In-Depth E-mail Marketing Q&A

Blizzard Associate | 16 September 2005 |

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Blizzard Internet Marketing offers a powerful e-mail marketing service for our clients. It seems, however, that many of our clients either don’t know the program exists, or they don’t know about it’s full potential. I’ve compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help shed light on this important marketing tool.

Q: What is e-mail marketing?

A: E-mail marketing is the process of sending out an e-mail newsletter to a list of contacts in order to promote a business. There are two main forms. The first is an E-mail Blast, which is a short, targeted message involving one deal, special or event. The second is a Newsletter, which is typically longer and can involve more than one deal, special or event.
______________________________

Q: What is the benefit of e-mail marketing? A: E-mail marketing is an additional form of advertising in which you can remind your clients of the presence of your business. E-mail marketing is incredibly well-suited to advertise an event, product or service on short notice. If, for instance, you realize on a Monday that you have slow bookings for the coming weekend, you can easily send out a newsletter to promote short notice specials; often, these will help fill the hole in your reservations.
______________________________

Q: How do I work with Blizzard to conduct e-mail marketing?

A: First, we create a newsletter template that resembles your web site’s homepage. You then prepare the newsletter text and e-mail it to us. We place the text into the template, then e-mail a draft version for your review. You are allowed to make any changes or corrections. Once you are satisfied, we e-mail the newsletter to your subscriber list.
______________________________

Q: How do I collect e-mail addresses, and do you sell lists?

A: We will add a sign up form on your web site, so that anyone visiting your web site can sign up to receive your newsletter. We use a confirmed opt-in verification by e-mail to verify the validity of the user’s e-mail address and to prevent people from maliciously subscribing others without their consent. We also highly recommend that you collect e-mail addresses at your reservation desk, or when anyone visits your business. We do not buy or sell lists of e-mail addresses, and we encourage clients not to do so as well. You should only add people to your contact list who want to be added.
______________________________

Q: How much information can I put in my e-mail newsletter?

A: Technically, you can put pages and pages of information into your newsletter. However, there are a few things you need to think about. First of all, your newsletter is going to be sent via e-mail. Most people do not have the time or the desire to read a 14 page e-mail; they would rather read an e-mail that gets to the point. In the first 30 seconds of viewing, people decide whether or not they are interested enough to keep reading an e-mail. Thus, your newsletter must grab them right away.
______________________________

Q: Can I include pictures in my newsletter?

A: Yes, we encourage using pictures. If you have a short, one-paragraph newsletter, you only need one photo. If you have several paragraphs of text, include up to five photos. More than five photos make the newsletter look crowded. You will need to e-mail the photo(s) to us, or let us know where to find them on your web site. We also have some stock photos available for use.
______________________________

Q: When does my newsletter go out to subscribers, and how frequently?

A: You can send a newsletter as frequently as you want. We recommend sending one every month, but if you have a slow weekend you would like to fill up, feel free to send out an e-mail blast with a special offer for that weekend.
______________________________

Q: How many people can be on my mailing list?

A: Currently all accounts are allowed up to 20,000 e-mail addresses. We are working on accommodating larger lists, so let us know if you have more than 20,000 subscribers.
______________________________

Q: I made a mistake with something in the newsletter. How can I get it changed?

A: Unfortunately the only way to make a correction to your newsletter is to re-send the e-mail, and we typically discourage this. We always send a proof of the newsletter before mailing to your database, so it is very important to read it over thoroughly every time.
______________________________

Q: How much does e-mail marketing cost?

A: There is a yearly licensing fee of $300 and a one time set-up fee ranging between $150 and $300.
______________________________

Please visit www.blizzardemail.com/email-program-pricing.htm to view the difference in the set-ups. Additional fees are incurred each time you wish to send a newsletter; each typically takes us about 45 minutes to prepare, which is billed at your hourly rate. If you have more questions about e-mail marketing, please visit www.blizzardemail.com or give us a call toll free at: 1-888-840-5893.