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Marketing With eCards
An "eCard" feature allows your visitors to send
electronic greeting cards.
These systems usually work:
- The sender fills out a form on your web site to select the card, and enter
their text message.
- The recipient receives an automatic email notification that a card is waiting for
them a specified URL.
- The recipient visits the specified URL, to view their eCard.
Electronic greeting cards can be a very effective way of building traffic.
This is because most people receiving an eCard notification
message will want to see the eCard (generating a new visitor).
Very often they will then go on to send their own eCards too (generating
additional visitors).
Obviously more people will be likely to use your eCard if they offer
attractive (or funny) graphics, cartoons, music, etc., and they tie-in
with the occassions
for which people might want to send a card
(Birthdays, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Get Well Soon, etc.).
Implementing eCards
eCards can be implemented on your own site (recommended) using an ASP,
CGI or PHP script) - or can be implemented through somebody else's server
("Remotely Hosted").
We think it is generally better to use your own site for eCard
because, most Remotely Hosted services place their adverts (instead of yours)
either in the messages, the cards, etc.
The eCard scripts that
we have listed are divided into categories based on how
they are implemented. If you use an ASP, CGI or PHP script, you will of
course need a web host
that supports the facilities needed to install the particular script that you
choose.
In the resource section, you'll find following categories of eCard scripts:
One Additional Tip
If a lot of people are using your eCard system, you could offer
Senders, at the time they fill out the form:
- The option of subscribing to your ezine.
- The option to sign up for Co-Registration offers
(thus making you some extra money).
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