What You Wish You Knew About Email Marketing

Everyone has a story, something they wish they knew about a product or service before buying it. Email marketing is no different. Some people are stung so bad they abandon this lucrative marketing method. Others lose time and money on low-quality tools, or schemes that sound good but do not work.

There are several things to look for when buying an email list, or setting up an email marketing account.

DIY scripts

The scripts they can add to their website that manages their mailing list tempt many people. However, people often learn too late that their web hosting system forbids sending email blasts to a list of subscribers. Others shut down websites that ‘hog the server’s CPU’ for more than 15 seconds. While, some of the servers with limited bandwidth bill their clients for the ‘surge.’

I knew one person, through a networking group, who received an $1120 bill for bandwidth after sending out an email blast in December with a large graphic Christmas Card in it.

Grade Your Service

There is a mindboggling variety of email campaign and mailing list management services. Not all are created equal. Some have high monthly prices for managing lists. Others charge high prices depending on the size of the list – no matter how many emails are actually delivered a month.

A+ Delivery Cost

A good service will charge a fee of less than $.01 per delivery. Bulk service may charge as low as $.05 for delivery. The client should pay no fee for hosting their list.  The system should not increase the cost as the email list grows.

A + Privacy

The mailing list should remain the private property of the client. Check the fine print. There are reports of some list hosting companies keeping abandoned lists. Make sure the service will not use your list if you abandon it or move from their service.

A + Metrics

A good service will track all metrics. The client deserves more service than just a ‘list host.’ They should expect, at the minimum:

• % of delivered emails
• % of opened emails
• % a click through
• % of unsubscribed
• % of spam complaints
• % of bounced emails

The metrics should go beyond the basics listed above. It should list who opened the emails, what time the emails were opened, and tools that let the small business owner compare different campaigns.
Before signing for an email marketing campaign service, grade them, make sure they are offering everything needed to run a successful campaign.