Secrets To Effective Email Marketing

Author: Moshe | Date: 04.09.2009

Email marketing is an incredibly useful tool for any company that has a presence on the web. Emailing customers and the general public with promotional material presents companies with the opportunity to reach large numbers of people without having to first entice them to their websites – reaching them as soon as they turn on their computers. However, at the same time it is also a delicate art that if over done or mishandled can cause a lot of irritation for potential customers and damage your company’s reputation. A lot of email marketing is also completely wasted as it gets sent straight to the recipient’s junk mail folder.
In the worst case scenario the marketing strategy may break anti-spam rules leaving the company open to legal action, particularly if a riled web surfer chooses to report it as spam. Fortunately there are several ways to ensure that email marketing doesn’t upset the customers or the law and by following some simple guidelines it’s possible to have a marketing campaign that is effective and beneficial for both the customer and the company.

The first and most important thing to consider with email marketing is that the emails are solicited. Emailing large numbers of people without first gaining their permission though very easy to do with a lot of popular software and seemingly a tempting prospect is not only illegal but will also understandably irritate those on the receiving end. We all know what it’s like to receive tonnes of unwanted junk mail so don’t contribute to that or your company’s name will be synonymous with receiving rubbish. In other words then, you need to get your recipients to actively agree to receive your emails. Once they’ve signed up you then add their addresses to a ‘mailing list’ from which you send each of your newsletters or (cleverly disguised) adverts. Obviously this can prove difficult but then that’s where the marketing challenge lies.

One simple way to get your mailing list is to offer something free as an incentive. For example you might give away free e-books to anyone who signs up. Though you might be loathe to give away something you’ve spent a long time writing, this is an initiative that will pay for itself in the long run. You can also use this method as a way to get them to accept your e-mail address to ensure your newsletters aren’t caught by their spam filter. Alternatively you can get them to opt in or out of your newsletter while signing up to another part of the site such as a message board. The best case scenario however is that your visitors simply choose to join your mailing list because they value the content of your site and want to be updated.

Now that you’ve got them accepting your e-mails you need to think carefully about what it is that you’re emailing. It’s important that your emails actually contain something of value for the reader as this will ensure that future attempts are well received. Also of key importance is to be mindful of what you put in the subject heading and the more enticing or interesting the subject sounds the more likely they are to read the whole email. So with a quality website, an authentic mailing list and carefully crafted newsletters or promotional material you can have a successful marketing campaign that will draw thousands of visitors back to your website. Happy emailing!

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