Email blasts - How to?

[HotHolly]

We use constant contact AND you can get blocked anyway. Its annoying. The block is usually removed. Once in a while we run into one with yahoo or hotmail. Not sure if its b/c its coming from my boudoir site or not. The wedding photography doesnt get blocked as often.

And, yes, you should ask for their email and have them opt in. Then you wont have someone say you were sending them spam and get your account pulled. If you use a provider they can also make sign up boxes for you. I use email for all of my businesses - to confirm appointment to marketing.

As for whether or not its helpful, that depends on your list, your email, and what you are marketing. Like every other marketing channel - your response rate is contingent on your message, call to action, and specs of the promo. It also depends on the size of your audience. If only 3 people see it, you might not have a great response. If only 3 people see it, they were past customers, and they are in the market again, well, you do the math.

Anyway, factor things like you normally would. And with constant contact and other providers, you can see if your emails were opened, bounced, or were marked as spam. That is something you cant really tell with other channels of marketing. You're never really sure of reach, but with email, you have more exact numbers. I have a coupon code for a FREE trial @ Constant Contact. If you want the link, PM me. Hope that helps a little bit.