Are you still trying to pin down a solid email marketing definition? You’re not alone. Many entrepreneurs are still struggling to identify what email marketing is and what it isn’t.

Here is a rather clinical definition from Wikipedia:

"Email marketing is the act of sending a commercial message, typically to a group of people, using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing"

Another way to narrow down the email marketing definition is to think of it any email you send to advertise, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build loyalty, trust, or boost brand awareness.

It’s that last part that you want to focus on. If your email marketing definition isn’t about building loyalty, trust, and brand awareness, you will want to rethink your approach.

A lot of people confuse “email marketing” with “spamming” or the sending of unsolicited commercial email. Every day, we see emails from folks that are nothing more than blind link bait, blatant advertising that we did not request, etc…

It is important to remember that any professional email marketing definition includes getting permission from the people receiving your email messages. There are many ways you can get permission from folks to send them your messages.

When someone has actually requested your information, your odds of experiencing email marketing success go way up.

Want loyal customers? Get their permission to send your information. Want your prospects to trust you enough to do business with you? Get their permission to send them information. Want to build your brand awareness in a positive way? Get permission before sending your commercial email messages.

Want to cause potential customers to dislike you, block you, and commit to never doing business with you? Start spamming them.

For tips on how to get permission and build a strong email marketing list, click here.

Email Marketing Tips