Don't let fear of being a spammer prevent you from including email in your marketing plan. "Email does not spam people; people spam people," says MDM publisher Tom Gale in Email as a Marketing Weapon. A targeted email marketing program deployed with respect can provide significant returns.
Gale encourages distributors who are reluctant to utilize email to recognize its power as a marketing tool and as a competitive necessity. "Your competitors are using email to not only reach your customers, but they are using it as the most efficient and cost-effective way to reach your customers. Can you say the same?" he says.
Email can be a fast, inexpensive and effective marketing option if done right. This is especially true when lists are segmented, which Gale says can increase click-through rates by up to 90 percent and avoid the spammer perception by reducing message frequency to each recipient. And it can strengthen your relationship because you’re giving your customers a valuable and predictable message.
In Lessons Learned in Online Marketing, Gale also recommends distributors clarify their permission and privacy standards for recipients. Email marketers should also respect readers' time by sending only information recipients will want to receive, not the "strong-arm" sales pitches you may be tempted to send.
"It takes only one unsolicited or deceptive offer to end the relationship," he says.
