Free Internet Marketing Lessons

by Brian Alt

I've often been asked, "Do free internet classifieds really work, or do they just bring in lots of spam?" Well, they do bring you a lot of junk email, although I would imagine that whether or not it is "unsolicited" is debatable.


I'm sure at one time or another, all of us have gotten an email that started like this: "Hello, I just saw your online ad. How are things going for you? Are you a person who keeps your eyes and ears open for new opportunities?" Blah, blah, blah, on to the new opportunity that will change your life and income forever. People browse the ads and harvest addresses of "opportunity seekers", then put forth a feeble attempt at a "personal" message. I made the mistake of using my main mail account, webmaster@firstsolve.com, to place some ads. Boy was that a mistake! I didn't think I'd ever get off all those lists.


It's annoying, right? Well, publicizing your email address is in a sense "soliciting" responses. The question arises then if internet classifieds are really worth their trouble. Judging from my personal experience only, I would say that they are. In fact, studies have shown that just placing 5-10 ads daily can significantly increase sales.


So what do you do with all this junk email then? How can you use it to your advantage? The answer is simple: autoresponders. Most classified ad sites require you to use a valid email address, and it's in your best interest to do so anyway. After all, those who are genuinely interested in your product/service should be able to reach you! The advantages of an autoresponder thus become twofold. Not only will your interested prospects get info back in a matter of seconds, but those who spam the address will learn the hard way that for every message they send, they'll receive one as well.


You can get a free autoresponder at sites like bigfoot.com, or you can purchase sets of 10 or more at discount prices in various places online (such as http://www.firstsolve.com).


Get started placing internet classifieds the right way. For a list of hundreds of free classified ad sites, visit the following URL: http://www.firstsol ve.com/freead s.html


Good Luck! :-)


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Brian Alt is the publisher of the EzineSeek Informer
(http://www.ezineseek.com) and Ezine-Tips daily Ezine
(http://Ezine-Tips.com).


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