E- Marketing 101: Exploring The Power Of Online Email Marketing Services


Why choose an onlineemailmarketing service?

The vast majority of online email marketing services can be found exactly where you use them -- on the Internet. Whether you’re new to email marketing or a veteran, online email marketing services can help you streamline your email marketing campaigns and get the word out on your goods and services. The most immediate advantages to an online email marketing suite, when compared with an offline one, is that you no longer have to worry about access. As long as you can power up your computer and get access to the Internet, you can manage your permission-based email marketing campaigns 24/7, anywhere in the world. Still not convinced? Keep reading.

Online email marketing -- the features

Few online services are as robust and user-friendly as online email marketing. But that is just the start of using an online email marketing service.

They usually require no downloads and no setups

Worried about what exactly you’re downloading onto your hard drive? With a email marketing service provider, everything is hosted online. This means that you usually won’t have to download a single file to your computer.

You can manage and store your contact lists online

Tired of digging around to find all your contact lists on your hard drive? With online email marketing, you can upload your list and store it to the service’s Web server. This allows you access to your customer information from anywhere in the world. Not to mention an extra layer of protection just in case your computer crashes and you lose all your data.

Your real-time campaign statistics are immediately viewable

If you’re interested in getting data as quickly as possible on how well your campaign is doing, the top email marketing services offer real-time reporting that’s available for viewing 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means that as soon as a customer clicks on a link in your email, you can view that customers’ info down to who they are and which link they clicked on. Customer statistical analysis is a great way to improve your overall ROI (return on investment ).

You can create plain text and HTML emails and newsletters via Web portal

One of the best benefits of using an online service is the availability of templates and online editors that come with your monthly service fee. Imagine uploading your own HTML template, using one of many available through your service, or simply creating your own via a user-friendly online editor.

You can segment your lists by custom characteristics

Why send a mass-market email to everyone on your list it the info only really pertains to certain email marketing customers? With online email marketing, you can effortlessly segment your email list based on customer likes and dislikes, geographic location, age and other info.

So in a nutshell, online email marketing, is cheaper and more flexible than offline email marketing. When it comes to true convenience in regards to your bulk email marketing campaigns, nothing beats online marketing.

Direct Marketing Support Services, Lettershop Services


Most marketing firms do a lot of direct marketing. One might even suggest it’s traditionally the bread and butter of a marketing firm’s income. However, in order to properly manage a direct marketing campaign your firm will need to have adequate direct marketing supportservices, including lettershop services. These support elements will do the grunt work in your direct marketing campaign.

Direct marketing support services many involve such things as printing, mailings database management, and campaign management. While lettershop services handle issues tied to the distribution of your direct marketing campaign. This includes many mundane tasks such as labeling, presorting, folding, tracking and so on. However, as mundane as these tasks may be they are critical to the completion of a successful direct marketing campaign.

In most direct marketing campaigns, direct marketing support services, and lettershop services are handled by an outside vendor. As with the selection of any outside vendor, we suggest you do your research. But there’s a problem with this. Obviously, competitive marketing firms may be loathe to give you any information about the companies they use for direct marketing support services, and lettershop services. But we have found a way around that one, and it may sound silly but it actually works.

Call your congressman.

Stop laughing. We are serious.

Why, you may ask, we are not trying to get a bill passed? We are just looking for some good vendors for direct marketing support services and lettershop services, how could our congressmen help with that? Well, it is quite simple, political candidate do a lot of direct mailings, and they usually use local companies. Also, you are a small business in your congressman’s district; he will have a reason to help you.

Okay, so now you have found a good company to handing your direct marketing support services and lettershop services. Are there any other pitfalls? Of course there are. As with many other outside vendors, those dealing with direct marketing support services and lettershop services make money on volume. Meaning that quality control, though a priority, may not be their top priority. So you need to be especially carefully that all printed material, databases and instructions are given both verbally and in writing.

In our experience, if you have never worked with the vendor, we suggest you do this in person. Although thanks to digital printing a lot may be done via phone, FTP and email, we still feel that these initial contacts should be done in person. And do not give this job to a new hire or an intern. That is just asking for trouble. This needs to be done by someone who has been at your firm for at least a year. Someone who can think on his or her feet.

Another important thing about vendors who offer direct marketing supports services and lettershop services is that they see direct marketing campaigns every day. They have a sense of what works and what does not. If they question some aspect of your campaign, listen to them. They probably know what they are talking about. And, as you and vendor build trust; you may find them giving you pointers that they only share with valued customers. We might add that the referral from you congressman, might also help grease the early client vendor relations. And you thought that was a crazy suggestion, right?

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