The Basics of E-mail Marketing
May 9, 2011 By 6 Comments
E-mail marketing has become practically ubiquitous, however it might seem confusing or intimidating to those who aren’t familiar with the terminology or the mechanics of how it works. Here’s a brief overview to get you started:
What is E-Mail Marketing?
Simply defined, e-mail marketing is sending marketing messages to individuals and companies through their e-mail address. There are two major forms of e-mail marketing. The first involves sending individual e-mails to specific users. The second involves creating a list of many e-mails and then sending mass e-mails to all of the list’s members.
How Does E-Mail Marketing Work?
Some e-mail marketing campaigns will send individual e-mails to specific people. These campaigns will compose individual e-mail messages and send them to one person. More commonly, e-mail marketing campaigns will build a list. There are many ways to build a list. Some are formed by e-mail addresses given in person; others are formed when someone directly signs up for the list online. The company then constructs one marketing e-mail and sends it to everyone on the list at once.
Why Do People And Companies Use E-Mail Marketing?
Like all marketing, the major purposes of e-mail marketing are to increase customer base, increase customer loyalty, and build brand recognition. E-mail marketing allows companies to get new customers and also to make new sales to previous customers. E-mail marketing also increases brand awareness and recall.
What Are The Benefits Of E-Mail Marketing?
E-mail marketing has many benefits when compared to other forms of marketing. One is increased speed. You can get a marketing message out to an individual or list in the time it takes for you to write a message and send the e-mail. Another benefit is reduced costs. It is significantly cheaper to maintain a list than it is to print out vast numbers of traditional marketing materials.
A third potential benefit is the viral potential of e-mail as the people to whom you send an e-mail to can then easily forward it to their contacts. This could mean that your marketing material will be seen by hundreds, thousands, or even millions more people than you initially sent it to. One of the greatest benefits of e-mail marketing is that almost all members of mailing lists are on the list because they joined willingly. This means that the e-mails are being sent to people with some interest in your company.
What Are The Potential Risks Of E-Mail Marketing?
Many mailing lists will be marked as spammers. This means that webmail spam blockers will prevent your messages from being delivered. This negates the very purpose of e-mail marketing.
You may also unwittingly put yourself at legal risk. There are various e-mail related laws in many countries around the world, and if you are not careful you may break them and get yourself in legal trouble.
It is also very possible to alienate readers. Even the best and most careful e-mail marketing campaigns may alienate some readers. These alienated readers may leave your lists or even be less likely to purchase your products in the future.
E-mail marketing is a tool that belongs in every business’s toolbox, however great care should be taken that it be used in a smart way that complies with the law and best practices. If you use a reputable email marketing service provider like Aweber and Constant Contact, they can provide you with guidelines and courses to teach you how to stay within the law as well as best practices and other useful tips.