The Internet has provided us with ways on how to market cost effectively. It has given virtual tools which can deliver hard results which can be comparable to the results that one can achieve using the more popular forms of marketing.

The electronic mail or “email” is one of the most effective and widely used tools in Internet marketing. Other people employ affiliate programs, links, free items and other gimmicks to market through the Internet, but most of these marketers have utilized email marketing in one instance or another.

Email provides a marketer with a whole new spectrum in using the Internet as a marketing medium. Millions of people now rely on email to receive information quickly. However, although email is a good way to market a certain product or a service, one should be cautious in using it to market. Ethics also apply to the use of Internet media to be able to convey a marketing message to a targeted audience.

This article tries to explain the different ins-and-outs in the world of email marketing. It also tries to give some tips and advises on how to properly use email as a marketing tool.

Let’s say that one has a great product that he wants to sell through the Internet. He had laid down the foundations such as the development of a website to be the portal on which he would receive orders and display much needed information about the product. The website contained attractive and sleek graphics and useful information. The only problem was, no one was visiting the website. Aside from employing other techniques for Internet viral marketing, he also tries email marketing in the hopes of getting hits and transforming these hits into sales.

Here are some tips on how one can effectively use email marketing to promote his product or service:

-Join e-groups

There are a lot of groups out there which cater to a specific market. Millions of mailing lists and e-groups have been established and these can be used by the marketer to be able to instantly put his target market into the bag.

One must be patient enough not to plunge into email marketing errors which can destroy his reputation and eventually his product’s image in the eyes of his target audience.

He can join these so-called e-groups but must try his best to get a general feeling about the dealings that happen in these groups. This is a kind of market infiltration. He can make himself known first by posting some short comments about the topics which are discussed in the group and try to build a rapport with the other members. He can eventually tell, through time, when it is appropriate to post his advertisement through the mailing list.
-Write attractively

Using email marketing methods allow one to be able to convey sufficient amount of information about his product so as to entice the receivers to avail of the product. In writing advertisements through email, one must be diligent in making the final output readable and interesting.

The first part of the email should catch the attention of the reader. This can be compared to the heading of a press release or any kind of article for that matter. The first lines should contain the basics of what one is trying to say to the reader.

Sufficient information about the product should be present in the email. The body of the letter should contain information which would answer the “four-W’s” about the product.
The reader should then be enticed to act upon the request of the letter. The letter should bring about enthusiasm about the product and lead people to actually visit the seller’s website and click the “add to cart” icon.

-SPAM

This is the basic rule of the ethics of email marketing- never send spam! Spam is a term that is used to depict unsolicited email. Spam mails are not only irritating, they eat up much needed email space and restrict more important emails from landing into the inbox. If one would compare real junk mail from spam email, one would conclude that spam emails are more irritating and agitating than the normal ones. The physical commercial-type junk mail can easily be disposed and does not require too much of an effort from the receiver. Spam email eats up space which is being paid for by the email subscriber and is intended for legitimate emails.

These are just some of the basics of email marketing. No matter what one does in email marketing, he should never ever send spam. They do not only dent the reputation of the sender as a marketer, they also dent the reputation of the product which the marketer is promoting. Overall, email marketing can be a potential way of effectively marketing a product, but it is not without rules and ethics.