Email Marketing Tactics #14: Use Appropriate Technology

There are a lot of options for sending email marketing campaigns.  Some are good, some are bad, and some are ugly.  Whatever solution you decide on should be specific to email marketing.  Using a patchwork of technologies to run an email marketing campaign wastes time, usually causes technical problems, and adds risk to violating legal guidelines.  Use a technology that is designed for email marketing and suitable for streamlining the process.

The most common inappropriate technology is using an internal database with form or bulk email capabilities.  Another common error is using an email program, like Outlook, to do bulk sends from a contact list. 

If you are blasting emails out from a database or contact list but there are no settings specifically for email marketing, then there is a risk involved.  Typically these scenarios involve a lot of manual manipulation.  The risk is that unsubscribes slip through the cracks or CAN-SPAM requirements are forgotten.  Missing even one of these instances can result in complaints or legal issues.  Furthermore there is no tracking of data to gauge whether the technology is delivering the emails and whether it is effective or not.

Email marketing has its challenges; don’t create more by using inappropriate technology.   Your email marketing technology should at minimum provide:

• Some kind of list management
• Send features that regulate CAN- SPAM laws
• Reporting features

These three items are critical.  If your email marketing technology provides segmentation further drill downs, or HTML features, it’s a bonus.  If your email marketing technology lacks any of these, it’s in inappropriate technology and a new system needs to be implemented.