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OK – you may have a customer list from your existing online business. Fantastic!

You may think that you can simply load the email addresses of your existing customers into an automated emailer (Aweber  is probably the best and most widely used) and blast your customers, telling them about your wonderful new business (Internet Marketing).

WARNING!!! 

Although the law might suggest that you are entitled to email en mass to your existing clients, DON’T DO IT!!! You would be entering into muddy waters, with exploding mines.

So how do you capture your valued customer details in to a program like Aweber?
(In fact, Aweber does not allow you to simply upload mailing lists in to theirs (under normal circumstances)).

Also note: If these reputable Autoresposnder/eMailer companies (Aweber, being very reputable) suspect that you are SPAMMING they will close your account. It’s not worth the risk.

Also note: If your Internet Service Provider (ISP) suspects that your are SPAMMING they will close your account. Again, it’s not worth the risk.

So what’s the answer?

From my online retail business we have 1000′s of customers, but there’s real a need to put the ‘ego’ aside and face reality. I realise that over 90% of our customers that haven’t bought from us for over a week, would not know who I am or the name of my company. This is FACT. Most people can’t recall what they ate for dinner the night before, so why would they remember an online transaction a week or so ago? Even though my service is exemplary and we are proud of our feedback and positive responses, I cannot assume that our company is remembered in any way by my customers (unless  a bad service or product is delivered – strangely people tend to remember a ‘negative‘ over a ‘positive‘.) So, sending customers a ‘generic’ email, based on the premise that they’ve bought from you in the past, could harm your business and aggravate your valued customers.

So what’s the answer?

My advice is to invite your existing customers to join your ‘opt-in’ subscriber list, by personal email – may be send a few personal emails at a time and offer a ‘must-have’ incentive for them to leave their details and sign-up to the opt-in list.

The term ‘opt-in’ is used to describe how the customer must agree to sign-up to the list/newsletter, by entering his/her details. Aweber would subscribe to a double opt-in, where the customer is sent a confirmation email to be added to the list.

This approach is far safer, more personal, respecting the law and just as importantly, your customers.

Keep your business, risk free, even if it requires a little bit of work at the outset.

You may have guessed, I’m a big fan of Aweber. If you wish to be professional about mailing to your customers then invest in Aweber (don’t cut-corners here).
I Heart AWeber.comTry AWeber’s Email Marketing Tool Risk-Free

 

Filed under: Build your Internet Business

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