I’m still working through a steaming pile of email that built up in my recent absence from home. But there’s a lot of media talk (again) about relevancy. That the pot of email marketing gold is buried at the end of the relevancy rainbow. Read the rest of this entry »

• you don’t end friendships or love affairs…you “opt-out” of them
• you can’t read any text wider than about 600 pixels
• you can think of 17 different ways to describe something as free without actually using the word “free”
• the shopping list you give your spouse has all the important items squeezed into the top lefthand corner of the piece of paper
• you look for the unsubscribe link in direct mail
• you reject birthday cards that don’t have the postal address of the sender printed on the reverse of the envelope
• your signature on checks includes your job title, address, phone number, fax number and website address
• you delete people from your address book if they fail to return your phone calls three times in a row
• when people accept your dinner invitations, you send out another invitation asking if they’re sure
• the photos in your wedding album don’t have labels…they have alt tags
• you send everyone two Christmas cards…one text-only, the other with images and colors

Anybody starting off in email marketing has some idea that they need to send email that isn’t spam.

Spam is unwelcome in anybody’s inbox.

But that brings forth a host of questions, such as…

• Is my email a legitimate marketing email or is it spam?
• What are the consequences of sending it out if it’s considered spam?
• When can I send email advertising to a particular list of email addresses?
• When can’t I?

All of these are critical questions and none have simple answers. Read the rest of this entry »

On Email Marketing Personalization

People respond more favorably to marketing when they feel special and unique. People respond differently to things when they perceive themselves as part of a group. These are only some of the psychological factors that come into play when using individual message personalization as a part of your email marketing campaigns. When done correctly, personalization can be a powerful way to reinforce the bond between your brand and your customer. However, poorly personalized messages can just as quickly sever that connection that you have worked so hard to establish. This article describes some of the techniques for using personalization in an effective way. Read the rest of this entry »

Email marketing is a powerful yet inexpensive way to make contact with customers and prospects. Depending on whom you are trying to touch, there may be certain times of day, or days of the week, when the recipient may be more responsive to your message. In addition to specific timing for your email marketing campaigns, the frequency (how often to send) and the number of times to send can all play a big role in helping improve your results. Read the rest of this entry »

According to a study by the Winterberry Group, email marketing brings in $15.50 per dollar spent . This is about 17% more than direct-mail campaigns and 73% more than telemarketing campaigns. In short, email marketing matters and if you’re not sending out at least monthly email newsletters to your subscriber base, you should be. The true cost comes from acquiring the prospects and clients, not the three or four hours needed to create a monthly newsletter. Read the rest of this entry »

Some people say article marketing doesn’t work anymore. Which that might be true if you just write crap and expect people to love you for it. If you do it correctly it still works and could be one of your most powerful promotion strategies. Here are three common article marketing mistakes. Read the rest of this entry »