Schewanick Computer Services

One of the most valuable marketing tools we have as eBusiness
owners is email marketing. It is the "FOUNDATION" of our
eBusiness. Think about that for a second...most people think
that traffic is the foundation of your eBusiness....wrong!!

While yes traffic does have a role to play in the marketing
of our business it is the email marketing aspect which carries
the ball for us and builds the trust and rapport for us.

Or, I should say it should work at building trust and rapport,
however if our email messages don't even make it to the person
who has requested it...well then "Houston we have a problem!"

We face essentially three challenges when it comes to email
marketing, let's take a quickie look at them...

Challenge 1 - Spam Filters

Filters do a reasonably good job at deleting those unwanted
emails, but there is still the chance that the legitimate email
(like yours and mine that people have actually requested) end
up not making it through the spam filters :o(

There is no real set way of determining what is legit and what
isn't. I mean lets face it the "list" of words that are on the
hit list grows every day...so even trying that approach is a
daunting task.

Challenge 2 - Mass Deleting

Within the control panel of my email box I have a little check
box that I click which marks all the email in my inbox for
delete. What I do then is quickly scroll down the list and I
will uncheck an email that I have been expecting or one that
I know I need to keep. After that the rest are deleted. I am
not alone in this little process of "mass deleting" we all tend
to do that in one way or fashion. The thing is though that
there are times when I have been scrolling quickly and end
up deleting a message that I shouldn't have.

It's human error, it happens and unfortunately we run the
risk of having our customers do the very same thing.

Challenge 3 - Competition

As much as we would love it, our email arriving in a customer
or potential customers inbox isn't the only email they are
getting. We are in competition with every piece of email
that they receive...all of us are jockeying for our customers
attention and asking to be read.

Competition is everywhere, you can't escape it.

Obviously there are business owners who see these challenges
and decide that it is time to bail on email marketing altogether.
I have actually had clients myself who have said the very same
thing to me. For real!!

If you are one of them, my answer to you is the same as I say
to my other clients...DON'T DO IT!!!

I mean come on, where do you think we would be today if some
of our greatest inventors decided to bail because something got
a little tough??

Lets face it, the internet is still in its infancy and yes there are
going to be huge adjustments made as we go, but you just don't
toss in the towel...you find ways to adapt to the challenge.

So, with that said, lets look at a few things you can do to
"adapt" to the challenge and get those emails opened.

Adapt Idea #1 - Brand Your Messages

Branding your messages is a simple tactic that you can put into
place immediately (if not sooner). Come up with a one or two
word tagline that will immediately register in the mind of your
customer, so that when they see it they will keep it.

Forums and newsletters use a brand all the time. If you look
through your inbox you will immediately recognize a "brand."
For example; HowTo, Ryze, ProfitSpace, DEMC, InnerCircle.

Go a step further when you set up your brand and let your
customers know HOW your messages are marked. For example,
when people subscribe to an eCourse I have written, after
they sign up I send them a message that says "you will receive
a lesson each day for x amount of days. Look for the [Test
Drive an eCoach] in your inbox!

REMEMBER - brand the subject line and brand the FROM.
Make sure you cover all the bases.

Adapt Idea #2 - Choose your email subjects well

Goes without saying that if your subject line even hints of
a sales pitch...well, did you hear that click?? No, it's not
your message being opened...it's the click to delete it.

You want to stand apart from the pack so choose a subject
line that will compel your customer to open it. Also, go the
route o personalizing the subject line. If you know the name
of your customer, then use it.

Adapt Idea #3 - Send a follow up email

Again, you'll see many newsletter publishers using this. What
it is, is a follow up message that refers to a previous message
that went out.

For example, I fire out an issue of ProfitSpace Newsletter
through my autoresponder and then a day after I will send
a follow up message that reminds people that they can view
the issue online. What I have done now is again, sent out
another message that "brands" so the name recognition has
just gotten another hit...plus it reminds people to go to the
site if the newsletter didn't make it through the filters. All
is not lost, I have created yet another opportunity for my
subscriber to still get their hands on the issue!

Now if you don't have a newsletter, not a problem, this
tactic can be set up for anything. Umm let me give you
an example...

I sent out an initial solo message that announced a new
program launch. The second message (follow up) would
refer to the first message and then I would add a little
"incentive" to get people to go take a look.

Ok, I have given you three ideas that will certainly get
you rolling ;o)

Now, the important thing to remember with all your
mailings, regardless if they are an initial mailing or
a follow up is to provide good solid information.

I can't think of a better way to stand apart from the
rest of the pack...AND...to have customers actually
"look" for you. I mean if you are known for providing
good, solid information on a consistent basis then your
branding efforts are really going to pay off. Your
customers will come to think of you as "their expert"
and as such will recognize you right away. When they
see an email with your brand on it they will KEEP IT
because you have a reputation of being a good solid
resource for them.

If all you are doing is sending out one sales pitch
after another then branding is working there as
well, only against you...not for you. Pitching sends
a branding message as well...as soon as a customer
sees your brand then click they dump your butt
because they know you are not known for helping
but selling.

There are a lot more things that you can do which
will help make sure your messages stand out and
are read. If you want to get your hands on another
24 tactics then go to the Get Email Results web site
http://hop.clickbank.net/?profitspac/getresults

About the Author
Denise Ryder is a Marketing Coach writing from her home
office in Northern Ontario (Canada). Hey...are you a do-it
yourself marketer? Are you struggling a little? Need just a
little help??? Can you imagine how far your business could
grow with a Marketing Coach in your pocket??? Take a no
cost Test Drive TODAY!!
http://www.profitspace.com/coach