Marketing Profs

The New Year is here and you've probably made a few personal resolutions, but what about making some resolutions that will help you improve your email marketing?

Here's our guide to the six marketing resolutions that will make a difference to your business in 2008.

1. Don't steal (do not buy/rent/sell lists)

There's no other way to look at it—buying, renting, or selling lists is stealing other people's time, and that's just not nice.

In the email world it will also wreck your reputation with ISPs and subscribers, which will make it very difficult to get your emails delivered to the inbox. So, play nice and don't steal. Instead...

2. Work to make new friends (grow your opt-in lists)

It's much better to make new friends instead. Make sure you've got an active acquisition program to get new people to opt-in to your mailing lists. You can start as simply as placing a form on your Web site and then build more involved programs from there.

3. Re-acquaint yourself with old friends (re-activate inactive subscribers)

Sometimes, relationships fade—people stop responding to your emails and you lose their attention. Make a special effort to reconnect this year.

Identify those people who haven't opened or clicked on your emails in the last few months and send them an email to ask them to opt in. Remind them why you're in contact in the first place and give them a reason to pay attention.