"But My E-mail is NOT
Spam!"
E-marketing Strategies to Improve Your
Response Rates and Protect You from Being
Flagged as a "Spammer"
I
recently reviewed an e-mail campaign for
a client who owns a job placement agency.
He had planned to send an e-promotion to
businesses that may need temporary
personnel. His campaign consisted of an
e-mail that introduced his business and
an attached coupon for first-time
clients.
While
offering a coupon is a great tool to attract
new customers, a few mistakes in his
e-marketing strategies would have guaranteed
that his messages landed directly
in his prospects' spam folders.
Below are 3 common mistakes
that we addressed to improve his e-marketing
strategies:
- Not asking for
permission
-
When marketing to other businesses,
it may be tempting to find the e-mail
address of the person that you want
to target and send them a promotional
message. Although the Spamhaus
Project's definition of spam is,
"unsolicited bulk e-mail," any
unwanted message can be
flagged as
spam.
Here
are 6 ways to ensure that you
have permission to e-mail your
prospects:
- Use an e-marketing system with
a double opt-in
process, such
as Aweber. After a person fills in your
opt-in form, they will automatically
receive an e-mail asking them to
confirm the subscription. This
ensures that you only
e-mail people who are
interested in receiving
information from your
company.
- Include an
opt-in box on every page of your
website
to
collect e-mail addresses. After
someone gives you their e-mail
address, send them something of
value (i.e. a special report,
informative e-newsletter or a free
trial of your product or
service).
- Include an invitation to sign
up for your e-list on all your
branded materials such as your
direct mail campaigns, postcards,
hand-outs and even your business
cards.
- If you meet a great lead at a
networking event, ask if you can
add them to your
e-list.
- Have your sales team
ask for permission to add your
customers and leads to your
e-list over the
phone.
- Add a "tell a
friend" button to all
your e-newsletters, articles or
online
promotions.
- Do not include an
attachment
-
Savvy computer users will not open an
e-mail that contains an attachment
from a stranger. Instead of attaching
a file to an e-mail, include a link
to a web page where your prospects
can exchange their e-mail addresses
for a coupon or a free special
report. This method serves several
purposes:
-
More people will be inclined to
open and read your
e-mail.
-
You can collect e-mail
addresses of people who have
expressed an interest in
your product or
service.
-
You can follow up with everyone
who downloads your
information.
- Stop Selling and
Start Helping
-
Instead of just trying to sell your
product or service, provide your
customers with information that will
help them make an informed purchasing
decision.
I
f
you sell e-commerce software, you can
produce a video or a special report on,
"How adding e-commerce
software to your website can increase
your revenue."
Your customers will view you as a
trustworthy expert, instead of just
another vendor.
If you would like assistance developing
lead-generating e-mail campaigns, contact me at
rachel@freshperspectivewriting.com
or 647-342-4921. I would be happy to provide
you with a no obligation quote and
complimentary consultation to discuss your
next campaign.
Do you want to reprint this article?
You can, as long as you ask permission first
by e-mailing me at rachel@freshperspectivewriting.com.
I'll send you a short bio to include at the
end of the article.
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