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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Essential Facts About Email Marketing

By Kerry Ross


Email marketing is a technique used to promote a service or product via electronic mail. It may be utilized by a merchant to acquire new customers or to up-sell existing clients. It can also be used to improve the relationship between a merchant and his or her current clients.

As mentioned previously, this kind of advertising is participated in by those who wish to promote various services or products. However, to acquire electronic mail addresses of future clients, Internet entrepreneurs must buy them from a broker, use a subscription service, or depend on referrals from current customers. It does not come as a surprise to most people that many merchants use a combination of all these techniques.

Such marketing is generally much less expensive than advertising via conventional mail, making it very advantageous for many entrepreneurs. However, it is important to understand that there are still a certain number of fees involved with this marketing method. Of course, printing and postage charges are not an issue, but online marketers frequently hire freelancers to write their promotional emails, or they may employ a staff member to manage the ad campaigns.

A particularly advantageous aspect associated with email advertising is that a high number of customers can be reached very quickly with promotional materials. Furthermore, such ad campaigns can be completed through a series of emails, where each one builds upon the last. Numerous marketing campaigns of this kind also target certain dates or holidays such as Christmas, Independence Day, or Mother's Day.

These methods are often very similar to those used by conventional bricks and mortar establishments. For example, a vendor may do a large mail drop to promote a "Labor Day sale", even though shoppers will be making their purchases online. This technique is very effective, as most consumers are conditioned to receiving such advertisements from traditional retail outlets and department stores.

Some merchants include special promotional codes or coupons when they send out advertisements via electronic mail. This, again, is to compete with the traditional stores and retail outlets that consumers are accustomed to patronizing. To be effective, however, such promotional coupons should have an expiration date in order to create urgency with the merchant's clients.

Any Internet marketer who uses this type of advertising must be aware of the regulations surrounding something referred to as spam. The latter is the name for emailing customers who did not previously give their permission to be contacted. Most email services offer their customers filters that place such advertisements in a special folder from which they can be deleted. There is also the possibility of incurring fines if one spams individuals who did not express any interest in the product or service being offered. For this reason, it is best to avoid this activity entirely if one wishes to build a successful and lucrative Internet marketing business.

Working from home as an Internet marketer can be an enjoyable and fulfilling type of employment. The largest hurdle is connecting with individuals who may wish to purchase services or products being offered by the merchant. For this reason, email marketing is a valuable tool, as it can solve this challenge for the Internet business owner.




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