Ten Rules For Successful and Safe Email Marketing
by Dan B. Cauthron

In the direct marketing arena, email is surely the best
thing that has happened since bulk mailing rates were
introduced. The cost involved with sending thousands or
even millions of sales letters by email is almost
negligible, when compared to the cost of mounting a similar
direct marketing campaign through traditional ground mail.

Yet direct marketing by email can be dangerous territory
for those who are not armed with at least some knowledge of
the rules, guidelines, and accepted methods involved.

As little as one poorly designed email campaign can
seriously damage your credibility with potential customers.
Even worse, a single campaign that is poorly or unethically
distributed can result in serious legal consequences and
financial loss.

Here are some accepted guidelines and a few tips that we
suggest you put into use in your direct email campaigns.

Rule #1
Avoid spam at all costs! Any email message that you send to
someone who did not specifically request information from
you can be considered Spam, or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial
Email.)

Although the temptation may be great to send your sales
message to any and every email address you can find, be
aware that this practice can, and probably will result in
the loss of ISP and webhosting service. You may also be
subjected to legal charges and financial backlash from
anyone who has been harmed by your activity.

We suggest you become familiar with the U.S. Federal
CAN-SPAM Law that was signed into effect 16 December 2003.
You may access the full text of the law through the link
below. Left click to read/print, or right click to save the
.pdf file to your own computer.

=> http://DanBCauthron.com/dwn/canspam.pdf

Rule #2
Choose keywords that reflect the benefits of your offer,
and weave them into an eye-opening headline. Internet users
have become somewhat numb to email offers, partly because
of the huge influx of spam messages that flood the
bandwidth daily.

This makes it even more important to introduce your
legitimate offer with a compelling headline. Keep in mind
that the subject header in most inboxes is comparatively
small. Limit your headline to 50 characters and spaces or
less, while delivering an attention getting punch.

The new CAN-SPAM Law requires that the subject line of your
emails be directly pertinent to the content. In other words,
you cannot title your email "Elvis Found ALIVE" and then
promote your latest cookbook in the text of your message.

Rule #3
Identify yourself at the beginning of the message and use
the current date and a greeting line. Many mailing
softwares enable the insertion of the recipient's name into
the subject line and the body of the message. Use this
feature to personalize your message and make your reader
feel you are writing directly to her.

Rule #4
Format the body of your message to be neat and easily read.
Few if any people will attempt to read a dark and tangled
mass of fonts. Limit your lines to 60 or 65 characters and
hold your paragraphs to three or four sentences. Use one
extra line of white space between your paragraphs for added
ease in reading.

You may also want to stick with text formatted email, even
though it doesn't provide the zing of a well done HTML
message. Since most spam email is HTML formatted, it can be
a trigger for some spam filters.


Rule #5

If your message is comprised of more than a three or four
paragraphs (ie. a text ezine or a solo advertisement) use
capitalized subheadings to draw attention to specific
points that you want to make about your product or offer.
Keep in mind that few people will read your message
word-for-word. Make it easy for them to pick out the most
critical points you want to convey.

Note however, that typing in ALL CAPS is not only a breach
of Internet etiquette, it's also a trigger for most spam
filters.

Rule #6
Again, when mailing a direct advertisement, stress the
benefits of your product. Explain how it will solve a
problem, make a tiresome task more efficient, increase
sales, reduce risk, give pleasure and comfort, afford pride
of ownership.

Features are important as well. But chances are your reader
will not give a whit how many gizmos are tacked on. She
only wants to know how your product or service will be of
benefit in her own life.

Rule #7
Use bulleted lists to display the benefits of your offer.
Many readers are skimmers and will only see the highlighted
portions of your message. A bulleted list can quickly
explain the benefits of your product, and why the reader
should respond your offer.

Rule #8
Simplify your wording and make your point in direct and
clear language. Avoid making your reader run for a
dictionary to understand your message. Remember, you are
composing a sales message, not writing a novel.

Rule #9
Proofread your message for grammatical and spelling errors
prior to distribution. An easy way to do this is to compose
your message in Microsoft Word. You will be alerted to
possible errors by red or green squiggled lines.

We also suggest that before dispatching your message, you
test it for spam filter triggers using one of the common
softwares available. If you own an online domain that
features Spam Assassin or another spam-blocking software,
you can send your message to yourself and check the results.

Rule #10
End your message with a signature line and a valid email
contact or URL to your website. The new U.S. Federal
CAN-SPAM Law also requires that a physical address and a
working removal link be included in any commercial email
sent. But that's okay!

This will relieve fear and mistrust in your reader. She
will be more likely to regard you as a sincere and
trustworthy businessperson, and less likely to mistake you
for just another spammer.
______________________________

Dan B. Cauthron offers original eMarketing insights and No
Nonsense training at http://DanBCauthron.com - Membership
will never cost you a single penny.
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© Copyright 2004 - All Rights Reserved Worldwide
Dan B. Cauthron/Serenity Marketing Group