| Newsletter Marketing is a great vehicle for small | | | | We know about spam all too well and we don't want |
| direct marketers. More so than virtually any other | | | | to put such email in people's inboxes. Spam causes |
| online communications, it can level the economic | | | | serious and expensive overloads to both ISPs and |
| playing field. Email marketing fuses email and research | | | | individual recipients. Since it is poorly targeted, it is |
| into a single channel and provides marketers with a | | | | ineffective. Therefore, build your mailing list by asking |
| powerful, yet affordable, tool. This type of marketing | | | | people to opt-in to receive your newsletter. |
| remains inexpensive, supple and easily tailored for any | | | | As you know, opt-in email asks users to agree to |
| given demographic. You might think that email | | | | become part of an email list, and they are not |
| marketing reaches a small audience, and other more | | | | subscribed to the newsletter unless they take action. |
| traditional marketing channels will provide better | | | | Such lists are powerful because they indicate every |
| saturation, but that is rapidly changing. The most part | | | | person on the list has given permission to have their |
| of those connecting to the Internet from business | | | | email addresses included in the marketer's database. |
| use it for email. When a newsletter full of valuable | | | | Content. The second most important part of an |
| information arrives in the user's inbox, it capitalizes on | | | | effective email newsletter is its content. People will |
| these two main uses: email and information. | | | | give permission to send them your newsletter if you |
| When applied in a business-to-business application, | | | | give them something in return, like content that helps |
| email newsletter marketing has even more power. | | | | them in their lives. Newsletters distributed with |
| Almost 60 percent of employed people have | | | | information that is relevant to the audience's lives are |
| Internet access at work. Eighty percent of | | | | anticipated and eagerly read. |
| professionals and managers use the Internet, and 70 | | | | Many marketers, whether professionals or otherwise, |
| percent of those in sales, technical or administrative | | | | reflexively want to impose their own company's |
| support positions use it. Therefore, email newsletters | | | | achievements. They want to climb onto the |
| in a B2B application miss only a small percentage of | | | | mountaintops and scream about how great they are, |
| your target market, the decision makers. And even | | | | how many sales their company made, the |
| this small gap is rapidly closing. | | | | partnerships they are forming, and how their product |
| Internet use in the workplace is growing at a | | | | is the best thing to happen since sliced bread. |
| vigorous 54 percent rate annually. Soon, email | | | | The problem with this is these marketers are |
| newsletters will saturate a market as completely as | | | | distributing information that is important to them, not |
| direct mail, print, radio or television advertising. | | | | to their readers. Select articles or other content that |
| Not all email newsletters are effective, however, | | | | pass the following litmus test: Does the content |
| despite the impressive demographic support. Here are | | | | provide value to my customers, or is it |
| tips on how to maximize your capitalization on | | | | self-serving?Once your newsletter is in tip-top shape, |
| Internet use patterns. Ask permission. An effective | | | | make the most of your online marketing efforts by |
| email newsletter gains a readers' permission before | | | | integrating all available options including email |
| putting them on the mailing list. Such marketing builds | | | | newsletters, RSS feeds, blogs and a Web site. It's a |
| communication and goodwill without annoying the | | | | cheap and effective way to reach your prospects |
| reader. | | | | and clients. |