Thursday, March 04, 2010



Email Marketing Lists- What You Should Know


Many companies the world over are in search of ways to build their email marketing lists.  Established companies make attempts to obtain the email addresses of existing customers and new companies are struggling to compile an original email list.  Let’s explore the things you should know when it comes to building your email marketing list.   


Try networking with local businesses.  Attend meetings in your local area (i.e. seminars, and city commerce luncheons) to exchange cards and information with other professionals. Exchange business cards and be sure to follow up – via email of course.  However, you should make sure that the people in this network are interested in what you have to offer and the possibility of sharing contacts with you.  It’s poor form to contact businesses that wanted nothing to do with you.  


Try attending trade shows.  Set up a booth or organize a presentation, or simply ‘attend’ a show and use it as a networking opportunity.  Obtain general contact information and offer promotions and ‘free’ gifts.  The people who fill out your information form have automatically ‘opted in’ to your marketing strategy.  


Organize and attend informational seminars geared to both consumers and business contacts alike.  Use registration information and other networking techniques to obtain contacts for your email marketing lists. 


Retail storefronts are a great place to expand your email marketing lists.  You can design a drawing or a contest that requires registration. You’ve probably engaged in this marketing technique before without even knowing it (i.e. registering to win a new car while shopping at the mall). Any storefront opportunities are well-received and are a great way to add to your email marketing lists of contacts.  


Get involved in local events.  Many people are addicted to openings, parties, musical concerts, and any other event that draws people together. You might even consider sponsoring one of these events yourself or joining with other likeminded business people; to sponsor the event. Doing so can afford you the opportunity to increase your Internet mail address listings and help you get your name out there.


Direct mail marketing techniques, such as sending out postcards, is a great way to grow your email contact lists. You can mass issue postcards with your company name and website and collect contacts as they visit the site or make inquiries. Offering some type of incentive will earn you the best response.


Consider telemarketing. This process can be time consuming but well the efforts if done properly. You can use phone calls to touch base with prior customers and it is a great way to rekindle old business and perhaps make new contacts. Just don't allow your telemarketing staff to call during lunch and dinntertime hours.


Email marketing is just like any other form of marketing and is designed primarily to open the lines of communication and to make contact with potential customers. You should do your best to translate your everyday interactions with people into business growing leads and contacts. To deploy a successful email marketing list campaign, you must cultivate your social skills and always adhere to the Golden Rule; treat your customers as you would expect to be treated in a given situation and your business will go far.


It’s time to launch your email marketing campaign; what should you know prior to setting your plan into motion?  Well, before you do anything, you should first make certain that your sales staff and all sales departments are prepared to make the transactions generated by your email marketing campaign.  Once you're confident your business can handle a potential influx of sales, you should follow a few regimented steps to ensure you’re making the most of your email marketing solutions.  The below checklist will help you to determine what to do and when to do it.  


1.Determine what day of the week to send your messages.  The theories on this choice are numerous.  Many experts suggest targeting individual customers over the weekend but business-to-business hopefuls on a Friday. However, a recent study indicates the best day to issue B2B email marketing messages is Monday or Tuesday.  The truth is, there is no hard and fast rule for this factor.  Do your own research to determine what day you think is best.  Consider testing several days and determining which one gets the best response.   


2.There are two times of day that are historically best for sending a marketing email, mid-morning and right after lunch.  At these two times, people tend to be more receptive to what lands in their inbox.   


3.After you’ve determined when and what time you’ll be sending your marketing email, you should prepare to monitor responses.  Your monitoring efforts should cover everything from replies to unsubscribes.  Monitoring your responses early can help you to eliminate and even avoid certain link and spam problems.  


4.Now it’s time to deliver that email and the final step should be creating an email that is attractive, but not too “spam like” that customers will take time to read and find easy to navigate.  An effective interface will enable you to track the results of your email campaign and move ahead as a result of that tracking.  


Below you will find a summarized “tip list” derived from various email marketing experts.  Take some time to review these tips and then be on your way to email marketing success.




Offer something to your customers!


In exchange for their contact info, offer your customers something in return. (i.e. a free newsletter, a free software or seminar, or more information)

Be economical about the info you gather!


When gathering customer contact information, only ask for the information you need.in fact creating a survey of simple questions is very economical, you can use monkeysurveys.com

Make it easy for them to unsubscribe!


Make absolutely certain you provide a way for customers to unsubscribe from your e-mail marketing solutions campaign. 
 see you at the top
p.s = don't forget to do your research thoroughly.

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