Opt-In Email, What You Need To Know

One of the most important keys to success in online marketing is building your own opt-in list of prospective and previous customers. For those that are just starting out online, this process should start even before you start planning to publish your own ezine/newsletter.

As you initiate your business you can begin to build your opt-in list in order to follow-up with these prospects and customers. It doesn't have to be a formal ezine initially, it can just be a once a month update on new products and services. When your list starts to increase to a good size then you can consider a formal ezine.

So how do you capture the addresses? There are several ways to do this, and it will take time to gather information and create the ultimate list.

A Web Site Sign Up Form is an ideal way to gather information. Place a sign up form on every page of your website. Or at a minimum have a "subscribe" link on every page that goes to a separate subscription page. Make sure that you just don't put "subscribe to our ezine". That means nothing for a potential client. Just a short description will greatly increase your subscription rate. For instance. Using "Weekly Marketing Tips and Techniques emailed to you! Subscribe today" would be better than "Subscribe to Our Ezine".

Give something away free like a free white report with information that is geared to your site's content. Make sure they have to request the information so you capture their email address. Using an autoresponder can help you automate this process by sending out the information to your subscribers. That way the information is available 24/7. With most good services you will receive an information copy as soon as someone requests the information and it will have their email address in it. But, and this is important, just don't send them the free information. Make sure that at the end of your auto responder text that you send them, there is a short blurb about your website services/products and your ezine if you have one. But don't over do it.

Another important item is that you do not just add the person's email address to your opt-in list or ezine. You don't want them filing a (CanSpam Act and CanSpam Legal Brief)SPAM complaint since they didn't ask to be on your list. Offer them the ability to get future mailings from you as indicated above in the mailing itself. You want to create a true opt-in list.

An exception to this would be if you were offering them a free gift for subscribing to your list. Then they should be added to your list.

Many will ask - Is it all right to email someone that has requested some free information report from you? Yes if you do it the right way. By using an autoresponder, you can also send an invitation to your e-mail list.

Follow Up often, this way you are not forgotten. If a potential customer does not want your services, than they will ask to be un-subscribed.

To learn more about using autoresponders to build your e-mail list, sign up for GeekSpeak To English, 101 on Wednesday, June 27th, 6pm PT. And watch for the podcast next week at North San Diego Business@Large.

Publishing Your Own Ezine, Part 6 The Three Factors Of Email Marketing Success

Success can be broken down into components. It's the little things that pile up into fulfilling rewards eventually. Like ingredients to a wonderful delicacy, success is cooked up by introducing the right mix of components.

Success in email marketing is no different. It can be broken down to three distinct and critical factors that will ultimately make or break any campaign centered on such. All three factors should be complied with, as the non-performance of one can cripple the entire system.

What are these factors? How can you ensure that they will be at their peak?

Factor 1: Attraction

Your emails should be attractive in order for the recipients to open the same. A bland email will just be left untouched, even if it finds its way to the recipient's inbox. The first thing that the recipient will see, is of course, the subject title of the email. Hence, much care should be exercised in crafting the subject title so that it may capture the attention of the recipient and prompt them to click on the same and read your email.

There is a challenge here. You cannot just add any subject title you wish, least you violate the Can Spam Act which mandates that the said subject title should be relevant to the content of the email. You can't say "Congratulations, You Just Won," when the recipient never won anything. The title may be catchy, but it is deceiving, as it is illegal.

The trick is in developing a subject title that is witty, one that will capture the interest of your audience without breaking away from the spirit of the content. Hence, "A Personal Message" and "I've Got Great News For You," though vague, have been considered as great attention grabbers.

Factor 2: Readability

Would you read an email containing purely technical jargons you could not understand? How about an email that is so poorly written it's almost unintelligible? Or a comedic one when you’re expecting something serious?

Poorly prepared messages affect readability. And your recipients should read your content to be able to get your business message. The only way you can get them to read your mails is by grabbing their attention and never letting go, through compelling content that is pretty much difficult to resist.

The way your mail is written plays a big part in all of this. A poorly written email will just turn off your readers. Worse, it may brand you negatively.

Take time to formulate an email that you can be proud of, and your read rate is sure to increase.

Factor 3: Response

So, your recipients actually receive your emails, and they actually read the same. But do they respond in the manner you want them to respond? Do your emails help you reach your business goals?

If not, then your email marketing campaign is suffering from a low response rate.

To increase the response rate, you must have some effective calls to action in place. Calls to action are the mechanisms you implement to compel the subjects to do what you want them to do. In marketing, this may be in the form of special offers, urgency offers, and gratuitous offers. Mastering these mechanisms will greatly help your online business. Including them in your eZine will be the coup de grace, as you'd be able to reach a lot of people with just one message.

Study successful sales pages. Ask yourself this question: why did such a sales page make me want to buy what was being offered? Chances are, it's because of the potent call to action that was put in place. Copy these calls to action and make some adjustments to include them in your campaigns, and you will enjoy a higher response rate.

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