Good Email Advertising

By Lance D.R. Brown

I thought it might be good to talk about a few of my likes and dislikes about email advertising. I have picked up a few good pointers over the years. Even though a lot of these may be known or said before they are worth repeating.

After all the whole idea is get people to read your emails( not DELETE) in the hope that they will sign up or buy whatever you are promoting.

1) One of the first things you are going to want to do is make sure you don't go across in your email more than 65 characters a line. There are 2 reasons for this and the first is what is known as "eye fatigue".What this means is if the person reading has to go across too far to the right the reader loses interest. The second reason is some email clients have what is called line wrapping which means your message will come out all garbled if it is over 65 characters.

2) Next thing is avoid using all capitals.When a person uses all capitals on the internet it is considered shouting and nobody likes shouting all the time. Gilbert Godfrey shouts all the time and at first it is funny but then you come to expect it and eventually he's not funny anymore.So be creative. The odd CAPITALIZED word can add variety however, and can make a product or benefit stand out in your email.

3) The next thing after that is one of my personal pet peeves.
I can't stand emails that are full of bad grammar.Bad spelling doesn't hurt your professional image it flat out DESTROYS it. It makes me think the guy on the other end can't be bothered to proof read his emails which in my mind makes him a bit of a retarded chimp.

4) Another pertinent practice you are going to want to do on a regular basis is put your link to your site in your email no less than 3 times. You know the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words". Chances are your website has all the interesting pictures or videos you'll need to capture your prospect's interest so make that the goal. Space them out evenly through your email and make sure they work by sending yourself one of your emails. Then CLICK on it to see if it works.I can't tell you how many people have sent me links that don't work.

5) For goodness sake don't be long winded.A little info..then your link..a little more info..then your link..well you get it.What I want to know is who are these people who babble on and on.yama yama.. yama.. bla.. bla..little do they know is I went to the kitchen to get a fork so I can stab MYSELF in the EYE rather than read anymore.Short and sweet or KISS(keep it simple stupid) is the KEY.

6) Sometimes we are tempted to use uncommon fonts or really loud colors in an attempt to dress up our email. I must confess I used to do this just because I liked the all the fun tools, colors, and smiley's in my email arsenal. All it did was make me look gimmicky and silly along with my program. Remember you are trying to build trust and integrity on the net.Using Ariel, Times New Roman, or Courier as a font style is professional looking enough.

7) When it comes to your subject line this is where you want to grab them. If you follow the rich jerk's advice he recommends you can even say something shocking like "YOUR UGLY" or "HEY STUPID" however, one must be careful here. Trial and error here with one's own personality will make you look unique (as compared to all those other emails)and will get people opening your emails. I do confess that I have clicked on "HEY UGLY" just out of curiosity. I don't know if I want to be in business with someone that obnoxious though.I guess it depends on whether you are building long term relationships or just looking for the fast sale.

8) You may want to tell the odd clean joke in your emails.Especially if you are loading then into an auto responder. You'll find people will look forward to your emails just because they can get a chuckle out of them.

So there you are. Hope you found this article on email advertising useful.

Home Business Success Tips http://ezmakedollars.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_D.R._Brown

Personalized Email Marketing Campaigns: Pros and Cons

By Caroline Mackenzie

Like me, you probably receive many personalized email marketing messages addressed to you by name. Messages like, “Caroline, Discounts on Spring Flights.” While there are good reasons why businesses personalize email marketing campaigns, there are hazards too.

This article looks at the pros and cons of personalized email marketing, to help you decide if personalization will help or hinder the success of your own email marketing campaigns.

As with all marketing options, this should ultimately depend on whether or not personalized email marketing is right for your particular customers and your particular campaigns.

Higher response rates

Personalized emails receive higher “open” and “click-through” rates. That is, people are not only more likely to open the email, they are also more likely to clink links in the message.

For instance, MailerMailer’s latest statistics (based on 200 million permission-based messages) show that personalized emails (subject line and message) received 47% higher open rates and 90% higher click through rates than emails that were not personalized at all.

Personalized email gets noticed

Getting noticed in the inbox is important, but it’s not necessary to stand out like a sore thumb. Anything that achieves this is likely to get your email deleted as spam. Personalization is a safe, subtle and effective way to draw attention to your email.

Personalization indicates permission to send

Personalization is a simple way to indicate that your email is sent with permission – that it is not spam. Recipients may not remember giving this permission – joining your list – but the presence of their name in the email suggests that at some time they did.

Personalized emails are valued

People don’t sign up for any old information by email. They request information that they expect to find of value and interest. So, when it is clear - because it is personalized - that an email is sent with permission and by request, the natural assumption is that it contains information of value and interest. In this way, personalized emails are not only less likely to be deleted, but more likely to be read.

Personalized emails help build relationships

Marketing aims to build relationships that lead to sales, today or at some time in the future. Personalized emails make a more personal connection by addressing customers one-to-one, as individuals rather than anonymous prospects.

Not everyone likes the personal touch

Not everyone likes the “best pals” approach from strangers. Names are very personal, known only by people that have some kind of relationship with us. Personalization backfires when marketers don’t respect this and overstep the mark with overly-familiar emails. To avoid this, experienced email marketers limit personalization to just a few points in the email.

Personalized email is not always appropriate

Personalization can add a light, friendly and casual air to emails, but it’s not always appropriate. For instance, consumers of highly-personal products and services may value anonymity and find Subject lines like, “Suzie, Clear Acne Forever,” or, “Bob, No More Hemorrhoids” altogether too personal.

So, think carefully about the distance, or level of intimacy that your customers are comfortable with before opting for personalized email.

Bloopers abound

Personalizing email campaigns can be a tricky business. Get it wrong and you can end up with some real bloopers. Get it right, and you can also end up with bloopers. Email lists are not neat and tidy collections of first and last names. They are a hodgepodge of real names, nicknames, usernames, misspelled names and blanks.

It may flag your email as junk

Most people use a variety of names online, including bogus names designed to help them flag unwanted mail in their inbox. This is because it’s often necessary to join an email list to get access to information – to the rest of an interesting article, to certain website pages, and so on.

As a result, legitimate emails lists have their fair share of bogus names. When you personalize your email campaign – including these names in the Subject line – you run the risk that your email will be flagged as junk, and deleted.

Personalized email is not guaranteed to succeed

As you can see, personalization may enhance the success of your email campaigns, or do more harm than good. Either way, it is not a magic wand. The success of an email campaigns depends on a variety of factors, such as targeting and relevance, without which a campaign is doomed to failure, personalized email or not.

Copyright 2007 Caroline Mackenzie

Caroline Mackenzie is a successful marketing expert, online and off. Her articles focus on small and home businesses, providing practical advice and ideas for success. She is also co-owner of LucentData.com, a source of free and low-cost tools for online business owners. You can visit her site at http://www.lucentdata.com

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Permission-Based Email Marketing Tips

By Mark A. Abrahams

Generally speaking you should earn one dollar for each opt- in subscriber. So say for example out of 100 subscriber's one out of ten people purchase ten dollars product which equals a hundred dollars. This depends on your sales letters, related product offers and how you build your relationship with your subscribers. Follow the tips here and build a good permission-based email list.

Usually the visitor will not buy the very first time. They need to see your message at least 7 times to make a decision. Very few people will purchase the first time. Consequently you need to create a sales funnel with lots of prospects.

A very good lead generation page will put a prospect into a funnel. Use good sales copy and you can offer a free report or subscription to a newsletter that offers valuable information. You can take a good look at the lead generation page offered at http://www.secretaffiliatetips.com as this serves as a good example.

Any serious marketer needs an auto responder to capture their visitor's email addresses. Only use double opt-in addresses. This means that they need need to confirm their subscription to the list. You also need to ensure that you conform to the Can Spam act and list removal instructions and your contact details i.e. postal address etc... at the bottom. You need to target your offers and newsletters according to the niche. Use unrelated offers and information and you may get subscriber removals. Basically you need to build a relationship with your list. Offer good advice and only sell and recommend quality products. If you violate your user's trust you lose credibility and it will become difficult to make a sale to them.

You should earn at least one dollar for every subscriber. If not then you need to look at how you build your relationships with your subscribers and what products you promote.

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Small Business Success with Email Marketing

By Alison Lindemann

Whether you are involved with a small or large business it is undeniable that marketing techniques are changing everyday. In order to continue to be competitive in business it is essential to evolve your marketing strategy to fit the needs of the current customer. Those businesses that are not in tune with this fact will soon miss out; something that small business owners can not afford.

The age of the telemarketer calling in the middle of dinner is luckily being phased out and replaced by email marketing campaigns. Small businesses are especially benefiting from email marketing because it is essentially leveling the playing field with competing larger companies. Sure mass media advertising still has its benefits, but many small business owners either can not afford such marketing tactics, or prefer email marketing because their results can be measured. This fact is key for a small business owner because they can be certain that their marketing budget is being used effectively. In fact some research has shown that email marketing has the most profitable return when compared to search engine marketing and direct mail. Email marketing can alert customers of specials and new products, as well as help build community.

Knowing your audience is the key ingredient that will either make or break an email marketing campaign. You must understand the demands of your target audience in order to capitalize on your efforts. Luckily for you the majority of those on your email list are existing customers. It takes much more energy to convince a new customer to trust you, whereas someone who has previously bought from you is likely to buy again. A common mistake that is made by email marketers is that they try to reach too broad of an audience. The more specific your campaign is the greater your click through rate will be. Remember you must address what your customer's needs and wants are instead of what you want to tell them. The best way to determine a visitor's needs is to ask them on the email sign up page.

But what good is effectively targeted content if the email is never opened? This fact is true and demonstrates the importance of the email's subject line. A look at the percentage of emails opened will give you an idea of the effectiveness of your subject in the email. This line is essentially the first impression you will make yet so often subject lines are so uninspiring and emails end up getting deleted. The best subject lines will include your brand's name and create interest in the enclosed content with some sort of catchy saying. Make sure the subject is not too long either; it is amazing how quickly readers lose interest. This line should also let the potential customer what you have to offer them and why they should spend a bit of time and open the email.

Once you have convinced your reader to actually open the email, your content must do the rest of the work. It is essential that the content speaks directly to the reader and addresses their needs. I often find myself reading emails thinking, "What's in it for me?" This question needs to continually be addressed to assure the customer that what they are reading is worth their time.

It is easy to want to put loads of information into an email, but don't expect anyone to actually read it all. The best email campaigns are short and to the point. By keeping it short the reader is more inclined to quickly read what you have to say instead of losing interest and hitting delete. If you truly have a lot of information to send out, then just offer a quick overview and some key points with links back to the full version on your website.

Before wrapping up your email give the reader a call to action. You should have a specific goal that your email marketing campaign is trying to accomplish. Most often you will want the reader to do something; include this opportunity before ending the email. Most of your email list have either already made a purchase before or have shown interest in your product. The mere fact that they have shown interest makes it more likely that they will take a look at what you have to offer. If you can keep the email interesting they are bound to continue their business with you, making your email marketing campaign highly successful.

Alison Lindemann is an Internet business consultant with WSI, a leading firm for helping businesses succeed online. As the owner of her local franchise, she provides services of Santa Clarita search engine optimization, web design, email marketing, ecommerce, and more for Santa Clarita Valley and Los Angeles based businesses.

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Email Marketing – How to Write a Responsive Email

By Sean Ray

There are many forms of marketing yourself and/or your business. Email marketing is one of those ways. However, with any marketing strategy there are correct and incorrect ways of performing them. Writing a responsive email is one correct way of email marketing. Let us look at how exactly to write a responsive email.

First, decide what the email is going to be in response to. For example: if providing an email confirmation for an order recently placed the email will need to have the order or confirmation number, the person’s name, shipping address, and billing address enclosed. Furthermore it should have an estimated shipping date to follow. This will serve as a receipt for the customer.

If answering an ad for something, the email should contain wordage including “thank you for your interest in…., we will be responding to you within….. If you have any questions please contact by. These simple, yet courteous procedures will provide the reader with your genuine respect and consideration.

Follow up with your responsible emails. If possible ensure that the person’s name is used in the header. Always include prompt responses and ways for the reader to contact you/someone if they have questions or concerns. If responding to the responsive email is not the correct way to reach you/someone, provide the adequate means of alternative forms of contact. This provides the reader with an understanding that they are indeed important to you and the business or service you provide.

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