SOHO Solo West Cork

Calvin April 29th, 2009

With people’s inboxes flooded by a relentless stream of spam it’s understandable that some predict the demise of e-mail marketing in the not too distant future. If you believe that e-mail marketing has had its hey-day then you’re in good company. While researching “Understanding Digital Marketing” I conducted Q&A’s with  several online marketing luminaries who predicted an uncertain future for the humble e-mail in the marketing mix.

Alain Heureux, President IAB Europe and IAB Belgium

Q. Which components of “digital” (ie: search, affiliate, display, etc.) do you believe will be LESS widely used in say three years time?

A. I think, unfortunately, due to the global spam epidemic, that e-mail marketing has difficult times ahead.

You can view the full Q&A on the Understanding Digital site.

When you consider the spam epidemic alongside the meteoric rise in social media, the burgeoning use of RSS feeds to pull relevant information, and the perceived panacea of search marketing in the online mix, it’s perhaps understandable that the old stalwart of e-mail looks a little jaded in comparison.

But appearances can be deceiving.

E-Mail still has a lot to offer

E-mail usage and penetration remains huge… and for many businesses e-mail is still the preferred method of contact for their customers. The vast majority of internet users wouldn’t recognise an RSS feed if it bit them on the nose, and as for setting up a reader and managing feeds… forget it. But your customers are comfortable with e-mail… and as long as they ask for information (opt-in) and what you send them is targeted, relevant and valuable, it’s still one of the best ways to maintain an ongoing and productive relationship with your customers.

Let’s take my Mum as an example. I wouldn’t dream of trying to explain the ins and outs of RSS to her… let alone venture into the realms of social media… but she’s happy enough using her e-mail client. She can send and receive messages, keep up to date with newsletters from her favourite brands, and get the latest promotions that are relevant to her straight into her inbox.

Building an opt-in e-mail list for your customers allows you to build and maintain a relationship with them over time, and send them targeted information and promotions based on your previous interactions with them. Used properly it can be one of the most effective tools in the small-business marketing arsenal, and still has potential to reach a much wider audience then the new kids on the block.

“Follow me on Twitter” is all very well, but how many of your customers are really at the bleeding edge of social technology? How many of them, do you suppose, have an e-mail account? Thought so!

Use E-mail marketing tools to help you succeed

But where do you start when it comes to building and managing your opt-in e-mail list, constructing your e-mail newsletters and promotions, keeping track of statistics so you can refine your efforts, dealing with subscribe and unsubscribe requests?

For a very small list you could do all the work manually — keeping track of your customer’s e-mail in a spreadsheet and sending your mailings through your standard desktop e-mail client (don’t forget to use the BCC field), but for anything more than a few dozen subscribers that becomes unwieldy and ultimately unmanageable.

Luckily there are tools out there specifically designed to help small businesses just like yours manage their e-mail campaigns. Here are a couple of the better known ones — you can easily google for others. Most offer a free 30 day trial so you can give them a whirl and see which suits you best at no risk.

AWeber complete e-mail marketing system

AWeber is the e-mail marketing tool of choice for many high-profile online marketers. It’s designed for small business, is flexible, affordable, and easy to set up and maintain. For more information and a free trial check out the AWeber e-mail marketing website:

E-Mail marketing services from Benchmark Email

Import your contact lists; choose from 100s of Email Templates, Send Campaigns and Track Reports… sign up for a free 30 day email marketing trial with Benchmark Email.

NewsWeaver Newsletter/E-mail management

Newsweaver is an Irish based e-mail campaign management site that focuses on building relationships through delivering topical, opt-in online newsletters to your customers. Check out the Newsweaver website for more on their e-mail services and the business of e-mail in Ireland.

E-mail marketing video

And finally, a short video that will run you through some of the benefits of e-mail marketing and how to get started:

Tags: E-mail marketing, Internet marketing, Marketing, Small Business

• Marketing , Small Business , Technology , Uncategorized , internet , online marketing
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