Article by Francis Wade | Reproduced the Your Money eZine magazine. View the October 21, 2009 Issue here.
When I returned to live in Jamaica four years ago, one instant improvement was the fact that I stopped receiving 10 pieces of paper-based junk mail each day. In Florida, these unwanted ads came in the post, inserted in newspapers and tucked into envelopes.
Today, the recession has forced many companies to modify their tactics, and to adopt a less expensive alternative – internet marketing. I am puzzled as to the reasons why so few Jamaican companies seem to be interested in this effective, low-cost technique.
In this case, I’m not thinking of spam (unsolicited email) or banner ads — those clickable boxes seen on most websites.
Instead, I wonder why more local companies aren’t asking for and using the email addresses of their customers and prospects, in order to build one of the most powerful forms of advertising on the internet – mailing lists.
The tactic is a simple one.
Whenever possible, companies ask customers for their email addresses in exchange for immediate access to a free report, a subscription to a useful newsletter or a link to download an audio or video.
When it’s set up well, the vast majority of email addresses are added by users themselves, who must provide them to the company in order to receive the promised content. The sign-up page (known as a “squeeze page”) is placed on the internet, available 24-7 to anyone in the world.
There is no limit to what can be done with a list, or to its size. In addition to the pure informational content, any kind of promotional campaign, market surveys and discount offers can also be sent as part of the stream of information that customers receive.
Over time, a trusted relationship develops between members of the list and the author, who becomes a voice that readers rely on to help make their decisions. The fact that the author of the content is representing a product, service or brand is incidental.
I have been using these techniques in the past couple of years to build my company’s mailing list, while offering a variety of ezines for Caribbean executives and managers.
The cost? Apart from the personal time I have spent, the service that I use to manage the 3000+ people in my lists costs only US$19.95 per month. The number of contacts, volume
of emails and even the quantity of lists are all, remarkably, unlimited.
Given the low costs to implement this particular technique, in these recessionary times they need to become an essential part of every Jamaican company’s arsenal.
Francis Wade is the author of The New Networking: Caribbean 2008 available at the following “squeeze page:” fwconsulting.com/newnetworking
