Several of my clients have been asking for email marketing campaigns – electronic newsletters, product announcements, email alerts, and more.  They’re realizing that email marketing is a cost effective way to stay in front of their customers and reinforce the brand image of their companies.

What else can email marketing do? One executive recruiting firm uses a monthly e-newsletter to call attention to their company as recruiting experts and to create a regular, ongoing “conversation” with clients, candidates and prospects. They’ve also gotten thousands of dollars in new business directly from e-newsletter readers.

Here are some practical tips for putting together your company’s email marketing program:

Grow your email list organically.  You can rent email lists, but you often get better quality contact information more cost effectively if you develop your own. Mention your e-newsletter on your website, and have a signup box displayed prominently on the home page. When you speak to customers and prospects, ask them if they’d like to receive your e-newsletter.

Remember that it’s good business practice to ask permission before you subscribe someone.  It’s also good practice to permit subscribers to opt-out of receiving your newsletter.

Go viral. Include a forwarding feature in your newsletter that allows recipients to send the newsletter to a friend’s email.  This is another great way to grow your newsletter’s circulation.

Use a reputable email marketing service provider. Sure, you can create a text message in Outlook and send it out yourself.  But that doesn’t allow you to see how often your message is opened, and if people are clicking through to your links.  Email marketing service providers analyze click throughs, stay current on the latest anti-spam regulations, and help you manage and segment your email lists. These service providers can also give your newsletter a professional look with a variety of HTML templates offered as part of basic services.  For a list of service providers, use the search term “email marketing services” at www.Business.com.

Avoid the hard sell. This is not the place to expound on why your product or service is better. Your newsletter should offer useful content that solves customers’ problems or offers new insights. For example, one information technologies consulting firm offers a Tip of the Month for getting the most out of Microsoft Office.

Vary the content.  Readers will get bored if your e-newsletter always covers the same one or two topics.  You might want to develop an editorial calendar to help you plan content. You can also include a reader feedback link in the newsletter so that readers can tell you what’s on their minds. Use this feedback to help you plan future content.

Use links and be brief. Nothing turns readers off faster than a newsletter that is overly long. Write short (200-300 word) stories, and then link to more content on your website or elsewhere. This allows readers to skim the newsletter and click through when they’re interested. Click through analytics can then help you target areas that are of greatest interest to readers so that you can follow up appropriately.

Write in the active voice. Keep your content lively by avoiding the passive voice in your stories. Write “XYZ product will solve a sticky widget problem” instead of “It is felt that a sticky widget problem can be solved by the application of XYZ product.”

This column originally appeared in the May 2005 edition of Union County Voice Magazine.

Ms. Kasprzak, principal of Advantage Marketing & Associates, is a certified management consultant who specializes in helping B2B clients connect with their customers to achieve greater sales revenues. She can be reached at LKasprzak@advantage-marketing.com or 908.233.6265.

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