So many people recently seem to be talking about the death of email.

I, personally, see the use of email exploding all around me, businesses rely on it, my 5 year old niece sends me email and my friend's 89 year old Grandmother uses to keep in touch with
her grandson all the way from Australia.

Email is here to stay.

In my own business I use email on a daily basis for many different tasks including: -

- Keeping in touch with clients and customers

- Sending out information updates

- Providing a monthly ezine

- Mini courses

- Eclasses

- Tips

- Sales promotions

- Recommendations

- Autoresponders

- And more

So, is email dead?

No way....however things have changed. With aggressive ISP
and email filters and the explosion of junk email you have
to be more savvy with your email marketing to make it effective.

Here are 6 tips you can use to increase the power of your
email marketing.

  ### Ask your subscribers to filter your email ###

I picked this idea up from Jimmy D Brown and use it
wherever I can with new subscribers and customers.

Now, when most people think of filters they think of junk
mail and filtering it out into the deleted or sent to the
trash folder.

I use this idea but turn it round and ask people to filter
my email into a special folder for email they want to keep;
or ask them to apply a color filter so when my email
arrives it changes color and stands out.

I do this by using a special thank you page when they sign
up for my ezine, mini course or tips. On the thank you page I’ll thank then for subscribing and give then instructions on how to set up the filter in 3 of the most popular email clients – Outlook, Eudora and Pagasus.

Plus, I’ll also give the instructions in the first welcome email that goes out to them. Here I’ll tell my clients what to expect from me such as when emails will arrive, what the from line will look like, etc..

  ### Send out a ‘Gentle Nudge’ Email ###

You’ll have seen this technique used by many of the
successful online marketers simply because it works.

If you send out long ezines or sales messages to your list there is a chance that they will get caught in their s-p-a-m filters and never reach your intended recipients.

One way round this problem is to publish your ezine or
message on your website for people to visit and view
online.

You then simply send a short message to your list
explaining that your new ezine/message has been sent and if they didn’t receive it they can view it online at your website (give the address for them to click on).

If I am promoting a product I use a different link on my website version so I can tack the effectiveness of this ‘nudge email’.

And believe me this method does work very well.

  ### Respond to confirmation requests ###

As junk mail has increased so has the number of companies
who offer solutions to this problem, or at least say they
offer solutions to the problem.

Several companies offer a service whereby each new person
who sends you an email will receive a message asking them
to confirm that they are a ‘real’ person. Once confirmed
all their email will reach you in future.

This is to stop people who send out thousands of
unsolicited emails from bombarding your inbox.

Now, how can you benefit from this?

As replying to the confirmation takes a little time I’ve
heard some marketers actually say they can’t be bothered to
go through the short confirmation process.

I now reply to all confirmation requests for 2 reasons: -

1) These are people who have taken the trouble to set up
the filtering process and it will be on their primary email account; therefore, they will look at it on a regular basis.

2) If other people ‘can’t be bothered’ to reply to these requests then it leaves the door open for me to build a relationship and therefore, ultimately, more sales.

Remember, doing the little things in business will ensure
the big profits.

### Use double opt in to build highly targeted and responsive lists ###

Double opt in is a method used to ensure that the person requesting your email actually asked for it.

When a person subscribes to your email list an automatic
email goes out asking them to confirm that they wanted to
join your list.

By confirming, these people are undertaking 2 actions to
join your list and by nature will be more targeted to what
you have to offer.

I’ve used this method to build a highly responsive list of buyers in one niche I operate in. I first sent out an email informing them of a product I was launching and if they wanted to know about it they had to email for more information.

Once they emailed for more information I asked them to
confirm that they wanted the info before I sent it out to
them.

By using this method I reduced the number of people on my
list BUT the people who were on it were eager for the information. Once I released the product I had 31% of the people on the list purchase it.

Use S-P-A-M- filters to check your email before you send it
out.

Certain words in your emails will trigger a reaction in
many of the email filters on the market. By using an email checker before you send out your messages you’ll reduce the chances of it being stopped.

There are a number of these filters available, some fr-ee,
some paid for. I use one built into my shopping cart each
time I send out a message.

To find one to use simply do a search in Google and choose
one you feel comfortable using.

 ### Use additional methods to deliver your information ###

Although the trusty email is still king in the online
marketing world you can use alternative methods to actually
put your message across.

For example.

You can send out an email to your list and ask them to
download an mp3 recording or PDF report that contains more information from you.

You’ve probably seen the increase of many marketers
releasing PDF reports for you to read offline or even print
off to read at a later date.

I’ve had several this year already.

By using the PDF report it enables you to pack more
information into it, include graphics, pictures and to
ramble on for as much as you want. Plus, a PDF will have a longer shelf life than just a normal email as people will usually keep them on their PC longer.

If you do use a PDF here’s one tip. When including a link
in your PDF DON’T cloak it or hide it behind the words on
the page.

Why?

If someone prints it off they won’t be able to see the full link they need to type in to reach the web page you‘ve talked about.

I recently printed off a PDF to read at a later date and couldn’t visit any of the sites mentioned as they hid the link address from view.

MP3 – This is a VERY easy way for you to send information
to your subscribers. Simply plug a microphone into your PC, record your information and upload it your website ready for your subscribers to download.

Send out a short email to your list detailing where they
can download the file and hey presto your MP3 file is on
the desktops of computers around the world!

Again, by downloading the MP3 it will have a longer life
than email as people will keep it on their desktops.

   ### And finally...... ####

Although email is still a very effective way to grow your business online it should only be part of your overall marketing mix. You’ll never hear me saying email is the ONLY way to go.

By using the 6 methods above you’ll increase the
effectiveness of your email, however, make sure you build
in different marketing processes into your business to compliment the email promotions you send out.