When you decide to have
an opt-in list, it is not just a matter of sending your subscribers
your promotional newsletters or catalogs. There are many things
to consider in avoiding many complications. While there are so
many ways you can make people subscribe to your list, there are
also some things you must do to avoid subscribers from wanting
to get off from your list.
Aside from that, you also want to avoid any problems with the
law and your internet service provider or ISP. There are now many
laws and rules that are applied to help protect the privacy of
the internet users from spamming and unwanted mails. With the
popularity of the electronic mail as a medium for marketing because
of the low cost, many company’s have seized the opportunity and
have flooded many people’s e-mail accounts with promotional mail.
But, with an opt-in list, you avoid this annoyance because people
subscribe to the list; they want to receive the newsletters and
promotional materials. They have consented to being on the list
by subscribing themselves, just don’t forget to put an unsubscribe
feature everytime in your opt-in list so that you avoid any confusion.
There may be times when an email account was provided when the
real owner didn’t want to subscribe.
It is essential that you keep your list clean and manageable.
Arrange it by using the many tools and technologies available
for your opt-in list. Do not worry; your investment in this marketing
strategy is well worth it with all the coverage you will get which
will likely be converted into sales then to profit.
Keep yourself and your business out of trouble and potential
run-ins with the law and the internet service providers. Keep
your operation legit and clean. Your reputation as a legitimate
businessman and a legitimate site depends on your being a straight
and true marketing strategist. As a tip, here are three things
to avoid when emailing your list.
- Take notice of your unsuccessful sends. These are the e-mails
that bounce. Bounced emails, also known as undeliverable messages,
are those messages that, for whatever reason, were not successfully
received by the intended recipient.
There are bounces that happen or occur because the server was
busy at that time but can still be delivered in another time.
There are also bounces because the inbox of the recipient is
full at that time. There are those bounce messages that are
simply undeliverable ever. The reason for this is that it may
be an invalid email address, a misspelled email address, or
an email address that was abandoned and erased already.
Manage your list by putting markings on those that bounce. Erase
an email account from your list so that you have an accurate
statistics and records as to how many are actually receiving
your mail. You may also want to check the spellings of your
email addresses in your list. One common mistake is when an
N instead of an M is placed in the .com area.
- Always provide an unsubscribe feature in your site and an
unsubscribe link in your mails. When someone in your list files
a request to be unsubscribed, always take that request seriously.
If you don’t take them off your list and keep sending them your
e-mails, you are now sending them spam mail.
When you are reported as a spammer, you and your business can
get into a lot of trouble. You can be reported to the authorities
and maybe blacklisted by many internet service providers. You
will lose a lot of subscribers this way and many more in potential
subscribers.
Do not provide pornographic or shocking and disturbing content
in your newsletters. It is hard to decipher the age of the recipient
and many complaints may stem from these. Controversial issues
also are to be avoided to not be branded by your subscribers.
Stick to the nature of your site and business.
Always remember these tips in this article so that you can have
a healthy relationship with your subscribers as well as be kept
within the boundaries of what is allowed in sending mails to an
opt-in list.
Debra Simpson, Magic In Words,
has been in the publishing industry for over 20 years. She works
with small business owners to add "stickiness" to their
website, and create passive income by creating digital, downloadable
products. Visit Magic In Words
and see how you can make your site more "sticky." |