Yasas.me: Mail Chimp

E-mail marketing is generally considered as intrusive and a push method of getting your message across. However, its success has been questionable as it is considered as Spamming method which has low results. However, with proper management and execution an e-mail campaign can be a very successful pull campaign to generate leads. This post will discuss some of such Do’s and Don’ts to focus on:

Do’s

First we need a good email Database to start with. What do we mean by “Good”, a database which is accurate and segmented according to the requirement. An organization should collect email addresses with the consent of the email owner and for the intended purpose (If it is for updating of new product information it needs to be used specifically for that purpose.)
Design an attractive responsive (Platform independent) emailer. The design needs to be tested on multiple email platforms to be sure it would be viewable.
Each emailer should have a link to display out of the email platform in the case of non-displaying and to unsubscribe from the database (And active for 30 days) if required and felt intrusive.
The name of the emailer has to be shown with the physical mailing address
Use tracking code for your email campaign to access the success rate of the campaign. You can use free scripts from Google Analytics
Whenever you have in-links (URLS to specific content of your website or landing pages) use Google URL Builder to track.
Refine your campaigns based on success and use A/B Testing to find out the optimal designs
Use an email marketing software to have many email addresses in you To, CC or BCC fields. Eg: Mail Chimp, Get response, etc.. (You can find some free email marketing software in: http://blog.capterra.com/10-free-email-marketing-software-solutions-small-business-marketers/)
Test your email on gmail, yahoo and other common email providers to see if it get spammed.

Don’ts

Make sure you don't leave others email addresses visible when you email
Never use deceptive headers, From names, reply-to addresses, or subject lines. eg: yourname@domainname.com
Do not use Interactive Content such as Java Scripts, RSS feeds, Forms
Spam Words such as CLICK HERE, Make Money, FREE, Discount, etc...
Use pure HTML code
Image to Text Ratio must be acceptable. Do not overdo images
Do not send too many emails to the same receiver, send what is relevant and requested