TAKING EMAIL MARKETING TO THE NEXT LEVELWritten by Karen Fegarty
Many types of Internet advertising don't work as well as they once did. People have gotten used to banners and don't click on them. Some ezines have failed to keep their readers' interest and ads sometimes get less response. Search engines are overflowing with submissions. Getting your site listed high is almost impossible.More and more businesses and organizations are now turning to email marketing to keep profits rolling in. While an increasing number of people say they rarely surf Net, vast majority of North Americans check their email every day. Email marketing is most effective and efficient way to influence purchases and keep customers informed and happy. It is also extremely inexpensive. Where you might have mailed out one printed customer update every month, you can now email one every week for a fraction of cost. Increasingly, companies need to embrace email marketing in a big way in order to stay competitive. Those who formerly used a service to send out their newsletters, sales info, and consumer updates are now doing all emailing themselves. New technology that is powerful yet easy to use allows anyone to handle email jobs that previously required expensive professional help. Many companies are bringing their email campaigns in house in order to have more control, grow their email efforts, and decrease costs. Here are four features you will want to use in your email marketing efforts: 1. Include HTML in your email messages. Most email programs are now equipped to read HTML. Your logo, banner, bullets, and color elements can make your message jump off screen. You can even include forms that allow customers to order instantly from your message. You take advantage of impulse purchases that can lead to big increases in sales. One note on HTML, it is best to create message that is in both HTML and text format, allow clients software to display appropriate version. Also if possible, pre-qualify your customers desire for HTML.
| | Email Tips for CoachesWritten by Susan Dunn, M. A.
Coaching is a relationship field. Many of us offer unlimited email along with our coaching. Here are some ways you can make your emails professional yet engaging. 1. Include a quotation that reveals something about you and your philosophy.
I use "The last thing a fish knows about is water." Doug Abercrombie uses "By taking action we define ourselves." Nancy Fenn uses "To follow knowledge like a sinking star, beyond utmost bound of human thought." Which one's your kinda coach? 2. Include every way possible a person can reach you -- email, phone number, website. 3. The judicious use of graphics is suitable.
I sometimes include an animated gif of a tiny fishbowl with a fish in it. Evangeline, a personal life coach, sends me butterflies. Tex, a business coach, uses his logo. 4. Include a picture of yourself.
It's a very personalized field! 5. Use a special closing indicative of your style and use it every time. Consistency builds trust.
Leslie, a business coach uses "All best." Judi, a personal life coach, signs her "Hugs." Anne, a parenting coach, signs hers "Yours, for children." 6. If time allows, personalize your signature block on an individual basis. Change it to fit recipient.
I may remove gif for executive/business clients, and substitute a business-oriented quotation, or add this link from my ezine for a client working on Relationships or this for a client working on Intuition Doesn't that take a lot of time? You bet it does. I give my clients a lot of time.
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