Email Marketing is a Win-Win opportunity. Email recipients are able to respond to an offer immediately and you receive quick feedback from your email campaign.

There are two approaches to Marketing: 1. Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks or 2. methodically target your audience. While it might be tempting to send "spam," we advise "targeted, permission-based marketing" to get the best results and avoid the negative reputation and legal issues surrounding spam. By using permission marketing, not only will you avoid the Spam issue but you will target the people that are most interested in your product/service. This in turn should also garner a higher response rate from those you are marketing to.

We recommend the practice of "opt-in" email marketing because it is more targeted and increases the effectiveness of your emails. Recipients who opt to hear from you are INTERESTED in what you have to offer; otherwise, they wouldn't have signed up for your list in the first place.

Create personalized, informative and entertaining emails and you will get a higher rate of response.

Reward your customer's with a thank you after a sale and send them notifications of rebates, special offers or promotions.

Track user's (from sign up, to purchase, to repeat purchases) to look at the effectiveness of your campaigns. Based on what you learn, you can adjust accordingly.

Get Noticed - Give a Good Impression
The best way to get people to respond to your email or sign up for your email list is to give a good impression. Whether you are sending email to a list or using email in your everyday business, always pay attention to email etiquette, visual appearance, and content.

• Proof your email like you would a printed letter.
  
• Keep email personal by taking the time to start an email with the recipient's name and to end it with your own.
  
• Since emails are usually scanned quickly, keep your email brief and to the point. Break up long blocks of text -- 4 to 5 lines per paragraph and use bullet points for emphasis.
• Use a P.S. line at the end of your email -- almost everyone reads the P.S.

Email Guidelines:

• Respect Privacy
  
• Have an opt-in mailing list
  
• Provide easy subscribe and unsubscribe instructions
  
• Be brief - the less you ask, the more you get
  
• Offer something such as discounts or tips
  
• Mail early in the day
  
• Avoid the "sales pitch"
  
• Minimize the amount of email you send
  
• Respond to email within 24 hours - people expect it
  
• Use upper and lowercase letters for easier readability

Don't forget to Follow Up

When you send an email for the first time to a customer or potential customer, give them the option of unsubscribing from your list. If they do not unsubscribe, and took no other action to have themselves removed from your list, then it is okay to send another email; but, be prudent in the length of the email and the amount of email you send to them.

If you do receive a response from your email campaign and their contact requires action from you, respond to them within 24 hours. If a recipient has asked to be removed from your list, promptly remove them from your distribution list but keep their information on file as "do not send email." This way you know that they have requested to not receive email from you.

Have an opinion on this article? Please send an email to smiller@setnow.com.

— ©2003-2006, Set Now Solutions, LLC. All rights reserved.

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