What Are Email Lists?

Whenever you put your name and email address down somewhere, your details are going onto a list of some kind, and nowadays it will usually be into email lists. That’s just the way of the world, and there’s little you can do to avoid it, but there are some ways to lessen the impact to your personal life by taking some small steps when you do give out your details for whatever reason.

Email lists are basically marketing and sales tools used by many companies to help in their efforts to gain customers or clients for whatever product or service their pushing. These lists can sometimes be used by good companies to make you aware of what they have, specials they have for list customers only and things of that nature, but where there’s good there’s always bad, too. When your details get onto an email list anywhere, it only takes one less than honest person to sell it to the wrong people, and this is how everyone ends up getting those emails that you never signed up for, like the male enhancers, the “you have won the lottery” emails and such. A simple yet effective way to minimize this is to have 2 email addresses, one you use for real email, and another specifically for when you have to give an email address out. This simple little thing, which is free to do as email addresses are free just about everywhere now will totally remove you from the possibility of getting your real email address onto those email lists.

If you don’t want to bother with the above method, then only give your email address to those companies or people that you absolutely trust, such as your doctor’s office or pharmacy. Remember though that no matter who you give it to, you WILL be going onto someone’s email lists. This may never affect you as not everyone employs email lists for anything other than the reason they stated when asking for it, but that’s not to say that someone working there won’t steal and sell that list for a fast buck or 300.

Only accept and open emails from people you know, as sometimes bad marketers send out millions of emails with randomized addresses in the hope that someone really has that email address and they won’t know if it’s good or bad until the email gets opened, so be aware that all emails coming to you may simply want you to do this to include you onto their email lists for selling to others.

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Effective email marketing techniques that pack a punch without a heavy handed approach!

If you've got a website and want to increase your traffic, you know that e-newsletters can be a quite effective email marketing strategy. The trick is in knowing how to hook your readers without taking the heavy handed approach to sales. Sure, sales and profit is your bottom line, but you've got to provide significant value for the best results. In the end, you want to make your readers look forward to receiving your emails, eager to open and read, from beginning to end. What makes readers enthusiastic when they see an email from your business? They find something of value to them personally, in every issue of your newsletter.

While you may think this is a tall order, it's really not so difficult as you might think. Whether you're selling information, a service, or a product, you're the expert in your field. You know all the ins and outs, nuts and bolts about your business. It's more than likely that the vast majority of your customers don't. You have an opportunity to educate them. An informed customer is far more likely to buy from a credible expert.

Distributing a free e-newsletter is one of the most effective email marketing strategies you can employ to increase your traffic and build a relationship with your subscribers. It's also a good marketing technique for gaining word of mouth referrals. Don't be shy about letting your subscribers know they're free to pass your email on to an interested friend. One satisfied reader tells a friend or neighbor how great your e-newsletter is. You may start out with just a few hundred subscribers - before you know it, your readership expands exponentially. Pretty soon, you've got exposure you might never have realized through search engine rankings based solely on the content of your site.

When you're working up the presentation of your newsletter, it's a smart idea to make a template, which presents each issue in a predictable order. For example, start each issue with a masthead (issue # and volume#), followed by an introductory paragraph summarizing the contents. A table of contents helps whet the appetite of the reader: tidbits of info and links (a low-key sales pitch opportunity), followed by the feature article, which should be the centerpiece of each issue. Following the feature article, you might have a single affiliate link relevant to the information contained in the feature piece. You might then introduce a section for reader's comments, which is good PR for you, creates a sense of an interactive community and makes for an effective email marketing strategy.

Think about winding up the newsletter with several affiliate links to products or services that your readers will find valuable. For example, if you've got a travel website, search out some hot deals on cheap travel, ones your subscribers wouldn't ordinarily find on their own.

Depending on the focus of your website, a freebies section can be a real draw. Everyone is looking for ways to save these days, so when you can direct your readers to some freebies, they'll appreciate it. This is effective email marketing.

Some caveats to consider for the most effective email marketing strategies: when you offer your free e-newsletter subscription, the double opt-in subscription gives you credibility. Your visitors will feel more confident in you and your business reputation when you let them know that when they sign up, they'll receive an email asking them to confirm their desire to receive your emails by clicking a confirmation link. Also, be sure to include a statement, right up front, to the effect that you respect their privacy and won't ever sell, share or trade their email address with anyone.

While you may send occasional emails to alert your subscribers to special sales or events, don't overdo it. Too many emails starts to feel like spam to your potential customers.

Following this basic formula, you'll have a most effective email marketing strategy, one that pleases your subscribers and increases your bottom line. It's a win-win for everyone.

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