Email Marketing: Avoid Becoming Spam

Email marketing campaigns can be very beneficial for any online business. Email has a higher ROI than any other media, has a response rate much higher than banner ads, and email campaigns can be measured and easily altered to generate the best response.

However, this powerful online marketing technique needs to be used carefully to avoid being mistaken for unsolicited spam. Unwanted emails from your business website, in the right hands, can turn into a marketing nightmare.

Opt-in Email Campaign Tips

Like most technologies, email marketing can be a double-edged sword, and so it must be used with caution. In order to take advantage of its potential without being labeled a spammer, there are several points you should keep in mind:

• Customers should have opted into receiving emails. They should also have the ability to opt-out at any time. In fact, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 requires that email marketing campaigns have an opt-out mechanism.
  
  The confirmed opt-in, where the customer is sent a confirmation email to verify their email address be added to the mailing list, is regarded as the gold standard for secure email marketing.
  
  
• Email is not the same as direct-mail advertising. The design of email campaigns needs to be carried out differently from mail ads because of the incompatibility of various email applications.
  
  Unlike the fixed sizes of direct mail, word-wrapping and other functions can alter the appearance of an email design, resulting in an amateurish look if it is not carefully planned.
  
  
• Giving information away can be powerful form of email marketing. Email newsletters provide a great opportunity to foster customer and reseller loyalty, build your brand image, and also sell your products and services.
  
  
• Email marketing can be a learning process. Identifying potential markets and the preferences of your opt-in customers allows you to develop specific email campaigns and use trial-and-error methods. It’s important that these trial-and-error attempts not brand you as a spammer, but instead determine which campaigns have been the most effective.
  
  
• Ensure you have adequate resources. Technological, financial and human resources must be committed to ensure a successful email campaign.
  
  
• Sending emails is not free. Opt-in email campaigns require extensive upkeep of the mailing lists, integration with other applications, and investments in design. Regardless of whether the tasks are done in-house or outsourced, successful email marketing comes with a cost.

In spite of their nature, email marketing campaigns can still be very useful tools. These tips will ensure your recipients not only want to get your message, but that you can roll out your campaigns effectively and with more confidence.

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