Permission Based Email Marketing

Strategic permission based email marketing can boost online sales while building customer relationships and consumer loyalty. Thanks to the worldwide web, advertisers are tapping into new prospects and exploring uncharted territory through Internet mail marketing. Unlike conventional direct mail campaigns which cost an arm and a leg in postal fees and expensive mailing lists, permission based email marketing provides Internet businesses with a database of eager subscribers who grant advertisers consent to include them on electronic mail lists. Browsers visiting business home pages have the option to fill in online forms, furnishing names and email addresses to receive newsletters, special discount coupons, educational information, and free offers. Internet businesses can quickly compile vast databases of prospective customers who want to regularly receive messages in private inboxes without being rejected as spam.

An effective permission based email marketing campaign works wonders for corporations, associations, churches and faith-based organizations, and retailers who want to build a solid rapport with global customers at little or no cost. Emailing has revolutionized the way we communicate. Instead of paying for expensive postage or long distance telephoning, sending mail electronically is absolutely free. Businesses can boost promotional efforts by using opt in email advertising to potential consumers at home and on foreign soil. An electronic mail subscription offer strategically placed on an advertiser's website drives browsers to act and interact over a longer period of time with Internet businesses. Online advertising pays off big when new subscribers sign up for specials and newsletters. Customers who opt in, or ask, to be placed on advertiser's mailing lists will appreciate consistent and constant contact with businesses that offer value added service, quality merchandise, and insider information on a regular basis. And satisfied subscribers will gladly pass on advertiser sites to friends, family members and coworkers, building an extensive listing that owners could never afford or be able to compile otherwise.

Responding to opt in email advertising should be a matter of choice and not coercion. The worst move that an Internet entrepreneur can make is selling a customer's address to other online businesses. Subscribers can quickly tell when a business has passed along personal information to other organizations. An inbox inundated with multiple offers from five different Internet companies selling similar products or services is a dead giveaway that someone has divulged confidential information. Dissatisfied subscribers may decide to unsubscribe from Internet enterprises who sell electronic mail lists without customers' permission. Federal law prohibits companies from honoring customers' requests to opt out, or unsubscribe from mailing lists beyond 10 days after requests are received. Some Internet firms make unsubscribing difficult by hiding the option in almost illegible type or taking days to honor requests.

Just as responding to opt in email advertising is a matter of choice, so is making a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When we come to the revelation that we can no longer live our lives outside of God, all we need do is repent and ask the Lord to take control. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8). God is waiting for you to opt in to salvation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20).

Online entrepreneurs just beginning permission based or opt in email marketing efforts can gauge prospective subscribers by assessing personal preferences for online messages. Emails that irritate, amuse, or excite business owners will have the same effect on other subscribers. If messages are sent too frequently, or if the information becomes boring and drab, subscribers may opt out. The key to successful opt in email advertising is to keep information fresh, innovative and vibrant and give customers incentives to keep opening the inbox. Internet businesses should carefully plan email marketing strategy to send newsletters, seasonal specials, grand openings, and educational information to customers at appropriate times. Remember, permission based email marketing involves establishing a relationship with customers, as if companies were best friends or neighbors. Websites can offer online forms to gather more information about subscribers, without invading privacy. Customers will love getting e-cards on birthdays or holidays, or discount coupons for anniversaries. But online advertisers should be careful not to deluge subscriber inboxes. Subscribers dislike junk electronic mail as much as they abhor meaningless letters and flyers stuffed into post boxes.

Online advertisers who want to develop an effective opt in email advertising campaign should begin with a professional web presence. A good looking, user friendly site invites customers to take a look around and discover all the products and services an Internet business has to offer. The beauty of cyberspace advertising is that websites can be designed to include reams of extensive information in attractive frames or grids to break up text and help browsers easily navigate from page to page. Flash animation graphics enhance bold colors and add textural interest to otherwise bland sites. Web content should change on a regular basis to keep browsers engaged and to keep regular visitors coming back again and again.

The addition of permission based email marketing to a user friendly interactive site only serves to enhance an Internet entrepreneur's credibility and build brand identity. Once subscribers opt in for email, advertisers can take advantage of a loyal customer base that has given legal consent to receive future electronic messages. The low cost of Internet marketing gives large and small businesses, organizations, and institutions the power to reach a global audience on the worldwide web. The potential is almost unlimited to effectively target and sell to a captive audience of willing consumers.

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