Are Safelists Safe for You to Use for Your Advertising? Wait… Really?
Are Safelists safe? Are they something you should be using for your advertising?
In a word: YES. But only if you use them correctly.
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Safelists were once extremely popular, but they have lost a little of the shine they used to have.
The main reason for this is that there were far, far too many of them, with most of them being carbon copies of a hundred or even a thousand others. But that does not make them bad, nor does it make them unsafe.
First of all, in reply to the question, “Are safelists safe?” the answer is, yes, if they are proper safelists. That’s because everyone who subscribes must confirm their email and agree to receive emails from the list. They also provide a very easy way to unsubscribe, and they advise you up front to have a separate email address for your contact (the one the admin contacts you on, or that you use to recover a lost password, etc).
This means that when you send your ad to the list, you don’t have to worry about spam complaints. That is all taken care of by the list. People on the list cannot legitimately complain about being spammed, since they agreed to the terms of the list and confirmed.
But are Safelists safe for your advertising?
Again, yes. You can’t be accused of spamming, because those receiving your message have agreed to receive it.
But does Safelist advertising hurt your brand? In a word: NO. But you can spend a lot of time, effort, and money for nothing if you use them incorrectly.
Who is on a Safelist?
There is a very particular niche that you can reach via Safelist advertising. It is made up of other business people who are trying to sell their wares and services. They are not looking for products or services to buy. But they are often in the market for products or services that will help them be successful in their own business.
So, chose your products and/or services for Safelist marketing with care, keeping this in mind. Pick what will sell to your fellow marketers. What do they need? What will make their lives better or easier? What will help them to achieve success? If you can figure this out, you’re well on your way to success using Safelists.
So, are Safelists safe all the time? Or do they have hidden dangers?
The answer is: BOTH.
They are safe all the time if you follow the rules and use them correctly. But they also have hidden pitfalls that you must be aware of in order to avoid falling into them.
If you are careless about your subject lines and send exactly the same one over and over again, you will lose the interest of everybody. It is very important for your subject lines to be unique, even if you’re sending ads for the same thing.
If you are careless about the content of your message and keep on repeating it, people who once maybe opened your messages will stop opening them. They have hundreds or even thousands of messages coming at them. They only want to read the ones that might be of real value to them. So make sure you offer unique content, and even better, always have something to give away, if you can.
Just because you can send doesn’t mean you have to. Most reputable Safelists let you build up credits. It’s not a bad idea to wait until you have a large number (up to the total number of members) saved up before you send. This will save you more time than you might think and will definitely bring you better results. Safelist advertising is still a numbers game. The more you send to at one time, the better your results.
So You’re Saying Safelist are Safe
I hear you! “Am I understanding you correctly, then? Are Safelists safe? Are they really safe?” I fully understand why, in this world of warnings and horror stories about rules and regulations, that you would keep on asking!
Again, yes. But again, with the caveat that you must be sure of the rules and follow them. And stay away from any so-called Safelist that doesn’t require confirmation via a link sent to the email given at registration. Any list that does not require this is not a Safelist. It is simply a list and it isn’t safe for you to send anything too.
But good quality ones are still safe, and used correctly, can definitely help your bottom line!
Let us know in the comments what you think of Safelists!