Note:  As long as you only advertise to opt-in safe lists (or groups as they are often called) that are unmoderated, open to all members to post, and that have no restrictions against commercial advertisements, you should rarely have a spam complaint.   This does not mean that you will not get a spam complaint from someone.  All marketers get a complaint from time to time and that is why you should always use a different email address to advertise with. 

You may choose to set up an additional email address through your existing provider but use caution and post a maximum of 2 times per week to avoid complaints from list members that may not quite understand how open post groups work.  You may be able to obtain a pop email account from a service provider other than your own for a fee in order to avoid your main provider from shutting you down in the event of a complaint.  If you would like to set-up a pop3 email account through a third party you may contact a local internet service provider in your area, or click here for some free and paid services we have found on the net. 

Next, go to the sites listed above and click on the link to become a member and use your new email address when signing up.

Once you are a member of the above web sites, you can then start the subscription process to each group found below using the subscribe column on the left.   Click the link on the left or cut and paste it into the "to" portion of a blank email.  You may leave the subject blank.  Click send.  You have just subscribed to that group. Note: You may copy and paste all of the group email addresses for Yahoo Groups (below) and paste them in your email to subscribe to all of them at one time.  Globe lists (below) requires you to subscribe to each group one at a time and requires you to post to each group individually when sending email to the list.

After subscribing to a group you will receive a follow-up email in your in-box from each group owner asking you to reply to confirm membership.   Once you reply to the confirmation you can then use the addresses in the right column (below) to send your email ad to the group.  Some groups will take a while to approve your membership before you can post but most are automatic.

Did you get all of the above done?  Give yourself a pat on the back.  The next step is to create an email message that you would like to send to the lists.  You will use the same email for all the groups and create new email campaigns as you need them.  Be sure to save a copy of emails you create in a new folder so you can open it again in the future without having to re-create it every time you want to send to the groups. 

Once you have the email created that you want to send to the groups be sure to check the spelling.  You may now highlight, copy, and paste the email addresses below in the right hand column in the "to" portion of your newly created email.  Click send and there you have it.  You have just sent mail to the group(s)!  Your ad copy will now be seen by many people and be linked on many pages within high ranking web sites.

Tip: When creating new email to send to the lists put the "!" or other symbols like "$" around the text in your subject line and around the name you use to send your email. 

Example: From: !!!Joe’s Opportunity!!!    Subject: !!!This is Hot!!!  This trick will get you to the top or bottom of the list when members get the email in their in-box.  This is right where you want to be.

Tip: The groups listed on this page (below) have accepted postings of commercial material in the past (No Adult Material).  There are thousands more groups just like these listed in the web sites above.  All you have to do is search for them and subscribe to them.  Try to join groups that are relevant to your product or service and join only groups that allow you to post openly without restrictions on commercial material.  The group settings for each group are listed or available for you to look at before you join.  Add new opt-in lists to the list below as often as possible so that you continually increase your programs exposure.

Tip: Check your email account at least two times per day in order to delete and read read emails that interest you.  Never use your main email address as the contact address within the emails you send. Always use a URL address that requires the person to go to your site and look at your offer before you give them your direct email address.  Failure to do this could result in other list members spamming your main email address and will just cause problems.

Warning!!! You must read and delete email daily if you have limited in-box space.  Failure to do this will cause emails being sent to you from the group to be sent back (bounce) and you will be removed from the group because the group moderator thinks that you are no longer a valid subscriber.

Remember that the goal with email advertising is to find a few people from each group to look at what you have to offer.  Multiply that by 1000's of groups and you are now starting to get some major free exposure.  Try to create short, informative email advertisements that highlight your product or service and it’s benefits.  Always try to get other group members to visit your site by including a link to your web page(s) within your email.

Be creative with your subject lines in the emails you send.  Remember, you are competing with thousands of other group members to get your message seen.  Try to use subject lines that are too tempting not to open without being misleading, or use subject lines that you have seen that caused you to open an email.