Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog

Blog writer, Rachel Wood wrote today's article about e-mail marketing.

Most law firms are now well aware of the benefits of electronic mail-marketing. They send newsletters, alerts and publications to their clients through email to keep them updated on the latest developments in the organization and the new services that are being offered. At the same time law firms are also realizing the challenges of email marketing and how they fail to create and manage an effective campaign.

Here are some solutions to such issues. Lawyers practicing individually, as well as law firms, can use these tips to ensure that their messages reach clients and other concerned organizations effectively:

• Have an Opt-in E-marketing Program and Check Spam Databases on a regular basis

Ensure that your e-marketing program is strictly opt-in. In other words, send your updates and marketing emails only to people who have willingly subscribed to your newsletters. This does seem obvious because legal firms are already aware of spam laws. But there are firms that receive complaints despite maintaining an ‘opt-in’ list and so it is important to update records periodically. (It’s the subscribers who forget that they gave consent.)

You may be able to deal with complaints forwarded to your firm but the ones that reach anti-spam groups may result in blocking of email traffic from your domain and this is a more serious issue. It is also crucial to check spam abuse databases regularly to see that your domain is not listed as an abuser. Get in touch with concerned organizations or individuals for removal of your firm’s name from the list if you spot it there.

• Offer options for formats and layouts 

Some spam blocking software programs installed on computers and hand-held devices block mails that have large images and elaborate visual elements. This implies that most of your HTML publications may be never reaching your subscribers. Further, certain email programs are set to show messages with ‘text only’ – in this case the design elements that are integral to the efficacy of your message will be deleted before the email reaches the recipient and this will make your message unreadable.

To overcome this challenge, you can give your subscribers a few format options to select from. As per the nature of content that you need to send, (text, images, multimedia files) emails may be in HTML or plain text versions. Subscribers with text-only email capabilities or strong anti-spam software can opt for plain text option to ensure that they receive the newsletters.

You may also send a PDF attachment or simply a link to updated newsletter on your official website. The more options you have, the better the chances of your newsletter being read.

• RSS Feeds

RSS is a method of sending news and publications in a way that helps them avoid service interruptions caused by aggressive spam filters or incompatible software configuration.

You can deliver newsletters and other content to subscribers who use an RSS reader program. This is how RSS is similar to electronic mail publications. The reason that a number of people prefer RSS is that it helps them to avoid unsolicited spam. With this, they get only the publications that they have explicitly subscribed to and can also delete a subscription at any time.  RSS is a well-known technique and will probably become the standard for e-newsletters soon.

Simply treat e-publishing as a service that you offer – not a plain marketing gimmick. When you give your subscribers a number of subscriptions options, it will turn out to be a better service.

About Rachel

Rachel Wood has been writing blogs and articles since long ago. She loves to write about immigration, personal injury litigation and human rights law. You can visit http://sinnottsolicitorsdublin.blogspot.in/ to know more about her art of writing.