Would you believe that?

By Jim Daniels
Posted Friday, August 27, 2004

I'd like you to look at this image if you have a second.

What you will see is a picture of my trash can. No, not my trash can in my office, but my Eudora email program's trash can. In it you will see exactly what you would expect to see in a trash can -- trash.

It is literally littered (how's that for alliteration!) with garbage. And believe it or not, the sender is actually trying to make sales with those headlines. They must be, or they wouldn't have made the effort to send it, right?

Among the many messages, you'll see subject lines claiming "Raise Millions Fast", another that promises "$10,000 in 4-8 weeks" and, well, you get the picture.

As the blue dots on the left of that image indicate, not a single one of these messages were opened. Simply put, they are grouped together as junk and filtered into my trash automatically.

They are tagged as trash when I receive multiple copies of the same message or if the headline is unbelievable.

So why do these marketers feel the need to exaggerate?...

The only thing I can think of is they read it somewhere. I've seen plenty of experts that teach you to make your headlines exciting. Heck, when I was new to the marketing game I probably wrote an unbelievable headline or two. Actually, I'm sure I did.

But thankfully I found a method that works much better. That method is two-fold. It is as simple as this:

1. Make your headlines believable.

2. Write to people who already know you.

How well does this work?

I'd like you to look at another image if you would.

It is a picture of another one of my mailboxes. This one is my order confirmation mailbox. Each time someone places an order through my secure server, I receive a message. As you can see, this particular day was fairly busy. Actually, I could only capture about half the day's activity in the image.

Why am I showing you this mailbox?

No, it is not to brag. Sure, I make my living online, but I am not a millionaire. So far, I've only earned a fraction of what I plan to earn online. Besides, I'm not the bragging type.

I show you that mailbox to prove a point.

If you use that simple two-fold formula above, your sales will soar.

That particular day I sent my faithful gazette subscribers a special coupon. The subject line of that message was a simple (and believable) "Subscriber Coupons Now Active".

No hype. No false promises. Just a simple notification from a guy who already sends a free newsletter each week. The result was a windfall of sales for the next three days.

So how can YOU implement this strategy?

Well, writing believable headlines a start. That is simple enough. Just ask yourself, "Would I believe that?" If the answer is no, start over.

Next, send the message to your in-house email list. You _do_ have a list, don't you?

If not, you'd better get started!

Visit (http://bizweb2000.com/contact.htm) and pick up a few resources to get started.

You do not need to be a marketing guru or a computer whiz to implement a simple house list marketing strategy.

It really is as simple as placing a sign-up form at your website, where visitors can enter their name and email address to join. As long as you offer something of value for free, you'll get plenty of takers.

Once you start building your list, mail to it regularly and be sure to provide value and original content in every single message. Aim to form relationships. It's not hard if you're willing to part with some knowledge or something else of value. You get back far more than you give.

Remember, effective internet marketing can be done very easily when you know how. Today's tip has proven that! It has also provided you with the knowledge you need.

Now it is up to you to make the commitment to implement this proven strategy.

About the Author
* Article by Jim Daniels of JDD Publishing. Jim's site has helped 1000's of regular folks profit online. Visit (http://bizweb2000.com) for FREE "how-to" cybermarketing assistance, software, manuals, web services and more. No time to visit the site? Subscribe to their Free, weekly BizWeb E-Gazette: mailto:freegazette@bizweb2000.com