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How To Market Your Business With Email
By Brett Krkosska
Email marketing has become a favored method of reaching consumers
among U.S. businesses. In a survey by the Direct Marketing
Association, two-thirds of companies say their sales increased in
2001 because of email marketing, and sixty-three percent credit
email as the most effective way to retain customers.
This isn't so surprising given that email is the most popular
activity among Internet users. This popularity, coupled with
email's cost-effectiveness as a marketing vehicle, make it an
important customer acquisition and retention tool.
Before looking at the various ways you can use email marketing,
let's examine how to make your campaigns more effective. Like
other marketing methods, when using email you should pay
attention to some basic rules of engagement.
1. Target Your Message
Put your messages in front of people who are most likely to have
an interest in your product or service. Know who your product or
service will benefit and where these people can be found.
2. Offer Value
When people visit you by way of your promotions, create an
environment of value which puts your visitors in a buying mode.
That is... offer irresistible benefits, make it effortless for
people to see the benefits, create an urgency in people to get
the benefits from your product, and make it easy to buy the
benefits (your product or service).
3. Use Repetition
An integral part of successful marketing is your visibility in
front of potential buyers. Therefore, it's important to realize
the necessity of putting your message in front of people
repeatedly.
4. Track Your Marketing Results
Another important consideration is the performance of your
promotions. Tracking allows you to test your promotions and zero
in on things that work. Here some ways to evaluate the results
of your marketing efforts:
URL Tracking
One of the easiest ways to track responses to your promotions
is to code your URL. Simply add a special code at the end of your
link and then look at your log files to view clickthroughs. You
can use any code you like following the question mark. The coding
will look similar to this: http://www.yourdomain.com/?advert1
CGI Tracking
Using your CGI directory you can accomplish many tracking tasks.
CGI scripts run on your server, so you should be versed in their
installation or be prepared to pay for installation from the
supplier. You can use a free link counter script such as
LnkinLite at dtp-aus.com, or go with a more powerful program as
found at Adtrackz.com.
Tracking Services
If you prefer not to work with scripts, you can hire a third
party to track your campaigns from their server. These services
charge a monthly fee, but are well worth it in terms of helping
you pull the best results from your advertising. Check out
HyperTracker.com or ROIbot.com to see the versatility these
services offer.
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By targeting your market you bring in willing buyers. With an
attention to delivering value, you remove barriers that hinder
sales. Through repetition you're able to demand recognition, and
with performance tracking you are able to market with the
greatest impact. Now you can market with gusto! Here are six very
effective methods:
1. Start an Opt-In Mailing List
This is a favored method of many email marketers. Those who
opt-in to your list have already shown an interest and are ripe
to receive your messages. Provide useful and free information
people can really use, and at the same time offer services or
products which cater to their needs.
To collect email addresses you can use a free cgi script such as
the one offered at WorldWideMart.com. Another increasingly
popular email collection technique is the "one-click" script from
OptInAutoMator.com.
To send out your messages you can use programs that run on your
computer or you can use an online service and avoid all the
techie stuff. Programs such as GroupMail from Infacta.com and
WorldMerge by ColoradoSoft.com are both good choices for
personalizing and sending mail from your computer. Topica.com,
Dundee.net, and Sparklist.com provide reliable online
distribution service.
2. Offer an Email Course
There are a couple of ways this can work. The first is to offer
a free email course from your site. Using an autoresponder you
can deliver your material in small chunks over the period of a
week or two.
Alternately, you could offer a valuable freebie that requires
your visitor to leave their email address before claiming it. The
delivery of your e-course becomes a condition of claiming the
freebie.
You can introduce your products and services within the context
of the e-course, but it should be done in a subtle and casual
manner. Just make sure you are enhancing the information they
first sought.
Overall, the idea is to create a relationship with people, a
trusting bond built upon your expert status and ability to
deliver truly useful information. This credibility factor can
result in sales long after the course is over.
3. Self-Submit Ads to Ezines
You can save some money and place ads in your own hand-picked
ezines. There are literally thousands of ezines looking for
advertisers, and if you've got the time to browse directories
such as EzineAdAuction.com or EzineLocater.com, you're bound to
find many ezines that target your market.
Placing classifieds is very cost effective and if you choose
well, you can see fantastic results. A few other good ezine
directories are EzineHub.com, EzinesPlus.com, WebScoutLists.com,
and MarketersMarket.com.
4. Advertise in Email Newsletter Networks
These services let you advertise in newsletters within their
network. The amount of time you'll save is worthwhile in itself,
but the real value comes from being able to profile your ad for
specific target groups. Some reputable networks include
Opt-Influence.com, EzineAdHelper.com, PennMedia.com,
SodaMail.com, and ShagMail.com.
5. Rent-a-List
You can promote your business with a rented list. Reputable
companies providing this service maintain only the email
addresses of people who have agreed to receive commercial email.
Renting a list can be quite expensive since you'll pay as much as
25 cents per address, however you can get some great results with
a highly targeted list. Safe list sources include BulletMail.com,
HTMail.com, PostMasterDirect.com, and HipLists.com.
6. Write Articles and Get Published
Many ezine publishers and site developers are hungry for good
content. Getting published in just one high-profile ezine can
give you exposure in front of thousands of potential buyers.
Some prime spots to promote your articles are IdeaMarketers.com,
MakingProfit.com, and GoArticles.com. Joining a few article
announcement lists from Groups.Yahoo.com is also a great way to
get published. Some popular lists include Article_Announce,
Free-Content, and ArticlePublisher.
In conclusion, email is without a doubt a very potent marketing
tool. It should be an integral component of your marketing plan
if your goal is spectacular results. And what business doesn't
want that!
About the Author
Brett Krkosska provides 'how-to' advice on small business and
home-based work issues. Get start-up guidance, business ideas and
inspiration at: http://homebiztools.com Free ezine subscription:
mailto:enews@homebiztools.com
