Small Business Email Advertising - 3 Keys To Success

If you're a small business person and you would like to use the power of email to communicate your sales message to your prospects and customers, here are three keys to doing it the right way and being effective.

The first key to successful small business email advertising is to collect the email addresses of your customers. To do this you must establish systems within the framework of your business. No matter how your staff comes into contact with your customers, they must ask for the email address at the point of contact.

Whether that contact involves working a cash register, by telephone, or in the customer's home, training your frontline staff to ask for the email address is imperative. You can support their efforts with secondary collection tactics, like web forms and contests, but nothing is more important than well trained personnel.

The second key to effective small business email advertising is using the right tools. For this purpose, nothing beats an online autoresponder. There are other alternatives, like do-it-yourself software located on your pc (too unstable) and a dedicated server (too expensive), but the online autroresponder provides the best combination of cost-effectiveness and features for the small business person.

Autoresponders enable you to essentially "set it and forget it" by providing a platform for email deliverability and list building. By automating much of the email campaign process, an autoresponder can free up your time to do what you are best suited to doing- building your business. You should strongly consider using an online autoresponder for your small business email advertising.

Finally, the third key to effective small business email advertising is consistency. The power of email is that it allows you to maintain regular, laser-targeted contact with your prospects and customers, thereby building a relationship with them. Relationship is the foundation of incremental sales. Your competitors are using email to build relationship with their customers, and trying to do so with YOURS. You absolutely must meet and surpass them, or you will find your customers defecting, and your business growth slowing.

Delivering your message consistently, week-after-week, is a powerful tactic made possible by email. Learn now to make use of this flexible tool for small business email advertising, and you will find yourself at the forefront, with your competitors striving to catch up.

For more on email advertising for small business, try http://www.power-email-marketing.com and find tips, tools, and techniques.