Email marketing comes in many forms, but the most successful is the E-Zine. Far from the 'spam' email campaign that has gained such notoriety over recent years, it is a targeted commercial magazine directed to people that wish to receive it.
It could contain information on special offers, new ranges and company news etc. It would be sent to a list obtained by people registering on the site plus other affiliated sites for the subject matter concerned. Your company's current members scheme is an excellent foundation for such an E-Zine campaign.
Whilst 'spam' email marketing has given this genre something of a bad name, no-one can deny that a well maintained 'opt in' Email list can be an effective tool for maintaining existing client relationships, creating resales and informing clients of current deals, offers and company news.
Creating an 'opt in' email listing is essentially a simple task but it is important it is done properly to avoid ever tightening 'anti-spam laws'. A list is created by asking your site users to become members and giving them the option to receive a weekly/monthly/quarterly newletter via email. If they accept the offer, you send them an automated confirmation that they wish to receive the mail. Details of the original request and confirmation is automatically logged on your database to prove that any mail sent is not spam.
The amount of EZines in publication is ever growing and it is not difficult to find a handful of EZines being published about any given subject. The creators of these EZines are contantly seeking new sources of content. By contacting and creating quality content for these publications you can quickly gain both traffic and recognition as a knowledgable resource in your chosen field. Every article that gets published carries a link to your site generating traffic and if you gain a reputation for quality information in a chosen field you will soon pick up website links from other sites.
