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The Ins and Outs of E-mail Marketing
http://www.semuabisnis.com/articles/135598/1/The-Ins-and-Outs-of-E-mail-Marketing/Page1.html
Russell Hancock
Russ Hancock is a webmaster and freelance writer living in the wilds of Montana. He is the owner of the rSeek Network of websites which includes Arcade for you and WebArcade 
By Russell Hancock
Published on Thursday 5th 2008
 
A brief overview of email marketing and how it can bring traffic to your site.

There are many forms of Internet marketing that customers use to increase their web based business. E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing that companies use to communicate with prospective customers.

E-mail marketing is one of the most widely used forms of Internet marketing and companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year on it. Companies use e-mail marketing for a variety of purposes including, building customer loyalty, acquiring new customers and fundraising. There are many advantages to using an e-mail marketing campaign, among them is cost, effectiveness, expediency, reach and conservation.

Clearly the ability to distribute information to a multitude of clients quickly with minimal cost and preparation is appealing to most companies. Many companies use a program that tracks the return on their e-mail campaigns, so it also allows them the unique ability to determine how effective a particular campaign has been. Additionally, studies have shown that more than half of all Internet users check their e-mail daily, so when an e-mail campaign is done correctly it can be quite effective.

There are of course a number of disadvantages to using an e-mail campaign for Internet marketing. Much like junk mail arrives in our home mail box daily, junk e-mail called spam arrives in people's e-mail boxes too. The fact that so many companies abuse e-mail marketing and send unwilling participants unsolicited e-mails has led many Internet users to protect themselves against getting spam.

Unfortunately, these spam filters can often lead to legitimate e-mail marketing campaigns ending up in a users bulk folder never to be seen or read. To reduce the risk of being flagged as junk mail or spam by a users e-mail filter many companies have started to use what is known as opt-in advertising. Companies use this method to gain people's consent to send e-mails before sending sending them out.

During a purchase or transaction companies that use the opt-in method typically ask existing customers or users of their website if they wish to subscribe to a newsletter or receive e-mail offers. This method has worked quite well for the companies that use it and they often see a higher return on the campaigns they send out because the customers receiving the offers want them.

Companies that want to use e-mail marketing as a way to market their web based business need to make sure they do so responsibly and within the boundaries of the law. Repeatedly sending out unsolicited e-mails to people who do not wish to receive them will not only frustrate them, but it can be frustrating to the company in the long-term.

Spending time and money on fruitless efforts does not serve anyone's agenda, so it is best to invest the time into setting up a legitimate opt-in e-mail system if you wish to successfully employ an e-mail marketing campaign.