The Fine Line between Internet Marketing and Spam

Do You know how to avoid falling over the wrong side of the internet marketing cliff and becoming known as a spammer. Many new marketers online are so full of good intentions and desire to build their business that they can not see the perils that can lay ahead of them when it comes time to tell people about their site, on most occasions it is usually an unknown simple mistake on their behalf with no harm intended. But a little fast research will reveal to them the very fine line between internet marketing and spam that they must step through is quite daunting. However by following a few simple and easy steps, you can actually learn how to make a winner every time.

Savvy business owners who take advantage of Internet marketing realize there is a fine line between marketing and spam and orchestrate their marketing campaigns to gain the maximum amount of exposure without running the risk of being viewed as spam. The definition of spam is open to interpretation but most people agree on the fact that spam is equivalent to junk mail you receive at your residence. In general spam is unsolicited emails which are part of an advertising campaign. The term spam can also apply to message board postings which are posted solely for advertising purposes. This article will examine the differences between effective Internet marketing and spam.

First we will consider the use of message boards for the purpose of Internet marketing. Message boards are essentially online meetings places for Internet users who share a particular interest to exchange ideas, ask or answer questions or just socialize. These message boards allow users to register and post messages. Most message boards have a set of guidelines which the users must follow when making posts. These guidelines may vary widely with some being very strict about acceptable content and others not being nearly as strict. It is important to follow these guidelines because failure to do so may and most likely will result in the moderators deleting your account and other members not paying much or any attention to your posts.

Message boards are ideal for Internet marketing because they can provide a business owner with access to a specialized target audience. If you are in the business for finding jobs for employees who wish to telecommute, you might join a message board dedicated to working from home to find members who may be interested in your products.

Here you may learn a great deal about the concerns of your target audience. You can also take the opportunity to post links to your website when appropriate and in accordance with the message board guidelines. This is considered to be smart Internet marketing. However, if you opt to respond to each and every post with a link to your website even when it is not relevant and do not offer comments of value to other members, they are likely to view your posts as spam. This can be damaging because these members may opt to avoid your website even if they have a need for your services.

E-newsletters and email advertising are one area of Internet marketing which is most likely to be viewed as spam if not done properly. Most Internet users do not appreciate unsolicited emails especially when these emails do not pertain to a subject that interests them and they never requested them in the first place. This is often the case when business owners buy email lists and send their advertisements to everyone on the list.

This is not effective because you are not likely to reach a large population of your target audience. Additionally, recipients of the email may block your email address so future communications are automatically sent to a spam folder. Some recipients may even report you to their Internet service provider who may investigate the claim that you are a spammer.

A better way to approach the concept of email marketing is to only send e-newsletters and advertisements to past customers who have specifically asked to receive such emails and potential customers who have requested additional information through a Double-Optin Process, always only use the double-optin process and always make the un-subscribing process easy & quick with one click..

Forum Marketing Success

If done correctly, forum marketing can be a powerful and free marketing tool

Forum marketing is definitely one of the most effective forms of free advertising available today. If you've got time on your hands, but no money to advertise, leveraging forums to promote your products, services, or website should be part of your daily routine.
The concept behind forum marketing is simple. You act as if you are not selling anything (which in fact, you are not!). All you are doing is interacting with people that match the product you are promoting and are therefore likely to buy it if they look at the offer. Your offer is appended to your signature automatically in every post you make.

Here's a sample signature you can use:

Still trying to get your site to rank #1 on Google
I'm not - Click here to find out why...
http://marketingscoop.com

Your job in forum marketing is to simply be engaged and have fun. Really there are no catches here, no strange angles. The only thing you can't do is talk openly about the product you are promoting because it just doesn't work.

Here are five approaches to successful forum marketing:

1. Answer questions. If you're an expert on the topic, you can easily help people who ask questions in the forum.

2. Ask a question. If you're not an expert on the topic (i.e. internet marketing) there must be a lot of things you want to know. This is a quick and legitimate way to add a lot of posts to any forum.

3. Ask for a critique. Say you write an article and post it in your blog. Make a quick post to ask what people think. You'll not only get exposure for your signature. You'll also get a good back link to your blog.

4. Ask for an opinion. If you come across a product or service and want to research it first, forums are a great way to get direct feedback. For instance, you could make a post that says, "Has anyone had any experience with this product...?" It's that simple. Just go to ClickBank and ask about every product in the marketplace!

5. Offer an article. You wrote an article, published it to your blog, and asked for a critique in the forums. Now go back and make a post offering your article for publication with the condition that they leave your resource box intact.

There are a variety of forums out there. To get started, visit one of the high-traffic forums below and sign up for an account.

* AssociatePrograms.com - Affiliate Marketing Forum
* eWealth.com - the #1 Affiliate Hangout
* Money Maker Group - Forum About Making Money
* Work at Home - Work at Home Business Forum

Next, log in and update your Profile. This is where you can add your signature which will appear at the end of every post you make. Read the rules about posting. Basically, you either ask specific and relevant questions or you answer questions by replying to posts that other members make.

Start by looking at what others are posting and how people are replying to those posts. Once you get a feel for it, post as much and as often as you can. Never advertise in your posts (except where permitted). Let your signature do the work for you.

You can get a surprisingly large amount of sales from affiliate links that were posted in forums on discussions about the programs you promote. You should say something positive about the product and then ask if anyone has heard of it.

There are a lot of newbies posting in forums who are desperately seeking direction to help them start making money online. Whenever you see a post like that, reply and say, "Hey - Check out this site...” and explain how it really helped you. M ake sure you leave your affiliate link in your signature.

*Michael Fleischner is an Internet marketing expert, search engine optimization specialist, and the President of MarketingScoop.com. He has more than 12 years of marketing experience and had appeared on The TODAY Show, Bloomberg Radio, and other major media. Visit MarketingScoop.com for further details and more free marketing articles.