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Email marketing can be profitable for any business, no matter what kind of product or service you are selling. It is significantly cheaper than other advertising methods and it helps build credibility with your subscribers. As a result, you can generate more sales and profits.

The foundation for successful email marketing is a targeted, responsive and permission-based email list. If you have a list of subscribers that trust you and consider you an expert, you’ve completed the first step and are on your way!

Below you will several list-building ideas that will help you make the most of your email marketing efforts:

Provide useful, relevant and unique content. Your visitors will not give you their email addresses just because they can subscribe to your newsletter free of charge. You have to provide unique and valuable information that will be useful to your subscribers.

Add a subscription form to every page of your website. Make sure it stands out so it is easy to find. If appropriate, you can also include it in more than one place. For instance, your opt-in form might always appear in the top-left corner of your site, while you also include an opt-in at the bottom of some of your popular articles.

Make it easy for your reader to sign up. The more information you request, the fewer people will opt-in. In most cases, a name and an email address should suffice. If it’s not necessary, don’t include it here. (Note: If you don’t have a Privacy Policy, put the words “privacy policy generator” into a search engine and you should be able to find a suitable form for your readers to review.

Publish a Privacy Policy. Let your readers know that they can be confident you will not share their information with others. The easiest way to do this is to set up a Privacy Policy web page and provide the link to it below your opt-in form.

Show your first issue or other sample to your visitors. This lets potential subscribers review your newsletter before they sign up to determine if it is something they’d be interested in.

Archive past newsletter issues. A “library” of past newsletters is both appealing and useful to visitors and builds your credibility as an authority. In addition, if your articles are written with good SEO techniques in mind, they can send additional traffic to your web site through good search engine positioning.

Contact other newsletter publishers. Introduce yourself and explore ways you may be able to help each other. Perhaps you can introduce other publisher’s newsletters or print articles they have written to your list, with a link to sign up. When you contact them, be sure to tell them why you think THEIR readers would like what you have to offer and why YOUR readers would benefit from their newsletters. This is a win-win scenario; both of you will build your lists faster!

Give away bonuses subscribers can use. Create an opt-in bonus for joining your subscriber list. You can write an ebook or PDF report, or even hire a programmer to create downloadable or web-based software. But don’t limit yourself to only a gift for new opt-ins. Remind your readers that the next bonus is coming soon. People hate to miss out on things. If you systematically pass on “goodies” throughout the year, your subscribers are unlikely to leave.

Ask your subscribers to pass it on. Word of mouth is a powerful viral technique that works great with email marketing. If your subscribers find the content you share with them to be informative, they will pass your newsletter on to their friends. This can be a good source of new subscribers.

Let others reprint your newsletter as long as the content is not modified. Many webmasters and newsletter publishers are actively looking for high-quality content and, if they reprint your newsletter, you will get new subscribers, traffic and links pointing to your site.

Include a “Sign Up” button in the newsletter. If you are using plain text instead of HTML, provide a text link to your subscription page. You may feel that this is not required because the subscriber is already on your list, but remember that readers will forward your newsletters to others, or reprint it online. You want to make it easy for them to subscribe.

Add a squeeze page. A squeeze page has one goal ? to get an opt-in and build your list. Think of it like a mini-sales letter for your subscription or opt-in bonus. It features a powerful headline and a couple of very important benefits that should make subscribers salivate to sign up to your list. Once created, use a service such as WordTracker to find hundreds of targeted keywords, and advertise there using pay-per-click advertising from Google, MSN and Yahoo.

Include testimonials on your squeeze page. This is crucial. Put 1 or 2 strong testimonials from satisfied subscribers on your squeeze page. This can be in any format, but you may find that multimedia (audio or video social proof) is more “believable”. To increase that believability, include full names, locations and/or urls; don’t use “Bob K, FL” as a testimonial name.

Blog religiously. Blogging is a great way to communicate with your potential customers, and it creates a nice synergy with your email marketing. Be sure to include your newsletter sign-up form on each page of your blog. You can start a free blog at Blogger or Wordpress.

Post on other blogs. Post great comments and information on similar blogs with a link to your squeeze or opt-in page. Also comment on others’ blogs through trackbacks. In most cases, your comments will be posted on their blogs with a link back to your site. This is an easy way to generate new traffic and subscribers.

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So you’ve just finished proofreading your brilliant promotional email — it’s got an irresistible subject line and an offer no one in their right mind could refuse… Now look at it in the preview pane. A whole lot of your readers will!A preview pane allows recipients to view the top two to four inches of your e-mail without actually opening it. Statistics from MarketingSherpa show that 26.6% of consumers read emails that way. And 69% of people reading email at work do so with the preview pane turned on.Nearly half (49%) read only the first few lines in the preview pane to decide if they want to continue reading the message. And an impatient 19% immediately delete messages if insufficient information is displayed.So if you don’t grab people’s attention in the top couple of inches of your email, your message could be lost.Here are five tips you can follow to make sure that you make the most of that critical top two to four inches of every e-mail you send:

People are busy and impatient, and the delete button is right there waiting. So don’t tempt them! Take your message to the top of your email where it will be seen and read.

To your success

Gary Neame

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Well, don’t congratulate yourself just yet…NOW you have to deal with the toughest spam filter of all — your customer!With floods of email arriving every HOUR, most people are ruthless about deleting anything they even suspect won’t interest them. Not only that, they’re almost as likely to report unwanted emails as spam as they are to delete them.

Here are the top three reasons someone will open an email you sent, according to a DoubleClick survey:

Email is one of your most potent sales generators — but only if your emails are getting opened. It’s worth your time to build your credibility by offering lots of value in your regular emails, and study your market to understand their wants and needs.Then, when you send out that promotional email, you know it’s something they’ll open with no hesitation.

To your success,

Gary Neame

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As the economy continues along its unsteady path, many small business owners have been asking me what they can do to keep their businesses financially healthy over the coming months.Lots of people are wondering if they should be investing in fancy new site designs, or boosting their pay-per-click budgets, or hiring high-priced SEO experts to help them get better rankings.Now, while I’m obviously not against spending more money on these sorts of things…… I recommend you start by leveraging the tools you already have, and make sure you’re using them as efficiently and effectively as possible.Take your email marketing, for instance.Ensuring you have a smooth-running and reliable email marketing program is one of the surest ways to keep your business humming, without having to invest a lot of money!I mean, think about it: what’s the BEST way to keep your sales and profits up during a slow economy?Build solid relationships with your existing customers, so they keep coming back for more.And what’s the ideal way to build those relationships?Yep, you guessed it…When you stay in touch with your regular customers — and email them valuable information — they’ll quickly view you as a credible resource, an expert in your field, and most important, someone who’s watching out for their best interests. And they’ll reward you with their loyalty (and continued purchases)!Unfortunately, many business owners take their email marketing for granted, and pay little attention to it beyond what their next promotion will be…… and meanwhile, the number of emails that actually make it to their customers’ inboxes gets lower each week! That’s because legitimate permission-based email can often be mistakenly identified as “spam,” and sent straight to customers’ spam, folders… if it gets delivered at all.It kind of defeats the purpose of using email for customer retention if none of your customers are getting the emails, right?Fortunately, it’s EASY to enjoy a high rate of deliverability with your email, if you understand a few basic spam rules. So to make sure as much of your email is getting to your customers as possible, here are the TOP TEN things you MUST do to avoid having your email mistakenly labeled as spam…Rule #1: Keep ACCURATE records of EACH person who subscribesHaving detailed records is just good business practice, but in the case of your opt-ins, it’s critical.So make sure you keep track of the date, time, referring IP address, and referring web page for EACH person who signs up, along with their first name, last name, and email address.You can quickly and easily prove that you’re definitely NOT a spammer if you have details to back yourself up. Rule #2: Track requests to opt out, and remove these people PRONTO!Once again, good record-keeping is the way to go. The CAN-SPAM act requires that you remove people who ask to opt out within 10 days of their request.But why not play it safe? It’s a good idea to implement your remove requests every couple of days, as well as before you do a new mailing. Rule #3: Post your privacy policy on your website Make sure you let people know that you will NEVER sell or trade their names and email addresses when they opt-in, and make sure you STICK to that!There’s a second benefit to posting your privacy policy clearly: you’ll actually get MORE opt ins, because people will feel more comfortable sharing their information with you.A clearly spelled-out privacy policy somewhere in your site, along with a direct link to it from your opt-in form, will go a long way in building credibility with your customers. If you’re unsure of how to write a privacy policy, I recommend you visit this site, where you can have one generated for you, automatically.Rule #4: Make sure you’re using reputable service providers If you’re thinking of hiring a third party to manage your email for you, or rent email lists from, make sure you investigate them thoroughly before you sign on the dotted line.When it comes to the Internet, your reputation is only as good as the people who manage your email promotions for you, and you DON’T want to be hurt by someone else’s bad behavior.Rule #5: Use rental lists with care Thinking of renting an email list for a promotion? Make sure you take the time to review the form that was used to collect those names and email addresses.Not only will you be able to tell if the people on the list have given their permission to the list broker to sell or rent their information, you should also be able to tell if the people on the list will be interested in your offer. Rule #6: Use a REAL return email address with room to store bounce-backs and opt-outs While every email you send should have an “unsubscribe” link it in (more about that in a minute), you also need to honor any unsubscribe requests that people send to your regular email address. So make sure it’s possible for people on your list to reach you through regular email, and also make sure you’ve got room in your inbox to receive the messages. There’s nothing worse than an unsubscribe request that can’t be delivered!And while it may be tempting to respond to the occasional angry unsubscribe email you may get from a disgruntled subscriber, your best course of action is simply to delete them promptly.Rule #7: Provide easy instructions for how to unsubscribeEVERY email you send out MUST contain clear, simple instructions that tell people how to unsubscribe if they no longer wish to receive email from you… as well as a link they can click to unsubscribe automatically.This is NOT negotiable. Any email sent out without unsubscribe information is officially spam!Rule #8: Provide your valid physical address Each email you send out must contain your physical address. Consider creating an email template with your contact information in the footer, and then use this template for each email you write. You’ll eliminate the possibility of accidentally sending out mail without this important detail. Rule #9: Use a consistent “from” address The “from” line in your email must be valid and accurate — the name of your business, for instance, or your own name (provided your name is well enough linked to your business that your customers will recognize it).Your email address should also be clear enough for your customers to recognize. Some web-based email doesn’t show the “from” line, so there needs to be another way for your customers to recognize you.Rule #10: Use an authentic, non-misleading subject lineNobody likes to be fooled or tricked, and deception is the WRONG way to earn your customers’ trust and respect, so make sure your subject line is related to your actual messages. So if your subject line says Janet, three ways to save money, you need to make sure you actually are talking about that in your email, and preferably within the first few paragraphs. Otherwise, your visitors will feel cheated, and that will hurt your credibility. Email marketing is inexpensive, easily trackable, and extremely effective. And the reason it’s so effective is that you send it to a highly targeted, selected group of people; your customers and subscribers who have a relationship with you and WANT to hear from you.But even your legitimate mail can be snagged in the web of anti-spam measures… If you follow these 10 simple rules, you’ll have the best chance of getting your email delivered. Keep your opt-in list clean, and your email promotions should be recognized for what they are… responsible opt-in email promotions, not spam.And that’s the BEST way to continue to earn profits during the current economic downturn, without having to invest one additional penny! To your success,

Gary Neame

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Widely considered the most efficient form of communicating with prospective customers, email marketing campaigns are increasing in popularity and therefore advancing accordingly. It is estimated that half of all internet users – circumstances permitting – check their emails on a daily basis. Research shows that the UK consumers are among the most likely to purchase services or goods online. Countries such as Germany and Japan are others that are making the most of online deals and are increasingly shopping on the internet. The current economic situation means that many businesses are being encouraged to be more pro-active when it comes to marketing and sales. It goes without saying that direct marketing is more affordable and often more efficient than other promotional tools. Email marketing is possibly the best example of this; huge numbers of potential customers can be contacted quickly and easily. With the correct facilities it is also much easier for businesses to study responses from prospective customers through open and click rates. With all these advantages large numbers of companies are following expert advice and utilising email marketing. But in order to achieve optimum results the emails need to be of a high quality standard and sent to an appropriate audience for the product/service/company being promoted.Recently increasing diversity in the content and format of marketing emails has arisen due to the need for individual emails to stand out- in what could potentially be an inbox crowded with others. This has meant static emails are often being rejected in favour of audio or even video versions. Audio adverts can sometimes play automatically once the email is opened. This creates a strong impression on prospective customers, it is different to the advertisements that they are used to receiving. It also gives an idea that a company has put more effort into their campaign and made it more user friendly. Statistics show that people are often put off marketing emails when they have to use quite a lot of time and effort accessing different links and reading more than necessary. Having an email sent that announces its purpose with so little user time and activity is certainly seen to be considerate and up to date. Video emails are less straightforward at this moment in time due to the fact they often rely on links to external sources or have a large download size. This may mean they require more time or effort from a recipient to be used effectively. These problems are often rectifiable by the use of technology that can reduce download sizes. It is also worth mentioning at this point that, generally speaking, a consumer’s standard of software and access to increased bandwidth is improving. This means that this form of marketing email has the potential to gain more and more popularity in the future. On another note, consumers find videos more interesting than static emails. Encouraging research has shown that measured response rates (opens and clicks) can sometimes be up to ten times higher than for static emails. They also promote viral email marketing quite well. This can lead to a much wider consumer base just through items of interest being forwarded by recipients. With online sales continuing to rise, it is essential that companies are using all the means they can to promote services and products online. Email marketing is a fundamental part of this. Whether static or other emails are used, it is vital that any promotional information sent is of exceptional quality and is user friendly. To explore our range of Email Marketing services, please visit our website at http://www.emailcenteruk.com/

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Bulk Email marketing is proving to be just the means for smart businesses looking for innovative guerilla strategies to keep themselves ahead of the game during the economic downturn. SME’s feeling the pinch are looking for ways to cut marketing budgets without compromising results. It’s now more important than ever for businesses to improve efficiency, reduce waste and produce targeted responsive email marketing campaigns.

1. Direct Response Advertising

For businesses feeling the pinch return on investment is the key for ensuring profitability. It’s now more important than ever to ensure advertising produces results and costly advertising campaigns may be great for raising brand awareness but are not always the best option for businesses looking for quick sales and ROI. Targeted bulk email campaigns to qualified databases coupled with a strong call to action can prove powerful in reaching impulse buyers at just the right time to entice a purchase. Statistics provided by the eMarketing Association (EMA) found that response rates for email marketing are 4 times higher than other direct marketing mediums such as Direct mail and at only a few cents an email message and no production costs a simple email message equates to a fraction of the cost.

2. Customer Retention Marketing

Anyone with a qualification in marketing will know that long term clients are the most profitable. It’s now more crucial than ever to ensure that businesses retain the customers they already have. Keeping customers will not only save businesses money but will make them money. According to a report by The Logic Group, loyal long standing customers account for over 50% of a company’s annual sales, they are also higher value customers happy to pay premium rates of around 30% to 50% more per transaction. For this reason a CRM program is crucial and regular communication via new media techniques such as email is a key player in helping maintain communication. However, of course no one wants to be bombarded with endless email marketing campaigns but a friendly personalized offer or promotion at just the right time will do no harm to your relationship and could provide just the push you need to increase sales.

3. Viral Marketing

Viral marketing includes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on marketing messages to others and with virtually the entire US population having access to an email address, it’s little wonder that bulk email marketing along with the web is a key viral marketing channel. With people looking for bargains, email marketing is proving more powerful than ever. Emails are the ideal viral marketing tool capable of reaching much further than initial recipients alone. Good offers and promotions are often shared amongst friends eager to spread the word of a good bargain.

If businesses send out tempting offers and promotions then it’s only human nature that people will want to share them and it couldn’t be any easier or convenient to pass on a good tip to a friend than via a quick email forward. Also, people genuinely like receiving email from friends, with a whopping 94% of email being opened and read which offers great opportunities for marketers.

Spryka Email Charger is a powerful bulk e-mail marketing application for Microsoft Windows. Its an Email newsletter software that manages a mailing list and sends mass newsletter emailings, without incurring any recurring fees or monthly charges. Visit us at http://www.emailcharger.com

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“Good looks” are very important in an email message. This is often overlooked by many email users. It is a fact that an email’s content is diluted greatly if the message itself is “not good looking”.

Have you ever received an email message that looks something like this… Thank you for requesting more information about our services! We here at ABC Company would like to present a special offer to all of our cherished customers.There are two main reasons why email messages turn out looking like this. Although the reasons are quite simple, many email users don’t understand them. Reason number one is called line length. When composing email, most people just type and type without using a hard carriage return. If it looks fine when you’re done, your email program probably automatically wraps the words in a nice legible format. This word wrap is usually done based on a line length of anywhere from 70 to 80 characters. Well, lets say I receive your message, but my email program doesn’t have the capability of automatically wrapping incoming messages. Since you performed no hard “end of line” carriage returns when typing your message, my email software thinks it’s one long sentence. Now your nice, easy to read message looks like that example above. O.K. So how do you avoid this problem? Simple! When composing email messages, use a hard carriage return before you get to the end of each line. I have found that a maximum line length of 64 works to alleviate this problem almost completely! Of course, you’ll always run into an instance occasionally, depending on your recipients settings, but this should do the trick 95% of the time! Another reason people encounter “funny looking” email messages is called proportional character fonts. Like I mentioned earlier, all email programs are different. Therefore the fonts used by each program varies widely. Basically, there are fixed pitch fonts like Courier (found on Eudora) and there are proportional spaced fonts (like AOL and Compuserve email). With fixed-pitch fonts, all characters in a paragraph will line up directly above each other. With a proportional-spaced font, CAPS, space bars and other keystrokes are wider, so each line is a different length. The bottom line is this. If you create a message using one type of font and send it to an email recipient using the other, the message will not look the same when they receive it! Once again, the solution is simple! By using a hard carriage return before the end of the line you can keep these problems caused by the difference in email programs to a bare minimum. If you plan on sending the same message to multiple recipients, or attempt any drawings, consider testing the message with a friend on another service. There is a third way for your email messages to look bad. Although it is far less likely to happen, you should be aware of it. Many word processing or text editor programs allow you to save a file as another format. (Such as ascii.) It may look great to you, but when sent via the internet it can become scrambled. You may have received one of these messages at one time or another. They are easily recognized by the repeated “U” characters in the text. To avoid this problem, simply use the cut/paste or copy/paste method to extract text from a document in other programs. The last thing you want is an email message with great content, being dismissed simply because it wasn’t “good looking” enough!

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