E-Mail Marketing Can Be a Speedy…but Bumpy Road

Once upon a time, businesses wrote personalized sales letters to their existing and prospective clients. Today, our messages aren't limited to the written word on a piece of paper. We send those words through cyberspace to the e-mail boxes of hundreds, possibly thousands of our closest friends and business associates.

The business world has readily adopted e-mail marketing for two very good reasons. First, it is less expensive to e-mail large numbers of people than it is to send out physical letters with postage. Second, it reaches your customers and potential customers within nanoseconds rather than waiting a few days or a week. The faster your message reaches your target audience, the faster they can respond to whatever you have asked them to do.

E-mail marketing is used for much the same purpose as a conventional sales letter—to tell existing customers about a new product or service, to attract prospective customers, or to enhance customer relationships. However, because your marketing e-mail is being transported over the Internet superhighway at autobahn speeds, it also is subject to certain speed bumps along the way including:

• Subject lines that alert spam blockers. If you don’t want your subject line to sound like spam, avoid the following words: “free”, “pharmacy”, “guarantee” and of course, more obvious ones such as  “sex”. 
• Difficult to download images and attachments. According to Survey Sampling about 65% of decision makers view your e-mails on text only mobile devices. Send the text as part of the body of the e-mail and not as a separate document.
• Impersonal e-mails. Just like good old-fashioned letter writing, use an e-mail program that will insert the name of each client in the e-mail. In addition, make certain they can see who is sending it. Your clients are more likely to open it and it will differentiate it from spam. 
  

So far, it sounds like a great way to get the word out the about your business, right? It is, but be advised that the federal CAN SPAM law (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act), prohibits deceptive subject lines, requires an opt-out choice, and specifies that advertisements and solicitations be identified as such and include a physical address.

To guide you through this cyberspace adventure you may want to use an e-mail marketing service, such as i Contact, Constant Contact®, VerticalResponse® or A Weber Communications. Ask what type of opt-in service they offer. A single opt-in service means the subscriber signs up for your list. A confirmation is not sent out. In a double opt-in, the subscriber receives a confirmation e-mail with a link that must be clicked before their name is added to the e-mail list.

E-mail marketing has been a powerful tool for many types of businesses. The key is to use marketing professionals who can help you get the most out of your investment.

Next Month—Using Newsletters to Educate Your Customers

Robin Kellogg, owner of R. Kellogg Associates, provides companies of all sizes with text for their websites, brochures, sales letters and other marketing materials. She can be reached at 818-993-5468.