If you look over this book, you will see that setting up a business online is not something that happens instantly. You have to plant the seeds and help grow your garden of customers.

The most powerful weapon you have is email; it is also one of the most misunderstood. The people who built the Internet, the techies, absolutely hate anything to do with email because they consider it spam.

Spam is a term for sending an email without thinking who it is going to; it is so simple to send out hundreds of thousands of messages, that people forget to care about who is getting what. Yet if it is not done as a free for all, but as a targeted approach, direct email can work very well.

Here's why; your initial advertising will likely only sell 1-5% (tops) of people who come to your Web Site. Most people accept that and delude themselves into thinking that people will be energetic and keep coming back to their Web site.

Nothing could be further from the truth. What these affiliates are doing is digging their own grave, because they do not make it easy for the customer to work with them. If you decide right now that your customers are incredibly valuable, then you will do everything in your power to make sure they always come back to your site.

The best way to do this is to create your opt-in list, gaining their permission to email them.

I have a friend who is one of the most successful marketers online, Stephan Mahaney of Planet Ocean Communications. He is always teaching me about the importance of the list, or as he likes to say: if my business was to end today, if they came and took my computer and shut me down, I could simply take my database of names -- my list -- and open up for business the next day.

If he didn't have a list, he couldn't do this. If he didn't have a list, he wouldn't have a thriving business. That is the most powerful weapon any business can have, because it is not a list they build randomly. It is a list of satisfied customers, familiar with you, and happy to hear from you.

This kind of list is the real gold of business; now surf the Internet and look at what your affiliate competition is doing. They are trying to suck money out of banner ads, which are a nightmare to get your investment back on. They are running around to newsgroups and posting messages hoping someone will notice them.

Meanwhile you go to their site and no one notices you; no one invites you to submit your name and email in return for a free gift, coupon, or discount. They just expect you to work hard to visit them, and won't do a thing to make it easy for you.

The real secret weapon is in making a busy person's life easier by giving them what they want. Affiliate programs are an excellent way to do this. Your ultimate success, like any business, is built on the repeat business you generate.

Direct Email and Fax Is How You Do This

Direct email and fax are two ways to contact your customers without intruding. The key is to target your audience and tailor your message to what they want. Many people focus their ad copy on price only; success is generated from your service and benefits you deliver, more than your price or "knowledge".

First contact is a place to introduce yourself. Don't get into a heavy sales pitch; drive them to a Web page for that. Even better, invite them to hear from you again. Remember not to spam, stripping masses of addresses in hope that a few will respond. The time you spend targeting your customers will more than compensate for waste of time, money, and effort you get by randomly emailing customers who may or may not be interested in your offer.

Promote safe, secured email with a protection of privacy. Whatever you do, don't apologize. So many people are frightened by the dangerous nature of spam, they forget that a living person is reading their ad copy.

Those who want to attack you will with or without this message. Those who want to buy will wonder why you are so paranoid about contacting them.

Compare the first lines of these two messages:

The benefit of this headline is compelling, but is it believable? Fortune is a vague word, if you turned this into "How You Can Turn $100 into $50,000", the terms are more concrete...but still exaggerated. Get rich quick headlines are weak, but not as bad as the following introduction to the sales letter.

Content Notice

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Thank you for the information you have provided for us and/or others to see on the Internet, and thank you for making your email location available in the process so we can interact with you. The following offer is in response to accessing your web page/publicly accessible posting or information published on the Internet. Or it is in response to email you have sent to one of our accounts, that caught our attention because of the information it contained. We believe our research indicates it is a response that may be of benefit and interest to you.

If we were mistaken in thinking you posted this information in order for people/us to see and respond to it and exchange information with you, this is notice that you should not read the below contents of the email. It is not our intention to email those who do not want a response or to offend you in any way. Just accept our thanks for your contribution to the Internet, which got our attention.

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This politeness is phony...and exhausting. Try this next ad, which tells you why you should read it...and is not ashamed of selling.

I think the headline stinks, and I don't like the ADV intro. This stands for advertising, done to protect the sender. Good advertising is never thought of as an ad, if it is targeted and delivers benefits. Why remind them of this? Also, a personal message is delivered from their CEO. Why not mention this? "A Personal Message From The CEO.."

Why I Liked This Ad: The Intro Ad Copy

"We placed an ad in one small area of the Internet. And when the dust started to settle we had over six thousand responses in ten days."

Compare this to the one above; instead of apologizing, they show you an immediate benefit of what they actually did. This is a success story, with a result that is not beyond the reach of most people. That's because they put a real number, a concrete figure, on their claim to make it believable and real.

Even better, the ad copy develops to show how they converted the leads into customers. The power of such simple ad copy cannot be stressed too much. The results are tangible, easily understood, and invite you to read more.

If you take a professional approach to direct email, you will find that less resistance. Spam is a term for unsolicited email; the real goal is to use your first contact as a way to solicit their input, and start communicating.

Take the following approach with professional, direct email:

1. Realize that a real person exists on the other end, one with limited time. People only complain about advertising that gives them little or nothing. If you have researched your customer base, hit the benefits that your offer brings to your customer.

2. Write your ad copy to focus on a short headline. Personalize it with their name and email address, to show how you reached them. It is good to include the name of their business as well, to show that you actually know what they offer. If you have done the steps in the search engines, this is easy.

3. Get a database program and focus on it. You can use your database to export names and addresses to your email program, personalizing your message to a broad customer base. It is easy to do, and database programs are often less than $200. ACT, Microsoft Access, and MyMailingList are three Windows databases. I use FileMaker for Windows. It also allows me to customize my invoices, sales letters, and personalize campaigns via direct mail, direct email, as well as providing customer tracking.

4. Do not forget the power of different media. Faxes are cheap and a good way to reach someone in print. One site I visit contacts you via email, then follows up via fax with a guarantee to get you one contract as a consultant within a year of joining them.

Paper is still a good way to reach people, and fax is not intrusive. Just make sure that you have earned the right to contact them, and don't intrude on anyone who does not want to hear from you.

Networking and Advertising Online

Business to business selling is one of the best markets on the Internet. Many people get into competitive stances online, like they are competing for a local market.

The irony is that in the "real" world, networking is a central element of business. Take the real estate industry, for example. Real estate agents, lenders, accountants, appraisers, construction, painters, title companies, escrow companies, and many others have a referral based system.

I know one appraiser in San Diego that gets half of his work referred by out of state lenders. A professional network exists in real estate, one based on referral instead of advertising.

Now go and visit real estate sites online and see how few are applying this model. Everyone is trying to sell their one piece of the pie, when the customer wants to buy the whole package.

This will not last for long. Intuit, the makers of Quicken software, have taken their stronghold in computer based banking and stretched it to the real estate market. They have created a mortgage site (http://mortgage.quicken.com) where you can apply for a loan online, pre-qualify, and get a choice of six lenders for your loan.

Soon Intuit will be a broker itself, and will do what every mortgage company basically does. Everyone shops from the same banks to give you a loan. Intuit is using its software as a lead generating mechanism, a referral, for all these real estate professionals. They are also targeting accountants, generating inquiries for these professionals and selling a subscription basis to their lead generating mechanism.

Remember this model of professional networking, and apply it in the following ways:

1. Does a network exist for referrals in your market? Invite people and businesses to network with you. Use your links page as a referral mechanism, and build a select circle of influence to profit from.

2. Think in terms of appointments and actual sales instead of referral fees. You can arrange a professional referral system by forwarding work, more than putting a money figure on it at first.

   If you generate enough leads, you'll be able to charge for them. Use your network to enhance your own reputation, and make sure that whoever you work with backs up what they do in action. Make sure that whoever you work with is as good as you. And backs up what they offer with great customer service.

3. Banner Ads as a networking tool. Banner ads will not make you money, unless you are Yahoo or Netscape. Invite selected businesses to post banner ads in your network, in exchange for showing your ad on their site. Also use Link Exchange, www.linkexchange.com, to target customers for banner ads as well. For a little extra, you can specify who will see what you are offering.

   Finally, there is a site called the Web Ring (www.webring.org) that helps people create networks of links. Each person puts the code on their home page, and members are added easily. You just need one person to maintain it, and the benefits can be tremendous.

4. Qualify anyone in your network; do not link for the sake of linking. Get your network to be as professional and responsible as you would be in the real world. One bad piece of your network can bring everyone down.

   Make sure that you ask the right questions and take the time to find good partners, not just links.

5. Sponsorships are a great way to work closely with other sites. At the Forbes Web Site, Fidelity sponsors a specific section. Their articles and advertising are the only ones you will find in this section.

   Use these sponsorships to your advantage. Place content at other's sites, and use sponsorships as an ultimate form of networking. Work your way up to this via experience and the ability to mutually generate leads for each other.

The most powerful weapon of all is a good network; it all begins, and continues, with safe, direct email sent to people with permission you have earned. Here's how to write the ad copy that makes them stop, think, consider, and hopefully open up their wallets for you.

How To Write Effective Direct Email Pieces

Any list you buy is either an informal opt-in, where people have allowed themselves to be emailed advertising. Usually this means they receive free information, or reports, from the business who owns the list.

The second list is one step from spam, lists that have been harvested and hopefully targeted. I say hopefully because many are just the second step in a bulk email mailing.

A good list that does not mind being mailed to and generates sales is what you want.

You can buy millions of addresses for practically nothing, but these lists are not worth it. You will likely get shut down, get tons of duplicates, and acquire a giant headache.

Think in terms of hundreds of customers, not millions of emails ´ quality, not quantity.

People are busy. They are looking at tons of emails. Why should they open yours immediately?

Your goal is the three word headline; you may need to use more or less. If you cannot sum up your pitch in one sentence, keep working on it until you do.

The Subject Line is the headline of your email; this is what they will look at. If it does not make them want to act, they will hit delete immediately. No one wants to spend time figuring out what you are offering.

Forget tricks; do not use cute phrases or dollar signs. Be direct.

Which approach creates the most leads? Use what works, not what you like, or hope will work.

Calling your customers by name in an email should be required of all businesses. If you are not doing it yet, start now.

There are so many database/email programs that will allow you to personalize your email. Use them. NetContact is one; many databases allow you to export and merge for print letters. Mail Merge is possible for many email programs, and will become so increasingly in the future.

Sum up your main ideas in 5 bullets.

After you write each one, read it out loud. Ask yourself why what you said is important. Does it increase, boost, save, discover, explore, intrigue, and all together focus on the word you? Cut out the riff raff and select the bullets that generate the most response.

Your introductory sales letter should be short and to the point, two or three paragraphs at most. Invite them to get the whole story. Then send them to your Web Site (preferred), autoresponder, and telephone/fax. Expect to generate leads and give them autoresponders that are 8-10 pages long at most.

If you have a sophisticated sale, ask them to fill in a brief questionnaire at your Web Site in exchange for your sales letter. Try and follow up with a personal phone call.

Experiment with posting the sales letter at your site, and including it as an autoresponder.

Write your ad copy in a word processor and check the reading level of what you are writing. I use Word's Grammar Checker, located under the Tools menu. You can run sentences, paragraphs, and whole documents to find out what grade level you are writing for.

For example, I ran the word SimpleText through the checker. The trick is to run the entire check; this report appears at the end.

I ignore everything except the Flesch Grade Level; notice how the word SimpleText is at the sixth grade reading level. That is why Apple used that word, because it is easy to remember and say.

If you use this tool on your sales letters, you will be amazed. I was writing at an 11th grade to early college level. It was great for academic research, but the death of a sales letter. I just shortened my words into two or three syllables. I stopped using contractions if possible. My words became simpler. My sales increased.

Most word processors should include this feature; if not, there are many third party grammar checkers. Just look for the Flesch Reading Level and you should be fine.

Many people give away free reports, newsletters, and bonuses to start the direct response process. Giving away for free is good, but only if you make an impact. When you write a direct email, you need to direct the visitor to check out a Web Page/site dedicated only to what you are selling.

Forget driving them to your home page, with all those choices. Give them one choice, and give them their free bonuses immediately. Autoresponders are the most common way.

Astrology.net sells astrological readings. They have about 10 or so packages to choose from. But when you visit their site, you are asked to join up and to get your free report.

The process begins with a listing of all the possible readings you can purchase. The free one is in the upper, left hand corner of the form, where all important information should be. This is where the eye first rests, then reads left to right. You scan through their choices and get to the bottom of the form, submitting for your free report.

You enter your name, birthday, and time of birth. Time of birth is very important and not all of us know this one. They give you the option to include the time or not. You trade them demographic information for the report.

The information product is created as you fill in three forms. The result is a 3-5 page report and a personalized graphic of the stars alignment at the time of your birth, posted at their Web Site.

You receive an email telling you the Web Site address. You also learn that this report will be taken off-line in a few days, so you visit immediately. They get your email address, and using a statistical program can check to see if you even bothered to visit.

What a great way to qualify your leads; they buy the demo, then have to visit your Web Site to pick it up. You could do this with a password protected area as well, with information delivered as a text file (.txt), a Word file (.doc, Save As "Word for Windows 2" will allow whatever you create to be opened on most word processors), or even Acrobat PDF files for those of you with an Internet savvy customer.

Delivering your bonuses immediately is critical to online marketing. And it does not have to be complicated. From autoresponders to automated reports, the trend is clear; get them thinking, participating, and requesting information. Delivered online, your distribution costs are virtually zero.

Use this information to qualify your leads. Then close with those interested customers, and follow up with the rest as prospects. Unleash your Web Business through leads and direct marketing.

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