|
From the files of “The Raybourn Effect”
Copyright 2004
Are your emails really getting through to people?
You need to be selective on who you use to get your
messages out or it's going to kill your online success.
If you use a database manager, like an autoresponder,
you might be surprised how many of your emails are NOT
getting to your readers.
Many of us do not have the luxury of having our own
server sitting in our house.
So that means we rely on third-parties to get our
emails out to our readers, prospects, clients, etc.
We have to rely on someone else so we can communicate
to those we need to the most - and we rely on them to
get the message through!
But many third-party service providers are not able
to get your message through. Well, what does that mean?
It means it can hurt you and your success online!
When I refer to third-party service providers, here's
what I am referring to:
1. Autoresponder services
2. Database managers for mailing lists
3. Web Hosts
Ok, so now you should be asking...
"Why can't they get my message through?"
Ok, so now here's the answer.
Because many of them get blacklisted all the time
and spamcop and spamhaus will block your emails
from getting to your readers, prospects or clients!
Is this because you personally have been blacklisted?
Answer is simple: NO!
It's because other users of that same service
provider have abused the system and as a result,
everyone that uses that provider is blacklisted!
Have you received those emails and thought YOU were
blacklisted? Don't freak when you see them. Instead,
dig into them. I'll show you how.
Let me give you an example of what's been happening
to me recently.
Like many Ezine publishers online I used an auto-
responder service to get my weekly issues out to my
readers. This autoresponder service would let me
schedule many issues in advance. It would also allow
me to contact any of my subscribers whenever I wanted,
outside of the scheduled issues.
But many times I would receive undeliverable
notifications - stating I had been blacklisted by
spamcop or some other spam blocking service.
Now in these email notifications it would list an IP
address (IP - internet protocol numbers assigned to
computer internet users) and state which spam blocking
service blacklisted me.
But wait! I don't use email marketing to solicit
business - I only send to people that have either
bought from me or requested to subscribe to my Ezine.
So why am I being blacklisted? Not fair!
Well, I took that IP and went to that spam blocking
service site and looked it up.
Guess what I found? It isn't ME they blacklisted, it
is the service provider (the autoresponder owner)
that is blacklisted! And, I dug further and even
found who got them blacklisted!
Some woman on AOL sent 1,500 emails a day for so many
days. It detailed her activity. I sent it to the
owner of that autoresponder (and I had about 20
accounts with them) and they wrote me stating I needed
to contact that spam blocking service and work it out.
WAIT! It wasn't me. The IP belonged to THEM and they
were blacklisted because of one of their (the
autoresponder owner) other users!
Once they understood that, I never heard from them and
it was never fixed. Five months later that same woman
was getting them blacklisted again.
This effected me! My readers and my clients couldn't
get my emails because of her and the autoresponder
service owner not wanting to fix it!
My solution? Delete her membership! It says on their
site they would.
Ok, time to move on. But where? Who is going to manage
my lists?
So I turned to my website host. I decided to use their
mailing list managers to have contact with my lists.
Argh! Not again?!
They too are often blacklisted. Yes, I did the same
research above and found it was my website host that
was blacklisted and found the person who got them there.
BUT, they worked hard to clear it up. And usually within
48 hours it was.
48 hours. That's a long time to not be able to reach
people on your lists.
It wasn't just through their mailing list manager they
were blocked - it was also emailing people direct. I
couldn't even get my emails to a business partner of
mine because her server permanently blocked my website
hosts IP.
Frustrating to say the least!
That's where things can really kill your success
online. Emailing from your website host Web Email only
to have it blocked. Web Email - logging into your control
panel and sending mail direct from your website.
So to those other servers out there that blocked my
website host's IP, I had to find another way to email
those I needed to reach. Talk about taking up my time!
For those of you that purchase leads by the 10,000's,
the above shouldn't bother you.
But for those of you that rely on communication with
your clients and subscribers - and you use a cheap
website hosting company or autoresponders to manage
your lists - you may want to consider finding an
alternative provider. That is if you get those irritating
email notices saying your email wasn't delivered because
the IP is blocked.
My suggestion? Lose the autoresponder services all
together. Impersonal, makes you lazy. Made me lazy!
If you are a professional and serious about your success
online - and you own your own website - I recommend
finding a new website host.
There's value in spending money on a service provider.
There's value in choosing a service provider you can
actually talk with on the phone.
There's value in choosing a service provider that is
in the business to help you and cares about you.
By the way? Even if you don't get those email notifications
your emails may be blocked if you use an autoresponder.
Think about those that use autoresponders - they are
email marketing affiliate mlm'ers. For the most part.
Using an autoresponder service provider is a risk because
so many others will abuse the service. They abuse it,
we pay the price.
Again, if you are a serious professional online -
consider who you choose to help you communicate.
Your online success depends on it.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Michelle Raybourn has been marketing online for 8 years,
the last three of which have been full-time. In addition
to offering valuable advertising services to help others
succeed online, Michelle has also been publishing for 5
years. Subscribe to "The Raybourn Effect" today:
http://www.theraybourneffect.com
Need a reliable website host and mailing list database
manager? Email Michelle personally for more information:
mailto:publisher@theraybourneffect.com?subject="WebsiteHostInfo"
*-*-*-*-**-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
|