Email Marketing - How Best To Manage and Distribute Your Messages

This holiday season 15 percent of consumers in the US plan to buy online, spending an average of $585. That's 9 percent more revenue for online merchants in comparison to last year's results.

A recent report estimates that Canadians will spend half a billion dollars online for gifts this holiday season. Even by conservative estimates the total number predicted is double the $282 million predicted for Christmas, 1999.

Whatever way you look at it - doing business over the net is growing at incredible rates and email marketing is becoming a 'given' element of many marketing campaigns. It should come as no surprise that tools to help us manage our email lists and distribution are becoming increasingly important.

The challenge in incorporating email marketing into a campaign is determining what type of email service best suits your business needs, today and in the long-term.

There are two main choices when establishing and maintaining email marketing programs: A desktop email marketing application or an email campaign submission service.

Let me describe the two options in greater detail -

Email Marketing Application- Tools such as these allow you to create, manage and distribute your own customized email campaigns. Cost is usually a one-time software purchase. This approach is best suited to those companies with a fairly well defined target market and corresponding email distribution list. This approach can also be used if your target audience is growing and/or change. The software applications available allow the user to build, maintain and change their own email distribution lists, create rich messages and distribute your campaigns.

I would recommend this type of product to those businesses with a pre-identified target audience and an ability to access a distribution list to reach this audience. With a desktop application your original investment provides you with the flexibility to manage and define your own e-mail distribution lists - this is the type of service for you if you're interested in owning and maintaining your own list and using this list as part of the intellectual property of your business.

Campaign Submission Service - When you use this type of service you are contracting a third-party to provide you with the interface to your customers and/or target audience. The agent will distribute your message to one or several opt-in e-mail lists that have been provided based upon some stated interest on the part of the recipients. These are lists of people who have registered for certain websites, e-zines or newsletters or have asked to receive information via e-mail and have stated their interested in certain subjects.

The agent or submission service will work with you to determine the list that best matches your product, service or announcement - working together you will use pre-existing lists to create a target email audience for your company's use. The submission service will receive your message and distribute to one or more of the email lists - the quality control element in place is that you are sending relevant information to recipients that have already stated an interest in a related subject matter and most likely the message will not be viewed as SPAM. Cost usually runs on an 8 to 30 cent per email sent charge.

The submission service allows you to work with experts in the field of gathering e-mail distribution lists based on subject(s) interest and the application of this technology in receiving information. Each time you want to distribute a message you rely on these service providers for their advice, lists and expertise in distributing your information. If you're new to the e-mail marketing forum and your business does not yet have a substantial e-mail distribution list - this service may be able to fill the gap and get you into the game.

A couple of items to keep in mind - the overall cost of your e-mail marketing efforts, campaign tracking reports and the future role of email marketing in your overall direct marketing plans.

There are plenty of choices in the marketplace - educate yourself and make the best decision for your organization.

About The Author

Karen Fegarty is with MailWorkZ. MailWorkZ has been instrumental in developing new email technology. MailWorkZ's award winning email marketing tool, is key to reaching your customers in a highly efficient, personalized manner. Reach Karen at karen@mailworkz.com

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


The Ultimate Business Network: One Secret Power of the Masters

Dear Friend:If you're out there networking and have been for... Read More

A Guide To Automated Email Marketing

You've probably heard the expression, 'the money isin the list'.... Read More

7 Great Email Habits for the Beginning Internet Entrepreneur

If you are just starting out as an Internet entrepreneur... Read More

Dear Ms. Subscriber - Please Dont Unsubscribe

Don't be insulted. Don't take it as a personal rejection.... Read More

Raid Your Autoresponder Attic For Content

Why you need new website content.Finding or creating good content... Read More

Email Microtargeting

Email marketing is undergoing rapid changes. Now, more than ever,... Read More

Increasing Email Deliverability

Most email marketers know that it is important spam-check email... Read More

Email Laws That Could Bring You to Jail Even if Youre Not Spamming

First things first, I'm not a legal expert and so... Read More

Success Guaranteed With Your Opt In List

Some time ago I was thinking about the best and... Read More

Direct Marketing Strategies for Holiday Email Promotions

Tis the season to leverage customer interest data for successful... Read More

Five Profitable Ways To Use Your Follow Up Autoresponder

What? You are not using a Follow up Autoresponder? Then... Read More

Is Your Autoresponder Hungry?

Do you know how to feed it, so that it... Read More

How to Build Your List

Your list is your life. If you do not have... Read More

Run Profitable Contests Using Autoresponders

Running a contest for your e-zine subscribers or web site... Read More

How to Choose the Autoresponder Right for Your Business?

Let's give a definition to autoresponder first. So, what is... Read More

Creative and Profitable Ways to Use Autoreponders

An interested visitor who has been strolling through your site... Read More

The Gold Is In Your Mailing List

Let me ask you a question, "What is the most... Read More

Analysing Autoresponders

An autoresponder is an automatic or software-mailing program. Why... Read More

New Realities for E-Mail Marketing

Spam e-mail is no longer the mild irritant it once... Read More

Email Marketing - The End Is Nigh!

Consider if you will the resources, the time and the... Read More

Some Simple Sure-fire Strategies to Construct a Responsive Opt in List!

A responsive opt in list is an unbelievably powerful money-maker... Read More

Keep Your Work From Home Newsletter From Being A Spam Filter Casualty

It's hard to get your email through to clients, friends... Read More

Virtual Marketing in a Tangible World

One of the greatest challenges facing business owners and managers... Read More

Why Autoresponders Are An Essential Tool For Your Business

Did you know that one of the major purposes of... Read More

Autoresponders - One Simple Trick That Will Improve Your Results

Autoresponders, or responders, are simply programs that allow you to... Read More

How Can You Be Sure That Your Marketing Efforts Will Generate Profits?

There are several ways to ensure that your adverts are... Read More

Sequential Autoresponders Build Customer Relatonships

A powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More

Let The Email Wars Begin

Things just got a lot hotter in the hyper-competitive world... Read More

Three Phases to Email Sensitivity

The neurophysiological dynamics of understanding each email message are very... Read More

Youve Got Mail

It seems that Google is revolutionizing the Net in more... Read More

Viral Marketing with Your Signature File

Computer viruses are usually a bad thing. They can compromise... Read More

Email and Newsgroup Etiquette

Email EtiquetteIn order to effeciently communicate on the Internet it... Read More

Use Autoresponders, to Build Relationships In Your Affiliate Marketing

It's true that "content is king," but equally important to... Read More