REDMOND, Wash., May 17, 1999 — MSN
™
LinkExchange today announced that over 10 million subscribers are using its ListBot e-mail list management service, up from only
2 million subscribers nine months ago. This 500 percent increase in growth establishes ListBot as one of the world’s fastest-growing services specifically dedicated to maintaining the relationship between small business Web-site owners and their site visitors.
ListBot is a free* software service that enables small businesses to form lasting relationships that keep visitors coming back and instantly send information to site visitors who have chosen to join their mailing lists. Users can also upgrade to ListBot Gold, a low-cost version of the service.
DanceArt.com, a Web site based in Fort Worth, Texas, for students and teachers of ballet, jazz and tap dance, and their families, uses ListBot Gold to communicate with its customers.
“ListBot regularly helps us achieve a 25 percent to 50 percent increase in sales following the distribution of our dance newsletter and recently led to a 40 percent increase in traffic to the commerce portion of our site,”
said David Wilson, founder of DanceArt.com.
“ListBot also saves us five hours of labor per issue and paid for itself the first time we used it. The service enables us to keep pace with our active readers – ballerinas and dance students constantly on the move. With excellent management screens, membership reports and demographics, and the ability to easily create and manage multiple lists from the same account, ListBot keeps us focused less on administration and more on dancing.”
“Basically, once visitors leave a site, they’re generally gone for good – we draw them back,”
said Deborah Whitman, vice president of marketing for MSN LinkExchange.
“More and more small businesses are discovering that ListBot can open a channel of communication which keeps them in touch with customers and delivers repeat business.”
ListBot Is Application-Rich and Easy to Use
ListBot collects e-mail addresses and demographic information such as age and occupation automatically from visitors opting to join a business’s e-mail list. Small businesses use it in many ways to build good customer relationships. For example, small businesses can send customers messages about new products and special offers or distribute an electronic newsletter. ListBot is also used by thousands of individuals to hold an open forum for discussion or keep in touch with groups of family and friends.
The service stores and maintains an unlimited number of lists and enables messages to be sent to customers with the click of a mouse. Messages can also be stored for convenient reuse.
ListBot Gold, which costs $99 per year, includes the features found in the free version of ListBot, but allows lists to be imported into the database and messages to be sent without third-party advertisements.
About LinkExchange Services
MSN LinkExchange ( http://www.linkexchange.com/ ) is a leading provider of services to small businesses and Web site owners that increase their online traffic and sales. Over 1 million customers have used one or more of LinkExchange’s services to promote, improve and earn money from their Web sites. Other popular LinkExchange services include these:
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AdStore. Small businesses can purchase affordable advertising on leading sites on the Web, including Excite, Yahoo!, BabyCenter and GameSpot, as well as the LinkExchange network. With AdStore, small businesses can reach millions of viewers and build their online customer base.
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Banner Network. Web-site owners build exposure with free online advertising by showing banner ads on their site in exchange for placing ads on other network sites. The LinkExchange banner network spans over 400,000 sites.
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ClickTrade. Small businesses can find new customers through referrals from other Web sites by creating the same kind of affiliate programs that larger companies, such as Amazon.com and eToys.com, have found helpful in building online sales.
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Submit It! Site owners increase online exposure by submitting their Web sites quickly and easily to their choice of more than 400 search engines.
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Merchant Planet. Small businesses easily create an online store and accept credit cards to sell merchandise online.
MSN LinkExchange is part of the Microsoft network of properties.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
* ListBot is free to LinkExchange subscribers.
Microsoft and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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