Making Money with an Internet Business

There are two main business benefits to Internet mailing lists—access to experts and access to potential customers. Almost all mailing lists seem to be populated with a surprising and often eclectic variety of users, ranging from the top experts in the area to neophytes monitoring the discussion, hoping to learn about the subject.
When compared to the time and expense involved in attending a professional conference or workshop, joining an Internet mailing list can be an amazingly efficient alternative. Because all these experts are accessible electronically, you can bounce ideas off them any time without incurring exorbitant fees. But beware that your competitors might be quite interested in your fledgling ideas, too!
The other advantage to mailing lists is that you can use them to disseminate product- and service-related information to your target community without any associated expenses. Beware of violations of the spirit of mailing lists and other netiquette/awx pas . Also remember that you can create your own mailing lists that might focus exclusively on new product announcements from your company—a list to which you can add customers when they first purchase a product from your firm.
Internet discussion and mailing lists can be a direct marketer’s dream—if used judiciously. Unlike the bulletin boards on CompuServe and other commercial services, you don’t have to wait until your prospective customers drop by and happen to glance at your company’s information; they get your message automatically as subscribers to the list.
Of course, this can be a double-edged sword. If you misjudge your market or word your press release in too promotional a way, you run the risk of alienating your entire target market in one fell swoop, and, on the Internet, apologies often aren’t accepted.