Here's a list of some of the most frequently asked questions about e-mail marketing. If the information you are looking for is not provided here, please send us your question at answers@buzzmail.com. You'll also find much more detailed answers to these questions and more, in E-mail Marketing Made Easy. To order your copy click here.

What is e-mail marketing?
E-mail marketing is simply the use of e-mail, in its various forms, to help marketers build stronger connections between their customers and their brands - and consequently to build their businesses. It's not the random act of mass distribution of e-mail to every address possible. It is the commonsense use of the internet for communication purposes, employing the most customer-friendly application on the internet, e-mail.

What type of companies use e-mail marketing?
The question should be 'what type of companies don't use e-mail marketing?' There isn't a company that couldn't benefit from it - whether you're a sole trader or a multinational. You don't need a large budget to start and you can start as soon as you have an e-mail list.

Can small businesses do e-mail marketing?
E-mail marketing is ideal for small businesses. It is relatively cheaper than other media and a campaign can be implemented extremely quickly. You don't need a large database either - your e-mail messages can be sent to individuals or millions of people.

How much does an e-mail campaign cost?
That's like asking how long is a piece of string. The cost varies according to the type of e-mail message, format, content, volume of recipients and whether the campaign is managed internally or outsourced to an e-mail distributor.

A text e-mail can have the following cost components:
Copywriting
List preparation
Personalisation requirements
Content segmentation
Number of hyperlinks
Size of mailing list
Distribution
Forwarding cost for pass alongs
Bounce management
Tracking and reporting

If you create a rich media format you need to also consider similar costs to when you create television and radio commercials:

Production costs for video, audio and animation
Fees for streaming content
Talent fees for appearances in video or still photography
License fee for use of images
Copyright and license fees for use of audio

Where do I rent an e-mail list?
Any traditional list broker will rent e-mail lists. Check your local direct marketing association for members and be careful if you decide not to deal with DMA members. You can also rent opt-in lists from infomediaries such as Yesmail or PostmasterDirect, that specialise in building and marketing opt-in lists.

What is SPAM?
Spam is unwanted e-mail, typically sent unsolicited to large numbers of recipients. Most typically, spam is created and sent by companies seeking to increase their business through the use of bulk e-mail programs, but spam can also be sent by individuals. No one likes receiving spam and it's therefor rude to send it. The rule is this: if you're sending unsolicited e-mail to a bunch of people, you're spamming - stop.

How do I avoid being called a Spammer?
Only send e-mail messages to opt-in lists and always promptly delete people who request to be removed from a list. If you rent a list, always explain in your message where you obtained the recipient's name. For example "you are receiving this e-mail because you opted in to receive messages about widgets on the mighty widgets website." It's really quite simple to avoid being a spammer - if you don't have the recipient's permission to send them marketing messages then don't do it.

How do I distribute e-mail messages?
You can distribute the messages from your own system, or you can outsource the distribution to specialist e-mail distributors. You can also DIY with a self serve supplier, where you visit their website, create your e-mail in one of their templates, or load your own e-mail format and your list. You then send your e-mail using their distribution and tracking system, after payment by credit card.

Research revealed those companies that distributed their e-mail via specialist distribution companies, had higher click through and response rates than those who managed their distribution internally. One of the reasons is because the specialists have the latest technology to reach the various types of e-mail clients - they can send multi-format e-mails and deliver the format that suits each recipient's e-mail software.

What response rate will I get from my campaign?
If anyone tells you they can predict response rates they are either lying or trying to win your business. Nobody can predict the future when it comes to e-mail responses. All that can be said is that if a specific e-mail message was sent to a specific list and generated a response, then if you were to send a similar e-mail message with a similar offer to the same list, you may generate a similar response rate.

The best way to determine your response rate is to test. Then you'll have an excellent predictor for your potential response.

Should I replace my direct mail with e-mail?
The answer lies with your customers and what type of direct mail you are replacing. You should ask your customers if they prefer to receive an e-mail version of your direct mail - even let them compare one against the other. Not all printed material duplicates well in e-mail format - catalogues for example are much easier to read when printed than when delivered in HTML format. Sometimes your e-mail is a good supplement to your direct mail (or other media). Once again, testing will give you an idea of whether it's worth replacing existing direct mail with e-mail.

Do I need an advertising agency to create my e-mails?
You will need specialist skills to create your e-mail messages - both creative and technological - but these skills aren't generally found in advertising agencies or with website developers. E-mail messaging is a direct marketing skill and just as you use your direct marketing agency to develop your direct response television commercials, so you use them to develop your e-mail messages.

How do I know if my customers can receive my e-mail?
One of the simplest ways to determine what formats your customers can receive is to ask them whether they want to receive HTML or text when they subscribe or opt-in to receive messages from you. Most e-mail distributors have 'sniffer' technology which can determine most e-mail clients and ISP's so they can decide whether to send a text or rich media message.

How do I build an e-mail database?
There are numerous ways to build an e-mail list or database - and most of them are the same ways you build a traditional off-line database. You can capture details at point-of-sale, trade shows, seminars, via warranty cards or customer service calls. Use your sales force, write to your customers and prospects, use billing inserts, advertise your website and capture details from visitors to your site. Sponsor e-mail newsletters and offer subscriptions, use banner ads on sites, or an affiliate programme. Any place you have interaction with your prospects or customers, you have an opportunity to capture their e-mail details. But remember to ask for their permission to send them messages and ensure you only send what they have opted in to receive.

What is rich media e-mail?
Rich media e-mail is generally any non text e-mail that involves lots of graphics and possibly animation, video and audio components. Not all e-mail software will accept or receive rich media formats, so you need to be sure your recipients can receive the format before sending it.

The most common formats are:
HTML
HTML with streaming animation
Streaming animation - usually Macromedia Flash based formats
HTML with streaming video and audio.

Apart from HTML, many formats are proprietary to the companies supplying them and you will often have to use the supplier's distribution system as well.

How often do I send e-mail messages?
The temptation is to contact people every time you have something to say about yourself. The key questions you should always ask yourself before sending e-mails should be "Is this relevant to my relationship with this customer or prospect?" and then, "Will it enhance the relationship in a positive way?"

If the answer to the first question is "no", then don't bother asking yourself the next question. If the answer to the first question is "yes", but the answer to the second question is "no", then have a second thought about whether to send the e-mail.

The most common way is to send your message at regular intervals such as daily, weekly, or monthly.

How do I track the e-mail distribution?
All e-mail distributors have tracking and reporting software that allows you to track and measure all types of actions within your e-mail message. Most of these services allow you to access the measurement functions via a password-protected website.

If the links within the e-mail are connected to your website, or landing page, or if the responses are sent directly to you, then you will be able to track some parts of your recipients actions. The best way to learn what you can track is to ask a couple of different e-mail distributors for samples of their reports.

What is viral marketing?
The term viral marketing was allegedly coined by Steven Jurvetson, one of the original investors in Hotmail. He used the term to describe how fast the Hotmail service grew with minimal input.

And now viral marketing is one of the most exciting yet misunderstood areas of e-mail marketing. It's not just a matter of sending a humorous animation or video and hoping it gets passed along. There is a lot planning to do regarding list and distribution management as well as design, to get it right the first time.

After all, what use is an e-mail that gets passed along, if you don't encourage some kind of response or involvement from the recipients? Just hoping you create "awareness' of your e-mail is no guarantee of any success.

You must ensure your e-mail is distributed to the right influencers first if you want it to get distributed at an exponentially growing rate.

The idea within the e-mail is the key to creating a viral effect. If your message is too difficult to understand, or e-mail is too hard to open then it will die a quick death. And don't forget, bad news travels as fast as good, so you want to be sure you and sending messages that will be supported positively, not negatively, by recipients.

One of the other reasons viral marketing works so well, is the fact it has worked extremely well off-line for decades, through member-get-member programmes. Like most of the on-line successes, the best are those that use existing ideas and just apply new technology to improve them.

What is permission marketing?
Permission marketing is not new. It's a term that's been around in business-to-business marketing for decades, but it has become a popular with the rise of e-mail marketing to describe the fact you need to get your recipient's permission before you send them any e-mail messages. The reason is that they have to invest the currencies of time and money when they open your e-mail. That is, they are paying an ISP fee for access to their e-mail and it takes time to open and read the e-mail. If they haven't requested your message, you can be deemed to be spamming them.

How do I get permission to send e-mail messages?
Very simple - you ask for it when you invite people to subscribe to your publications or opt-in to receive your e-mail messages. You shouldn't be building an e-mail database without first gaining permission from the people you put on your list. In many countries, the privacy laws prohibit you from creating a database without the express permission of the people who you place on the database.

Your local DMA will have information on the privacy laws in your country.

What are the privacy issues involved with e-mail?
There are many privacy issues and they vary by country, so you had best gain an understanding of your local laws. Your local DMA will have information on the privacy laws in your country.

How do I sell advertising space in my e-mail newsletters?
You can contact specialist e-zine advertising brokers or on-line media sales companies. You will need to have a profile of who receives your newsletter, how often it is published and future publishing schedule, content history and any other relevant information to help advertisers decide to advertise in your publication.

The first thing you should consider is whether your customers will benefit from advertisements in your e-mail messages?

Do I need special software to send e-mail messages?
If you are going to send your e-mail messages yourself you will need to get specialist software to handle bulk e-mail distribution - particularly if you want to do any form of personalisation or content management.

You will also need to invest in hardware and skilled personnel who understand the software and can service it. And depending upon the size of your company, you will have to negotiate with the IT department for priority to be given to your e-mail distribution.

There are many different packages and you will have to do the research carefully. One way is to use a search engine and search for e-mail software. Another starting point is www.bulkemailnetwork.com.