Our experts state that the following elements are necessary for an effective email marketing campaign.

Make unsubscribing easy. This should be the key focus because the primary aspect of opt-in email marketing is that it is permission-based. No one should be receiving opt-in emails unless they want to.

So be sure to include an unsubscribing option to your marketing email that is easy-to-use and convenient for your recipients

Make messages relevant. Above all, your message should be relevant to the reader. The most well-designed and successful emails are the best because they demonstrate how the products are used and always show the price prominently.

These emails mirror traditional direct marketing (which we know works well). Some special approaches work as well, such as tying in geographically relevant information (e.g., closest bookstore to your zip code), but usually when the email becomes too complex, reader interest is lost.

Make messages interactive. You must listen and respond to your audience. A suggestion is to include appropriate contact information such as telephone numbers or email addresses where a customer can respond if he or she want to.

Your audience needs to be listened to. The basic idea is that when you send out email, you should expect to get something back.

(Usually about 1 percent of your outbound email will come back as actual requests from your customers.) People like to share ideas, concerns, questions, and rants. If you ignore them, don't expect them to remain customers for long.

Pay attention to demographics. Pay attention to recent Census findings, which list demographic information for your targeted area. The demographic makeup of your customers is changing, and notions such as language, format, and the people featured in your marketing message cannot be taken for granted and may need to be reviewed. You may be surprised what you find and how many new customers you attract.

Opt-In vs. Spam

Opt-In and Spam are two completely different kinds of email marketing. As previously described, Opt-in is type of email list that is made up of peope who have specifically asked to be on it. Thus, it is referred to as a permission or voluntary lists.

The problem with Spam: However, if you placed people on the email list without their permission and then mailed to them, you are on dangerous ground. You're sending unsolicited commercial email (UCE). Chances are someone will regard you as a spammer.

Spam as a marketing tool has a bad reputation and is resented by many internet users because it invades their privacy and hijacks computing resources. The use of spam is dangerous because some users will retaliate against it while other will not.

The solution to avoid being labeled as a spammer is to rent an Opt-in email list from a reliable provider and build your own list on a voluntary basis. That's the best way to stay out of trouble.

Despite these problems, many marketing people still believe spam or bulk email is the way to advertise a product or service because it's cheap and it's possible to reach millions within hours.

However, what these opportunists fail to realize is that spam mailings are rarely successful. In fact, when compared with opt-in email marketing, spam mailing returned very low response rates.

Opt-in mailings on average return a 3-9% response, while with spam, an average response rate is a fraction of a percent. And, among the spam responses, most will be hate mail, undelivered email, and remove notices.

Thus, spam is no way to market if you want effective results while keeping your organization in good standing.

In conclusion, it is possible to send your message to millions for practically no cost, but your organization will receive a bad name for an unproductive and clumsy marketing strategy.

Thus, choosing Opt-in over Spamming is always a better choice.

Email vs. Direct Mail

Email has quickly become the direct mail of the future. In fact, postal mail has practically become obsolete as a means of effective marketing when compared with its newest competitor: opt-in email.

The reason? Opt-in email offers so many more practical advantages than regular postal mail.

Postal mail costs more, takes longer, and can only be sent and received at certain times and limited number of days. In contrast, Opt-in email can be sent anywhere in the world within seconds, any hour and any day of the week.

Also, there is usually only one flat rate to send opt-in email, which is considerably less than a postage stamp, and recipients can view more information instantly by clicking on a hyperlink within the announcement.

Give it a try: If you use postal mail as a marketing strategy, simply take a fraction of that budget and invest into an opt-in marketing plan. Then you will be able to compare the results for yourself. Review the comparison chart below to get some solid figures.

Different Techniques. Once you begin your email marketing campaign, you will notice a few differences from the direct mail campaign.

For one, emails are written in a completely different tone than the "hard sell" marketing tone of direct mail. People feel differently about their email boxes than their post office boxes. The email inbox is much, much more a personal space.

So the approach in your email marketing communications has to be more personal, friendly, low-key.

Give your email message a more relaxed feel -- no pressure. This is not the time for the frantic, relentless cadence of hard-sell direct mail.

Keep it brief

Whereas long copy works well in direct mail, email communications should be short -- initially, at least. Rather than explaining every detail, let the recipient request further information via a Web page or a follow-up email message. Use that second stage to do a more in-depth job of selling.

Avoid appearing as a spammer. That is, avoid overly large headlines, message in all capital letters, multiple exclamation points, or deceptive "gotcha" subject lines. Never try to hide your identity by forging or concealing message headers. Provide full contact information. And don't send commercial email to someone who has not given you permission to do so.

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