Internet Business Blog

Running a strong email campaign in conjunction with your internet business or website is, in my opinion, a must. Now, I’m not talking about spamming customer email addresses with useless information or annoying current and former clients with every minute detail about your business - I’m talking about giving interested customers information that they can use (to increase your sales!) and to politely remind your clients why they chose to use your services in the first place, and why they should do so again in the future.

I had my first run in with email marketing nearly two years ago during my initial research phase for a start up that I had created. This start up eventually turned into my greatest business accomplishment to date - part of which I owe to creating a strong email campaign. As far as the research process was concerned, I found it to be slightly intimidating because during this time I was unable to find solid, unbiased information about the email marketing process and because there is a plethora of email marketing software available to us. I was overwhelmed with options to say the least.

I am going to cut through the bull and tell you exactly what worked for me. The reason I want to do this is because not only did no one do it for me, I know how financially rewarding establishing and maintaining an email marketing campaign can be.

My Top 3 Reasons to Run an Email Campaign

1. It’s a Cost Effective way to reach out to your existing customer and viewer base. Everyone’s heard the phrase “It’s cheaper to keep old clients than gain new ones” and that couldn’t be further from the truth. It is indeed cheaper because not only do you already have their eyes and ears, you have their trust as well which is very important on the internet.

2. It’s an Easy Method of Internet Marketing. Writing a newsletter or email can be time consuming when done correctly, but it isn’t exactly brain surgery. These days, running an email campaign is as easy as creating an account with Constant Contact, entering your list of email addresses, creating an email via the template wizard, and clicking on the send button.

3. It’s 100% Effective. The reason I say this is because I’ve found that when running an email campaign I was able to boost my previous business’s sales by nearly 100% for up to several days after the email or newsletter went out to customers and interested visitors.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t a few potential negatives associated with running an email marketing campaign. First, you need to make sure that you have enough email addresses of visitors or clients who would be interested in your services, which can be easier said than done. However, this isn’t a huge deal because the larger email marketing management sites such as Constant Contact (see below) have free trials available to you while you build your list, develop your email copy, and polish your skills. Second, not all websites really fit the mold. If you aren’t selling a product, service, or advertising space – an email marketing campaign may not be for you. And Third, it can be time consuming when done correctly. By time consuming, I do not mean slaving over your computer monitor all hours of the night but it will take a few hours to create a truly effective email or newsletter. If you do not have the time this can be resolved by hiring an Internet Marketing Specialist or delegating the task to an employee.

Still Interested?
The Email Marketing Campaign software that I recommend is called
Constant Contact. I have used them for nearly two years with excellent results. The process is entirely web-based so you can log into your account from anywhere with an active internet connection which is a huge plus. If you would like to tinker around I highly suggest clicking their banner below and signing up for a free trial. If you own a business or website and feel that an email or newsletter campaign would benefit you, now is the time to get started!

As always, if you have any questions feel free to contact me via the contact form or leave a comment below. I do my best to respond as quickly as possible.

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When browsing the internet webmaster forums and article websites, I always seem to come across so many great tips and pieces of information on how to promote an internet business online. Though promoting an internet business or website online is obviously huge; In my opinion, many people make the mistake of only promoting their net business online when they should be actively promoting them off line as well.

What do you do to promote your internet business(es) or websites in the ‘real world’?

Personally, I prefer the business card route. I always print up and have on hand at least a couple hundred business cards and hand out two or three at a time. referral and viral marketing is a great strategy when done correctly, especially in the consulting and web development business.

The other way I’ve been promoting off line is a new and exciting strategy for me. I’ve just begun to order small cases of private labeled coffee with my businesses name on the label. I will be handing the 12oz. packages of coffee (great coffee, by the way) to clients who happen to be regular coffee drinkers. Not a bad way for clients and prospective clients to start their mornings - thinking about my business!

I encourage everyone to not only create business cards and promote off line if you don’t do so already, but to think outside the box as well.

Be creative with your marketing. Sure, stickers, pens, and magnets have their place *but* if you do something different than the standard “we own a business, here’s a pen with our name on it” you may find more sales/success than such traditional routes.

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Last night I posted an article written by Daniel J. Briere entitled: “Ever-lasting Habits of Highly Profitable Webmasters”. The article was such a hit that I decided to post part #2 of this series just a few minutes ago, which you can read here.

These two articles outline nine habits that are essential to becoming successful on the internet and I highly recommend everyone take a few minutes to read through them. For the intermediate/advanced webmaster, they may be review but even the best need a refresher from time to time.

Part #1 introduces the following concepts:
Off Site Backups
Independent Domain Registration
Good Client-Host Host-Client Relationship
Regular Website Updates
Prompt Reply to Emails

Part #2 touches on:
Making Use of SEO
Exchanging Links with Related Websites
Examining (and Conforming to) Customer Needs
Keeping Things Simple

Like I mentioned earlier, both part #1 and part #2 of this series are excellent material for Internet Business rookies as well as the entrepreneurs and webmasters who’ve been in the industry for awhile. Many of us could write a white paper on each topic discussed in the article, and depending on reader interaction I may do just that. Let me know your thoughts!

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