E-Mail Marketing

E-mail marketing is a very important tool in any internet marketers toolbox -- and it has some great elements of viral marketing.

The first, and most important element of successful e-mail marketing is the law. You need to know any understand CAN-SPAM (if you are in the US, or promoting a US affiliate program.) There are too many details for me to go into here, but if you don't understand this law then you are asking for trouble.

I don't use e-mail marketing on this site. You visit this site once, and then you will probably never return. You are gone for good. On other sites I use e-mail marketing plays an important role in making money. A percentage of all visitors to each site sign up for an e-mail list. Once I have their e-mail I can send them an update on the site if there is a new article or feature. If I am selling a product I can use an autoresponder to increase their chance of making a purchase.

Opt-in E-mail marketing in the post CAN-SPAM era is kind of like casting a net. Not all of the fish in the sea are going to be caught, but once you've caught them they are yours. If you aren't casting that net someone visits your site, leaves and that its. You'll never see another penny from them.

E-mail marketing is critical if whether you are an internet publisher or e-commerce site owner. I visit hundreds of websites. The only ones I return to are the ones that are really, really, good or the ones that send me periodic e-mails.

In order to avoid your visitors opting out of your e-mail list you have to send them very relevent content that they are looking for. If they opted in on your internet marketing site you will send them articles about how they can increase their online earnings. If you keep sending them overhyped sales letters for the latest piece of SEO software your readers will either opt-out or start sending your e-mail straight to the garbage.

The secret is to use your e-mail list to bring visitors back to your site. Once at your site you can try to sell them a product; if you sell the product in the e-mail message itself, without provideing significant informational value, it starts smelling like spam.

Don't under-estimate the power of e-mail marketing. If you own a very small site with little traffic it may not be worth it. If you have a large site that brings in thousands of visitors a day you are burning money by not running an e-mail list.

So how do you start? I recommend using a e-mail marketing service provider. Forget running your own software, there are just too many technical hurdles to overcome.

To capture e-mail address from your site give your visitors a great offer. (Hint: free is good.) Free e-books, newsletters, etc. If the offer is targetted toward your audience you will have no trouble raking in the registrations.

Remember, follow CAN-SPAM. Good luck!

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