E-mail marketing is one of the best marketing techniques. The method is simple, send the mail or product information or news directly to the customer. However this concept usually will be recognizing as spam. Even I will trash an email that I consider as spam without reading it. Let me remind you, spammer will receive severe punishment. It's not my idea of marketing but to some people this technique is proven more effective that other technique. So, how can you practice the email marketing technique without being report as spam?
Opt-in email advertising
Opt-in email advertising or permission marketing is a method of advertising by electronic mail wherein the recipient of the advertisement has consented to receive it. It is one of several ways developed by marketers to eliminate the disadvantages of email marketing.
Permission email marketing may evolve into a technology that uses a handshake protocol between sender and receiver (Fairhaed, 2003). This system is intended to eventually result in a high degree of satisfaction between consumers and marketers. If opt-in email advertising is used, the material that is emailed to consumers will be “anticipated.” It is assumed that the consumer wants to receive it, which makes it unlike unsolicited advertisements sent to the consumer (often referred to as spam). Ideally, opt-in email advertisements will be more personal and relevant to the consumer than untargeted advertisements.
A common example of permission marketing is a newsletter sent to a firm’s customers. Newsletters like this are a way to let customers know about upcoming events or promotions, or new products. In this type of advertising, a company that wants to send a newsletter to their customers may ask them at the point of purchase if they would like to receive this newsletter.
With a foundation of opted-in contact information stored in a database, marketers can automatically send out promotional materials. The marketers can also segment their promotions to specific market segments.
Terms
There are terms regarding email marketing that you need to know :
Above-the-fold The top part of an email or web page that can be seen without scrolling. This is generally more desirable placement because of its visibility.
API Application Programming Interface that allows an outside system to have a well defined protocol by which they can access another system's functionality.
Append The practice in which a marketer leverages offline data to match profiles with users and contact via e-mail.
Auditor Third party to verify subscriber membership.
Blacklist List of IP addresses that are being used by or belong to organizations or individuals that have been identified as sending Spam. Blacklists are often used by organizations and Internet Service Providers as part of their filtering process to block all incoming mail form a particular IP address (or block of addresses).
CAN SPAM A law, which became effective January 1, 2004, that establishes requirements for those who send email with primary purpose of advertising or promoting a commercial product or service.
Click-through When a reader takes action and clicks on a link.
Click Through Rate The number of times all links in an email were clicked compared to the total list size, represented as a percentage. To determine the click-through rate, divide the number of responses (clicks) by the number of emails sent (multiply this number by 100 to express the result as a percentage).
Click To Open Rate The number of times all links in an email were clicked compared to the number of people who opened the email, represented as a percentage. To determine the click-to-open-rate, divide the number of responses (clicks) by the number of emails opened (multiply this number by 100 to express the result as a percentage).
Conversion Rate The number of recipients that completed a desired action as a result of an email message compared to the total list size, represented as a percentage. To determine the conversion rate, divide the number of recipients who completed the desired action by the number of emails sent (multiply this number by 100 to express the result as a percentage).
Creative (Email Marketing) Terminology used for copy and content of an email. Email creative can be in many different formats including HTML, text, images, etc.
Demographics Data about the size and characteristics of an audience.
Domain Keys Email authentication system designed to verify the DNS domain of an email sender and the message integrity.
Double Opt-in Email Marketing The process of collecting permission to email users whereby a submitted email address is not immediately added to a mailing list. Instead, an email is sent to the submitted address asking the user to take additional action to confirm that they do want to receive email communications from the marketer. If the user does nothing, the submitted address is not sent email communications. The user will only be sent email communications if they respond to the confirmation email.
Email Authentication Practice of validating that an email sender is legitimate to cut down on spam and phishing scams.
Email Frequency The intervals at which email marketing efforts are repeated: weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, etc.
Email List Manager Controller of email list or database entity.
Email Marketing Campaign Coordinated email marketing messages delivered at intervals with a specific objective or goal.
Email Newsletter An email message sent out to a group of subscribers with relevant information on a topic. Often used to capture Web site visitor's email addresses, they can also be used to keep in touch with existing customers, or simply as a means of distributing new product information.
From Name The name by which the sender of an email is known.
From address The email address from which an email is sent.
Geo Targeting The ability to target users by geography such as city, state, country and postal code.
Hard Bounce An email address that is rejected by the receiving server for a permanant reason (example: "email address does not exist"). Hard bounces are not vaild email addresses and should be removed from lists.
List Segmentation Breaking a list into smaller pieces for the purpose of targeting recipients with specific characteristics or demographics.
Multi-part Email An email that is sent with different versions - usually html, text and AOL. The recipient's email client settings determine which version is delivered to that inbox.
Opt-in Code Code posted on the webpage of a company's website that allows a subscriber to signup for email from the company and be automatically added to that company's email list.
Opt-in Email Marketing The process of collecting permission to email users whereby the user must take action to receive email communications
Learning Online
This video wil help you learn on email marketing. Thanks to jratliff for sharing this tips!
Books & EBooks
For printed material on email marketing, you could purchase this product under Amazon.com. Just click on any of the product.
If you're looking for ebook regarding the subject, I found a link that provide free ebook. However, I'm not sure whether the ebook is good or not. But since it's free, it will worth a try :p
Click To Get The eBook
References :
http://www.levison.com/email-marketing.htm,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email_marketing
http://ezinearticles.com/?Email-Marketing---Avoid-Being-Labeled-as-Spam&id=601701
http://www.optinnews.com/email_marketing_glossary.html
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