Organizing Your EmailWritten by Kathy Burns
Keeping your email organized is imperative, especially in corporate or small business settings. When you use email for business purposes, you are essentially handling customer files. Because of importance of this for even smallest of businesses, those files should stay as organized as possible. You wouldn't just lump all of your paper customer files into a corner would you? Most of us wouldn't, so here are some ways to keep email files (correspondence) organized as well.If your business email inbox is currently cluttered with hundreds of old items, set aside some time to clear it out. This first clearance may take several hours, so you may want to delegate some weekend or evening time to tackle it. Filing Methods Before starting actual filing of items, you'll need to brainstorm your organizational structure. If you do not have a solid contact management software program, I strongly suggest investing in one. My preference is GoldMine, and I'll explain why further on in this section. For now, you simply need to decide how you work, and what filing system will work best for you personally. If you need help coming up with filing and organizational ideas, here are a few popular ones: 1. Customer Name Folders – Create email folders that are named same as your customers. All email to or from a particular customer will be filed to that customer's individual email folder. 2. Project Name Folders – If you work primarily with projects, you can create email folders that match past, existing or future project names. From there, you can file all email related to project, regardless of who it is to or from, into corresponding project folder. 3. Month and Year Folders – Create email folders that are named for each month and year. Then file all email sent or received in that month/year into matching folder. 4. Print File Cabinet Mirror – Create email folders named to match your Print File Cabinet system. Then file email into email folders in same way that you file print papers into your hard copy system.
| | Email Marketing Is Alive And WellWritten by Lisa O'Connor
Email marketing is alive and well! If done correctly it will build your business faster than any other marketing method! Email marketing is number one way to promote your business online. If you want to succeed with your online business, email marketing is a MUST. Marketing itself is a never ending task. As long as you're in business, you will have to actively market your product or service. There are advantages to marketing through email; It is free. Not only is your message/advertisement delivered instantly, so are customer orders! Following up with new products/services is free. Having a fantastic website is great, but it alone won't bring in customers. That's what email marketing will do for you! Without an effective and aggressive marketing plan, no one will even know your great website/product/service exists! Let's look at some ways to market your product or service through email. Opt-In List ----------- "Opt-In" is a list of prospects that have contacted you and have given you permission to email them about your product/service. Prospects contact you requesting more information or to join your ezine/e-newsletter and you add them to your Opt-In list of contacts. This is safest way to handle your marketing campaigns. If you do not have a person's permission to email them with your advertising/marketing campaigns, you are spamming that person. Spam is unsolicited commercial email. It is email you send to someone who you've had no prior relationship with. This is not way to handle your marketing campaigns. Most likely person you have spammed will report you and you risk losing your hosting/ISP etc. Build your opt-in list instead and market safely. Ways you can build your opt-in list; Your current customers. Your best source of contacts is your current customer list. It is easy to sell to satisfied customers who already know you. Since they are willing to receive your campaigns, your chance of success is greatly increased. Your targeted list will bring you more orders and profit. Referrals. Contact your prospects and offer to send information to their friends who may be interested in your product or service. Joint Venture with a non-competitive, related business. Exchange a split of profit for an endorsed mailing of your offer to their customer list. Advertising. Include your email address in ALL advertising you do! Website Visitors. Include a "subscribe to" form for your e-newsletter/ezine onto your website. Don't have a e-newsletter or ezine? Start one! This is a great way to boost your business. You can follow up and sell to your opt-in list over and over and over again! Autoresponders -------------- A great way to free up some time and automate your campaign is to use an autoresponder. Setting up an autoresponder means having a system that can make sales 24/7 automatically! Use your autoresponder as contact email address your prospects use to receive more information about your product/service. Store this list in a safe place, you will be able to sell to this list over and over again. Make sure message your prospects receive from your autoresponder is professional, thorough, personable and check your grammar and spelling. Your autoresponder should also be able to send multiple messages at set intervals you determine. It takes a customer 7-12 times of seeing your offer before they decide to buy!
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