Do you use email for marketing purposes?

[Will]

With email being much cheaper to send than snail mail, are you taking full advantage of it as a marketing tool?

[Alternativ]

I'm apprehensive to use email due to the illegality of spam; I'm unsure what constitutes new leads and unwanted trashmail...

[Will]

The simplest distinction is that spam is unsolicited commercial email, whilst legitimate commercial email is only received by those who have opted in to receiving it or are existing customers.

If someone signs up for your newsletter then they can't really call it spam when they receive it.

Fortunately, there are plenty of third party, specialist services who have systems in place for tracking double opt-ins (people receive a confirmation email and have to act upon it before being subscribed to a list) and can help to protect the legitimate email marketer.

Building and maintaining a mailing list is one of the most sure-fire ways of securing repeat business and we all know that it's easier to get business from an existing customer than to recruit a new one don't we? ;)

[Alternativ]

Yup yup, I'm building a mailing list right now. As to new customers, is it considered spam if I contact prospective clients asking them permission to send some company info?

[michael]

Its a bit of a catch 22 situation really i.e. i'd like to do more email marketing but know that it will take time to build an opt in list and so look at using an exernal agency with a view to running a campaign but then have to consider cost etc....