Email Marketing Information

Everyone at some point in their Internet experience hasreceived an email ad that was simply to difficult to reador it's text was so badly broken up that it was impossibleto understand.

Most of the time when I receive an email of this kind (andit's far to often) I do what everyone else does, I simplyhit the delete and move on to the next email.

What if your email was the one I deleted? How sure are youof your email format? Do you follow all "Email Etiquette?"Do you even know if "Email Etiquette" exists?

I know that when I first started advertising on the web myanswer to the question's above was, no? I wasn't even sureif my ad's were even getting out, let alone if they were"Email Etiquette" approved..."

Every email server basically follows the same set of rules;however, each one applies these rules with it's own twist thus making their format different from the other guy. As a result we have many variations to the way our email looks.

So the question you need to ask yourself is this...

With so many different servers, with so many variations ofthe rules, can anyone, or any thing you use, format allemails across all formats with any type of consistency sothat your ad campaign will go out with a professional look?

The answer is, basically "YES!" I said basically becausethere are a few email servers on the web that have theirserver set up so that if you do not send and receive yourmail using their system, there is no way of knowing howyour email will look once it gets to it recipient.

But for the most part, if you apply the seven tips I've outlined for you below, 95% of your emails will look the way you intended them to when they are viewed by your recipient. As for the other 5%, do your best and that's all you can do.

(Tip No.1) Send You Ad Text Formatted Instead of HTML

There are three reasons you need to send your ad "TextFormatted" as opposed to HTML.

1) There are many email users that do not receive HTMLemails.

Many people do not receive HTML documents because eithertheir email account will not display an HTML document, orthey have simply turned off that aspect of their emailaccount because they do not wish to view HTML documents in their email.

For whatever reason, that group of people makes up a fairly large group of email users. If you're sending your ad by way of HTML they will not see your email, and you'll lose a lot of potential customer.

2) When someone is reading through their emails, they wantto click, read, and move on. They get annoyed when theyhave to sit and wait for an HTML document to load. Oncethey get annoyed, for the most part you've lost thatcustomer for life!

3) Often times when someone sees an HTML ad opening intheir email browser they simply click and delete before itfinishes downloading, I know, I've done it myself a few times.

(Tip No.2) Always Run Spell Check On Your Emails

Many times I have received emails with both typo's and misspelled words in them. Now I'm not the best speller in the world, in fact when I graduated one of my instructorsgot up and said, "Jerry I have only two words for you...SPELL CHECKER!"

Even if you are the world's best speller, always, always,and did I mention ALWAYS run "Spell Checker" on your document. Catch those little embarrassing moments before they go out in print. Life will be much easier for you andeveryone else as well.

(Tip No.3) Format Your Documents

A good average character count for one line of email is, 55 to 60 characters. On the old standard typewriter it wassimply a matter of setting your margins and typing untilyou heard the little bell.

Then you'd simply pushed the return bar and typing cylinder all the way to the right, and continue typing until the next bell. (Now I'm really dating myself.)

If you try to set-up your word processor's margins to dothe same thing the typewriters of old did, it won't workquite the same way. You'll have to manually add carriagereturns at the end of each line.

It can be done; however, this process will be very timeconsuming and for many reasons, far to many to mentionhere, the outcome will not stay consistent with all emailservers.

A much better way of formatting your document is todownload a copy of "Ezine Assistant" athttp://www.ezineassistant.com

It's a free software program that gives you full control of formatting your document. It works great, and I use it all the time, even if I'm simply writing an email to my friends.

(Tip No.4) Keep Your Paragraphs Short

Reading an email is not like reading a book or a magazine. Long paragraphs in an email are difficult to read, so limityour paragraph to two or three sentences. Your reader willbe much happier, and so will I.

(Tip No.5) Keep Your Ad's Sweet And To The Point

From the time someone opens your email, you have about 10to 15 seconds to capture his or her attention. If youhaven't captured it by then, chances are very good theywill click, delete, and move on.

Remember the person reading your email wants to click,read, and move on anyway. Don't try to sell your product in your ad; your goal is simply to get them to your "Web-Site."

Let your web-site do all the talking because now, they havechosen how they will spend their time, not you.

(Tip No.6) Be Polite And Always Say Thank You

Your mother was right! Never forget to thank the peoplewho take the time to read your email. It leaves a warm,caring feeling with your reader, and the more personableyour email, the more response you'll receive.

Always add your name and a real email address to your ad, that way your reader will feel you are real person, and that theyare more than just a number. Invite them to contact you forany reason.

When your purpose is to make a friend first and a sale second, you can sit back and watch your sales grow.

(Tip No.7) Do Not Send To Soon

Once you have your email ad looking and saying what you wantit to, put it aside and come back to a day or so later andgo through it one more time.

Most of the time you will find a few changes you'd like to make before sending your ad out to the public, so make those adjustment and send your ad.

This step will save a lot of, "I wish I had said that instead!"

(In Closing)

In the mind of your readers, your email is the only window they have to see who you are. You can either get out the "Windex" and clean that window, or your can pull down the blinds and close the curtains.

Just keep in mind; the success of your business dependsgreatly on what people think of you.

See you next time.