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Electronic marketing•
 
E-mail and more
Web marketing, E-mail and the whole arena of E-commerce can be a powerful addition to traditional forms of marketing – but only if you do it properly.
 
E-mail marketing tips – Treat prospective customers the way you'd want to be treated:
  1. Dialog – increase customer retention by crafting your e-mail messages in a way that encourages your audience to respond to you and interact in an ongoing information exchange. Increase the relevance of the content and decrease the frequency of messages. You'll get higher open rates, higher responses and happier recipients.
  2. Ask – Ask each individual what information they're interested in receiving from you and in what format. HTML and rich media are appropriate for many audiences, but plain text may be better for others, such as people with slow dial-up lines or those who prefer to decline marketing sizzle.
  3. Learn – observe, measure, and analyze how each person is reacting to your messages, and tailor your communications to each person going forward. Each e-mail message should be more relevant and effective than the previous one. Each e-mail message should take you one step closer to your marketing objectives.
  4. Leverage technology – take advantage of today's leading technologies that enable you to dynamically create e-mail messages for each individual based on content rules created by the marketer. From custom publishing to rich media, there is a message format and content for everybody.
  5. Respond – Too many marketers focus on crafting the perfect outbound message and aren't prepared for replies. Be ready to handle responses as soon as you launch your campaign and answer every response within 24 hours, at the longest.
  6. Make life easy – Minimize the number of clicks it takes to respond with a purchase or feedback, or to find additional related information. When you set up links don't just send people to your home page; send them to content-specific "microsites," or to a page on your current site where they can immediately find what they're looking for. This may also mean linking the offer to a bricks-and-mortar site.
  7. No hard core – Resist the urge to make every e-mail message a hard-core sales pitch. When used effectively, e-mail can be a powerful relationship-building medium. Make sure that your revenue-generating offers are mixed with a healthy dose of relevant information, helpful advice and requests for.
  8. Track – E-mail marketing effectiveness is not just about click-through rates, it's about conversion – whether it's a purchase, a registration, a referral or a request for more information. This isn't easy to do.
  9. Grow your business – By encouraging your existing customers to forward your messages on to others who would be interested in your offerings, you get the best possible introduction to new customers. Do it right, and your readers will get new customers for you.

 
Suggestions for E-commerce sites – Speed and simplicity are of the essence in the electronic world.
  1. Make everything obvious, with every vital tool and line available on every page.
  2. Be bandwidth friendly – don't use graphics that annoy people by causing slow downloads?
  3. Keep your site simple to research, browse and check out.
  4. Encourage prospects and customers to make contact if they want help or have a question.
  5. Give customers access to help on their terms. Offer multiple contact options, with a name, telephone number and e-mail address on every page.
  6. Answer every e-mail in less than a day.
  7. Make it easy to navigate. Studies show that users rate easy navigation as the important element of a design. "Easy to navigate" means you can get to any page regardless of where you are in the site.
  8. Unless your primary audience is 8-year-olds, get rid of anything on the site that blinks, spins or otherwise moves erratically.

 
> The basics
Respect your audience's privacy by clearly letting users know that you are collecting information, and how it will be used.

That same respect should be shown in your e-mailings – don't spam. Unwanted e-mails, sent without permission, are a major concern to legitimate marketers. And if a previously interested e-mail recipient decides to opt-out, make sure it happens.

Remember: The more value you give, the more value you'll get.