Internet
Marketing Tools -- Email Basics
Part one of ten
By Shelley Lowery
Electronic mail,
better known as email, is the most important tool used on the Internet.
It's much faster than snail mail, less expensive and enables you to
instantly communicate with your visitors and customers.
Although most Internet Service Providers include email accounts for
their customers, these accounts really aren't adequate for a Internet
business -- especially if you get a large amount of email. Not only do
the email addresses contain your ISP's name, but they are also very
limited on features and options.
There are many email programs available on the Internet. However, the
best program I've found is Eudora. Eudora is a standalone email program
that works with any ISP. It will enable you to easily organize your
email by filtering your messages into specific mailboxes. This feature
alone can save you a great deal of time. What's more, your email address
will be your own domain -- not someone else's. One of my favorite
features is the ability to create an unlimited number of personalities.
What this means is that you can specify the "from" address depending on
the message you're writing. For example, if you're answering a support
request, you can set up a personality that displays support@yourdomain.com
or whatever you'd like as the "from" address. Best of all, it's free.
For further information about Eudora, visit:
http://www.eudora.com
Basic Email Guidelines
Although writing an email message may seem simple, there are some
important issues that need to be taken into consideration.
Subject Line
The subject of your email is the most important part of your message.
Your subject should be short and provide a summary as to what your
message is all about. This is especially important if you need to grab
your readers' attention. For example, if you send out a mailing to your
ezine subscribers, you want the subject to instantly grab their
attention and intrigue them to open your message. Just because they
subscribe, doesn't mean they'll actually read your publication.
Formatting
Although there has been a great deal of controversy over the best email
format -- HTML or text, text is still the best option. HTML messages may
look nice; however, not all of your readers will be capable of viewing
your message. If you'd really like to use HTML, the best way to
accommodate all of your readers is to create two versions and allow your
readers to make the choice.
Line Length
When you begin typing your email message, keep in mind, some email
programs don't automatically wrap the text. What this means is that
although your message may look great to you, your email recipient may
receive your message as one long sentence or it may look something like
this:
Thank you for your interest in our
products.
We are dedicated to providing you
with quality
products to assist you in your
endeavors.
To prevent this problem, limit your line length to under 65 characters
per line. This can be accomplished by using a hard carriage return (hit
enter) at the end of each line.
If you'd rather not have to manually format your text, you can do so
online at the following web address:
http://www.web-source.net/format_text.htm
Linking
When placing web addresses within an email message, some email programs
will automatically create live links with web addresses beginning with
"www." However, other email programs will only create live links when
the web address begins with http://. To alleviate this problem, always
include the full URL beginning with http://.
The America Online email program is in a class of its own. Their email
program won't create live links with any form of web address. In order
to create a live link within AOL, you must include a complete HTML link.
To accommodate all of your readers, consider including two links for
each URL -- one beginning with http:// and the other with the complete
HTML link code.
When including an email address within an email message, always include
"mailto:" directly in front of the email address. This will enable most
email programs to create a live email link. AOL will require the
complete "mailto:" HTML code.
Another important consideration is the use of punctuation with web
addresses -- especially periods. Some email programs will include
periods within a live link. When clicked on, the browser will return an
error. There are a couple of ways to alleviate this problem. You can
enclose your web address with brackets and place a period after the
closing bracket <http://www.yourdomain.com>. Or, you can place your web
address on a separate line like this: http://www.yourdomain.com
When including a long web address within your message, some email
programs will force part of the URL to the next line. When the live link
is created, only a portion of the URL will be live. When clicked on, the
browser will return an error. To avoid this problem, try to keep your
web addresses short. If necessary, you may want to consider creating a
redirect HTML page with a shorter URL.
The appearance of your email message is an important part of your
professional image. If you follow these simple guidelines, you can
almost completely alleviate these potential problems.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web
Design Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter - Give Your
Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book.
http://www.ebookstarter.com Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a
complimentary subscription to Etips and receive a copy of the acclaimed
ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
You have permission to publish this article electronically, in print,
in your ebook or on your web site, free of charge, as long as the author
bylines are included.
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