Email campaign software is a specialized tool that has been created to cater to the needs of an email marketing campaign. This is synonymous with a bulk email marketing campaign but is rather different from the same because bulk email marketing also comprises the mailing methodology called spamming. Spamming is way of eliciting a sale on the internet by mailing an entire list of people whose addresses have not been acquired with their permission and who have not asked to be mailed. This is a crucial difference because email campaign marketing requires as a staple that there are user opt ins before a mailing campaign is initiated. Apart from the logical reasons for a user opt in, it is also a legal requirement in most countries for internet marketers from that geography to adhere to anti spam regulation.
The email marketing software is quite simple from an architectural standpoint. There is a database which contains the profiled list of customers to mail to and there is a mailing application which will send emails based on the instructions or actions taken. This may seem like a very simple operation, which requires very little user intervention and for a large part this is true. However, you could also end up making some expensive gaffes, as detailed below.
Not getting opt ins: Though it was mentioned that opt ins are fundamental to being a serious internet marketer, the temptation to use methods like buying CDs that contain user addresses and using spider software for harvesting is an ever present danger. These are things that you should consciously avoid, primarily, because they are illegal. Ensure that you always get an opt in through a registration form or some other legal method where the prospective mailer knows exactly what is transpiring.
Bad databases: This is not just a mistake but sometimes an inevitable part of campaign marketing using email campaign software. There are always some people on every mailing list who are not really buyers and technically wasters of time. While you must mail everyone that signs up. Ensure that you are spending your resources to target the people who are actual buyers.
Not customizing emails: There is no point to just loading a template and making one type of mailer to the whole of your database. In fact, doing something like this is just plain ridiculous. What you need to do is to customize mails for the select audiences that you are going to send emails to via the email campaign software.
Not following reports: Most email marketing software come with a tracking and reporting functionality. If you are not a numbers person and choose to ignore some of the subtle points about how many mails reach clients, how many open them, and how many act on them, you will not end up justifying the cost of campaign software. Therefore, start getting a more numbers bent of mind and learn how to modify your campaign according to the needs to the customers.