E-Mail Marketing For ® Dummies , 2nd Edition Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/emailmarketing to view this book's cheat sheet. Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Conventions Used in This Book What You Don’t Have to Read Foolish Assumptions How This Book Is Organized Part I: Getting Started with E-Mail Marketing Part II: Mapping Out an E-Mail Marketing Strategy Part III: Constructing an Effective Marketing E-Mail Part IV: Sending Specialized E-Mail Campaigns Part V: Delivering and Tracking Your E-Mails Part VI: The Part of Tens Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here 2 Part I: Getting Started with E-Mail Marketing Chapter 1: Adding E-Mail to a Successful Marketing Mix Fitting E-Mail into Your Marketing Strategy Combining e-mail with other tools and media Branding your message across all media Applying Basic Marketing Principles to Your E-Mail Messages Determining what your e-mail messages should say Determining how your e-mail messages should look Targeting your e-mail messages Developing e-mail content in accordance with consumer interaction Evaluating your messages Reaping the Benefits of E-Mail Marketing Asking for immediate action Gathering feedback Generating awareness Staying top-of-mind 3 Taking Advantage of E-Mail Marketing Providers Chapter 2: Maximizing Revenue with E-Mail Increasing Revenue with Repeat Customers Understanding the value of repeat customers Sending multiple messages to drive revenue Saving time with e-mail follow-up Lowering Your Costs Gaining a healthy perspective on your costs Figuring out the cost to obtain a customer Lowering your acquisition costs through e-mail Chapter 3: Becoming a Trusted Sender Minimizing Spam Complaints Complying with Spam Laws Determining which e-mails have to comply Collecting e-mail addresses legally 4 Including required content in your e-mails Enhancing Your E-Mail Professionalism Using full disclosure during e-mail address collection Allowing your audience to unsubscribe from receiving e-mails Sending e-mail content in line with your audience’s expectations Deciding When and How Often to Send Determining how many e-mails to send Choosing the proper e-mail length Figuring out how often to call for action Setting e-mailing frequency by relevance Choosing the best day and time for delivery Part II: Mapping Out an E-Mail Marketing Strategy Chapter 4: Developing Objectives Coming Up with Broad-Based Objectives 5 Financially based objectives: I want more money Time-based objectives: I want more time Narrowing Your Objectives in Six Steps Step 1: Set the ultimate goal of your objective Step 2: Decide whom you want to respond to your objective Step 3: Determine why someone takes action on your objective Step 4: See how people find out about your objective Step 5: Set where your objective will be accomplished Step 6: Predict when your audience will respond to your objective Organizing Your E-Mail Content into Themes Based on Objectives Promotional themes Informational themes Procedural themes Relational themes Multiple themes Staying Focused on Your Objectives Write down your objectives 6 Stick to your objectives Build from your objectives Chapter 5: Building a Quality E-Mail List Where and How to Collect Contact Information Preparing your e-mail database Collecting information online Collecting information in person Collecting information through print Collecting information through mobile devices Deciding What Information to Collect Gathering essential information Getting to know your list members better Gathering behavioral interests Offering Incentives to Increase Sign-Ups Giving subscribers immediate incentives Giving subscribers future incentives Asking for Permission Deciding on a permission level 7 Inheriting a list: Getting permission after the fact Protecting your e-mail list Building a List with List Brokers Sticking to quality Renting to own Chapter 6: Making Your E-Mail Content Valuable Making Sure Your Offers Are Valuable to Your Audience Sending Valuable Offers Creating content to promote something Cashing in on coupons Including incentives Using giveaways Making gains with loss leaders Extending urgent offers Writing an Effective Call to Action Constructing a call to action Calling for specific actions Combining multiple calls to action Giving Your E-Mail Content Inherent Value 8 Creating content to inform your audience Adding tips and advice Providing instructions and directions Putting in entertaining content Including facts and research Mixing and Matching Value and Relevance Combining different types of value Matching relevance to value Finding Help with Content Creation Part III: Constructing an Effective Marketing E-Mail Chapter 7: Designing Your E-Mails Determining the Proper Format for Your E-Mail Campaigns Deciding on a newsletter format Choosing a promotional format Selecting an event invitation format Going with an announcement format The ABCs of E-Mail Layout 9 Adding visual anchors Positioning your visual anchors and related content Using columns to organize your content Making the Most of the Preview Pane Working around image blocking Arranging content to appear in the preview pane Branding Your E-Mails to Enhance Your Image Matching your e-mails to your brand Maintaining brand consistency with multiple e-mail formats Chapter 8: Including Text in Your E-Mails Choosing the Correct Font and Style Picking a font Applying style elements Including Headlines Using Longer Sentences and Paragraphs Using Text Links Creating links Naming links 10