few misleading
statements which caused there to be inaccuracies in the
Habeas, Inc. fees. I have highlighted the confusing
statements below and provided clarification.

> "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."

This is an inaccurate interpretation. If you want to send
email to your sister saying "Hey, I have a great lead on a
wonderful business opportunity", or email to your mother
telling her the price of your stock, of *course* that's ok!!

> "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."

This statement is not clear and while it may have meant this
the correct way (the minimum is $200 *per year*), it certainly
can be read to mean "$200 per month to $3000 per month"
which is not correct.

> "Upon double checking the Habeas site I learned that only
> non-commercial ezines with under $100,000 annual business
> revenue get special treatment.

Using the term "commercial" makes the comment above wrong.
By definition if a newsletter is of a "business", it is commercial.
We were very careful in choosing our words: we said "primarily
marketing or promotional material", not "commercial".

Most newsletters actually qualify for the newsletter exception
and can acquire the $200 business license. In nearly ever
newsletter I've seen, while the content was promotional in nature,
the primary purpose of the newsletter was to distribute *editorial*
content. Otherwise it wouldn't *be* a newsletter - it would be a
sales flyer.

If you have any questions or need additional information on
Habeas, Inc. please contact me.

Sincerely,

/s/

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

=== RESPONSES ABOUT HABEAS, INC. ===

From: Deirdre Jones

Something stinks about this whole thing. It is censorship in
its purest form.

It all started with the spam filters that most ISPs have
opted to start using without consulting me, the consumer.
There is something VERY WRONG with the idea of my ISP
deciding whose email I get. Who is paying whom here?
If this were the US Postal Service, these people would
all be prosecuted as felons for interfering with the
delivery of all.

Did I miss something here? Or do I feel like I am twelve
all over again, when my parents told me what, where,
when and how?

I am both insulted and outraged that someone has decided
that I lack the intelligence to decide what email I want
and do not want to receive. We are all adults here. Most
email programs come with filtering tools. I suggest we
behave like the adults that we are and learn to use them.

I don't enjoy getting all the UCE either, but I am NOT
behaving like a baby about it. I filter, filter, filter of
my own accord. My ISP provides an automatic filter, but I
am given a choice whether or not I want to use it.

I choose to have this mail delivered to another folder on my
server where I can review it at my own leisure. I have
often found something that I requested to receive in that
folder. How much email are YOU missing?

You see, Habeas is trying to soften the impact of all this
with their carefully worded rhetoric. But I ain't buying it!

Sure it starts small, just like the filters. Next thing you
know, it is a requirement. Just like taxes. Remember,
originally, only the rich were supposed to pay taxes. How
long will it be before we are ALL required to pay for this
censorship?

Not too long, because you can best believe, the days of
free information are coming to an end if we all just sit
down and take this one.

Deirdre Jones
http://www.jmoepost.com

===> A Better Solution

From: Joe Halbrook

Thank you for your clarification regarding Habeas licensing.

Personally, I don't care what it costs, I think it's a bad
idea for the industry. I recently considered partnering
with Habeas. But, after pondering over the concept for
some time, I decided it wasn't the right thing for me to do.

Here's why:

I ask the DEMC, and all email publishing communities, to
step back and take a couple of minutes to really think
about what Habeas is working in concert with ISPs and
spam filtering companies to do:

Remove the decision-making process of the individual
mailbox owner as to whether incoming email IS or IS NOT
wanted, and whether it is to be delivered to their
mailboxes or not.

And the basis for that decision? Whether the Senders of
email shelled out the $$$$ for a Habeas license fee. ???
Sounds more than a little questionable, to me.

Someone please explain to me how Habeas can guarantee
that a licensee does indeed have bonafide permission to
email each recipient. Until every subscription request from
every Habeas licensee originates from a Habeas interface,
I don't see how that can be done.

No thank you; no ISP or their partner has the right to
mandate what it will and will not deliver to my mailbox,
just like nobody sits between my telephone and my
incoming callers and screens who I will and will not
receive phone calls from.

Since when is this an acceptable practice? I and ONLY I
can decide for myself what IS and IS NOT unwanted email
in my mailbox. Period.

To make matters worse, sometimes filtering is done so
without the knowledge of the mailbox owner. And the
absolute worse case scenario, is that filtered email is
simply not delivered at all, nor is it placed in a temporary
holding area so that recipients can make that final decision
as to whether it truly is unwanted, or not.

>From that viewpoint, all those folks who buy into the
Habeas concept are really missing the point: Filtering
should be based solely on the judgment of the individual
mailbox owner - not some intermediary party or parties.

I proposed a solution that puts the mailbox owner in charge
of defining what he or she considers to be unwanted or
legitimate email. After all, that's all that really matters -
what the mailbox owner thinks. Right?

Thus, I developed a solution that, in effect, filters
EVERYTHING - the first time it hits my mailbox. I can
then blacklist or whitelist each item the first time (with
just one mouseclick).

But, I also offer each Sender the opportunity to whitelist
himself, if he can prove he's not a spammer. My solution
sends each Sender whose email I filter, an authentication
email that lets him prove there's a human on the sending
end. If he authenticates his email, viola, he adds himself
to my whitelist (which is nice, because the Senders
automate the whitelisting function). If not, I can assume
either 1) he's a spammer, or 2) he's not concerned that I get
his email. Either way, I never see future email from him
again.

Of course, since I always control the final decision, I can
override any whitelisted email address, at will - again
with just one mouseclick.

And by the way, when a Sender does authenticate his email,
the email item that was originally filtered is automatically
removed from the temporary holding area, and placed back
in my mailbox. So whitelisting is mostly an automated
function. Plus, it brings the chance of false-positives or
false-negatives down to zero.

Will the first issue of DEMC E-Magazine get filtered after
installing my solution? You bet. But only that first time!

>From that point forward, after I make the conscious
decision that I ALWAYS want to receive the DEMC
E-Magazine (with one mouseclick), it will NEVER be
filtered again. And it only took 2 seconds for me to train
my software solution to respect my decision - forever, or
until I change my mind, which I tend to do once in a while.

I really think we need to step back, from time to time, and
think about what kind of "solutions" we're being offered.
If we don't see anything that suits our needs, propose our
own solutions.

Joe Halbrook, CTO
Permission Technologies
http://www.CleanMyMailbox.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:
http://www.demc.com/Advertise/advertise.html

 
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(c) 2003 DEMC All rights reserved

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