Summary

I know this guide has been rather short, but I wanted to communicate the idea that these issues are really not that complicated. The answers to these five questions are really quite simple, and it's not rocket science. Let's review the five questions and answers right here in short form to give you an at-a-glance format for the answers you need to make good, informed decisions about email marketing.

How do I make sure I don't break the law?
It's simple: respect your customer. Respect your subscriber. Don't do anything that spammers would do.

How I build an email list in the first place?
It's easy: ask for permission at every point of contact with your customer. If you don't have the technology or budget to add a subscribe form to your web page, check out my own tool at www.zeop.com.

How much email should I send to subscribers?
Send exactly what you told them you would send, no more and no less.

What is the impact of the do not email list?
The impact is currently nothing. If the list idea is passed and implemented, it will be revoked after the public and the lawmakers realize the idea has no merit whatsoever and does nothing to stop spammers.

How do I make sure my emails get opened?
It's straightforward: use your correct company name or your own name as the “from” address, and use it consistently. Make sure it's a name that people recognize and remember subscribing to.

Email marketing is not mysterious, not complex, and not difficult at all… it's something that literally thousands of companies do successfully each and every day in order to generate revenues, build trust and rapport with their customer base, and increase their positive word-of-mouth reputation. People from both marketing and technical backgrounds can easily master the fundamentals of email marketing, and use it to grow their business, enhance their reputations, and accomplish virtually any organizational goal that involves communicating with customers, members, prospects or readers.

I've been in the email marketing business since 1993, and have seen it move through distinct phases, and yet I've never seen so much fear and hesitation as I see today, even following the passage of the federal Can-Spam legislation. But the bottom line, as I hope I’ve communicated here, is that the federal legislation passed is intended to only deal with hard-core spammers, and unless you're sending out tens of millions of emails a day, to every email address the you can find or buy, and trying to hide your identity from the authorities, you're probably not a spammer and you're not going to be targeted by the new laws.

Do your part to respect the customer: engage in permission email marketing only. Earn the respect of your customers by asking questions, so that you can gain a better and deeper understanding of their needs interests and desires. In doing so, you will not only gain the reward of increased business and loyalty from your customers, you will also help show others how to do email market the right way: spam-free.

I wish you the best with this information and I welcome your feedback. My name is Mike Adams, and I’m the president of Arial Software. My aim is to educate people about the benefits of permission email marketing so that they may use technologies such as those offered by my own company and others to enhance their customer touchpoints and relationships.