Get Your Email Marketing Organized!
By Joe Reinbold


For the new guy or gal just starting to market on line, it is
difficult to keep centered on just marketing. Let's face it,
once your email address and/or web site becomes public, you
are bombarded with all kinds of offers and other proposals.
It can become overwhelming! It was for me initially and I am
sure it is for others.

So how do we work more economically, simpler and faster? We
get ourselves organized. I started with my email marketing
and if you are doing any type of marketing on line you are
using email. If you aren't, you should be, because it will
increase your bottom line - "profits"!

How many times do you send out the same type email message? Do
you have a standard signature file or files that you use? How
many "bounceback" messages do you have available?

If you are offering a product or service, or several, you
probably have a standard message you send to someone who
inquires. Maybe you have several variations and maybe you type
up a new one everytime you get an inquiry. Some messages may
be short explanations referring someone to your website,
others may be full explanations with ordering instructions.

The first thing you need to do is track how many different
responses you make. Try to put them in categories, those that
are very similar with only slight changes etc. When you
identify those that you use over and over again, save each in
a separate file. If you send out three variations of one,
save all three. Why keep redoing it.

When I started actively marketing by email, I created a
specific directory on my computer's hard drive called "atemp"
where I file all my individual templates of messages. Why
didn't I just call it "templates"? I wanted it up near the top
of my directories so I could get to it quicker, without having
to scroll all the way down to the "t's". I create a template
for any message I send out on a repetitive basis. If there are
five variations, I save five. Just name them distinctively so
you know what they are.

The first time I make up a marketing message and realize that
I will be using it over and over, I save it in my "atemp"
file. When I have to use it in an email, I just open the file,
copy it and paste it into the email message. Quick and
efficient!

When I want to add a signature file to a message I follow the
same process. I have five or six different signature file
templates saved in individual files.

"Bounceback" email messages! That's what I call them. They are
simply email messages I send back to someone that sends me a
bulk email message. I simply thank them for their offer and
indicate I am marketing a number of products/services and
usually try to steer them to my website. I will also, in most
cases have two or three signature files grouped together at
the end of the message. Once they send me an offer, I just
refer to their offering and send back mine.

Be aware that you are going to get some of the messages back
as undeliverable since many of the bulk emailers are using
"stealth" addresses that are non-existant so that their
"spamming" doesn't get their service cutoff. If you look
through their messages, sometimes they will have a real
address listed to get additional information. I would say I
get about 30% of my bounceback messages back. But I figure
it's worth a shot, you never know who will find your offers
interesting and you get a sale or new subscriber.

The primary purpose of organizing your email marketing efforts
is to be able to work more efficiently. Time is money!
Especially if you are working on your own. I never stop looking
over different offers, sites and reading newsletters. But I
also can't stop my marketing! So if you work more efficiently,
maybe you have a little more time to get into those special
projects you always put to the side. Be Efficient, take a look
at how you do things!

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Article by Joe Reinbold, Publisher of Home Income Quarterly
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