What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is permission-based electronic marketing that is sent directly to your email inbox once a person, provides permission to contact them in the future, usually by subscribing or opting-in to receive more information, sale reminders, or marketing messages.

An email newsletter or ezine (email magazine) is a very popular form of email marketing. An ezine is an electronic form of communication that is sent out on an ongoing basis and used for business to business or business and consumer companies.

Because email marketing doesn’t require printing or postage, staying connected to your audience via email marketing is a more cost effective alternative to traditional print newsletters.

Face it. Email marketing is an essential tool to growing your business in today’s fast-paced world of Internet business, offering open, conversational, and interactive, communications. In fact, these days, it seems as if everyone already has, or is developing some type of ezine or email marketing system.

Why? That’s easy. With a personal, relevant, value-added ezine, you can attract new customers and prospects to your list and raise brand awareness with just one or two clicks of a mouse — And that’s what it’s all about, building your list and getting contacts into your marketing funnel.

Click here to learn more about list building and get tips on how to build your ezine list.

  

Permission-Based Email Marketing

Email marketing is permission-based marketing, which means you must have permission to add people to your marketing list, and permission to email them information. Every ezine should have a clear, straight-forward unsubscribe or opt-out link, and opt-out requests should be handled immediately.

Email addresses should be obtained only by legitimate means like through opt-in and subscribe boxes on your website, or by specific request. This is why online marketing lists are often called opt-in lists. Valid contact information should be included in every piece of email marketing and a privacy policy should be provided.

Click here to learn why quality is better than quantity when it comes to your marketing list.

  

Single Opt-In vs. Double Opt-In

Single opt-in emails do not require a confirmation via email. In this case, when a customer subscribes, they are automatically added to your list.

Double opt-in emails require the subscriber to confirm their subscription and agree they do want to receive your email marketing messages. In this case, when they subscribe, a confirmation email is received in their inbox. They will only be added to your list if they click on the link in the email message.

NOTE: Just because you meet someone at an event and they trade cards with you doesn’t give you the right to add them to your list. Also, adding everyone you have ever met to your list and justifying it with an unsubscribe link that gives them the option to not receive your ezine is unacceptable. If you use either of these tactics, you will be viewed as a spammer.

Remind Email or Ezine Subscribers
How they Joined Your List

Many email marketers will include a 1-2 sentence description of how their list is generated. This short statement reminds the recipient that they did in fact opt-in to the marketing list.

For example: “You are receiving this email message because you made a verbal or written request at an event, opted-in on one of our websites, www.bourncreative.com, www.effortlessentrepreneurezines.com, www.designandprofit.com, or purchased a product from Bourn Creative.”

Provide an Easy Unsubscribe or Opt-Out Option

Believe it or not, by making is clear that you include unsubscribe and opt-out links in each email message, email newsletter, or ezine, you will actually increase your subscriber count. At some point people who have joined your list may want to leave. By showing them that leaving your list is as easy as joining it, you bypass some of the fear associated with the possibility of receiving spam and unwanted email in their inboxes.