Over the years, I've gone from 30 short reviews of business-oriented Web sites to the current 12. With a much lower break-even point, WDFM makes money now. In addition to the advertising, I make money on syndicating the reviews to Ad Age and Business Marketing Magazine. So, what started out as a promotional tool has turned into a profit center. I preach the gospel of e-mail marketing in nearly all my seminars and to all my clients.
Every company has good information that their target constituency is interested in.
Modeling a campaign around getting a specific target audience onto that list is key. If you put out highly valued content, the word will spread like wildfire. Anyone on his list is going to be interested in his books and white papers on the same subject. In fact, those very tips are taken from his books and white papers, so he's squeezing more value out of those pieces of information as they're doing double and triple duty. Now, back at the Web site, you can take all the accumulated tips you've sent out via e-mail and put them in a fancy database or simple flat file.