Almost everyone in online business have heard about Email Marketing Campaign, what it does and how it can help if not save a business. But of course there are some who still doesn't believe in the power of this new marketing technique. In this short article I will be giving you five reasons why you should consider trying email marketing right now, especially if you are looking for a way to increase your revenues. So to start things out let's start with the definition of Email Marketing for the benefit of the beginners.

What is email marketing?

"E-mail marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fundraising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to sending e-mails with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or old customers and to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business."

Email marketing can be used by any kind of business. Almost every one nowadays has their own email account and they are treating emails more personally than the conventional mails or letters. Others go online just to check their email message but will not spend time to surf the web at all.

Email marketing helps businesses of all types and sizes to see instant sales from existing customers while maintaining and building long-lasting relationships, which is the most important part in the success of any business.

"54% of small businesses surveyed rated e-mail as the top online promotion to drive site visitors and customers to their web sites and storefronts." Source: DMA Interactive

Here are the five reasons why you should start Email Marketing as one of your marketing strategies?

1. It is Less Expensive:

E-mail marketing campaigns are much more cheaper compared to other traditional marketing techniques like direct mail or print advertising. Email marketing is 20 times more cost effective and can cost as little as fractions of a penny per email.

2. It is More Effective:

Email marketing enables you to proactively communicate with your existing customers and prospects instead of waiting for them to return to your website or store. It is a highly effective way to increase traffic to your website or store, and build a good relationship to your customers and develop loyalty and trust.

"We've done radio, TV, direct mail, and national ads, including full-page ads in Teen Vogue and YM, but, by far, Constant Contact has had better results every time. We track all of our participants, and have found that more than 53% of them found out about us through the Internet or our email newsletter. Email marketing is only a fraction of the cost of print ads. It brings in a phenomenal ROI." - http://www.girlslearntoride.com

(Constant Contact is a leading solution provider of email marketing campaigns.)

3. Get Immediate Results:

In just minutes after sending out your email campaigns, you can receive responses almost immediately. About 80% of responses to email campaign will occur within 3 days while traditional direct mail takes weeks. Well again, that is because people love emails.

4. Fully Trackable:

With email marketing campaign you can easily track the number of emails sent, the number emails opened, how many bounce back, how many unsubscribed and the number of click-through.

You can even tell who opened the emails and know which link generated the most clicks. That way you can adjust quickly and make decisions to your business which is very much critical since time is critical. With direct mails or other forms of advertising you'll have to wait for weeks if not months.

5. It's targeted, personalized and easier to create:

You can easily start an email campaign in just a matter of minutes. You don't have to hire an expert to do this. If your business has some promotions you can easily create and send those email campaigns. Also it is targeted; you know that the recipient will love to hear about your promotion because that is the very reason why they signed up an email subscription. And instead of using Dear Customer they will see the message addressed to them like Dear Mr. Robinson, making it more appealing to the recipient.

"We needed a way to communicate with customers on a timely, consistent and more personal basis. Advertising in a weekly newspaper was only partially effective in accomplishing this. It was only through using the email services of Constant Contact that we were able to build a connection with our customers, in a timely, engaging, unobtrusive way," - http://www.jacktarmarblehead.com

Email Marketing is being use now by a lot companies and is generating high revenues for them, one of them might be your competitor. Again time is critical in the online world, making decisions right away can greatly increase the chances of success for your online business. Email Marketing Campaigns can also help you get loyal customers as it builds a more personal connection with them.

To learn more about Email Marketing Tips, Techniques and Softwares please refer to:

Email Marketing Guide [http://bestproducts.awardspace.com/emailmarketing.php]
Start your Email Marketing Campaign Now and Increase your Revenue!

Email marketing plays an important role in most marketing campaigns nowadays due to its relatively cheap cost and potential for reaching millions of customers. However, we've all experienced the arrival of a new message in our inbox, only to delete it unopened after deciding it is junk. The last thing you want to do is turn off potential customers simply because you are sending out the wrong sort of mail, or sending out the right sort of mail, but to the wrong people. As such, it is worth spending some time looking around for a reliable email marketing company who will manage this for you.

Before you do this it is worth establishing what you want your email marketing campaign to achieve. Will it be to retain old customers by alerting them about any promotions you are running or notifying them about new services or products you are offering, in which case you'll probably be using databases that have been developed in-house? Or will it be to increase sales by attracting new customers, in which case you will be using opt-in databases of consumers who have chosen to receive promotional advertising? If you are seeking to increase sales, ask yourself how focused the databases are towards a specific demographic, and whether the email marketing company owns them or not, because this will determine how impartial their advice is about which database to use.

Email Marketing Company Checklist

Regardless of your marketing campaign goals, there are a few basic areas that you should investigate to determine how proficient your prospective email marketing agency is:

The ability to write good, clear, readable copy in the tone of voice most appropriate for your product. Nothing is less appealing than opening your mail and being confronted by blocks of badly written copy. Check the samples of previous email marketing campaigns the company has been involved in. Ideally the copy should be simple, have clear links to a website or email address, and condensed so that all vital information appears on one screen.Equally, nothing is more appealing than receiving emails that are easy on the eye and structured so you can easily navigate them and understand what they are about. Your potential customer might be opening your message at home, and the last thing they want is anything resembling a work email. This is nothing that a professional HTML designer can't handle, so check that the email marketing organisation has one on their books.Mail should be a personal thing, so ask for ways that your mail can be personalised for individual recipients and particular demographic categories, like people who have chosen a certain clothing brand or leisure activity. Once again, look at the company's previous email marketing campaigns to assess how generic or customised they can be.The first thing we notice of any new message in our inbox is who sent it and what the subject line is. Ask the email marketing company whether any research has been done to identify which subject lines work better than others. Ideally, the subject line should be intriguing and not too salesman-like.Beating the spam blockers isn't just a question of presenting yourself in the right way, but also of hanging out in the right places. For instance, if ISP administrators receive a number of complaints about unwanted emails coming from your address or if they see you consistently send out undeliverable emails, you will be blacklisted as a spammer. Make sure the email marketing company takes the necessary measures so this never happens.Keeping your mailing lists as up to date as possible is also very important, so make sure that the agency has a system for adding email addresses and deleting them if they are returned to sender, sent out in duplicate or invalid. And if people choose to unsubscribe, make sure they stay unsubscribed.

Response Handling and Email Tracking Capability

The previous points have focused on the presentation and form of the emails you send out, but what about the response? In order to ensure that your email campaign is run as professionally and profitably as it can be, you'll want to check that the email marketing agency also has these bases covered:

Response handling. Will there be an automated version of your entire sales process attached to the email that includes the necessary legal documentation, response forwarding and auto-response facilities? Will there be somebody at the end of the line if the customer wishes to call up with a query or to make an order?Feedback analysis. Will the email marketing company be able to provide you with comprehensive feedback reports to help you target your marketing more effectively in future campaigns? Can a click tracking programme be implemented that identifies who clicked what, when, and how many times? Has the company enough experience to give advice about the frequency and optimum time that the emails should be sent out? And how broad is the company's customer service support when you wish to contact them regarding a particular issue?

Covering the above points should put you in a good position to make an informed decision about which email marketing company you want to hire to help you with your marketing campaign. And remember, if you are blacklisted one too many times, or aren't getting the level of response you feel you should be, you can always start the process again and look for a different agency to work with!

This article has been provided by the Approved Index. They have created a directory of Approved Email List Brokers that are based in the UK. Use their free site to compare and request free quotes for your email marketing requirements.

Is it likely to have direct email marketing software that contains every single component that is needed for a successful email marketing campaign?

Having a reliable direct email marketing software to manage all of your email campaigns can be frustrating if you do not have certain profit building tools built within the software. Frustration can occur if you setup email promotions that fail one after the other, without knowing the real reasons of the failure. The great thing about these required tools is that they let you know the reasons why your email campaigned failed. These tools are mandatory if you expect to reap excellent returns from your email promotions.

But before I begin describing what is needed in direct email marketing software, let me first explain what this software is.

Direct email marketing software is software that allows you to manage and control your very own bulk email marketing campaign. The great thing about having your own direct email marketing software is that you do not have to pay to send an email to each subscriber on your list. Having this type of software can greatly reduce your business expenses because not only do you not have to pay for your mailings, but you do not have to pay and hire a marketing firm to manage your email marketing campaign as well. This type of software can create large business efficiency.

Right now, there are multiple direct marketing software packages that are available online. Some of these packages are even shareware software programs that do not even require an initial investment in order to use the software.

But if you expect to have direct email marketing software that is full of the rich features that are needed to create profitable email promotions, then you will have to dig deep within your pocket book - but not very deep.

From my experience using direct email marketing software, there are only 3 mandatory tools that are needed in order to ensure email marketing success. Finding direct email marketing software, that at least utilizes these 3 tools, will greatly reduce the cost of this software.

Therefore, listed below are the 3 tools that should be included in any direct email marketing software that you use now or in the future.

Tool #1 - Open Rate Measurement

An excellent way to measure the effectiveness of your email subject line is to have software that tracks the number of subscribers that open up your email to read it. With this powerful tool, you can select and archive which email subject lines provided the highest open rate response. You can then tailor all of future your email campaign subject lines around the proven subject lines that provided the highest email open rate.

Tool #2 - Tracking Capability

Good direct email marketing software will track the number of subscribers that actually respond to your advertisement and click on a link within your email. In other words, this tracking capability monitors the amount of subscribers who are turned into responsive visitors due to your email promotion. The awesome thing about this tool is that it lets you know how responsive and loyal your email readership is.

Tool #3 - Anti Spam Filter

Another important tool to have in direct email marketing software is an anti spam filter. An anti spam filter is highly recommended because it will let you know whether or not your email will be considered as spam. It will be a tragedy if you spent the whole day compiling an email promotion that never entered into the recipients email inbox due to it being caught by the spam filters. Therefore, in order to guarantee that the email bypasses the spam filters of various internet service providers, you must make sure that a spam detector is included in your direct email marketing software.

I hope that these 3 required tools helped you discover what you need to look for in direct email marketing software. Just focus all of your efforts into finding software that contain these 3 important requirements, and you should be able to get this software at a decent price. In my free report, I include information about an affordable direct email marketing software that I recommend. You can access this report at http://www.list-building-videos.com. But if you are searching for direct email marketing software, you have to make sure it includes all of these 3 requirements. I can not stress this enough. You will reap incredible rewards in your business and with your email promotions if all of these components were included in the software.

Melvin Perry is a young internet entrepreneur whose been marketing online for 3 years. You can grab his FREE step by step videos that show you in detail how to build a large, responsive email list in days! You can grab them now at Work From Home Businesses Videos

A practical "how-to" list for email marketing success, from small to large business.

Email marketing is easy (--ponder--) if you know how to do it. Wow, you have heard that one before, I'm sure. Is that not always the case - with almost anything? So, why even say it?

Because - in this case it is really true.

However, so many small businesses make it more complex than it is; they don't fully understand or grasp the impact of list building, what tools, services and techniques are available, and don't recognize what a successful campaign and its results can and will mean for their businesses.

We believe that a) simplicity of application, b) knowledge - and c) immediate action are the first steps to success. And, everything done in an ethical way - you got permission based marketing. Full speed ahead!

1. Get the legalities out of the way.

Did you know that recent changes in the search engine algorithms now recognize a privacy policy page as an important metric in the total number of items that helps your ranking and visibility? In fact, Google has over 100 variables that make up the secret sauce of their algorithmic search engines. Only two engineers at Google know it. (Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google chose not to learn it himself).

So, you should write and always provide a link to your privacy page. Starter text can be obtained from links below - and always make sure to review with your legal counsel for a final review. You will then include a link to it from your outgoing email campaigns.

Here are some places to start:

a) http://www.truste.org/pdf/WriteAGreatPrivacyPolicy.pdf

b) [http://www.marketingpower.com/content4740.php]

c) http://www.microsaw.com/privacy_policy.htm

2. Your site must capture user via first name (last name) & email address.

Burn this into your head - make it your site requirement - day one. There are too many online businesses that forget this simple rule. It's a must. If you are reading this article, then you probably already realize the importance of mailing lists.

Your audience is looking for good (relevant!) materials to solve problems in their life and business. Capture these visitors, and continue to provide this information and free information, you can grow your business by 1000% or more almost overnight, in some cases in any future mailing. It's super-important to have - and build a quality mailing list.

On your 'landing page' (sometimes called a sales page, gateway page, squeeze page, splash page) you should try to include this capture form on the "top of the fold" of your webpage. (Think of this as single sheet of paper, folded in half. The visitors will read the top portion first, from left to right - almost in an F-shaped order).

Therefore, make sure you:

Place this input form in a strategic location, "above the fold"

Make this coding your first priority for implementation - don't make it the last - or never (which many companies do)

3. Example Signup forms.

Search the internet for example sign up forms. A great technique is to look for companies that have this in their URL. Try this in Google (type into search box): allinurl: "free newsletter" (it will search any site that has this contained in the TITLE of the page).

Some examples of successful forms:

http://www.microsaw.com/myform.htm

http://www.marketingtips.com/newsletters

http://www.redhotcopy.com/workshop.htm - using interesting "slanted" pop-under and image (a black/white banana)

Note that you should always apply "up selling" techniques: links to other complimentary tools, software, articles & e-books.

In other words, give something away for free.

This is the Stephen Covey "emotional bank-account" working at its best. Web surfers are getting smarter and not just links to privacy policies and terms of use are recognized, but easy to read pages that are brief and to the point, score high. (Ed note: An example can be seen on the right side at http://www.microsaw.com/myform.htm - the "free 5-day SEO email course").

4. Popups, popunders, popup blockers & search engines.

Traditional popups (yes, the annoying ones) are banned from search engines like Google.

Therefore, smart marketers have come up with other means. They are called "popunders".

They use specialized JavaScript to display a pop-up box, but it's not tracked or recognized by popup-blockers or the search engines (Ed. Note: this could change, as the search engines change their smarts all the time).

As of writing, you should use a pop-up box, and capture first name, last name & email. Don't make it an intrusive one though (it needs to follow your style sheet guidelines, in other words).

Another way to go is to use what's called 'house-banners' -- ads that display compelling graphics, text - and uses your own local advertising system (example: double-click).

Here's what to do to capture interested visitors:

Apply a page that "slides" onto your page, and have it appear after 5 seconds.

Display this email form capture on all pages.

Only show it once, and only repeat 2-3 days later (assuming they come back). Many of the email marketing systems include this feature for you.

Annoying, but it works. I went from 5% signups a day a 75% increase overnight - only a few weeks back.

Tip: Make a note that the popup is from your site- not a partner site. (sometimes popups are thought to be from sponsors, make a note to your visitor that it's from you).

5. Do you have a newsletter you are trying to promote? Up-sell is the answer!

If you are promoting a newsletter, outside of just getting visitors to sign up, there are 3rd parties vendors that can help you publish and sell your newsletter. Throughout all campaigns, you must make sure to provide useful, relevant and unique content.

Some options for you:

Coregcomplete.com - get signups on thank you pages of other subscription forms this is a great way to promote your wares

Getsubscribers.com

Partner with companies you find, and call them up. Search for 'newsletter publishers' in Google.

When you write articles (yes, you should) - make sure to make a note in the "About Author" that you publish or have newsletters available.

TIP/Warning: Beware of commercial co-regs -- they typically have poor quality names and offers.

6. Get the best and highest performing email service.

Don't skimp here. A few extra dollars a month can really save you a lot of headaches. We worked with one company that went from about 1,000 emails on their list, down to about 100 in 24 hours, (when they switched providers). They quickly realized that they had made a bad choice.

Here's what to consider initially:

ASP hosted solutions are now connected with ISPs to ensure uptime/deliverability

Desktop applications can work well for you, for example, Gamma Dyne Mailer: http://www.soft32.com/download_4469.html

Autoresponse Plus, GetResponse, Aweber are a good place to start reviewing options.

You can also add monitoring services to make sure that emails get delivered, and keep the highest integrity of your emails via tracking.

Here are a few companies that work with monitoring:

1. pipersoftware

2. returnpath.biz

3. edeliverability.com

4. deliverymonitor.com

Other email marketing services to review are:

Sparklist

Constantcontact

Topica

Global intellisystems

Got campaigner

Vertical response

1stshoppingcart (shopping cart, affiliate programs and autoresponder)

Proautoresponders

You also need to understand and read the updated laws about email marketing and spam. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2004 is FTC governed, and the they will pursue any SPAM artist to the fullest extent of the law.

Make sure you have:

Working unsubscribe

Be careful where you get the lists

Avoid fraudulent subject lines

Include postal address, phone, privacy policy

Porn must be identified in subject line (SEXUALLY EXPLICIT)

Opt-out lists, including 'double-opt-in' (user must click to approve the email)

Tip: It's important to have a strict and trusted email service. Reputable email marketing companies will upload a few emails from your list and test your list to verify. Then, they'll approve or deny you.

7. Test, test & track, track.

No MBA student, no computer scientist, web braniac or 30 year veteran of marketing, both online and off - can predict what visitors will click on, and why. We can all make really great educated guesses, but they are only that. So, you really need to test your campaigns. Online marketing compared to traditional marketing (print, media) is vastly different.

Here's how to do it:

Test the campaigns with A/B Split test tactics - specifically on subject line and ad copy, it can help improve newsletter and pages immensely. (A/B refers to capability of serving up different content or ads, or headlines, sections on your page and campaign - that can be tracked)

Tracking conversions from email blasts (cookies and JavaScript and beacons on landing pages, thank you pages, etc)

Got campaigner and topica are high-end products, aweber is doing split-testing now (we use this - with great success)

Good reporting and database segmentation to section off to demographics, recency, frequency, sales totals

Use relevant and powerful headlines. Use wordtracker.com and keyworddiscovery.com to get keywords to back up your headline in content. (Ed Note: The site http://los-angeles.microsaw.com is dedicated to copywriting for the Internet)

8. Formatting and send options.

Formatting is an important element of any newsletter or mailing. Unfortunately, a love of companies go wild on graphics, sound, multi-media to present "their" branding or look/feel. It's important to have a clean mailer.

What are the options? See a few below:

text only

html

combination of the above & multi-part MIME

Key facts to consider:

Text more easily can penetrate spam filters, gets thru company firewalls, but only preferred by 15% to 25%.

HTML has more advantages, will double or triple the click-thru on text, nicer, pretty graphics, tracking better. It can also track opens, click-thrus and conversions. If the email marketing system supports it (most do) - send both.

Tip 1: Send Multi-part MIME, not just straight HTML

Tip 2: Place a URL reference in email to actual content on your website

Tip 3: Microsoft Outlook "Preview" mode: make sure it looks ok. Many will have this "on" by default - and it may reflect your email poorly (try it!). MarketingSherpa.com has a great article on this and how it can affect "opens". Graphics are often blocked too, so your intended "pretty" newsletter may not look the way you planned under these circumstances.

Tip 4: Make sure font is large enough for "older" folks and the smaller monitors

9. How often to send? How about text size?

In company marketing strategy meetings, where all the 'masters' will create their online strategies -- do not seem to agree. We'll outline a few scenarios below.

Daily.

Daily if you have a good "alert" system (ex: Google alerts) - this will not make sense for most companies. CNN news alerts are ok though.

Once a week.

Weekly ok if you have a strong listener base, and compelling content.

Once a month.

Monthly probably best for most small businesses. Overall - you want to retain "mindshare" - so they don't forget you, but still not too much "in their face".

How long should the text be?

Short, with longer description on website. People "scan", not read

Keep it tight, focused on brief -- "read here for more" (link to full page) …

Tip 1: Archive URL's on your site, and allow it to be searched later. It's "spider-food", and you get recognized as an expert as well.

Tip 2: Also, a link to "send to friend" ('found this article, thought you'd be interested')

Tip 3: Use personalization (Dear Bob, Hello Cathy, etc.) - increases opening and reading by 50-60%. Work on the relationship -- build trust and credibility. Note: Don't overuse in the newsletter! Better to be a little conservative, than too friendly.

10. Campaigns and newsletters take time. How-to get it done in your workweek.

Unless you have a dedicated staff, you must do this yourself. Add this task to your calendar (with a recurring reminder), and consider this your "must-do" work.

Tips that work well:

Allocate some time your calendar, book it - and execute, don't delay

Use it as a marketing expense, track it in the books

Hire a writer (guru.com, elance.com) - and use search for 'copywriters' (in your niche)

Test with innovative audio and video options, outsource if necessary

Make sure to include testimonials

11. Auto-responders.

Auto responders are a fantastic and simple way to turn your business on automated 24x7 attendance. Use them, learn them and build your list and responsiveness from this feature alone. Your list will grow, which you will use for future mailings and offers. Auto-responders are software systems that allow for total automation of messaging.

Here are another few tips for you to help build your list and credibility:

Follow up for an e-Book (example: 3 days after first mailing, send "did you get the email?" In that mailing, provide a link to a free download e-book, offers, etc)

Follow up to the subscription - 'thank you'

Training series ("5-day SEO email course") -- see example on http://www.microsaw.com seo email course

Create free email courses, courses send every 1-2 days for a short period (less than a week).

12. Isn't use of email as a business tool dead?

Answer: No it is not. It's part of our lives, and email is still very effective. It's accepted, and with filters and advanced software solutions, it is managed.

Here are some tips and tools:

Many programs use filtering (ISP)

Bounces can be recorded: soft, hard (to edit/maintenance your list)

SpamAssassin

Cloudmark Desktop (report spam) - helps the community at large

SpamArrest

Amazon does a lot of things with email. They have applied a cool system with personalization. They have supposedly as high as a 14% conversion rate!

Tip: Do you need to check your email for SPAM? Try sending your campaign or email to: sales-spamcheck@sitesell.net?subject=TEST -- you'll get an email response back with a rating of 0 thru 5.

13. Wave of the future - "white-listing".

Email marketing is not going away, as some have alluded to. The key is to stay within the form and function of the email marketing community. Newer options exist for creating "white lists" (universally accepted lists) - a few of these new services are listed here:

Sender Certification is an important change which has been used for a while already.

Here are a few companies:

Habeas

Sender Score Certified

Habeas is expensive at $15,000 a year, and only recommended for serious, large email marketing companies. Goodmailsystems (used by AOL and Yahoo) is also another high-end product. Search on Google for 'email sender certification'.

Tip: Definitely a "future" thing, and growing in use today. You get a (good) reputation for being an email sender, and can build a strong business around this as well.

14. What other technical issues should I review?

Check spelling, graphics, relative links, use the free software XENU to get amazingly detailed reports. The Webmaster reports at the bottom of one of their reports provide a lot of good detail, perfect for executive overview.

Other tips:

Make sure to use http://, not just [http://www..]. in your LINK references. Your link may not work without it.

Research shows that Tue, Wed, Thu works well for B2B (but, make sure to test!)

Some B2C lists are better on the weekends (personal feeling about this)

15. Landing pages.

We've talked about this topic in several places in the article. It's so important, we dedicate a special section here.

A landing page is a strategically developed (content and visuals) page that you bring your potential customers to. It's a call-to-action page. Many just bring their prospective customers to a home page where other non-related items may appear, including no specific instructions. You only have a few seconds to get him or her to react.

If you are not great at writing, you can hire a copywriter, check elance.com and guru.com, sometimes as low as 30-40 bucks for a pretty good writer.

Test, test, test and location, location, location.

You must test and track (metrics) your pages and run A/B splits (change a few things like color, title, subhead, etc - and not too much at the same time). You can use a free service Google analytics to get started.

More expensive ones are clicktracks, omniture, hitbox, hitlens - and the ultimate wholly grail testing, tuning and tracking system is the taguchi models (multi-variant optimizers).

The human eye scans from top left to right in a downstream manner.

The call-to-action items (like "sign up for my newsletter") would get optimal viewing if placed here, in this F-shaped Golden Triangle. Also, as we mentioned - above the fold!

Make sure you have some free downloads and give-aways, surfers love quizzes and mini-tests, including email courses, using autoresponders for immediate follow-up and tracking.

Your email campaigns should take them to a landing page for more / better conversion.

Tip: Add a "Special Message" block on your page and in your email text and allow users to discuss on your forum or in your blog link.

Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on the subject of SEO and Online Marketing, and has spent over 10 years developing websites and marketing solutions for companies like Overture, Yahoo and Expedia.

His website, Los Angeles Search Marketing at http://www.microsaw.com, provides a wealth of informative articles, resources and complimentary email courses on everything you will ever need to know about SEO and Search Marketing. He lives with his family in Southern California.

Every so often I take time out of my busy Email Marketing Consulting schedule and steal an afternoon just for myself. A few months ago I decided to take one of those days. With five glorious hours ahead of me I pondered how best to enjoy my break. I really wanted to do something memorable, something that would inspire me and something that would last long after my special day was over. So I did what everyone does on an afternoon off - I got a tattoo.

I had never gotten a tattoo before and did not know which shops were the best but I was on an e-newsletter list of a shop called Brave Tattoo. I had joined the list while they were running a contest to win a Harley. I didn't win but stayed on the email list because I was impressed with how creative the tattoo shop was with their e-zine. There was always two or three professionally written articles about tattoos and a whole bunch of tattoo design suggestions. I really looked forward to their bi-weekly e-zine because their e-newsletter approach really communicated their passion for their product and store. I sort of felt like I already knew the shop because of their e-newsletter. This week's email special was a little odd but it worked perfect for me and I took it as a sign. 21 characters for the price of 20.

I arrived early for my appointment and got all setup with an artist named BeeBee. She was painted from head to toe and had earrings, nose rings and studs everywhere imaginable (she told me about the ones that were not visible and I took her word for it). We got started right away with the cleaning and stenciling. All those needles looked a little unnerving so I turned away and tried to clear my mind of work and everything else I was thinking about.

Just as my first character was about to be stenciled, a rowdy group moved into the booth next to me. Six people. Three of women and two of the men looked like they had just stepped out of a cloning machine. Same clothes, similar hair and similar gestures. The sixth guy was obviously the leader. Dressed in a William Fioravanti suit, this guy looked like a million-and-a-half bucks. His teeth were bleached white and gleaming. His face looked like he had shaven so close he was glowing. He almost looked too perfect or something. "Probably due to a fake tan," I thought. I knew I had seen the guy before; he looked really familiar. Oh well, it was my afternoon off and I decided to not waste my time paying attention to Mr. Nice Suit and Super White Teeth. I closed my eyes and let BeeBee go to work.

I must have dozed off because when I came to I already had 'EMAIL MARKETING FOREVER' stenciled on my shoulder. It looked pretty good so far. The little flying envelope was really cute too. BeeBee mentioned that the next step was the point of no return. I eagerly nodded and told her to get going with the permanent ink. We started chatting about my tattoo choice and I told her the history of Email Marketing and how I had chosen to have my tattoo done at their store because of their creative e-newsletter. She told me that a fellow name Buzz took care of all the marketing but he was out on an errand right now.

Throughout our conversation BeeBee and I had to talk louder and louder because of the group in the next booth. It sounded like they were having a party. The five clones must have been the guy's groupies because they weren't calling him by a name, just his initials. I asked BeeBee who the guy was. Maybe he was a rock star or something and that's why I recognized him.

"He is the new cat's meow," BeeBee said. I thought 'cats meow' was code for 'new lead singer in a rock group' so I tried to act smart and answered casually, "Oh? What club are they playing at?" I got really excited at the prospect of getting a tattoo AND meeting a rock star all in the same day. What a great way to celebrate my Email Marketing Forever tattoo! Who knows, this guy might be a great performer. The glowing skin was a little too perfect and I'd pass on the groupie thing but who knows where this guy might be in a few years. I got giddy at the thought of meeting Mr. Nice Suit and Super White Teeth and hearing his group.

BeeBee didn't seem to hear my question about the club and started humming Bob Dylan's hit "The Times They Are A-Changin'". I always liked that song. I hummed along too and decided to go introduce myself to the suit and teeth after my tattoo was done. I would find out the address for the club first hand.

I could hear the clones squealing at the suit and teeth's every word. "He must be something special to get so much attention," I thought. I closed my eyes and was only half listening but I think they were calling him RSS. I lay there with my eyes closed wondering what RSS stood for.

Ricardo the Super Stud?

Maybe RSS was the short form of his heavy metal band. What could the band be called? All those bands had such weird names. Could it be Rotten Salmon Sushi? Or maybe it was a country band called The Raunchy Smoking Smiths. Who knows. I was only half paying attention because the tattoo needles where starting to sting. I tried to clear my mind and focused on going out clubbing when all this was over.

Suddenly BeeBee stopped humming and looked up from her needles and ink. "Buzz, is back from his errand," she reported. "You can meet him after he's done getting the catering set up." Catering? What kind of a tattoo parlor was this? BeeBee noticed my query and motioned to the group next door. "I think it's to keep the groupies quiet so RSS can get his tattoo done in peace," she giggled, earrings swaying to and fro as she laughed.

My mind wandered to thoughts of dancing at the club with my new Email Marketing Forever tattoo permanently sitting on my shoulder. I could hear the clones expressing awe over the tiny sandwiches and little cakes. Then I heard it. There was a lot of sandwich squealing going on but I knew what I heard.

I heard it again. "RSS feed me! RSS feed me!" Seems Mr. Nice Suit and Super White Teeth, or RSS as they called him, was making the rounds with the cloned groupies and aiding them in tasting all the culinary delights. RSS was tossing crackers and caviar into the open mouths of two of the women. I gagged and quickly realized that I did know this guy. He wasn't a rock star like Bono; he was an Internet rock star! You can't go anywhere without hearing about this guy. The suit and teeth was none other than RSS Marketing! How could I have not recognized him? I guess my MyYahoo! aggregator would have helped but the perfect good looks and groupies should have been a clue.

I took a deep breath, looked to see where BeeBee was at with the permanent ink and said, "I think you had better stop."

'Email Mark' was as far as BeeBee had gotten.

Great, I was now the only person on the planet with a 'to do list' tattooed on my shoulder! Well at least it sort of made sense. My brother's name is Mark so I thought I could make up some little story about how my brother and I had matching tattoos to remind us to keep in contact with each other.

A vision of Johnny Depp and his 'Wino Forever' tattoo raced across my mind. I said a quick prayer to Johnny and asked him if I could join his club of botched tattoos.

I got all bandaged up and went over to the RSS party and introduced myself. The clones looked a little worried but I assured them they could keep all the little sandwiches for themselves. RSS was quite personable and really nice, however I quickly realized the guy had a bit of an identity complex. We were all laughing and joking when RSS whispered in my ear, "They all have so many expectations..." Those bleached white teeth so close to my ear sort of startled me. RSS's voice sounded like the kid who saw dead people in 'The Sixth Sense.'

"Who?" I whispered back, surprised I was having a whispering conversation with a person I had just met.

"Everyone." RSS whispered. He motioned to the clones: "They are all marketing executives eager to dump every other kind of digital marketing and ride my back into the RSS Feed golden sunset.

"First they blogged me and I thought I was stretched with that. Now they want to personalize me and individualize me. Some of them even want me to pretend I'm email and go right into a customer's email inbox!" RSS sounded a little freaked. I started to think he might need a Valium. "What if I they take me all the way into the bedroom and I can't perform?" RSS pleaded.

"Cute analogy," I thought. Forget the Valium, this guy needed some marketing Viagra just to make sure he could go all the way, regardless of who decides to hop into his digital bed with him.

I finally left the tattoo parlor that day only after RSS Marketing made me promise to email him. We meet quite regularly for coffee and I think he is slowly getting more comfortable with his stardom. He realizes that he probably won't make everyone happy but he is trying his best. Those marketing executives have him going day and night. He was right; some of their expectations are pretty high.

I wonder where RSS Marketing will be a year from now? Will he be washed up with caffeine-stained teeth and a fraying designer suit playing in some Internet bar? Not likely, but will he be around ten years from now with a greatest hits album? Who knows.

I think the bottom line is that personalized digital marketing will progress and RSS Marketing will be part of it just like Email Marketing, Podcasting, Blogging, Text Messaging and everything else savvy marketers are trying. I think most people are being realistic and realizing they have to stock their toolbox with a variety of tools built with their specific customer group in mind. You can't build a marketing strategy with only one tool and RSS Marketing is not the key to everyone's fiscal salvation. Should marketers use RSS Marketing? Of course they should. Should marketers dump Email Marketing in the north river with a concrete block around its neck? I guess they can if they want to. But they may find their decision is shortsighted. Just like my Email Mark tattoo, the use of Email is in our bloodstream and getting it out will take more than an RSS Feed transfusion. Why not get smarter and acknowledge the landscape has changed and change Email Marketing accordingly? We did it with TV, magazines and the radio.

"Come gather 'round people

Wherever you roam

And admit that the waters

Around you have grown

And accept it that soon

You'll be drenched to the bone.

If your time to you

Is worth savin

'Then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'."

-Bob Dylan

The last time RSS Marketing and I met he was kind of down as he had pulled another all-nighter. He asked me what he should do if his Internet gig didn't work out. Where would he hide and spend his retirement without living in shame? I told him not to lose another ounce of sleep. If RSS Marketing doesn't work out according to Internet Marketers' expectations RSS could fade into the sunset without a care. RSS didn't seem convinced. I assured RSS he had nothing to worry about. If RSS Marketing doesn't meet the expectations of corporate marketers everywhere, everybody will be sending the blame up the Pacific Northwest coast into the misty air of Redmond to Bill Gates, to Microsoft and that new browser of theirs.

Joan Pasay is a dynamic e-marketing coach & author.

RSS Marketing is something savvy Email Marketers will want to learn about and consider for their Marketing toolbox. Email Marketing Made Easy can help. You can learn all about our services, including incorporating RSS Marketing into your Email Marketing mix here: http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/pages/services.asp

Need help getting started with Email Marketing? Why not take our free Email Marketing JumpStart E-course? http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/jump_start/mini.asp

Want to just learn all about Email Marketing at 2am, while you eat left over chocolate cake and sit by the fire in your pajamas? Buy our Email Marketing Made Easy Ebook: http://www.EmailMarketingMadeEasy.com

Copyright -- Joan Pasay 2005