1. 3.06 Understand the use of direct marketing to attract attention and to build brand

2. Why Use E-Mail Marketing? Sending promotional messages across computer networks is known as e-mail marketing. The reasons businesses use e-mail marketing are many, including: Keeping current customers Educating others Building brand awareness Enhancing business image Engaging in vital marketing Creating discussion

3. Options for Sending E-Mail The four primary options businesses use to send e-mail are: 1. Opt-in (a.k.a. permission-based)  Individuals give a business permission to send them the promotional e-mails, product announcements, or newsletters.  The most common use of opt-in e-mail marketing is subscriptions. 2. Double opt-in  Double opt-in takes the opt-in approach one step further by requiring recipients to confirm that they really do want to be a registered subscriber.  Upon completing the subscription process, individuals receive an e-mail that they must respond to in order to be added to the list of subscribers.

4. 3. Opt-out  With opt-out e-mail marketing, it is assumed that individuals want to receive e-mail until they indicate otherwise.  Generally, the e-mail contains an explanation of the process that must be followed to be removed from the list. 4. Spam  Spam consists of unsolicited or junk e-mail.  In most cases, spam bogs down networks and wastes people’s time.

5. Common Uses of E-Mail Marketing Businesses use different approaches with their e-mail marketing efforts. Some may use all of the approaches, while others may use only a few. Businesses often use e-mail marketing for:  Announcements  Newsletters  Bulletins  Suggestion selling  Reminder service  Handling requests  Obtaining feedback  Order confirmations

6. Challenges of E-Mail Marketing Challenges of e-mail marketing include:  Developing/Obtaining customer lists  Sending duplicate e-mails  Having undeliverable e-mail  Experiencing diminished effectiveness  Obtaining responses  Spreading viruses  Battling filters  Sending unauthorized subscriptions  Creating angry recipients  Managing lists

7. Plain Text versus HTML Plain Text:  Most likely, the e-mail that you send and receive most often is plain text.  Plain text e-mails consist of words on a screen.  The key to successful text-based e-mails is proper formatting. 1. Sections are separated by lines. 2. Only those symbols that appear on the computer keyboard are usually used. 3. Text is justified left. 4. Hard returns are used at the end of each sentence or paragraph.

8. Plain Text versus HTML HTML:  HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, which is the code used to create web pages.  The same coding can be used to create e- mails that contain colorful logos, graphics, background designs, animations, sound, banner ads, etc.  It takes longer for HTML e-mails to load than plain-text e-mails.  Not all e-mail clients support HTML.

9. Capabilities of E-Mail  The capabilities of e-mail depend upon the type of software that is used.  A basic e-mail client can be used to send a plain-text e-mail with an attachment.  A more sophisticated software program is needed to send out personalized e-mails.  To make use of all of the capabilities of e- mail, different software components (e.g., e- mail client, database, e-mail automation program, etc.) must work together.

10. Capabilities of E-Mail  Non-interactive content 1. Non-interactive content is basically static. 2. The recipient can’t shape his/her own experience by linking to other locations within the e-mail or to a web site. 3. Plain-text e-mail used in correspondence among friends, family members, and coworkers is a good example of non- interactive content.

11. Capabilities of E-Mail  Links to other places within the message : Hyperlinks make it is possible to link a word, graphic, or other element to another place within the e-mail.  Links to web sites : Hyperlinks are also used to link from somewhere within the e-mail to a web site.  Attachments : An attachment is a computer file (e.g., Word document, PowerPoint presentation, jpg photo, etc.) that is sent with an e-mail.

12. Capabilities of E-Mail  Streaming media 1. E-mail is capable of delivering sound, video, or animations that play when the recipient opens the message or clicks on a “play” button. 2. The media is “streaming” because it moves in a continuous flow over the Internet to the recipient’s computer. 3. Streaming media is not delivered through e-mail very often because it is expensive to produce and requires the recipient to have a high-speed Internet connection.

13. Capabilities of E-Mail  Individualized addresses 1. Rather than having your e-mail address delivered to thousands of strangers, it is possible to place only your individual e- mail address in the “To” field before sending the message. 2. This helps businesses to personalize their e-mail so that readers feel that they’re the only ones receiving the e-mail.

14. Capabilities of E-Mail  Personalization 1. Personalization technologies attempt to make customers feel unique and special—by inserting personal information such as name, title, and purchasing history within an e-mail message. 2. Certain computer programs can extract the personal information from a database and automatically put it in the proper place within the messages.

15. Capabilities of E-Mail  Automated : E-mail software can be set up to perform certain functions (e.g., send personalized e-mails to entire customer list, create list of undeliverable addresses, etc.) at specified times.

16. Capabilities of E-Mail  Autoresponders 1. Use of autoresponders results in less time spent on routine tasks and more time to grow a business. 2. When a person sends a message to a specified e-mail address, the autoresponder replies with a certain message. 3. Common uses of autoresponders are to:  Confirm orders and newsletter subscriptions  Answer frequently asked questions  Make customers aware that the business person is unavailable until a certain date

17. 8 simple email marketing strategies for the sports industry Our latest guide, '8 simple email marketing strategies for the sports industry' has been written specifically for email marketers in the industry. Featuring some great best practice email examples from Tottenham Hotspur, LA Fitness and Surrey County Cricket Club, this is an unmissable guide for any marketer within the sports sector. James' guide looks at 8 strategies marketers can focus on in order to gain the best possible results from their email marketing campaigns. These strategies are: 1 Capture 40% of visitors will complete a sign up form if they perceive a benefit in doing so - in this guide you can find out the best way to capture that all important data! 2 Manage expectations Let sign ups know what they can expect to receive 3 The welcome email This is what your customers are most likely to respond to - so make sure you're making the most of it 4 Personalization Learn how you can use personalization to grab the recipient's attention 5 Design Tips on alternative text - your recipients are far more likely to open your emails if you use it! 6 Use social media Email marketing and social media can be used to compliment each other perfectly, are you making the most of the pairing? 7 Automations How to use email automations to engage with your recipients at the most emotive times, like a fan's birthday, clever email marketing software can do this for you. 8 Get the basics right! Taken from Pure 360 Website.