Over the past week, we have been preparing our first set of email marketing campaigns. Charlie, our lifecycle expert and I have been hashing out the do’s and don’ts of email campaigning, and I feel that everyone should be involved in the conversation.

1. The Difference Between a newsletter , an e-Zine and a Specifically geared email marketing campaign:
   1. Newsletters – Newsletter campaigning is a crucial part of your communications with your customers, but what is the best way to give them the vital information you need to display, without making them feel like they are getting bombarded with advertising. I personally feel strongly that education of your customer and marketing of your products and services should be kept relatively separate, and here is why. When someone signs up for your newsletter, they are not asking to be spammed, or marketed, they are asking for news and information. They expect to see some advertising, however for the most part they are only casually interested in what you have to say. If you bomb their email with spam letters, after they have filled out a newsletter signup, they will leave. Now this does not mean that you can’t add a banner to your newsletter, just that it should never look like your trying too hard to make money off your newsletter!
   2. E-Zine – E-Zine or online magazines are web pages on some sub domain of your website, they are simply not email marketing. However you can add the high points of your e-Zine to your newsletter and even point the bulk of your email traffic to that location.
   3. Email Marketing – Simply put, this is the bulk of emails you receive from everyone, Simple, to the point emails with a single, or perhaps even dual call to action layout. DO THIS then DO THAT to GET THIS = Direct funneling of your email traffic to the proper location on your site to complete a particular action that makes you money or gives your company something. In the past week our company has gotten the tracking and implementation sections of our new marketing campaign nailed down we have decided to partner with Blue Hornet as our email provider. They have great software, and are well geared for tracking and referral purposes. It is a very verbose admin that you should definitely try out before choosing where to shoot your campaigns from. Adam Ireton is our rep there, so ask for him if you ever want a demo, and tell ‘em iCan Sent you!

Our current members will be receiving the first email, a newsletter and coming soon teaser for the 2009 upgrades to HCCUA.ORG Then we are sending out a Referral Campaign and Trying to get more people to see that the Health Care Credit Union Association “Creates Extraordinary Lives” every Day.