The History of Email Marketing

Most of us jump on our work and personal computers several times each day to check our email. It has become an effective method of communication for work, personal relationships, and marketing. You may have noticed you get more emails encouraging you to purchase items than ever before. This is because email marketing has come one of the most popular methods of reaching consumers who make purchases online.

 

Email come into existence in the 1990’s as the internet was starting to become more popular. Businesses quickly found this was a great way to reach customers and clients. It was also less expensive than mailing out advertisements to homes. By 1995 the number of email advertisements sent out that year was more than the number sent out by regular mail. Businesses spend a great deal of money creating email marketing campaigns that won’t be confused with spam.

 

In fact, email marketing hit a huge roadblock when spam filters became so popular. Many email marketing campaigns had to be revamped as the filters were wiping them out. Businesses were losing money on the marketing campaigns and not getting any results. However savvy computer programmers and businesses soon learned that effective email marketing titles and headlines as well as using their real email address helped get the emails past the various spam filters.

 

Shopping online has become a part of life.

 

The internet was once used for research, entertainment and work related functions. The idea of shopping online has become very convenient in our society. After all, it allows you to compare prices in a flash. Most of us are too busy to run from store to store.

 

Shopping online has given those in remote locations the chance to get all the gadgets out there they desire. It is only logical that consumers are paying more attention to email marketing since this is the method they are using to do a large portion of their shopping. Email marketing has become mainstream. Almost every website gives the consumer the opportunity to give their email address and consent to being solicited with email advertising.

 

On the other side of the coin are those who hate getting their email filled up with email marketing ploys. This is why every email sent from a business has to include a link that gives the consumer the opportunity to opt out. Businesses have to respect this choice made by the consumer to remove themselves from the mailing list. This was the result of legislation stepping in when the idea of email marketing started flooding every email address out there. There are rules and laws in place now to protect consumers against having their privacy invaded. The penalty for violating these laws includes expensive fines and even the possibility of jail time.

 

However, with the acceptance of email marketing by consumers comes their demands for effective advertising that meets their needs. Getting the email to the consumer is only half of the battle. The information you send them has to grab their attention and entice them to take the link to your website and make a purchase. Your email should be a teaser that is going to make the consumer curious enough to go directly to your website at that very moment. There is a lot of competition out there and businesses have to come up with wittier and smarter email marketing campaigns to keep their consumers interested.

 

Contrary to some online marketers, email marketing is not dead and will continue to evolve as those sending email campaigns find innovative ways to capture the attention of the consumer while getting ahead of their competition.

 

Don’t expect email marketing to be replaced any time soon.

 

Millions are spent each year on email marketing. With that volume comes more responsibility on the end of the businesses that use it. Not only do they have to follow the laws and regulations set, they have to respect the consumer as well as appeal to them. Businesses know that email marketing is on the rise so they have no choice but to participate in it or be blown away by the competition.

 

The Ultimate Avatar: Knowing your perfect customer/client

 

No, I am not talking about tall blue alien CGI creatures from the movie, but rather a detailed vision of your ideal client. An avatar is a representation. By creating an avatar, you have something to concentrate your attentions to.

 

The more you can visualize the perspective of your ideal clients, the more you’ll be able to “speak their language” and be able to most effectively market to them.

 

John Lee Dumas goes so far as to give his ultimate avatar a name. He knows every minute detail about his average client and bases all of his efforts on that one avatar.

 

The following is a check list to go through so that you can determine who your ideal client is. Have fun with it, give this person a name, if this ideal customer/client actually reminds you of someone, get a picture of that person and keep it in front of you every time you are creating for that particular market.

 

Whether it is marketing or specific product creation, the less generic that you are, the more profitable you will become based on the selected avatar that you have created.

 

Ideal Client “Checklist”

 

This checklist will give you some great starting points on what you

should know about your avatar.

 

1. What is your ideal client’s gender, age, religion/spirituality, marital

status, socio-economic status, education level, or any other

demographics that are relevant?

2. What specific attributes do they possess?

3. Where do they tend to live?

4. What kinds of jobs or careers do they tend to have?

5. What are the things they’re most passionate about?

6. What are the things that most upset or irritates them?

7. What is their ideal vision for what they want their life, career,

health, etc. to look like?

8. In what ways are they stuck / what are their biggest challenges?

9. How do they learn best, and where do they tend to go to learn?

10. What types of groups, associations, or classes do they participate

in?

11. What do they read?

12. What hobbies and interests do they have?

13. What do they do for fun and recreation?

14. What are the priorities that they spend money and time on?

15. Is there a particular “situation” or “aspect” they have in common?

(For example: cancer survivors, recently divorced, retiring)…

16. What are their core values?

17. What is their biggest regret?

18. Have they likely already tried to get help for their challenges (pain points)? What have they tried?

 

It’s incredible what an awareness and insight you’ll have about your client after completing this checklist. Please don’t feel that this is all; remember that these are your avatars, so get them as personalized as you can. Feel free to add anything you feel is relevant to this list!

Remember, knowing your ideal client as intimately as you can and will pay off in multiples.

By actually being able to clearly see who your ideal client is, you’ll be able to attract the ideal client and be able to create that “know, like, and trust” factor that will turn that client into a fan and a repeatable customer.