The Email Marketing Module (‘EMM’) has all of the functionality required to run a mass email marketing campaign.  Tahoe Media Group (‘TMG’) has developed a complete platform for one of the most powerful marketing strategies in use on the internet today. The availability of a fully functional turnkey solution for mass email marketing allows businesses to harness the marketing power of the internet quickly, effectively, and with no risk.  The intuitive, easy to use interface saves time and eliminates the need for training.  Finally, the clear directions and the task-oriented interface allow marketing campaigns to be managed by any employee.

Tahoe Media Group’s Email Marketing Module includes:

• Double opt-in signup system provides legal compliance
• Contact groups allow you to accurately target your message
• Temporarily or permanently block sending to a contact
• Use documents, external pages, or the provided templates for content
• Import contacts from a variety of sources (Excel, Access, SQL, text, etc.)
• Simple, task-oriented interface with clear directions

In-Depth: Double opt-in

A double opt-in email signup process has emerged as the industry standard anti-spam strategy for mass email marketing.  In the double opt-in process, a person must confirm their intent to subscribe to a mailing list two separate times.  First, the user completes the signup form on a website (first opt-in).  Upon receiving the form, the Email Marketing Module sends an email containing a secret code to that person’s given email address.  The user must then present that secret code one time to confirm their desire to sign up (second opt-in).  For ease of use, this second opt-in is usually accomplished by clicking on a link embedded in the email.
Tahoe Media Group’s Email Marketing Module’s support for double opt-in signup provides compliance with industry standard anti-spam best practices and guidelines.  It is also compliant with state and federal regulations concerned with internet marketing.  As penalties for anti-spam violations are quite substantial, the legal protection double opt-in provides reduces legal risks from violations or litigious persons.  Additionally, many major internet hosting providers require documentation demonstrating the use of a double opt-in system as a condition for allowing large volumes of outbound email.

In-Depth: Content sources

Tahoe Media Group’s Email Marketing Module provides several options for selecting content to ensure that outbound marketing communications conform precisely to an overall marketing campaign strategy.  These capabilities eliminate the need to convert documents to a particular type and format.
Specifically, this allows instant selection of PDF or other document types (Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; Adobe Photoshop; CAD drawings; any type of document at all.)  These documents can either be included ‘inline’ in outbound emails, or automatically uploaded to a server and referenced in the email by a URL.  Whether presented inline or as a link, the marketer can add text content to appear with the document or link in the email.
Another exciting way to generate the content for a marketing email is to use one of the custom marketing email templates provided with the installation of the module.  These templates ensure precise control over layout, design, and branding.  These templates are created by the Tahoe Media Group’s award-winning designers and are unique to each client. The result is visually stunning marketing emails consistent with corporate branding and website design.
Finally, the Subject: and From: information can be set as desired each time a new marketing email is created.

In-Depth: Contact sources

The primary way in which contacts are added to the system is through a signup form on the client’s website.  By enabling people to add themselves to the mailing list, Tahoe Media Group’s mass email solution allows the creation of a list without placing demands on employee time. The power of the internet brings interested parties to a website, and the TMG Email Marketing Module makes it easy to capture visitor's email addresses for future marketing communications.
In addition to the manual signup form, there are several methods by which lists of contacts can be added to the system.  Contacts can be extracted from almost any type of file by automatically scanning for email addresses.  Lists from Microsoft Excel, Access, or other databases or spreadsheet applications can easily be incorporated into the master contact list.  Contacts can be divided among any number of groups.  Groups can easily be created, renamed, removed, or changed.

NOTE: When a contact is added to the system manually or from a contact list file, the double opt-in has not occurred.  To satisfy legal requirements and hosting provider guidelines, an email is sent to each added contact containing a link with secret code.  Since each person must have initially indicated their intent to receive marketing communications in order to be included in the old list (first opt-in, prior to the TMG system), and are sent an opt-in email (second opt-in), the double opt-in requirement is satisfied for contacts that did not enter the system through its signup form.