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Any business using email as part of its marketing strategy must consider the laws regulating commercial email, or face tough penalties. This guide will provide any business with ten things to know before sending another commercial email.

What emails are subject to the law?
All email with a commercial message, including business to business emails, are subject to the laws, and must follow all requirements.

Never use a false or misleading header

The header refers to the “To”, “From”, and “Reply-To” fields on an email. These fields must accurately identify the person or business the email is coming from.

Use Descriptive, Not Deceptive Subject Lines

Subject lines are very important when it comes to email marketing. However, using a misleading subject line is against the law.

If A Message Contains An Advertisement, Identify It As Such

All advertising material must be disclosed as such, and must be done so in a clear and conspicuous way. There are several ways to do this, but it cannot be avoided.

Include Your Physical Address

Commercial messages must include a valid physical address such as a street address or a PO Box.

Give Recipients A Way To Opt-Out Of Receiving Emails

Businesses must provide a simple way for email recipients to stop receiving their emails. There must be clear instructions on how to do this included in the email. Opt-outs must be internet based, and cannot require email recipients to send more than one email or go to more than one web page. Many companies have missed opt out emails because their spam filters were actually blocking them. It goes without saying, check your junk email box to make sure opt out emails aren\’t being ignored.

Promptly Process Opt-Out Requests

Opt-out requests must be honored for at least 30 days after a commercial message is sent, and must be honored within ten days.

Monitor Your Vendors

If a business uses a vendor to send commercial emails on its behalf, it is up to the business to make sure they are following the law as well.

A Transactional Email Must Still Follow Some Rules

Even if an email is transactional instead of commercial it is exempt from most rules, but still must contain proper routing information. A transactional email can pertain to a transaction that has already taken place, give information about a product or service that has already been purchased, or give information about a change in terms.

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E-mail is not as popular as it once was. People often contact each other through Facebook rather than use their e-mail, but there is still need for an e-mail, especially for a more private form of communication. The user should know that there is no expectation of privacy with e-mail and administrators can read the e-mails. They also have a duty to do so. The user can keep some privacy by downloading e-mails from the server. To do this, he neds an e-mail client software. There are many different pieces of client software, some are bundled with different operating systems.

1. Mozilla Thunderbird. Mozilla Thunderbird offers the power of the browser in an e-mail client. Users can select multiple e-mail accounts and use newsgroups on their own. They can get it from their own server or from anothr company.
2. Icedove. Icedove is Mozilla Thunderbid, at least it started out that way. Icedove is available to users o Debian based Linux systems. Windows versions may be available if a user wants to port the code. The functionality is the same.
3. Outlook Express. This is the scaled down version of Outlook that comes bundled with Windows. It makes the list of top 10 because of its popularity, but the user knows that the program has many security holes that make it vulnerable. Office\’s Outlook client replaces it if it is installed.
4. Evolution. Many Linux distributions come with Evolution as the default e-mail client. Ubuntu and Debian have started to move away from packing it with their distribution. Ubuntu has switched to Thunderbird while Debian has moved to Icedove.
5. Balsa. Balsa is another Linux e-mail client. It works with the Gnome desktop.
6. Opera. Opera is best known for its browser, but it also makes an e-mail client tat works across many different operating systems. It can even be used from inside the browser.
7. Squirrel Mail. Squirrel Mail is an e-mail client that works as a server client. It is distributed under the Gnu public license. It lets users access the item from the mail.
8. Horde. Horde is a program that is similar to Squirrel Mail. It offers a similar interface, but it is a little bit harder to use. Personal preferences will determine what a person uses.
9. Mail. Mail is the program that comes with the default operating system. There are even versions used on the iOS used by the iPohne and the iPad

The list mentioned the top 10 e-mail clients and there are others, but these are the most popular ones and even some obscure ones used.

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By now everyone has heard of online marketing but exactly what is it? Its no secret that online marketing has produced phenomenal results for people, companies and corporations. Many forms of online marketing exist for nearly every service or product available. Listing sites, crafting sites, company websites, blogger sites, e-mail marketing, search engines, display advertising and many other means of online marketing all offer a company (or their clients) or an individuals products or services.

Coupon and freebie sites are also a great online marketing strategy. Many start-up or small companies will provide a sample and/or coupons to get their product in the general public\’s hands in the hope that it will lead to future purchases of their product.

Larger companies have found that using their company website and a listing site have resulted in greater profits being generated on listing sites when listing a product under the bid category. If you live close enough to the company listing the product it may be worthwhile to visit their showroom or warehouse before making an online purchase. This advice applies to businesses as well as individuals seeking to purchase an item they saw listed online.

If you are looking to promote your product or service online there are many ways to do it. First consider your personal or companies advertising budget. Some online marketing listing websites will charge upfront while other websites will charge a percentage or a flat fee only if the listed item sells. Next decide if geo-targeting (more localized), niche marketing or one on one marketing is your best strategy to reaching the right type of people to purchase your service or product. If you will be doing your own online marketing make sure to pick a reputable website that attracts an audience that will fit your product or service. If you decide to to pay an advertising company make sure to have the price with all included details including how many days your product will be listed in writing.

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With so many different ways to communicate over the Internet, family and friends can stay in touch no matter how far apart they may be. These methods are simple and efficient, and anyone can use them.

Email

Sending an email over the Internet is the modern version of sending a first class letter through the post office. It is easy and fast. Not only can users send digital messages, but also pictures and files. Putting contacts in the online address book allows the user to send emails to one person or multiple people at once. Spam blocking features prevent junk mail from piling up in the inbox. Also, the best feature is the ability to link an email account to a mobile phone. The user can then check and send messages from anywhere.
Many providers, such as Yahoo! Mail, Windows\’ Hotmail, Google\’s Gmail and AOL\’s AIM offer free accounts by which to send electronic mail.

Social-Networking Sites

Increasing in popularity very quickly, are social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace. These websites allow you to connect with people in a community setting. The user can create groups of friends who share common interests or go to the same school or events. Real-time web allows people to let others on their contact list know where they are and what they are doing at that current moment.
There are also social-networking sites with specific niches. Examples of these are CafeMom, which is a site for mothers to connect and share experiences and support with one another, or DeviantART, where artists get together to swap work and inspiration.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

With VoIP services, the user can make phone calls over the Internet to anywhere in the world. All that is needed is a fast Internet connection and VoIP provider such as Skype or Google Talk. Go to the providers website and download the free application and register. As long as the person receiving the call has the same program running, the user can talk with them at no cost. If both users possess webcams, then they can chat face to face. This is a popular method of communications, especially for users with loved ones overseas.

Blogging

Instead of sending long emails to multiple people, more and more Internet users are starting to blog, or web log. A blog is an online diary or journal where the user can write and post pictures and video clips. Experience, travel, knowledge and whatever else the user deems important can be the topic of their blog. There are many free services that host blogs including WordPress, Blogger, Livejournal and Tumblr. They offer unlimited bandwidth, unique themes and plenty of space for creativity. Family and friends can read and then comment on the blog if desired.

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Today’s email was technically never invented; it gradually developed from very simple beginnings along side with the creation of the Internet. In computer language, email is shortened from the worlds ‘electronic mail’. It is an updated method of transmitting text files, data, photos, audio, and video between computers through the internet. Through the last 40 years the form of communication we now call email has grown from the domain of computer scientists to one most common way to personally and professionally keep in touch. The email phenomenon was not popular until 1990 and today is a major form of communication.

Early email was an advancement in what we know as file directories, it put messages into another user’s directory so that he or she would be able to see it when logging into the computer. It was considered to be very simple, just as simple as leaving a note on someone else’s desk. The first two email systems of this type were MAILBOX and SNDMSG.

A computer engineer Ray Tomilson is the one who invented the internet-based email in 1971. He worked for Bolt Beranek and Newman, who was hired by the US defense department to create the first Internet in 1968. Tomlinson experimented with the program he invented called SNDMSG, the program used by programmers and researchers to leave messages for one another (local electronic messaging). With this program, messages could only be left on the computer currently using for others who were also using that computer to read. Tomilson used a protocol of file transferring he was working with called CYPNET to structure the SNDMSG program to be able to send messages electronically to other computers with the ARPANET network.

The @ symbol was chosen by Tomlinson to show which user was technically ‘at’ what computer. This @ symbol was selected to be placed between the user’s login name and his or her host computer name. Today, over a billion email users type the @ sign each day. Tomlinson said back then he had no idea that the impact of the @ simple would be so great.

The very first email was delivered between two computers actually sitting right next to one another. The connection among the two computers used as the ARPANET and the first message sent was ‘QWERTYUIOP” (the top line of the keyboard). Ray Tomlinson is known for saying he created electronic mail partly because thought it was great idea. No one at that time was even seeking this type of mail.

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Email or electronic mail has changed the way we send and receive mail worldwide. Once a message has been composed on the screen, it can be sent with the click of a button. This allows important news and information to be shared instantaneously with others. Not only can messages be sent, but also attachments such as video, pictures and files can be attached to the message as well.

When an email message is sent from the sender’s computer, it is first received by the sender’s server. Once the server receives the message, it is sent to the receiver’s server. The receiver may retrieve the message and file attachments from the server when they log into their web based email program or email website. If the sender uses an email program such as Microsoft Outlook to send their message, the received message may be downloaded from the server. If the sender uses an email website such as Yahoo, the message may not be permanately removed from the receiver’s or sender’s server when downloaded.

There are also other features that are offered through email such as forwarding mail, catch-all accounts and filters. These options make it easier for the user to receive their mail and attachments. When mail is forwarded, all of the messages that are received are collected temporarily on a virtual server and then sent to a specified forwarder email address. Catch-all accounts forward mail received on any website domain to a specific email address; this makes receiving mail from multiple addresses easier. Finally a filter such as a junk filter will analyze incoming mail and decline the mail if it is found to be spam.

All of the many features behind the scenes of email allow users to send and receive messages and attachments in a variation of ways that are ideal for the user in multiple situations.

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Research has recently shown that a business’s Facebook page is a great asset in building a company’s email newsletter list. There are easy steps to take advantage of this for the business.

Create a Business Facebook Page

The first step is to set up a business Facebook page. The posts on this page should help to create the business’s authority in its niche. After all, customers want to do a business that is an expert in their field. Make sure that the posts are meaningful to the customers. Post on a regular basis. The best rate is every day or every other day. At an absolute minimum post once a week. Link each post to your company’s email newsletter.

Listen to Your Customers on Facebook

The second step is to read what others are saying about the product. Notice what problems they are having with the product. Notice unique ways that they are using the product. Notice what other areas the company’s customers are interested in.

Create a Compelling Email Newsletter

The third step is to create a compelling email newsletter. Use the notes from Facebook to connect with the readers. Discuss the things that they are interested in.

Points to Remember

Make sure that the company’s email has a compelling title that is between 45 and 60 characters long. Since many customers are using their mobile phones it is not only important that the title be compelling, but that the email newsletter is structured so that it can be read on a mobile device.

Eliminate the Need to Scroll

Put all vital information about the fold. Minimize the need to scroll. Scrolling on a mobile device is very hard for some customers. Eliminate this frustration.

Images

Make sure that if you use an image that it really is necessary to convey your message. Provide img alt tags as many readers may have the images blocked to decrease bandwidth usage and increase load speed.

Forwarding

Make it easy for your reader’s to send the message on to their friends. 40% of all email newsletters are shared with others.