Do not Spam – It doesn’t work
Email marketing, or e-marketing, must be done correctly for it to work well, and there are some basic rules governing it. If done incorrectly, or if you ignore the basic rules of e-marketing then you can actually drive others away from your list.
First and foremost – Never, Ever, Ever, SPAM (ever!)– you’ve received SPAM or unsolicited email at some point (it seems to start just hours after creating your first email account) it drives you mad, wastes your time and gets you worrying about virus’ and such what. You may have even considered sending out a nice and friendly email to some of your customers, to let them know about your latest product or discount, and wondered if this is okay.
You must collect Addresses in a Responsible Manner- because, while SPAM doesn’t work, opt-in emails do. Never, ever “harvest” email addresses, which is the opposite of permission mail lists. In addition to being unethical, it just doesn’t work.
Always provide Contact Information – People feel more at ease about getting e-mails if they can see that you are easily contactable and a genuine company. As well as this; when people read your emails, they may have questions, concerns, or want to tell you how great your emails are. They may even want to learn more about your products or services. They can’t do this if you don’t provide contact information in the email, since hitting the “reply” button in some cases sends the email back to a list server address.
Provide a Link to Your Web Site – in this way, you’re giving potential customers a chance to contact you, and learn more. Now don’t simply put a link button…do something to encourage them to do this: make your link entice them a bit. Instead of a plain link, why not say, ‘Discounted price for this week only’ or ‘Take a look at our NEW range.’
Be Polite – Thank your customers for asking for more information in your autoresponders. Let them know that you appreciate them, and that providing them with outstanding client service is your top goal. Treat them the way you would like to be treated, and you’ll see increased response rates.
And that’s about it. I am sure that you can all think of more essential rules but start with these and you wont go to far wrong with your e-marketing campaign.