Email Marketing

Email marketing can be an excellent way to accomplish key marketing objectives. Emails with updates, specials and newsletters can remind existing customers about your products and services and can also help you attract new customers because informative emails allow them to familiarize themselves with your business. Email can also be much cheaper than doing a paper mailing.

However, you must be aware of how to prevent your emails from being perceived as unsolicited email or SPAM because that perception can negatively impact your reputation and also prevent you from sending future marketing emails. If you become identified as a junk mailer your web domain may end up being blacklisted by email service providers.

While it may not be illegal to send out unsolicited emails, the current "best practice" is to only send email to people that have added themselves to your company's mailing list or opted in.

See the following for more details on the legal requirements: The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers and FTC SPAM

Benefits

• Save cost compared to regular mailings
• Remind customers that you are still around

Considerations

• Recipients

  To how many people you will be sending emails?

  If you only need to send emails to 100 people and you aren't concerned about tracking responses in detail, then you may be able to get along by simply sending regular emails.

• Content

  Determine whether to send an email rich in content or include a link to your latest newsletter that is posted on your website. Posting your newsletter on your website may boost the relevance of your website which may improve your search rankings. Enticing visitors to your website may also get them closer to your products and services.

  If you are blogging, functionality can be added to allow visitors to sign-up for blog updates via email. When a blog entry is posted, an email is sent containing your recent blog entries. This can be a great way to keep your community in the loop if you don't need the extra features of a periodic newsletter.

• Frequency

  How often will you be sending marketing emails?

Features

• Manage email contact lists/groups
• Draft email with or without graphics
• Web page or code snippet to allow visitors to subscribe or unsubscribe to your mailing list
• Track responses by each individual

Implementation Options