to know what’s in it for them. Where’s the payoff? Be sure to give them one with each
message and they’ll keep coming back for more. In a nutshell, your e-marketing efforts
and your entire marketing program should be all about the audience and not about you.
Promote your tour dates, but also give them some sound bytes, if not full songs. Have a
contest or giveaway a few t-shirts or other merchandise. Give your subscribers a reason
to open your messages each time they hit the inbox.
Getting Ready For Email Marketing
It’s not practical to send out an e-newsletter from your computer’s email application such
as Outlook or Mac Mail. The main reason is that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or
hosting company might close your account or suspend it if you send more than one hun-
dred emails at a time. Sending too many messages is a big red flag that you might be a
spammer. One hundred is a fairly typical cap that sets off an automatic server response by
the ISP or host. These companies need to protect themselves and their customers.
Another reason is that there’s no way to track your message and analyze the results.
Without some tracking method and analytics in place, you’re emailing in the dark, never
knowing if your messages are effective, or even being opened for that matter.
Fortunately, there are several email marketing services available to help you out. Con-
stant Contact, Vertical Response, MailChimp, AWeber and iContact are just a few. While
each has its specialty and focus, they all typically offer templates, manage the opt-in and
out process, manage subscriber lists, provide sign up box code for your site and provide a
wealth of email marketing information.