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5
Effective Tips for Avoiding the Spam Can
Email
marketing is an incredibly popular marketing strategy--and
for good reason. It works! Unfortunately, tougher
SPAM filters mean more and more valid messages are
winding up in SPAM folders.
Would
you like to guarantee YOUR email campaigns are delivered
to the in-box where they belong? Then you absolutely
MUST implement these best practices. Because an email
in the spam-can is a waste of your precious time and
money.
1.
Provide Valuable Content
Make sure all of your emails are relevant to your
contacts. Send you customer and prospects an invitation,
a tip or trick of the trade, a coupon, a friendly
note, or an offer. Just make sure it's something they'll
want to receive from you.
2.
DON'T Buy or Rent Lists
Doing so almost guarantees you'll be spamming people.
Did you collect the names? Did the people ask you
for information? Nope? Then it's SPAM!
"But
where do I get names from?" you might ask. Well, start
with what you've got, ask for referrals, put banners
on sites, use pay-per-click-ads, get people to post
about you, use lead generation tools, and use social
networking. May sound like a slow start...buy boy
does it beat paying fines for breaking SPAM rules.
3.
Double Opt-in Your Contacts
That basically guarantees you have permission to market
to them. Double opting-in requires your contacts to
confirm their contact information BEFORE you start
you email marketing campaigns. It's an extra step,
and yes, you will lose some of your potential leads.
But the odds of being considered a "spammer" go way
down!
4.
Clean Your Contact List Every 6-12 Months
This means you take every contact that you haven't
engaged with somehow - no downloads, no requests,
no new opt-ins - and do one of two things. Either
delete them from the list or send an email that asks
them to confirm their continued interest.
5.
Know the CAN-SPAM Guidelines
The rules about SPAM regulate your header content,
your subject line information, your opt-out requirements,
and how you identify yourself. Know the rules so you
can keep your money in your pocket.
For more information
about improving your email marketing practices,
download a free guide
about Email Marketing 2.0.
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