| #ffffff;" /> | | | | homework and get to know the CAN SPAM Act |
| If you haven’t already started an email | | | | before you move forward. |
| marketing program, it’s time you did. But | | | | 3) Geo Targeting |
| unless you are a large, multi-national corporation with | | | | Geo Targeting is sending emails and promotions |
| big bucks to spend on an email marketing expert, the | | | | based on geographic location including your |
| task will fall to you. So, where to begin? | | | | recipients’ city, state, country or postal code. |
| First off, figure out which products or services | | | | This is incredibly valuable when you’re |
| you’re going to promote with your HTML | | | | marketing to customers in different climates or |
| newsletters or emails. Once that happens, familiarize | | | | different types of locations. |
| yourself with the most important email marketing | | | | 4) The Blacklist or sandbox |
| terms below: | | | | Getting put on the Blacklist or in the sandbox means |
| 1) Opt-in email marketing | | | | that your emails will be rejected by email service |
| Opt-in email marketing is sending emails to recipients | | | | providers because customers complained that you |
| that have signed up to receive emails or newsletters | | | | sent them spam. If you create a permission-based |
| from you. You can gather this permission through a | | | | email marketing campaign, you most likely |
| ListBuilder on your Website, sign-up cards in your | | | | won’t need to worry about landing on a |
| store or at tradeshows, or other traceable ways. To | | | | Blacklist. |
| make your list truly permission based, you may want | | | | 5) Click-Through Rates |
| to go with a double opt-in scheme. This is when you | | | | Click-Through Rates are data on the customers who |
| send your customers an email asking them to click on | | | | not only opened your emails, but clicked on a certain |
| a link to confirm their subscription. | | | | link to visit a page on your site. The top Web-based |
| 2) The federal CAN SPAM act | | | | email marketing firms give you access to reports so |
| This very important set of guidelines created by the | | | | you can view this data 24/7. |
| U.S. Federal Government explains what you can and | | | | Though the list above doesn’t include every |
| can’t do when you send emails. Two key | | | | term you need to know about email marketing, |
| rules are that you cannot send commercial emails | | | | it’s a good place to start. Once you familiarize |
| without permission or pretend to be someone else | | | | yourself with what these terms and lingo mean, you |
| when you send emails. Familiarize yourself with all | | | | have a good jumping off point to start your bulk |
| these rules by visiting the government’s | | | | email marketing campaigns. While most of us wish we |
| official CAN SPAM Act Website. If you fail to follow | | | | had an email marketing expert to handle everything |
| these rules, you can wind up getting hit with stiff | | | | for us, most people will end up becoming their |
| fines or worse - end up in prison. So do your | | | | company’s own email marketing expert. |