Make e-mail marketing work for you.

By Gwen Moran

E-mail marketing has been around since before “You’ve got mail” became a household phrase, and it has become a staple in many an entrepreneur’s marketing arsenal. That’s for a good reason, says Gail Goodman, a founding member of the E-mail Service Provider Coalition (www.espcoalition.org), an association of e-mail providers.

“This is the single most effective form of communication for small businesses because they form very loyal groups of people who care about them,” says Goodman. “Since e-mail is increasingly the preferred method of receiving information about products and offers, it’s the best way to reach these people who already have an interest in what you’re doing.”

Still, says Goodman, even if you have a list of people who feel all warm and fuzzy about your business, you’d better be familiar with the laws surrounding e-mail marketing. First, entrepreneurs need to get acquainted with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Created to help stop the flood of unsolicited commercial e-mail, CAN-SPAM applies to all businesses that use e-mail marketing as a method of promotion.

The good news, says Goodman, is that the act boils down to four basic requirements: 1) getting permission to send the recipient e-mail, which is called “opting-in;” 2) sending e-mail in a straightforward manner, and including a clear and correct return address and subject line; 3) providing a simple way to unsubscribe from the e-mail list within the body of the e-mail; and 4) including a physical address for your business within the body of the e-mail.

Recent developments in CAN-SPAM include an increased focus on e-mail to wireless devices. For instance, the FTC (www.ftc.gov) recently published a list of cell-phone and pager domains to which marketers cannot send unsolicited e-mail. So it’s best to monitor the FTC’s website for compliance updates, Goodman says.

Once you’ve mastered the legal issues, you still need to create an effective campaign, says Janine Popick, CEO of VerticalResponse Inc. (www.verticalresponse.com), an e-mail marketing service provider in San Francisco. Since many e-mail programs won’t render images until your e-mail is accepted into the recipient’s address book—also called “white-listing”—solicitation e-mails should be created as a combination of text and images with “Please accept this address into your address book” near the top of the message. It’s likely your text will then be read, even if the graphics don’t download.

Popick says it’s essential to make your offer very clear and appropriate for your audience. Don’t make them wade through paragraphs of copy to get to the offer, because they usually won’t do it. And provide a link to a website with additional information about your offer.

Popick also offers these tips to make your e-mail campaign more effective:

Do:

• Send e-mail only to addresses that have opted-in to receive your messages.
• Create clear subject lines that relate to the message content.
• Remind recipients at the beginning and end of your
  e-mail where you got their e-mail addresses and why you’re sending them information.
• Provide an easy way to unsubscribe from your list.

Don’t:

• Use the word free, because ISPs often block messages containing that word.
• Turn off readers by using too much capitalization or too many exclamation points. Both damage your credibility.
• Send large attachments, which may be blocked or may take too much time to download for recipients who use a dial-up connection.

Popick’s most important tip is to regularly analyze your response rates. If you find that your response rate is low and your unsubscribe rate is high, then you need to re-evaluate the offers and information you’re sending to your target list. Try using a survey or focus group to get better information about the offers your customers and prospects would be most interested in receiving from your business.

Gwen Moran is a writer and consultant specializing in marketing. Reach her at gwen@gwenmoran.com.