Email Marketing Explained

Email marketing is a form of direct marketing, by sending out of marketing mail shots it is a fast, cheap and environmentally friendly way of advertising. An advertiser is able to "push" the message to its audience, as opposed to website-based advertising, which relies on a customer to visit that website.

Gaining the customers email addresses by offering something for free in return for is known as “Permission Marketing” it has been proven to be one of the most effective ways of marketing.

It is possible to send out emails using a piece of software known as an Autoresponder, this allows automatic and scheduled sending out of sales & newsletter emails. An advertiser can track users via autoresponders, bounce messages, unsubscribe requests, read receipts, click-throughs, etc. Autoresponders allow specific types of interaction with email messages that can trigger other messages to be delivered automatically or change their profile to a more targeted sales category.
 
Individual Sales can be tracked using tracking URL’s and with the aid of an analytics package such as Google Analytics sales can be tracked right down to individual transactions. By incorporating this information into Customer Relationship Management software it is possible to develop a powerful and effective marketing tool. E-mail marketing is often reported as second only to search marketing as the most effective online marketing tactic.

Tracking URL’s are a very effective technique for measuring the elements of a newsletter such as links pictures & buttons. Effective use of A/B split testing can measure sales copy and actually improve your results

It must be said that if not carried out correctly it is feasible to have your emails and website black listed, laws through out the world are quite strict so companies considering the use of an e-mail marketing program must make sure that their program does not violate spam laws.