Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Blast Faxing Or Email?

Posted by Anonymous on 2/3/2010 at 6:50 PM ET 250 Points
I wanted to do a blast fax - but reading a previous q & a I do realize it is annoying to receive faxes, a waste of paper and so out of date, how do I get a massive email list of the type of business I'm targeting and what is the best way to get past their spam button? Someone spoke of doing a HTML mail - how do I do that? thanks
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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 2/3/2010 at 7:28 PM Accepted
    Sending unsolicited faxes is not only annoying it's against the law.

    To do emailings you will have to contract with a broker or list owner. They are not going to give you a list for you to send out. If they do, then the list is SPAM driven and you will not find anyone to send it out for you.

    It's not to hard to find list brokers, you can just google list brokers. You can also find some advertising here: https://www.nmoa.org/Contacts/mailist.htm

  • Posted on 2/3/2010 at 7:52 PM Author
    thank you - this helps alot. I didn't know if it was against the law in all states to fax, I didn't want to take the chance.
  • Posted by thecynicalmarketer on 2/3/2010 at 7:55 PM Accepted
    Good advice from Schulte.

    First, don't make shear volume your primary objective, instead go for the largest number of recipients that meet the criteria of your ideal buyer.

    Here is another way - reach them via what they already read and/or the associations they belong to. For example, I receive regular emails from MarktingProfs because I love what they do and their offers are usually on target for what I am looking for. If you were selling something marketing related, you could reach me through them. Apply this to any industry by finding the leading media and associations for that particular segment. They will usually help you do the rest iinclouding creatin the email.

    btw, an html email is in the same format as a web page. It allows you to do a lot more with the layout and graphics, like adding images and other creative elements. Most email is sent in this format today. Simple text will get past more of the filters but it is just plain text and nothing more.

    Best of Luck, JohnnyB.
    if you like the advice, read the blog, https://bit.ly/75KkSG
    https://twitter.com/tcmblog

  • Posted on 2/3/2010 at 8:21 PM Author
    Thanks! I see what you're saying, I'm a small new service related business owner, to get noticed I should buy advertising space in the publications they subscribe to. Good idea. If I do the HTML email, will I still have to go through a broker to get a list? Do I actually buy and send the list myself so I can send something different monthly or do I always have to go through a broker?
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 2/3/2010 at 8:35 PM Accepted
    What you want is to find those that are interested in what you have to say and offer. Either rent a list for people in your target audience (fast) or work on SEO/web offer to get people to sign up for your newsletter (slow). Perhaps you can fusion market with another company that has a list but your offer may fit into their larger offering well...
  • Posted by michael on 2/4/2010 at 12:07 AM Accepted
    HTML is just the format. Some filters block HTML so it may be easier to use rich text, or even plain text.

    In most cases you can develop the list yourself, for free.

    Some of the SPAM triggers:
    exclamation points
    key words like free or trial
    using www.website.com vs https://www.website.com
    words in all caps

    The list goes on and on.

    If you tell us more about your business you will get more specific answers.

    Michael
  • Posted on 2/4/2010 at 9:18 AM Author
    How do I rent a list of people in my target area, who do I rent the list from? Better yet, how do I get the list for free? My small business is new, only a year old, its a service to the medical community. I'm trying to reach as many as I can in my area as effectively as I can. I've been doing it the old fashioned way - going door to door, sending postcards and faxing fliers. People hate getting faxes (me included)
  • Posted on 2/4/2010 at 3:29 PM Accepted
    You're not going to get a good list for free unless you build your own.

    Give people an incentive to give you their address. Create an email course to sign up for. Or a free guide. Or a newsletter. Barter with complementary businesses who already have lists. Write articles for their newsletters (you'll get a link back to your own site, usually).

    You can rent one from a list broker. If you do rent a list, you are paying for the right to use it once. You do not own it, and you cannot send the email yourself. You'll need a third party to do that.

    (I have a free email marketing ebook on my blog with more information. Feel free to download it, no registration needed).

    Jodi
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