Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a way to exchanging messages between people. It can be used to send an ezine (an online magazine in which editorial content is controlled) or newsletter. This is a tool most people are used to using as a means to communicate with one another. But how do we use it to effectively market our business?

Tips:

Here are some suggestions for how to use email as a marketing tool to grow your business.

• Author your own ezine or newsletter
• Submit content to leading ezines.
• Create a joint venture with leaders in field to cross promote your ezines.
• Sell ad space in your ezine.
• Set up auto responders which are messages that are automatically sent to your customer when they perform an action such as signing up for your list.
• Use email to communicate with your customers about upcoming opportunities, activities, news and events.
• Set up a separate email address for sales or services issues.

Resources: Email

Here are some free ways to get an email account.

• Hotmail – owned by Microsoft MSN
• Gmail – owned by Google
• Yahoo Mail – owner by Yahoo

Resources: ezine publishing services (NOT Free!)

For a small number of subscribers you can send out the email from your email provider. As the quantity of subscribers grows, you will need a more sophisticated tool.

• Awebber – Whether you’re looking to get your first email campaign off the ground, or you’re a seasoned veteran who wants to dig into advanced tools like detailed email web analytics, activity based segmentation, geo-targeting and broadcast split-testing, we’ve got just what you need to make email marketing work for you.
• iContact – iContact allows businesses, non-profit organizations, and associations to easily create, send, and track email newsletters, surveys, and autoresponders.
• Constant Contact – Email Marketing and Online Surveys from Constant Contact make it easy and affordable for you to connect with your customers or members.

Do you have other favorites tips or resources that you’d like to share?

(For more tips and resources such as this, download the Free Report, “187 Free Ways to Explode Your Business”.)