One of the easiest tools to reach people through the Internet is email, and for that reason it can be quite effective for email online marketing. Email can be a tool that can be quite delicate to use as well. In order for email to be an effective online marketing tool, the email you send has to be: desired, valuable and personalized.

To Be or Not to Be Desired

To run an email advertising campaign, you have to start avoiding the temptation of recalling email addresses and sending messages. Just sending out hundreds or thousands of advertisements will become a massive failure when your business becomes associated with spamming. Spam is the term used for a non-desired email, and when your email falls into this category, typically the email is filtered to your junk folder.  More than likely, once the email ends up in the spam or junk folder of an email account, the reader will not even know it is there. 

Email is a tool of mass communication that has to be used as a personal, even intimate, way of communicating with your actual or potential clients. The first and the most difficult step to use email as a marketing tool is to convince a person to accept that you emailed them.

The way you choose to do that depends on the characteristics of your service or product. However, as a general rule, you should show the kind of emails a person will receive when she signs up to be a part of your mailing list. If you are focused and value the communication you keep with your clients, don't be afraid to show a little more than the normal marketing show. Send them an email and let them know what is happening within your company.

More Than Just Offers

When a person checks her email, she does it with attention and expectation. In order for your email to be chosen and read, your email has to generate a promise of being interesting, relevant and engaging. Thousands of mailboxes are full of unread emails; you don´t want to be one of the senders whose unread messages are piling up in someone's inbox and left unread!

To create messages that the people want to open and read, go beyond the traditional option of "receive updates and offers about our products", and create authentic newsletters that add value for the reader.

Use your newsletters to engage your readers into your process. Offer them promotions and good prices, but also give them: information, ask them questions, tell them stories, and show how much you care about them. The use of email for online marketing has to be personal and meaningful for the clients. Otherwise, you are going to waste your effort and time.

Remember: In order for email to be effective especially with online marketing, you have to grab the reader's attention from the get go and your email must engage them. Above all else, make sure your email does not end up unread!