Used Correctly , E-mail Works

Every day I receive hundreds of e-mail at my primary, business address. Then, there's more in my Yahoo and, yikes, even more lurking in various junk/spam folders. That's why, even though I'm in this business (I actually help clients deploy e-mail campaigns), I still have a hard time in understanding how ANY e-mail campaign has a chance in hell of being successful.

But, check out these stats from a recent "Multichannel Merchant" article. "According to a recent study by the Direct Marketing Association, e-mail marketing delivers the highest return on investment of all media available to marketers. The study also projects that e-mail driven sales in the U.S. will show a compound annual growth rate of 14.9% between 2006 and 2011."

However, (and this is a big "however"), if e-mail is done wrong, it can actually harm the relationship you may have built with your customer/lead.

"Sales & marketing expert Patrick Valtin, president of M2-Tec USA and founder of one of the largest consulting companies in Europe called U-Man Belgium, claims e-mail marketing is highly profitable if done correctly. The main mistake is trying to convert a prospect when embarking on e-mail marketing, he says. The direction one should take instead is trying to attract a qualified prospect."

Mr. Valtin feels that a core group to market via the e-mail channel are those older leads who at one point expressed an interest in your service, but who have not yet converted (become your customer). "Sleeping customers" (a customer who may have bought once but hasn't yet become your loyal devotee) are another great group to communicate with e-mail.

In addition to advising e-mail marketers to 'attract' verses sell in an e-mail campaign, the article offers some other helpful tips:

"Three common mistakes in e-mail marketing are:

* Trying to sell through the marketing e-mail. You have to cut the gradient to attract and then convert. The question is: what will motivate them to join your list?

* Making the subject line too ambiguous; using trite phrases that are actually considered spam. What you have to watch, Valtin also warns, is "too hot or too juicy is looked upon as spam by search engine spiders."

* Not being consistent with "from" address line. From very beginning, the from line should be consistent. Even here there is a need to have instant recognition."

But, while e-mail can be an excellent direct marketing channel, just remember that when we do it wrong, we're doing more harm than good. "When you screw up on e-mail marketing lines with prospects or customers, you get cut off and most likely don't get another chance. It's too easy to junk your e-mail address and be shut off from further communication."

Lesson learned. Keep e-mail in your tool-box. But use it correctly and remember to bring value to your customer/prospect with each campaign.

Used Correctly , E-mail Works - To learn more about this author, visit Nancy Arter's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

E-Mail | Print | More

Related Articles
7 Steps for Improving Your Email Marketing
	Email marketing can be a powerful marketing tool. Follow these seven steps for email marketing success.
Good Junk Mail
	Wait! Do not delete that junk mail and spam just yet. I am going to give you a few reasons why junk mail can be helpful to your home business. You do not feel...
The Truth About Information Overload
	There's good news and bad news about "information overload." The bad news is, you probably have some overload effect in your life. The good news is, it's probably not as bad as everyone says it is.
Facebook Email Sucks
	I’m an email junkie going back as far as I can remember. It’s by far my favorite way to communicate.
EMail Etiquette
	Everyday we receive and write many emails. Here are six eMail etiquette tips to help manage email better.

---

Related Forum Posts
	Web magazine publisher
	Free Desktop sharing apps
	Re: Web magazine publisher
	Hiring a Short Term Employee
	frequency of blogging
	Re: Read the description (VERY) CAREFULLY
	Email Marketing Resource
	If I may....