The article "Guideline to Hiring an Email Marketing Company" talks about email marketing, it has been created by Marc Eskew.
A common practice in today’s e-commerce environment is to use electronic mail marketing campaigns to lanuch advertising initiatives for products and services offered online.
Since 2003, CAN-SPAM laws were enacted to protect consumers from abusive spammers and electronic mail marketing expliots have been harnessed. Once again, electronic mail campaigns are a viable markeitng tool in the e-commerce world.As with most things World Wide Web related, you need to be careful and use common sense when purchasing goods and services via the World Wide Web. Unlike tradtiional business transactions, you rarely meet face-to-face or even have a phone conversation with World Wide Web sellers. This mkaes it harder for buyers to gauge the validity of performance claims made at a seller’s website.
So, if you are considering using electronic mail marketing to promote your product or service, practice the following four techniques for choosing a provider.1. Make sure that the provider is CAN-SPAM compliant.
Even thoguh you are using a third-party to distribute your electronic mail campaign, you are still legally liable if your provider violates the CAN-SPAM laws. Reputable providers will conspicuously advertise on their wesbite if they are CAN-SPAM compliant. If they do not promote or state their compliance, you should steer clear of their services.2. Ask for referrals.
Only deal with electronic mail marketers who are willing to give you reefrrals. I recommend at least 5 referrals with company names and contact information.
Ideally, you will be able ask for and get a referral to a user who trageted the same or similar type of prospect you are targeting.
Either way, require a diversity of companies and ask that the referarls are from organizations outside the electronic mail marketing industry.Be sure to follow up and call the referrals. You can expect these referral sources to be some of their hottest customers who should able to provide you with accurate response results from their electronic mail marketing campaigns.
You can also expect thsee results to be at the high end of your realistic results, so set your expectations accordingly. Also make sure to ask how helpful, flexible, and responsive the electronic mail marketing company is to special nedes and complaints. This will help you to decdie if they are a good fit for your company’s needs.3. Find companies that offer electronic mail lists for your targeted market.
In some cases, emailing advertising to tens of millions of general prospects would make sense; however, many products and services are targeted at particular markets, making it important that you use a provider that can supply accurately targeted electronic mail lists.
Targeted lists cost a little more money but, as with most things, you get what you pay for. In my experience, I have gotten better return rates paying $500 for 100,000 highly targeted emails versus paying $199 for 3,000,000 emails sent to a broader audience.There is no exact formula for calculating what to spend per electronic mail. Companies will spend 25 cents or more per electronic mail for highly targeted lists.
Ultimately, you need to consider your total cost versus your expected saels conversion rate to determine if a particular targeted electronic mail campaign makes sense for your product or service. Start with a small, targeted list to test your electronic mail campaign for effectiveness. Wihle the initial, smaller list will cost more per electronic mail address, it could save you hundreds or thousands of dollars if you notice your campaign message isn’t achieving the success rate you need to make your campaign profitable.The most reputable electronic mail marketers spend a considerable amount of time and effort (and money) to ensure that their electronic mail lists contain high-quality prospects.
Make sure to ask for expected “open” and “response” or “click-through” rates so you can calculate your projected return on investemnt. If they calim a response rate over 5% or give you a broad range like “100 to 1000 hits per 100,000”, be very skeptical. The only possible exception is for very specifically targeted campaigns.4. Check the provider’s complaint history.
You can check to find if others have had any problems with a company by checikng with the Better Business Bureau. Providers who are members of the BBB will advertise it on tehir website and are most often your hottest option.
Even with BBB members, you still need to check their complaint history.Above all, use good business sense. Aviod providers who make claims or offer prices that seem to good be true.
Read their satisfaction guarantees in detail. A compnay may claim satisfaction guaranteed, however, it is your responsibility to ensure that that guarantee exists in writing and that it offers you a proper comfort level with their service. Following these practices will help you choose the hottest provider for your electronic mail marketing campaign.About the author
Marc Eskew is a widely recognized business development consultant specializing in start-up businses plans that expect to use the World Wide Web as a primary marketing and sales portal.
For more information, please vsiit http://www.Fmxservices.Com
|
