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       ** DEMC ** Volume VIII No. 22 **
        The Truth About Email Marketing!
    Serving the Internet Since November 1995

Quote for today:

"Creating success is tough. But keeping it is tougher. You have to keep producing, you can't ever stop." - Pete Rose
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What's In This Issue - Features

1) Editor's Note: "Are you overwhelmed by your email inbox?"
2) Email Marketing Insights: "Do You Want Your Email Message Read?"
3) Feature Article: "Joe Kumar Interview"
4) SOHO Help Desk: "Promotional Strategies"
5) DEMC's - Advertising Information

======================

1.

Editor's Note:

"Are you overwhelmed by your email inbox?"

I'll tell you, I am. When every day you have to sort through a couple thousands sp^m messages, plus multiple joint venture offers, link exchange requests, subscribers' feedback, advertisers' inquiries and support questions, it can becomes a bit daunting.

But for a business to succeed on the Internet, receiving and responding to your email is critical. In fact, a recent survey of worldwide consumers by Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, found that nearly 90% of consumers have sent an email message to a company regarding some sort of customer service or product issue.

The study also found that over 60% of those consumers expected a responses from companies within a 24-hour period. And 22% wanted a response within hours.

Jupiter Research reported similar finding earlier this year, that over half of US consumers expect email to be answered promptly within 24hrs or less.

Is your business meeting your customers' email expectations?

If you're experiencing email inundation as I am, responding to all of your emails within 24hrs is probably not happening smoothly. So what can you do to improve your response times?

Here are steps I've taken that may assist you in preparing your business for email response.

1) Get Organized.

Make sure you filter your email to sort out as much spam as possible. A simple email filtering system which I find weeds out a lot of spam is to make sure incoming email has your address listed in the "To" field.

After setting up filters, take some time to create pre-written templates which respond to questions that are commonly asked. For instance, I receive numerous Joint Venture proposals daily, I have pre-written responses to decline or inquire further which I can quickly send off.

2) Self Service.

Have help files on your web site for readers to access. I've found a help file link on every page can really cut down on email questions. Also writing up and posting a Frequently Asked Questions will assist your visitors and reduce incoming inquiries.

Consider responding to all emails with an immediate autoresponder reply. In the autoresponder reply confirm that you did receive their inquiry and supply a link to your online FAQ or help file in case the inquirer did not see this information previously.

While an autoresponder reply does not answer specific questions, it does re-assure people and makes them feel their question was heard. Thus giving you more time to get back to them.

3) Institute the "Tire Kicker" Filter

A strategy which I am just now learning is to balance email support with monetary compensation. If you provide any type of free offering be it an ezine, a service, an ebook, etc. be wary of wasting time answering "freebie" related emails.

It is important to remember when you provide a freebie you have already invested time and effort giving away the free information or the free service. Your compensation for the "freebie" relies upon the recipient buying from you, from your advertisers or from your joint venture /affiliate partner.

If a free subscriber is writing in to complain he/she is likely not going to be a buyer and thus is not worth the time to placate. Or if a free subscriber has continual questions about the freebie but never asks about the product/services for sale, it's likely he/she is also not going to be a buyer. Rather than spending time emailing these individuals learn to filter out their email.

Giving away a free ezine subscription, a free ebooks, a Free ecourse, or a free services is a great way to acquire prospects who buy. However, fr^e offerings like these can also attract individuals who never buy but who will absorb your time.

When going through your email, consider putting in place a "freebie" or "tire kicker" filter, that puts "freebie" related email into the trash or at least puts answering it to the back of the line.

Remember, you only have so much time in a day. Focus your efforts on delivering a prompt response to customers, business associates or prospects looking to purchase - not on tire kickers.

Email is an incredible communication tool, that 90% of consumers are now using, so make sure your business is ready to respond and respond expediently.

Abbie Drew
DEMC Editor

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2.

Email Marketing Insights:

* Exclusive *

"Do You Want Your Email Message Read?"
By: Kevin Nunley

These days it is harder than ever to get your email messages read. It is even more difficult to get people to act on them. This year's massive 85% additional volume in unwanted email is only part of the problem.

People are inundated with information both good, worthless, and every degree in between. The result is many simply don't have the time or make the effort to even open most of it.

Prospects also don't feel the excitement and urgency they did a few years ago.

There was a time not long ago when you could send out the latest issue of your newsletter, wait a couple of hours, and count on getting several good orders. Now, as often as not, the newsletter goes out and nothing unusual happens. Instead, orders come from people who say "I've been reading your newsletter for a long time." Selling is now slower rather than quick like it often used to be.

But enough complaining. While there is no question the Internet has changed, the wonder of email marketing is far from over. Email is still the Net's number one most popular feature. And there are plenty of ways for the clever, knowledgeable marketer to have a real impact.

Now that the Net has settled into every day life, email marketers are finding they face the same challenges radio, TV, and newspapers have faced for years. How to you cut through all the static to get your message heard?

The key is to focus on a SMALLER audience who REALLY VALUE what you have to say. 100 people who carefully study your every utterance are far, far more valuable than a million people who pay little or no attention.

I get several newsletters every day and dozens of articles. On a busy day very few if any will get opened. But there are some that I always read no matter how busy I am. There are even some that are sent to me as sp*m that get read.

Why? The winners offer information I can USE NOW in a style that is easy to read quickly. One newsletter gives short ideas on areas of Internet Marketing that I want to know about, but don't have time to research myself. Another marketer sends me the latest low prices on equipment I regularly buy. It is very specific information that most people wouldn't care about, but their small, dedicated audience, of which I am a member, deeply values it.

Here are four ways to provide information that is valued by a narrow, but important, audience:

1. Provide ways to make a job easier and faster to complete. Every one of us is overworked and usually behind schedule. Specific tips or info that ease the work are always welcome.

2. Give ways to increase productivity or sales. Show the golfer how to score lower. Show the donut maker how to produce dozens more per hour with less work. Show a writer how to get more of her articles published.

3. List resources, helpful sites, and experts willing to share their knowledge. Many of the most effective ezines frequently give links to especially interesting or helpful sites. The Internet is about information, tons of it. An email that helps me quickly find the cream will always get opened and read.

Notice these methods usually require cultivating an audience over time. You have to consistently provide quality information so people learn to trust, value, and anticipate your messages.

In the end, getting email read is less about crafty tricks than about developing good old fashioned relationships with a limited group that finds you especially interesting.

###
Kevin Nunley provides sizzling sales copy and marketing advice.
See his no-cost 10,000 marketing tips for boosting your business at http://DrNunley.com
Reach Kevin at mailto:kevin@drnunley.com

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3.

Feature Article:

* Exclusive *

"Joe Kumar Interview"
By: Cort McCadden

Cort:
You are quite young - 18 I think. So what were you doing before you discovered Internet Marketing? Also I think that you live outside of the USA?

Joe:
Yes, I'm 18 years old so I pretty much have no marketing background. Before I discovered Internet Marketing, I was (still am) a full-time student. I live in a small South East Asian developing country called Singapore.

It just goes to show - it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from: anyone can start an internet business and make ungodly amounts of m^ney - all they need is persistence, desire and to never give up, no matter what obstacles they're up against.

I study full-time, so that's a pretty big obstacle in the time department, but I refused to listen to my father who kept saying "study now, there'll be plenty of time to do business in the future". Sometimes, you gotta make your own decisions in life.

Normally, the last person you'd expect to succeed in business is some 18 year old kid living in a small country that the majority of the world hasn't heard too much of. But hey, this is the Internet - anything's possible.

The Internet's the biggest equalizer for people today. There's no advantages for anybody - we're all equal on the net and are judged by the way we conduct ourselves: no favoritism, discrimination or anything that's normally associated with real world businesses.

Cort:
How long have you been involved in Internet Marketing and what got you interested?

Joe:
I only started my Internet Marketing journey in late February 2003. I'd been reading and absorbing everything since November 2001, but only had the guts to start doing business in February.

The reason I was inactive for so long was because I bought into what most people were saying - that Internet Marketing is hard, it's almost impossible to succeed, it'll take a lot of time etc etc.

The moment I stopped listening to the "doom and gloom" naysayers, is the moment my entire online life turned around.

Internet Marketing ain't that hard - you just need to read a few good books, and take action. There are products out there that'll show you exactly what to do, and exactly how to do it - all one has to do is blindly copy their way to success.

What got me interested in starting my online business? Well I've always been passionate since young about being my own boss, running my own business etc. I've never liked being subordinated to anyone, I've always felt since very young that I'm too intelligent to ever work for someone else or be someone's subordinate. That may come off a bit cocky, but that's really how I've always felt about myself and my abilities.

Of course, I know stuff that I'm completely horrible at (web design comes to mind), and these things I outsource. I spend my time doing what I love and doing what I'm good at (like creating Joint Ventures and marketing) - and outsource stuff I can't do. That's the way to succeed online - do what you're good at, and outsource the rest.

Cort:
Do you use Email Marketing in your campaign? How much of the total campaign is devoted to Email Marketing?

Joe:
Oh yes, I use Email Marketing in my campaigns. It is imperative - people are best closed via "human interaction", and personal emails are way more human than websites will ever be. Very few people buy on the first visit to a website (I mean - they don't know, like or trust you yet - so how can you expect them to give you m^ney?), so one MUST collect those email addresses and keep in touch. It is imperative to internet business survival.

My whole Internet Marketing strategy is focused on getting the email address. I place ads or do joint- ventures with those who own lists, I get prospects on my website, a few buy (2-3%), but more give me their email address (25-30%), and I follow up with them and at least 1-2% of those end up buying my book, which pushes the conversion rate up to 4-5%.

I've received quite a few emails from people who've said that "I loved your article so much that I decided to buy the book." It's emails like these that let me know that yes, email marketing works!

Cort:
How are you combating the problems from Spam Filtering?

Joe:
I'm unlike many other paranoid Internet Marketers. Before I send my emails to my list, I run them through Ken Evoy's "email checker for spam trigger words", and once I get the numbers down to something that's acceptable by the email checker, I just send it out.

Simply send a blank mail to spamcheck@sitesell.net with TEST in the subject line to check if your email passes the spam test.

Many paranoid Internet Marketers pull stunts that cost them in the end. Some of them send out 2 line emails saying their issue is posted online, however less than half of all subscribers click through. Hey let's face it, most people (including myself) are lazy.

When I receive an email asking me to click through to read, I just delete it. I found out from a good online friend and a top Internet Marketer who does tracking on the number of people who click through to read his newsletter online, that the number is less than half. Why would I throw away half of my readers like that?

I want as many people as possible to read my newsletter. Getting them to jump through hoops to read it isn't too wise in my opinion.

Cort:
Do you use HTML Email Marketing? Why or why not?

Joe:
No I don't. Firstly, there's a risk of messing up the email and sending a newsletter full of unreadable tags. That would cost me a ton of subscribers as they'd think I do not know what I'm doing. And I KNOW if I start using HTML emails I will mess up sooner or later - being the idiot that I am with regards to technical matters. ;-)

Secondly, I'd personally rather read text, and I feel that's the case with most people. I've seen polls conducted and questions asked in forums regarding text vs HTML email newsletters, and most people prefer text. Many people's opinions are that HTML should be confined to webpages, and text is for email. So why would I want to go against what the majority of my prospects want?

I'm a prospect pleaser - I do what my people want! They want text, I give them text. They want content and no ads, I give them content and no ads (just a small plug at the bottom of every issue).

At the bottom of each newsletter, I also have a statement that encourages my readers to email me letting me know how I can make the newsletter better for them, and I try to give them whatever they want! I think that's what every internet marketer should be - a prospect pleaser.

Cort:
And here is my favorite: What would you tell Newbies to either do or avoid from your own experiences? Why?

Joe:

Do

a) Read my '30 Days To Internet Marketing Success' ebook at http://www.joekumar.com for 30 proven to work 30-day blueprints to help you succeed in Internet Marketing.

b) Take action on your dreams and ideas.

c) Never give up no matter how hard it gets.

d) Believe in yourself and your abilities.

e) Focus on subjects and niches that you enjoy, that you're passionate about - so you treat it as play and do what needs to be done, even if you do not see instant success.

f) Shoot the gurus and make your own decisions. Learn from the masters, but do not let their experience and expertise be an excuse for mental laziness.

g) Give yourself time to succeed. Success doesn't come overnight. One needs to pay their dues and fail forward, and then one will finally succeed!

Avoid

a) Being inactive.

b) Looking down on yourself - thinking "so and so is better than me, I will never succeed...". The higher you perceive yourself and your abilities, the better off you'll be.

c) Giving up if you didn't make $20,000 your first week online.

d) EVER feeling sorry for yourself or thinking life's not fair. The day I accepted life 'as is' and stopped pitying my lack of success, is the day my life changed for the better.

To Your Internet Marketing Success (in 30 Days),

Joe Kumar
http://www.JoeKumar.com

### Cort McCadden has been a contributing writer to Money Makers Monthly and Direct Sales. Currently he is fulfilling his James Bond fantasy by producing SpyFest 2003 aboard the Queen Mary. Check it out at http://www.spyfest.org

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~/~ SOHO Help Desk ~\~
http://www.demc.com

"Promotional Strategies"

Today's SOHO Help Desk continues our discussion on Internet publishing tactics plus readers offer suggestions on small business promotional strategies.

If you have a valuable tip, promotional idea, question or answers you would like included in an upcoming issue of DEMC, all you have to do is submit it by email to - mailto:helpdesk@demc2.com

=== Answers For Beatrice ===

Beatrice's Question:

>I need information on how to promote my online business,
>online or offline. I provide administrative services to
>help small businesses.

From: Stacie Bias

Hi Beatrice,

There are so many ways to promote but I find the best way to promote online is to rent targeted opt in lists from companies.

Offline ways are endless too. Business cards of course, flyers, magazines, classifieds, door to door, telephone.

I am in the process of publishing a free magazine and I've been working to sell ads for it. I promoted the ad space by creating an excerpt of the magazine and putting in a few of my own ads, and some free ads for others who promised to advertise with me in the future. I gave the excerpt out for fr^e and my first issue only has a few ad spaces left.

You just have to experiment to find out what's best for your company.

Wishing you luck and success,

Stacie Bias
sbias@poetrynmotionarts.com
(not on the web yet but working on it) Future web site is:
www.poetrynmotionarts.com
Check it out in about 6 months

===> Ezine Publishing

From: Valerian Dinca

Hi Beatrice,

In my opinion, the best way to promote an online business is by publishing your own ezine. I have no space here to list all pro points but I invite you to check this page: http://www14.brinkster.com/promcf/pubez.htm

May you succeed,

Valerian Dinca

=== Answers For Lois ===

Lois' Question:

> I am currently writing a novel that I would like to
> publish electronically as an ebook. I'd like to know
> what people recommend for publishing an ebook. Should
> I invest in Adobe Acrobat, use Microsoft Reader or is
> there other software I should consider

From: Todd Alcock

Lois:

I have been publishing electronically and traditionally for over 10 years. I've found Adobe Acrobat is the most popular and easy to implement/sell/distribute solution available today.

Nearly all government publications are distributed as PDF (Acrobat files) and from my perspective, PDF is quickly becoming the *standard* format much like MS Word's DOC has become the standard for word processing. There are many services available through the web that will create your e-Book for you into any format you wish for less than the cost of purchasing Adobe Acrobat Distiller.

Depending on the size of your project and content, I generally charge about $75 on the average to create an e-Book. Feel free to contact me for more information at - info@alcockcommunications.com

Todd Alcock
http://www.AlcockCommunications.com

===> Online Publishing Tools

From: Jinger Jarrett

Lois,

Here's an article I wrote that may assist you with your online writing endeavors:

"5 Essential Online Tools for Writers and Publishers"

Writing a newsletter or article can be very time consuming.

First, you have to create your content. Then you have to organize it. Fortunately, there are plenty of great tools online you can use and don't require you to clog your computer with more software.

Best of all, each of these tools is absolutely free to use.

Here are five tools you can use to help you with your newsletters and articles:

1. Newsletter Template Formatting your newsletter will probably give you more headaches than anything else.

You want to make it easy for your readers to read, and you want it to look professional when you send it out.

This site solves the problem. All you have to do is select the parts you want to include in your newsletter, cut and paste the elements, and hit submit. It will completely format your newsletter for you, and you can even get some great tips and resources to help you with your newsletter.

http://www.ossweb.com/ez-ezine-template.html

2. Email Formatting Utility Ever gotten a really great forward in your email you wanted to use, but it was too time consuming to take all of the >> out of it?

You don't have to do that anymore. This email formatting utility will strip any unecessary tags for you. You can also use it to format your newsletters and emails to the right character count.

http://www.jbmckee.com/formatit/

3. Article Formatter Ok, I admit it. Before I found this utility I used to cut and paste my articles into my word processing program just so I could get a word count.

Now you don't have to do that. Not only will this online tool give you a word count, it will also format your articles in an attractive format for submission.

This site is offered by the Freelance Writing Organization Int'l a large database of information for freelance writers.

http://www.fwointl.com/FWOFormatter.html

4. PDF Creator This may seem like an odd tool to recommend to a publisher or writer, but wait a minute.

Have you ever wanted to give away copies of your articles and newsletters to site visitors? What about the $249 price tag for Adobe Acrobat?

Then you have to consider your readers computers. What if they have a MAC?

Unless you have a format that can be read by both MACs and PCs you'll exclude certain readers from downloading your documents.

Besides, giving away copies of your articles and newsletters is a form of viral marketing for your business.

This site allows you to convert documents to both HTML and PDF. http://www.gohtm.com/

This site converts text to PDF. http://www.sanface.com/createpdf.html

5. Good Research Tools There are tons of places you can do research on the Web. That's the beauty of the Web.

That's also what's horrible about the Web. There's just too much great material online to find it quickly and easy.

Ref Desk - http://www.refdesk.com - is like having your own book shelf at your fingertips.

You can do searches in the major search engines, find dictionaries, word of the day, quote of the day, and more. There are so many resources located here, you may even want to make this your start page.

Find Articles - http://www.findarticles.com - is a large collection of print articles archived on the Web. It boasts over 300 print publications in its database.

Writing and publishing can become a time consuming task. Not only will these tools save you time, they'll save you money too.

###
Jinger Jarrett will show you how to market your writing with her 15 day free ecourse for writers. Free newsletter and exclusive free ebooks also available. Go to: http://www.marketingforwriters.com

===

Send in your feedback for an upcoming issue. Email your questions, advice and/or thoughts to: mailto: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.

======================

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