An Introduction to Email Marketing
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
Email marketing is one component of online, Internet or electronic marketing. Email marketing is today’s version of direct mail marketing where you receive sales promotions via your physical mail (aka “snail mail”). Using email marketing can be an inexpensive and effective way to reach clients where they currently live and work: online.
Email marketing can easily be interpreted as spam if you are not careful. The best way to ensure that your recipients are pleased to receive email from you is to use an “opt in” subscription service. Generally, readers of your Website or blog will sign-up for a newsletter or allow for email communications which is how they choose to “opt in”. You also always provide them with the opportunity to “opt out”-cancel their subscriptions or communications.
There are a variety of email marketing providers available online, most with a free trial period. Some examples are Constant Contact and 1 Shopping Cart. These online providers provide templates to design your email marketing piece, contact management, the ability to do surveys and more. Email marketing goes from just text to graphically charged HTML interactive pieces. You get to decide.
Email marketing is just one piece of the pie known as “Internet marketing”. Internet marketing encompasses things like social networking, pay-per-click advertising, banner ads, blogging and more. All of these are important in creating interest and loyalty in your readership-enough so that they register by entering their contact information in your sign-up box on your Web site or blog.
Part of email marketing is a “squeeze page”. A squeeze page is simply a pop-up box or page that encourages readers to sign up or register with your site and explains why they should. Many times subscribers are offered a free gift of some type: a report, a tutorial, or an e-book in exchange for subscribing. When the reader submits their information, they have “opted in” and are considered a voluntary potential customer.
An auto-response is sent to your new subscriber to let them know you’ve received their contact information. It is an email thanking them and letting them know what they can expect from you in the future. Consider adding a video “thank you” in the email along with the normal confirmation link they need to click to confirm their subscription. It is not valid until they do this so be sure the auto-response email is engaging as well!
From the time you capture a reader’s email, they are a potential customer. You have to treat them with respect and care in order to ensure that they remain a reader of your newsletter and email campaigns. Do this by providing some type of service or solid content. You can always outsource writing for newsletters and email campaigns like you can with blogging and Web content. If readers feel like you are only constantly pitching something to you, they will, and can, unsubscribe.
Another tip is to remind your new subscribers to add your email address to their list of contents. This prevents your content, like newsletters or email offers, from heading straight to the spam folder. By reminding them in your auto-responder message to do this you help eliminate that possibility.
Be consistent and original with your content and offerings. Email marketing can be an ingenious tool to engage interested current and potential customers if used correctly and with respect. Never give away your contact information without permission, do not just chronically ask them to buy, use it to let them know what you and your company are up to, to drive traffic to your Web site and to provide legitimate tools and offers to them. Done right email marketing is an effective and inexpensive way to build customer loyalty.
