Successful Email Marketing and Keeping Out of the Spam Trap

While there has been a lot of hype around marketing via social network channels, email marketing remains the most productive channel for converting potential consumers into your consumers. Spam laws have actually helped, to some extent, reinvigorate the potential for genuine email marketing campaigns. While social networks have seen some growth in terms of revenue creation, it remains only a small part of the marketing world. Coming trends are expected to include a range of marketing channels with email retaining a significant place for firms looking to boost their sales. However, email marketing is becoming more sophisticated, personalised and for those planning to use it as one of their marketing techniques it’s important to ensure that the time spent in creating more complex marketing emails is not wasted and you don’t see your mailings directed to the spam folder, or permanently blacklisted.

The Implications of Spamming

While many firms appreciate the implications of their marketing efforts being defined as spam, not all realise the full implications. The most obviously damaging effect is that major service providers may filter or block your emails. If you send thousands a day and rely on leads from your campaigns this will quickly have a devastating impact on your business. However, your service provider can also shut down your email account and in the US anti-spam legislation carries huge fines and even jail terms. Other penalties can include your hosting provider pulling your domain, leaving you with little to show for your online efforts.

How to Avoid Being Classified as Spam

The simplest way to ensure that your emails are not classified as spam is to operate a genuine business! There is nothing accidental about techniques used by spam emailers to find their way into consumers’ inboxes. These techniques include using false headers, misleading subject lines, sending emails with sexual content (without the recipient’s consent) or continuing to send emails to those who have opted out of your mailing list. Those who are honestly trying to run a genuine business will probably not be using these techniques but it’s important to take steps to ensure that your marketing campaigns don’t inadvertently breach some of these rules. Opt out options should be clear and effective; allowing consumers the choice not only ensures you comply with the rules but a clearly displayed message to this effect creates a positive impression in your potential customer’s mind. Similarly making over-exaggerated claims in your subject heading can be considered misleading. Subject lines should stand out but they should also be relevant to your product and the message that you wish to get across.

Creating Effective Campaign Lists

Effective email marketing campaigns work because the recipient of the email actually has an interest in your product or services. Email lists bought from third parties are unlikely to generate this type of lead. While they may seem a cheap and easy way to build a mass list, they’re almost certainly a waste of money. Some lists, of course, are better than others; but in order to avoid accusations of spam, you should be clear how the list has been compiled. If users have not agreed to receive emails, then it’s likely that you could be liable under spam regulations. While it may seem like far more work, building lists of your own is by far the most effective way in which to utilise email marketing. Users who have previously shown interest in your products, or even bought them, are more likely to turn into repeat customers or future conversions. Email marketing rarely works on a one-time only basis and you should see it as an opportunity to build quality relationships with quality clients.

Professional Help

Dedicated SMTP mail server providers, such as SocketLabs.com, can help to ensure that you stay within the law – it is after all in their interests to do so. This allows you to manage your email campaigns effectively and many providers offer a range of tools which allow you to monitor the effectiveness of your campaigns. With email marketing changing rapidly this can be a useful, simple way of ensuring that your marketing campaigns are having the desired effect and if not, in changing the approach you adopt. Email marketing has been shown to still be top of the league in terms of marketing online, despite the advent of competition from the likes of Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. Getting it right, avoiding the spam trap, and building lists of interested customers will continue to be one of the best ways to success in online marketing.

Ben Grant is a freelance writer who works in online marketing, he believes that email marketing still offers the best opportunities for businesses to get their message across.

About the author
Andreas co-founded Xavier Media® in 1996 and has since been involved in all kinds of development, marketing and making money online.