MaineBusiness.com

Brian, Cold e-mails are received even more coldly than cold calls. A better solution would be to set up a system to collect e-mail addresses from business contacts in your target market that you can send customized offers to. Start with the e-mails you already have on file. Send them something they would find useful - an e-mail newsletter, a customized offer, etc. Also, collect e-mail addresses at trade shows, networking events, etc. Be sure that you provide prospects with something valuable (like special information) in exchange for providing their e-mail address. Send out your e-mail newsletters/offers using an E-mail Service Provider (ESP) like ConstantContact. An ESP is very cheap, handles sending the e-mails, provides templates for your e-mail communication, and allows you to track the success of your e-mail promotion. Make sure your e-mail offer has a link that allows your existing e-mail list to forward to a colleague. That colleague will then have a higher likelihood of opting in to receive your e-mails. The rules of networking apply just as much to e-mail marketing as they do to offline marketing. As networking professional Bob Burg observes: "People do business with - and refer business to - people they know, like, and trust." In e-mail marketing, Burg's observations ring especially true. Two great sources to help you get started in effective e-mail marketing are: "E-mail Marketing for Dummies" and "Email Marketing: An Hour a Day." Good luck Brian!