E-Mail Marketing

E-mail marketing?! Is that still around?

You bet it is! Even with social media going strong, e-mail marketing is still one of the most effective ways to engage your customers and provides opportunities to:

Add value both before and after a sale by sending great content,
Find out what your customers are thinking with polls and surveys, and
Yes, even sell your products and services.

Want all the rewards that an effective e-mail marketing program can bring?

Then check out my “Getting Started with E-Mail Marketing” package.”

But for many folks, getting started with a newsletter can be a daunting task. They wonder:

What to write about,
How often and when to send e-mails,
Which online e-mail service provider to use and,
So much more.

That’s why I put together this small business guide about e-mail marketing. It’s chock-full of links to information that will help you get the most out of your e-mail marketing efforts.

Building Your E-Mail List

E-Mail marketing success begins with your subscribers. Without building a targeted subscriber list, your e-mails will never get read by your existing and potential customers. Here are a couple of ways to get an effective list started and keep it growing:

How to Create an Email List Without Sacrificing Trust – one of the key factors of successful email marketing is trust. Here’s how to earn it.
Email Marketing: Driving Customer Opt-in To Your Email List – two tips for driving e-mail list sign-ups.

Creating Your E-Mails

Deciding what should be in your e-mails, and then continuously creating and finding content to include, is one of the most challenging parts of an ongoing e-mail marketing campaign. Here are a bunch of tips to help you get over that hurdle:

What to Put in a Newsletter – The Anatomy of an E-Mail Newsletter [Infographic] – if you’re wondering what to put in a newsletter to send to your e-mail marketing list, you are not alone. This handy infographic will help you figure it out.
- Answers to Your E-Mail Marketing Questions [Infographic] – I received a few questions after posting the “Anatomy of an E-Mail Newsletter” infographic. Here are the answers.
5 Essential Elements to Creating Killer Email – some handy tips to keep in mind when creating your e-mails.
Where to Get Content Ideas

The next three links focus on methods for getting content ideas for your e-mails:
- 1000+ Content Ideas for Your Blog or Newsletter – Every day, thousands of bloggers and e-mail marketers ask themselves the same question, “What am I going to write about this time?” If you’re one of them (as I am), then this post is for you!
- Never Run Out of Content with this Email Marketing Approach – learn about a way to quickly and easily create great content: content curation.
- Best of the Blog: 5 Great Sources of Content for Your Blog and Email Newsletters – links to some spots online where you can discover content ideas.

How-To Use E-Mail Marketing

Here you’ll find solid advice on how-to run an effective e-mail marketing program:

Your Subscribers Are Not Your Friends – sending e-mails as part of your e-mail marketing effort requires a different mindset than when you e-mail your friends and family. Learn why and get some great tips on how to avoid potential pitfalls.
How to Use Email for Target Marketing – some specific tips on how to target different customers with the most appropriate messages.
E-Mail Marketing in the Age of Social Media: Recorded Webinar – this video provides a great overview of the advantages of e-mail marketing and includes tips for getting the most out of your efforts.
Email Marketing for Retailers: Recorded Webinar – this video is full of e-mail marketing best practices for retailers.
Email Marketing for Restaurants: Recorded Webinar – this video is full of e-mail marketing best practices for restaurants.
Email Marketing for Realtors: Recorded Webinar – this video is full of e-mail marketing best practices for realtors.