Do the Right Thing When Marketing with E-Mail

Is e-mail marketing dead? Not hardly. I still get plenty of newsletters, ezines and special offers in my e-mail box. What about you?

So that means you want to continue to collect your customers' and prospects' e-mail addresses and get permission to market to them. Then you can interact with them on a regular basis to ensure they don't forget you.

Don't forget that there are specific guidelines you must follow to stay in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Here are some key points of the law's main provisions:

• Bans false or misleading header information. Your email's "From," "To," and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.
• Prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.
• Requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method.
• Requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender's valid physical postal address.

If you are using an online email delivery service, these guidelines are typically built into the delivery mechanism. I've had my small business tips email messages mechanized for several years now and it sure does make life a whole lot easier.

Here are a couple of the top providers. If you don't currently have a provider, or are looking to change, take a minute and check them out.

• iContact - Try iContact by going to their website and signing up for a free trial. Click here now.
• ConstantContact - Try ConstantContact by going to their website and signing up for a free trial. Click here now.
• aWeber - Try aWeber for 30 days, risk free.

What do you think? Do you have a favorite service? Have you abandoned e-mail marketing for some other method?