Email-Marketing

EMAIL MARKETING – Required, a Method in the Madness

2005-10-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

By Swaminathan Viramani

As you get started in internet marketing all of you might have come across gurus proclaiming their wisdom that “the money is in the list “. Like all newbies to marketing you start focusing on building your list . You try every software ,every promotion method in an attempt to build your list of subscribers.

Now that you have your list of faithful subscribers, you are told (by the same gurus) to provide valuable information to the list to build a relationship and trust with your subscribers. The theory is, the more your list of subscribers see you as an expert and their well wisher(!), they will just quickly make a beeline to the site you are promoting and with every mail you send, you will rake in pots of gold with the commissions on purchases made by your subscribers.

Now let us shift to what the experienced marketers themselves are doing. To be fair to them, they also do the same thing they advice you to do. But then, they also do it mindlessly.

I got a mail from a respected marketer recently, preselling one of the Late Corey Rudl’s products. The products of Corey, as we all know, are quite the things you need in your internet marketing, and the way Corey has mentored many a internet millionaire, one can be sure that his products still remain as top resources for anyone getting started in internet business.

But I digress – the marketer’s mail goes on to tell me that “last week” Corey has given him special permission to offer the product at a special discount to the marketer’s subscribers, and in a recent update, Corey had said that 80 sales has happened in one week alone!

C’mon, even a newbie like me has mourned the sad demise of Corey Rudl, and felt a loss and void at having him with us no longer. The man, a legend in his lifetime and a mentor to many like me, would turn in his grave if he sees the way the marketers market nowadays. Mindlessly they promote stuff by copying and pasting some promotional mail, without even trying to see what the subscribers need. Email marketing taught to us by Corey has much more to it that just flooding your subscribers with “special offers”, “promotions” and the like. Whatever happened to preselling, need analysis, and closing the sale with leaving the buyer feeling he got what he wanted?

Unlike other marketers who submit their articles to ezines for ultimately making readers to click to their site and buy something, I wrote this article just out of a frustration, and a pain that marketing is not done the right way. In fact, you may notice that my bio at the bottom shows a site called www.homeremediesandcures.com, and is not in any way related to internet marketing. (I make my money out of adsense ads and clickbank products on home remedies – am doing quite well, thank you).

Swaminathan is a newbie marketer having several sites earning income through sale of products and adsense. His latest site is a simple site on home remedies and cures, at http://www.homeremediesandcures.com.

Internet Basics: Email Marketing is Like Butterfly Pheromones

2005-10-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

By Grant Pasay

Ever notice how you usually don't see that many butterflies? And then one day you'll actually see two of them, and they're kind of, well, they're sort of, well, let's just say they're flying awfully close. So close, in fact, that there's no doubt they're mating. And you know it's a good thing when there's that much closeness going on.

But since you usually don't see butterflies that often, how is it that now there's two of them? And in the same place at the same time?

The answer is pheromones.

Pheromones are chemicals that butterflies and other insects release to communicate over long distances. In the case of butterflies, they can release a pheromone to announce they're available for mating. Within a short period of time, another butterfly gets the pheromone message and suddenly, the two butterflies have hooked up. And all is good.

That's what email marketing is like.

Merchants have products or services they provide to Customers. And sometimes it might seem like there's not very many customers around, or the Merchants would simply like it if there were more customers in general.

So the Merchants decide to use email marketing. First the Merchants make it known they're going to send out emails every so often announcing special sales and communicating bits of information they know their Customers will appreciate.

The Customers are intrigued and "sign up" to receive these emails by telling the Merchant their email address. Finally, the Merchant sends out the email messages, often called e-Newsletters.

And just like with the butterflies, the messages get received -- even over long distances -- and often lead to the Customer and the Merchant hooking up again. And all is good.

And that's why email marketing is like butterfly pheromones.

Grant Pasay is a writer, musician, moviemaker, and author of the new eBook, “The Internet Is Like A Refrigerator: And Other Weird Comparisons That Make it Easy to Understand Everything From AOL to Zip Files.”

Check out Grant's free/brandable ebook at: http://grantpasay.com/refrigerator

Check out Grant at: http://grantpasay.com

Email Marketing Lesson: Starbucks, A Sexy Lady, And My Search For The Ezine

2005-10-28T00:40:00.000-07:00

By Joan Pasay

The other day I heard someone at a 6:00 am network meeting proclaim
- "I have an ezine!"

Still half asleep, and hopped up on my third cup of coffee, my mind raced to try to figure out what he was talking about. I remained silent and sent my best early morning grin the way of the self-declared ezine-ite and knew I had a task for later.

"What the heck was an ezine?" I thought. It sounded sort of like a European motor scooter or something but I did not want to embarrass myself like the time I thought SEM was some kinky couples thing, only to find out it was Search Engine Marketing. I had to switch networking groups after that incident...

So after the meeting I went to the only place where you find out
these sorts of things - Starbucks, during the day. Everyone knows that entrepreneurs that have a 'home office' really work from Starbucks. I even think Starbucks invented the concept to sell more fancy coffee drinks.

After ordering my latte I asked the barista if he knew what an ezine was. He instantly blushed and turned towards the comfy chair section. I didn't get it.

What did the comfy chairs have to do with ---

And then I saw her....

The hair, the clothes, the face, she was the sexiest woman I had ever seen.

She looked so familiar but I was sure I would have remembered meeting someone who looked like her.

Feeling like my 4:30 am shower and one minute makeup session was quite insufficient I turned back to the barista and mumbled, "What does she have to do with an ezine?.." but he was off blending some mocha, no whip, double shot of espresso adult-Slurpee and I found myself talking to a shelf overflowing with bags of coffee.

I grabbed my latte and headed to the comfy chairs and -- the woman.

As I got closer I knew I had seen her before. But where?

She noticed me staring and smiled. "Hello, want to join me?," she whispered. Her voice sounded like Marilyn Monroe singing 'Happy Birthday Mr. President'.

I introduced myself and mentioned the barista told me the sexy lady could tell me what an ezine was.

She giggled like a sex kitten, leaned towards me and whispered,"Can you keep a secret?"

A secret! This was getting exciting! I gulped back half my latte, burning my throat in the process and choked out a "Yes". I knew I was getting close, this definitely had nothing to do with a European motor scooter! "Ok, ok," I thought. "Tell me what the heck an ezine is!"

I closed my eyes in anticipation of finding the truth. I knew I was about to be enlightened. I held my breath - finally I would find out what an ezine was!

I waited, eyes closed, my heart beating in anticipation. I took a deep breath and squealed at the top of my lungs, "I am ready, tell me what an ezine is!"

But when I opened my eyes the sexy woman had vanished. Instead
there sat John Stossel. There was also everyone else in the
Starbucks all gathered around me thinking I had just experienced
some sort of caffeine-induced Kundalini awakening.

"You already know what an ezine is," said John Stossel.

"I do?" I said, trying to assure my new audience I was mentally stable.

And then in John's reporter-like style he said, "An ezine is a periodic electronically published newsletter or email newsletter.Sometimes they are posted on a website but most of the time they are sent via email or even RSS. Email newsletters were getting old so we cooked up a new, sexier name."

And with that John Stossel vanished and the sexy lady appeared
again. My Starbucks audience all filed back to their comfy chairs and I sat there silent.

The milk frother hummed in the background and the sexy lady patted my hand. "Don't worry about it. Beauty and value are on the inside...even with an ezine," she said.

I took a long time to walk home that day. I had been duped by a marketing gimmic. That guy at the 6:00 am network marketing meeting was bragging about his email newsletter!

I guess exclaiming to an audience of half-asleep business persons trying to remember if they had let the dog out before they came to the meeting, "I have an email newsletter!" would be kind of lame.

I felt different writing my weekly e-newsletter, um, er, ok, weekly ezine that afternoon. I felt more alive, kind of lighter. Would my readers notice the difference?

I had to promise the sexy lady that I would not reveal the secret that an ezine is simply an email newsletter so don't tell anybody,ok?

Ezine does sound a lot sexier than 'e-newsletter' and we all know sexy sells.

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Earn good karma, forward this article to everyone you know who has an email address.

E-mail Marketing

2005-10-28T00:37:00.000-07:00

By Swati Gupta

E-mail marketing can be extremely beneficial at helping to build a positive relationship with your customers, however if miss used it can be equally damaging. The most difficult part of e-mail marketing is building up a list of targets that will be interested in what you have to say to them.

An opt-in newsletter is a fantastic way to start building trust and respect between you and your target market. However, to do this you need to deliver content that will engage and interest the people that subscribe to your newsletter. Get in touch with us today about building an e-mail marketing campaign that will offer value to your potential customers, not just litter their inbox with spam.

E-mail marketing is use to do marketing, means its advertisement, which helps consumers to take right decisions that what would be purchase or what would not be purchased because it tells all features, if it is good or bad. Email marketing applies to attract customer also which tells to customer that you should buy that product because that has best quality with cheapest rate then any other product of this category.

Email marketing also effects maker to increasing their sales, profits and production. With the help of marketing, a company can implement their goodwill.
With the help of email marketing, two peoples who are very far from each other can also make business transactions; they can buy or sell anything without touching product. On the internet, there are a huge number of sites of email marketing, which helps in both marketing and market. These sites also tell the main features (including background) and price.

With the help of email marketing, we can buy or sell anything to and from any corner of the world within few seconds. Email marketing makes world so small to earn easy money.

swati gupta

How Not to Design an Email Campaign

2005-10-28T00:35:00.000-07:00

By Anne Ahira

1. WRITE IN ALL CAPITALS.

People love getting yelled at. They never get enough verbal abuse from their family, coworkers, and fellow commuters. So, go ahead SHOUT AT THEM. Hey, if you're lucky, maybe they'll return the favor.

2. Include your URL (website address) from the very beginning.

While you're at it, go ahead and tell them what they're getting for Christmas and how all the magic tricks are done. No one likes surprises or suspense. Don't give them any mystery or let any excitement build. What do you think this is supposed to be, interesting or something??

3. Write long, wordy paragraphs.

You want to tell them everything you possibly can and it should all be in one looooong paragraph. This is the same principle that applies to first dates. Tell them everything about you all in one breath. No letting little things come out over time. No surprises or explanations. Bonus points if you can get them to go cross eyed while trying to read it.

4. Overdo the personalization feature.

Everyone loves to hear their own name. Make sure you include it in every sentence. This way, they know it was done manually and not by a computer program. Because surely those computer programs have limits of say 20 or 30 names throughout the email.

5. Focus on yourself and not your prospect.

Let them know your wants, needs, and desires. Who cares about them? I mean, jeez, wasn't putting their name in the email enough! Selfish, selfish, selfish….

6. Stop Emailing them if you get no response.

Six or seven emails is plenty to send to someone. Just because you still have their address and they haven't opted out yet, they're obviously not interested. Besides, you don't have time to email them. You're going to get that new computer you've been getting info on for about a year now. You've finally decided to buy it. There seems to be some irony here but you just can't put your finger on it.

7. Don't have a sense of humor.

No laughs, no stress relief measures, no wedgies. This is a business. Imagine what would happen if you allowed it to be fun!

By: Anne Ahira
Editor The BEST Affiliate Newsletter
http://www.thebestaffiliate.com

Email Marketing Campaigns

2005-09-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

By Halstatt Pires

Email marketing campaigns allow you to get in front of your clients time and time again, at a fraction of the cost of printed mailings. E-newsletters also add value to your web site, can boost holiday sales and can make your marketing job easier.

Added Value to Your Web Site

Providing an informative newsletter adds value to your site and gives users another reason to visit. Posting archives of previous mailings provides your site visitors with a library of information - one more reason for them to come back to your site. Adding content also gives search engines more to index.

Stay In Front of Your Customers

Newsletters allow your company to stay in front of your clients and leads. A site visitor may only come to your web site one time, yet if you convince them of the value of signing up for your newsletter, the single visit surfer is much more likely to return. Staying in front of your customers and prospects in this way increases the chances that your company is remembered when the time to buy comes.

Holiday Sales Booster

Newsletters are an excellent holiday sales booster. Sending a newsletter during the holiday season offering special discounts reminds gift-buying people the value and appropriateness of your product.

Easy to Use Software

Getting the right newsletter software can make newsletter mailings a snap or a nightmare. Here are some features to look for when choosing email newsletter software.

Opt In and Out Easily - This process should be automated so that clicking on a simple link will allow users to opt-in or out of a newsletter without additional administrative intervention. It is no fun and a waste of time to have to manually add and remove names and emails from your list and also opens the door to human error.

Double Confirmation - To ensure that your subscribers really did in fact subscribe to your newsletter, double confirmation can be used. What this means is that after someone signs up to you newsletter, they must also click a link sent to their email address to confirm that it was actually the owner of the email address that signed up. This can be particularly useful as an added level of security, especially with newsletters of controversial content that may offend some readers.

Scheduled Emails - Advanced email software programs will allow you to schedule your mailing in advance. So while you are in Aruba sipping cocktails on the beach, your server can be working for you sending out preprogrammed material without you having to be there. For daily or weekly newsletters, this allows business owners or webmasters to send multiple mailings while only having to attend to administrative duties one time, saving time and effort.

Auto Responders - Auto responders allow you to follow up with clients and leads effortlessly. For example, perhaps you have a free e-book download that requires a user to enter his or her email address. Several days after the e book has been downloaded, you could send an auto responder asking if the reader has any questions or requires any professional services the company offers that relate to the e book.

Allow Recipients to Automatically Update Their Contact Information - By allowing recipients of your email newsletter to update their own contact information via an automated form system, the work of keeping your list up to date is partially transferred to the recipient, saving you work and time. Also, many newsletter recipients will appreciate that you have the correct spelling of their name and that updating their information is an easy task.

In conclusion, email newsletters can be some work to do right, yet the reward can be huge. Email newsletters can increase your sales dramatically and also help get your company name out into the minds' of buyers. Carefully choosing your email newsletter software before you embark on starting an e-newsletter of you own can save you countless hours of frustration. Choosing the right e newsletter tool can make the task pleasant and rewarding.

Halstatt Pires is an Internet marketing consultant with http://www.marketingtitan.com - an Internet marketing firm in San Diego offering automated web site systems through http://www.businesscreatorpro.com

How to Measure Return on Investment for Email Marketing

2005-09-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

By Paul Crabtree

How to measure return on investment for email marketing

Half of email marketing agencies taking part in the DMA
email benchmarking study reported less than 40% of their clients tracking ROI. (Source: DMA Email Marketing Council)

One of the main benefits of email marketing is its measurability. It can also be its down-fall- many marketers feeling like they were drowning in simple metrics such as clicks and opens. This obsession on
these performance metrics cloud more traditional key performance indicators (KPIs).

58.4% of marketers within the Adestra "Challenges facing UK email marketers" survey feel they that were unable to use the results of their campaigns in strategic decision making or for calculating return on investment (ROI). This hinders the development of their email program and feeds
the common perception held by many senior management that email is a cheap channel and not a traditional, measurable direct marketing channel.

With an over-emphasis on clicks and opens, many marketers are not tracking ROI. This is mainly down to the perception that they need complicated tracking systems and solutions. Costly web analytics packages are being deployed in some cases.

Many simple methods of measuring ROI are over-looked with many believing they need web analytics solutions that provide click stream tracking. Adestra recommend you consider simple, low cost methods of proving your email campaigns are working before investing within such concepts. These can include:

Duplicate marketing pages to separate orders from email marketing

Simply duplicate your marketing pages and direct all email promotion to this new page. All orders are tracked against a separate product code (e.g. BSC001b) allowing easy revenue accountability at a low
investment. Effectively, your existing sales reporting tracks ROI!

Use priority codes to label orders to identify orders from your email marketing

Get a customer to quote a priority code when ordering. To ensure
they give this code, we recommend you provide an incentive (perhaps a discount or a complimentary product). Simple to action, this method provides considerable visibility.

Check for buyers in your email database

Using Adestra’s Message Focus, you are able to drill into your data and discover if the person who ordered actually receivedan email communication from you. Using our contact history tool, you’re able to see when they opened emails, clicked through and on what links,to provide you with the people who began the purchase process.

Ask them!

Conduct a survey of your buyers and ask them what communications they remember seeing before they made the decision to buy!

These simple methods of measuring ROI should be used on provisional
communications before considering investing in more complicated and expensive solutions. When you are ready to invest, there are a number of options available to you, including:

More complicated email marketing solutions

Use Adestra hosted forms

By encouraging people to click through to an Adestra hosted form as the call to action, we can pre-fill fields with campaign codes. By hiding these fields from a recipient, they pass this vital marketing intelligence to you everytime they complete a form without ever knowing about it.

Web analytics

Many marketers invest in a web analytics program. These can be free software available off the web or in most cases paid for more programs.These programs allow you to track people as they move through your site. By using URLs which contain a source code (e.g. www.adestra.co.uk/?src=Campaign1 ) you can track which campaign people come from.

Alternatively, we can use a specific web address to bounce people from e.g. http://email.adestra.co.uk so that we know that everyone who is referred to the web site from this url is definitely from an email campaign

Cookies

If we use a branded web address in your emails (e.g. http://emails.client.com) then it is possible for Adestra to lay a
cookie on the recipient’s machine to be read by the server which is carrying out the transaction (www.client.com). You can embed campaign codes in the cookie information automatically, and you use your own web analytics programs to measure orders from email.

Tracking and measuring your email marketing program is essential to improving and refining your marketing strategy. This measurement doesn’t necessarily have to involve significant investments.

About Adestra Ltd

Fast, responsive and knowledgeable

Adestra Ltd are a digital marketing agency that specialise in inbound and outbound email, fax and SMS broadcast solutions. Serving the marketing and content fulfillment needs of clients in many markets including publishing, entertainment, travel and charities, Adestra are relied upon by the key players in both B2B and B2C marketplaces for bulk or highly targeted individual campaigns.

The Adestra Message Focus email service is today’s best email marketing system and is the only one designed for advanced email marketers.

Adestra’s product and corporate information is located at http://www.adestra.co.uk

Email Marketing: 8 Reasons Why It is Ideal for Small Businesses

2005-09-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

By M White

Email has revolutionised business communications over recent years and has rightly earned the label of the Killer Application of the Internet. The use of email marketing has had a similar and profound impact for companies looking to promote their products and services.

It has been especially powerful for small and medium sized businesses (SMEs). Without the marketing budgets of larger organisations, SMEs nevertheless have the same requirements for a cost effective, successful and measurable method of communicating with their customers. Email marketing offers not only this but can be used in every element of the marketing process, from building your brand, driving traffic to your website or marketing special offers, to providing customer service or technical support.

But just why does email marketing offer such possibilities to small business and, indeed, organisations of all sizes? Below are outlined 8 reasons why email marketing has to sit right at the top of every SME’s marketing activities checklist.

1. Successful

First and foremost, email marketing produces results! A well designed campaign using a properly managed mailing list will give response rates which are much higher than other direct marketing methods.

While there are many variables that contribute to response rates, indications are that overall email marketing gains a response rate about 5 times higher than direct mail. By getting a much larger percentage of people interested in what you are offering, immediately you are massively increasing the number of potential sales. Added to this, the quick response methods allow a much faster turnaround of questions and objections thus clearing a way through to closing the sale.

Even though the unacceptable rise in Spam has had a detrimental effect on the proper commercial use of emails in marketing, the success levels of well run, targeted and fully compliant campaigns using full opt-in lists continue to advance in leaps and bounds. Effectively, whatever your goal, email marketing delivers in a way that few , if any, direct marketing methods can match.

2. Targeted

The more targeted your marketing message is, the more likely it is to be successful. Email marketing provides the means of customising each message which is sent out, so that the information, promotion or offer can be individually personalised and targeted.

Effectively, using targeted HTML emails gives you the opportunity to quickly and easily tailor the message to directly respond to each prospect’s own needs and interests. Results consistently also show that the more you can personalise your messages, the higher your response and conversion rates will be.

In many respects, a well run email campaign makes the concept of “one to one marketing” available to all, because of the way that it is perfectly suited to segmentation and personalisation. Whereas printed mailers are created, printed and fixed, with email marketing you remain in control of the process for longer giving you more flexibility both in the overall approach and offering.

3. Economic and Cost Effective

Email marketing eliminates the significant time and expense of full graphic design, printing, postage, handling and so on which is associated with printing and processing traditional direct mail campaigns. Yet with graphic html emails, you are able to create the same imagery and provoke the same responses with the added benefit of having follow up information instantly available via your website.

Perhaps just as importantly, with the correct maintenance of an email list, the cost benefits increase as does the ROI through the closer relationship established with the recipients. Coupled with the higher response rates that email marketing attracts, you therefore get more positive responses, more quickly and at a lower unit cost! Win – win situation!

4. Trackable

When using email marketing, you can track the results of your campaign in real time thus providing you with instant feedback on its success. This allows you to respond to developments as they happen and to follow up while the campaign is still in progress.

For each message, you can see whether:

* it was received successfully;

* it was opened and read;

* the recipient used the links in it to reach your site.

There are two immediate benefits of this level of information: firstly, it puts you in a position to be able to make changes to a campaign already underway to improve its response rate; secondly, when sending out follow up messages, you have the possibility to segment your mail list according to the action taken on receipt of the initial one. This allows you to respond immediately to any issues which arise and to complete the feedback loop quickly and effectively.

Moving forward, you also have a complete record of those elements and links which worked best for you and those which require changes to improve their performance. The experiences taken from the campaign can then be applied to future campaigns with a high degree of accuracy.

5. Measurable

As the adage goes, “If you can’t measure it, then you can’t manage it” and measuring the success of your marketing spend is more important today than ever. To make best use of your budget, it is essential to keep track of not only the costs but also the results and the revenue that the campaign specifically generates. This will allow you to focus your activities with the most appropriate methods in future.

In addition to tracking the recipients' reaction to the email, you can also follow their subsequent path through your website, with the appropriate software. This allows excellent visibility as to the success of the landing page and the anticipated route through to the purchase or sign-up page, according to your campaign's objectives.

Together, this information is invaluable when planning future campaigns or being able to precisely calculate the costs and sales generated by any email marketing activity that you undertake. Hopefully, the ROI (Return on Investment) you achieve will be as good as the campaigns run by companies which have reported ROI rates 40 times higher than those achieved with direct mail!

6. Testable

To achieve the best possible response rates, it is common practice to send any intended piece of marketing material to sample groups to test its effectiveness before starting the main campaign. With traditional direct marketing, this process can be time consuming and costly.

However, with email marketing, this process is fast and effective with results available almost immediately, thanks to the instant measuring of the results. Additionally, as there is no printed material involved, the turnaround for any changes in layout or wording required as a result can be incorporated into the main mailing quickly and easily.

7. Immediate

The speed at which business happens is constantly increasing. Email marketing allows you not only to keep pace with these changes but stay ahead of them, not only in terms of the speed of response to the campaign but also the creation of the campaign itself.

Firstly, the "Call to Action" can be immediate and ideally handled through the website. When you read a compelling offer in an email you can respond using the links in the message itself, usually taking you to a specially created page with additional information and recommendations. Responding to a direct mail piece, on the other hand, requires a much more active response, such as completing and sending off a form or even just picking up the phone. Just as importantly, the responses start to come back immediately! On average, 80% of the responses happen within 3 days as opposed to the weeks which is more normal for traditional direct mail.

Secondly, the creation and distribution of the email campaign is also much quicker. Carefully constructing, producing and sending a good html email which is going to bring the top level results, need only take a matter of days (or indeed hours if you are working with a supportive partner!) rather than weeks for a printed mailer.

8. Flexible & Adaptable

Email marketing is adaptable enough to support your business in many different ways and can help to achieve a variety of different goals. While email marketing is often considered stronger when you are looking to maintain customer relationships rather than forge new ones, it is in fact able to fulfil a variety of different purposes for your business. Some of these are:

* Increase the number of visitors to your website

* Attract new clients, leads or registrations

* Build stronger relationships with existing clients

* Provide improved levels of company, product or service information

* Build brand awareness

These goals can be achieved through the use of emails to distribute different items, each offering different opportunities for strengthening the relationship with the company's customers. Some of the more common ones include:

* Sales promotions / vouchers

* Account statements

* Company Newsletters

* Press Releases

* Product Announcements

Summary

Email marketing is in itself an excellent method of communicating and distributing information and an essential part of an integrated marketing strategy. Like all marketing methods, it is most influential when used in conjunction with other media with the result that the sum of the parts being more powerful than the individual parts themselves.

With the use of RSS feeds and blogs gaining greater acceptance as corporate communications media, there will undoubtedly prophets of doom announcing the imminent demise of the use of email marketing as a tool for the future. The astute marketer will, however, develop these up and coming channels alongside their email marketing program and so be ideally placed to offer our customers the information they require by the method they prefer.

"Emarketing" Mark White is an emarketing consultant and specialist working primarily with small and medium sized companies in the UK. For help with Search Engine Marketing, Email Marketing, Business Blogging and online business development help, visit Rosetta Alba Emarketing Services or his blog at eMarketingMark.com

Marketing Via Email: Why Aren't People Replying?

2005-09-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

By Anthony Jewell

Chances are if people haven't requested to receive an email from you then you are wasting time. Let me guess your routine:

-Select a list of names.
-Type in subject and body text

-Click send.

Then your email is sent to as many people as you want, even thousands. So why aren't they replying or jumping at your offer? Well it could because they consider it spam(meaning they didn't request it). So probably right now your great offer and email are sitting in a Spam folder, Trash bin or they haven't checked their email and haven't gotten a chance to delete it, yet. So basically all of your time and effort as well as your money is also sitting in your trash bin. But why?

It is very simple. Just like the many number of flyers and ads we receive through regular post(which most of them end up in the garbage), people hate to get mail(email or not) that they have not requested. Sure we every so often get a coupon in the mail we love to use but other then that it is just a waste of our time. For the amount of spam that we get takes alot of time to either delete. It also gets frustrating even when we set up our filters that some emails still get through(or good emails get put into our bulk folder). Alot of time even a good email is mass produced to be sent out to hundreds of people and usually doesn't address us. It is just a template that you use. Which leads us to our next problem with this.

Even more so today you have to protect your pc. When ever I see an email I don't recognize or something I didn't sign up for I immediately think "is this spam or is this a virus". Which then usually leads me to delete it without even reading the offer inside. This is because there are so many people out there sending spam and viruses via email that no matter how good your offer is or how much money I will save. If I open up an email that has a virus, it will probably cost me alot more time, money and headaches to get it fixed then all of the offers out there combined. So it isn't worth the hassle.

Now with so much spam out there don't be afraid to address possible clients via email, just make sure you personalize it as much as you can. Just remember this saying. If it looks like spam, acts like spam and I didn't request it. Then it is probably spam and I will delete it.

Anthony Jewell has over 6 Years experience in the Web & Graphics World. You can visit my business at http://www.logo2d.com

How Email Marketing Can Transform Your Business

2005-09-29T10:42:00.000-07:00

By David Campbell

You might think it's a radical claim, but creating an email marketing program for your business can be a bit like installing your own cash machine! Marketing by email, if done properly, can produce instant results, generate sales within minutes, and over time builds customer loyalty, brand awareness and increased web site traffic.

Despite all the the Internet developments in the past decade, email still remains the single most important "killer app" online. Almost everybody reads their email (even when they may not look at web sites that often), and you can reach almost every decision maker in your target market within minutes, whenever you like.

It's cheap, too. If you've ever done a traditional direct mail campaign, you'll know that the cost can be between £1 and £5 per recipient. Yet email can cost just a few pence per prospect. Plus, an email campaign can be completed in a few hours, while with traditional Direct Mail it can be months before you can see results. With email, early responses can be measured in seconds, and within 3 days you'll have 80% of your orders in and processed! And it's measurable. With the resulting automatically-generated statistics you can work out who read your email and who responded. Live. Try that with traditional mail!

So What's The Catch?
There are two, actually, but both are easily overcome. First, you can't send out promotional emails randomly to people who've never heard of you (that's called spamming!). Second, your campaign MUST be carefully planned, created and executed. You can't just blast out any old "Buy this now" message and expect results. It must be carefully targeted, contain a truly great offer for the target audience, be relevant and interesting and of some value to the recipient, and the copy must be compelling. And just like any other marketing communications activity, it will only be truly successful if it forms part of your overall advertising and communications strategy, and is not just a one-off blast to raise some cash.

Where to Start
The golden rule for email success is to send out regular information that is of value to your audience. So your starting point must always be to think of what your potential market wants to receive from you. If you're lucky enough to have a thriving demand for what you sell, then sending out new product announcements may be OK, but generally, you will need to be more creative that this.

Some good examples are:

For a Lawyer's or Accountant's web site - a regular newsletter to clients updating them of the latest law, rules & regulation changes.

For a hobby web site - new product announcements, tips and advice

Clothing web site - fashion features and tips

Software web site - Information on updates/upgrades. Case studies and "how-to" guides

Bad Examples:

Isolated special offer announcements

Uninvited invitations to join mailing list (spamming)

"Visit our new web site" announcements

How To Get Email Addresses

This is the catch that most companies have difficulty with. But with patience and a little hard work, you can build a good opt-in mailing list that will grow in value over time.

Step 1. Make sure there is a real incentive for people to join your mailing list. If you are offering valuable information (see above) this should be enough. But you can add incentives such as a member's discount scheme on a shopping web site or money-off coupons. You can also run competitions.

Step 2. Install a newsletter sign-up system on your web site. Make sure it is in a prominent position, and most importantly, make sure that the benefit to the user of signing up is clearly displayed. Make sure that the system is automatic, clear, sends a confirmation email to the customer, and comes with clear instructions on how to unsubscribe. And make sure it is very easy to unsubscribe - people get nervous when signing up for newsletters - they all hate spam - so if you make your unsubscribe system easy and clear, they'll feel more in control and be more likely to subscribe (and ironically, much less likely to unsubscribe!)

Step 3. Make sure you promote your newsletter on all stationery and communications with potential and current customers. If selling or communicating on the phone, always ask if they would like to sign-up for the newsletter, again clearly selling the benefit. Also ensure that a link and sales message for your newsletter is included at the bottom of all emails you send out. Create a web page especially for your newsletter sign-up form (as well as the prominent box on the front page). Promote this page on search engines.

Step 4. Consider partnerships with other newsletter publishers that complement your business. For example, a firm of solicitors could approach a firm of accountants and each could promote the other's newsletters to each other's lists. If your partner's list is significantly larger than yours, you may be forced to pay, but it's worth it where there is a good fit.

Step 5. If you are offering free, valuable information in your newsletter, offer articles based on your newsletter with sign-up links for more free-of-charge to web sites your audience frequently visit. For example, if you offer small business services (eg, Accountant, Solicitor etc), offer free advice articles and columns to small business editorial web sites and portals. This also applies to printed trade media and can be integrated into your current PR campaigns.

Step 6. If you're desperate, in a hurry, and have a decent promotional budget, you can buy advertising space on other people's well-established newsletters. You can also rent or buy email lists from established sources but be very careful to buy lists that have requested your type of material from the list provider. Never, ever buy cheap email lists you see advertised across the internet (eg: "1 million emails for your business for $9.99!). You'll get your 1 million emails alright, but they'll be harvested spam lists.

Finally, be persistent, consistent, and offer good quality information that your audience is pleased to get. In the early days it will be hard to motivate yourself to write something every week/month to your first 10 signups, but if you offer good value your list will grow quickly. And remember the viral effect of emails. If the information, offer or entertainment value is good, emails are passed on or forwarded to lots of other people who will sign up or at least visit your web site!

David Campbell is Managing Director/CEO of European web development and online marketing consultancy Weborama, http://www.weborama.co.uk

Dos and Don'ts in Email Marketing to Increase Your Income Online

2005-09-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

By E K Gann

Email is free. Or almost next to zero cost.

Whether you send an email to one person or to a million people the cost is typically the same. It is an extremely effective tool for communicating with prospects and customers.
One major draw back is using it as an illegitimate marketing tool, spamming. Everyone hates receiving Spam and resent those that send it.

Building the List

Based on your business niche, acquire a relevant list of potential customers or prospects. Built up a list from the beginning can be time consuming. But once someone request to be put into your emailing list, you can periodically send them messages to keep them informed of your products or services. These are referred to as “opt-in” lists. Most importantly is with these lists, you have their permission to continue communication.

With your newly acquired high quality list, make use of it wisely.These guidelines give you the Dos and Don’ts in making sure you produce results in the coming years:

Don’t create a campaign that promotes scams or illegitimate businesses. Your offers and information should be legitimate, to create trust for a long time business.

Do make sure the content is as relevant to the request the list asked for in the first place when they opt-in into your list.

Do format your messages for easy reading.

Do make sure the subject line are short and to the point.

Do personalize the messages, like using the prospects’ first name.

Don’t send too much or too often. They are annoying. Timed your messages, control the frequency. Prevents overusing.

Don’t include attachments. Many people will avoids opening attachments as this is one of the most common ways viruses are distributed.

Do focus on the objective of your message.

Do creates urgency to response to your offers.

Do provide up sells, if the opportunity arise.

Do promise your prospects that information you gather through the opt-ins are safe, and their privacy are maintained.

Don’t send your message to the entire list at once. Do some testing on a small number and monitor the responses.

Email Marketing will allows you to create an ongoing dialogue and established rapport with your prospects and customers. It can starts helping you to build those all-important relationships. And with this level of relationships that you have with your prospects and customers, it will determine your online business’s success in the future years.

About the Author:
This article is written by E K Gann. His aim is to work together and help others starting business online. Especially beginners who are facing problems and difficulties getting resources, and those in need for Personal Development; in marketing, sales, self improvement, motivation and continue education. He has been following the footsteps of a man who earns $3,244,842.32 in 27 months! You can do the same. Find out how he do it:
http://www.altmarketingresources.com

Email Marketing - Your Internet Business Lifeline

2005-09-29T10:37:00.000-07:00

By Gerrick W

It is not unusual to have high ranking at the Search engines yet see low conversion rates. In fact, someone else whose ranking is lower than yours may be making a killing online with his products. How could that happen? With all other things being almost equal, good web design, good sales copy, quality products, it is highly probable the other person has an effective email marketing campaign set in place.

It is a so-called ‘known secret’ of successful online marketers that the lifeline of any Internet business is email marketing. It brings longevity to your internet business. If you hope to make a long term living off your Internet business, you need to give serious thought to email marketing if you haven’t done so.

I started off my Internet business without seeing the need for email marketing. I spent a lot of time on SEO. Then one day this question dawned upon me. What am I to do with the traffic that would show up at my door?

It is a known fact that not many people will buy your product or service on their first visit to your website. Yes, some may buy the products that you are promoting but the majority won’t. The vast majority may never come this way again. You stand to lose substantial traffic in this way. Then what about those who bought something? How can they become your lifelong customers?

No wonder, successful online marketers have an effective follow-up system that allows them to touch base with their visitors. What better cost effective way to do so than through email.

4 Benefits of Email Marketing:

1. Gives visitors a personal touch to your online business.

Email communication is the most cost effective way at present to touch base with your website visitors. In a highly impersonalized world of Internet marketing, simple personalized email communiqués can do wonders for your Internet business.

2. Allows you to build credibility and trust with your visitors.

You can achieve this by offering short courses in the area of your expertise through email. The courses you offer must be relevant to the products or services you are promoting on your website.

For example, if you are promoting weight loss products, you may offer a short course like 30 days to lose weight. People are more disposed to buy your product or service if they gain confidence through the information you have provided.

3. Exposes visitors to your product or service.

Sales statistics reveal that most people need to be exposed to an offer 7 times or more before they buy. You have no way of exposing your products or services before your website visitors except through Email marketing.

4. Turns first time buyers into lifelong customers.

Email marketing is an effective way to update your customers of your latest products and services, and keep them posted of the latest developments in the business. This builds long term relationships with your visitors.

Follow-up with your customers immediately after they made a purchase with an offer of a free gift or special discounts on products that are related to what they have bought. This is good marketing practice. You will endear first time buyers to you, and turn them into lifelong customers.

After all been said, how to get visitors to leave behind their email address? Nobody will give something in exchange for nothing. Offer a free e-book, or software, or email course, or newsletter in exchange for your visitors’ names and email addresses. This is by no means tricking people into giving their email address. In the first place, your visitors have some expressed interest when they came by your website. Your job is to continue to arouse their interest that they want to know more about what you have to offer them.

The list of names and email addresses you collect is called an opt-in list. With it you can touch base with your visitors without being accused of spamming.

Follow-up with personalized email communiqué, offer relevant information and leads. Don’t turn your email communiqué into one big sales letter. It puts people off. If they unsubscribe from your mailing list, it’s your loss. Say goodbye to your potential customers.

You cannot maintain the number one spot at the Search engines all the time. Other webmasters will overtake you sooner or later. However, this does not diminish the importance of Search Engine Optimization. For long-term success, SEO and an effective email marketing campaign are needful.

Gerrick W – mailto:gw@1stinternetmarketingsolution.com Information and Software Tools You Need
to Effectively Promote Your Online Business.
Visit: http://www.1stinternetmarketingsolution.com

Autoresponders = Automatic Internet Marketing Success

2005-09-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

By Shon-Paul Spencer

What if you could send out all the information that your potential customers have requested without checking your email or answering a phone? While this may seem impossible, it is becoming more and more popular among the most successful Internet marketing gurus.This is all due to what is called an autoresponder.An autoresponder is an automatic method of responding to emails sent by existing or potential customers and is an must for any Internet business. Time is money and answering emails personally take a lot of valuable time for both you
and the customer.Not only do autorespnders allow you to spend the time elsewhere in your business, but it gives the customer access to the information almost immediately.

Since there are so many different uses for autoresponders, they can be of value to virtually any type of business. Some choose to use the autoresponders to answer frequently asked questions about a product or service. Others use them to provide information about pricing or product information. Autoresponders are also a nice way to welcome new members to a website or group as well as thank them after a visit.

One might ask what would be the advantage of using autoresponders as opposed to simply listing the information on the site. An important feature of autoresponders is that they send you an email notification each time a response is sent out. This allows you to track the success of your promotions as well as have the email addresses of potential customers at your fingertips so that you can easily send out updated and new information to them.

It is of the utmost importance to choose an effective autoresponder. An autoresponder should be as personal as possible and send out follow-ups to potential customers since it has been proven that persistence pays off. It could take up to seven contacts before a final sale is conducted. Generally speaking an advertisement should be short and to the point. However, in this case, the customer has asked to see this specific information and therefore an effective autoresponder should allow you to place as
much text on the page as you desire. The autoresponder that you choose should provide automatic updates to customers free of charge.

The autoresponder is one Internet marketing tool that will not cost you an arm and a leg. You can get free autoresponders online from several sources. The automatic responses will be a welcome addition to your marketing strategy and will help to automatically increase traffic to your site all while you do nothing. Be sure that the one you choose includes all the extras that will send you site to the top and your profits through the roof.

Ten Tips for Email Marketers

2005-09-02T11:41:00.000-07:00

By Ryan Allis

Here are the ten most important tips to ensure you're able to get the maximum return on your investment in permission-based email marketing.

1. Only send emails to persons who have requested them.

2. Only include content relevant to the type of content the person has requested.

3. Be consistent with your sending frequency. Pick a schedule, whether it is weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly and as often as you can stick to that schedule.

4. In most cases it is best to send business to business emails Tuesday through Thursday. We’ve found that the best times of the day to send are just after the start of the day around 9:30am or just after lunch around 1:30pm. It is best to avoid sending business to business emails after 4pm or on weekends.

5. In most cases it is best to send business to consumer emails either between 5pm and 8pm Tuesday through Thursday or between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.

6. To improve deliverability add a message at the top of your emails that says something like: "To ensure receipt of our emails, please add something@yourcompany.com to your Address Book."

7. Make the From Name for your messages either your company name or the name of a person at your company. Once you choose a From Name, keep it consistent. During the split second decision subscribers make whether to open your email, the most important factor in their decision is whether the From Name is familiar to them.

8. Be sure to include both a plain text and an HTML version of your newsletter. IntelliContact Pro will automatically detect which subscribers can view the HTML message and which can only see the plain text message. If you don’t include a plain text message, around 5% of your recipients will see a message with nothing in it.

9. Don’t use all caps or multiple exclamation marks within your subject line or body. Doing this will trigger spam filters. See our Best Practices Whitepaper for additional words to avoid.

10. Build your list at every opportunity you have. If you have a retail location, add a point-of-sale sign up form. At conferences or events, ask everyone you speak with if you may add them to your list after you exchange business cards. Finally, add your newsletter sign-up form to every page on your web site. You can use the sign-up form generator within IntelliContact Pro to automatically generate the code you need.

We hope these tips have been helpful!

Ryan Allis is the CEO of Broadwick Corp. providers of the email marketing software IntelliContact Pro. Visit their best practices center at http://www.intellicontact.com/bestpractices/ for more articles and whitepapers on email marketing. Ryan is also the founder of the Zeromillion.com Entrepreneurship Resource.

Why Email Marketing Matters

2005-09-02T11:39:00.000-07:00

By Ryan Allis

According to a study by the Winterberry Group, email marketing brings in $15.50 per dollar spent. This is about 17% more than direct-mail campaigns and 73% more than telemarketing campaigns. In short, email marketing matters and if you’re not sending out at least monthly email newsletters to your subscriber base, you should be. The true cost comes from acquiring the prospects and clients, not the three or four hours needed to create a monthly newsletter.

Many organizations, once they have spent the thousands of dollars acquiring their clients, fail to market to their existing base. I’ve met quite a few marketing managers who would rather continue spending $200 a pop for new qualified prospects rather than $0.01 per person to build the relationship with their existing clients and recommend new products or encourage re-orders. I’ve found that sending relevant email communications to persons who have requested to receive them is the single most effective way of cultivating the type of relationship needed to turn your prospects into customers and your customers into lifetime product evangelizers.

As a reader of this article, chance has it that your organization is one that already sends out a newsletter, or at least is considering doing so soon. Once you began sending your own newsletter, however, it is important to follow two important rules that will increase your likelihood of achieving your marketing goals, whether they are to increase repeat orders, convert a higher ratio of prospects, or obtain top-of-mind brand awareness.

The first and most important rule is to only send relevant content to persons who have requested it. What does this mean? Well, let’s say you are a travel and adventure planning company. If someone has subscribed to your Kayaking Monthly Newsletter, don’t move them over to your European Vacations list and send them an article on Dining in Tuscany. In most cases, you will very quickly lose any prospect or reduce the lifetime value of your relationship with an existing client. If the person also subscribed to it, it would be okay to send him or her a monthly company newsletter that from time to time had information on other topics, but don’t mix newsletter bases just to increase mailing volumes.

It is important to note that just setting up an interest segment and adding it to your sign up form doesn’t require you to create a monthly newsletter on that topic, but once you get a few dozen to a couple hundred people interested in that area (depending the value of the product or service you are providing), it will likely pay to have quality content developed on that topic for distribution in interest specific newsletters. This can be easily done within the IntelliContact Pro email marketing software by either creating a list specifically for persons interested in a topic or creating a segment of persons with a specific interest.

The second rule is to be consistent with your sending frequency. Depending on your type of business and your subscriber interest level, the right volume for you could be weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Once you find the frequency that is right for your organization (and this could vary newsletter to newsletter), stick with it. We see a lot of companies whose email strategy can only be defined as “ad hoc.” Rather than blasting out a promotion whenever sales are lagging, we recommend having an emailing schedule for each newsletter and sticking to it, whether it be every Saturday, every other Wednesday, or on the 15th of each month. As an example our company newsletter, the Permission-Based Email Marketing Monthly goes out on the 28th of each month.

What type of results can you expect from regularly sending out regular email newsletters? Here are two examples from users of IntelliContact Pro the email marketing software my company Broadwick provides. Biotage is a company based on Massachusetts that provides DNA sequencing instrumentation. They send out event notifications and company updates to 20,000 or so subscribers each month. David Shultis, Marketing Communications Manager of Biotage, notes, “We've seen open rates at around the 38-42% mark for our large mailings. There has also been a 'pass-along' quality of our emails, as we've noticed new names that were not originally on our mailing lists responding to offers.” Another IntelliContact Pro user, Julie Ibrahim, Vice President of the Tiger Sports Shop says “The monthly newsletter keeps us and our inn at the forefront in the minds of our past and potential guests. Thus with the continuous news from us and our region, we are kept in mind, with no sales effort or pressure.” If your organization wants to see marketing results like these, it may be time to start or expand your usage of permission-based email marketing.

If you stick with sending relevant, high quality content-rich emails on a consistent basis to persons who have requested to receive your emails, you will increase your prospect to customer conversion rates and customer lifetime value at a fraction of the of the cost of traditional methods and take advantage of the best type of marketing possible—free marketing through authentic customer word-of-month.

Ryan Allis is the CEO of Broadwick Corp. providers of the leading permission-based email marketing software IntelliContact Pro. Over 2500 clients use IntelliContact Pro to easily create, send, and track permission-based email newsletters, promotions, announcements, surveys, and autoresponder messages.

How To Improve Your Open Rates And Click-Thru Rates In Your Email Campaigns

2005-09-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

By Dejan Bizinger

In this article I will give you several tips that can help you in improving your open and click-thru rates.

1) Open rate

In order to your email campaign be successful the first necessary thing is that people open and read your email newsletter. Online publishing is very similar to traditional publishing. When you buy a daily newspaper, you probably don’t read everything. You don’t have that much of free time and not every subject is equally interesting for you. If you are a sports fan you will read the sport section but you might skip an article about latest movies . In most cases you will decide what you are going to read upon subject titles.

Same thing with email newsletters. One of the two most important factors that influence whether or not your subscriber will open your email newsletter will be your subject line. In order to have good open rates and click-thru rates you have to know your audience. Your message has to be well targeted.

There are several rules you have to follow in order to make effective subject lines.

Subject lines

Your subject lines should be short and snappy to get attention of your subscribers. Many people receive dozens of emails every day and some other people that have web sites and often make posts on different places like web forums, discussion lists, publish articles, can get more than 100 emails per day. So your message will have a very big competition in your subscriber’s inbox. That’s why your subject line has to grab attention of your subscriber. This doesn’t mean that you have to use usual spam techniques. On the contrary. Avoid using words FREE, GUARANTEED, Make Money Fast, Limited Offer and other get-rich-quick schemes words. Not just because of your subscribers. If you use these words it is most likely that your emails will never even reach them. Their ISP will take care of that with their spam filters. Also don’t capitalize every letter and don’t put several times exclamation. You don’t need to shout, people will “hear” you if you know how to “tell” them your message.

So your subject line has to be short and snappy, best thing is that you include one title from your articles in your subject line. It can be some breaking news or exlusive interview. People like to read breaking news or exclusive interviews that can’t be found anywhere else. Also, people often read how-to articles (for example - How To Choose The Right Email Marketing Software) or so called “number” articles (for example – 7 Tips For E-publishers On A Shoestring Budget).

Good thing is that you put your newsletter name in brackets, at the beginning of your subject line in order to be easily recognized from other emails in inbox.

Please bear in mind, that your subject line has to be consistent. What do I mean by that? Of course that you will change the title in your subject line but you have to find the best subject form and stick to it. For example:

[NewslettterName] Your Subject Title, Issue #x, Date

Don’t forget, in order to make effective ads and this apply to subject lines, as well you have to remember 3 words – test, test, test! You have to experiment with different models and find out which work best for you.

From field

Beside Subject line, From field is another info that your recipients will see in their inbox. People have to trust you in order to decide to read your emails. You don’t open your doors to every person who knocks, don’t you?

If you are well-known person, trusted expert in your industry, for example some reputable Internet consultant and you are the only person that is involved in creation and publishing of the newsletter put your name in From field. If several people are involved in that process and if it is a corporate newsletter, use your company name.

Most important thing with From fields is that you don’t experiment with it. Choose one From field and stick to that. It is very un-professional that you often change your From field and beside that, in that case, your open rate will decline.

Useful tip is that you ask your subscribers to make a filter rule for your email newsletter, based on your email address, From field or some part of your Subject line. For example, they can put [YourNewsletterName] in a filter rule for your newsletter or your From field name so every time they get the email newsletter that matches that rule it will be moved to a specially designed folder, for example YourNewsletterName. So this way your newsletter won’t end in their Bulk folder. That is also one of the reasons why you should be consistent with your From field and subject line.

2) Click-Thru Rates

Clicks come once your email newsletter is opened. With good open rate you have finished only one part of the job. Now, your newsletter has to be well designed with appropriate content and concept, and most important, well targeted in order to have a decent click-thru ratio (CTR). You have to know your audience. You can increase your CTR if you put your most important articles and ads at the top of your email newsletters. Don’t write too long articles. It is better to write articles where you will list several tips. Also, don’t overload your newsletter with ads. People want to read useful things and not lots of ads.

Also, you know that a picture is worth more than 1000 words, so it is good that if you publish a HTML newsletter that you include photos that will be relevant to your articles and that are clickable. Click-Thru rates get higher if you give some value-added services to your subscribers. You have to make a good relationship with them. Treat them well, write useful articles, give exclusive discounts to your subscribers and they will show their appreciation.

Different types of email newsletters have different click-thru ratio. Click-Thru ratio is important, but it is not the most important. Just because many people click on your follow-up article or offer doesn’t mean that they will actually buy your software or service. In some cases, lower CTR can get you more sales than some good CTR. Think about that next time you start your email campaign.

Dejan Bizinger is a Contributing Editor for Infacta. Infacta is email messaging services company providing powerful, yet easy-to-use award-winning Group Mail, software for sending highly-personalized email messages and Group Metrics, software for email tracking. For more information visit: http://www.infacta.com

5 Ways to Get Better Email Marketing Data Quality at Point of Collection

2005-09-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

By Paul Crabtree

Adestra provide email marketing services to a host of UK marketers operating within travel, event organising, publishing, charity, entertainment and other industries.

We've spent time analysing client campaigns, and have created a handy checklist for getting better quality email contact records by using optimised data capture vehicles

1. Explain why you want their contact details

Tell sign-up why you want other data fields. Telling them they will receive information by email will encourage them to ensure their email address is accurate

2. Stay compliant with latest email marketing legislation

Keep up to date with the latest legislation and standards to ensure your data capture vehicles continue to be compliant

3. Check quality of email addresses etc on the form

The more fields collected, the more validation required to avoid bad input. The more validation leads to less completed forms and more abandonment. Collect only what you need. Asking for information that you have no use for, will increase form abandonment. Test your data set to see where the optimum is.

4. Future proof

Ensure you state how you will use data into the future. Future-proofing email addresses will allow you to rent/ sell lists whilst staying compliant with email legislation

5. Resource your email contact data cleaning operation

You need someone who actions requests to unsubscribe / ‘Mr Angry’s to ensure fast processing and keep your contacts happy.

More information on Adestra's email marketing services

Adestra provide welcome tactical advice and input on our clients email marketing program. For more information about how we can work together with you to improve your email marketing, please contact us to discuss your email marketing. Adestra's site is at http://www.adestra.co.uk/email_marketing and our best practice centre for email marketers is at http://www.adestra.co.uk/best_practice_email_marketing

About the author

Paul Crabtree is presently Marketing Director of Adestra (http://www.adestra.co.uk), a UK based digital marketing agency that specialise in inbound and outbound email, fax and SMS broadcast solutions. Adestra's client portfolio includes many UK based publishers including Janes Information Group, Informa, Lexis Nexis, OUP, Blackwells and others.

Previous to this role, Paul was responsible for heading-up online marketing for Informa Telecoms' publishing division working on a portfolio of reports, newsletters, ad-led vehicles and the industry portal telecoms.com.

Paul will draw on his 5 years of focused experience in working in online marketing for publishers

Are Autoresponders An Important Asset To Your Business?<

2005-09-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

By Vickie Scanlon

Autoresponders are an important asset to an Internet Marketer. When I heard that statement, I said, “Okay – great! What is it!” For all those new to the Internet arena, I’ll try to explain what autoresponders are, how they can be used, and how it can benefit your online business.

What Are Autoresponders?

Autoresponders automate the process of following up e-mail marketing leads. Email autoresponders are special email addresses that returns a message or set of messages in response to any email that is sent to the autoresponder’s address. When your business is slow or just beginning you may be hesitate to use this tool. But be assured as your business grows, you’ll find a use.

Who Supplies Autoresponders?

Where do you get autoresponders? Well, they are as close as your web host. Yes, most web hosts have autoresponders – it is only limited by the number of email addresses your host provides you. For example, my webhost allows me 100 email addresses. Thus, I have the opportunity, if I so wish, to create 100 autoresponders.

However, there is one small drawback to webhost autoresponders –you are limited only to one message per autoresponder, without the possibility of a follow-up email to your prospects.

But there are other avenues in which you can consider. Such as:

1. You can incorporate a free autoresponder. Freeautobots.com offers a free service -- that is free of advertisements, and supplies you with the server to store your leads on.

2. You can purchase the software. This software can be placed on your computer, or again, you can purchase an online service, and all your information will be stored on the server where you purchased the service.

As you can see there are advantages and disadvantages of each. And only you will know which will best fit your needs, circumstances, expertise and budget.

How Do I An Autoresponder?

When I heard the word autoresponder, I didn’t have a clue of how to use them, or if it was relevant to my business. Pretty green, wasn’t I. Well, an autoresponder can be a great automation tool to any business.

Let me give you some examples of the versatility of this tool.

1.Used by people who are away. They use it to notify the sender that they are away on vacation, their desk, etc.

2.Used as a business tool --

a.Gives responders business information – pricing

lists,resumes

b.Collect names and email addresses

c.Use for training

d.Give away free reports

e.FAQ (if appropriate)

f.Auto-send your article submissions

As you can see there are many uses, all of which, keeps you in contact with your visitors and/or prospective leads, and the promotion of your products, services and business. And, as to free or paid – that assessment will be directly determined by the growth of your business – and of course, your budget.

To conclude, the use of autoresponders is only limited by your imagination and your ethics. Yes, ethics. Do not go crazy with this tool – it is to be used to help your business – so be aware of spam – and it’s dos’ and don’ts – and this tool will work for you.

To your success.

Vickie J Scanlon has a BBA degree in Administrative Management and Marketing. Visit her site at: http://www.myaffiliateplace.biz for free tools, articles, ebooks, how to info, affiliate opportunities, services and products – to meet your budget and needs.

Email Marketing Tips for Reaching an International Audience

2005-09-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

By Paul Crabtree

Targeted, cheap, fast, trackable and with more reporting than traditional offline direct mail techniques, email marketing is used extensively by international marketers.

But although why is an easy question to answer, how is one that causes more headaches.

By rushing into email and not using recognised email marketing service providers, many appear to be successfully conducting successful strategies. Dig deeper and it is a different story:

Building a database for the future

Marketers have adopted recent EU legislation that ensure individuals “opt-in” to your messages and respect data privacy. The flaw is in how much data people are collecting. By not integrating data capture techniques for mailing address, telephone and fax number, a company becomes hostage to always using email marketing.

Industry unsubscribe rates are reported as between 0.2% and 5% (MarketingSherpa). Over time, without investment in an acquisition programme, your database will dwindle. Integrating data capture (often after first contact) of additional contact details provides an alternative communication channel when the email route is ended.

The appropriate message

The fundamental question is whether to begin an email newsletter programme or to adopt promotional adhoc messages. Most favour the newsletter route, committing to:

Reaching critical mass: Get enough volume and the list will self-breed through recommendations. Not get enough and your list will degenerate meaning expensive list acquisition programmes.
Content: you are locked into providing regular, high quality content that people value. Although good content is expensive, it has a clear association with your brand.
Timing: you commit to providing a regular communications. Having a newsletter of only two issues suggests you have nothing to say.

These factors come down to resource. Managing an email newsletter programme is not the low cost, low risk activity that many marketers believe it to be.

So does this mean that ad hoc promotional messages are key? Industry research conducted by Marketing Sherpa shows that email newsletters have a 10 times lower unsubscribe rate (0.20.7% for newsletters and 25% on adhoc/alerts) meaning email databases will last longer with email newsletters. This is particularly relevant in industries with high email address acquisition.

For a time sensitive product such as an event or a topical report, getting an immediate response is key. Consider EasyJet. Their entire business model is uniquely disposed to tactical promotional pushes and not a longer term CRM process. Indeed, SpeedFerries recently recorded a 400% leap in sales off the back of a promotional email marketing programme.

Dan Murphy, eBusiness Director for Informa Telecoms & Media, an international publisher has launched a daily newsletter to keep in contact with prospects that its small sales team can’t reach. “there is no other way we can communicate so quickly and effectively across the world. Indeed, although the editorial investment was considerable, awareness is up and prospects now contact us with their research problems”.

Considering objectives and available resource is key before committing to an email newsletter programme.

Sent in the right way

Broadcasting email communications appears simple, but unfortunately it is not.

Spam filters, black lists, white lists, ISP blocking (international and individual counties) sender certificates and improvements within email clients like Outlook constantly hit the headlines. Indeed, email marketing agency, Digital Impact reported the average European deliverability rate is only 91.5%. Without relationships with each ISP and an appropriate tracking mechanism, knowing whether your communications are getting through is impossible.

You can undo investments in your brand very quickly with email marketing. A person’s perception of your brand is reinforced by every message you send them. Delivering non-optimised messages with mixed up ‘broken’ html means your brand integrity is being compromised.

Marketing to people in their own language is common practice amongst international marketers. Using the correct language character-set when sending emails avoids your messages being delivered as question-marks.

Using email marketing fulfilment agencies to broadcast optimised messages to your database allows you to be confident that your recipient receives what you intend them to see.

Refinement and tracking

Integrating the email reporting into your management information systems is key. From better profiling in CRM systems for account management to closed loop ROI tools, understanding the real impact of your email marketing programme should be in the context of your entire marketing objectives.

Many international marketers are at different stages of using email marketing. Almost all are using it, but how they’re using it is in need of further thought. The international marketers’ journey into email marketing has only just begun.

More information about our email marketing broadcast services

Adestra provide welcome tactical advice and input on our clients email marketing program. For more information about how we can work together with you to improve your email marketing, please contact us and ask us about our email marketing services. Our web address is www.adestra.co.uk/email_marketing

Paul Crabtree is presently Marketing Director of Adestra (http://www.adestra.com), a UK based digital marketing agency that specialise in inbound and outbound email, fax and SMS broadcast solutions. Adestra's client portfolio includes many UK based publishers including Janes Information Group, Informa, Lexis Nexis, OUP, Blackwells and others.

Paul will draw on his 5 years of focused experience in working in online marketing for publishers.

Choose Your Email Marketing Software Wisely

2005-09-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

By Dejan Bizinger

Successful online business can’t be led without email marketing. Many people know that it is very important to have a web site but having a web site is only one step in creating successful online presence. You have to stay in touch with your clients and prospects. You need to have a two way communication with your clients and prospects and best way to do this is to have an email newsletter. To send emails to your customer you need the right email marketing software.

Choosing your email marketing software is one of the most important steps you have to take in e-business. What are those necessary steps in choosing email marketing software?

Free or fee-based

The first thing you will have to decide in choosing software for your email campaigns will be whether you want to use free or fee based software. Some people may say: “There is much free software on the Internet. Why would I pay for email marketing software?” This is because some people still don’t have a habit to buy things on the Internet, especially non-tangible items such are software and services. Many people still don’t realize the power of email marketing so they think that can be satisfied with a free service.

One of the most famous contemporary economists, a Nobel Prize winner Mr. Milton Friedman said that there is no such thing like free launch. And there is another statement that says “You get what you pay for”. I usually agree with these two statements. These have been proven on many examples, especially on the Internet.

You can choose to use free software for email marketing but you will be limited for some more advanced options. Some big portals offer free services for creating groups. This is OK, but in this case you will send your email messages without many important features like personalization, email tracking, sending SMS, using CSV files etc. I don’t have to mention that many “free” email marketing software providers will include their ads in your email newsletter. I guess that you don’t want that in your business email communication.

Some other free software like the free version of Group Mail will have limitation on the number of subscribers per one session. In this case you will be able to send your email newsletter to 100 subscribers at once and in paid version to unlimited number of subscribers and create unlimited number of lists.

It is recommended that you use fee-based email marketing software for your business email campaigns. However, you always have to look for a provider who offers a free trial, as well.

Important features

You have to check if your email service provider offers these several important features.

1) Personalization – personalization is one of the most important things that email marketing software has to provide. With good personalization you will have better open rates and click-thru rates. Some more advanced email marketing software like Group Mail paid version offers if-then personalization for users who want to get the maximum personalization.

2) Monitoring – email marketing is popular and useful because results can be measured very effectively. You have to ask your email service provider if their product offers ability for detailed reports for open rates, click-thru rates, deliverability…If their main product doesn’t offer that it is important that they offer additional service that can be easily integrated with their main product.

3) Scalability – one of the main features of modern software is scalability. At this moment you might need software that will be able to send 1,000 emails at once but in 3 years your membership base can be 5,000. Will your software be able to handle that?

4) Creating HTML newsletters – HTML newsletters have better response rates than email newsletters in plain-text format so this is also another thing you have to consider in choosing your email marketing software. Without sending your email newsletter in HTML you won’t be able to do email tracking.

5) Integration with existing applications and databases – your email marketing software has to offer you ability to import data from existing applications and databases like SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Access, FoxPro and Excel. Also, it is very useful that it can be integrated with popular email clients like MS Outlook.

6) International Character Support – Online businesses have to have a global focus so it is useful that email marketing software provides support for International Characters.

7) Plug-ins and updates – it is very important that the email service provider constantly works on creating useful plug-ins and updates in order to make your work easier and more effective.

8) Technical support –If you are an average Internet user without technical knowledge you will probably want to get support for your software. How good is your email service provider when it comes to technical support?

Desktop email software vs. Hosted ASP

Now when you know do you want free or fee-based software and what to look in your email marketing software you have to decide do you want to have desktop email marketing software or so called Hosted ASP. Both types have limitations and advantages. You have to choose the best option for you.

Desktop email software like Group Mail Plus, one of the leading desktop email marketing software, has several very big advantages. The most important is that details of your subscribers are kept private and secure on your own computer. Dot com crash is not so far behind us. Imagine that you have several thousand clients and use web based service from a company that will later go out of business. You can only imagine how that could affect your business and credibility! With Group Mail Plus you can manage an unlimited number of groups with unlimited number of recipients in each. You will have a larger initial investment than with Hosted ASP which charge a monthly fee, but you will a full control of your email campaigns and after some time of using your software you will repay it.

With Hosted ASP you will usually have a lower initial investment. You don’t have to buy hardware and software. However, price is usually determined by the number of emails you send so you will pay more how your membership base gets bigger so this option will be much more expensive than a desktop email marketing software option in the long run.

You can see that choosing the right email marketing software is very important. You have to bear in mind that the biggest investment is one that it is paid – twice. So, choose your email marketing software wisely.

Email Marketing Essentials

2005-08-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

By Kevin William Davies

Perhaps the most important component in turning visitors to your web site into customers is email marketing. Make no mistake. If you do not have an effective email marketing campaign you may be losing up to 95% of your potential customers.

Your web site should have a method of capturing email addresses such as an opt-in form. How do you get visitors to send you their email address? By giving them something of value in return. For example on my web site, kdaviesnz.com, I give away a short report about how a particular web site averages $27,000USD in revenue per month with only around 100 visitors a day.

When creating your email marketing campaign remember the most important thing is to build a relationship. Your goal may be to make a sale but people are more likely to buy from you if there is a relationship there. This is because you've given them a chance to know and create you.

Don't go for the sell right away. It usually takes at least seven emails before someone is ready to buy. Instead, take the time to build the relationship. If you go for the sell too soon you will lose your potential customer. Get your prospects a chance to like and trust you.

When writing each email always have the recipient in mind. Write the email as if you were sending it to just one person and imagine you are the person you are sending the email to. How would you feel when you read it? Would you think that it was just another email by someone trying to push a product? Or would you think "wow, there's some really useful stuff here"?

Here's a tip. After you write each email send it to yourself. That way you get to see the eamil from the recipient's point of view.

After you compose the email you need to make sure it gets delivered and not sent to the recipient's junk box. Fortunately there is Lyris's ContentChecker that will check your email for you. It's available at http://www.lyris.com/contentchecker.

Now for the email itself.

You must have a subject line that practically guarantees your email will be open. Afterall, if your email is not opened then you've wasted your time writing it. Emails that have a personal sounding subject line are more likely to opened than ones that sound commercial. Where possible use the word "this" and include elllipsis points at the end. Some good subject lines are:

"I just have to tell you this ..."

"Here's what you should know ..."

"I almost forgot ..."

Be sure that the subject line agrees with the sender. For example if you're selling a new exercise technique (eg the sender is something like "me@secretexercisetechnique.com") you wouldn't use a subject line such as "This is how to save big bucks on your mortage". You could however use something like "This is the secret ..."

The first few sentences of the email should be used to establish rapport. Let the recipient know something about yourself. For example you could write something like "Hi, how are you? It's been hectic here but things are finally starting to calm down." Imagine you were talking to a friend.

The rest of the email should be on just one topic and provide value. Use language that is pleasant, conversational, and familiar to your prospects. That way you build a rapport with them which leads to trust. Don't waste your prospect's time and avoid formal speak. It'll only turn your prospect off.

Finally, when your prospect is ready to act, tell your prospect what they should do - whether it's buying a product from you or subscribing to an ezine.

When someone reads an email you have sent them they are doing you a favour. They are trusting that you have not wasted their valuable time and that you have sent them something of value to them. Do not abuse that trust.

Find out how one web site averages over $27,000USD in revenue per month with only around 100 visitors a day. Visit kdaviesnz.com and download this essential *FREE* report today!

Why Are People Cheesed Off With the Internet?

2005-08-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

By Gary Simpson

Having been connected to the "net" now for about eight years I can't help but notice the amount of deception that goes on. And it seems to be getting worse. It has got to the point where almost everything you read has to be viewed with a healthy degree of suspicion.
The general consensus of opinion is that most people are pretty cheesed off with what they find out there in cyber space. Ask anybody. They will all tell you the same things.
Internet marketers have a lot to answer for but so too do ordinary people. It is so easy to hide behind a facade of words that promise the world but deliver nothing. We have all heard of "chat room love affairs" where both sides make statements that are far less than honest. When the two participants eventually meet "in person" both are disappointed. The suave lawyer who says he is always mistaken for Brad Pitt turns out to be a fat, unemployed bum and the Brittney Spears look alike proves to be fifty pounds heavier, middle aged and has half a dozen kids from failed relationships.
So why do people lie? Basically, because they can. It's easy to embellish the truth when the truth cannot readily be proved or disproved. The impersonality and virtual anonymity of the internet allows a multitude of sins.
People are now expecting to be lied to.
We now find all sorts of negative behaviour descending upon us from cyber space. These include:

Being bombarded with a never-ending stream of unsolicited and unwanted emails.

Daily attacks from nasty computer viruses sent by people we do not know.

Being offered all sorts of marketing plans that are nothing more than cheap scams.

Paying for goods or services that are expensive and under deliver on their promises.

False information and inaccurate information designed to deceive.

I have fallen victim to all of the above. I don't mind admitting that. Most people connected to the internet have.
To overcome these things we install all sorts of filters, virus scanners and firewalls, ignore all claims by marketers trying to sell their wares, are reluctant to use our credit cards and believe virtually nothing unless it can be substantiated across several unrelated sites.
The internet could be a marvelous resource. Unfortunately, like most other things, it has been hijacked by people with negative and deceptive outlooks on life. It could be vastly improved if everybody made a conscious effort to be more truthful. However, it is highly unlikely that this will ever occur, so the best advice I can give is to exercise care and caution every time you use your computer to access information, products or services from the world wide web. To do otherwise will be a costly experience that you could well do without.
Perhaps we should remember those immortal words: "Trick me once, shame on you. Trick me twice, shame on me."

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary's email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his
Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website

How to Develop the Email Marketing Mindset and Earn Thousands Every Month with Your Lists

2005-06-24T04:19:00.000-07:00

By Denise Ryder

Any business today, be it online or off needs a solid foundation, without one a business will topple.

Think of your business as a skyscraper, each level or floor is a different function within your business. Your skyscraper may contain a newsletter floor, an automated follow-up floor, a floor for free reports, an eCourse floor, a networking floor and so on. The height of your particular skyscraper (business) depends upon how many floors or functions operate within your business, each is important and one does not function without a strong foundation.

The "foundation" of all of these floors is based upon email marketing.

Think about it for a second. Your skyscraper did not start to build it's floors without first starting with email marketing and the building of a good, solid list. You certainly would not have a newsletter floor without a list. If you didn't have a list, then who would you send your newsletter to? No need for an automated follow-up floor, because if you didn't do email marketing, you didn't gather an email address from a prospect, therefore there is no need to follow-up.

Look at your "skyscraper" and you will notice that email marketing is its foundation and that ALL of your floors center around email marketing.

Ok, so we have determined that email marketing is the foundation of your business. We are referring to ebusiness here, however, in the "real world" you have lists as well, client lists, business cards you have collected of prospects, and of course have put them into a database, or "list." The point is, although we are focusing on eBusiness, the foundation is the same regardless if it is a business online or off, it just has a different label.

When we refer to foundation, typically we refer to a building and any architect will tell you the deeper the foundation, the taller the building. How tall the building is able to stand will is related to how deep the foundation is laid.

Your "skyscraper" (building) works on the same premise. You don't need just a list - you require a "deep" foundation of email marketing.

So, with that said, what do I mean by deep? Ah, ok, before you read further, grab that coffee, settle into your chair, read and learn, for once you have learned about the foundation of YOUR "skyscraper" there are no limits to how tall it will be. Ready??? Ok, let's get rolling.

Diversity - we mentioned floors, a newsletter floor, eCourse floor, and automatic follow up floor. Do we use our email marketing to build just one list and use that list for all our floors? No, we have lists and even sub-lists, lists being the operative word here meaning we have more than just one, we have many lists. When you buy stocks you don't put your money into just one, right? No, you diversify. you spread your money around. With email marketing we build and spread ourselves around and have more than one means of generating and building our lists.

Effective - having several lists is fantastic! But, (yes, have to hate those "buts") you have to know how to work them effectively to get the maximum advantage out of them. Quantity is great, but it doesn't mean "jack" if there is no quality. You need to know how to work those lists in order to turn a prospect into a customer.

Education - you can't just throw on the "Siberia Polyester Suit" and expect to hard sell your prospects or subscribers. You need to build trust and create a rapport with them. You do that by educating them. Give them something that will help them, give them good, quality content and valuable information that they can sink their teeth into. You are essentially building a relationship with them. In the 'real world" you get to know your customers because they come back to your store, time and time again, why? People will do business with people they know, like and trust, it is no different online. Give your prospects information they can use and you will create the trust, rapport and yes, they will buy from you.

Proactive - you have to think ahead, constantly and consistently think about ways to build your lists and to provide your prospects with good content. Keep putting that content out there in front of them so they can keep purchasing from you. If you develop a product of your own or use someone else's think ahead, ask yourself, now what can I do to make this more effective and deepen my foundation. Can you include something that would add value that builds upon the relationship you have with your prospect while at the same time adds to your lists? Think proactively and as they say "outside the box!"

Well now, you have a good working knowledge of what a "deep" foundation with respect to your skyscraper and that, that foundation is "email marketing." You understand that diversity is where it's at, the more out there building lists for you the better. Once you have these lists you need to be effective in how you work them and to do that you educate them. Give them something that they can sink their teeth into and use in their own business. Build that relationship with them, build the trust and rapport and they will buy from you again and again. Finally, you have learned to always think ahead and always ask yourself "how can I use this to build a list?"

There is nothing more important than building lists. Everything you do should be structured around adding more prospects - with their permission - to some sort of list you have going, be it your newsletter, your eCourse, a free eBook, whatever the case may be. your function as the Architect of your skyscraper is to build and keep building the foundation, through email marketing and YOUR lists.

How do you build lists and grow an even deeper foundation? Well, I already gave you a few ideas, build your lists through offering a newsletter, eCourse and Free Reports, the possibilities are only as limited as your imagination.

Need a little more help??

Then checkout Autopilot Income Streams - this eBook is one that I highly recommend and use on a consistent basis. It will help you develop eCourses - which can be turned into a Report or eBook and use as an effective viral marketing tool. Check it out http://www.profitspace.com/ais

Denise Ryder is a Marketing Coach writing from her home office in Northern Ontario (Canada). Imagine What You Could Accomplish With a Marketing Coach in Your Back Pocket! Take the No Cost TEST DRIVE!

http://www.profitspace.com/coach

Autoresponders - One Simple Trick That Will Improve Your Results

2005-06-22T22:02:00.000-07:00

By Hamish Hayward

Autoresponders, or responders, are simply programs that allow you to send out pre-written emails which have been pre-loaded into the responder. Prospective customers or recruits either input their email addresses into a signup form on a website or send a blank email to a trigger address. They are then entered into a database and receive your emails at the intervals you specify when you set up the responder.

This is an extremely powerful marketing techinque as it allows you to send repeated messages to people who have positively displayed their interest in whatever you're promoting.

Numerous studies have shown that the majority of consumers will not buy, or signup to something, at the first exposure. Prospects typically need to have somewhere between 5 and 12 exposures to the product or service before they feel comfortable enough to commit. The ideal number of follow up contacts is often said to be 7, but this will vary depending upon the individual consumer and the product on offer.

Since the recipient of your emails has given you permission to contact them, you won't be accused of "spamming". You may need to provide full contact details in your emails to be sure of this - it varies from country to country, but err on the side of caution. An added bonus is that you will have their email address in your database - or "list" - so that you can keep them updated with any new offers you may have in future.

Many internet marketers already appreciate the awesome power of automated follow up using an autoresponder loaded with well crafted sales messages. However, there is one enhancement that is often overlooked, even by relatively experienced marketers: The "Thank You" page. Used properly, this can boost your signup rate by as much as 20%, it can help promote your other programs, products and opportunities and it can even earn you some money.

It's easy to overlook this aspect of autoresponders. After all, you've probably spent a good deal of time crafting your email messages and loading them into the responder. It's only natural that when the last one is input you want to get the messages out to the big wide world ASAP - right? But take just a few minutes - and that really is all it needs - and you could benefit hugely.

First of all, whatever you do, don't use the Thank You page that your autoresponder company so kindly provides for you. Why do you think they provide this? Certainly, it is a service to their customers. Normally it gives a polite (if generic) thank you and contains a few reassurances about spam along with brief details of the opt-out procedure. However, when you look at it closely, it is a full page advert for the autoresponder provider isn't it? A full page advert which you have provided for them.

As an absolute minimum, if you can't be bothered to spend a few minutes to generate your own custom Thank you page, redirect your new signup to one of the other pages on your website, or to the home page of one of your other sites if you have more than one. However, it's much better to take the time and produce your own full page advert. Some of the items you might want to consider including are listed below:

A polite thank you (mandatory).
A brief statement that you only send emails with permission, that they may unsubscribe at any time and that you will never pass their contact details to a third party (also mandatory).
A link to another website that you own or promote.
An advert for another opportunity that you are involved in.
A "Tell A Friend" form or link.
Adverts from Google Adsense or some other source.

Items 1 & 2 are only common courtesy. Items 3 - 6 could give your performance a real boost. Remember, this is a page that your viewer will automatically click away from. They are "ready-to-click" so at least give them the option of making a click that will benefit you rather than just clicking on their "favourites" or home page buttons. Not all of them will click - but some of them will and you need every advantage you can get!

Hamish Hayward
http://www.selfstarters.co.uk/

Track Customer Response With an Autoresponder Service

2005-06-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

By J. Stephen Pope

Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the unlimited autoresponders that come free with your web hosting account to paying a monthly fee for an autoresponder service is tracking capability.

The autoresponders that come with your web host don't have built-in tracking capabilities. Tracking customer response with a paid autoresponder service can lead to more effective advertising campaigns.

Is anyone reading your newsletter? How many visits are you getting to your websites from your newsletter and autoresponders? Without the tracking capabilities of an autoresponder service, you'll never know.

However, with paid autoresponder services, you receive these essential tracking capabilities. You can track all the clicks made from your newsletters and autoresponders.

Sometimes, you can even run split tests to see which ads or offers appeal to your subscribers. For example, one half of your list could receive an offer at one price and the other half could receive a different price offer. You can measure the response as an aid in determining your product's price. You could run other split tests in order to make other marketing decisions.

So, by paying a modest monthly fee, you can have unlimited, autoresponders working hard at tracking responses for you. Yes, a paid autoresponder service can help increase profits by helping you determine the effectiveness of your communications.

RESOURCE BOX:

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For profitable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

To see how autoresponder services can improve your profits, visit http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/autoresponders.html