In the past, few people were aware of the benefits of the internet and its marketing potential. There was very little competition back then and internet marketing wasn’t as prevalent. Competitors were few and far between. Since there was little or no competition, all you had to do was make a good sales presentation and ask them to buy and deliver your product. Business email lists were not a big success either, although those ahead of the game had already started keeping a list of clients for future offers.

In those days, it was very easy to build a targeted direct mailing list of potential customers. You simply have to build a website, optimize it for search engines with the right keywords then offer a newsletter on your site. That’s all it took, and you would just have to wait patiently.

As internet marketing evolved, the power of email marketing was soon realized. Internet marketing then chiefly consisted of email blast marketing and getting email sales pitches right with links to a purchase page. Email marketers began to focus more on constructing the perfect email than about getting the right message to the right prospect. They also made the mistake of failing to incorporate the relationship building aspect of marketing.

Email marketers progressively learned that not all people are willing to subscribe to become part of emailing lists. They may have been attracted to the products or services offered at one time but may not want to receive further information. Spamming became a serious offense and today, it still carries more repercussions. Email marketing in the past had become a shameful method of marketing. So how do you reach your customers that want to hear from you without being accused of spamming?

This anxiety about spamming in email marketing has led to the establishment of the email list and it has gained remarkable acceptance. The idea of permission- based email marketing became the solution to spamming, but much more than that, it has given a venue for marketers and business owners to get creative with getting people to sign up for their opt-in lists.

Permission-based email marketing can be perfectly integrated with any marketing campaign and can give your online business the best solution possible to generate email addresses with the permission of the addressee. Building and marketing to an opt-in list not only boosts the probability of success but can also increase sales and profits. You have asked your customer to make a choice to receive your emails, so you are now sending information to very receptive customers only. You can therefore promote your products and services to someone who has confirmed they are interested in you and what you provide.

It is imperative that you also offer the opportunity to un-subscribe at any time, so you’ll keep only the customers most interested in your sites and in your list. Using opt-in email lists will give you a better margin of success. Indeed, email marketing is a profitable internet marketing tool and should be included in your efforts today.