Lost Opportunity

While I don't condone "spam", (unsolicited advertisements sent by
email) we all realize it is a fact of life. It is one of the
fastest growing segments of Internet advertising today, and is
expected to triple in volume next year. The approximate 400
million dollars spent last year is expected to grow to 1.2
billion in 2002.

Many people who have been around the Internet for awhile, have
seen this grow to big business. But like any new industry, it is
going through growing pains, and basic mistakes are being made.
Until these mistakes are corrected, if you use it, like a ship
without a rudder, you will eventually founder.

The first mistake being made is sending multiple copies of the
same ad to the same person. When you get five or ten copies of
the same email, one right after the other, it is immediately
recognized as spam, and relegated to the trash bin.

Why do they send so many copies? They get their email addresses
usually by harvesting them from the Internet. They have software
with search capabilities, much like the Search Engines, that can
target specific types of web sites. They collect every email
address they find at a site, and move on to the next.

The problem is that most people who own their own domain, have
all email delivered to their main domain address. Example - my
main domain address is "adv-marketing@adv-marketing.com. Anything
sent to anybody@adv-marketing.com will come to my mailbox . So
they find a "bunch" of addresses at a web site and consider them
all "fair game". Until they solve this problem, you are wasting
your money if you contract with them.

Misrepresentation is also high on the list. You get the same
email with a different title in the subject each time. Many
times the title has absolutely nothing to do with the contents of
the email. It is simply their way of trying to get your
attention, and entice you to open the email.

Formatting errors are rampant. Many advertisers send out
attractively formatted HTML emails. There is a growing use of
these types of emails, and they have a lot going for them on the
plus side. But they don't recognize that all email clients
(readers) are not the same. AOL for example, is probably the
most difficult ISP to send HTML documents to. If it is not done
correctly, all they receive is a bunch of garbled information.

Unless you are sending primitive HTML documents, you must have a
separate one for AOL, and another for the rest of the world.
And, you must check to make sure that they work. Many common HTML
commands that work with most ISP's, simply don't work with AOL,
and all they get is garbage.

I did an analysis of the subscribers to the Newsletters we
publish. In one of my publications, 14 percent of them are AOL
users. In another it is 10 percent, and in another it is 8
percent. These numbers represent a sizeable block of the
subscriber base. It would be a major mistake to send something
out without testing first to make sure that everyone can read it.

The next error some make, is trying to hide their identity, so
their ISP doesn't cancel their account. Well, it is pretty easy
to superficially mask your identity, but someone who is
determined can find out who your ISP is. The professional
spammers own their servers, so they aren't as concerned. What
are they going to do if they get a complaint - cancel themselves?

Forged Addresses are simply a waste. Do they really expect you
to print a form and mail your order to them? If you are tempted
to go with a professional group, make sure the people receiving
the email can immediately order online. Get a group that will
accept all the orders and pass them along to you. This way, your
email address does not appear in the ad, and you are immune from
complaints to your ISP.

Can't get off the list is probably one of the biggest complaints.
Obviously if the address is forged, your reply is going to be
returned to you. Responsible emailers honor "remove" requests
immediately.

If you do plan to use email as one of your advertising methods,
either build the list yourself, or find a responsible company to
do it for you. The dividends will be worth it, and will not
simply result in another "Lost Opportunity".