We all hate e-mail spam, right? I even have the
coolest software program that will help you combat
spam and actually bounces the spam e-mail straight
back to the user. (http://www.mailwasher.net)
However, one thing that we often fail to admit
(except in private) is the importance of permission
e-mail marketing, where the members of your mailing
list have given you permission to contact them,
or where they're past customers of yours. Obviously,
these e-mail lists are always opt-out, so if someone
chooses not to continue receiving information
from you, they can easily get removed from the
list.
Many of you know that I write monthly articles
for Planet Ocean Publications, which (in my opinion)
is one of the best sources for up-to-date information
in the search engine industry. Their monthly online
publication, Search Engine News, is second to
none, and if you don't subscribe to it, you're
missing out on tips and strategies that could
make an amazing difference in your search engine
optimization work. For those of you who aren't
familiar with Planet Ocean, here's their URL.
http://www.searchenginehelp.com
Stephen Mahaney is the editor of Planet Ocean,
and he's easily one of the top marketing guru's
on the Internet. I spent several hours on the
phone with him recently, and he told me that Time
Magazine wrote an article in their November 3
edition that dealt with the importance and impact
of permission e-mail marketing.
There are a couple of quotes straight from the
magazine:
"E-mail marketing is fast, effective and
dirt cheap -- a godsend for marketers in an economy
that has crunched advertising budgets."
". . . the humble medium of e-mail is blossoming
while flashier forms of Internet advertising are
going the way of the Pets.com sock puppet."
"Little wonder that old-line companies like
Ford and Procter & Gamble are joining early
users of targeted e-mail pitches like Amazon.com
and J. Crew."
Can we trust Time Magazine? I do believe we can!
They're a highly trusted magazine and have been
for years and years. Time is clearly going on
the record of saying that permission e-mail marketing
is one of the most valuable means of making sales
on the Internet, but only if done properly.
In the words of Stephen Mahaney, "If you
have yet to 'correctly' integrate 'permission
email marketing' into your online business plan,
then you risk being thwarted by your competitors
that do. It's just that plain and simple."
So, while spam e-mail should always remain locked
tightly in a closet (NEVER to be let out), permission
e-mail marketing is a crucial way for you to keep
in touch with your customers and those interested
in your products or services.
Let's look at five effective permission e-mail
marketing strategies, tips that many Webmasters
fail to do, and they ultimately lose business
because of it.
1. If someone writes for information on your
goods or services, save those e-mail addresses!
Remember that sales aren't always made the first
time someone hears of a service or product. One
trusted source told me that you have to hear about
a product, service, or company at least twenty
times before you begin to trust that company enough
to do business with them.
2. Set up an online form where people can sign
up with their names and e-mail addresses to receive
a copy of your monthly or quarterly newsletter
or updates to your site, or to ask you questions.
Have the information go straight into a database
that contains the e-mail addresses of everyone
who has written to you for information. Then,
create a newsletter that is not just a sales pitch
for your products and services. Offer valuable
tips to your potential customers. Give the newsletter
true value, and those potential customers will
begin to look forward to hearing from you. Then,
when it's time for them to purchase the types
of goods or services that you offer, who do you
think they'll go to? The company they can trust:
you!
3. Respond to your e-mail or to the questions
asked on the form within 24 hours, if not sooner.
When people go online looking for something, they
usually send e-mail out to 5-6 companies. If your
company is the first to respond, and if you've
taken the time to answer the questions professionally
and thoughtfully, you'll have a jump over those
other companies, many of which won't even answer
the e-mail at all.
4. Always provide a way to "opt-out"
of your e-mail list. Make it very clear how your
subscribers can choose not to receive the newsletter
or e-mail any longer, and then immediately unsubscribe
them when they write to you. Remember: having
permission to send the e-mail in the first place
by only adding those who have contacted you and
expressed an interest in your product, and giving
those people a way to get off your mailing list,
will differentiate you from the millions of e-mail
spammers that have given e-mail marketing such
a bad name.
5. Take time in creating your subject line for
your e-mail marketing campaign. Make sure it doesn't
sound "spammy" in any way. Including
your name or company name is a possibility, as
well as describing the focus of the e-mail. With
these new e-mail programs that combat spam, if
you use a subject line like, "We've got GREAT
news for you!" or "Hi, Friend!,"
you can expect the email to be deleted without
ever making it to your potential customer.
How can you learn effective permission e-mail
marketing strategies?
Stephen Mahaney attributes much of his online
success to effective permission e-mail marketing.
He's even gone so far as to write a course on
the subject, which I've personally reviewed. It
offers a step-by-step approach on how to create
an effective permission e-mail marketing list
and how to market to that list. The course even
comes packaged with a full version software program
for merging each message with the people on your
list so they'll each get a personalized e-mail.
So, with Time Magazine pushing the importance
of e-mail marketing to the forefront of marketing
online, here's information about Stephen's "Business
Guide to Permission Email Marketing" course
and software: http://www.email-solutions.com
How effective is permission e-mail marketing?
Traditionally,permission e-mail marketing campaigns
result in a significantly higher response rate
than traditional direct marketing or other forms
of online advertising, such as banner ads. According
to FindMoreBuyers.com, the response rate for a
typical permission e-mail marketing campaign is
4-12%, where as the response rate for a banner
ad is .5-1%. Quite a difference. http://findmorebuyers.com/page.cfm/205
According to Emarketer.com, DoubleClick projects
that e-mail marketing budgets will increase by
17.0% in 2002, which is nearly twice the rate
of other types of online marketing, which are
expected to gain 9.0%. TV, print and radio budgets
are all expected to decrease. Not only that, DoubleClick
reports that 61% of marketers plan to increase
their e-mail marketing budget in 2002.
Forrester Research estimates that the total spending
for e-mail marketing services in the United States
will reach $2 billion by the end of this year.
http://www.emarketer.com/products/report.php?email_mktg&PHPSESSID=f564eda06be98116905028b857b834c4
So, hit while the iron is hot, and permission
e-mail marketing is certainly "hot"
right now! Learn how to use it effectively, and
then watch those profits increase!
