your promotional newsletters or catalogs. Your opt-in list
should be used to build a relationship with each and every
person who joins your list, but you must do your part to
show respect to those who do decide to subscribe.
As with everything, there are numerous things you need to
consider in order to avoid some complications associated with
email marketing. While there are so many ways you can get
people to subscribe to your list, there are also a few
things you must do to avoid those same subscribers from
wanting to be removed from your list.
On top of that, you also want to avoid any problems with
the law and/or your internet service provider or ISP . There
are now quite a few laws and regulations in place that
are designed to help protect the privacy of the internet
users from spam and unwanted emails. The use of Email in
business has become extremely popular because of the low
cost and many company's have seized the opportunity by flooding
people's email accounts with unwanted promotional mail.
But, with an opt-in list, you don't need to worry about
sending unwanted emails because people have chosen to subscribe
to your list; they WANT to receive the newsletters and promotional
materials from your company. They have consented to being
on the list by subscribing themselves.
There are times when an email account has been provided
by someone other than the real owner so don't forget to
put an unsubscribe link in every email you send to your
opt-in list. This will help to avoid any confusion and offer
an easy way for your subscribers to opt-out whenever they
want.
It is important that you keep your list clean and manageable
by using the many tools provided by either your software
of choice or the email/autoresponder host (like Aweber)
you use for your opt-in list.
Don't worry, the investment you put into your email marketing
campaigns is well worth it as you gain a much wider and
far more targeted audience that will in turn increase your
sales and bring in the profits you are looking for.
So now you need to ensure that both your business and yourself
are protected from those potential problems associated with
email marketing and stay in the good books with both the
law and your ISP . Keep your operation legitimate and clean.
Your reputation as a legitimate business person and a legitimate
website or blog depends on your being a straight and truthful
marketer.
Here are three things you MUST DO to keep your email marketing
on track and out of trouble:
1) Take notice of those unsuccessful sends. These are the
emails that bounce. Bounced emails, also known as undeliverable
messages, are those messages that, for whatever reason, were
not successfully received by the intended recipient.
There are different reasons why emails bounce. It could be
because the server was busy at the time of your send but
can still be delivered later. Or it could be due to the
recipients inbox being full. And then there are those emails
labeled "undeliverable" that are going to bounce no matter
what simply because of an invalid or misspelled email address
or because an email address was abandoned and erased already.
Manage your list by flagging those accounts that bounce.
Erase email addresses from your list so that you have an
accurate statistic and record as to how many are actually
receiving your mail. You should also check the spellings
of the email addresses in your database and watch for things
like .con instead of .com or misspelled host names like
hotmial instead of hotmail or even those addresses mixing
up the @ sign possibly with the ! or #.
Another way to avoid misspelled or incorrect addresses on
your list and ensure those that you are adding to your
list ACTUALLY subscribed themselves, is to use the Double
Opt-in method. This method sends a confirmation link out
to anyone who subscribes and will not activate their subscription
in your database until they personally have confirmed their
email address. Now you will have served two purposes...you
have double checked the email address is legitimate and ensured
that the person who subscribed truly does want to receive
your emails.
2) Always provide "unsubscribe" methods and options on your
website and include unsubscribe links in every one of your
mailings. When someone on your list sends a request to be
unsubscribed, always take it seriously and remove them immediately.
(If it's sent personally to my main contact email, I always
email them back letting them know they have been unsubscribed
then save both theirs and my emails in case of further
dispute) . If you don't take them off your list and you
keep sending them your emails, you are now sending them
spam mail.
When you are reported as a spammer, you and your business
can get into a lot of trouble. You can be reported to
the authorities and maybe blacklisted by many internet service
providers. You will lose a lot of subscribers this way and
many more in potential subscribers.
3) Avoid any pornographic or shocking and disturbing content
in your newsletters. You can't know who the person reading
your email is and what may offend them. Keep your emails
clean and family friendly at all times. Controversial issues
should also be avoided. If you focus on the nature of your
business and stay clear of anything that could potentially
be considered harmful or offensive you should avoid any problems.
So, keep these 3 tips in mind when preparing your next
email. Build a strong and healthy relationship with your
readers, show them the respect they deserve and you'll find
yourself growing a very successful opt-in list full of people
truly wanting to read your emails and purchase what you
have to offer.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Toresa Slater is an established online business owner in
the areas of Web Design and Internet Marketing. She also
is co-editor of the Wealth Surge News Ezine and such blogs
as Building Wealth from Your Opt-in Email List.
------------------------------------------------------------