Direct marketing in the offline world has grown to huge proportions , becoming a very professional industry in which the biggest players are immensely successful . And these same direct marketing strategies and techniques are the hallmark of the most successful Internet marketing businesses , etc . In fact , every direct marketing professional should consider Internet marketing as a career or at least a sideline for additional income streams . 
 Direct mail pieces in the offline business world become email blasts online – and with more and more email programs now HTML capable , can be just as glossy and heavily designed as their offline counterpart . And just as direct marketers buy targeted leads or use location - based mail drops , Internet marketing pros rent email lists , buy solo ads and buy leads . 
 Direct marketing techniques also include classified ads and TV infomercials – online there are a number of classified - ad sites , some international and many based on certain locals . And video sharing sites are perfect for displaying TV - style commercials , infomercials , product demonstrations , etc . 
 And the ‘ golden lists ’ or the big Direct Mail houses , those lists of targeted leads that buy from them regularly , are no different than the customer lists online . Just as direct marketers have a pre - written series of e - mails and offers that go out to their previous customers on a regular basis , so too do online marketers who use pre - written autoresponder series to follow up with each purchaser . 
 If you own and / or operate an offline business in direct marketing , learn all you can about the strategies , tools and techniques being used by successful Internet marketing pros and use that knowledge to increase bottom line profits considerably . While some online regulations , like the anti - spam laws , make parts a little trickier in compliance , it ’ s more than made up for by the low cost of email blasts , the lack of lead time required for printing , and the free video hosting the video sharing sites provide . Start by putting every commercial and infomercial in your current library online at sites like YouTube , Viddler and Daily Motion and you ’ re already well on your way . 
 And if you ’ re currently working in the direct marketing industry with no equity in the company that employs you , consider starting a part - time job in online marketing and building it into your own full - time Internet marketing or affiliate marketing business . You have the skills so start investigating this low - startup - costs online industry for your own future today !