More and more companies are investing in email marketing than ever before, because:

• it is still a relatively new delivery mechanism
• it also remains the most measurable and 
• it is the most cost effective means of marketing directly to customers and prospects.

Even if the email marketing industry starts to maturing in terms of numbers of players, the market will continue to experience double digit growth in both volume and value terms, and more service innovations are in development. Marketers find it easy to justify any additional investment in email marketing because of the exact nature of its reporting capability. Email marketing is becoming an integral part of the broader marketing mix.

There is room for trial, error and improvement and no barriers to entry for small businesses. Sending 1,000 emails to a database for £20 is extremely cost effective especially compared to every other marketing format. In addition the sender knows exactly what has happened to each of those mails, as is the case with Suite26.

Without doubt the UK economy is slowing but email marketing is among the safe havens in companies because it is easy to calculate the end of effect of any expenditure or ROI. Applications like Suite26 are:

• measurable
• deliver meaningful reports on who you have mailed 
• show what specific action they took, down to whether or they purchased your products or services. 

It is a proven and effective method of driving demand and sales for a range of different products and services and judging by the feedback received for the recent launch of Suite26, Global Gold directors remain convinced that in 2009 email marketing will continue to deliver double-digit growth in a slowing UK economic climate because applications like Suite26 continue to offer exceptional value for money for small businesses in particular.

Global Gold has launched Suite26 with a view to remaining a key player in the Email Marketing sector. With over 9 years experience of providing email marketing and web hosting solutions to business, the company feels it has the credentials to continue delivering excellence in spite of the economic forecasts.

“We coined the phrase “Build, Track and Cement” back in the Nineties and variations of this are still being used today by our competitors. The key is to build what seem to be one-to-one relationships, track how your customers respond to you and cement the relationships you build. That way you build profitable relationships with people. 

Our vision, technical know-how and hands-on experience speak for themselves and the launch of Suite26, one of the most innovative, easy-to-use Email Marketing applications for business is testimony to that”, said Debra Hastings-Henry, Director at Global Gold Network, at a recent online marketing conference.

Suite26 is the latest addition to the Global Gold Email Marketing product portfolio. This new application integrates with a CRM system and Survey functionality and launches to mainstream UK businesses on September 1st 2008. Initially Global Gold’s directors thought it was simply more powerful and efficient than its predecessor, but quickly learned from its own customer base that Suite26 has many other attributes to shout about, including, being: - easy-to-use - intuitive - low-cost - web-based - extremely flexible. Suite26 is ideal for start-up businesses and established ones alike because you can send personalised messages with variable content in HTML and/or text format on a simple Pay-As-You-Go basis, No ongoing costs and No set-up fees! At a time when companies are looking to make significant economies, Suite26 stands head and shoulders above the rest. There are no tie-in clauses, no hidden costs or heavy upfront financial commitment, this Email Marketing application is ideal for SME businesses operating in today’s economic climate. Last, but definitely not least, Suite26 comes with a sleek, modern dashboard that gives you up-to-the minute information on campaigns, latest campaign versions, send information, detailed reports, and so on, delivering exactly what any Marketing Doctor would prescribe. Out now at: http://www.26.co.uk or call 0845 313 0902 today and get your no commitment FREE TRIAL set up now. Prices start from £20 per send.

As part of Global Gold’s continual growth in the highly competitive Web Hosting sector, this Essex based web hosting and domains operator has recently acquired Tag4.com for an undisclosed sum. 

The acquisition of Tag4 is a clear statement of Global Gold’s intention to strengthen its web hosting capabilities. Since its inception the customer has placed great emphasis on the delivery of excellent customer service which is why it boasts an exceptional retention rate for its customers. 

Global Gold offers their clients highly reliable and sophisticated hosting solutions and the newly acquired customer base from Tag4 will have complete access to all of Global Gold’s services including its renowned:

-  TechSupport team

-  Linux and Windows-based Hosting

-  Virtual Private Servers (VPS) 

-  Citrix and Zen based Virtual Machines

In addition to this it also offers email services such as Barracuda Anti Spam and Email Marketing applications. 

The company continues to look for other interesting companies to work with.

It’s critical to let your readers know exactly what they can expect from you before they agree to opt in to your newsletter or email marketing program. You must meet and/or exceed those expectations throughout your relationship with them. By doing this, you effectively engage your readers who will look forward to your messages and act on them.

If you fail to meet expectations at crucial points during the relationship, your subscribers may become inactive/non readers or opt-out altogether.  The following are some key touch points to prevent them becoming inactive:

• Be clear what they are getting before and during opt-in. 
• Advise them of your privacy policy. 
• Ensure they get a confirmation email/thank-you page. 
• Send a “Welcome” communication 
• Standardise your email design/email format
• Advise them of your unsubscribe procedure.

Key Principles in Managing Expectations
The following basic principles apply in managing reader relationship: 

• Be transparent. Tell readers exactly what will happen when, what they have to do to meet their own objectives (subscribing, changing preferences, unsubscribing), what you will do with their data and what you will not do.
• Be clear, concise and simple.  Copy, instructions and policies should be written in plain language, and every action should be intuitive and easy. Give your brand or company a prominent place in the inbox so readers recognize it immediately.
• Give options and alternatives. Your readers are different. They expect you to provide them content and value in ways that meet their individual needs. Offer multiple communication channels, differentiate between them and learn to talk to them about what interests them and in their preferred format e.g. HTML, text or mobile-friendly. Then, stick to their choices.
• Under-promise, over-deliver. If you promote “Special Email-Only Offers,” be sure to deliver on that promise. 
• Only request what you need. Don’t ask for data that you don’t plan to use or doesn’t add value to you building a relationship with them.
• Monitor and solicit feedback. You can’t please everyone no matter how good your email marketing. Get feedback and find out why the inactive are not responding early in the email relationship. Track and monitor opt-in form conversion rates, unsubscribe rates and other areas to any uncover potential problems.