Spam Free Marketing

I received an email the other day from a work at home mom who recently started a small publishing company. She wanted to start selling advertising to other WAHM businesses but was concerned about bulk emailing them... with good reason.

Spam is the four-letter word that most offends those of us working online. Everyone with a website receives it and like bad art, we all know it when we see it. But also -like art- in a way, spam is in the eye of the beholder. I have participated in discussions that disintegrated because each member had his or her own definition of spam and was angry at those who disagreed.

In the offline world, it is perfectly acceptable to cold-call or snail mail a business to tell them about a product or service you offer. When I worked in an office environment, I took such calls all the time. Often, I said 'no thank you' and that was the end of it. But every once in a while, the call came in at just the time I was searching for such an item - and a sale would be made.

Of course, the power and low-cost of email make this an inexact comparison. So what do you do when you have a product or service that you *know* your target market *needs* -- and you want to use the power of the Internet to let them know about it?

THE PERSONAL APPROACH

The keywords are 'target market.' Find out who they are by doing an Internet search to find them. Check out sites which include directories of businesses in your target market. Then, visit those sites - and send their owners a *personal* email pitching your product. Be sure to use their *names* and comment on something you learn about their businesses from their sites. If they offer newsletters, sign up for them and comment upon something you read there. This establishes a prior business relationship and is not considered spam by *most* people.

However, even this personal approach will offend *some* webmasters, and it will cost you a lot of time relative to the number of people you reach. A more efficient means of getting your message out would be to join discussion groups geared to your audience and announce your product there.

ONLINE NETWORKING THROUGH DISCUSSION LISTS

But message boards and discussion lists have their own spam issues. When joining a list, you must read their guidelines and follow them. Sending out a blatant advertisement to the members of a discussion list will not be tolerated - but you are welcome to describe your business where it is *appropriate* (i.e., someone asks where they can find a product just like yours and you announce that you just happen to sell that).

You are also allowed to put information in your sig line that directs people to your website - so whenever you contribute to the discussion, you have an opportunity to promote your business.

When you join, sit back for a couple of days and follow the conversation so you can get a feel for the tone of the discussion, the people involved and what is customary among them. Then, introduce yourself as a new member (which also give you an opportunity to bring up the subject of your business, website, product - within the guidelines they set when you join).

An added benefit to marketing through discussion groups is the fact that you will build new relationships with other business people that can lead to joint ventures, assistance and even friendship. In the offline world, it is similar to being part of a chamber of commerce or other networking group and it works just as well on the web.

At the ParentPreneur Club, we have our own discussion group, PPC Advisory, where members brainstorm the issues they face as work at home parents. To join, email mailto:ppca-subscribe@topica.com .

Here are more of my favorite groups targeted to work at home parents. You'll find others specific to your needs by searching for them at http://www.yahoogroups.com and http://www.topica.com

mailto:clubmom-affiliates-subscribe@yahoogroups.com This group is made up of members of the Club Mom affiliate program. All members have websites with mom-related content and products, which makes them ideal partners for the Club Mom membership program. You must be an affiliate of Club Mom to be a member of this list.

mailto:DirectSelling-subscribe@yahoogroups.com For direct sales consultants who exchange ideas and suggestions on building a client base, fund raising, recruiting, booking, inspiration, motivation, party games, contests, merchandising, holiday ideas and more.

mailto:EP-subscribe@yahoogroups.com This is a function of the Entrepreneurial Parents (http://www.en-parent.com ) website. A forum for Entrepreneurial Parents (EPs) to connect directly with each other, discussing topics ranging from balancing work and family under one roof, to sharing practical business tips, to collective brainstorming, to supporting each other in responsible parenthood.

mailto:themompack-subscribe@yahoogroups.com The MomPack (TM) is a cooperative, not-for-profit organization, founded by working moms, run by working moms and for working moms to exchange business information amongst each other to help promote and advertise each other's businesses on and offline.

DON'T FORGET THE SEARCH ENGINES!

Do not overlook the value of getting your site listed in search engines, which will bring prospective customers to *you*. There are still many engines that will list your site for free. If you plan to do this yourself, walk do not run to http://www.jimtools.com . Jim Wilson carries one of the most complete free site submission resources we have seen.

Merle at http://www.mcpromotions.com also has a wealth of resources at her site. She specializes in promoting websites and handles our monthly search engine submissions for the ParentPreneur Club. Her prices are very reasonable.

GET PUBLICITY

Press releases should be part of your marketing plan, as well. There is nothing so cost effective as having your business mentioned in an offline publication or other medium. One newspaper article could result in dozens of leads for your business.
Karon Thackston has put together a free email course on how to write effective
press releases. To receive it, send a blank email to mailto:pressrelease@zipresponse.com Karon can also handle your PR needs. http://www.ktamarketing.com

Another interesting offer comes from JeriLynn Thomas of the Womens News Bureau. Jerilynn is offering a PR Boot Camp tailored to the needs of female entrepreneurs. Check it out at http://www.womensnewsbureau.com/prbootcamp.htm

EZINE ADVERTISING

Finally, there will come a time when you will need to pay for some advertising. Ezines that go out to your target audience give you a big bang for your advertising buck - your cost per thousand (CPM) is generally way less than what you could expect to pay in other media. Most sites that publish an ezine carry an advertising page.

We could devote several more articles to the particulars of writing ads and creating marketing campaigns. The one thing you need to keep in mind is that writing advertising copy is not an exact science. No one can guarantee how your audience will respond to an ad, no matter how well you think it turned out. The big marketers always test ads first and we suggest you do. You can buy ezine ads at deep discounts at http://www.ezineadauction.com (another site run by Merle of MCPromotions). We use it ourselves to sell remnant space in our ezines and have bought ads in other newsletters at a fraction of their published rates. This is a great resource for anyone who needs to advertise their businesses.

As you can see, there are lots of low-cost options for promoting your business online that do not entail bulk email. They're easy to implement and are proven to work... try them and see!

--------------------

Donna Schwartz Mills is the work-at-home parent behind the ParentPreneur Club
http://parentpreneurclub.com/cgi-bin/art/pl.cgi?sp Find out how we're getting healthy while earning a healthy living at home - http://www.unitoday.net/socalmom .

What is Spam?

spam: noun

Spam is unsolicited e-mail on the Internet. From the sender's point-of-view, it's a form of bulk mail, often to a list culled from subscribers to a Usenet discussion group or obtained by companies that specialize in creating e-mail distribution lists.

To the receiver, it usually seems like junk e-mail. In general, it's not considered good netiquette to send spam. It's generally equivalent to unsolicited phone marketing calls except that the user pays for part of the message since everyone shares the cost of maintaining the Internet.

Some apparently unsolicited e-mail is, in fact, e-mail people agreed to receive when they registered with a site and checked a box agreeing to receive postings about particular products or interests. This is known as both opt-in e-mail and permission-based e-mail.

Spam also bogs down the internet with unneccessary transactions to the point that I have seen it crash servers that have to deal with literally thousands of junk messages flooding them all at once.

A first-hand report indicates that the term is derived from a famous Monty Python sketch ("Well, we have Spam, tomato & Spam, egg & Spam, Egg, bacon & Spam...") that was current when spam first began arriving on the Internet. Spam is a trademarked Hormel meat product that was well-known in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.

Michael Bloch
michael@tamingthebeast.net
http://www.tamingthebeast.net
Tutorials, web content and tools, software and community.
Web Marketing, eCommerce & Development solutions.
_____________________________________________

Copyright information....If you wish to reproduce this article, please acknowledge "Taming the Beast" by including a hyperlink or reference to the website (www.tamingthebeast.net) & send me an email letting me know. The article must be reproduced in it's entirety & this copyright statement must be included. Thanks. Visit www.tamingthebeast.net to view other great articles FREE for reproduction!

Michael is an Australian Information Technologies trainer and web developer. Many other free web design, ecommerce development and Internet articles, tutorials, tools and resources are available from his award winning site; Taming the Beast.net (http://www.tamingthebeast.net)

Spam: Where it Came From, and How to Escape It

In 1936, long before the rise of the personal computer, Hormel Foods created SPAM. In 2002, the company will produce it's six billionth can of the processed food product. But that mark was passed long ago in the world of Internet spam.

---------------------------------- WHO COOKED THIS!?
(HOW DID IT ALL START?)
----------------------------------

The modern meaning of the word "spam" has nothing to do with spiced ham. In the early 1990's, a skit by British comedy group Monty Python led to the word's common usage. "The SPAM Skit" follows a couple struggling to order dinner from a menu consisting entirely of Hormel's canned ham.

Repetition is key to the skit's hilarity. The actors cram the word "SPAM" into the 2.5 minute skit more than 104 times! This flood prompted Usenet readers to call unwanted newsgroup postings "spam." The name stuck.

Spammers soon focused on e-mail, and the terminology moved with them. Today, the word has come out of technical obscurity. Now, "spam" is the common term for "Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail", or "UCE."

---------------------------------- WHY DOES BAD SPAM
HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?
----------------------------------

Chances are, you've been spammed before. Somehow, your e-mail address has found it's way into the hands of a spammer, and your inbox is suffering the consequences. How does this happen? There are several possibilities.

BACKSTABBING BUSINESSES - Businesses often keep lists of their customers' e-mail addresses. This is a completely legitimate practice and, usually, nothing bad comes of it. Sometimes though, the temptation to make a quick buck is too great, and these lists are sold or rented to outside advertisers. The result? A lot of unsolicited e-mail, and a serious breach of trust.

RANDOM ADDRESS GENERATION - Computer programs called random address generators simply "guess" e-mail addresses. Over 100 million hotmail addresses exist how hard could it be to guess some of them? Unfortunately for many unsuspecting netizens not too hard. Many spammers also guess at "standard" addresses, like "support@yourdomain.com", "info@yourdomain.com", and "billing@yourdomain.com."

WEB SPIDERS -
Today's most insidious list-gathering tools are web spiders. All of the major search engines spider the web, saving information about each page. Spammers use tools that also spider the web, but save any *e-mail address* they come across. Your personal web page lists your e-mail address? Prepare for an onslaught!

CHAT ROOM HARVESTING -
ISP's offer vastly popular chat rooms where users are known only by their screen names. Of course, spammers know that your screen name is the first part of your e-mail address. Why waste time guessing e-mail addresses when a few hours of lurking in a chat room can net a list of actively-used addresses?

THE POOR MAN'S BAD MARKETING IDEA - It didn't work for the phone companies, and it won't work for e-mail marketers. But, some spammers still keep their own friends-and-family- style e-mail lists. Compiled from the addresses of other known spammers, and people or buisnesses that the owner has come across in the past, these lists are still illegitimate. Why? Only you can give someone permission to send you e-mail. A friend-of-a-friend's permission won't cut it.

---------------------------------- STOP THE FLOOD TO YOUR INBOX ----------------------------------

Already drowning in spam? Try using your e-mail client's filters - many provide a way to block specific e-mail addresses. Each time you're spammed, block the sender's address. Spammers skip from address to address, and you may be on many lists, but this method will at least slow the flow.

Also, use more than one e-mail address, and keep one "clean." Many netizens find that this technique turns the spam flood into a trickle. Use one address for only spam-safe activities like e-mailing your friends, or signing on with trustworthy businesses. Never use your clean address on the web! Get a free address to use on the web and in chat rooms.

If nothing else helps, consider changing screen names, or opening an entirely new e-mail account. When you do, you'll start with a clean, spam-free slate. This time, protect your e-mail address!

---------------------------------- STAY OFF SPAMMED LISTS
IN THE FUTURE
----------------------------------

Want to surf the web without getting sucked into the spam-flood? Prevention is your best policy. Don't use an easy-to-guess e-mail address. Keep your address clean by not using it for spam-centric activities. Don't post it on any web pages, and don't use it in chat rooms or newsgroups.

Before giving your clean e-mail address to a business, check the company out. Are sections of its user agreement dedicated to anti-spam rules? Does a privacy policy explain exactly what will be done with your address? The most considerate companies also post an anti-spam policy written in plain English, so you can be absolutely sure of what you're getting into.

---------------------------------- THINK YOU'RE NOT A SPAMMER? BE SURE.
----------------------------------

Many a first-time marketer has inadvertently spammed his audience. The first several hundred complaints and some nasty phone messages usually stop him in his tracks. But by then, the spammer may be faced with cleanup bills from his ISP, and a bad reputation that it's not easy to overcome.

The best way to avoid this situation is to have a clear understanding of what spam is: If anyone who receives your mass e-mails did not specifically ask to hear from you, then you are spamming them.

Stick with your gut. Don't buy a million addresses for $10, no matter how much the seller swears by them! If something sounds fishy, just say no. You'll save yourself a lot in the end.

---------------------------------- THE FINAL BLOW
----------------------------------

The online world is turning the tide on spam. In the end, people will stop sending spam because it stops working. Do your part: never buy from a spammer. When your business seeks out technology companies with which to work, only choose those with a staunch anti-spam stance.

Spam has a long history in both the food and e-mail sectors. This year, Hormel Foods opened a real-world museum dedicated to SPAM. While the museum does feature the Monty Python SPAM Skit, there's no word yet on an unsolicited commercial e-mail exhibit. But, if all upstanding netizens work together, Hormel's ham in a can will far outlive the Internet plague that is UCE.

References:
Hormel Foods, Virtual Press Kit, hormelfoods.com Microsoft Corporation, MSN Hotmail Fun Facts, microsoft.co

Spammers - Where do They Come Up With This Stuff?

Lets face it we all get spammed and it drives us nuts! If it were not for folders, I would probably NEVER find my "legitmate" email. I probably do NOT get as much spam as most people do, but when I do get it, boy do I get it! I especially love it when people come by and spam my paid list building site, little do they know that I have several ways of finding out WHO they are ;o)

When it comes right down to it though, sometimes you really have to laugh at some of the garbage they send. According to spammers not only do I need viagra, I also need an enlargement for a body part I don't even have. I some how also managed to request this information at one of their sites, not once, but 200 freakin' times.

We all have our incoherent days, but I think I would at least get the drift after the first 100 times. And really now, like I am going to send a spammer my credit card info in an email! Like I said, we all have our incoherent days, but I am sure as heck NOT that darn incoherent at ANY time. Even if a web site doesn't use a "secure" server -I'm NOT buying and there's no two ways about it, let alone in an email.

Seriously, like how stupid do these people really think we are? "Laurie how would you like to harvest millions of email addresses a day?" Whoo-Hoo! I better jump right on that one, so my web host can shut me down and I can lose EVERYTHING I've worked so hard for in the last 3 plus years. Yeah I will get right on that one.

"I saw your site and got your email." Really? So what did it look like? Because last time I checked there was NO site for that email address you moron. And if there was - WHO said you could email me?

What really makes me laugh is in the body of the email it reads, "Would you like to start a home business?" You just told me you went to my site, obviously you would know I ALREADY have a business! In fact, I have four of them so you may want to head back there that way you can learn the REAL way to market online.

This last little episode really gave me a good chuckle, I got spammed by some person claiming I requested the information (a private email address). So, I reported it to the program owner and to the autoresponder service that they were using (which is owned by a good friend of mine). The program owner allowed the person to state their "case" and forwarded me a copy of their response.

This was their reply - "I'm not certain where I received that email address from. I used to buy email addresses, but I don't do that anymore. I have been marketing now for over two years and NEVER had a spam complaint, so I'm really appalled at this acusation. I have had 4 of my ISP accounts shut down, because maybe the people were offended by the ad copy. The person who sent you this complaint MUST be someone I have previously been in contact with because that is the only way to get on my list."

Sheesh, I wonder WHO the LIAR is in this case? There's nothing like a contradictive statement to hang yourself out to dry. In this case the person should have just came right out and said, "Yeah, I harvested her email address", instead of talking in circles and digging themselves into a DEEPER hole. The great Homer Simpson once said, "DOH"! (but hey at least he admits to doing something STUPID!)

Laurie Rogers - co-author Ezine Resource Guide you can view at http://www.zineadz.com/erg.html You can also obtain more of Laurie's articles at: mailto:ezinearticles@optinfrenzy.com Laurie is also the owner of Optin Frenzy - list building program for ezine and newsletter publishers. http://www.optinfrenzy.com

How to Benefit from Comment Spam

 It happens all the time. You have your blog up and running. You're writing interesting stuff and you're even getting some attention. All of a sudden there's a flood of comments on your site. Having comments helps a blog look busier, so everyone wants to get comments.

But comment spam like:

Get Rich Quick! Visit my site at
Want to meet girls?! Visit www
Low cost morgages for anywon! Check out www.

Grrrrr these aren't comments, they're unpaid ads, taking up space on your site.(*and yes, they frequently have misspellings like the third one!)

It makes your blood boil. How dare they!? What right do they have, cluttering up your comment section with their advertising!

Comments that are off-topic and blatant ads are annoying. Most comment spam is self serving claptrap that needs to be deleted, and doing so is just the cost of doing business in the blogosphere.

But lately a new breed of blog comments have started arriving at blogs all over the web. Comments like:

"Nice job keep up the great work!"
"I really enjoyed this post and I'll be back often!"
"Wow, you really made me think. Thanks for the insight!"

Unfortunately, these comments are not from legitimate readers, but instead they're from some pharmaceutical or casino site just trying to get free links.

You see, some comment spammers have even gotten clever, writing praise and reasonable comments that a blog owner would hesitate to delete, hopeful that maybe, just maybe, they're legitimate comments. This tactic ensures that the sites get free links all around the blogosphere.

But you can turn the tables, you can use some comment spam to your advantage, and it's amazingly simple. Keep the comment, delete their link. You'll get the benefit of a good comment without the spammer profiting at your expense. I even go so far as to replace their link with "Auto-Deleted by http://www.ArticleMarketer.com" why not make it a self-serving link in the process?

If the link was from a legitimate reader who really intends to "come back often", you'll get a note by email or a follow up comment that protests your change. When you find out it's a real person who really liked what you said, you can make the decision to put the link back.

I personally have no trouble allowing legitimate links from my blog. That's what makes the blogosphere interesting.
Do you have any tips and tricks to make people more successful with their blogs? Can you help website owners get more customers? Visit http://www.articlemarketer.comand distribute your articles to editors and publishers all over the web. Does it work? Well, you're reading this article, aren't you? Get massive distribution: www.articlemarketer.com

Keep Your Work From Home Newsletter From Being A Spam Filter Casualty

Its hard to get your email through to clients, friends and family with all the Spam Filtering going on these days. If you are a Home Based Business owner that sends out a newsletter regularly youll want to keep the following tips in mind to make certain your Work At Home Newsletter is getting through all the Spam Filters.

Its hard to get your email through to clients, friends and family with all the Spam Filtering going on these days. If you are a Home Based Business owner that sends out a newsletter regularly youll want to keep the following tips in mind to make certain your Work At Home Newsletter is getting through all the Spam Filters.

Spam is defiantly a problem. At one time I was receiving almost 300 per day, spending a good part an hour sifting through the mass of junk was more than I could tolerate. So I too enlisted the help of a Spam Filter Spam Arrest.

I do worry about losing out on emails that are important and interesting, but this is the price we all have to pay for those Spammers that have abused and are abusing the Internet.

Most Spam Filters use a Blacklist these are clusters of email addresses and domain names that are known for sending out a lot of Spam. Recipients of Spam generate most Blacklists. So your newsletter could fall victim to a click happy Spam identifier that clicks your email into the dreaded Blacklist vault.

Spam Assassin, Cloudmarks SpamNet and Spam Arrest all use different methods of blocking spam. Spam Assassin uses a point system to conclude whether or not an email is Spam. If your Newsletter scores high it will surely be treated as spam and blocked. SpamNet blocks Spam two ways; the first, filters email based on keywords like Free, and the second allows users to mark email and submit identified Spam to be blocked to other users of SpamNet.

My personal favorite is Spam Arrest, because it offers you total control over your inbox. You can decide who is allowed to send you email by importing your personal address book, or entering your known and approved contact addresses directly into the system.

Emails from unknown senders will receive an auto-reply message containing a "challenge" -- if or when the sender completes the challenge (the response), their email is forwarded to your inbox, and they are then added to your authorized sender list.

The challenge is easy for people, but impossible for automated systems (i.e. spambots) to complete.

The Spam Arrest challenge/response system effectively blocks all the spam while still allowing friends, family and trusted contacts to email you without the risk of being filtered out by imprecise software systems.

So How Do You Keep Your Newsletter From Being Blocked?

Here are some tips to help your Newsletter reach your subscribers:

DO NOT send your newsletter unsolicited. Be sure your customers have requested to be on your subscriber distribution list using an auto responder, like Aweber, that requires your subscribers to opt-in and confirm that then have requested your Newsletter will help keep you off the blacklists.

Use your Newsletters name in the subject line. Your subscribers should recognize your Newsletters name. Using subject lines that are full of hype and so called trigger words may get your Newsletter blocked by the Spam filters.

NEVER TYPE IN ALL CAPS. This will surely get the Spam filter red flags raised and your email forwarded to the dreaded blacklists.

Words like Free, Limited Offer, Money even home business will engage most Spam filters.

The simplest words like remove should be avoided as well. Use unsubscribe in your directions to subscribers that want to stop receiving your Newsletter.

Spammers most often use free email addresses so you should avoid using them at all costs. Send your Newsletter from a reputable domain name one that matches your own website would be best.

Never send attachments with your Newsletter. Attachments put a fear in most email recipients and will tag your email as Spam.

Your Newsletter will most likely have words within the text that trigger Spam filters these words like Free and Home Business can be easily disguised by adding a period or hyphen between two letters do not over do it though. It will not be long before this tactic will be a trigger for the top Spam filters, so keep up with all aspects of the best Spam filters so your Newsletter will reach your subscribers.

Tim Somers The Home Biz Honcho. Changing Your Life, Helping You Make Money While You Work From Home. Get Tims Top Ten Home Biz Opportunities Free Report at: http://www.Home-Based-Business-Opportunity-Honcho.comIf you are ready to start building a Residual Income Tim will build you your very own Money Generating Website for FREE! http://www.Free-Make-Money-Site.com