An effective email marketing campaign can generate a substantial income for your business. In this part of our special report, we will be focusing on the pros and cons of targeted and opt-in email.

TARGETED email is any email sent to a group of people interested in any one particular subject. It is a great way to bring your product to the attention of prospective buyers.

If you send an email to a targeted list, be prepared to face some potential consequences. Even though you may be informing them of a product that would benefit them greatly, some recipients will view your email as UCE, or Unsolicited Commercial Email. Complaints can cause you to lose your ISP, email address, and even your website. If you choose to send email to a targeted list, send them a simple free offer. People tend to be more receptive when you are giving them something, rather than just selling them something.

An OPT-IN email list is a list compiled of people who have requested information about your product, service, or a specific subject matter.

Determining what information people are open to receiving from you can be a difficult task. Take, for example, your ezine subscriber list. Imagine that half of your subscribers would welcome an advertisement or site update, while the other half would consider this same email UCE. You must be able to separate those to whom you will only want to send specifically requested information and those who will not mind an advertisment from you periodically.

The easiest solution to this dilemma is to make it very clear about how you intend to use their email address BEFORE they give it to you. On your ezine subscription page, place boxes they can check if they don't mind receiving ads and updates from you.

Also, if you intend on sending ads for products other than your own, give them the option to receive them or not. You have now successfully created a truly Opt-in email list.

Once you have built an Opt-in list, here are some tips to help you manage it:

1. Store your lists in separate files for each type of requested information.

2. Update your list with each mailing, making sure to remove undeliverables and auto-responders.

3. Stay in contact with your list. If you wait too long between mailings, people may forget they've requested your information.

4. Never sell your opt-in list or offer it to other people without the permission of the people on the list.

Targeted and Opt-in email are very closely related. They both can generate a substantial number of quality leads and sales, but if not used properly, they both can be risky. Opt-in lists become merely targeted lists if you send any information other than what was specifically asked for. In your email campaign, use common sense and send emails responsibly. This will ensure that you get the most rewards with a minimal amount of risk.

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