Sales from the EDGE
Back Issue #027

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Sales from the EDGE Issue #027

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Sales from the EDGE
Breaking Through the "White Noise" Of Selling on the Net
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>From time to time, the EDGE publishes important updates that
you need to SELL on the Net. Most "latest and greatest" Net
marketing & sales developments simply waste our time. Today's
"hot new technology" is tomorrow's "whatever happened to?"
 
Occasionally, though, something comes along that STICKS. It
might NOT even be NEW... but we need to be reminded. When
that happens, the EDGE cuts through all the "white noise" of
Web marketing.  It explains the issue and outlines clearly
how YOU can best take advantage of it.
 
SALES FROM THE EDGE is sent ONLY to SiteSell product owners.
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May 1, 2002
Issue #027
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
o SITESELL NEWS
 
  1) Time Is Running Out For FREE SBI!-E Upgrade 

  
o Featured Article 

  1) Profitable E-mail Marketing In Difficult Times!
       
  
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>>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SITESELL NEWS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

>-News-
---1---
>-News-

Time Is Running Out For FREE SBI!-E Upgrade


We're getting there.

The SiteSell programmers are making steady progress in the
development and implementation of the new functionality for
the soon-to-be-released SBI!-E (Site Build It! E-commerce)...

o  Credit Card clearing in REAL TIME with YOUR OWN merchant
account (in USD, CAD, pounds, or EURO)!

o  Secure digital delivery -- Once a customer purchases your
e-good, SBI!-E totally automates its digital delivery upon
completion of payment.  Better still, we'll prevent your
customer from making further unauthorized downloads, and
provide a ton of "back-end" statistics to ensure your
business is running as efficiently as possible.

o  Fast efficient payment -- SBI!-E EFTs your funds directly
into your bank account.

o  A 2-tier, customizable affiliate program -- Recruit a
commission-driven sales force to sell YOUR OWN digital
product.

o  a sleek Mailout Module -- Maintain ongoing contact with
multiple mailing lists... "opt-in" subscribers, existing
customers, and affiliate program members.

In short, you'll be able to do everything we do here at
SiteSell.  (Actually, you'll be ahead of us... we'll be very
much like the "shoeless shoemaker" since our old and
somewhat creaky MailOut program only does sendouts in text
format.  SBI!-E owners will have full HTML mailing ability!)

--

Of course, all this extra functionality is in addition to
the already impressive list of SBI! functions...

o  Keyword brainstorming and research

o  Web hosting of as many pages as you can build, no HTML or
FTP knowledge required.  (Your NEW domain name is included
as well.)

o  True "intelligent" Search Engine submissions that
never threaten your site's ability to remain listed.

o  State-of-the-Net bot tracking.  Not only do we submit to
the Search Engines (SEs), we make sure they "got the
message" by tracking visiting spiders to your site.

o  Rank reporting tells you how your pages are faring at the
various SEs.  You'll be able to see which keywords and
keywords phrases are finding your site.     

o  Pay-Per-Click (PPC) research and mass bidding for the top
PPC SEs.

o  Server side logo-and-navbar-creating software that
builds PhotoShop quality graphics with a few deft clicks 
of the mouse.

The good news is that all CURRENT owners of SBI! will
receive a FREE upgrade of the new functionality (for the
remainder of your subscription or two months, whichever is
longer).  

But there is a down-side to this offer.  Alas...

All good things eventually come to an end.  Soon, when we
launch the new functionality, SBI!-E will be sold
separately.  True to SiteSell's constant commitment of
"putting the customer first", the price will be MUCH less
than buying MERELY ONE of the above e-commerce functions
elsewhere.  So...

If you have an e-good or service to sell online, there is no
time like the present!  Start building your site today,
while you create your e-book, software, collection of
photos, MP3s, or whatever else you plan to sell digitally.
By the time you have a site up and your product ready to
download, we'll be set to launch your business to the next
level...

http://buildit.sitesell.com/

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>>                THIS ISSUE'S FEATURED ARTICLE

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---1--- 
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Profitable E-mail Marketing In Difficult Times!


The Adventive lists are all "a-clamour."  Paul Myers' newest
issue of TalkBiz news touches upon it...

http://www.talkbiz.com/spamwars.html

... and savvy Netmarketers are tearing their hair out and
wringing their hands Web-wide.

-----SIDEBAR-----
Paul knows more about e-mail and e-mail
marketing than anyone I know.  He knows it...
DEEP.  So when he has something to say about
e-mail marketing, LISTEN.  Read the two
articles that I refer to in this issue.

On a more general note...

Paul is, as they say, "an original."  The
real McCoy.   And he always has FASCINATING,
well-thought-out commentary on a variety of
issues.  You may HATE a particular opinion,
or you may LOVE it, but you won't be bored. 
:-)

http://www.talkbiznews.com/ 
-----SIDEBAR-----

I started worrying about the miseries that spammers will
cause honest Net marketers, like you and me.  SiteSell was
"thrown into the black hole" because of a complaint against
one of our affiliates by an executive of an anti-spammer
organization.  This executive was merely being baited by
someone else, due to his high profile as a rather frothing,
rabid anti-spammer.

I should preface this by saying that we are diligently
anti-spam.  Our anti-spam policies are clearly posted as
links on every page of the 5 Pillar Affiliate Club...

http://www.sitesell.com/5pillarclub/sitesell-aup.html
http://www.sitesell.com/5pillarclub/what_happens.html

However, here at SiteSell, we ALSO have this quaint concept
known as "innocent until proven guilty."  And so, as Paul
Myers reports in the above article...

-----------------------------------------
I know of one large company that got on one
of the big blacklists simply because the
owner didn't jump fast enough to shut down an
affiliate who was accused of spamming. The
person handling the case for the blacklist
said, basically, "Do it because I said so and
I have my finger on the trigger."
-----------------------------------------

Exactly.  The "company" was us.  It was nasty stuff...

-----SIDEBAR-----
Paul provides more details on this story at...

http://www.talkbiz.com/assassin.html
-----SIDEBAR-----

Bottom line?...

It was arbitrary, vigilante-type activity, in response to a
growing, out-of-control spam problem, but *WE* HAD DONE
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG.  Sooner or later, I worried, as
spam gets worse, more and more people will get wrongly
caught up in this net, in a variety of different ways.
(Paul's help and advice, by the way, was invaluable to
getting us out of that mess that was not of our creation.)

That's when I started to be very concerned about how and
when spam would start to have a WIDER impact on Net
marketers.  Well, it's happening, more and more...

Vast, unhindered mountains of spam are starting to seriously
compromise the efficiency of e-mail marketing.  Maybe for a
few neophytes, the words "You've got mail" still get the
heart pounding in a flurry of anticipation.  For just about
anyone else, however, it causes an automatic knee-jerk
reaction...

... a quick jab of the index finger to the "Delete" key. 
Bye-bye. So long.  Sayonara.  Later dude.  Au revoir.  ("Au
revoir" being the most accurate since it literally means
"until I see you again"!)

CLICK!            

No Net marketer worth his or her salt can fault an
individual for the immediate trashing of unsolicited e-mail.
Heck, we all do it.  The problem is it's getting
increasingly harder to distinguish real bona fide
newsletters and promotions from unsolicited bulk e-mail --
spam.

The ramifications for the Net marketer, unfortunately, are 
not so good.

The best case scenario?...

Your client simply deletes your e-mail along with all the 
low-quality crap she finds in her mailbox.  

Worst case scenario?...

She mistakes your publication as spam, and reports you to
the spam cop.  Depending on the relationship you have with
your Web host, this may or may not prove to be disastrous
for you. (It's a common newbie mistake to be overzealous in
the reporting of what is initially perceived as spam.)

Whether or not your subscriber mistakenly reports you as a
spammer, the bottom line is still the same...

The all-essential line of communication between you and your
visitor has been completely severed.  And without a cheap
and reliable way to follow-up with the visitors to your Web
site, you are limited, even handicapped in the way in which
you do business.  Not to mention, of course, the resulting
damage to your bottom line.

-----SIDEBAR-----
There's all kinds of technical ways for spam
to cause YOU problems.  I touched on just one
above.  I'll leave that end of the discussion
for the maestro, Paul Myers.  Read his two
articles referenced in this issue.

For the rest of this article, we'll focus on
the HUMAN impact... your SUBSCRIBER'S
behavior and what to do about it.

First, though, one more "it happened to us"
story...

Paul Crane, Site Build It!'s Product Manager,
author of SiteSell's Test Tube series of
articles, and owner of...

http://www.ultimatefatburner.com/

And...

http://www.diet-supplement-review.com/

... tells me he's spotting another disturbing
trend.  Subscribers are writing to ask...

"Hey Paul!  What happened to your ezine?  I
haven't heard from you for ages -- did I get
mistakenly taken off your mailing list?"

Of course, Paul hadn't removed them from his
list and according to his list manager, all
clients were still slated to receive his
twice-monthly newsletter.

But somehow they weren't receiving it.

First, Paul checked to make sure nothing was
awry with his newsletter software.  Nope, no
problems there.

So what's the issue?

ISPs are implementing Spam filters so wide
and all-intensive that they are catching and
deleting bona fide e-mails from hard-working
Web masters.

This, too, is becoming an increasingly
serious problem.  Trust the master, Mr.
Myers, to write an extensive article about
this ever-increasing problem...

http://www.talkbiz.com/assassin.html

If you are experiencing some of the problems
Paul is, you may wish to follow Paul Myers'
lead, and start publishing your newsletters
online.  If you are a subscriber who is
seeing some of your favorite newsletters
disappear, it's time to complain to your ISP.
Tell them their spam filters are preventing
bona fide e-mails from reaching you and
you're not happy!

Talk to just about any major e-zine
publisher, and s/he'll have a story of pain
to tell that is related to being impacted by
non-specific, arbitrary reactions to an
out-of-control spam problem.

In the design development of the upcoming
MailOut module for Site Build It!, this has
been a major concern.  We've written our own
code, from the ground up, in order to keep
out spammers, stop any spamming activity the
moment it starts and keep super-clean and
unbounced lists.  SiteSell doesn't want any
SBI! client ever to go through this
experience.  

So, at least in our case, we're putting some 
of this pain to good use!  :-)
-----SIDEBAR-----

OK, back to the HUMAN element, your SUBSCRIBER'S behavior...

The main issue of concern to Net marketers, obviously, is
how to deal with the average surfer's diminished interest in
all things e-mail-related.
  
Although it's virtually impossible to GUARANTEE each of your
subscribers will actually read your newsletter, there are steps
one can (and should) take to ensure the subscriber recognizes
your e-mail as a viable one.

Here's the process...

o  Personalize.  You MUST start the subject of your e-mail
with your subscriber's first name.

No, your subscriber is not going to mistakenly assume you've
written a letter just for them.  But they will realize that
they must have asked to receive this mail.  They'll take an
extra second to read the rest of the subject -- just enough
time for them to think...

"Oh, yeah, that's the so-and-so newsletter."

At that point they'll either read it, file it for later, or
delete it.  But, at least, they recognize your message for
what it is.  These days, that's half the battle.

---  

o  Pick a UNIQUE name for your publication.

Like most of us who immerse ourselves in Net marketing, I
must have subscribed to a zillion niche-related e-zines over
the last few years.  Except for a few great cutting-edge
ones, the rest started to blend together into one gigantic
homogeneous glob.

You can distinguish yourself from the rest of the mob by
picking an original and perhaps idiosyncratic name for your
publication.  Anything that makes your subscriber go...

"Oh, yeah, I remember signing up for that!

At the same time, make sure the name accurately reflects the
content of your e-zine.

---

o  Pick a RIVETING subject headline to command the
attention/ curiosity of your subscriber.  Why?

Because recognizing YOU is ONLY half the battle.  Once you
have established your message as "bona fide" in the eyes of
your subscriber, you still have to get her to OPEN the
e-mail and read it.

That's why it's critical to take a few extra minutes to
craft a subject line that will garner the most interest from
your subscribers.

--- 

o  Reduce publication frequency AND length, and increase
publication quality.

You're far better off to produce two, short HIGH-quality
newsletters a month than four mediocre ones.  Your
subscribers will appreciate your new policy of not wasting
their time with frequent, mediocre material.  Plus, it
builds anticipation amongst your readers...

"When is the next newsletter coming out?"
 
If you don't have the material to produce a superior quality
e-zine, the best policy is to wait until you do.  By not
forcing readers to review a sub-par e-zine and subsequently
file it under "G", you're increasing the chance that your
e-zine will garner a favorable response next time!

---

o  Reduce the ad content of your newsletter.

Short on content and long on ads?

This is not the way to build a dedicated audience.  Provide
quality content, cut down to one or two ads, maximum, and
replace with in-context, affiliate text links.  You can
easily generate as much income by directly weaving strong,
honest and personal recommendations for products you
represent into your content articles.

And you don't have to waste all that time selling ad space! :-)

--- 

o  Stuff your Web site to the gills with unique quality
content.

Let's face it, the best subscribers money can buy come
directly from your own Web site -- your pop-ups, your form
fields, your autoresponder e-courses -- whatever.  These
people have seen your content and are impressed enough by it
that they WANT you to contact them again.

Deliver a high-value Web site.  Blend in a top quality
newsletter.  You'll never have to beg people to read your
zine.  Your subscribers will slather in the anticipation of
your next issue.

The perfect example?  Allan Gardyne's splendid duo of the
"AssociatePrograms.com" Web site and the "Associate Programs
Newsletter," which Allan publishes every two weeks.  Since
he's reduced his schedule from weekly, I find myself in
withdrawal in the off-weeks (kind of like a golf tournament
without Tiger Woods!).

---

Bottom line?

These days, you have to maintain a delicate balance when it
comes to e-mail marketing.  There's no doubt it remains as
effective as ever for building your business.  But you have
to do it right...

1) Make sure you are using a service that is absolutely
meticulous.  It's so easy to end up on a black list or in a
black hole, through no fault of your own.

2) Personalize.  Stand out.  As long as your subscriber
KNOWS and WANTS your publication, you'll realize the value
that a well-produced e-zine delivers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SiteSell Discount Directory~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
 
Please bookmark this page -- it's the only page that you
will EVER need to buy SiteSell products at an owners-only
discount. For owners of SiteSell products ONLY, it provides
discounts on all products, except for MYSS! 2002 -- if I
reduced the price on it, I'd have to pay *you* to buy it! 
;-)
 
SiteSell Discount Directory
http://www.sitesell.com/discount-directory.html
 
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Contact info: E-mail us at support@sitesell.com
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Written by Ken Evoy, M.D.,
President, SiteSell.com
(c) copyright 2002 SiteSell.com