What is E-mail Marketing?
E-mail marketing is a distinct form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial messages to a specified audience. In its broadest sense, every e-mail sent to a potential or current customer could be considered e-mail marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to:

• Sending emails with the purpose of enhancing the relationship between the seller of goods or services and current/old clients.
• Sending emails with the purpose of creating repeat business between the seller of goods or services and current/old clients.

What are the benefits of E-mail Marketing?
E-mail marketing has a number of benefits over traditional forms of marketing for a company to employ, such as:

• It is a lot cheaper compared with direct mailing or printed newsletters. The company does not have to pay for paper, printing or postage.
• It is considered to be an instant method of communication, unlike traditional posted items.
• It helps a company actively promote it's goods/services as opposed to a website that waits for it's customers to come in.
• It is easy to track if any mail recipients follow links contained within an e-mail.

What are the disadvantages of E-mail Marketing?
E-mail marketing also has a number of disadvantages over traditional forms of marketing for a company to employ, such as:

• Many companies use e-mail marketing to communicate with existing customers, but many other companies send unsolicited commercial e-mail, also known as spam.
• It is frequently difficult for e-mail recipients to distinguish between legitimate and spam e-mail marketing.
• Due to the volume of spam e-mail on the Internet, spam filters are essential to most users. Some companies employing e-mail marketing report that legitimate commercial e-mails frequently get caught by filters, and are subsequently hidden or deleted.

How can Tara Concepts help implement a successful E-mail Marketing campaign?
An E-mail marketing campaign will not be successful if peeople do not read the e-mails. It is also essential that any campaign to be implemented adheres to the Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003 and the European Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. The main issues that concern e-mail marketing are that electronic communication must only be sent where permission is granted by the recipient to receive such communication and it is also a requirment that an unsubscribe option must be contained within the message. We will assist you in the creation of a successful E-mail marketing campaign by focusing on the following areas:

• E-mail constructs - We will ensure that the "subject" and "from" fields are as specific as possible.
• E-mail objectives - Your e-mail recipients need to be given a clear instruction to act. We will assist you with determining what you want to achieve from the marketing campaign. For example, do you want your customers to sign up for a catalogue? Buy something? Take advantage of a special offer? It is important that this is made clear within the message and appropriate links to your website provide continuity.
• E-mail design - It is important that the e-mail uses common attributes from your existing website, such as logo, background colour, font style.
• E-mail content - We will assist you with balancing valuable content and concise information. For example, there is little point in providing recipients with the history of your company if they have already purchased from you.
• E-mail compatability - It is not possible to create HTML based content that can display correctly on a customer's e-mail client if that application is set to display Plain Text. We will ensure that your message can be read by all.