Jude’s Eclectic Resources

If your running an internet marketing business then you know there is a very thin line between what is considered marketing and spam. Of course you want to get the maximum exposure, but you don’t want to be considered a spammer.Spam is unsolicited emails which are part of an advertising campaign. The term spam can also apply to message board postings which are posted solely for advertising purposes. Let’s examine the differences between spam and effective Internet marketing .

Message boards and forums are a useful way to market, these are online meeting places for Internet users who share a particular interest to exchange ideas, ask or answer questions or just socialize. These message boards and forums allow users to register and post messages. Most message boards and forums have guidelines which the users must follow when making posts. These guidelines may vary widely with some being very strict about acceptable content and others not being nearly as strict. It is important to follow these guidelines because failure to do so may result in the moderators deleting your account and other members not paying much attention to your posts.

Message boards are ideal for Internet marketing because they can provide a business owner with access to a specialized target audience. You might join a message board dedicated to working from home to find members who may be interested in your products. Here you can learn a great deal about the concerns of your target audience. You can also post links to your website when appropriate and in accordance with the message board guidelines.

In general most message boards are focused on a particular niche subject and encourage those who share an interest in this particular subject to get together to discuss relevant issues, ask questions, provide advice and even just socialize. Message boards can focus on any subject imaginable they may focus on a particular baseball team or just the sport of baseball in general. Message boards can focus on subjects such as politics, television shows, bands, current events, jobs, hobbies or any subject imaginable. Savvy Internet marketers can take advantage of these message boards to reach a target audience without investing a great deal of money.

This is considered to be smart Internet marketing. However, if you opt to respond to each and every post with a link to your website even when it is not relevant and do not offer comments of value to other members, they are likely to view your posts as spam. This can be damaging because these members might choose to avoid your website even if they have a need for your services.

Email and newsletter advertising are one area of Internet marketing which is most likely to be viewed as spam if not done properly. Most Internet users don’t appreciate unsolicited emails especially when these emails do not pertain to a subject that interests them. This is often the case when business owners buy email lists and send their advertisements to everyone on the list. This is not effective because you are not likely to reach a large population of your target audience.

Also the recipients of the email may block your email address so future communications are automatically sent to a spam folder. Some recipients may even report you to their Internet service provider who may investigate the claim that you are a spammer. A better way to approach the concept of email marketing is to only send newsletters and advertisements to past customers who have specifically asked to receive such emails and potential customers who have requested additional information.

Internet users are very quick to delete materials they believe to be spam without even opening or reading the emails. In fact some Internet service providers include spam filters which may automatically delete your emails if your messages are deemed to be spam. These filters run complex algorithms on the subject heading and content of the message to determine whether or not it is spam and are quite adept at weeding out spam. Therefore you run the risk of having your email marketing effort turn out to be a complete waste if the majority of recipients never even read or receive the message.