E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses bulk electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial services, or for fundraising, by sending messages to an audience via the internet.
In its broadest sense every e-mail sent to a potential or current customer could be considered e-mail marketing but generally it means that bulk Emails are sent to current customers to enhance relationships, update them or give new information and so encourage loyalty leading to repeat business.
They can also be sent to Targeted groups with the purpose of acquiring new business. It can also be a useful Market Research tool to your targeted groups in order to gain good feedback to what your customers are looking for.
Email Newsletters can also be useful when you want to keep your customers updated on a regular basis to changes on your website or to alert them to new or changed products/services etc.
When considering this form of Marketing it pays to work out a strategy and define your target audience. It is also a good idea to tell your ISP provider what you are doing so that it is not seen as SPAM, which can lead to issues with future email broadcasts.
It pays to have your email broadcasts set up with an easy opt out of the mailing list facility as you do not want to upset your customers if they do not want this kind of contact. It is also a requirement under NZ law to have these facilities in every email newsletter that you send.
Author: Stuart Wilkerson
Webstrategies
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It’s worth linking to http://www.dia.govt.nz/DIAwebsite.nsf/wpg_URL/Services-Anti-Spam-Index and pointing out that emails must have your full contact details.
Also, it is important to have (and maintain evidence of) the consent of the receiver, either express, inferred or deemed.
Thanks for the expansion of this post Richard.