The Internet offers many opportunities for marketing, regardless of your company's size or budget. You don't need to be a web developer or be tech savvy to navigate email marketing. Email service providers offer options from the basic to the complex, depending on your needs.
eNewsletter Service Providers
There are multiple newsletter services that allow you to communicate via email at a low cost. Such sites as ConstantContact.com, Myemma.com or MyNewsletterBuilder.com provide services at various price levels. They include libraries of newsletter templates you can modify with text and images.
Once you upload your message, you add email addresses and the message is sent. Most services offer web analytics on the number of recipients who opened the message and the number of readers who clicked-through to a linked website or forwarded your newsletter to a friend.
These services mandate that you include "opt-out" or "unsubscribe" options for recipients who wish to be taken off the mailing list. They also require you to list your contact information to avoid fraud.
Take Time to Design
A picture is worth a thousand words. Even if you have well-written text that communicates a message, the graphics accompanying the message greatly impact how a reader responds. You can hire a freelance graphic designer for an hourly rate. If yours is a small organization, try to find a graphic-design student who is eager for experience and will charge less.
Take the time to talk with the designer about how graphics can best complement the accompanying text and assist in the marketing effort.
More Isn't Always Better
Before launching an email marketing campaign, you should clearly define your goals. Determine who you want to reach and how you want them to respond. With clear goals, you can better evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing campaign.
You can purchase mass email lists or selectively buy email lists by profession, income or other demographics. If you aren't purchasing email lists from third-party vendors, you can develop email lists from current customers via online purchases or in-store methods. If you are a non-profit organization, ask supporters for their email addresses when they send donations.
Don't violate your clients' privacy. Clients can block their email addresses or report your newsletters as spam if you send them too often, which effectively ends your virtual relationship. Be thoughtful and clear with your marketing message.
