How to Legally Profit from Email Marketing

You don't know it yet, but in the next few minutes you will learn a few things that will enable you to command someone to do something - anything - and that person will do it without question. But first, you must know the two words that will make this happen. What are the words, you ask? I'll tell you later on in this lesson.

For now, I'll explain how e-Mail marketing can single-handedly produce thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars for you. I'll also explain the many pitfalls amateur marketers make when utilizing e-mail as a marketing tool.

First, the good news about e-mail marketing: Responsible E-Mail marketing is the world's most powerful, fastest and economical form of marketing ever created.

This statement is not an opinion, it is a fact.

Let's compare: If you want to reach a target market of 100,000 individuals, you can advertise in print, mail out a direct mail piece, advertise on radio, or TV. You can also fax, phone, take out a billboard, do an insert, run a classified ad, etc. Regardless of how you advertise; you'll have to spend a hefty amount of money.

Guess what? Sending out an e-mail message to 100,000 people can be done completely free of charge and almost instantly. You'll only incur expenses if:
A) you do it wrong
B) you purchase a list of recipients
C) you pay someone to do the mailing for you

Now, before you get too happy about a free method to reach thousands, if not millions of people, there are a few things that you must never do:

1. Don't ever SPAM: Spamming is the act of sending unsolicited e-mail to an individual who has not asked to receive information from you, and you have no prior relation or dealing with such a person. New spam legislation was signed by President Bush called the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and became effective January 1st, 2004. CAN-SPAM prohibits predatory and abusive commercial e-mail practices, and places uniform national requirements on the transmission of commercial messages.

In a nutshell; you should never send out unsolicited e-mail. In addition, all commercial e-mail must contain a truthful header information; Accurate subject lines; a specific opt-out tool; sender's valid physical address; and unless affirmative consent is granted, clear and conspicuous notice that messages are advertisements or solicitations. If an individual requests to opt out of your list, you must remove them within 10 days and you can not sell, lease, exchange, transfer or release that e-mail address.

2. Don't ever purchase e-mail lists: You will be extremely tempted to purchase all types of e-mail lists that contain millions of e-mail addresses at a very small cost. The low cost makes it very attractive; however, you will soon regret sending unsolicited e-mail because of all the problems you'll get as a result of this. If you're going to purchase a list, stay away from "safe lists" and try to use a reputable company such as PostMasterDirect.com, or YesMail.com. Either of these two services will ensure that your e-mail campaign is a successful one.

3. Don't ever use e-mail extractor software: The number one way to gather e-mail addresses is to use e-mail extractor software. This tool gathers e-mail addresses from whichever server you want to target. The problem with this tool is that it grabs all types-without categorizing which addresses are parts of your target market. In addition, all the addresses you send a message to will undoubtedly be unsolicited.

Now that is out of the way, if you're going to comply with the e-mail rules of Marketing we must learn to create a massive list of opt-in, or permission-based e-mail addresses.
There are various ways to do this successfully on and off-line. The best way to gather a prospect e-mail address is to ask for it. However, how you ask will produce 5 e-mail addresses or 5,000.

For example: Which of the two statements would entice you to give up your e-mail address:
a) Enter your e-mail address to join our mailing list
b) Tell us where to send your free report that reveals the 3 biggest mistakes business owners make when starting a business.

The first asks you to do something with nothing in return. The second offers you something for nothing in return. In order to get it however, you must reveal your e-mail address. If the promised report is something which interests you, you will more than gladly part with that information.

Naturally, once you send them the information, you will also add them to your database and continue to send follow up e-mails. The e-mails should contain pertinent information along with information about your product or service, and a special offer to entice a purchase.

Other ways of gathering e-mail addresses can include:
- Offering to enter special contests
- Asking to join a specific newsletter
- Asking to Register for a special service
- Offering free information
- Asking to join a reminder service
- Joining a notification list of sorts
- After purchasing a product or service

Once you have determined how you will elicit this information, you should ensure that you can follow up immediately. The best way to do this is with an autoresponder. An autoresponder will ensure that the individual joining your list is properly greeted in a timely fashion. Your list should also allow the subscribers to unsubscribe automatically without your involvement. These features are a real time-saver and will make your life a lot easier.

If your existing hosting account does not offer this service, or you don't currently have a hosting account, you can refer to aeWebHosting.com, or HudsonValleyHosting.com for low cost hosting with the necessary tools to help you with this. You can also do a search on your favorite search engine for the term "autoresponders" or "e-mail autoresponders."

Once you have such an account in place, you can start your e-mail campaign with the e-mail addresses you've gathered.

The most important thing to remember is that every time you send an e-mail message, your goal should be to create relationships. Once you've created a relationship where your audience respects your opinion as an authority in your field, you'll have no problem converting them to customers.

This leads me to the next most important part of e-mail marketing…Do you know the best and worst day of the week to send out your messages?

According to a confidential study performed by Mark Joyner, one of the most successful internet marketers, the best day of the week to send out your e-mail and expect the most sales is on a Friday. The absolute worst day is on a Wednesday. If you are not selling a product and only want to get the most click-troughs possible, you should send it on a Thursday.

When sending an e-Mail, make sure you use a good subject line. The subject line will either get your e-mail immediately deleted, or immediately opened.

Can you tell me which of the following subject headers has a better chance of being opened?

From               Subject
Alfred Smith     News Magazine - Premier issue
UProfit             EARN $100,000 IN 30 DAYS OR LESS!
john                one last thing before I forget…
ACME Corp.     The best offer you'll see on-line…ever!

Which would you open first, if at all? The one that seems like it's coming from a friend is naturally the first one you'll probably open. Just make sure that the body of the message you e-mail follows through with the subject line.

You can also use curiosity, or a great attention grabbing subject line to have someone open your e-mail. Whatever you do, keep it simple and appeal to their needs and wants. In other words, when you write the subject line, ask yourself this question? What's In It For Me? If the subject line answers this question with enough enticement, but with no exaggeration, you've got yourself a winner.

Naturally, the semi-last part of the e-mail is going to be the body of the e-mail. Whether you're sending a newsletter, special report, recipe, or anything else, make sure that you have some sort of special offer of your product or service. The offer can be in the body of the e-mail, or a tid-bit that invites your reader to click on a link to your web site where you'll have your sales pitch ready for them.

The last thing all of your e-mails should have is your E-mail signature tag. You can automatically add a "tag line" at the end of each e-mail you send. The tag line can name your web site address, your phone number, USP, etc.

This is a very powerful way to create traffic to your web site because every time you submit an e-mail, the message will be there. Once it's set up, it's automatic. You don't even have to think about it. Your message can be anything you want.

For example: you can simply remind the reader to visit your web site for updated information. You can also invite the reader to enter your contest located at your web site; download information from your site, or see the top ten listing of whichever subject you choose. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

E-Mail Marketing can make you or cost you a lot of money. Do it responsibly and implement everything we've discussed here and you will have an increased chance at making money. Do it the wrong way, and you can lose your ISP connection, hosting account, e-mail address, and be fined up to $2,000,000. Most importantly, you may lose your good reputation.

Written by Edison R. Guzman