Introduction to E-mail Marketing

E-mail is the most widely used tool on the Internet, because virtually everyone on the 'Net has an E-mail account. This includes people using commercial online services, corporate E-mail networks, and a growing number of bulletin board services. The fact that nearly all online users have E-mail capabilities should give you a hint at the marketing potential of this tool.

As a hybrid of postal mail and the telephone, there is no doubt that E-mail has at least the same value potential to business as the telephone did when it emerged some 100 or so years ago. Contrary to what people have said about the "impersonal, cold world of technology", E-mail actually gives people a greater sense of connectivity and feeling of importance.

Especially for the customer who can send an E-mail message to a company, get a personal response to a concern he or she may have, on their time as opposed to having to telephone during business hours, perhaps absorb long distance charges, get put on hold, and get the run around that most of us have experienced at some time.

Today's consumer wants accountability, reliable customer service, and the feeling that their business matters. E-mail bridges the gaps and provides more of what the customer wants and when they want it. This assumes of course that the business offering the technology does the footwork to make the most of the technology and has competent personnel to do so.

With most E-mail programs, you can attach fully formatted Word documents, spreadsheets, or even graphics. E-mail requires no storage space in your office other than some space on your computer's hard drive. In addition, it will save you money in paper and printing costs. However, there are a few "problems" with using E-mail that you should be aware of.

Having an E-mail account but not checking for new mail.

Believe it or not this is a big problem for some. We know people who have spent hours and hours promoting their web site, and then refuse or forget to check their E-mail for inquiries. Remember the advantage of E-mail is that it is instantaneous. If a person sends you an E-mail expressing interesting in our program, you MUST reply back within 24 hours!

You wouldn't believe the number of people who literally throw money away by not checking and replying to their E-mail in a timely manner. If a person expresses interest in our program, and you don't reply for a few days, 9 out of 10 times you've lost them for good. If you can't at least check your E-mail once a day, don't expect to have much success marketing online.

Not being familiar with how to use E-mail and what it can offer.

For example, the use of a signature file. I receive tons of E-mail from people who don't provide any type of contact information with their message, despite me having just asked for information on a specific service. Assuming that this person has just done this ignorantly, rather than on purpose for reasons of anonymity, this is very foolish.

Every E-mail you send out should have a signature block at the bottom that says your name, address, contact info, perhaps your web address, and even slip in a little plug about that month's special "2 for 1 offer" on product ABC. We'll show you how to create and set-up a "signature" in the next section. Be sure to do it right away, before you forget.

Limitations in the formatting and structure of E-mail.

When you send an E-mail message you can forget about trying to format it into columns, or adding in underlining, bolding, italics, or color because it simply doesn't work. No, E-mail is not a publishing tool - yet - so you will have to live with a pretty bland presentation for now. Your E-mail program may have some of these features, but don't waste your time with them.

You have no control over how your prospects configure their E-mail programs. They may read your messages in any font size and color they choose, and set the column width to a width very different from yours. I would strongly advise you set the column width on your e-mail program to be no more than 67 characters in length.

Most E-mail programs such as Pegasus and Eudora insert a ">" in front of every line when forwarding or replying to an E-mail message. For example, a message you post to your favorite mailing list may appear very nicely the first time on the list:

A question to the list:

"Is it legal to advertise a product that does not exist?

Allow me to qualify this statement -- I seem to recall a US law (that perhaps only applies to direct marketing/mail order) that states you may not post a lead generating ad followed by a sales letter unless you actually have something to sell. Even if you never cash the checks
and never process the credit card orders. If it's legal, then test marketing the viability of a product via Internet marketing could save an enormous amount of time and money prior to product production."

If someone responds to this post and you have set the width of the original message to 72-75 characters, then the responding message to the list will look something like this:

>A question to the list:

>Is it legal to advertise a product that does not exist?

>Allow me to qualify this statement -- I seem to recall a US law
(that
>perhaps only applies to direct marketing/mail order) that states
you
>may not post a lead generating ad followed by a sales letter
unless
>you actually have something to sell. Even if you never cash the
checks
>and never process the credit card orders. If it's legal, then test
marketing
>the viability of a product via Internet marketing could save an
enormous
>amount of time and money prior to product production.

Answer: Yes, it's legal to advertise a product that doesn't exist as long as you do not defraud anyone. However, collecting the money even if you send it back may cross "the line."

As you can see, the response message is rather difficult to read. Most people who see a post like this will automatically delete it and move on to the next message -- even though a very good answer to the question has been given. If you set the column width too long, imagine what your 10 page sales letter will look like. It will not be read. Period.

It is very important that your E-mails to and from your prospects be neat, and very easy to read. Leave lines between their questions and your answers. A good-looking response to a prospect's questions should look like this which I'm about to make up as fast as I can...

---begin example---

Joe,

Hi, thanks for writing back. Let me address your questions for you:

>I've read the e-mail you sent me, hit your web site, and called the conference call. In theory >this business sounds great (but then again, don't they all?).

They all may, but Joe, I can assure you that this business is for REAL. No ifs, ands, or buts.
If you are still hesitant after reading this letter, I urge you to give me a call.

>My main concern is that I have been involved in several MLM "schemes" in the past. I
>understand the argument made on the Network Marketing vs. "pyramid" issue, but I was >hoping you could explain the differences between your company and a typical MLM.

Our program is legal because we have a product that we sell. This is one of the legally structured MLMs, with a quality product, and a compensation plan that completely adheres to federal and state laws. Blah, blah, blah ...

---end of example---

Lack of emotional content in just the printed text.

As human beings we rely to a large extent on the unspoken aspects of a message that are gleaned from facial expressions, body tone, etc. In a straight text message it can sometimes be easy to misinterpret a message that may have been sent in an innocent, joking or teasing manner but is read and perceived erroneously as perhaps sarcastic or downright nasty.

To overcome this difficulty, an "E-mail language" has developed to add some of the emotional cues back into electronic messages. This consists of simply adding characters at the end of a sentence to indicate the tone in which the message is sent. If you don't recognize them right away, try turning your head sideways. Here are some examples:

Hundreds of these "expression" signs have been developed to add emotional content to your messages. You can find out more about this on the Internet or get one of the many books that have been written on the topic. To be honest with you, you probably don't want to use too many of these in your business E-mail. Rather, keep your E-mails professional at all times.

Another example of conveyance of tone is the use of all capital letters in an E-mail message, which is considered to be YELLING and very rude. A sure sign of a "newbie" is the tendency to send e-mail messages that are written in all capital letters. Don't do it. ; - )

<-- Prev | Back To The Outline | Next -->