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Why Use E-Lists.com.au Pty Ltd?
Because we have Australia's largest nework of high-quality, targeted opt-in email address. For as little as 10 cents per name (minimum of AU$400.00 per Order/Campaign) we can rent you on eof our 100% opt-in email lists as well as deliver it free.

Why use Targeted Opt-In Email Lists?
Opt-in e-mail marketing is a better, faster and cheaper way to reach your target market. For much less than the cost of a postage stamp you can use a targeted e-mail to drive qualified prospects to your website.                              
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What are some Guidelines to Ethicial E-Mailing?                                                                                     Marketing via e-mail is extremely powerful! If used correctly, you can promote almost any business, product, or service. You can generate more leads, make more sales, and test more new ideas for less money (and in less time) than any other marketing method! However, if you use it in an irresponsible manner, you risk causing yourself a lot of headaches! Here are some guidelines to follow.

We suggest you adopt them into your own direct email marketing strategy. They will go a long way toward keeping your accounts from being cut off and many prospects from flaming you. We strongly suggest that you only mail to people that have "opted in" to your mailing list. Unsolicited email may be unwelcome.

1. IMPORTANT: Always, always, always honor people remove requests. Do not send mail repeatedly to people who don’t want it and have asked to be removed. Set up your remove address in the return path of any unsolicited mail you send and acknowledge people’s remove requests within 24 hours.

2. Always SHARE your remove list with anyone that asks for it. Trade it with other people that you know that also market via email. By doing this we can help ease the aggravation many people feel when they ask to be removed from list after list.

3. Never harvest e-mail addresses from non-public areas. Do not hack into private forums or mailing lists to steal names. This can be considered electronic trespassing. Please respect people’s privacy.

4. Always target your prospects by demographic, geographic, or other specific interest.

5. Never, never, never forge your message headers or your return path information. This is now considered illegal in some juristictions, and it completely defeats the purpose of email advertising in the first place. Disguising your identity will drastically reduce your response rate and possibly make you the target of anti-spammers and Internet hackers.

6. As we pointed out in item number four: - Never use "stealth or cloaking technology" to hide your identity. This may sound redundant but we want to stress again that this is now considered illegal in some juristictions. Additionally it does not allow people to contact you for removal of their address from your lists. It's just bad for your business.

7. Never relay or bounce your mail unless you have an account with (and permission from) the ISP you relay to. Most ISP's don’t allow relaying anymore, however, it’s still possible to do - but may be also illegal!                               [Top]

What is the difference between SPAM & Unsolicitored Commercial E-Mail (UCE)?                                          It's a good question, and the answer depends on who you ask. Some people will say that ANY email they get is Spam if they didn't specifically request it. However we feel not all UCE is spam. It sounds confusing but it's not really. While spam is always unsolicited email, Unsolicited email is not always spam.

Here's an example of what we mean; if the UCE you get is trying to sell you a get rich quick scam or it's for some pornographic web site - it's definitely spam! However, if the UCE you get relates to an interest that you have and the information contained or product offered maybe useful or interesting to you then it's not spam. You see the marketer who sent you that UCE took the time to try to learn about your needs and then send you something that could be of interest to you. The spammer just blasts out his/her email without regard for you or your interests of desires.

It's been suggested that the term "spamming" came from the old Monty Python sketch about a restaurant where they served nothing but Spam. Spam on toast, Spam and eggs, Spam sandwiches, etc. It took on the meaning "too much of a good thing", and is now used to refer to any message which is sent out indiscriminately to large groups of people who don't necessarily want to see it, by email or to Usenet newsgroups.

In short: spam then can be thought of as massive email sent to a randomly - or nearly randomly selected audience.

As to how many email messages must be sent out for the mail to be considered bulk email is not as clearly defined. Some say any unsolicited email messages (even one piece!) constitutes bulk email, while others would say 1,000 messages is bulk email. The bottom line is this: The definition of what is or is not bulk email, is determined by the person receiving it. For example, if you are an avid fan of Art, and you receive a email from a company that offers Art, chances are that you aren't going to be bothered by that email, and won't consider it spam. On the other hand, if your hobby is cycling and you get an email promoting a new kind of surfboard, you'll most likely think of this as spam.

If the email is something you're interested in then it's not spam. If it's not something you care about, then it is spam. Naturally this is an over simplification but we think it makes the point.

Ok, what the difference between UCE otherwise know as "Unsolicited Commercial Email" and Spam? It's a good question, and the answer depends on who you ask. Some people think that ANY email they get is Spam if they didn't specifically request it. However we feel (as do a lot of other people) that while the above example is UNSOLICITED, it may or may not be spam.

It sounds confusing but it's not really; While spam is always unsolicited email, Unsolicited email is not always spam. Unsolicited mail is not always Spam.

Below is a good differentiation between UCE & Spam.

"UCE" "SPAM"
Always obeys remove requests Removal is rarely obeyed!
UCE has content criteria. No control over content.
UCE sender uses valid from "field" Usually sent "anonymously"
UCE sender pays for all email sent. Spam is free to send to millions
UCE senders use only their own ISP's resources. Spammers abuse networks.
UCE Identifies themselves in the header of each email. Spammers forge header info.

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Postal Mail v's Opt-In Campaign                                                                                                                  Postal mail is practically obsolete when comparing it to opt-in email. Postal costs are expensive and can only be sent on limited number of days. Opt-in campaigns can be sent anywhere in the world within seconds any hour any day of the week. There is also a flat rate to send opt-in email, which is considerably less than a postage stamp, and prospects can view more information instantly by clicking on a hyperlink within the announcement.                          [Top]

Search Engines v's Opt-In Campaign                                                                                                          Search engines are the number one way to market a site, but opt-in email is closing in. Search engines are and will continue to be a very important part of any organization's marketing strategy, but they are not as effective.An effective search engine strategy is a very time consuming process.You have to hope your correct keywords, plus you must find original and uncommon keywords and phrases listed among thousands of others.
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Banner Campaign v's Opt-In                                                                                                                            Banner campaigns are like billboards they have been around so long people are beginning to ignore their existence. Banner advertising is also very expensive compared to opt-in email. Banner campaigns are billed by the impression, which means they are just displayed some where on the web page along with many other pieces of info and possibly other banners with the hopes that some one will click to visit the advertiser. Opt-in email avoids the "hoping process" and shovels the announcement directly into a subscriber's email box, which requires their undivided attention.
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How do I create an Email Campaign that gets results?

YES:   Pick a good list from a reputable broker.                                                                                                  NO:     Buy a list based strictly on price.

On the Internet, you can buy a list of 1 million email addresses for as low as $11. But beware! Lists like these are often what's known as "spam" lists -- databases of names harvested without the recipients' knowledge or consent from from newsgroups, chat rooms and Web sites. While "spam" lists may be cheap to rent, they may generate a hostile reaction that can be very costly to your company's reputation. Spamming can also result in your corporate mailserver getting "bombed" (attacked by angry email messages) and the loss of your ISP account. In our view, the only legitimate email lists are those that are generated by inviting Internet users to "opt in" to lists pertaining to topics of interest. "Opt in" means that an Internet user has voluntarily requested to receive commercial email messages on topics of interest and can get off the list, or "opt out", at any time.

YES:  Ask tough questions about how the list was gathered.                                                                               NO:    Don't: Assume that a list is opt-in just because the list owner or manager says so.

Lots of companies claim that their lists are opt-in, but very few actually are. While lawsuits and regulation have driven much of the out-and-out spam (unsolicited email messages) from the marketplace, many email lists that purport to be "opt-in" are really "opt-out", while others fail to give consumers any choice at all.

YES:  Deliver a compelling message.                                                                                                                   NO:    Sent out a corporate brochure.                                                                                                                   In the world of direct postal mail, consumers expect to receive slick pitches produced by ad agencies. On the Internet, a more personal approach generally works better. Keep in mind, of course, that the road-tested rules of direct marketing still apply. It's important to point out the benefits of your product or service and include a powerful call to action that compels the recipient to reply. If you yourself would not respond to your offer, it's unlikely that your recipients will, either.

YES:  Keep it short.                                                                                                                                           NO:   Go on and on for several pages.                                                                                                                 On the Internet, people want information and they want it now. That's why short, snappy pitches pull better than long-winded appeals that tell a story, paint a picture, or describe your product's bells and whistles in exhaustive detail. If your message exceeds one screen of text, go back and edit it until it fits. And don't try to squeeze in a second offer in order to save money -- it will only lower the response to both of your offers!

YES:  Get to the point.                                                                                                                                       NO:    Make recipients figure it out for themselves.                                                                                               Internet users are busy people who receive many or even hundreds of email messages a day. They barely have time to click on your message to open it, much less waste valuable time figuring out what you're trying to sell. If you can't come up with a three-word subject line that sums up your pitch, hit the Delete key and start over.

YES:  Give people an incentive to buy.                                                                                                                NO:   Restate your everyday low prices.

Internet users tend to be surfers with short attention spans. If you want to inspire them to action, you need to give them a compelling reason to purchase your product or service today. Discounts, free samples, and limited-time offers are all powerful incentives to get people to respond. Remember: A mailing that generates 100 inquiries for additional information is ultimately going to be far more successful than a mailing that produces one or two quick sales.

YES: Include a 'call to action'.                                                                                                                             NO:  Leave recipients wondering what to do

It's not enough to tell recipients to check out your home page. You need to tell them exactly what you want them to do. Should they sign up for a free trial offer? Should they purchase your product today?

YES: Expect recipients to ask you questions.                                                                                                      NO:   Expect to close the sale in a single message.

While generating immediate sales from your mailing is always great, keep in mind that many prospects are going to want more information before they decide to buy.

YES: Set reasonable goals.                                                                                                                               NO:   Expect your email campaign to work miracles.

In a postal direct marketing campaign, a 2 percent response rate is  considered good and a 1 percent response rate is considered acceptable. Opt-in email lists, by contrast, tend to generate higher response rates because the list members have pre-qualified themselves by signing up to receive email messages about various targeted topics.

YES: Test, test and test again!                                                                                                                          NO:   Bet your entire budget on a single list or mail piece!

One of the great benefits of opt-in email marketing is the ability to find out what works and what doesn't in a matter of days, not months. So take advantage of this capability by running tests to see which list, message or offer will generate the highest response. Among the variables you should test are the subject line, body copy, type of offer, number of hotlinks in the message, and the day and time that the message goes out.                                          [Top]

What is Relationship Marketing?
E-mails can be the perfect tool for relationanship marketing., that is, building a relationship of trust with site visitors that allow you to send them e-mail over a period of time, building your business over the long term.

Build this relationship deliberately, beginning with the way you write. Write personally, as if you were chatting with your reader. You'll find it much easier to write that way, and your reader will enjoy it more.
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What are the Types of Regular Emails?
NEWSLETTER - This can be anything from an informal, chatty piece to a serios informational periodical of value.

SALE FLIER - This type of e-mail may not be as regular as a newsletter, or as informatiuonal, but it may be of value if the products or services you offer are of special interest to your recipient. If your business or organisation has a special offer, why not share it with those who have visited you before and have indicated an interest in hearing more.

UPDATES & NEW PRODUCTS -  If you have a niche site, why don't you offer to let your visitors know when new products come out.
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Email us at david@e-lists.com.au

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