Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

My suggestion is to relax your expectations.

Nobody ever anytime anywhere gets it "absolutely right," especially first time out of the blocks. That's how it is. If you have created a strategy where your first shot is crucial, rethink the strategy. It's just not realistic to think you're going to hit a home run--home runs are almost always accidents and surprises to the people who hit them.

Les,

Email is not an ideal tool for trying to develop new relationships.

If you have never emailed this list before, and especially if they have not given you permission to do so, be prepared for dissappointing results, regardless of how well you plan and strategize this effort.

Email is best used for strengthening and deepening existing client/subscriber relationships, and is best when a strategy is developed to deliver value-added content, specials, downloads etc. over the long-term.

Plus, you risk alienating this group when you blast them which means that if you later revert to an offline approach they will be much less willing to listen to you.

I hope that helps.

Sorry, but I can't resist...

It seems to me that you are either good at advertising, or lousy at advertising.

If you are good at advertising, why don't you advertise your own service effectively?

If you are lousy at advertising, why would anyone pay you $18 per week?

Let me add my voice to the chorus discouraging you from using SPAM to market whatever it is you're marketing. Spam is unwanted and unsolicited email, right?

Next, instead of asking people to spend money advertising on your site, direct your energy to figuring out what it is you bring to THEIR party. If you offer them a benefit that's worth more to them than the $18 you want from them, then you have a chance. Otherwise, this whole thing is a pointless discussion.