The
Top Five Questions and Answers about Responsible
Email Marketing
By Mike Adams
Summary
I know this guide has been rather short, but
I wanted to communicate the idea that these issues
are really not that complicated. The answers
to these five questions are really quite simple,
and it's not rocket science. Let's review the
five questions and answers right here in short
form to give you an at-a-glance format for the
answers you need to make good, informed decisions
about email marketing.
How do I make sure I don't break the law?
It's simple: respect your customer. Respect
your subscriber. Don't do anything that spammers
would do.
How I build an email list in the first place?
It's easy: ask for permission at every point
of contact with your customer. If you don't have
the technology or budget to add a subscribe form
to your web page, check out my own tool at www.zeop.com.
How much email should I send to subscribers?
Send exactly what you told them you would send, no more and no less.
What is the impact of the do not email list?
The impact is currently nothing. If the list idea is passed and implemented,
it will be revoked after the public and the lawmakers realize the idea
has no merit whatsoever and does nothing to stop spammers.
How do I make sure my emails get opened?
It's straightforward: use your correct company name or your own name
as the “from” address, and use it consistently. Make sure
it's a name that people recognize and remember subscribing to.
Email marketing is not mysterious, not complex,
and not difficult at all… it's something
that literally thousands of companies do successfully
each and every day in order to generate revenues,
build trust and rapport with their customer base,
and increase their positive word-of-mouth reputation.
People from both marketing and technical backgrounds
can easily master the fundamentals of email marketing,
and use it to grow their business, enhance their
reputations, and accomplish virtually any organizational
goal that involves communicating with customers,
members, prospects or readers.
I've
been in the email
marketing business since 1993, and have seen
it move through distinct phases, and yet I've
never seen so much fear and hesitation as I see
today, even following the passage of the federal
Can-Spam legislation. But the bottom line, as
I hope I’ve communicated here, is that the
federal legislation passed is intended to only
deal with hard-core spammers, and unless you're
sending out tens of millions of emails a day,
to every email address the you can find or buy,
and trying to hide your identity from the authorities,
you're probably not a spammer and you're not going
to be targeted by the new laws.
Do your part to respect the customer:
engage in permission email marketing only. Earn
the respect of your customers by asking questions,
so that you can gain a better and deeper understanding
of their needs interests and desires. In doing
so, you will not only gain the reward of increased
business and loyalty from your customers, you
will also help show others how to do email market
the right way: spam-free.
I wish you the best with this information and
I welcome your feedback. My name is Mike Adams,
and I’m the president of Arial Software.
My aim is to educate people about the benefits
of permission email marketing so that they may
use technologies such as those offered by my
own company and others to enhance their customer
touchpoints and relationships.
|
