What Works Online?
Building Relationships.

Marketing is about cultivating relationships. The more relationships, the more possible income. With well-defined e-mail lists at our disposal, what's to stop us from reaching everyone with our marketing message?

Flash designer Erik Heerlein of Charleston, S.C. casts a wide net by sending up to 9,000 e-mails quarterly to art buyers inviting them to view new work on his Web site, erikheerlein.com. Analyzing his site's referrer logs, Erik has estimated a 9 percent click-through rate which makes him wonder "if these results are typical or if I need to rethink my promotional strategy." The effort has garnered a few inquiries and one promising lead.

Ilise Benun, author of Self-Promotion Online, thinks a targeted approach is more effective. In her view, an achievable goal is to invite two or three contacts a day to join your mailing list. "Contact people you want to work with." Does e-mail work as a sales tool? "E-mail marketing is hard to measure. It's just one piece of the puzzle. But used with other means, it all snowballs."

Graphic designer Lauri Baram of Clifton Park, N.Y., uses e-mail to keep a line of communication open to customers and potential clients. From time to time, she sends out tips and information she finds educational, inspirational or fun. "I send to clients, colleagues, anyone in a related business. But not a blind list - only people who know me," Baram says.

One prospect she had been in contact with for 14 months eventually gave her a call - and a job - after a printer's rep mentioned Baram's name in passing at a meeting. The prospect had just received an e-mail from the designer. Baram attributes the assignment partially to her ongoing e-mail communication, which has become one part of her marketing strategy.

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What Works Online?
Contents:

Introduction

Building Relationships.

Feeding the Beast

Linking Up

Skip Intro, Please!

Chapters Help Drive Traffic