My Money Blog

The Effective Email Marketing Campaign

Posted on 21. Aug, 2009 by Casper.

Email marketing can mean a tremendous boost in profits if done correctly. It is often a form of advertising that many people misuse because of SPAM and bad email practices. An effective email campaign isn’t built on spam but on sound principles that can build your business quickly. The problem is that most people rush to put together their email campaign and leave out some very important parts. To develop an effective email campaign there are some strategies and tips that can help you.

1. Study the target audience

Before even putting together your email campaign you should know who it is you are trying to reach and the best way to engage them with your email.

2. Research quality mailing lists

A major failure on the part of those who are using email as part of their marketing is that they fail to research quality mailing lists. A lot of lists just blast your email to several different audiences without discrimination. That leads to SPAM accusations and a failed campaign.

3. Start with a personal subject line

Address your audience immediately. Don’t leave your email as a generic sales presentation. Create a sense of familiarity and trust by addressing the person who is reading your email in a personal way. Use their name in the subject and use a problem or ask a question they are facing.

4. Create a sense of urgency

People respond when they feel compelled to. Your email marketing campaign can provide this sense of compulsion when you create your ad in such a way that seems urgent. Not an over the top message that just doesn’t seem realistic, but in a way that people can relate.

5. Give a call to action

Most marketers fall short with their call to action. They might tell the reader to click on a link or give a call, but that’s not what will drive people to do it. Your call to action should be in the form of a question or request. If you’ve already created urgency in the email, then this request will automatically be fulfilled.

An effective email campaign can be one of the most profitable aspects of your online advertising. However, the key to creating a successful email campaign is to follow a few rules. Put these tips into practice and you will see much better returns for your time.

Continue Reading

Review of Mass Article Control – Is It a Scam?

Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by Casper.

So it’s time for another program review. This time I have tried and tested the Mass Article Contro software. So is this really the solution for the all the article marketers out there, working hour after hour writing and submitting articles? Well, let’s see what Mass Article Control software can do…

The Mass Article Control package consists of two different packages: The  Mass Article Creator and the Mass Article Submitter, which needs to be installed seperately. The idea of having both programs is ofcourse the ability to first re-write an article with the The  Mass Article Creator, to create several (actually 1000 different articles) and submit those articles to several article directories using the Mass Article Submitter.

Mass Article Creator:

To test it I loaded an old article of mine, made some adjustments and tweaks, which by the way is really well explain with vidoes, and I hit the “preview possible articles”. BANG! Within a few seconds 1000 articles where created. At this point I was pretty impressed, but my excitement disappeared within a few seconds also:

I scrolled down to pick a random re-write of the article, and it was really horrible. The article didn’t make any sense at all! Here’s a couple of examples from the re-written article:

“Fiber intake be supposed to at all times attempt give in give with…”

“Lactic acid, alcohols and coffee are about of the comestibles with the purpose of you might plan to keep your hands rotten.”

Not really what I was trying to explain in my article. So really, this article spinner is as useless as all the other re-write programs, and I seriously doubt that any article directory or ezine with self-respect will publish an article with the above sentences!

Mass Article Submitter:

The Mass Article Submitter is just an ordinary article submitter. Sign up to the article directories, add your article(s) and push the button. Nothing new here at all.

Conclusion of the Mass Article Control software:

Keep your money and look for some free software. The Mass Article Control package, is as useless as any other similar software. I wouldn’t have my name attached to any articles re-written by the Mass Article Control software.

Continue Reading

Five Mistakes That Will Defeat Your Email Marketing Efforts

Posted on 12. Aug, 2009 by Casper.

Email marketing can be one of your most powerful forms of advertising your site. It can also hurt your marketing efforts if not done correctly. Many, trying to make a quick dollar, use less than ethical approaches to their email. A well rounded email campaign requires much thought and avoiding some common mistakes.

Make sure you have permission.

The biggest form of complaint people have, whether real or not, is that you sent them your newsletter, or ad, without their permission. Use an email service that will allow you to have a double opt-in for new subscribers. This way there isn’t any excuse as to how they got your email. A double opt-in requires more work for the new subscriber but is worth it to the publisher for less SPAM complaints.

Include good content.

A lot of email marketers forget that the reason people subscribed to their email list in the first place was for good content. If you provide information that can be found elsewhere, information that is out of date, or any attempts to just getting them to spend money, you will lose your subscribers.

Don’t publish more than once.

A week that is. There is a big misconception that if you send emails everyday with a new product review, or recommendation, that you’ll earn big money everyday. The opposite is true. People will leave… in droves. Set a strict, non-conditional, policy with yourself that you will not publish more than once a week.

Using very weak email subjects.

The only thing someone will see of your newsletter within the first couple of seconds is the subject line showing up in their inbox. If that is weak they won’t open it. Take time with the subject of each email you send to make sure it gets the best opportunity to be read.

Too much design.

HTML emails are great for snazzy looking newsletters, but can also distract the reader. If you use HTML keep the design to a minimum. A header graphic, bold headings and sub-headings, a sidebar with a few graphics is ok, anything more and it’s overkill.

Continue Reading