How do I build a list?
That is a question a lot of new marketers ask. One simple answer is - email marketing. Email marketing will always be an option for consumers to use and for companies to leverage.
Thanks to legislation like the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 in the United States and similar attitudes
toward cleaning up the junk that gets into people's in boxes, email marketing is becoming more
and more an opt-in practice.
This makes email marketing even more effective because the messaging is more relevant to the audience in question.What exactly is email marketing?
I'll explain in layman's terms by using an example. Say you visit a web page and they offer you a free report that you find interesting. You have to fill out an info box with your name and email address to receive the report. Once you fill in the info, you are sent a confirmation email. You confirm that you requested the report by clicking on a link in the email. Then you are given a download link for your free report. By confirming the email, you have been added to the web site owners' subscriber list which gives him permission to email you further product info. This is the essence of email marketing.
Email marketing is one of the means in the list-building process. It is the only one I will focus on for now. So, how do you get started with email marketing? Well, the first step is finding an email marketing software (an auto responder) provider. I use AWeber. Their deliver-ability rate is among the highest and I really like a lot of their features.
With AWeber's auto responder, not only can you connect with customers and build your list, but you can track your ad campaigns through tracking links. I really love this feature. So, now you will know which ads are effective and which aren't. Pretty awesome!! You can also customize the looks of your emails through templates. You even have the option of becoming an affiliate, which is nice for another stream of income. Regardless of which auto responder service you go with, I'm sure they share similar features.
So, now you know what you need to begin your email marketing journey. You may still be asking yourself, "Why should I do email marketing?"
Well, here are some Fast Facts about email marketing:
Fast Facts:
Marketers rate email to in-house lists as among the most effective forms of online
advertising. According to the early-adopter online marketers, email marketing to in-house
lists is among the top three best performing online advertising tactics. About a third of
these marketers plan to increase the budget for email marketing to in-house lists with 5
percent or more in 2007. [1]
Despite spam, almost 80 percent of consumers subscribe to receive messages from
companies. Permission-based commercial email is relevant to a majority of customers. [2]
Sixty percent of marketers state that to "engage and build relationships with existing
customers" is one of their primary reasons for using email marketing. [3]
What are the benefits of email marketing??
Email Marketing Benefits:
* Email is a cost-effective advertising option
- Auto responder services are relatively cheap
* Campaign Results can be measured and critiqued
- with the tracking features within your auto responder you can measure which ad campaigns are effective and which ones are not.
* Drives traffic to your website
- links can be embedded in your emails which in turn drives traffic to your sites and can result in more sign ups or sales.
* Builds customer relationships and personal branding
- emails with good, quality content sent regularly create a connection with customers and build quality relationships. As a result you are branding yourself as an expert.
* Saves time
- Compared to some other marketing methods, email marketing is efficient and saves time and money
* Easy to implement
- Let's face it...you don't have to be tech savvy to send email
Results From Successful Email Marketing:
You build a LIST!!
You build RELATIONSHIPS!!
You build your BUSINESS!!
If you have been in the marketing arena for even only a little while, I am sure you have heard by now..."The money is in the list!" Without a list, you will not have prospective customers to sell your services to. Continue to provide value, offer solutions to your customers problems, be genuine and caring and you will have your list for many years to come.
Free Download - Think and Grow Rich - Napolean Hill
REFERENCES:
[1] Ad:tech and MarketingSherpa end-of-the-year survey, January 2007, eMarketer, "What
Works, and What Doesn't, in Online Marketing,"
[2] Forrester Research, "The State of Email Marketing 2004," March 26, 2004
[3] MarketingProfs.com, "Email Marketing Benchmark Survey 2004,
"http://www.marketingprofs.com/downloads/MPEmailBenchmark2004.pdf
You need to be a member of syndication express to add comments!
Comments