Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:E-mail Marketing Vs. Spam - Communicating On A Different Level The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, June 28, 2002 Table of Contents 01. E-mail Marketing Vs. Spam 02. Communicating On A Different Level 03. Tip Of The Week *01 E-mail Marketing Vs. Spam This week I would like to explain my view of E-mail Marketing as compared to Spam. To start with I know not everyone is going to agree with my perspective and I would love to hear your views. Is every “Commercial E-mail”, Spam? Not in my judgment. When we started the 800 Directory back in 1995, there was a group that felt the Internet should never be used to make a profit. This was a very vocal group and many of their mantras are still chanted today. Commercial use of the tools that the Internet provides is a rational business choice. Is every “Unsolicited E-mail”, Spam? The thinking that if you don’t specifically ask for e-mail its Spam, is flawed. Under this strict definition all e-mail not requested becomes Spam. So sending an unsolicited e-mail requesting the e-mail would be Spam. So what is Spam? Spam is any e-mail you don’t want to receive! If you use e-mail to communicate, there is a very good chance you have sent someone Spam. Spam happens, but most of us will not send someone e-mail if we know they don’t want to receive it. If you knowingly send unwanted e-mail, you are a Spammer. Most of the problem Spammers are Bulk Mailers. These individuals will send 150 million pieces of e-mail, three times a week, looking for a few suckers. Their headers are designed to trick readers into reading their e-mail carnival pitch. They are overloading the system and need to be stopped. Commercial e-mail is not the problem, good companies don’t want to send Spam, they want to communicate. If you ask them to stop, they do. Commercial e-mail sent to targeted groups is a very efficient and useful tool, NOT Spam. E-mail is a critical part of any Internet marketing plan and if you are not using e-mail, you should. If you have any thought or ideas you would like to share, please send them to Chuck Arning at chuck@inter800.com We’re Talkin’ Serious” Bone Suckin’ Sauce ! Winner: “Battle Of The Sauces.” Created in true western North Carolina style. Tomato based all-natural, sweetened with honey and molasses. Order your Box of six today for $39.99 +s/h. Toll-Free 1-800-446-0947 or online http://www.BoneSuckin.com *02 Communicating On A Different Level When I was in high school I wrote a line for a paper that went "Communication is the highest form of human understanding." I thought that was brilliant. Then in college I reversed it to "Human understanding is the highest form of communication." Equally brilliant, I concluded. In fact, they are both right and reversible and therefore they have to rank somewhere up with Plato. The fact is, I don't believe that I ever communicated what I meant so that someone else totally understood (or vice versa, in this case). However, it is true that communication with others is critical in all social interaction, and especially so in business. If one cannot get his point across about his products, services or ideas, then he will probably fail. Effective business communication courses now popular, and perhaps even essential, on college campuses. Creating new ways to communicate simply and quickly generates sales. An interesting approach to this topic was revealed in an article in the June 2002 Smithsonian magazine about famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. It seems that he has been very intrigued by the East-West trade route and area, known as the Silk Road, and our communication and understanding was developed among many various cultures spreading from the Mediterranean to Japan. Because of his profession and background, he wondered if music could promote greater understanding between disparate, even conflicting, cultures. He made a simple statement that I believe to be true. "If I know what music you love and you know what music I love, we start having a better conversation." No, I'm not trying to tell you to start singing "Cold, Cold Heart" with Hank Williams' twang and ask him for his rendition of "Feelings" the next time you talk to someone. What Ma learned was that he could play a piece of music and asked the students to describe what he was portraying, and, regardless of the culture or language, they all responded with the same answers. Obviously, that is an affirmation to music being a common denominator among the human species, but it implies one more truth. What else did all of the students have in common? - They listened. Listening is the first step towards communication. Steve Jackson saj@inter800.com Vegas Vacation has the best rates on Las Vegas Hotel Rooms. Don't make a reservation without calling us first! Call 800-637-6442 or visit our ad in the Internet 800 Directory: http://inter800.com/02281174.htm Tip of the Week The tips this week are actually from an old ZD Journals archive and they involve Excel. Since we use Excel extensively in business plans, accounting, etc. I hope you find them helpful: Eight timesaving Excel shortcuts Excel has a lot of useful shortcut keys. The more you know, the more time you can save. Here are eight shortcuts we hope you find useful: To enter the current date into the active cell, press [Ctrl][;]. To enter the current time, press [Ctrl][Shift][;]. To enter or edit a cell comment in the active cell, press [Shift][F2]. To quickly copy the contents of a cell to the cell directly to the right, select the cell that will receive the copy, then press [Ctrl]R. To quickly copy the contents of a cell to a cell directly below it, select the cell that will receive the copy, then press [Ctrl]D. To copy the contents from a cell directly above the active cell, press [Ctrl][']. If the cell contains a formula, this shortcut makes an identical copy of that formula, rather than adjusting the cell reference relatively. Pressing [Ctrl][Shift]['] also copies the contents from the cell directly above the active cell. However, if the cell contains a formula, this shortcut copies the result of the formula only rather than the formula itself. An easy way to view all formulas in a worksheet without having to select the cell containing it is to press [Ctrl][~]. Press the shortcut again to switch back to the Normal view. To subscribe to ZD's tips, go to: http://www.elementkjournals.com/tips.asp If you have any tips or shortcuts that you think the readers of this Newsletter will find useful, send them to sjackson@inter800.com Banners? Pay-per-click? Why not target your market with links or information placed in relevant content? The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter offers direct access to business people who are interested buyers. Advertising: Information on how to sponsor this publication: Call 800-299-1879 Thanks for taking the time to review our newsletter for this week. If you know of anyone that might benefit from receiving this newsletter, send them to (http://www.inter800.com/news800/ ) where they can subscribe. All Contents Copyright ©1995-2002 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |