Are Opt-in Email Lists Still Valuable in this SPAM Age?


One of the things that the introduction of blogs has done is to cause an exodus of sorts from email newsletters or ezines to online publishers simply publishing the information on their blogs.

It is not too difficult to realize why online publishers embraced blogs so quickly and enthusiastically. Actually the SPAM monster appeared to be slowly squeezing the life out of their online business. To meet the SPAM challenge most ISPs have set up SPAM filters that are so powerful that they quite often filter out mail that has been requested, especially mail of the massive opt-in kind. This has meant an increasing number of bounces and undeliverable mail.

With the arrival of blogs there was an easy way out of all this anxiety. Ezines could easily be posted on blogs and no ISP SPAM filter would touch it. And what is more the email aspect of feedback was not lost because readers could easily post a comment at the blog. The huge advantage over email here was that one could see another readers comment and quickly support or disagree with it. Blogs have actually revolutionized publishing the way no other tool has in the history of mankind.

So have blogs made email newsletters and opt-in email lists obsolete? The answer is a firm "NO". Nothing would be further from the truth. Even when an online publisher delivers their weekly or daily content at a blog, what is the best way of sustaining and growing traffic to the blog?

Actually even with a website, there is no other more effective way of sustaining high traffic than by harvesting email addresses. This is done by offering and email newsletter or an email course of sorts. This builds up a valuable opt-in email list that you can use again and again to direct traffic to your site. You can even sell them something. As internet marketing experts often point out, the money is in the list.

This is the reason why experts advice affiliates to set up their own sites or blogs to play a key role in their efforts to market their affiliate site. This is simply because it is a huge waste to drive so much traffic to your affiliate site and end up having only a tiny fraction signing up for your affiliate program. By driving traffic through your own site, you have an opportunity to harvest emails and build up a huge, valuable targeted opt-in email list that you can still market the very same affiliate program to, later. In fact research has clearly shown that most people buy only after several repeated encounters of the same product or service.

Even with the introduction of the extremely useful blogging tool and the change of business models by many online publishers, opt-in email lists still remain the most valuable online marketing tool.

About the author: Lois S. is a Technical Executive Writer for Website Source, Inc. http://www.websitesource.com. Her established writing skills coupled with experience in the website hosting industry have provided internet professionals with marketing, product and service ideas for many years.







Related News




Leading Online Retailer 'The Parent Company' Centralizes Email ... - MarketWatch

Leading Online Retailer 'The Parent Company' Centralizes Email...
MarketWatch -Sep 3, 2008
Forrester's in-depth study details the financial benefits that The Parent Company is receiving by centralizing its email marketing for eToys, ...

Expert: Use email marketing to nurture current customers - Digital Response Media

Expert: Use email marketing to nurture current customers
Digital Response Media, UK -Sep 4, 2008
Writing for the American Chronicle, Fred Waters, co-founder of the Local Online Marketing Association, identified email marketing as a key channel for ...
Don't neglect existing customers in internet marketing strategyBusiness Feet
all 2 news articles

Email marketing 'can help develop customer relationships' - Business Strata - Business News

Email marketing'can help develop customer relationships'
Business Strata - Business News, UK -1 hour ago
Email marketing is one way firms can develop their relationships with exiting customers, one expert has asserted. Making his comments in the American ...
Advice offered on using email to retain customersDigital Response Media
all 2 news articles

How to Capture the Growing Value of Email Marketing - PRarticle.com (press release)

How to Capture the Growing Value of Email Marketing
PRarticle.com (press release), Canada -23 hours ago
Learn about the power of eMail marketing and how, when done correctly, it is one of the most cost-effective solutions for you to generate leads, ...

Is your online marketing agency a dud? - SmartCompany.com.au

Is your online marketing agency a dud?
SmartCompany.com.au, Australia -Sep 3, 2008
Email marketing: Email is the underpinning on any good online marketing campaign, and your agency needs to be proficient in creating, sending and reporting ...

Maxymiser launches email optimisation software - E-consultancy (press release)

Maxymiser launches email optimisation software
E-consultancy (press release), UK -17 hours ago
Critically, our new email optimisation software allows organisations to optimise email marketing campaigns automatically without marketers requiring any ...

Dylan Boyd to Chair The Email Experience Council's Nonprofit ... - PR-CANADA.net (press release)

Dylan Boyd to Chair The Email Experience Council's Nonprofit ...
PR-CANADA.net (press release), Montenegro -2 hours ago
The eec, the email marketing arm of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), is a global professional organization that strives to enhance the image of email...

Email marketing 'should go beyond open rates' - Digital Response Media

Email marketing'should go beyond open rates'
Digital Response Media, UK -Sep 3, 2008
A new study has suggested that open rates are no longer effective when it comes to measuring the success of email marketing campaigns. ...
Open rates no longer indicate successful internet marketing strategyBusiness Feet
all 2 news articles

Director, Email - Seattle Times

Director, Email
Seattle Times, United States -Sep 3, 2008
If you are an analytical marketer with extensive experience in e-mail, you could be responsible for managing an extensive, dynamic email marketing program ...

LeadPro Email Marketing Adds Partner Friendly Features to Automate ... - Live-PR.com (Pressemitteilung)

LeadPro Email Marketing Adds Partner Friendly Features to Automate ...
Live-PR.com (Pressemitteilung), Austria -1 hour ago
05.09.2008 13:08:27 LeadPro Email Marketing and Lead management service adds several partner friendly features in order to automate routine email marketing...