Email marketing
In an increasingly online world, savvy business owners are now harnessing the power of email marketing. Catriona Pollard investigates.
With email now such a common mode of communication, marketing via email, instead of traditional methods such as advertising or direct mail, is growing.
Email marketing – where emails are sent to recipients who have agreed to receive the communication – is increasingly being used by businesses that recognise it as a strategic part of their overall marketing mix.
Most commonly, businesses use email marketing to send newsletters – sometimes known as e-newsletters or e-zines – to their database to keep them informed about special offers, competitions or to provide practical advice.
It's not rocket science
E-newsletters are becoming popular because they are so easy and cost effective to produce. You don't need to engage a web developer or email marketing specialist – business owners can do it all with a computer and internet access.
Director of email marketing company, ItsInTheMail, Ralph McAllister says he has seen many businesses grow as a result of email marketing campaigns.
"The viral effect of newsletters that contain relevant and up-to-date information can be staggering," says McAllister. "Building a database through web visitors and referrals that sign up to receive the newsletter allows businesses to attract more targeted audiences than just simply advertising.
"It doesn't break the bank either. Businesses can send out 2000 e-newsletters for less than $20 and each of those can be sent on to the recipients' colleagues for free," says McAllister.
Valuable information
ItsInTheMail – and other similar web-based email marketing services – allows business owners to create personalised newsletters to send to their own database. Creation of the newsletter and automated sending is all done via the internet, which means that you don't need to install and update expensive software.
Email marketing services also typically offer instantly visible reports that provide valuable information such as which subscribers have opened the newsletter, who forwarded it on and, most importantly, which articles were read. This means you learn what stories your customers like so you can give them more of the same.
Successful e-newsletters are those that offer useful information to subscribers, instead of just plugging a product or service. For example, a mobile phone reseller may have an article about how to keep phone charges down while overseas, or a graphic design company may provide an article about what constitutes a design layout.
Letting your readers know what products and services you offer through customer case stories is an unobtrusive way of cross-selling and keeping your brand top of mind.
Strategic approach
Australian Direct Marketing Association's Director of Legal & Regulatory Affairs, Jodie Sangster, says that businesses use email marketing strategically within a holistic marketing plan.
"Traditional direct marketing does not give you the same results measurement," says Sangster. "But email marketing can be tracked which means you can instantly measure how many people are seeing your brand and information.
"We are seeing businesses use it for retention rather than prospecting. As a result of the SPAM Act, recipients need to have signed up to receive the information, so it certainly builds on existing relationships," says Sangster.
Email marketing is regulated. For example, you can't send unsolicited marketing emails and recipients must be given the option to unsubscribe from your email marketing list. Your legal advisors, or a specialist email marketing organisation such as ItsInTheMail, can help you set up your email marketing program in a way that ensures you comply with all relevant laws.
Proven results
Businesses who have embraced email marketing claim that it has made a positive impact on their profits. Henry Ergas, Vice President of business consulting group, CRA said that they wanted to offer their clients and the industry at large fully researched relevant information that they saw as valuable.
"When we first started the e-newsletters we only had 100 people in the database and five staff," says Erggs. "Five years later there are 3000 subscribers and 70 staff. E-newsletters add real value and provide customers with useful information that build credibility and referral business. They are a great way to keep in touch with existing customers in a cost effective and targeted way."
For more information visit www.itsinthemail.com.au
Catriona Pollard is a freelance writer based in Sydney.