Forget Internet Marketing, Here Comes Mobile Marketing ~~~ The Next Wave!

Serious?

How are the results like?

Any other gurus you learn from besides Gauher?

Damn are you selfish!

Why didn't u release a WSO on it?

Hey Johnson,

Is it appropriate to allow everyone to bypass Gauher's opt in?

That plus the fact that many of them don't have the text message plan and it will costs them about $0.15 for each text you send. That will really piss people off.

Yeah but I and a lot of other people WON"T voluntarily give out their phone numbers. As a matter of fact, I absolutely HATE being advertised to through text messaging!

There is no way mobile will out do IM. And if I don't get good content in my inbox from someone I have opted into their list, they are then gone to cyberspace....poof!

I think mobile marketing will have its place and be fairly popular, but IM will always be a good gig. People are more apt to give out their email address than their phone number.

Hi Sihlo--can't PM. Tried to download your pdf, but my security software gives me this when I try to access...site uses an invalid security certificate.

Would be happy to provide my contact info to get the report, but cannot get to it. Would you please help?

Silho--I don't have enough posts to PM...I clicked on the link on your signature and was redirected here:

socimo. com / hov-marketing/

(also can't post links, so I put in the spaces and removed www)

I find this thread incredibly interesting.

1. I hate spam as much as anyone else.

2. I just got an iPhone about three weeks ago -- barely. I'm not a Mac person and the only other Apple product I own is an iPod Nano. But I LOVE it! I really wanted a Blackberry, and I'm not too thrilled by the iPhone's touch screen but I chose the iPhone over the Blackberry though because what you see on the iPhone is more representative of what you see on the Web.

The more I use my iPhone though, the more I love it.

3. I'm one of those people who's a heavy texter. (Unlimited texting is part of my monthly plan.) Partly it's because I'm a writer and LOVE words (can ya tell???) and partly because in my previous job, I worked in a call center and couldn't make or take calls during work. But I COULD text -- if I did it on the sly and didn't get caught.

I no longer subscribe to everyone's e-mail list and only follow a few people anymore. (VERY FEW!) One of those I already follow had her own iPhone app developed and because I already knew her and liked her, I eagerly downloaded it and I appreciate the short messages she sends. (She doesn't overdo it.)

So I'm open to receiving texts from someone. But!!!... (And here's the caveat...)

1. It would have to be someone I already have a previous relationship with and
2. The texts have to be very relevant and contain good content, not just constant promotional messages.

#2 above applies to e-mail and other messages too. The lists I stay subscribed to are the ones who provide solid, relevant content, not just spam messages. As for the one (and only!) person I've opted in to receive texts from (via her iPhone app), I know her, like her, trust her, and admire what she's doing. And that didn't start with the texts.

But allowing her to text me allows her further into "my space" and she acknowledges that and appreciates it. And she keeps sending the relevant content I've signed up for. I actually look forward to them.

Since I have an iPhone and it's an iPhone app, I can access her YouTube videos, podcasts, Facebook wall and notes, Twitter, etc. (I'm an Internet addict and junkie and can't BELIEVE I didn't get an iPhone until now! It's the Internet at my fingertips, even without my laptop. I love it! )

As always, I think you need to consider your audience. Don't let the razzle dazzle of the technology blind you. The age of your audience is a BIG factor in their tech-savviness (is that a word???). Typically, the younger they are, the more likely they are to be willing to receive text messages (and have unlimited text messaging plans). You can always survey your list to see whether they're open to receiving text messages...

If/when you decide that mobile marketing is appropriate for you, make sure that you:

1. Make that list opt-in only! Double opt-in is best. And if someone somehow gets on your list when they didn't want to be there and they request to be taken off, take them off immediately!

2. Test and track! Your own testing will tell you if it's even worth it.

Just as an aside, do the services mentioned in this thread have an automatic opt-out feature like e-mail autoresponders do???? And if so, do they allow you to see how many people have subscribed and how many people have opted out??? From a marketing standpoint, you need those numbers to see which marketing is effective for you and which isn't.

Michelle

The regulations are already here. Albeit they are self-imposed. The carriers are all to aware of the possibility of spam and maintaining customer satisfaction.

In the U.S., every carrier has placed a throttle on all external servers that use their email-to-SMS gateway. They have blacklists that are shared as well.

For vendors that have direct access to their SMS gateway, they are subject to very strict T's &C's. Violators will get access blocked.

With the these systems in place, it is still possible to abuse, but, difficult. They are put in place to protect the carriers from customer complaints. Particularly because complaints can be followed up with requests for refunds. Can you imagine requesting a refund from your hosting provider because of spam?

lol. Me too. It will happen.

I've been with Gauher's list for a while and haven't jumped on this even though he introduced it a while back. But will keep an eye on this....