[epub] The Problem with ALL Pay Per Subscriber Services

[Gregg Terry <gregg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings to everyone,

Several people have written to me wondering whether there
were better alternatives than World Wide Lists. Other services
may be marginally better but that is not really the issue in my
opinion.

The big problem with all of them is that they have a *monetary
incentive to take unethical actions*. Consequently, you will be
vulnerable to *accusations* of being a spammer.

It's not much different than buying a CD-ROM of 3 million
e-mail addresses for $79. You can defend yourself by
saying that the owner of the CD swore on a stack of Bibles
that every single name was opt-in but that's not going to
make any difference to how other people perceive you.

In each case, you are acquiring e-mail addresses
INDIRECTLY. That's the problem in a nutshell. No one
has taken the *initiative* to establish a relationship
with YOUR business. Since that hasn't happened,
needless to say, you have no record of that.
Consequently, you are *totally vulnerable* to
accusations of being a spammer.

This will effect you in two important ways. As I mentioned
in my post 'Don't Use World Wide Lists', reputable list
services will NOT want to host your list if ANY of your
subscribers have been purchased (where you DON'T
have a confirmation from that subscriber that they do
in fact wish to subscribe to your newsletter).

I'm NOT saying that every subscriber needs to double
opt-in to your list. What I am saying is that every
subscriber needs to TAKE THE INITIATIVE and either
request a subscription by e-mail or sign up on your site.

Apart from the list services that will not want to have
anything to do with you, many potential strategic
partners for joint ventures of one kind or another
will also not want to have anything to do with you.

To me, the no-brainer way to go is to grow your list
slower but keep it squeaky clean. That is the choice
that I've made for my two lists. It just makes things
a *lot easier*. (BTW, I do NOT require double opt-in
and have yet to receive a spam complaint).

I hope that this was helpful.

Cheers,

Gregg Terry
Editor of Better Small Business Ideas
Selective ideas and resources you will want to use
http://www.BetterSmallBusinessIdeas.com 


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