E-MAIL MARKETING: A Primer

E-mail has come a long way. As you are well aware, it is no longer just plain text. Today most e-mail software can display highly graphical messages with visual appeal. Mass e-mails, (also called e-letters and e-blasts), look like designed ads and newsletters.

By now you have probably received thousands of these types of messages and maybe you are wondering how to do it for your own organization. Like many businesses and organizations who want to employ this efficient and inexpensive means of reaching out to targeted markets, you may not know where to start and you may lack the technical expertise. Creating and sending e-letters legally (by the laws and rules), with efficiency and cost-effectiveness can be done easily with the help of services like Design Corps Emailer, a new addition to our host of services. This article will help get you started in e-mail marketing, or help improve your current email campaigns.

Mass e-mailings are not Spam if you play by the rules and use good taste
E-mail has been a necessary mode of business communication since the mid-1990's. And like any form of communication it also was quickly adopted by legions of unscrupulous marketers. Thus, to the ranks of telephone solicitations disrupting our dinners, faxed advertisements using up our toner, and junk-mail filling our mail boxes was added e-mail spam, taking up our working days. But as of 2004 spamming went from just bad etiquette to officially illegal, carrying fines of up to $11,000 per addressee. Therefore, it pays to know how to use e-mail both legally and effectively for your organization.

6 Simple Rules
Despite the profusion of spam, e-mail is still an effective marketing tool when used politely, according to the rules and with good taste. You yourself may get e-mail newsletters, sale announcements, or special offers that are appreciated. So the same may be done by you for your clients. Six simple rules to follow in your own e-letter marketing are:

1. Write subject lines that are honest and not laden with spam-like come-ons. Be straight forward and indicate who you are and why you are writing.
2. Offer something either of interest or of monetary value to the recipient.
3. Include the required "opt-out" (UNsubscribe) link at the beginning and/or end of your e-letter. This is the law.
4. Remember that e-mails are not read, they are scanned. Write short copy with lots of bulleted items. Articles can be introduced with a few lines of copy followed by a "Read more" link which might take the peaked reader to the full article on your blog.
5. Make your point quickly, and stress benefits to the reader.
6. Include lots of pertinent links for the recipient to click on. This will give you items to observe and track in statistical reports which will help you improve forthcoming campaigns.

List Etiquette
Unless recipients know you or your organization, your e-letters have a good chance of being regarded as spam, either by their own email software spam-filters or by remote mail filters, preventing them from reaching your audience. In fact, if a mail server thinks you are spamming, you may be blacklisted on internet mail servers, worldwide, which will block campaigns emanating from your domain.

• Use an E-mail campaign service like Design Corps Emailer, our new e-letter marketing product. Don’t attempt to send mass mailings directly from your desktop email software. Putting a large list of names in the “TO” field where everyone can see them is bad e-mail etiquette and violates privacy rules. And don't think blind copying solves the problem. Blind copying large groups of addresses (usually anything over 10 to 20 addresses) just alerts outgoing mail servers to the possibility that you are spamming. Using a service like Design Corps Emailer will keep you legal, make the process efficient and easy, and offer powerful tracking tools for gauging the success of your e-letters.
• You have to develop lists. But assemble your lists from your own sources and address collection mechanisms. For example, clientele who have given you their email address have granted you the privilege of writing them. That makes your address book a legitimate source from which to build a list. But, no matter how you build your lists there has to be some trail of permission granted to be perfectly legal and proper. You may not include addresses from purchased, borrowed, rented or "skimmed" lists. Skimming websites for addresses to build mailing lists is bad practice and libel to get you in trouble. See the Design Corps Emailer List Policy for more information on this important subject.

How to avoid being labeled a spammer
Even when using an e-mail campaign service like Design Corps Emailer you can still make mistakes. You don't want to be thought of as a spammer by your audience, but you also don't want to be placed in the e-mail trash by spam filters and you definitely don't want to be blacklisted. Take these precautions for following good e-mail etiquette and law.

• Avoid using spammer tricks like type that is intentionally misspelled to avoid being caught by filters (m0rtg4ge, v1agr4).
• Avoid the more innocent but overused ways of emphasizing: ALL CAPS, type in red and bold, multiple exclamation marks, etc.)
• avoid phrases like “CALL NOW”, “CLICK HERE”, and “FREE”. These are picked up by spam filters.

E-mail, when used correctly, can achieve the very goals you have established in marketing your organization. It allows you to stay at the forefront in the minds of your audience, it gives you control of how you are perceived by allowing you to develop and distribute your message and branding, and it allows you to be seen as a benefit to clients or prospects. The keys are to stay active and stay educated.

DESIGN CORPS EMAILER is one way to make it happen. We can design your email template (“e-letterhead”), setup your account and train you to create your own campaigns. Start sending colorful and attention-getting e-mails for pennies per address. For more information, visit Design Corps Emailer, e-mail Design Corps, or call Dan van Loon at 630-761-9650.