Sept 27, 2008
Recently, a friend contacted me about advice on
purchasing e-mail lists. Instead of going into the details of the
conversation, how about I just retransmit it below:
Hey Josh,
One of my marketing directors asked me about purchasing email addresses
in her area. When we have done this in the past, we always did so
through the ad agencies we were working with. Can you give me some
insight on this? Thanks!
Hey XXXX,
As for the email lists, if you are sending it in-house be careful. All
of the major email providers track certain dead email addresses and if
enough (which can be as little a 3 or 4) receive an email from the same
address you will be blacklisted. That means that no email from your
address will be accepted by that provider and it can be a nightmare
getting off of the list. The most effective and relevant emails will
always come from an opted in email list for the solution/service/company
being offered. The return will always be bad from purchased lists and you
will be paying to send emails to unqualified customers, which raises your
overall cost per acquisition/desired response. Remember, purchased email
lists=being labeled a spammer. They are always unwarranted in the eyes of
the consumer, although there might be a miniscule return.
As difficult as it may be to get the point across, suggest doing a
traffic analysis on the keywords associated with the offering and decide
if a geographically targeted PPC campaign would work better. If you were
to create a landing page (which you should do for the email campaign as
well) garnering the relevant information for the offering, which should
lead to a form for the campaign. An optimized landing page would due well
organically, drawing in traffic you aren't currently going after, and
would also improve the sell-through ratio for the campaign. You would
then be able to build your own highly qualified leads database for future
email blasts and would eliminate the risk of being labeled a spammer.
This approach is probably not exactly what you are looking for, but it
is substantially more effective than purchasing lists. The above approach
is highly scalable and can lead to success later down the road, as
opposed for going for the quick fix.
To sum it up, I do not recommend purchasing email lists.
Search Engines and Return on Investment (ROI)
Sept 29, 2008
When we started Local Search Masters in 2006 our
sales pitch was about how we could get your website ranked for prominent
keywords for any local market. We’ve learned however that what matters
is not the rankings but the dollars our service generates. This has lead
to a completely different service in terms of tracking results and
optimization. For example in 2008 we added a new 1-800 phone number service
to every client’s site. This allowed us to track customers who called and/or
filled out a lead form. Our reporting is now fully focused around ensuring
that our customers get more money back from our service than they are
spending.
About SEO...
Sept 29, 2008
Search Engine Marketing is the best way for most small to
medium size businesses to grow their business and convert sales. For all business
owners the bottom line matters the most. Tracking ROI from the point of contact
by the customer down the con conversion is the beauty behind search engine
marketing. Being able to directly attribute sales to a marketing campaign thus
determining ROI makes search engine marketing the most viable and cost effective
form of marketing.
Being able to justify ROI using search engine marketing yields the ability to
have a marketing vendor that is more like a partner. When the vendor is able to
show how they are affecting their client’s bottom line a joyful relationship is
formed. The client then becomes a cheerleader for the vendor. ROI justification
is critical to search engine marketing and the client vendor relationship. No
company will fire or even be remotely dissatisfied with their marketing company
if ROI is demonstrated. Search engine marketing makes this possible and is thus
the best way to market your company today.
White Hat Communications
Sept 29, 2008
Every word, every gesture that an individual uses in
communicating his or her ideas and desires comes not only from their experience
and/or upbringing, but is motivated by some ulterior desire. This desire is an
idea of success in the individuals mind. Some manner of success or a goal he or
she wishes to achieve. Communication is a means to an end. Although many put
emphasis on the 'journey' to a goal or the measurement of tasks and actions that
gets one to a certain point, it is the idea of reaching "success" that drives an
individuals communication. The aspects of communications such as tact, empathy,
verbal cues, gesturing, vocal pitch, and facial expressions are all used to emphasis
a value, purpose, or cause.
For me personally, success is being able to sleep with a clear conscience, knowing
that my actions were ethically correct, my communications throughout the day have
been un-offensive, and my family has benefited from my actions. So, when I
communicate with family, friends, and clients I not only think critically but also
ensure that my mannerisms and words are appropriate as well as accurate (truthful).
In the work environment, this is considered operating with 'White Hat' tactics.
Doing things the right way, for the right reasons. My view of success is my motivation
with every word that proceeds from my mouth, the way I use inflection and how I
present myself with confidence.
