No one wants to log in to an inbox full of spam, but email marketing can be an effective way to advertise if it’s done the right way. Plus, there’s virtually no cost beyond your initial mailing list, your server and the electronic infrastructure and domain name that you already have. For a small business owner, email marketing is a tricky technique. It’s important to show respect to your consumers, and it’s even more important to obey the law. Here are a few general rules for email marketing.
Have a Purpose
Email marketing is a direct form of communication with a target group of people. As a business owner, you can deliver ad campaigns, solicit sales and request new business, all through messaging. In general, this marketing technique is delivered in one of three ways:
- As a direct promotion of a product, service or event
- To build and retain customer loyalty
- As a tag-along advertisement in a business partner’s email
Be sure that your communication serves a specific purpose. Don’t just send out messages telling people how great your company is. Instead, inform recipients about an upcoming sale, a new product line, a company milestone or something of educational value.
Don’t Be a Spammer
Spam is an unsolicited message sent through an electronic delivery system to multiple recipients, and email is one of the most widely used platforms. Spam is often referred to as junk mail. It’s highly pervasive, so much so that the United States government enacted a special anti-spam law in 2003. The CAM-SPAM Act is designed to control the invasion of unsolicited pornographic and marketing-related material. By law, all commercial email messages must include the following:
- A clear method for unsubscribing
- At least one sentence
- An accurate header
- An accurate “from” line
- The publisher’s physical address
- A label (only for adult material)
Any opt-out request must be honored within 10 business days. Furthermore, you are not allowed to purchase email lists or message harvested addresses. Open relay emailing is also illegal. In other words, your server must only allow mail to travel to and from known users.
Breaking the CAM-SPAM rules can cost you a fine of up to $16,000 as well as thousands of valuable customers.
Only Email Willing Recipients
Even if your email marketing strategy is fully compliant, you should still consider its impact on your audience. Unwanted correspondence is always poorly received and can give your business a bad reputation. The best way to build an email list is by presenting consumers with the option to sign up. This is where the tag-along method comes into play.
Consider how an airline communicates with its customers. When a passenger receives an emailed trip itinerary, he or she may be given the option to join a newsletter and receive periodic updates about special fares. The email might also include a link to a partnering car rental service. This is how you want to communicate with your audience. Let them decide whether or not they want the information.
Social media is another way to recruit recipients. Keep an updated company page, and offer visitors a link to sign up for email blasts.
Be Relevant, Timely and Concise
Once you do receive permission to communicate, make sure your email is effective. First, choose your partner companies appropriately, and don’t send useless or irrelevant information. Second, be punctual with your messaging. For example, if you’re holding a one-day sale, don’t email your customers the afternoon of that very day. Finally, you should take the same approach to emailing as you do with other promotional material. Use images, bold type and short catchy headlines.
Email marketing is a delicate balance. It’s certainly cost effective, but you still need to do the work required to build your lists, remain compliant and deliver an effective presentation.
Legal Disclaimer
The content on our website is only meant to provide general information and is not legal advice. We make our best efforts to make sure the information is accurate, but we cannot guarantee it. Do not rely on the content as legal advice. For assistance with legal problems or for a legal inquiry please contact you attorney.