Two years ago, I published my first book. It was titled, The Fundamentals of Email Marketing: 7 Things You Need to Know to Achieve Success. And you can still purchase a copy here.
At the end of the book, I included a link to some free bonus information on my website. And it’s about time I made that bonus information available to all of my readers. So without further ado, here it is:
Email Marketing Software (some with free intro offers)
www.icontact.com
www.constantcontact.com
www.tinyletter.com
www.mailchimp.com
Additional Resources:
http://emailium.com/ - filterable, searchable database of millions of real life marketing emails
http://www.infousa.com/ - cost effective marketing lists for purchase
http://salesgenie.com/ - email marketing lists available for purchase
The Keys to the Inbox
Below are my top 10 fundamental tips for email marketers looking to avoid the spam folder, the "keys to the inbox" as I call them.
1. Avoid the word "Free" in the subject line. Spammers are always guaranteeing something for free, and email providers are looking for that term when determining whether or not to add your email to the user's inbox.
2. Limit the use of the word "Free" in the body of your email. Just like the subject line, the more times the word "Free" shows up in your content, the more likely that an email provider will assume you're spamming their users.
3. Avoid the use of dollar signs ($) in the subject line. Again, though it may seem like a great way to call attention to a deal or a discount, it's one of the first thing that email providers are looking for from spammers. Instead use a percentage discount, which can have the same impact without getting sucked into the spam trap.
4. Keep a clean list. This may seem simple, but it's important to make sure you don't continue to send to bad email addresses, or people who have unsubscribed. The more email addresses you send to who accept your emails, the higher your sender reputation.
5. Include a plain text version of your message. If you're sending out an HTML email, make sure that there is a plain text version as well, for those users who cannot see HTML on the device they are using to read email. Most email marketing services allow you to create one by copying the text from your HTML email.
6. Make sure there is a simple, and obvious opt-out or unsubscribe option. This makes it less likely that users will choose to mark your email as spam, and it's one of the things that email providers are looking for in your content.
7. Thoroughly proofread your email. Typos are a sure sign of a mass market spammer.
8. Check all of the links in each email that you send. Testing the links allows you to ensure that all links are correct and working. Broken links will frustrate users and will make it likely you'll get marked as a spammer.
9. Warn people that the emails are coming. Allow users to opt-in so that they know to expect emails and are more likely to accept them. You can also tell them the address that the emails are coming from so that they can add that email address to their contacts ahead of time.
10. It may sound overly simple, but make the emails worthy of reading. The more users on your list who are actually interested in your offer - or the content of your email - the more likely they will open it and click through it. This improves your reputation as a sender and sends a message to email providers that you deserve placement in the inbox.
