Buzzwords and other terminology relating to the internet are being churned out constantly. However, they rarely mean anything new and normally refer to terms used prior to the internet age. Opt-in emails are one example.

Email marketing is little more than traditional direct mailing. The format has changed but the principle remains the same: send out a lot of ads to a lot of people and hope for some responses. The problem with this marketing strategy is that it is very inefficient and costs a lot of money. Worse, there are thousands of ads that go unread making the entire process a very wasteful affair.

On the other hand, opt-in emails produce qualified leads only because you can send them to only those people who have granted you permission to send your marketing material to them. No wonder, any marketing major will tell you that these are the best leads to have. Opt-in emails are different from the basic email marketing campaigns in the sense that people have started abusing spam and all the ads that pile up in it are never read and almost always land up in the virtual trash can. But, opt-in emails are likely to be personalized and welcomed by recipients.

There is no discounting the fact that it is a great challenge to find people that are willing to receive your offers. However, the good news is that there are specialized services on the Net, offering subscribers who are willing to receive offers from companies such as yours. Of course, you have to choose the subscribers judiciously in order to target potential customers. It would make no sense to send emails promoting fireplace accessories to people who are looking for car deal offers. So, it is important to specify your market when you select one of these opt-in subscriber services. Also, make sure they have separate lists of people looking for different kinds of offers. You will certainly find one if you do some research before selecting a service.

Having qualified leads is essential if you are to get the most out of your advertising dollar. Wasteful mass campaigns are a thing of the past. Internet marketing is future and opt-in emails are a part of that future. Although specialized opt-in email services do indeed cost money, it is cash well spent if it produces a stream of people that are interested in hearing what you have to offer. If you are tired of poor results from email marketing efforts, maybe it is time to refine the approach and utilize opt-in emails to boost your sales.