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Advanced E-mail Marketing Tips
By Juste A. Gnimavo
There are two types of marketing: unsolicited e-mail (cold
selling) and opt-in selling. Keep them in mind when you create
your messages and build your subscriber list. I highly recommend
you not to engage in cold selling. This is considered spam. If
enough people report your address as spam, you will be banned
from ISPs and search engines. The occasional sale you see from
cold selling will not be enough to compensate for your being
blacklisted on the internet.
On the other hand, building an opt-in list is a perfectly
acceptable and highly successful method that will keep you from
being labeled bad business. With an opt-in list, people ask to
be added to your subscriber database because they're interested
in your topic. Opt-in subscribers should always be given the
option to opt out.
But you would be surprised how many people don't bother
clicking the unsubscribe link, and eventually make their way to
your site to investigate your product further.
When preparing your autoresponder messages, it is imperative to
strike a balance between excitement and hype about your product.
You must avoid wording your messages so that they look, feel and
smell like spam, even if they have been requested. This means
following the rules of creating direct and simple messages. For
exemple, no writing in ALL CAPS, or putting seven exclamation
points at the end of every paragraph.
Here are also a few other deadly spam sins to avoid:
Just about every e-mail program has built-in spam filters that
route unwanted messages to a separate folder, often called a
"bulk" folder, whose contents are routinely deleted by either
the program or the owner of the account. Following the
suggestions above for avoiding spam-type messages will go a long
way toward ensuring your autoresponders don't get diverted to an
early grave.
Here are more tips on beating spam filters and verification
programs:
1. On your "Thank You" pages, remind your subscriber:
- His must check his email for a confirmation message
from YOUR NAME (or your email adress) and must click on the
activation link in order to receive YOUR OFFER.
- If he is using spam blockers such as SpamBully, SpamArrest,
Earthlink, KnowSpam or FilterMy, and did not get your email:
it may it has been blocked by his computer's or ISP's spam
filters, or trapped in his spam (or bulk) folder.
- If he does not receive your welcome email, indicate him to
check his trash or spam folders.
2. 4 steps to follow in sending strangh your messages in the
mail box of your subscribers.
- Never begin your subject line with ADV: or include the word
"advertisement".
- Never use the word "free" in the subject line-especially in
all caps.
- In fact, never use the word FREE (in all caps) anywhere in
the message. If possible, avoid using all caps altogether.
- From address: When you set up your web site and associated e-
mail accounts, do not name any account sales@yourdomainname.com -
this guarantees you an automatic trip to the bulk folder.
- Within the message: Never say "for free?(!)" or use the words
"extra income" in the body of your message. Recently, many
internet marketers attempting to bypass spam filters have begun
breaking up the word "free" anywhere it appears in their sales
copy: f-ree or fr.ee are the most commonly used methods.
3. Formatting your autoresponder messages
Every e-mail program is different, allowing different line
lengths for their viewing windows. If your e-mail program allows
75 characters per line, it may look fine on your screen-but when
you send it to someone whose program allows only 70 characters
per line, those last five characters get moved to the next line
and break up your message with those pesky > signs.
Another potential problem is the font you choose.
Fonts like Courier New are fixed-width: every character takes
up the same amount of space. But fonts like Times New Roman and
Arial have varying width according to the character.
Do not write your message in 16-point Impact Red or other
"flashy" font styles and sizes.
This does not draw attention to your product. It draws
attention to your inexperience. For the most part, keep your
entire message in the same font and type size, (10-point size is
best in nearly every case) and make sure each line is 60 to 65
characters long. When you reach the limit, use a hard return to
start the next line rather than allowing your word processing
program to wrap the text.
Use emphasis like color, bold and italics sparingly for effect.
4. Structure your messages and make sure you easily keep
reading.
Do not stuff your messages with "cool" graphics, animated
smileys, or a dreaded Flash presentation. This slows down load
time considerably, and many people won't wait for your
incredible pictures to appear on the screen. Tell them exactly
how they'll
benefit from it, and put substance in your send-outs. People
want to know that you know what you're talking about!
5. Do not use chat language in the text of your message.
Even to people who know what LOL, IMHO, or IOW stand for.
this is not professional and does not score you any "friendly"
points. And if your subscribers don't know what these
abbreviations stand for, they will be quick to dismiss you as
inept. In case you don't know yourself: LOL=laughing out loud or
laughing on line; IMHO=in my humble opinion or oanother meaning.
6.Do remind people that:
1. they are receiving your message because they requested
more information or a friend suggested they would like to
receive the information and,
2. they can opt out of further messages using a link you have
provided at the end of the message.
Keep your messages out of spam oblivion by adhering to these
guidelines, and you will see your sales and response rates climb.
About the Author
Juste A. GNIMAVO is an Internet Marketer and Owner of affiliate-internet-marketing-tips.com To find Proven Affiliate Internet Marketing
Secrets to Dramatically Increase Your Traffic, Sales visit: http://affiliate-internet-marketing-tips.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/39949.html
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