What is Crowdsourcing?
What is Crowd Initiated Email Marketing?Crowdsourcing
One of the latest trends and buzzwords in the internet world is crowdsourcing . A word that emerged from an article in the July 06 edition of Wired Magazine. Crowdsourcing has to do with harvesting & harnessing creativity, knowledge, labor, resources and money from the the masses in a collaborative effort. It is about using the crowd to do things better, faster and cheaper.
According to wired magazine, "Crowdsourcing represents the act of a company or institution taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined (and generally large) network of people in the form of an open call...."
The article states that companies are increasingly taking advantage of a global populace that’s getting more intelligent and more productive and more connected. The Crowd has become an increasingly significant economic force in our world
Internet properties such as eBay, MySpace iStockphoto, Wilipedia, Prosper and Cambrian House are just a few that have crowdsourcing business models.
Another service that uses a crowdsourcing business model is Cooler Connections™, Publisher of the Special Offers Bulletin Board™, a passionate crowd that wants to reverse the onslaught of corporate plunder in local communities by large national chains. Their mantra is we strengthen local economies by supporting locally owned businesses. Their crowd of shoppers and small traditional business owners is using crowd initiated email, special offer coupons and personalized gift cards, to make it fun and profitable for shoppers to support locally owned businesses whenever possible.
The Special Offers Bulletin Board is a FREE monthly listing of special offers from locally owned businesses. It also enables crowd members to create personalized gift cards.
An online template enables members of the crowd to design a personal message and graphic or photo on the gift card. Small business owners can even co-brand the gift card and put a special offer on it!
Crowd Initiated Email Marketing
Cooler Connections™ uses Crowd Initiated Email Marketing to distribute the monthly listing of special offers on the Special Offers Bulletin Board™. Unlike traditional email marketing where the advertiser controls the email content and contact list and invites shoppers to opt-in to the subscriber list, Crowd Initiated Email puts consumers in control of the marketing process. The crowd controls the monthly email and contact list and they invite small traditional business owners to opt-in by submitting a special offer coupon to be listed on the Monthly Bulletin Board. Advertisers can even put a special offer on a co-branded gift card that can be ordered from their coupon page!
Each member of the crowd gets one monthly email with a wide variety of special offers from businesses in their local community. As a member of the Crowd, you don't need to worry about getting SPAMMED or having your email address sold or rented out because advertisers do not have access to the contact database.
Each member of the crowd is in total control. They can choose to just get the Bulletin Board listing each month or they have the option of allowing selected advertisers contact them with additional targeted emails. They can block emails from participating advertisers they are not interested in. Members may terminate the service altogether at any time they desire.
Crowd initiated email puts shoppers in control of their privacy instead of business advertisers. Any group that would like to start a Crowd Initiated Email program is welcome to use the online email management system that Cooler Connections uses.
Members of our Crowd win gift cards for submitting ideas, shopping at locally owned businesses and inviting others to join the FREE Club. Crowd Coordinators in each community publish the local edition of the Special Offers Bulletin Board™, a free monthly listing of special offers from locally owned businesses.
