What is Email Marketing?
Email Marketing is simply using email in your marketing communications. Every email you ever send to a prospect, customer or affiliate can be classed as email marketing. Businesses can send promotional emails and marketing messages of all kinds to try and acquire new customers or persuade their existing customers to purchase their new product or service.
Why Marketers Love Electronic Communication
Many businesses have huge databases of email addresses that they contact on a regular basis. Customers for the most part welcome value packed communications because there is something in it for them. This is why email marketing campaigns need to be well managed and presented. Email Marketing has many benefits and they are as follows:
- Low Cost – Cheaper than traditional marketing communications such as direct mail and offline advertising.
- Speed – Email Marketing is instant. No need to wait for mail delivery and waste money on postage. With Email Marketing, one click and your materials are instantly delivered.
- Easy – Email Marketing is easy both for you and your list. All it takes is to open your email.
- Personalized – Through the use of 'Autoresponders' (Automated Email Marketing Software) Emails can be tailored to suit particular people or groups of customers.
- Viral Effect – Email can be easily and instantly shared by forwarding to other contacts in your address book at the touch of a button.
Maximize Your Relationships with Your Customers
Direct Email: Involves the 'Direct' sending of a promotional email in the form of a special offer for example. Businesses usually do this when they have acquired a list of customers or prospects to communicate with. There are companies that sell email addresses acquired through survey systems nationally or internationally. These databases of information can be very effective if they are selected carefully and match your business products or services.
Retention Email: Are emails sent to retain existing customer or affiliates bases. They can be in the form of newsletters or new product developments or upgrades. The object of this kind of email is to develop long-term relationships and build trust. Retention emails usually provide great value to their recipients.
The Money is in the List!- That's the Truth!
Building your email list is perhaps the most essential component for anyone looking to engage in email marketing. After all, if you have no list of subscribers or email address contacts, it doesn't matter how good your message is. Most businesses may already have acquired the contact information of their customers or prospects after surveys and purchases; however, even if you do, you will need a way to contact them regularly and do it in bulk rather than one by one.
'Auto-Responders' as already mentioned above are the way to do that. In fact even if you have no permission based email address list, the use and power of an Auto-Responder is huge. There are many free and paid Auto-Responder providers online that you can choose from.
Once you learn how to use your provider’s system it's easy to proceed with communicating with your audience. If you already have your email address list you can simply upload it into the system and it will store it and integrate them into all your selected outgoing messages. However if you do not have a list compiled, you can use their 'Contact Form' to place on your Blog or website to capture people's information. Building a list will depend on how your present yourself to the marketplace and what you offer in exchange for their private email address.
Learn the Tools of the Trade
Writing professional and engaging emails is a skill in itself. When writing for a business, one needs to understand the audience they are writing to and the message he or she is trying to deliver. They need to see both sides of the message; from the point of view of the reader as well as the business. All marketing emails should provide an element of trust, respect, transparency, relationship building and value through special offers, discounts and new opportunities etc.
Keep Your Name Good and Your Business Will Take off!
Responsible email marketing is based on the idea of permission from the recipients. The one thing that is frowned upon in the Internet Marketing Business Community is unauthorized email communications. This can have a very damaging effect on your business and overall name in the industry. Essentially you need the permission of the person you are attempting to commercially communicate with; otherwise it's considered as Spam.
If you want to build large teams, organizations and businesses you need to respect the privacy and integrity of other people. Having their permission at the point of sale of your product or service to communicate with them removes any negative effects of future communications.
