E-Mail Marketing Dead Soon

[Ralph_o_pedia_911]

E-mail marketingE-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every e-mail sent to a potential or current customer could be considered e-mail marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to:- Sending e-mails with the purpose of enhancing the relationship   of a merchant with its current or old customers and to   encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.- Sending e-mails with the purpose of acquiring new customers or   convincing old customers to buy something immediately.- Adding advertisements in e-mails sent by other companies to   their customers.Researchers estimate that as of 2004 the E-mail Marketingindustry's revenues has surpassed the $1 billion/yr mark.AdvantagesE-mail marketing is popular with companies because:- Compared to other media investments such as direct mail   or printed newsletters, it is less expensive.- Return on investment has proven to be high when done properly.- It is instant, as opposed to a mailed advertisement,   an e-mail arrives in a few seconds or minutes.- It lets the advertiser "push" the message to its audience,  as opposed to a website that waits for customers to come in.- It is easy to track. An advertiser can track bounce-backs,  un-subscribes, open rates, positive or negative responses,   click-throughs, rise in sales.- Advertisers can reach substantial numbers of e-mail   subscribers who have opted in (consented) to receive   e-mail communications on subjects of interest to them- When most people switch on their computer the first thing   they do is check their e-mail.- Specific types of interaction with messages can trigger   other messages to be automatically delivered.DisadvantagesMany companies use e-mail marketing to communicate with existing customers, but many other companies send unsolicited bulk e-mail, also known as spam.Illicit e-mail marketing antedates legitimate e-mail marketing, since on the early Internet (see Arpanet) it was not permitted to use the medium for commercial purposes. As a result, marketers attempting to establish themselves as legitimate businesses in e-mail marketing have had an uphill battle, hampered also by criminal spam operations billing themselves as legitimate.It is frequently difficult for observers to distinguish between legitimate and spam e-mail marketing. First off, spammers attempt to represent themselves as legitimate operators, obfuscating the issue. Second, direct-marketing political groups such as the U.S. Direct Marketing Association (DMA) have pressured legislatures to legalize activities which many Internet operators consider to be spamming, such as the sending of "opt-out" unsolicited commercial e-mail. Third, the sheer volume of spam e-mail has led some users to mistake legitimate commercial e-mail (for instance, a mailing list to which the user subscribed) for spam — especially when the two have a similar appearance, as when messages include HTML and flashy graphics.Due to the volume of spam e-mail on the Internet, spam filters are essential to most users. Some marketers report that legitimate commercial e-mails frequently get caught by filters, and hidden; however, it is somewhat less common for e-mail users to complain that spam filters block legitimate mail.Companies considering an e-mail marketing program must make sure that their program does not violate spam laws such as the United States CAN-SPAM Act, the European Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 or their Internetprovider's acceptable use policy. Even if a company follows the law, if Internet mail administrators find that it is sending spam it is likely to be listed in blacklists such as SPEWS.E-mail marketing termsAuto-responders    Automatic replies sent by the e-mail software of the     recipient after receipt of an e-mail.Bounce backs    e-mail sent back to the server that originally sent     the e-mail.Bounce rate    Ratio of bounced e-mails to total e-mails sent.Bulk, bulking    Terms used by spammers to refer to their line of work.     Mostly synonymous with spam or UCE.Call to action    Words in the e-mail that entice recipients to do     something.Click-through    The action of clicking on a link.Click-through rate (CTR)    Ratio of click-throughs to total e-mails sent.Commercial e-mail    Any e-mail sent for commercial purpose; for instance,     an advertisement to buy a product or service, an order     confirmation from an online store, or a paid subscription     periodical delivered by e-mail. Commercial e-mail is not     synonymous with spam; see unsolicited commercial e-mail below.Demographic    Characteristic of a group of e-mail recipients.Double opt-in    A term coined by spammers to refer to the normal operation     of secure electronic mailing list software. A new     subscriber first gives his/her address to the list     software (for instance, on a Web page) and then confirms     subscription after receiving an e-mail asking if it was     really him/her. This ensures that no person can subscribe     someone else out of malice or error. The intention of the     term "double opt-in" is to make it appear that the     confirmation is a duplication of effort; and thus, to     justify not confirming subscriptions. Mail system     administrators and non-spam mailing list operators refer     to confirmed subscription or closed-loop opt-in.Double opt-out    Same as Opt-In, but the recipient unsubscribes instead     of subscribes. Borderline spam operations frequently make     it difficult to unsubscribe from lists, in order to keep     their lists large. Hard-core spam operations make it     impossible -- they treat opt-out requests as confirmations     that the address works and is read.E-mail Blast    An e-mail sent to multiple recipients, intended to inform     them of announcements, events or changes. A variety of     methods can be used to send the same e-mail to multiple     recipients: for example: using options within an e-mail     program, using the mail merge option within a word     processing program, or using a commercial e-mail list programs.Express consent    A recipient agrees actively to subscribe by checking a     box on a web form, paper form or by telephone. A     recipient not unchecking a box is not express consent.False positives    E-mail that is not spam but is labeled spam by a spam     filter of the recipient. Note that e-mail marketers may     have different opinions of what is "spam" than e-mail     recipients.Format    E-mails can be sent in plain text, HTML, or Microsoft's     rich text format.Hard bounce    Bounced e-mail that could never get through because the     e-mail address doesn't exist or the domain doesn't exist.List broker    Reseller of lists of e-mail addresses.List building    Process of generating a list of e-mail addresses for use     in e-mail campaigns.List host    Web service that provides tools to manage large e-mail     address databases and to distribute large quantities of e-mails.List manager    Owner or operator of opt-in e-mail newsletters or     databases. Also software used to maintain a mailing list.Look and feel    Appearance, layout, design, functions & anything not     directly related to the actual message on an e-mail.Open rate    E-mail open rate measures the ratio of e-mails "opened"     to the number sent or "delivered." The ratio is calculated     in various ways, the most popular is: e-mails delivered     (sent - hard bounces) /unique opens.Opt-in    The action of agreeing to receive e-mails from a     particular company, group of companies or associated     companies, by subscribing to an e-mail list.Opt-out    A mailing list which transmits e-mails to people who     have not subscribed and lets them "opt-out" from the     list. The subscribers' e-mail addresses may be harvested     from the web, USENET, or other mailing lists. ISP     policies and some regions' laws consider this equivalent     to spamming.Personalization    The use of technology and customer information to     tailor e-mails between a business and each individual     customer. Using information previously obtained about     the customer, the e-mail is altered to fit that     customer's stated needs as well as needs perceived by     the business based on the available customer information,    for the purpose of better serving the customer by     anticipating needs, making the interaction efficient     and satisfying for both parties and building a     relationship that encourages the customer to return for     subsequent purchases.Privacy    The Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579, safeguards     privacy through creating four procedural rights in     personal data. It requires government agencies to show     an individual any records kept on him/her; also requires     agencies to follow "fair information practices" when     gathering and handling personal data. It places     restrictions on how agencies can share an individual's     data with other people and agencies and also lets     individuals sue the government for violating its provisions.Rental list    A mailing list that can only be used once or for a     limited time. The user of the list pays the owner of     the list less money than if he/she would have bought     the list outright. Note that this term is usually used     for lists generated by address harvesting or other     means; the investment made by the list creator does     not correlate with the permission of the e-mail     recipients. Many firms who "rent" or "buy" a list     face spam complaints afterward from persons who     never subscribed.Segmentation (or Targeting)    The use of previously gathered information to send     e-mails of a particular offer to a subset of the list.Soft bounce    A soft bounce is an e-mail that gets as far as the     recipient's mail server but is bounced back undelivered     before it gets to the intended recipient. it might     occur because the recipient's inbox is full. A soft     bounce message may be deliverable at another time or     may be forwarded manually by the network administrator     in charge of redirecting mail on the recipient's     domain. On the other hand, a hard bounce is an e-mail     message that has been returned to the sender because     the recipient's address is invalid.Spam or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial e-mail-UCE)    From the sender's point-of-view, spam is a form of     bulk mail, often sent to a list obtained by companies     that specialize in creating e-mail distribution lists.     To the receiver, it usually seems like junk e-mail.     Spam is equivalent to unsolicited telemarketing calls     except that the user pays for part of the message     since everyone shares the cost of maintaining the     Internet. Spammers typically send a piece of e-mail     to a distribution list in the millions, expecting that     only a tiny number of readers will respond to their     offer. The term spam is said to derive from a famous     Monty Python sketch ("Well, we have Spam, tomato &     Spam, egg & Spam, Egg, bacon & Spam...") that was     current when spam first began arriving on the Internet.     SPAM is a trademarked Hormel meat product that was     well-known in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II.Spam filter    Software that is usually installed in the users e-mail     client, with the purpose of avoiding spam e-mail to     get into the client's inbox or at least to be flagged     as such.Subject line    It is one of the most important issues in e-mail marketing.     The better the subject line of an e-mail, the better     probability of being opened by the recipient.Targeting (or segmentation)    Sending e-mails to a subset of a mailing list based     on a specific filter, trying to improve CTR and/or     open ratios.Tracking    The act of reporting CTR, open ratios, bounces, etc.Trigger based messaging    Triggering a message based on an event or interaction     with a previous message. Popular for customers who     request more informationUnique click    During a particular period, a visitor to a website     could click several times on a particular link, but     during that period it is counted only as one and     considered a unique visitor.Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE)    Commercial e-mail, usually of an advertising nature,     sent at the expense of the recipient without his or     her permission. Sending UCE is an offense against     all major ISPs' terms of service, and is a crime in     some jurisdictions. External links- The Email Forum- E-mail marketing article on About.com- SpamCon Foundation- Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail- Email Sender & Provider Coalition    If you liked this article, you can contact me by ICQ or email.Ralph.