A8 I LAL.Re ss R A Siti S$! Mh Sy V4 ib ini : ve ) es ay aya Key Tips On avs E-mail Marketing Work (NAPSA)—A growing number of small businesses are getting the message whenit comesto e-mail. What they are learning is that e-mail can be a key, cost-effective part of a company’s marketing strategy. According to Power HomeBiz.com, a site for helping small businesses do big business, there are seven elements that need to be considered before engaging in e-mail marketing. Avoid spammingat all costs. This means that you should send e-mail only to people who requested it, and this is why they call it permission-based marketing. The rule is simple andclear: If the person did not agree to receive your e-mails, then it is spam. Personalize it. People are apt to respond more favorably to “Dear Elizabeth” than “Dear customer.” Only send personalized emails when you have complete data. Be clear about your privacy policy. When visitors subscribe to your newsletter and provide contact information or other details, they assume that the information will be used by you and never shared, sold or rented. Respond to inquiries. Just as you return phone calls, you must return your e-mails. The hallmark of good Internet customer service is quick response times. Acknowledge your subscriptions. It is important to send an acknowledgement e-mail to new email subscribers. Besides, this acknowledgement verifies the accuracy of the e-mail and clarifies that the subscriber has opted in. You can do this automatically by setting an auto responder to your subscription e-mail. An e-mail marketing campaign, experts say, should only target customers who asked to be on your list. If they didn’t ask to hear from you, the e-mail is spam. Keep a record of all requests for subscription to your newsletter or product offering updates—even for years afterward. If you receive a complaint, you'll be able to verify that the person did, indeed, register. If the person wants to be taken off your list, make it easy. Be sure to include clear instructions on how to unsubscribe from your list in every e-mail you send. Upon receipt of the request to unsubscribe, acknowledge the e-mail and respond that you have removed the person’s e-mail address from yourlist. Avoid giving the person the runaround. If not, you could wind up with a disgruntled person who could easily damage your reputation. To learn more, visit the Web site at PowerHomeBiz.com. For more information, visit www.comcast.com/business or call 1-800-316-1619.
