E-MAIL MARKETING 101: GETTING STARTED

 If yours is an enterprise that can be considered "B to C” - Business to Consumer - then E-mail Marketing is something that you not only need to be aware of, but need to be participating in. This is especially true if "coupons,” or special offers/special events serves a vital role in your Marketing Program. With certain Retail Shops, E-Mail Marketing is pretty apt to be your ticket to "Marketing Paradise.” It can work well for churches as well!

      In order to explain the process in detail, let’s use a Sporting Goods Store and a church as our examples as to how the program works. To begin with, we need to realize that there are two major challenges in implementing an effective E-Mail Marketing Program: Building your contact list and coming up with viable offers to send to your list. The key to building your list is that you have to provide a reason for people to join. In the case of the Restaurant, you might offer a "2 for 1” coupon, or a "20% Off” your next order when they sign up. You provide patrons the opportunity to enroll while they are in your establishment, and at that time you explain that future coupons will be forthcoming when they "enroll” with you.  A Church might offer a free White Paper on Prayer or How to Enjoy Better Family Life for signing up.  

      Once you have a list to work with, you can start your E-Mail Marketing Program.        For the Sporting Goods store you might want to offer "how to” classes for those who are members of your contact list. You might also promote a "One Day Sale” or a "Week End Event.” While Restaurants might take advantage of Holidays, the Sporting Goods Store might benefit from the various seasons - Hunting, Fishing, Baseball, etc. An E-Mail inviting your contact list members to attend a class titled "A one day Guide to tying Flies” would serve a number of purposes: 1) It would help you determine yourclients area of interest and 2) it would set the stage for increased sales regarding Fly Fishing!  Inasmuch as E-Mails tend to have a short "shelf life,” this is not necessarily a good way to build your "branding” - that would better be accomplished throughDirectories.

Churches might want to offer an invitation to a special Holiday Service or even a “Movie Night” or special musical presentation.  Again, the idea is to get peopleinto the church so that you can determine what their needs are and how you can help meet those needs.
      Regardless of the type of business you own and/or are promoting, there are several important facts you need to keep in mind when building your E-Mail Program. Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that you will want to design your coupons in HTML. This not only allows you to develop and forward an "attractive” coupon that will render properly, it also provides you with the means to "track” your E-Mails, allowing you to know how many of them are being opened and even how many recipients are "clicking through.”