Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 4):Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing

Greetings!

The bell has "rung" and it`s time for today`s lesson.

First, I`d like you to consider these four facts:

*A DIRECT MAIL PIECE costs about 40-cents in postage alone.(And then you have to factor in paper and printing costs.)

*A PHONE CALL can cost just as much - or more - than a direct mail piece.

*A PHONE CALL wastes time (and time is money) because you`ll spend precious minutes - sometimes hours or days - trying to contact the right person.

*A MESSAGE left on voice mail is almost always a waste of time, and therefore a waste of money.Depressing? Not at all.

After you read today`s "Marketing Strategies Success" tips, you`ll be able to say "NO" to the downside of phone calls and direct mail and"YES" to the upside of email.

Read on ...

Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing

Given the inherent problems with traditional marketing techniques, it`s important to master the BASIC STRATEGIES FOR INTEGRATING EMAIL into your overall campaign.

As I`vie just shown you, sending out an EMAIL CAN BE MUCH CHEAPER than other marketing methods. Proceed with caution,however. Email can also cost you a fortune - in lost opportunities AND cold hard cash - IF you don`t know the basics.

So that`s where we`re going to start.

First, always keep in mind that your "primary objective".the master key that unlocks your "Success Vault" in Internet Marketing is to build your mailing list - your EMAIL MAILING LIST. (Often referred to as your "In-house list.")

The addresses you collect are going to mean the difference between the middle-of-the-road results that Average Joe and Jane are achieving and the through-the-roof, over-the-top,to-the-moon-and-back MEGA-success that top online sellers achieve. (The difference really is that dramatic.) So don`t miss the boat: The time is NOW to start building your list of email addresses (prospects).

REVIEW
You can begin to grow your list simply by capturing emails from people who visit your website, as we have already discussed in a previous lesson.

Pop Quiz:
What`s the easiest way to convince people to give you their email address? (Answer: Offer an irresistible freebie with a sign-up form on your site or in a pop-up box, drive traffic to your site, and watch as people start entering their email address.)

Okay, so now you`re "in the groove". you`re capturing people`s emails like crazy. But if you`re just sitting there - well, you know the old saying, "Even if you`re on the right track, you`ll get run over if you just sit there."

So what next?

Let me take a moment from telling how to build your email list to remind you why. It`s been said that - YOU CAN GET RICH WITH AN EMAIL LIST OF JUST 1000 PEOPLE!Think about that. Then stop thinking and get going on new ways to capture and keep email addresses.

GIVE `TIL IT HURTS!
If you want to keep getting addresses, start giving stuff away! Give, give, and keep finding more things to give! And since you can`t send a TOASTER through email, why not give the far more valuable -- and far more affordable for you -- INFORMATION PRODUCTS, business tools, and expert advice - maybe even a no-cost/obligation email marketing course like this one!

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP.
You`ll want to have a series of letters already set up so that they can be "dripped" on your prospects on a regular basis. Send a message daily, every other day, or on whatever schedule suits you best, but make contact AT LEAST EVERY 7 DAYS.

If you`re not confident in your writing skills, you have two choices: you can hire a professional to write the letters for you or you can use a system already set up with letters to help you build your email list. (I suppose the third choice is to just give up and bury your heard in the sand,but that`s no way to make a million!)

If you`re serious about this - and you should be, believe me.

I`ve got something really special planned for your next post. It`s not a typical tips.

Da!!

Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 2): Email Aesthetics

Hello again,

I hope you`ve had time to "digest" the ideas presented in Marketing Strategies Success(TIPS 1): Essential Rules for Effective Email Marketing .Today`s lesson is going to build on the basics.

Here is the second Lesson of the marketing course.

In today`s "Marketing Strategies Success"lesson, you`re going to learn how the APPEARANCE of youremail message affects the way your prospects feel about youand what you have to offer.

EMAIL AESTHETICS

It`s an old, old saying, but it`s true: you only have onechance to make a good first impression. And in email, thefirst impression is always visual -- a consumer LOOKS/SEESbefore he/she READS.

Imagine walking by a grotesquely garish storefront with allkinds of things hanging off the front porch, every floorpainted a different color, and odd music playing throughloudspeakers. Would you want to walk in the front door? Noway! You`d assume that the owner is a kook, at best, or aderanged axe murderer, at worst.

Did you ever have an ugly looking email land in yourmailbox? You know what I`m talking about: an orangebackground and yellow borders, multi-colored text in allsizes from gigantic to microscopic, a message that looks likeit was created by a crazed six-year-old? If you did, I betyou didn`t feel the urge to read it. You probably justwanted to delete it as quickly as possible.

!PUT OUT THE WELCOME MAT!
You want your email message to be friendly and inviting, notbizarre and scary. The suggestions below -- and they`rejust suggestions, not hard and fast rules -- will go a longway towards making recipients` eyes say "come on in!" toyour message.

!DO`s and DON`Ts FOR ATTRACTIVE EMAILS!
-DON`T use COLOR fonts in your message. (Leave that tojunior high girls who want to write about Britney and Justin)

-DO use BLACK TEXT ON A WHITE BACKGROUND. (When you`re"speaking" in black-and-white, people will give their fullattention to your message without being distracted by yourcolor scheme.)

-DON`T use UNCOMMON FONTS. (If someone`s system doesn`trecognize the font you`ve selected, they could see gibberishinstead of your brilliant message).

-DO use the email marketers` FAVORITE FONTS: Arial, TimesNew Roman, and Courier New.

*And please.*

-DON`T use flashing buttons or banners in your email! (Yourprospects have undoubtedly gotten their fill of "bells andwhistles" when they`ve surfed the Internet. They don`t needmore from you.)

GET HYPER" WITH EMAIL HYPERLINKS
An "email hyperlink" is just techno-talk for a link in youremail to a website, or email address. Sounds simple enough,and it is -- unless you try to contact a prospect on AOL whomay not be able to receive "clickable" links.

Don`t worry. There`s a "fix" for this: simply type mailto:in front of your email address (no space in between, andinclude the : )

For a link to a web page, you need to write your link this way (EXAMPLE ONLY DO NOT CLIK): http://www.anycompany.com/. (And tell your recipient they can copy and paste thislink into their browser if it`s not highlighted.)

ALWAYS USE SIGNATURE TAGS
Today, it`s common practice on the Internet to tell peopleabout your product or service with a SIGNATURE TAG, which is3-6 lines of text (usually) that is automatically added toevery message you send.

If you`d like to add a tag to your messages, simply openyour email program. Find the SIGNATURES TAB (located in theTOOLS/OPTIONS menu in Outlook Express). Follow the (simple)instructions for creating a sig file. Easy as pie...and theresults will amaze you.

That`s it for now, but get your "net" ready. Next lessonwe`re going to hunt down and CAPTURE EMAILS.

Da!!