The internet is no longer just a potential to make money – that has been realised and built upon years ago. Now it is an evolution of a revolution, an unmistakable silhouette of success that stands and overshadows the real world. Everyone and I mean everyone in every busy city, town and village is wired to the internet. There are more satellites in space providing internet connectivity all over the world than there were more than ten years ago. Google and Yahoo are household names with young upstarts like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook slowly nudging themselves into place. With more than ten million people logged on at anytime and an interface that allows you to reach them in a flash – direct marketing online is big business and this article will tell you how to use it to your advantage.

With digital direct marketing, there is no limit to what anyone can do. The leads and channels that can be utilised online are too many to list down and getting to that volume has become easier and easier. Forums, chat channels, interactive video interfaces, blogs, websites, newsgroups are just some of the examples of these sort of channels. Now digital fax has also become commonplace within networks that direct marketing agents are using to enhance their efforts. With so many ways to reach out to the potential consumer and so many markets out there existing separately and intertwined – direct marketing is big business.

The product is very important. It must be designed in such a way so that it can excite one or more markets. Take for example a new sort of skin cream that has the benefits of clearing skin conditions like eczema, pimples, scars, stretch marks but also rejuvenates and revitalises skin, making it look younger and healthier. Already, you have several markets that this product can attract – people with skin conditions, teenagers with overly active pimples and acne, women above and beyond their 20's looking to maintain their skin and metropolitan guys. This of course depends on how the product is packaged and branded but you can visualise the example that is given to you. Online, you can reach all of these markets easily, and that is the advantage the internet has over traditional means – low cost, easy access and potential to reach millions at a time.

Another advantage anyone must have is having in their hands a fresh new business list that is updated and renewed constantly over a financial year. A highly targeted business list that provides and points a direction to a market that understands and has a need for the product or service you are selling is as good as gold. It is an important feature that cannot be overlooked because it simply follows a basic tenet of marketing – selling is easier if your market is inclined to buy. It sounds simplistic but it is true. Why would anyone sell meat products to Vegans or a tennis racket to a golf enthusiast? If you can sell it – great but imagine the amount of effort one has to extend to change their minds and make them want that prime sirloin steak!

Don't over think it. A business list focuses all your efforts and gives you a nudge in the right direction, especially if you're involved in direct marketing online. The last time I checked, in marketing and especially selling – that is a good thing.