Got an Email Distribution List that You're Not Using? Better Act Fast

If you are in the midst of developing an email marketing campaign and have acquired a list of email addresses, you'd better act fast. Effective email marketing requires that you act just as quickly as you might when using social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. Fast action is not only important because people may change their email addresses quicker than you expect, but also because people may actually be looking for messages from you.

Here's what you need to know about email marketing in order to ensure that your next email marketing campaign is effective:

Think of email as interactive

Gone are the days when email communications from companies were considered to be "annoying" and "intrusive." The time has come when consumers are actually turning to their email accounts as a method of getting information about a company and its promotional offers. At the annual Email Evolution Conference in Miami, marketing gurus discussed the future of email campaigns and agreed that email can nicely complement other popular social networking marketing strategies. Effective email campaigns can not only promote products or services, but they can also be used to get new customers;

Mint.com acquired 8,000 users from one social e-mail referral program at a 50 cent CPA, ... In that campaign, Mint.com tested three messages with customers; customers were all asked to enlist three friends to sign up but the rewards varied. Some customers were offered the chance to win an iPod Nano; some were given "exclusive access" to Mint.com's beta testing program; and participants in a control group didn't receive an incentive. Of those that received the "exclusive access" offer, 48 percent opened the e-mail and shared the invitation, on average, with five friends each. Those invitations had a 61 percent click-through rate. Every 2.6 clicks on the invitation led to one friend becoming a Mint.com user. [source: http://www.clickz.com/3636403]

But remember, email is still a direct marketing strategy

While email has become more interactive than ever, there is still a huge opportunity to use email as a way to share information about your products and services and include a direct call-to-action. Therefore, remember that email marketing, while interactive, is also direct marketing.

Deirdre Baird, president of Pivotal Veracity marketing firm, said of email marketing that it is "experiencing a renaissance as technology trends make email more important in people's lives...with email, you get all the best of interactive advertising, but couple that with a foundation of customer data that can facilitate true one-to-one communication." [source: http://directmarketing.thomsonlocal.com/Win/News-Archive/Marketing-News/?storyId=83396]

Therefore, if you have an email list developed, remember to use that email list to directly target messages to your customers and future customers.

Finally, the email marketing message should be relevant

When developing your email campaigns, remember that the goal is to make them interactive and informative - as well as relevant. According to industry commentator Graham Charlton, businesses could actually lose their customer loyalty if they bombard customers with too many emails that are irrelevant to their needs or interests.

"Consumers are prepared to take action if they are losing interest in the email they are receiving," Charlton said. Therefore, businesses should ensure that they emails stay in tune with customer needs - and are not too invasive or frequent.

To recap, if you're going to start and email marketing campaign:

• Act now - your customers may be looking for emails from you

• Make emails interactive with a call to action or other incentive

• Provide useful information for your readers

• Ensure that your emails are relevant - and not too frequent

Get started using that email distribution list today to jumpstart your marketing strategies. Remember: chances are good that your customers are actually looking for cost-saving and informative emails from you!