Articles > Internet Marketing >
Email Marketing

Set Up Your eMail Account & Jazz Up Your eMail Signature
Take the time to get your email account and signature set up so they can help in your marketing efforts with every email sent. When you consider that each time you send out an email it can act as a “Mini Billboard” for your business you will realize the value of today’s assignment. Even if you only send out ten emails a day this adds up to 3,650 “Mini Billboards” being viewed a year. Most of us send far more email than that! Take a minute to see how many emails you’re sending in a day and multiply that by 365. You may be surprised. This is an inexpensive - if not free - piece of a bigger marketing puzzle that you will build on over time.

Set Up Your eMail Account
Set up an email account so that your email address reads “you@yourdomain.com” and leave those hard-to-remember or unprofessional addresses behind. This type of account is often referred to as an email “alias.” This can be done easily and inexpensively at http://www.godaddy.com - my provider of choice.

If you already have your company name and domain name then come up with a compelling tag line that speaks to your brand. Think of a single sentence or phrase that will appeal to your target market and encourage them to contact you.

Jazz Up Your eMail Signature
Dress up your email signature. It is important that you begin to create a recognizable identity and your email signature is a good starting point.

First, make certain that your name and contact information are a part of your email signature. This can include a number of elements. The most common are phone, fax, email address, web address. Also, make certain that you’ve chosen a font and color that is legible. Sometimes people choose interesting and fun fonts and colors that simply are not easy for people to read.

Second, include an offer or a give away. Many people offer a free report or consultation or encourage people to exchange their email address for some other offer (free article of interest to your niche market or an eZine). Once again, this is easily changed so don’t sweat the small stuff. The important piece is to give people a reason to contact you and to make it EASY!

Third, send your new creation to a few people that will give you constructive feedback. Ask them what else they would like to see included or to give you any feedback.

TIP: In some email programs (i.e., Outlook) you can create a “signature” file. What this does is that every time you open a new email your signature line will appear. However, if you can’t figure out how to do this, or your email program doesn’t have a “signature” feature then you can create your signature line in Word, or another program, and simply copy and paste it in to your emails before you send them out. Here is an example:

Alicia Smith | DISC Ninja™, Coach, Trainer
www.discninja.com | 406.994.9134 | 702.537.5057 Fax
DISC Ninja’s DISCover the Basics 3-week Teleclass $79
www.InternetAssessments.com
www.90DayMarketingMarathon.com
Solutions. Appropriately simple!

You can also create multiple signatures to use on a variety of e-mails or for the “boilerplate” text and set up stationery for your e-mails.

If you want to create a more sophisticated look for your emails, and you have the budget, I recommend contacting David Henry of www.InboxArt.com. He does excellent work at a reasonable price.