Posts Tagged ‘e-mail marketing’
Snazz Up Your E-Marketing with E-Brochures
Thursday, March 13th, 2008
There’s a new marketing tactic businesses are using and finding great success with. E-brochures are exactly what you think they are, with the same format, information and purpose but there are a bundle of advantages to using the online version in addition to the live one you probably already utilize. Entrepreneur.com sums them up below:
Cost effectiveness– No more guessing numbers for your print run, then winding up with too few or too many brochures. The cost of an e-brochure is fixed, whether you send out one or one million of them. Fees are based on the number of pages and any extra "bells and whistles" like video or audio. What’s more, digital distribution means you omit postage costs.
Interactivity– This can greatly boost the overall impact of your message by engaging your audience. Viewers can turn the interactive pages, view video or listen to audio with a simple click of their mouse. Better yet, they can immediately place orders or request more information by clicking on embedded links.
Customization options– E-brochures let you to target your messages to specific audiences, increasing the likelihood they’ll buy from you. Such market segmentation is much harder with printed collateral.
Easy to update and edit– You can quickly and efficiently customize your message, target your market and adapt to changes in the marketplace without re-printing a single page. Nor do you need to reprint your brochure if your offerings or price points change. Updating your e-brochure "template" is a simple and affordable editing job.
Unlimited distribution– The ability to e-mail your brochure means you can immediately and affordably respond to requests for information from anyone at any time. In fact you can instantly send your brochure to prospects around the globe and create a viral effect–one potential customer can forward it to other potential customers, which in turn can forward it to more customers and so on, at no cost to you.
Access to additional information– Your audience can quickly browse through content, zoom in on items, and print pages, all from the convenience of their home or office. You can also include a homepage link for customers who want to learn more about your business.
Tracking –With traditional printed materials, it is extremely difficult to track your ROI. Not so with e-brochures. You can track how many times your e-brochure is downloaded as well as how many orders you received from its distribution.
Environmentally friendly– Obviously, no trees are involved in the creation of an e-brochure. You won’t need any storage boxes to house extra brochures, either.
Makes your company look smart and innovative– Having an e-brochure gives the distinct impression that you’re ahead of the curve and well-positioned for the future. Customers like to do business with savvy companies who literally think outside the box.
Those are a lot of good reasons to give e-brochures a shot 
Tags: e-brochures, e-mail marketing, entrepreneur.com, Marketing, Marketing Your Business, Rebecca Button
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Determining How Much Email Marketing is Too Much
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
As an online business owner, you have to market your site and let your customers and prospects know all about what you have to offer if you want to succeed. You probably have an area on your site for visitors to sign up for mailings and special deals, and you no doubt collect their email information when they order something from your site.
Whether you’re just starting to use email to market your business, or are considering expanding your email marketing efforts, here are some tips to help you determine how much you should be sending and how often.
How Much Email Is Too Much? How Will I Know?
While there no set rules about how much email to send, there are some guidelines that can be applied. There are also some key indicators from your customers and site’s visitors browsing and buying patterns you can glean. The real question you need to ask is, “how often would I want to be contacted if I was the customer/prospect”.
What Type of Message Are You Sending?
The types of email communication you are emailing will somewhat drive the frequency of email you are sending out. For example, it is perfectly acceptable to send out a newsletter once or twice per month to your regular customers and prospects. You certainly want to include anyone on the distribution list of your newsletter who has signed up for it, purchased something from you, or emailed you asking for more information.
If you are selling products and have updates on those products, that information is very valuable to people who have those products. Typically this type of communication is for customers only, not prospects; but you can give prospects the option to receive this type of communication as it may be useful to them. Product updates, service information, and recalls all fall under this category.
Company news and event announcements are a great way to communicate with your customer base and your prospects. While you don’t want to overdo this type of communication, every other month or quarterly is acceptable. Use this communication to highlight exciting happenings in your company, trade show invitations, or an invitation to an event you are hosting or participating in. Make the announcement informative and newsy, not just fluffy and sales-y.
Who Are You Sending the Email Message To?
One of the first rules we are taught in communicating, whether verbal or written, is to know your audience! For your existing customers you want your communications to add value and build your relationship with them. You don’t want to be a bother, but you want to let them know what’s happening with the product or service they buy from you as well as what’s going on with your company.
For prospects, you want to build your brand name and position yourself as their logical solution for purchasing the service or product you offer.
A Clear Sign You Are Sending Too Much Email
If you find that many people are not opening your emails or are opting out, your email frequency is probably too high. Rethink your communications strategy and review your distribution lists. Track your site usage reports and analytics and watch the browsing patterns.
If you find your sales are stagnant, you need to try a little more communication or perhaps some variation in the messaging and remember the key: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!
Tags: advice, E-Commerce and E-Business, e-mail marketing, email marketing, larry Slusser, Marketing Your Business, online marketing, tips
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Keeping Your E-Mail Campaigns Legal
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
As your inbox fills up each day with dozens (or even hundreds) of junk e-mails, it’s hard to believe that the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act went into effect back in 2004. The problem is that many of these SPAM offenders are clicking "Send" from outside of the United States, and therefore aren’t under U.S. jurisdiction. However, if your company is in the U.S., you’ll need to make sure that your next e-mail marketing campaign follows each of the anti-SPAM laws. Otherwise, you could be liable for damages up to $2,000,000 and/or up to five years imprisonment.
But, don’t worry; following the laws isn’t difficult - though you may need to tweak your existing email campaign format a bit. Here’s a list of what you can and can’t do in your next email campaign, under the CAN-SPAM Act:
What’s Allowed in Commercial E-mail Campaigns
* Sending e-mails to customers in order to complete a transaction.
* Answering e-mails that were sent to you.
* Sending e-mails to customers or individuals who have subscribed to your newsletter or have agreed to be notified of specials, new products, etc.
* Sending e-mails to customers about a product upgrade, update, warranty or recall that applies specifically to their purchase.
In addition, when sending out any of the above emails, the CAN-SPAM Act requires that ALL commercial e-mails sent must include 1) a "valid physical postal address of the sender." 2) a valid e-mail return address 3) your company name and 4) a link for readers to permanently opt-out or unsubscribe to future emails, newsletters, promotions, etc.
What’s Not Allowed in Commercial Email Campaigns
* Sending commercial e-mails where the subject heading of the message "would be likely to mislead a recipient, acting reasonably under the circumstances, about a material fact regarding the contents or subject matter of the message." In other words, using a false subject line with the intent of tricking the recipient to open the e-mail message.
* Having sexually explicit content in your email without 1) clearly identifying it in the subject line and 2) having consent from the intended recipient.
* Adding or sending commercial e-mails to people who are not subscribed to your newsletter or promotions list.
* Using an invalid return e-mail address.
* Using false information in the From or To headers.
* Using scripts or automated ways of collecting email addresses for your email marketing campaign.
* Generating e-mail lists using a "dictionary attack" - combining names, letters, or numbers to form individual e-mail addresses. For example: a@hotmail.com, b@hotmail.com, c@hotmail.com, etc.
Remember, the penalties are steep for not following every aspect of the CAN-SPAM Act. For more information about the CAN-SPAM act, you can visit the FTC’s website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam.shtm .
Tags: advice, CAN-SPAM, Carrie Hinkel, E-Commerce and E-Business, e-mail marketing, legal e-mail marketing, Marketing, Marketing Your Business, online marketing, tips
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