Black Belt Web Marketing.pdf - Costa del Sol

Don’t use the list for any reason other how you induced a person to sign up.
Don’t be in a hurry to rush information to your mailing list. It’s important that you make a
good impression right away and that you take the necessary precautions to ensure that they
will continue to appreciate what you send them.
Checklist Prior to E-mailing List
Prior to e-mailing your list, compare it with this checklist to make sure there are no slip-ups.
Any slip-up may cause an inordinate number of removal from list requests which is
something you want to avoid. A mailing list is too valuable to allow it to suffer
because of mistakes that could have been avoided:
Right Message for the Right List: Chances are over time you will be creating and maintaining
several lists. Make sure that the right message is being sent to the right list. This kind of
mistakes can squander a lot of goodwill. Also make sure that the message is suitably
customized for the list. Customized messages for specific audiences do better than generic
messages for general audiences.
Valuable Content: Take a final look to make sure that the content-to-promotion ratio is high. If
you persistently send out promotional e-mails with little "meat", your list is sure to go into
a tailspin. A high content factor justifies more frequent e-mail contacts than a high
promotions factor. Creating events and improving contents not only improves the value of
your web site, but it also improves the effectiveness of your e-mail.
Spelling/Grammatical Errors: Review your e-mail for spelling or grammatical errors. They reflect
on your competence and credibility. Don’t let any slip through if you can help it. You may
find it worthwhile to have a second person look it over before releasing it to your list.
Signature: Make sure that you have the right signature attached and that it is adequately
customized for the recipients. Is the one you chose to use due for an update? Take another
look at others’ signatures for ideas. The signature is such an important part of your web
traffic plan, you should always be looking for ways to improve it.
Active Links: Make sure that links in your e-mail are properly formatted so that they are active or
"hotlinks" if the recipient’s e-mail program permits it. URLs, particularly to your web site,
should be formatted beginning with "http://" and ending with the page where you want to
direct the reader. E-mail addresses should begin with “mailto:" and the e-mail address
(with no space). This makes it easier for the recipient to visit your site, any other web
resource identified in your e-mail, and e-mail you.
Lesson 8 Pg. 13