Why Opt-In?          
by Brian D. Chmielewski

If you have spent any time on the Internet, you have experienced it. Unsolicited email in your inbox. Messages which are absolutely irrelevant to you and which exist only to eat up bandwidth and peak your ire. From the recipient standpoint these types of messages are obscene and uninvited, and from the marketer standpoint these messages are detrimental to reputation, untargeted, and thus, highly ineffective. This is what Opt-In Direct Email is NOT.

What is Opt-In Direct Email?
Opt-In lists are derived from groups of individuals who opt to subscribe to receive information in almost every category imaginable. As a recipient of these messages, you will receive free information on topics that interest you and if your interests change, you can unsubscribe, or opt-out, from the mailing instantly. As a distributor of a message to these lists, you benefit by contacting people who request your information and who will react positively to its call to action. How positively? uPromote is realizing a conversion rate - the percentage of actual recipient click throughs in relation to the total number of messages sent - of between six and nine percent.

Why is Opt-In Email effective?

• Targeting - Remember that recipients voluntarily elect to receive messages on certain topics. The greater the relationship between these topics and your marketing message, the greater the chance for high conversion rates. Since your message is targeted and recipients welcome the information, your company will not risk damaging its reputation by sending spam or unsolicited mail, and you will not waste money or time sending your message to those who are not interested.



• Although online ad analysts spend much of their time commenting on banner advertising, the fact is that it isn't an effective marketing communications tools for everyone. Currently, if you are getting a conversion rate of two percent for your banner campaign, you are beating the industry average. Opt-In Direct Email can realize a much broader conversion rate, which equates to greater value for boosting your traffic and driving sales of services or products.



• Web site traffic statistics, the great price determinant of targeted banner advertising, is not an exact science. Auditing of Opt-In lists is simple and immediate, allowing you information on the current number of individuals in any category who want your message. Invalid email addresses bounce like bad checks and can be removed to maintain the integrity of the list, insuring that your message is communicated to an exact number of interested recipients. With Upromote Messenger Email, your marketing efforts can reach a range of one million unique users and you can receive free messages on hundreds of categories.



• Eighty-four percent of the respondents to GVU's 8th WWW survey noted that email has become an indispensable technology for them. This reflects positively on Opt-In as a marketing tools for many reasons. Why?
  
  
  • Your message is heard. There is no doubt about the fact that people are increasingly communicating through email. In fact, the average users spends roughly 60 percent of their online time reading, answering, or penning email, giving your message a high probability of being seen.
  • Distribution is swift. The email medium itself allows instant response to any marketing message, by placing hyperlinks in the body, thus making time-sensitive campaigns feasible. Opt-In Direct Email campaigns can be completed in hours rather than the equivalent postal conversion of three to twenty days, depending on the mailing rate and the global reach of your campaign.
  • Messages can be instantly forwarded. Due to the interactive nature of direct email, you are not only calling your recipient to action, but a carefully drafted Opt-In message may end up in the inbox of others who have had the message forwarded to them.
  
  
  
• Opt-In Direct Email is measurable by click through. So, sales and marketing can work together to author the proper message and audit the cost-effectiveness in it. Setting up unique URL's for recipients to click on allows spectacular tracking of your marketing efforts. This protocol can indicate the need for future alteration of the communicated message or re-evaluation of your target market to optimize your results.

The latest GVU study indicates that 55 percent of users simply delete unsolicited email when they receive it, while only nine percent read it. There is a proper way to avoid these types of results and Opt-In Direct Email is your tool to accomplish this.

For more information on the Opt-In service, visit uPromote Messenger.