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As you may know, targeted email is a highly effective means of
advertising a product, as evidenced from widespread, repeated usage of
this approach by major Fortune 500-level companies.
First, you have to select a target audience that most closely
encapsulates the demographic to which your product appeals. From the
look of your product, I would think Corporate America would be of most
benefit. I worked at GE for a couple years in their Logistics
department, and became all too familiar with the overload of email.
Second, you'll need to find a provider of "opt-in" or "non-spam" email
lists from one of the thousands of companies listed in Google. Be
SURE that your list is classified as opt-in, or else you'll be sending
unsolicited junk mail [as it is, "opt-in" barely gets by in many
cases].
Here are some companies that "look" credible, but I would thoroughly
investigate them before patronizing:
Kern Direct
http://www.kerndirect.com/list/btob.htm
List Bank
http://www.listsbank.com/email_lists1.htm
Bethesda List
http://www.bethesda-list.com/news.html
I recommend using some of the following search terms within Google to
find more companies [feel free to expand upon the search terms]:
opt-in email "business executives"
opt-in email "corporate"
opt-in email b2b
opt-in email "business +to business"
opt-in targeted email
Beware of $30 for 30 million email rip-offs. If it sounds too good to
be true, it probably is.
After you've determined the company and list you want to proceed with,
you'll then have to pick a catchy subject line. Here are some
examples:
CLUEgle: The NEW way to read email
Have someone else read your email for you!
A personal secretary to sift through your mail
Read the most important email more quickly
The better way to sort through your mail
CLUEgle: The secretary alternative
CLUEgle: The electronic secretary
Speedier Email
Junk mail from people you know?
Read it faster
Email on steroids
How email should really work
Prioritize your Email
Take charge of your email
etc...
Be sure to avoid any strange impersonal tag lines such as
"xxxyydjk123", or any "From" line addresses or names that may contain
impersonal characters or names.
Next, you have to structure a message that is extremely clean, to-the-
point, and clutter-free. Emphasize FREE trial. Use attractive,
catchy colors, but not corny ones. Remember that customers are
looking to get whatever they want (G)ood, (C)heap, and (F)ast [GCF].
It is your job to make the path to that end as resistance-free as
possible. Typically, the simpler your email, the more elegant, and
the more attractive. You've got 2 seconds to get their attention [
for more information on this topic, please see my answer to this
question: http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=148119
]. You'll want to have a very prominent link that takes you right to
the site. People in general have a very low patience to read anything
more than a few lines, especially if coming from a stranger. So you
should have 3-4 lines and a link. That's it. BE SURE the message is
NOT in plain text w/ typical black text on white background, like a
normal email. It must stand out.
Here are some example messages:
EXAMPLE 1:
Ever wish you could have someone or something sift through your email
for you and give you a quick summary? Without having to read pages of
email?
Introducing CLUEgle. Try it free for X days: <link here>
EXAMPLE 2:
Buried in email? Let CLUEgle sort it out. CLUEgle is a revolutionary
new email prioritizer that gives you quick summaries of your email, so
you can decide what you need to read first.
Try it free for X days: click <here>
EXAMPLE 3:
You're on the go. You don't have time to determine if the 45 messages
in your mailbox even NEED TO BE READ. Let CLUEgle determine it. Find
out how and try it for free: click <here>
CLUEgle: The NEW way to read email
jbf777-ga
GA Researcher |
Clarification of Answer by
jbf777-ga
on
25 Mar 2003 07:36 PST
>We have had extensive discussions with Listbank.
There are thousands out there. Have you tried others?
>Our problem with lists is the low rate of sales success that our
>research indicates occurs & their high cost.
It may be tough today. I read a statistic that 40% of email traffic
is unsolicited mail. In the minds of many, unsolicited mail = junk
mail, period. So it's tough to get a message through, when it's next
to 20 other unsolicited emails.
>Our strategy here has been to target decision makers in organisations
>that appear to suffer from email overhead & identify comparable
>products to enter into co-marketing (affiliate)arrangments. Are these
>appropriate methods in the US.
I think that's an excellent strategy. Have you checked out
Affiliate-Web portals? Search for "affiliate" [or affiliate web].
Your product is a tough one to market, because it's very
niche-oriented. Have you considered hiring a marketing agency? How
much funding do you have in back of your marketing? After development
costs, marketing should be a very high priority thing your budget is
allocated toward, in getting your product visible to your target
audience.
I would call some major magazines and push to have some articles
written about your product. I would also try to get some ads into
some appropriate magazines.
I like your marketing text, but in my opinion it's still too long. If
it takes effort to look at, in any way, it's too long. Your message
must be effortless to absorb in a very few seconds. I'd take what
you've written and scale it down even more. Your current text could
appear in a magazine ad, underneath your main shorter text, as an
additionally descriptive paragraph.
Let me know if you need any more help..
jbf777-ga
GA Researcher
|
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