E-mail marketing is often used in conjunction
with web sites as a means to make the most of their traffic.
In fact, some web sites exist to do little more than collect
lists of people to use for eMail marketing by way of newsletters
or eZines. It has some terminology associated with it, and
while it all sounds very complex, it boils down to these fairly
simple concepts.
Mailing list
This is a list of all the people who've given you permission
to e-mail them, also known as an opt-in list.
Opt-in lists are collected with forms on web sites, check boxes
on thank-you notices, or some other way that asks if a person
would like to be emailed again. My recommendation is to never
send a advertising email to someone who hasn't opted in, and
when in doubt, obey the first rule of spamming: DON'T.
You can do list collection and management yourself with software,
or hire services to do them for you. You can also insure your
own safety by double opt-in, which is where
you send an email to someone who joined your list asking them
to confirm their entry. This covers you in the event of a spamming
accusation by giving you proof permission was given.
In addition, you must give people a way to
leave your opt-in lists, or opt-out. Usually,
this is done with a link, which you may have seen at the bottom
of any legitimate advertising email sent to you. Those that
don't have it are spamming you. Probably from a country where
they can't be hunted down and thrown into the smallest, darkest
hole in the ground jail cell available like they deserve. So
remember that if you create a mailing list, you must give the
people on it a way to opt-out.
Privacy Policies
This is another necessity to collect any sort of a mailing
list. This is a written statement of what you will do and won't
do with someone's information once you have it.
If you don't have a written privacy policy, people will be
prone not to sign up for your lists. This
is because they don't know you from Adam (or Eve) and don't
want their names sold to people who spam things like chain
letters or online pharmacies. So, to effectively collect a
list, promote a privacy policy, and even consider get certification
for it from a third-party watchdog like Truste. This demonstrates
that you're serious about the privacy of your potential readers
and thus more likely to collect them.
Ezines/Email Newsletters
Ezines and email newsletters are the online, email versions
of their paper magazine and newsletter counterparts. To create
them, you collect a mailing list, then mail it a content-filled
ezine or newsletter they want to read and matches the topics
you said it would cover when you advertised it. You may have
seen requests to join a mailing list of this sort in pop-up
windows that drop when you visit some sites. While that's not
the only way to request someone join a mailing list, it's one
of the more effective ones, which is why those dumb windows
keep appearing everywhere.
What do you do with an ezine or email newsletter that makes
all this trouble worthwhile? You can sell ads to other parties
(and the more widespread your ezine, the more they are worth
per copy), keep in touch with a customer base, or promote your
own products and affiliate programs. As the size of your mailing
list grows, so do the number of people that may convert on
any given ad, which means the promotion of sales, specials,
or your affiliate programs produce more money per run. This
is why so many people put a priority on collecting mailing
lists and then utilizing them.
To keep readers, remember the bottom line: Content. You put
ads in your content. You write interesting and useful
things in your content. You keep on topic in your content.
And if you stop providing content, you'll start losing readership.
It's the same concept as you opening a magazine off the rack
and seeing nothing but ads. You wouldn't be reading it long,
and neither would anyone else.
Autoresponders
Autoresponders are pre-typed, timed emails that work without
your input. They'll do this whenever you've set them up to
go, such as form thank-you letters after sales, sending out
notices, advertising promotionals and contests, or other things
to insure your customer or visitor base keeps coming back.
You just get the copy right and the automation does the rest.
Autoresponders can also be used to increase conversion rates
by slowing wearing away at potential customer resistance. They
can do this by explaining relevance, educating about the worth
of your product, keeping the product fresh in the customer's
mind, or creating a sense of urgency. And it does it all without
you having to constantly pursue your own leads. They work with
both affiliate programs or selling your own product.
These things are an overview of basic email marketing and
will point you in the right direction if you want to use email
with your web site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com
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