Email Marketing.

Email is a fact of life on the virtual frontier. Learning to use it properly is a must. Email is different from regular mail or fax. As email is INSTANT, it has to be treated differently. Intonation, (body language) construction and  format all come into play.

The following link is to a 6 day course written by  Kaitlin Duck Sherwood
"A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email"

Email For Advertising

The Secret to online business success is through constant, persistent, diverse, promotions.
Customers must be able to find your site.
Any assistance you can provide will be of extreme value to your publicity campaign.

The most basic and fundamental form of communication on the Internet is Email.
Communication, after all, is the motive the Internet was created.

Email is the most common device for communication. Not everyone has access or the ability
to view web sites. But virtually 100% of those with online access do have access to email.

Email should therefore be the basis of any promotional campaign for building exposure to your business.

When someone visits your web site, how do they contact you about a product or service or a simple question?

Do they call you on the phone?
Perhaps.
Write you a snail mail (Regular Mail)?
Probably Not
They send you a quick email.
Email is the fastest most economical manner in which to communicate with other people on the Internet!

Email is the lifeblood of the Internet. It can carry your message across the globe in a
matter of minutes.

The greatest SECRET about Email is that it is FREE!
But this can be an illusion of sorts as many people must pay dearly to be able to stay connected even by Email.
It is FREE for you to send but it might not be FREE for someone to receive.

One of the most effective tools to employ in any email campaign is the Signature which is much like a business card
attached to the end of your email message.

"Spam" is the action of sending out Unsolicited Email to a list of people, be it by Email, newsgroup posting,
mailing lists, etc..

Spam is very much a No-No in today's Cyber Environment. It is often taken to the extreme. Neither Spam nor the
extreme reactions to it should be thought of as acceptable.

But there are legal ways around this entire problem that merely require a little persistence, patience and cunning.
Like through Newsletters.

Email, a web site, newsgroups, search engines and online ads are the foundation of Internet Promotion that your
business must persistently embrace if it is to achieve any sort of online business success.

• Use your Email Signature!
  I am constantly surprised at the amount of emails I receive that do not utilize the automatic "signature" function included in all email program software. At the minimum you should have a link to your website automatically added to all the emails you send or reply to. The signature file may also include your "Closing Lines" that you would normally type on every letter.
  To find out how to add a signature file consult your email program's help files.
  
  
  
• Opt In Email Databases. *
  After Search Engine Marketing, "Opt In" Email Marketing is the most cost effective form of marketing. Building an email address database should be top priority. You can manage the mailing list in a number of ways.
  
  1.    Use your email program.
  You can set up groups and process incoming emails through the use of the "Rules" function.

  Lets explore this further and in some detail.

  First lets assume you have a product/service and a website. You also have multiple email address (xxxx@your-domain.com) and a "opt in" form.
  On each of the email addresses you can have a simple autoresponder that sends one automatic response to all who email you at that address. The message can be as simple as a "Thank you for contacting us, this is an automatic response to assure you that your business is important to us and will be responded to in xx hours.", or a carefully crafted promotion.

  With a "catch all" email set up on your virtual server you can setup multiple email addresses. Using this system in  combination with your email program's "rules" you can have custom replies automatically sent from your computer. (This is assuming your email program supports this feature)

  If you are using a form on your website to collect email addresses, consider switching it over to an autoresponder system.

  Statistics show that sales increase with the number of contacts you have with the customer.

  • 2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
  • 3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
  • 5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact
  • 10% of sales are made on the 4th contact
  • 80% of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact!

  Autoresponders can be set up to send continuous, timed, personalized, emails.

  For more information on  autoresponders, read AutoResponder Magic
  
  2.    Use custom software.
  An extremely powerful program is Postmaster.
  Their promotional material states;
  "The complete INCOMING and OUTGOING email database marketing solution for your PC. This "SMART" software READS and RESPONDS with personalized and unlimited AUTO REPLIES based on the CONTENT of any email, then FILTERS CONTACT INFORMATION right from your incoming email and Web forms for UNLIMITED FOLLOW-UP along with effortless "one-click" PERSONALIZED TARGETED broadcast mailings!!
  Our BRAND NEW scheduler automates the whole process for you, even if you're gone on vacation! It generates and sends your messages for you daily, and even backs up your database and performs routine maintenance, automatically!
  Finally, 100% automation -- adding contacts and subscribers to your auto follow-up database, as well as handling removes and undeliverables for you. We will teach you the strategies and psychology behind sequential email marketing, the software handles all the mechanics for you, automatically.
  
  3.    Automated 3rd Party Services.
  These are usually in the form of automated email responders or "Auto responders".
  Priced as a monthly service fees range from free, to $29.95 (US) per month for various features. The "PostMaster Online" program is the choice, both from the features offered and the training provided.

  Another choice would be "Get Response" which offers a free service.
  Each offers database management.

  I use both. The Postmaster Online program offers 50 programmable autoresponders and is excellent if you are offering multiple products/services. Get Response is excellent for simple (one product) websites.
  
  4.    "Opt In List" 3rd Party Services.
  It is possible to purchase email subscriber databases from several sources.
  CHANGE THESE 2 Listings to reflect associate programs
  http://www.bulletmail.com/
  are just a couple. Prices range from about $.05 to $.25 per name.
  
  WebMaster Tip:  An informative article on the pros and cons of purchasing one of these lists can be found at http://www.upromote.com/newsletter/archive/art/whynotoptin.html
  
  5.    Newsletter Marketing. This can be done from 2 angles:

  • Writing a newsletter which you send out at regular intervals to your mailing list and
  • Using other newsletters by writing articles or placing text advertisements.

  6.    UseNet or Newsgroup Marketing
  UseNet or Newsgroups encompass thousands of topic specific groups, which offer help and information in question and answer format.
  
  Adding commercial content simply must be done in this context.
  First and foremost, make sure that the information you are passing along is useful.
  "Useful" should not be defined here as "money-making" or "lead generating." Useful should stand in relation to the reader, not the poster. You would not expect a favorable response playing hard rock in the middle of an opera. For the same reason, do not expect a favorable response to any posts in groups that are not related to the group's business area or field of interest.

  
  WebMaster Tip:  "Lurk" (Read the posts before you post). Most every group has a set of rules that can be found in the FAQ for the group. Quite often, the FAQ is available to you as soon as you sign up. It is always important to read and understand the rules for the newsgroup.
  
  
  7.    SPAM*  Don't do it! It is possible to purchase lists with millions of names from unscrupulous marketers for around $100.00 Using one of these lists will most likely result in you losing your ISP account and/or your website's host.
  There are some 17 million businesses in the United States.
  If each business sent you ONE email per YEAR, you would receive over 1700 emails PER DAY.
  
  WebMaster Tip: BUILD YOUR EMAIL DATABASE!
  All Opt In Email Databases use some sort of form to collect information. Forms can be used to enter contests, sign up for website updates, opt in to receive your newsletter, or any reason you can offer. "Special Sales" offered to mail list members typically increase sales by 50% on the first day to 15% on the third. Statistics also show that the likelihood of a sale being made increases to over 80% by the 5th contact.
  
  Linking

  • Numerous methods of linking your website are available. Search out portal sites, complementary businesses, web-rings, "Yellow Page" directories, friendship or interest sites, all are opportunities to build your "Link Relevance"

  Banner Advertising

  • Banner Advertising covers a wide range of opportunities. Most plans are fee based and expensive. There is much debate on the effectiveness of such programs.
    there are also free services such as "Banner Exchange"

  Hard Copy Advertising

  • Include your email address and website address in all promotional materials, letterheads, and customer correspondence as well as in any newspaper or magazine ads you place.

  "Specialty" Programs or Services.

  • These generally generate, for the most part, "untargeted" traffic.
    An example of one of these programs is on http://www.FantasticMachines.com and is called "ExitExchange". When a visitor leaves the site a new browser window opens with a page from a member's website.
    ·    Another similar program is http://www.nomorehits.com/ which gets you to set your browser's home page to their promotion and you receive one ad placement for every 2 times you open your browser.