Monday, June 18, 2007

Email Marketing - The Next Level of Advertising

With the Internet being one of the most powerful and prevalent information tools available, you have probably been the recipient of targeted email marketing at some time or another. Or maybe you are a business owner looking to expand by utilizing a business email marketing strategy. Either way, the potential for business promotion and brand promotion can increase with the proper use of strategic Internet marketing solutions. It is the most cost-effective means of advertising products and services and a great way to improve customer outreach.

In the most basic definition, Email marketing is marketing through emails sent to a targeted demographic. This is not the same as spam emails, which are sent to a list of people whose email addresses have been purchased (and sometimes stolen) from another source. It is a direct and inexpensive way to increase your business, track sales and maintain contact with your client base and helps filter out those who are interested and those who are not. Such tracking will ultimately help ensure business analysis accuracy. It is also not something to be intimidated by. Chances are, you are probably already using email for personal correspondence on a regular basis. If so, then you are already quite capable of using an Internet marketing solution.

To start, you will need to start collecting your customers’ email addresses with their permission. This is called permission-based email marketing, and it is an absolute must for businesses using this email marketing campaign. Once your customers have accepted your request to send them information, then you can begin to send them emails. This is not an invasive form of advertising your business, as it is simply a way of building a good rapport with customers by offering them special deals in exchange for sending them information.

So what is the incentive for your customers if they agree to receive information from you? The specifics are up to you as a business owner to determine, but either way, it is a win-win situation for both you and your customers. They will receive information about promotions, special reports, discounts and so forth, while you can contact your potential customers directly instead of waiting for them to come to you. It benefits the customers because you are simply keeping them informed of the latest money-saving opportunities based on their specific needs, and it benefits you by offering them an incentive to utilize your products or services. Additionally, you will have a simple tool for tracking your sales. The key component to increasing sales through email marketing services is by converting visitors to your web site to customers. The percentage of people who visit your site compared to those who buy your products or services is known as a conversion rate. Consistent contact with your customers through the email marketing campaign may aid in increased sales over time.

However, there are a few aspects of email marketing that you should avoid. First of all, never share any of the customers’ information with outside sources. You must respect their privacy and not abuse the trust they put into you and your business when they first agreed to receive information from you. Also, keep the emails short and succinct, especially if you plan to email your customers on a regular basis. Abusing their time can result in loss of patience from your customers and potentially causing numerous customers to unsubscribe to your email campaign. Keep the messages clear and concise for better retention of information.

From a marketing perspective, many business owners will attest that it doesn’t get much easier or effective than permission-based email marketing. It is a low-cost way of promoting your business and services through a high-traffic media outlet: the Internet. What have you got to lose?

http://www.articles-hub.com/Article/126403.html