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[B532]Best Practice Email Marketing

by Scott Lindsay, Sco

Have you ever received one of those forwarded emails that relates a nice story or some inspiring pictures and then lays on a guilt trip if you don't immediately send that email to a million other people in your sphere of influence, complete with the same guilt ridden message? Some of these messages even indicate dire consequences or simple bad luck of the recipient somehow breaks the chain in this email link. I'm never certain who exactly monitors this situation and how they know to exact consequences dire or otherwise.

If you're like most computer users you have developed a low tolerance level for this type of email. In fact, if observation is true many of these emails are immediately deleted without even looking at the ?inspiring? material within. Alas the chain is broken and beyond the scope of repair.

For some web users there is a heightened sense of frustration because the sender of this material simply uses these methods to attempt to communicate with the recipient. There are no original words and no questions about the family or job. All the recipient sees is an email that indicates the sender only cared enough to send junk mail.

This mentality contributes to making email marketing so hard for online businesses. If it weren't bad enough that spammers already abuse the system enough now the average email user is sending junk mail to family and friends and honestly believe they are positively connecting with the recipient.

Is it any wonder that those receiving email would almost rather click the delete button on an email they don't recognize than to open spam?

Some web users have gotten to the point where they will only review emails that are not forwards and from individuals they already know. Junk mail and the potential for viruses make delete our favorite key.

If I might offer a suggestion for those who participate in email marketing, make sure you name your business and the primary purpose of the email in the subject line. You may think that you need to make your email subject line extremely creative, but the more straightforward the subject the greater the possibility the email will be reviewed. You don't want your recipients to have doubts about what is in the email.

I would also suggest that you remain completely focused on the primary purpose of the email and offer as many quality reasons as possible for your recipient to not only review the email, but also drop by the site and take a look around.

Email marketing can be a daunting task because there are so many variables that make this type of marketing harder than it really should be. Spammers created some of these problems and others were created by well meaning individuals who substituted junk mail for meaningful and personal emails.

Try to make each email marketing attempt just another attempt at redeeming email marketing as an honest way to reach out to customers and prospects in a cost effective and personally directed way.

Email marketing is becoming a popular tool for many small and home based businesses around the world.

Email marketing allows businesses to eliminate expenses for things like paper, ink/toner, envelopes, postage, etc., and these savings make it a very attractive method of promotion.

Done properly, email marketing can be very effective. Unfortunately, too many businesses let the excitement of a low-cost marketing campaign overshadow their business sense.

Done improperly, your email marketing campaign becomes nothing more than a mess of sending the wrong message to the wrong market.

There are just a few key elements to launching and managing a successful email marketing campaign. They are:

- The list (your database).

- The offer.

- The follow-up.

Start With the Right Email Marketing List

The temptation is to rush out and purchase a list from brokers or leads suppliers. The harsh reality is that most of these lists are simply harvested email addresses from search engines. The so-called "savings" of purchasing a list of email addresses can be effectively wiped out when email addresses begin bouncing and recipients begin complaining to your Email Service Provider for sending Unsolicited Commercial Email (or "spam").

The best (and only truly safe) way to build your database is to market effectively. This can be done both online and offline. Traditional methods such as collecting business cards in a drawing and offering free information in exchange for contact information still work very well.

Additionally, Search Engine Optimization strategies can be very effective. The key is to get prospects to visit a "capture page" that is designed to entice them to give their contact information in exchange for something you are offering, such as a free report or free download.

As your list begins to grow, if you have targeted your market effectively, you will find yourself with a considerable database of motivated and targeted prospects.

The Offer

Email marketing is about getting your offer out in front of your database. Yes, they have joined your list voluntarily but keep in mind that you are competing with hundreds of other email messages they may be receiving that day.

Your job is to make sure your email marketing message is opened and read by your prospects.

The key is to create a compelling subject line. Where possible, use the prospect's name in the subject line. Most recipients are much more likely to open an email addressed to them by name.

Once your message is opened, the copy must create a compelling interest so that the reader will want to learn more.

The key here is to think like your prospects. They all have the same question on their mind when they open their email:

What's in it for me?"

Answer that question in your copy and your email marketing campaign could be a huge success. Focus on telling prospects about the benefits of your offer. What will it do for them? What can they expect if they order from you? How will it help them save time, increase revenues, lose weight, feel more attractive, etc.?

The Follow-up

The next step is to follow up with your prospects. Studies have proven that prospects need to see your message over and over again before they make a decision to purchase. Using an AutoResponder to follow up with prospects can dramatically increase the response rate of any email marketing campaign.

The ability to follow up with prospects over time is critical to your success.

Your follow-up letters should essentially repeat your original message. Maybe each follow-up message can stress a particular feature and continue to reinforce the benefits to your prospects.

The idea behind an effective email marketing campaign is to ...

... Tell them.
... Tell them again.
... Tell them what you just told them.

Attention spans are short. Competition is high.

Keep your messages to the point and focus on benefits, benefits, benefits.

Make your prospects WANT to buy from you by consistently keeping your email marketing message in front of them.

The reward for a job well done will be increased revenues and customer loyalty.

Article Source : Pg. 9

About Author

Both Scott Lindsay & Brian Rooney are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Scott Lindsay has sinced written about articles on various topics from Payday Loans, Computers and The Internet and Mens Health. in minutes with HighPowerSites.com or with Buil. Scott Lindsay's top article generates over 1830000 views. to your Favourites.

Brian Rooney has sinced written about articles on various topics from Email Advertising, AutoResponders and Marketing. Brian Rooney is Co-Founder and Managing Member of TrafficWave.net LLC. TrafficWave.ne provides and. Brian Rooney's top article generates over 590 views. to your Favourites.