Generally you should only send marketing materials to customers who have given their prior consent to receiving your marketing messages. Unsolicited mail is only allowed in three conditions:

• If you collected your customer’s email address in the course of a sale or in negotiating a sale;
• If the products and services you promote are similar to
  Effective Business Letter Writing
  Everyone that owns a small business needs proficiency in writing business letters, whether the owner of the company writes the letters or an employee writes the letters.It does not require a course at a business school to learn to write effective business letters. It does however require a basic knowledge of correct grammar and punctuation.When sending a letter promoting your business, you want to make sure that you p
  Among the smaller businesses that I work with, I often come across people who have little idea how to contact their customers by email and some are even aware that they need help to learn the skills properly:
  • I love email - it is quick, low-cost, tangible, asynchronous and generates a record.
  • I also hate email if it is spam, pointless or poorly presented.

  Be legal and delightful

  The law is the first aspect that I impress on my clients:

  • The UK Data Protection Act became law in December 2003.
  • A similar USA anti-spam law became law January 2004.
  • These and other laws aim to stop people from sending out emails that are unwanted, distasteful or dishonest.

  Then I remind my clients that customers who find your messages interesting and delightful will keep asking for more, whereas those that you annoy will close the door on you. If you take an approach that stays legal and delights, you will remain free to remind your customers what benefits you can offer.

  Be transparent

  Besides being a legal requirement, I feel that it is polite and professional to ensure that your emails say:

  • who you are,
  • why you are mailing and
  • which valid email address your customer can contact in order to opt-out of future messages.

  If you make these three aspects of the email easy for people to see, you will actually have fewer opt-outs even if the value of your message is marginal.

  Only contact consenting customers

  Generally you should only send marketing materials to customers who have given their prior consent to receiving your marketing messages. Unsolicited mail is only allowed in three conditions:

  • If you collected your customer’s email address in the course of a sale or in negotiating a sale;
  • If the products and services you promote are similar to t
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    /p>

    Be legal and delightful

    The law is the first aspect that I impress on my clients:

    • The UK Data Protection Act became law in December 2003.
    • A similar USA anti-spam law became law January 2004.
    • These and other laws aim to stop people from sending out emails that are unwanted, distasteful or dishonest.

    Then I remind my clients that customers who find your messages interesting and delightful will keep asking for more, whereas those that you annoy will close the door on you. If you take an approach that stays legal and delights, you will remain free to remind your customers what benefits you can offer.

    Be transparent

    Besides being a legal requirement, I feel that it is polite and professional to ensure that your emails say:

    • who you are,
    • why you are mailing and
    • which valid email address your customer can contact in order to opt-out of future messages.

    If you make these three aspects of the email easy for people to see, you will actually have fewer opt-outs even if the value of your message is marginal.

    Only contact consenting customers

    Generally you should only send marketing materials to customers who have given their prior consent to receiving your marketing messages. Unsolicited mail is only allowed in three conditions:

    • If you collected your customer’s email address in the course of a sale or in negotiating a sale;
    • If the products and services you promote are similar to
      Holiday Season Sales Or Slump? Use The Holidays To Market and Sell
      During the holiday season, you're busy buying gifts, attending celebrations and doing the hundred and one things that make the season so frantic.But what about your business? You can get a real business hangover after the holidays if you forget that you've got a business to run.You'll want to relax and take a few days off, but don't drop the ball completely. Holidays or not, the bills will keep coming in, and you've g
      that customers who find your messages interesting and delightful will keep asking for more, whereas those that you annoy will close the door on you. If you take an approach that stays legal and delights, you will remain free to remind your customers what benefits you can offer.

      Be transparent

      Besides being a legal requirement, I feel that it is polite and professional to ensure that your emails say:

      • who you are,
      • why you are mailing and
      • which valid email address your customer can contact in order to opt-out of future messages.

      If you make these three aspects of the email easy for people to see, you will actually have fewer opt-outs even if the value of your message is marginal.

      Only contact consenting customers

      Generally you should only send marketing materials to customers who have given their prior consent to receiving your marketing messages. Unsolicited mail is only allowed in three conditions:

      • If you collected your customer’s email address in the course of a sale or in negotiating a sale;
      • If the products and services you promote are similar to
        Job Search Alert: Have You Been Googled?
        Ain't Google great? Ok, but are YOU being googled without your knowledge? If you are, your job search may be in jeopardy.If you're pursuing a job search Google can be a fabulous tool for*** Background information about an employer*** Insightful job search techniques*** Personal profiles on management*** Useful financial data*** Helpful employment statisticsBut, did you ever stop t
        ure that your emails say:
        • who you are,
        • why you are mailing and
        • which valid email address your customer can contact in order to opt-out of future messages.

        If you make these three aspects of the email easy for people to see, you will actually have fewer opt-outs even if the value of your message is marginal.

        Only contact consenting customers

        Generally you should only send marketing materials to customers who have given their prior consent to receiving your marketing messages. Unsolicited mail is only allowed in three conditions:

        • If you collected your customer’s email address in the course of a sale or in negotiating a sale;
        • If the products and services you promote are similar to
          Why Employers Want an Employee with a Degree
          You wake up in the morning, head to work, and find out your company is downsizing and you are being laid off. No big deal you think, you have experience, you've worked at the same company for years. You think companies will WANT to hire you. Guess what, your wrong. It’s a new day and age, while you may potentially find work. It’s a lot more difficult than you may think to get a job these days. Most reputable companies are loo
          consenting customers

          Generally you should only send marketing materials to customers who have given their prior consent to receiving your marketing messages. Unsolicited mail is only allowed in three conditions:

          • If you collected your customer’s email address in the course of a sale or in negotiating a sale;
          • If the products and services you promote are similar to those your customer already takes;
          • If your customer gave you their email address even though they had a clear opt out (when it was collected) and if you continue to offer that opt out each time.

          Be attractive

          As you design your email message, do use the same guidance that you apply to your business letters: use plain English, state what you offer, say what benefits are available and suggest how you want your customer to respond.

          Check the presentation quality of your message

          And before pressing the Send button, ask yourself

          • What will the recipient see when they read this?
          • How does this build my business reputation?
          • How will this delight my customer?

          For major email campaigns, I like to email a sample message to myself, print it off and read it the following day. That way I read the email with fresh eyes so I can spot items that are ambiguous, mistaken or poorly presented.

          Keep track of your messages

          Finally I encourage my clients to integrate their emails into their Customer Relationship Management system. When you review your customer's record, you want to see at a glance the sequence of emails, presentations, sales calls and closed sales for that customer.

          This shows the value of a good email - it is one of several means of building and maintaining a profitable relationship with your prospects and customers.