Email marketing is a way to reach consumers directly via electronic mail. Unlike spam, direct email marketing reaches those interested in your business’ area of expertise. The information is sent out more like a laser-guided missile than a bomb: No matter what you're selling, it is a way to reach thousands of potential customers directly at a relatively low cost when compared to advertising or other forms of media exposure. It brings your business’ message through an attractive mix of graphics, text and links directly to people who may have never heard of your business or considered your products, but are knowledgeable and interested in your business' area of expertise.
Email marketing also provides an easy way to track how effective it is. By keeping track of how many hits your website gets after a mass mailing, it's easy to gauge whether this technique works for your company. It’s also a good way to guide existing customers back to your business. Many companies also provide an “unsubscribe” option for viewers in an effort to focus only on interested potential customers.
Email marketing can be more than just text, rich media formats can provide images and give your product or service texture and flavor. In email marketing, you have the complete attention of the potential customer. Pop-up ads or other internet advertising often get in the way of what the potential customer is looking at: The content. But with direct email marketing the advertising is the content.
The internet is the most popular way for people to gather information about products and services he or she is interested in. Maximizing your business’ capability to appear in internet searches through press release distribution and email marketing are effective tools in reaching your current customer and potential customers with essential information about your products or services. It’s a technique used by businesses worldwide and it can help your enterprise grow and establish a presence on the web.
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Email is a very versatile medium. Formats range from simple text to HTML & rich media. Content can be one-size-fits-all or highly customized. Frequency can consist of fixed, frequent intervals or sporadic intervals, with transmissions occurring only when something newsworthy comes along. Sophistication (and cost) can be very low or very high.
Along with the power of email comes the abuse of email, commonly known as spam. Is spam email considered marketing? Technically, the answer is probably yes, but it is certainly not responsible email marketing. While some users fail to distinguish between permission marketing and email spam, spam is actually a major threat to legitimate email marketers, as a glut of messages could make the entire email medium less effective.
