In order to choose the best email marketing strategy, you should first examine and outline the overall goals you hope to achieve from the campaign. Marketing through email is an effective way to gain new clients, but due to unethical practices by some companies, you should be careful to follow all rules and regulations regarding online business practices. If you intend to work with an email marketing company, look into their reputation and get references before you make a decision on who to hire.
One email marketing strategy is to find potential clients elsewhere and keep in touch via email to alert them of promotions you are having, or to simply remind them of your services. You may find a mailing list by offering a free newsletter or email updates from your website, through social networking sites, or through more traditional print advertising. Once you have a list of people to email periodically, you should develop content to send at set intervals to offer your services. An email marketing company may be of assistance, primarily one that sends automatic emails to an email list acquired when visitors enter information on your website.
You may also choose to send unsolicited emails to those you feel could benefit from what you have to offer. Although this will inevitably get you new customers, proceed with caution. Due to stricter spam laws, you may not be able to send mass emails that are not personalized to the recipient in question, or which contain a blatant sales message. The best way to send to “cold” prospects is to purchase a list of consumers who have already expressed interest in a similar product, or by searching for the names and information of various business owners and sending them a brief email of introduction.
To choose the best email marketing strategy, you must choose who you will be sending to, and figure out what those people need or want. You may wish to use an email marketing company to either provide you with lists of potential clients or to automatically compile names on a web server and send automatic emails based on information typed into your website. Most times cold emails are best sent as a letter of introduction, followed by emails containing sales or informational copy if you get a response.
When choosing a list broker or list seller, be sure to ask for references from past clients. Many of these companies are fraudulent and sell lists that are outdated or which are not targeted toward a certain group. Sometimes, you may be held responsible for mass mailings sent by these companies if they do not adhere to spam laws. You can check with the Better Business Bureau in your area to find out the company’s track record before hiring them to help with your overall email marketing strategy.
