Shaunta Brody's blog

Mass Email Software - Amazing Features from a Mass Email Service

If you're in the market for mass email software or just a service that gives mass email marketing, it is usually easy to become confused with all the lingo and options which are thrown around. Continue reading to find out what features a mass email service needs to have...and the reasons you want them!

The 1st (and most important :)) factor you need to be searching for is the list management features. In a nutshell, you want to take into account how versatile and how user-friendly the list admin is. Robust list management will let you add, edit, and delete as much or as few subscriber lists as you need. Modifying the label of your mailing lists should be easy and straight forward. You also need to be able to manually insert or delete subscribers as needed (in the event an individual absolutely HAS to be on your mailing list; and this is exactly what all internet marketers shoot for, isn't it)?

Following the list management aspect, the ability to automatically subscribe and unsubscribe is essential. The industry standard is to provide an "Unsubscribe" link at the bottom of the marketing emails. This not only makes your potential customer happy, but it also supports the FTC's CAN-SPAM Act (letting a subscriber understand how to unsubscribe, and doing this in speedy fashion). End of the legal speak, I swear!

In addition to these two options, your mass email service should provide both HTML and plain-text capacity. Sadly, there still exists some e-mail readers that do not know how to read the html language! This could be a major problem for your needs mainly because plain-text emails, while still getting your message across, are typically a little lack-luster. HTML emails offer you the capability to present your content with the help of eye candy and also allows you to change the look of your e-mail to your lists.



Almost all mass email software allows for customization of your emails. Nearly all mass email services will let you import a subscriber's data into your template. Some services go the extra mile, however, and these are the services you ought to be looking for. A really fantastic mass service will empower you to import any subscriber information you need from a number of data formats.

Let's say, for example, that you wanted to include an order number or the subscriber's birthday in your e-mail. If your list is 2,000 customers strong it would be a very tedious (and sleep-inducing ;)) task to include the subscriber's birthday for every person. Look for a mature mass mailer which will enable you to create your own macros (recurring tasks that you can tell your computer to do for you). With a macro enabled, incorporating custom details in to a large list is a piece of cake.

The last characteristic you must have in a mass email service is reliability. I shouldn't even have to say this. There is a huge variety of both quantity AND quality mass email services out there, unfortunately. In fact, some will promise you the moon but actually deliver very little (reminds me of my first girlfriend…but we won't go there. Reliability is just as important in a mass email service as it is in your paycheck. You don't notice when you've got it, but you sure as heck notice it when you don't!

Mailing List Software- Why "Following Up" Is The Secret Weapon of Mass Email Marketing

 

Stop for the minute and remember the time you bought the vehicle you are diving now. Aside of the actual highlights of the vehicle itself (I'm searching for a sports car featuring a jet thruster on the back and retracting stinger missiles. If you see one, please contact me :)), what was it that helped you in your decision to buy your car from the dealership? Was the one who sold you your car or truck extremely helpful? I'd be inclined to bet a hundred dollars that he was really a master at following up with you on no less than two instances in your decision-making process!

Here's the skinny. Following up with your list WILL put cash in your account. As a matter of fact, it will probably put ALOT of funds in your account, if done right! Doing it right is much more art than science, but listed below are some key reasons to target.

First off, following up is focused on building rapport with your own subscribers. Be honest. NO ONE likes the "hard sell" (unless you are certifiably mad, that is). :) Going back to your vehicle sales example, don't you like it when you step onto a car lot and the sales person immediately gets near you and starts pushily letting you know what you ought to buy and why…never mind that you can't afford it or it doesn't really meet your needs. The answer's simply no.

Most people like the "soft sell", which is whenever the sales person approaches you, asks what you're in search of, informs you regarding the different options you have and how they will improve your driving experience, points you in the right direction and then lets you be. They stay close enough to you to address any issues that you might have. If they see you lingering with a specific vehicle, they're going to approach again and tell you a few of the car's better characteristics (highlighting the points about that car that you had mentioned you were in search of earlier).

Using this technique, the probability is very good you will purchase from that sales rep, even though you arrived at the dealership intending to "just look around". How can this be? Mainly because she's built a relationship with you based on a common interest (cars), and concentrating on Your preferences and desires. Then, she followed up with you to answer your queries or address your concerns. Sold!

Following up in the mass email marketing arena works very similar way. Don't choose the hard sell. Be of help and informative instead. Bring something to the table for your online subscribers, provide them with a wealth of info on a topic that they're excited about. They'll appreciate the value you provide them...and they'll become fervant fanatics of yours!

Following up is incredibly effective, too, simply because you are constantly in front of your subscribers. This is extremely advantageous because once they get the point that they are able to buy a product within your market your product or service is most likely the very first thing that pops into their minds. This simple fact, together with the rapport you have already established, all but guarantees a sale.

Take into account, too, the reason your subscribers are even in your list to start with is because they signed up for it. They signed up simply because they were enthusiastic about what you had to offer. And this is what I call a self-licking ice cream cone!

Finally, following up works because your subscribers see your offers several times. It's pretty common to think about a purchase before selecting it. Maybe your reader is "on the fence" on whether or not to purchase your service. Who can blame them? We all have moments similar to this, don't we? But with every repeated offer they're going to feel just a little better about spending the money to buy from you. They will feel well informed in their decision. Particularly if you give them incentive to buy from you or your company. :)

Mass Email Marketing: Why You Must Have Great Mailing List Software

Mass email marketing and mailing list software are closely related. Mass email marketing is the execution phase of your marketing plan, but it’s your mailing list software that really makes your campaign possible to start with. Choosing to use quality mailing list software is the initial step towards your successful advertising campaign. www.imacmailer.com

Mass Email Service- The Case For Mass Email Marketing

Let's pretend that we could send our marketing offers, immediately, specifically to people who were curious about our particular product or service. Now imagine you could take our messages and personalize them for hundreds of thousands of men and women, again, instantly. And finally, let's pretend (yes, I realize this can be a lot of pretending but I'm gonna bring us back around to good ol' reality, so just hang with me for one sec'. :)) that you could determine which emails had made it to their recipients, the ones that hadn't and why. Seem crazy? It's not, I promise! As a matter of fact, with something known as a mass email service, you're able to do all of these things and much more!

In the event you own a small business and are also already engaged in marketing, you definitely ought to be using a mass email service... particularly if you utilize traditional media (because mass email services could save you lots of money)! A majority of content appears to focus on the lower cost of promoting and higher Return-On-Investment (ROI). And while these certainly help your financial well being, you'll find many more reasons why you ought to be working with a mass email service to market your brand. Let's have a look at them!

Reason number one: individuals are creatures of habit (just keep with me here for a sec). Why do you care? Well... the reality that nearly everybody make it a habit to check their inbox every morning is unquestionably relevant! :). It's usually among the initial things we do (after we've had our coffee and breakfast, maybe). And then we check it several more times the whole day. If I draw an analogy here, it would be like a customer standing outside your shop window, looking in a few times every day to find out if you have any new services on the shelves! We do this (checking our email… not window shopping. :)) each day.

Another point that is frequently over-looked would be the fact you can actually earn residual earnings through strategically-placed advertisements as part of your emails and e-newsletters. Find business in a related field to partner with, and advertise in one another's market stream. You could also embed an affiliate link to your offers. Should you choose this, verify that you are complying with the regulations where you reside concerning transparency! You may not earn a fortune accomplishing this. But then again… you just might!

Metrics are an important component of your mass email service. Metrics are what tell you which messages didn't make it to your subscribers and why. Many mass email services will track who clicked on your offer links and, using on-site metrics, whether or not they purchased and, if they didn't, where they exited your site from. There's an adage in traditional media advertising that goes, "You always waste one half of your marketing budget... you just don't know which half". Metrics changes things completely!

Another key is that you'll be empowered to be proactive in your offers. What I mean by this is the fact that with mass email marketing, when you've got a deal you want individuals to know about you can just draft an email or newsletter and send it out to hundreds or thousands (or hundreds of thousands, in case your list is that big) as an alternative to waiting for potential clients to look for you.

Yet another benefit of a mass email service the capability it provides you with to communicate instantly with your subscribers. If you discover a good deal that you want to let your potential clients know about, you don't need to spend your time making a commercial or laying out and printing a paper or magazine advertisement. You don't have to wait days or weeks for distribution of the ad to contact its intended audience. No, no. Once you release your email, it flies at the speed of light (well...almost anyways. :)) to the subscriber's inbox.

Personalization is, perhaps, the very best asset of a mass email service. Let's say that you've sent a deal to your own list. How hard do you think it will likely be to make your email jump out above the ocean of spam that will greet your subscribers' eyes after they open their inbox? Pretty darned hard, I'm willing to bet! But with personalization features, you can automatically address each subscriber by their name in the subject line of your email, letting them realize that your email is meant particularly for them.

Email Sender Pitfalls: How to Avoid The Junk Mail Box When Using Your Mass Email Service

I think most of us can agree that there are far too many “spray-and-forget” emails floating around out there. The good news is that spam filters have become pretty darned sophisticated and, when set up correctly, catch most spam messages. The bad news is that sometimes they filter the wrong emails: your legitimate “opted-in” emails that potential (or active) customers have asked to receive. In this article we’re going to walk through some of the common pitfalls that an email sender makes and how you can avoid them.

Email Sender Hell- How to Steer clear of the "Junk Mail" Box When Making use of Your Mass Email Service

 

I'm confident that many people will agree with me when I say: there's an excessive amount of spam being sent nowadays. Fortunately, a whole lot of spam is caught by the filters inside our email clients. The bad news is that sometimes they filter incorrect emails: your legitimate "opted-in" emails that potential (or active) customers have asked to receive. How does this occur? And why? Keep reading to discover!

The first pitfall to protect yourself from is sending your messages to an outdated list. This one might appear pretty simple, but it's also about the most common mistakes made. Why? For a couple of reasons. All people, just like you and me, change with time. And their wants and needs change over time too. As an example, maybe your subscriber was interested in learning about acne treatments half a year ago because she was burdened by it. Six months later, she doesn't have acne anymore and, consequently, is not really interested in your email tips about how to solve her acne problem. It's not often we are lucky enough to learn why our subscribers unsubscribe. The important thing to know is they do.

An additional common reason we might send to an old list or subscribers happens because we fail to put an "unsubscribe" link in the bottom of our messages and solicitations. Luckily, it is really an easy fix! If we make it easy for our subscribers to tell us when they're not interested in hearing from us anymore, they'll usually tell us. This really is always the very best strategy. Why? Because this helps keep our emails from being reported as spam!

Another frequent mistake is forgetting to make sure that your emails are presented consistently across various email clients. Unfortunately, not every email clients will display your messages in the same way. In fact, there are still email programs that do a very, VERY poor job of parsing html (what your templates are most likely designed with). The most effective solution? While not bullet-proof, making use of an email template that's personalized, basic, yet elegant frequently yields excellent outcomes. The bottom line is, if your emails are ugly your messages will probably be deleted.

Next pitfall: sending messages with inconsistent frequency. What's the optimal rate to transmit messages out, then? I don't read minds! And neither do you. Only your subscribers know how often they would like to receive your messages. So afford the subscriber some options when subscribing to your list. At a minimum, you should offer bi-monthly and monthly. And if you can swing it, offer daily and weekly intervals too. This gives the user more control and keeps your mass email service out of hot water!

Boring content or presentation is an additional email sender "faux pas".Your readers are looking for reasons to stop reading your content...keep them engaged! If your content is boring, then your odds of being reported as spam go way up.

The final most common pitfall an email sender makes is failing to send targeted (relevant) content to your subscribers. This is a big one! If you own a site that sells more than one product or that sells to more than one demographic, then you may very well be making this mistake right now. Use your mass email service to break subscribers into separate groups, separated by whatever indicator or demographic you choose. Once you've done that, you can send highly targeted offers because you've narrowed the demographic to extremely precise groupings. With this done, you can then take one email and customize it for each individual group. This way, you're still getting your message across, but it stays laser-targeted across a broad spectrum of subscribers.

Mailing List Software- Exactly What A Salesman Can Teach All of us About Mass Email Marketing

You will discover a lot of information on the net about mass email marketing as well as its benefits.

Think for a moment about your latest car purchasing experience. Apart from the main qualities and accents that you had in view to start with (if you notice a slightly-dinged Batmobile, please tell me... I have been looking for one to acquire since I was about six years old. :)) , what was the main deciding factor when selecting which dealer to purchase from? Was the one that sold you your automobile extremely helpful? I'd be willing to bet a hundred dollars that he was a master at following up with you on at least two occasions during your decision-making process!

Let me reveal to you ground-truth. Following up with your list WILL put cash in your account. In fact, it can make you a lot of money! Doing it right is a bit more art than science, but here are some essential reasons to pay attention to.

The first thing to bear in mind is the fact that a successful follow up has ALOT to do with developing trust in your own list. Let's be realistic... NO ONE likes the "hard sell" (unless you are certifiably crazy, that is). :) Going back to your vehicle sales example, don't you enjoy it after you step onto an automobile lot and the sales representative instantly draws near you and starts pushily letting you know what you ought to buy and why…never mind that you can't afford it or it doesn't really work for you. The answer's simply no.

Just about everyone would rather take their time looking, having their questions answered at their leisure, instead of feeling pressured to purchase anything. Probably alot like the car salesman you bought your vehicle from. They're near by should you have any queries. If they see you taking a look at a specific car, they will present you with information about it, customized to the issues that she knows you need.

Applying this low-pressure type of selling, she is actually increasing her chances you will buy from her. How can this be? Because she gained your confidence giving you valuable details about vehicles and features you are looking for (aka rapport), and once she saw you checking out a particular vehicle, she walked over and followed up. Sold!

Following up in the mass email software arena works very similar way. Do not attempt forceful or pushy sales tactics. Be useful and informative instead. Bring something to the table for your own online subscribers, give them a great deal of information about a subject that they're excited about. They will appreciate the quality that you bring to them...and they will become fervant fans of yours!

Following up is extremely effective, too, simply because you are constantly in front of your subscribers. Add that with the idea that you have already built a relationship with them and you will be set!

I'd like to mention here that another reason that this works on your side is simply the fact they enrolled in your list to start with. They subscribed because they wernuse enthusiastic about whatever you had to offer. That's essentially like them pre-screening themselves for your product! :)

Finally, following up works because your subscribers see your offers several times. Maybe these folks were considering your products or services, but simply weren't sure whether or not to buy. Who can blame them? We all have moments such as this, don't we? But with every repeated offer they are going to feel a little better about spending the cash to buy from your site. They'll feel well informed in their buying decision. Particularly if you provide them with motivation to purchase from you or your company. :)