(A word of warning though) You have to enter this knowing that most of your mailings will go unread, but at least it’s cheaper than other advertising methods.

Large companies like Capital One, know their mailings DO work – they’ve spent a fortune fine tuning and testing these campaigns. But just to warn you – direct mail can fail, and they are ones, usually, small to medium businesses send out, because they don’t understand what they are really doing.

If it’s done right, it will make your profits increase dramatically, and when it’s done badly – it can eat into a budget, so be very careful!

There are 2 types of mailings:

Potential Customers

Existing Customers

If you don’t do much mailing – start doing some now. It’s easy to not email out of fear of upsetting clients, scared of bombarding them with too many mails, thus losing a sale.

That’s crazy and it’s to nobodys advantage.

Actually, most sales emails are helpful and quite genuine. I was once told “You’ve got to be mad to not listen to a salesman – they might have something you need!” So next time you receive a mail or telesales call, consider that it could well be in your favour.

And there really is nothing wrong with sending out 2 mails each week.. So don’t worry.

I have noticed that many clients are sitting with 1000’s of email addresses – yet they aren’t contacting these clients. That’s like throwing money down drain. They could say NO, then again they could say YES to your product. Imagine if a further 10 bought your services next week – how do you feel about not emailing those customers now?

Try it today….. Think of something you can offer these customers, you must have something you can offer! Even something for free. Send them a letter and measure response. If it works, mail them and measure results. If it keeps on working, keep on doing it!

The best email is a personal communication with a customer you know. It may read as follows:

Dear-----------

I wanted to follow up after your purchase of (your product) on (date) to see how it's working out for you and to thank you for your continuing business. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know by return email, or feel free to call my private phone number.

Many Thanks

Regards

Mr X

Your customer is going to open, read and appreciate an email like this. They may even respond to it, and even if they don't, it doesn't look like spam or bug anyone. And they probably will appreciate that.

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Give it a go – you’ll be surprised.

Nine pointers to follow while getting email lists using opt-in method

1.) Never provide pre-checked opt-in boxes 2.) Never make your customers check boxes by fake means 3.) Make opt-in process as easy as possible 4.) Never ask for too many personal details 5.) Tell your customers what they will get in case they opt-in 6.) Provide incentives if required 7.) Provide a ‘mail to others’ or ‘tell your friends’ button 8.) Provide a privacy policy and stick to it 9.) Give information about un-subscription requests

What is single opt-in and double opt-in?

Single opt-in emails are those that do not require a re-confirmation. For instance, a customer clicks on a check box and he is automatically added to subscription list. A double opt-in email on other hand requires recipient to reconfirm that he actually wants to receive mails. Only after reconfirmation is recipient added to subscription lists. For instance, after recipient clicks on a check box, he receives a reconfirmation mail. Only if he replies mail or clicks a link in mail will he be added to subscription lists. The best way to carry out your responsible email campaign is to go for a double opt-in method.

Benefits of responsible email marketing

Responsible e-mail marketing has lots of benefits as compared to bulk email marketing. Few benefits are listed below

1.) As responsible email requires you to take prior permission before sending emails, chances of your mail getting termed as spam becomes negligible 2.) Responsible emails will help you create long term relationships with your clients 3.) Your can portray a professional and ethical corporate image 4.) As email is personalized and highly targeted probability of recipient actually opening and reading mail becomes very high 5.) Response rates will generally be higher 6.) You can generate customer trust that would help in building long term relationships

Although responsible email marketing may seem a difficult process it can benefit you in many more ways than as mentioned above. Carrying out email marketing in this manner will also make sure that you abide by Can-Spam guidelines passed by Federal government. There are many good sites that offer in-depth information on this subject. For instance http://www.bizbrim.com offers information on all aspects of responsible email marketing. To get information about Can-Spam Act you can visit http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html.

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