What about Purchasing Targeted Email Lists for My Internet Home Business?

A Home Business Article Contributed by Elizabeth Fox-Wise

Should I Purchase a Targeted Email List to Market My Internet Home Business?

You should never purchase any type of an email list for your Internet home business. You will see the advertisements all over the Internet to purchase these mailing lists. No matter how tempting it might be to buy a list and send out "target emails" to 30, 000 recipients regarding your home business ....don't do it! Sending out even one email to a list of email addresses that was purchased this way can get your home business site shut down!

It is easy to new internet business owners to fall for something like this. These bulk email CD's are marketed as "millions of targeted addresses" and you can get them fairly cheaply, making this look like an attractive option to a start up home business with a limited marketing budget.

The Reality of Targeted Emails CDs Sold for Marketing Your Internet Home Business

Despite any statements made by the business selling the CDs, you can pretty much be guaranteed that the email addresses on these spam lists have NOT requested to be on there! Neither do they even know that they are on the list and they certainly have not opted in to receive your Home Business solicitation.

Typically, the business selling the CD is calling them "targeted" because they gathered the email addresses by typing keywords into an email address harvesting program. The email harvesting program then loaded thousands of addresses which it picked from sites with that keyword somewhere in their pages. The use of the keyword is why they claim they are targeted.

There is legislation against sending unsolicited email (commonly known as spamming). If you buy a list of emails and send out thousands of unsolicited emails, many of those people WILL report you to their ISP, your ISP, and every host they can think of. Faster than you even realize what is going on, your Internet Home Business will be shut down. Legal blame lies with the business who USED the mailing list, not the business who SOLD the list. So they stay in business and you go out.

So How Can I Use Email to Market My Internet Home Business?

The absolute only way that your Internet Home Business can send emails is by creating your own list of people who have some how chosen to "opt in" to your mailing list.

There are several ways that you can encourage people to sign onto your mailing list. But the easiest way is to offer something for free in exchange for "signing your guest book" On the guest book page you need to put a disclaimer that by signing guest book they agree to receive your emails. Many sites will offer an "electronic freebie" because that can be delivered to your customers at no cost to your home business.

Some examples of electronic freebies which you deliver thru emails are free reports, informative newsletters, electronic courses, downloadable ebooks, downloadable shareware, or anything else related to your industry. In exchange for the free product or service you offer, you simply ask for the users name and email address. Other sites will offer an inexpensive, but more "tangible freebie" such as a pen with your URL on it.

Always keep back up documentation of your "opt-in" email list so if a recipient does accuse you of spamming, you have proof that he "opted-in" to your email solicitation.