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How to Write a Good Thank You Note: Email Vs Handwritten

When I was learning to teach I dreaded being in front of a class at the blackboard. It wasn’t that I was nervous about public speaking; it was that I have terrible handwriting! Like many left-handed people, handwriting, especially on a blackboard, is challenging – you always seem to end up smudging what you’ve just written.

Despite my difficulty with handwriting, I strongly believe there are times in the business world when handwriting is extremely helpful. One of those times is when you send a thank-you note following a job interview.

You do know that you should send a thank-you note after a job interview (If you don’t, now’s the time to revise your post-interview strategy!). And here’s the reason why. Sending a thank-you note makes you stand out from the mass of applicants, your competition. As well, it signals your strong interest in the position. It’s also a courtesy that has fallen by the wayside in some circumstances. (Try getting a thirteen-year-old to send a thank-you note after a birthday gift arrives from a relative.) But handwriting is making a slow but steady (and essential) comeback, especially in job hunting.

Still, the question remains: why a handwritten thank-you note, why not send an email?

One reason is: because email messaging has become so prevalent, a handwritten letter (or note) will draw greater attention, simply because it is less expected. Another is, a handwritten letter conveys a human quality and a kind of intimacy. Of course, you have to make sure that your script is legible. (Even I can do that, if I try hard enough!)

Some believe that you should actually send two thank-you notes, the first by email, the second by regular post. My feeling is, if you only have time for one thank-you note, go with the handwritten note. It will have greater impact. Ideally, you should send both an email and a handwritten note, as I explain in the recommendations that follow.

Recommendations for Post-Interview Thank-You Notes:

1. The Email:

Send a thank-you email message as soon as you can. By the end of the same day you interviewed is optimal. Keep it very short. Most employers will not take the time to read a long, multi-paragraph email. And email messages shouldn’t be more than 3-4 short paragraphs.

The content: Use email to thank the employer for her time, to briefly reiterate your understanding of hers and the organization’s needs, and how you can fulfill them. Conclude by expressing your enthusiasm for the chance to work with this employer.

The purpose: Your thank-you email demonstrates you are conscientious, organized and enthusiastic about the potential job.

2.The Handwritten Thank-you Note:

Mail your handwritten thank-you note within twenty-four hours, since it takes at least a day or two to arrive at its destination.

The Content: This is your opportunity to be more expansive than in your email message. Be aware that the chances of it being read are greater, given the surprise factor. That said, be concise. Briefly reflect on some of the issues that arose in the interview. Share additional thoughts that occurred to you after the fact (if you have something worth adding). If appropriate, address something of importance that failed to come up during the interview. You may also want to demonstrate that the interview gave you a keener understanding of the company and its goals. And now you are even more excited about the possibility of working with the organization.

The Purpose: Your handwritten thank-you note demonstrates your thoroughness and attention to detail. It shows that you are considerate, that it’s important to you to “go that extra mile” for something you really care about.

You may find the thought of writing a thank-you note as daunting as writing a cover letter. But if you stay sharply focused, it isn’t difficult to compose and it really is an important part of your job search.

So when it comes to that question: to (hand) write or not to write? Definitely handwrite. Not only is there a good chance it will give you the leading edge, the journalist Gwendolyn Bounds reports that there is new research indicating handwriting may actually improve the way your brain works! And that can only help you when you land that job.

Making Sure Your Email Archiving Software Is Top Notch

In less than half a century, email has become the primary means of communication in the world of business. Orders, directives, and requests are all directed through email these days. It remains as one of the most convenient ways to transfer large numbers (and sizes) of files quickly. You can find so much of what a business does through its email, so having a good email archiving software is important not only for reference purposes but also for compliance.

Reliable data storage

Proper storage and retrieval for your email is important. Since important data goes through email, there must be a way to store it in its original state and allow your staff to retrieve whatever email they want whenever they need it.

The second has to do with compliance: the government itself recognizes the fact that email has become an integral part of how corporations and organizations do business. Because of this, email has to be part of any report made to the government.

This means your email archiving software must be a reliable backup. Preferably, this must be in real time, not in point-in-time. Real time recording of email ensures that the correspondence is in its original state as much as possible. Whenever your staff accesses the stored email, or you submit reports to government agencies, you can be sure that what people are looking at is as close to the original source as possible.

Fast retrieval of email means big savings in time and effort and less chance of wasteful work duplication. Storage must also be as secure as possible to ensure the reliability of your email as a source. Some of the most reliable email archiving software ensures tamper-proof storage by keeping them heavily encrypted and in read-only format.

Additionally, it pays to have an email storage system that has multiple backups. Because email forms a good chunk of your business communications, losing them can cost you. Multiple backups spread in many off-site locations helps prevent this worry.

Keeping the spam away

With the rise of email comes the rise of spam. This kind of junk email makes up a large amount of email traffic worldwide. It can be as harmless as a chain letter or extremely destructive as a well-disguised communication with a virus payload.

Other than being a source of annoyance or viruses, spam can clog up your inboxes and storage space with the digital equivalent of junk. Memory costs low these days, but too much spam can take up valuable space You can easily get a hundred spam in a single workday, and if each has around 10 kilobytes, that is easily a megabyte worth of junk in your email storage.

This is why having a reliable anti-spam service is also important. Filters will redirect the spam away from your inboxes and allow for easy removal. Coupled with excellent email archiving software, your company is prepared for the demands of 21st century business.

Encouraging Email Etiquette – Do’s and Don’ts

Since email communications are very popular, people need more tips to know how to best utilize the tool. I’ve taught people to use email applications and included basic etiquette only as a side bar on specific topics. However, I am now seeing so many poorly developed emails being sent as business communications. I now realize email etiquette is becoming more important as the use of this tool increases. As a fellow professional sending email, I feel the need to encourage better etiquette.

Everyone needs to remember email etiquette is part of business communications and there is a need to follow proper procedures for professional conduct in them as well Bad communications reflect on everyone’s professionalism. Here is a baker’s dozen list of email do’s and don’ts to improve communication etiquette knowledge.

1. Do get to the point. Be concise. No one wants to read a long email. If you’ve got a lot to say, send a memo, letter, or provide details in an attachments or web link using full URL.

2. Don’t keep people waiting for a response. Answer as soon as possible. A good time management rule to use for standard response is within 24 hours.

3. Do answer all their questions. The questions that were asked in an email sent to you and ones that your email may prompt from recipient.

4. Do not use all capitals or lowercase. CAPS give the impression of shouting and all lowercase is hard to follow plus you may appear illiterate.

5. Do make your subject line meaningful but short. The subject line often lets the viewer know if the email needs attention now or can wait until later. Readers using a phone or PDA to review email may lose valuable screen space to long subject lines.

6. Don’t use “reply to all” unless everyone really needs to see the response. To remedy this, change your email default setting so this is not selected, having to select all when needed requires an extra thinking step before sending

7. Do use the “CC” courtesy copy option sparingly. Make sure only the people that care about the message contents or attachments have to review the email.

8. Do not forward chain letters or pass on viruses. These items not only bog down mail servers but sometimes stop work production!

9. Do use spell checker and verify proper grammar and punctuation. This is just smart for any business communication. Remember also acronyms or instant messaging shorthand in email is not as clear since everyone who sees the email may not understand what is meant.

10. Don’t use email to discuss confidential information. Email is not as private as many think. You never know who can get to the computers and servers the email might pass through or how long it will be kept on them.

11. Do be careful using HTML and attachments. Not everyone wants these things. Also HTML may not be readable by some email tools. Some email servers will block HTML, large attachments, or certain file type attachments automatically anyway.

12. Do not forget to include a signature line with name, title, company and a phone number. Just because you have someone’s name and email address does not mean they remember who you are. The phone number is for them to quickly respond or ask questions if needed.

13. Always, do review your email before sending it. It is not safe to assume spell-checker caught everything; verify your message is clear and your tone is professional.

I hope you have found the thirteen do’s and don’ts helpful to improve email etiquette. Remember to use the email communication tool professionally and with care. Basic email etiquette is more important as the use of this easy communication tool increases. Just because the tool is fast, does not mean it should not be used properly. Always keep in mind that badly developed emails reflect on personal and company professionalism.

Email Template – Procedure To Create An Email Flyer

Email marketing is a very strong advertising tool and creating an email flyer is a fun activity. Email marketing is a tool which can create a huge impact on the audience and increase the sales to a great extent. And the most important benefit and advantage of email marketing is the cost and benefit involved in this marketing process. The cost is minimal with great results which can be beneficial for any business owner.

Now let us see the procedure to create an email flyer. It is better to use email templates if you are making it for the first time. You can find a wide variety of templates and you can choose the one you like the best. However, it is necessary that you choose it very carefully and it goes well with the logo and color scheme. It is good to use a few design elements while using a template. Make sure that the contrast settings of your templates are according to the audience. People with visual disabilities will always like a high contrast and medium size font. Make sure that the images are relevant and according to the audience and the season. Also make sure that the branding goes well with the other marketing strategies like letterhead, signs and brochures. Also make sure that all the hyperlinks included in the email templates are color consistent and underlined.

One of the major factors that need to be considered is the aim or goal for which you are creating the email flyer. There is a simple reason behind this. You need to understand the basic goals and aims before you convey anything to your audience. If your reader does not understand what you are talking about then your marketing strategy is most likely to fail. Keep everything straightforward and simple like the registration forms and the navigation. There is a vast difference between an email that needs to be sent to the college students and the one that needs to be sent to the corporate clients. Thus, one needs to understand this point well. Make sure that your flyer has everything clear and concise. Format it in such a way that the audience does not miss the main part and it immediately holds their attention. It is good to include expiration dates and offers in your email flyers to get a quick response.

Make sure that the language used in the advertisement is appropriate and does not have any grammatical errors. Usage of conversational tone is allowed but, only to a certain extent. Make sure that the navigation is user friendly and the links are working properly. Avoid asking for personal information directly from an email as the users are generally scared about the scams that keep taking place. Make sure that your subject line is in accordance with the content and gives an actual idea about the content. You can also copyright your content if you want to protect it. Thus, this was some essential information about how to create email flyers.

How to Write a Compelling Email

Today’s business person will spend hours at the tailor crafting a fine business suit, hours at a power lunch sweet talking their next big client and hours pouring over proposals or negotiations to try to get every last penny they can, and then spend 30 seconds banging out an important email that will single handedly cost them a dozen more potential clients. While grammar and spelling aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, knowing basic email rules is an absolute must in this day and age where email has taken over as the primary form of communication used in today’s business world. Here are a few simple tips.

Let your email utilities work for you

The world of email has come a long way since Outlook Express. Today’s email clients are quite sophisticated and come with all sorts of bells and whistles that can make sending an email easier. It used to be that email spell checkers were absolutely horrible, but they have been vastly improved and most use the same spell check library as Microsoft Word. If your email client is old and doesn’t have a grammar or spell checker, upgrade now, or simply type your emails in Microsoft Word and copy/paste. Make sure you check how the format looks before you do by sending yourself an email.

Use a template

If you have trouble setting up the formal date/address/body/signature form in every one of your emails, than simply write one and save it as a template that you can go back and use again and again. You can even have multiple templates ready to go for clients you email on a frequent basis; that way, much of the hard work is done before you even get started.

Avoid being overly casual

Since most people still view email as a casual way to communicate, the one problem that costs more businesses clients more than any other is the urge to be overly friendly and casual when communicating with current clients or future clients. When writing a professional email, it is always better to sound formal and stilted than casual and overly friendly. If you have trouble coming up with the proper vocabulary, have a dictionary and a thesaurus on your desk that you can flip through to come up with better verbiage. You can even use websites like Dictionary.com or similar sites to help increase your vocabulary so you don’t sound unprofessional in your correspondence.

If all else fails, ask for help

We all know that many competitive office environments will take asking for help as a sign of weakness, but if you want to get the process of writing compelling emails down, there is no shame in asking for an occasional email to be proofread by someone else in the office who has an English background. Most bosses will take asking for help as a sign of maturity, and before you know it, you’ll be a master of the formal email.

Many people think that if you can write a compelling letter then you can automatically write a compelling email. The truth is that writing a compelling email is a learned skill that takes practice.

How to Write an Email Interview Thank You Letter?

Do a quick follow up with the employer by learning how to write an email interview thank you letter. Typically, only about 5% of those looking for a job send out thank you letters. Be one of the few and get a second interview or land the job.

The key to success is to send out a note the same day or no later than the next. This way you can get your name in front of the employer as quickly as possible.

Career experts and employers are not in total agreement on whether or not sending a thank you letter through email is proper protocol. Technology has changed the job search market with today’s online job boards, email, and web resumes. Let the company’s culture guide you when making your decision about emailing a thank you letter. Your best bet is to send an email and then follow up with a formal lette through snail mail.

Follow the tips below and keep your thank you note brief:

Be sure to check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Thank the interviewer for his or her time.
Tailor the letter to the company and the relationship you established with the interviewer.
If during the interview you forgot something of importance mention it in your email.
Do reinforce important information provided during the interview.
State your interest in the job being offered.

Quick and to the point, that’s how to write an email thank you letter. This sample can serve as a model when you write your email thank you note:

Dear Mr. Jones,

Thank you for the opportunity to interview for the position of Loan Officer at Bloomington National Bank. I believe my education and experience are a fit for your organization. I look forward to helping your bank expand its market share and achieve its goals as it expands into the commercial mortgage field.

If I can provide you any additional information, please let me know.

I look forward to working with you soon!

Sincerely,

James Lichner

(123) 456-7890

email address

Follow up with your thank you note as soon as possible and place yourself ahead of the competition in the job search race.

15 Email Marketing Tips to Bring Success to Your Newsletter

Introduction

As you may know, most people now spend more time reading their emails than they do surfing the web. Email is one of the most powerful mediums that you can use to talk to visitors, customers and prospects.

In this article I will discuss 15 best practices that you can use everyday in your email marketing activities. Used wisely and consistently, there’s no doubt you’ll see an increased response from your subscribers — whether it be for more feedback, more product/seminar registrations, or even more orders.

1. Avoiding the Spam Filters

The majority of large Internet service providers now use rigorous spam protection mechanisms to trap unsolicited email before it gets into their customers inboxes. Spam filters generally “rank” each email by a number of different criteria, and, if that email rates above a certain level (such as 10 spam points), then it is flagged as spam and deleted.

To make sure your emails don’t get flagged as spam — and deleted before they even get to your subscribers — avoid using words such as ‘Free’, ‘$$$’, ‘Save’, ‘Discount’, etc in both the subject line and the content of your email.

2. Maximizing Click-Thru Rates

Both web pages and emails can contain a lot of text and graphics, and this sometimes makes it harder to get your subscribers to perform a certain task, such as clicking on a link to see your special offers.

Numerous research papers tell us that the majority of Internet users respond better to a plain, bold, blue text link — such as this — as opposed to a banner or button. So, if you’re going to include links in your emails, make sure they are bold, blue and underlined. This will mean that more subscribers click through, meaning more conversions/sales for you.

3. The Power of Personalization

If you were standing in a crowded mall, which of these would get your attention: “HEY, YOU!” or “HEY JOHN” (assuming your name is John). The power of personalization can and should be used in your emails. In-fact, by simply starting your email with “Hi [subscriber_name]” instead of the boring “Hi there”, you can increase both your reading and click-through rates by up to 650%. Why? Put simply, it’s because your subscribers feel like they already have a relationship with you as you’ve addressed them by their first name.

4. One-Click Unsubscription

If you want to grow your mailing list, then there are 2 things that you absolutely must have: a double opt-in process, and a quick way to unsubscribe. In some countries, it’s actually mandatory by law that every email has an unsubscribe link in it. The unsubscribe link should take the recipient directly to a page where they are then removed — courteously — from your mailing list.

5. Signup Confirmation

Don’t get accused of spamming — always, and I mean always use a double opt-in confirmation process. Double opt-in means that after your visitor initially enters their email address to subscribe to your list, you should then send them a “confirmation” email. This email should contain a special link back to your email-marketing program, which will then verify that this visitor did indeed sign up to your mailing list.

6. Tuesday / Wednesday = Increased Response

Studies conducted by online research analysts have shown that the best days to perform a mail-out to your list are Tuesday and Wednesday, as this is when people are more receptive to communication. This means that they are more likely to read your content and click on links, meaning more sales.

On Mondays, everyone is still recovering from a hectic weekend. On Thursday and Friday, people are already too busy looking forward to the weekend. We’ve actually experimented with this, and received the best results by sending out emails at around 2-3pm (American Pacific Time) on a Wednesday.

7. Repeat Email Communication

An auto responder is an email that is scheduled to be sent at a certain time interval after someone subscribes to your mailing list. Auto responders are a great way to automatically follow up with your subscribers or provide them with more information on your products/services.

For example, if you provide a free newsletter, you could setup 3 auto responders for new subscribers: the first is sent 1 hour after they subscribe. It contains a thank you message and a link to get 10% off your newly released eBook.

The second is sent 24 hours after they subscribe, telling them about your community message boards, and the third is sent 72 hours after they subscribe, in which you can offer them a special deal on becoming a paid member of your site.

Auto responders help your subscribers build trust in both your company and your brand, and this can help make it easier when trying to close sales in the future.

8. Consistency is the Key

If you’re running a newsletter or frequent email publication, make sure you keep the look and feel consistent from issue to issue. By keeping the look and feel consistent, you help to maintain and strengthen your brand and your image to your subscribers, which again will make it easier to close sales when you need to.

Create a template for your newsletter and whenever you need to create a new issue, use that template as the basis for each issue.

9. On Time, Every Time

When sending a regular email to your subscribers, always make sure that it’s sent on the same day, at the same time. For example, every Wednesday at 3pm. Your subscribers will come to “expect” your email to arrive in their inbox on the same day at the same time every week, meaning that they want to read your content and are generally more receptive to any special offers or promotions you may include.

10. The Half-a-Second Subject Line

When your email arrives in your subscriber’s inbox, you generally have about half a second to catch their attention with the subject line of your email. After this, they will either delete your email or ignore it. In your subject line, try and specify a benefit that the subscriber can expect by reading your email. For example, instead of using ‘OurSite Newsletter Issue #1’, use ‘OurSite Newsletter: 10 Tips for Financial Freedom’.

11. The Free Bonus Hook-In

Free is overused these days, especially on the Internet. However, if you’re looking to grow your subscriber list, then create or source a product of value to your visitors (such as an eBook or discount coupon) and offer it to them for free when they signup for your newsletter.

To make sure they don’t simply type any email address into your subscription form, setup an auto responder to send them the free bonus 1 hour after they subscribe to your newsletter.

12. The Preview Pane

Popular email clients such as MS Outlook show a preview of an email when it’s selected in your inbox. Always have some interesting content at the very top of your email, as this is the part that will show in the preview window of your subscribers email program. If it’s interesting enough, then your subscriber will open your email and continue on reading.

13. Link-Click Testing

When creating marketing emails, try using different text for both content and links. Also try re-positioning images such as logos and buttons. After sending about 3 different emails, compare the click-through stats and see which one worked best. Now, when you need to send marketing emails in the future, you know that you will be sending the right mix of content and images that will attract the most click-thrus, and ultimately the most sales.

14. Email-Based Learning

Add value to your website, build trust in your visitors, establish your credibility and collect more subscriptions to your mailing list by setting up an email-based learning course. To do this, simply create a series of auto responders (for example, 5) containing unique content. Then, schedule the first one to be sent after 24 hours, the second after 48 hours, etc.

15. Always Sign on the Dotted Line

Always include a signature at the bottom of your emails, as it’s one of the easiest ways to attract more traffic to your website. This signature should include your personal details, your company details, and an unsubscribe link. You can use your signature to link back to your website, and even to other products. Here’s a sample signature:

Regards,
John Doe.
President – Company XYZ.
Visit our website at http://www.companyxyz.com
Unsubscribe from this newsletter at [http://www.companyxyz.com/unsubscribe..].

Conclusion

By implementing the 15 best practices described in this article, you can take your email marketing to a whole new level — attracting more subscribers, and building both your brand equity and credibility at the same time.

Business to Business Email Marketing Basics

If you’re not sending out email newsletters to clients and potential clients, you’re losing money. 98% of people check their email via their mobile phones in today’s society. That’s 98%! People are on the go and checking their email via push notifications. If you’re not sending out specials and updates about your products or services, your customers are not keeping your company in mind most of the time. And, other businesses may capture your business. So, you just read, email marketing and newsletters are important because they now reach your customers immediately.

To be successful with an email marketing campaign you need to have a clear, concise subject line. A long subject line, or one that isn’t clear about what you’re offering, is likely to be dismissed as SPAM by the recipient.

Make sure you format your email message properly. People use different types of phones, which means they’re using different types of browsers and operating systems. If your message shows up jumbled or ill-formatted, the customer will not reach on and he or she will simply delete your efforts and offer. If you are not familiar with the different types of mobile marketing / email newsletter formats, please find a company that is.

You should also utilize strong content. Don’t be pushy but be blunt. State your offer, state the benefits, state the timeline that the customer has to take advantage of the offer. Being too wordy or not getting to the point will not result in sales or interest by customers. Don’t venture into the opposite direction, either. Verbiage that is too alike to that of a used car’s sale ad will also turn people away.

You should also monitor the stats of your email marketing efforts. If more people are opening emails on Tuesday nights versus Saturday mornings, adjust your delivery dates for important sales and/or notices.

Email marketing is becoming stronger than ever these days. People are utilizing social media to produce more subscribers to newsletters, which contain special promotional offers and better ROI results. Incorporating video, audio, and even consumer contests into an immediate email offer or email newsletter will help your business grow and products / services sell quicker.

Don’t forget content will always be king. The use of too many photos or unprofessional video links can backfire when sending out any type of email marketing collateral. Make sure all your content and media collateral is balanced, looks professional and is accompanied by a strong call to action.

3 Ways to Increase Email Open Rates

Email opening rates have remained stubbornly low for several years now. Various studies over the past three or four years have shown that only around 21% of all email marketing messages get opened. That means that eight out of ten of your customers are ignoring you. That’s not good.

The top sector – religion – is being ignored by over half its email congregation even with a whopping open rate of 48%. It seems that religious emails cannot preach to the converted as much as they would like.

So why is it that so many email marketing messages are ignored – and what can you do about it? Here are three things which will increase your open rate.

1. Have something interesting, useful and relevant to say

Email marketing messages that are just that – marketing – are frankly a waste of your time and money. Your emails are interrupting the day of your customers and potential clients. Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine you are sitting in a restaurant, having a nice time with friends, when suddenly someone rushes up to your table brandishing some product and says “would you like to buy this?” You would no-doubt politely – perhaps not so politely – ignore them or tell them to go away. Yet, when you are sitting working or doing interesting stuff online some email marketing oik does exactly the same, interrupting you saying “hey, how about buying this?” However, go back to that imaginary restaurant. What if your conversation is interrupted by the person on the table next to you with some really interesting and useful information? The chances are you are more likely to listen. The same is true with emails – if they are interesting and give useful information we can use then we are more ready to accept that interruption. The reason so few marketing emails get opened is because they are marketing emails. Make them information emails and you increase your chances of being opened greatly. Think “how can I help my customers” and not “what can I sell to my customers”.

2. Use your recipient’s name and other details

If someone talks to you and never once mentions you by name you distance yourself from them psychologically. Your name is one of the most important aspects of your self-identity and when other people use it you attach to them more easily. Similarly, when they ask you “how are your children” or “is your decorating finished” they are demonstrating they are interested in you. Emails get few open rates because they largely show interest in the company sending out the message, rather than the recipient. Email marketing software, of course, allows you to use the person’s first name – but personalisation is more than that. You could collect other personal details such as location, job title, interests and so on which you use in your emails. The more you personalise the better – indeed research shows that if you use the person’s name in the subject line of the email you dramatically increase the open rate. Showing people you like them as an individual will gain higher open rates.

3. Make your subject lines like newspaper headlines

Newspaper headline writers have spent years discovering how to craft the perfect group of words to make people want to read something. Studies show that the headlines which get the most readers are those which are active, not passive. They also contain emotion and are not just flat statements. Furthermore they include human interest. If you use the recipient’s name in your subject line, there’s your human interest. So that only leaves you with two other considerations – active emotion. Instead of saying things like “Update on employment prospects” say “George, here’s how to get a pay rise” – it is on the same topic, but it has emotion and suggests action. Also, notice the word count has increased. Headlines in newspapers and email subject lines that contain around 6-11 words tend to get the most readers. Avoid short subject lines in emails – aim for 10 words, that will get you more opens too.

So, there you have it, three key ways to get your emails opened. You might have noticed a theme – focus on your customer, put yourself in their shoes and you will increase your chances of your emails being opened.

Email Marketing For Small Business

Email marketing for small business is seriously by far, the most powerful and least costly method around. It is very easy to build a list of customers and potential customers, particularly from your website.

By building a relationship with your customers, they will get to trust and know you and more likely to buy from you again and again and email is a great way to do it.

At its most basic and at no cost, start with an excel spreadsheet, but I highly recommend you use an email database management system like Aweber. I personally use this in my business and it is very cost effective and relatively easy. It also comes with the ability to send newsletters.

The topic of email marketing, creating lists and communicating with your lists is huge, but here are a few tips to get you started:

Use your list right away

One of the biggest mistakes people make is to focus on building the list and neglecting communicating with the list. Make sure you begin building that relationship with your subscriber right away. Send them a welcome message. Send them value in the form of links, downloads and information. You may want to have an email template that brands your business, but if not, text is OK. In fact, text gets through most spam filters.

Create a communication plan

Make sure you’re communicating with your subscribers on a regular basis. An autoresponder is a wonderful tool because it enables you to create and schedule your messages in advance. You can basically set up all of your email messages on auto pilot – do it once and when someone is added to your list, they all receive the same messages in the same sequence at intervals you set. Aweber also does this.

Each new subscriber can receive the same messages in the same order, regardless of when they signed up. This gives you control over the relationship-building process and it is completely automated. You only need to set it up once. Also remember to offer valuable content, not just promotional messages.

An autoresponder automates the process, including the subscribe and unsubscribe management. You don’t need to hire anyone to manage the task for you. Your time is free to build your business in other ways.

Partner with others to grow your list

Once you have your list building and management process smoothed out, consider partnerships. You can really boost your subscribers by partnering with other relevant business owners. For example, the website owner who markets to pet owners might partner with a website that sells pet toys. They can help market your opt-in list by including a link to your form in their newsletter and vice versa. You can support each other to succeed. I do this successfully on my travel blog.

Your list can mean the difference between thousands of prospects. It really can launch your business. If you don’t have list, start creating a plan to build one. You’ll be glad you did.