Email Marketing Done Right
Saturday
Dec 5, 2009
What not to do. Buy a list and email blast everyone and their mom.
Email blasts have become all the rage when it comes to marketing. They’re cheap, they’re quick, but you’ll also be surprised to find out that they’re not as effective as you would’ve hoped. For starters, email blasts are easily blocked out, very impersonal and at times a nuisance – especially since spamming has become a huge thing.
Furthermore, email blasts are often deleted or ignored. I think we’re all guilty of this and rightfully so.
Years after the introduction of email marketing, many companies have started realizing (from market and research studies) that email blasts, especially when sent too frequently, actually hurt their reputation and even lead to being labeled as a spammer.
To top it off, many lists out there are outdated or inaccurate because the list isn’t properly maintained.
Like most things in life, there are pros and cons, and email marketing is no exception. If done right, email marketing can be a business’ best friend.
Do it right. Build your own opt-in list.
Got a website? Good. Place a form somewhere on your website where you can harvest opt-in emails.
More than ever, trust has become the primary goal of email marketing. Readers pay attention to individuals or companies they trust. Afterall, it’s why people initially opt-in to receive emails. Once you have created a list of opted-in emails, the odds of your email ending in the spam box or being deleted is slim to none.
Email marketing is ideal for ecommerce sites and retail stores because it allows them to pitch their products and services to targeted consumers who have agreed to receive promotional emails.
It also works well for blogs and forums that want to share information or keep their members updated.
22 Free Open Source eCommerce Software
Friday
Sep 4, 2009
Here’s a list of 22 open source ecommerce solutions. Most of them use PHP coding and MySQL database.
CartStore.com
ChromiumCart.com
CubeCart.com
DantoCart.com
DashCommerce.org
DigiStore.co.nz
eClime.com
FishCart.org
Joomla.org (need plugin)
MagentoCommerce.com
NopCommerce.com
OpenCart.com
OpenFreeway.org
OsCommerce.com
OsCss.org
PrestaShop.com
TomatoCart.com
UberCart.org
VirtueMart.net
WordPress.org (need plugin)
X-Cart.com
Zen-Cart.com
Good luck, and may your business prosper!