Web-Sta Affordable Web Design BLOG: Email Marketing

E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing using electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial and/or fundraising messages to an audience (potential customers).

You can use it to market to your current client base, promoting new services/products/sales or to provide free information. You can also use it to directly market to other businesses and individuals, keeping them up to date with who you are, where you are and what you offer.

E-mail marketing Tips:

You MUST provide an opt-out or unsubscribe option. This is in accordance to anti-spamming laws. Even if you request that they email you direct, you can manually delete their e-mail address from your records.
Do not send too many e-mails. We get enough Junk already. Once a month is recommended. You want to be fresh, not pushy (desperate).
Do not just collect e-mail addresses from all over the place. If you receive a business card from someone or find individual e-mail addresses online, you are better to ask them for permission first. At least they will expect an e-mail from you increasing the chances of them opening it.
Run your e-mail marketing campaign in-line with your print and in-store advertising. Using the same campaign throughout, you can create a much bigger impact. Your brand will have one identity, not a bunch of fragmented snippets.
Keep your customer list saved in an Excel database. Most e-mail and e-mail marketing software will allow you to upload/import your entire list at once.
Provide a subscribe option on your web site/Blog.

Most e-mail marketing software provide reports including how many people opened your e-mails, who they were, if any web site links in your email were clicked and how many people unsubscribed.