Sending Business Letters (Email)

[BobbySmith]

Hello,
I'm an employee at a web design firm and my director would like me to send some letters out to potential clients. This would be no problem, but I know business people word things differently and I'm just not good at that stuff. Can someone please help? I'm suppose to send emails to a company and convince them why they need a website. I know to stick to the facts..tell them what a better website can offer, why they need it and so on. But I don't know the first thing about starting a business letter, ending it, or any of that kinda stuff. can anyone help?

[jpolito830]

I would be glad to help you Bobby...What do you have so far, and what do you need to say?

[pete]

You're walking a very thin line doing this. You are sending SPAM. Sending Unsolicited Commercial Email trying to sell something (your services) to people who have not specifically ask for information from you is SPAMMING.

It's against the law, and in many cases, even if it were not it would cause more harm than good. Many people would never buy from someone who sent them such emails.

Many will probably not get through, with everyone having a filter or two on thier inboxes.

And you run the risk of someone actually complaining to you ISP, which could result in your account being closed.

[BobbySmith]

hey pete! aren't u on the other business forum also? But as far as what I need to do.

What I'm suppose to do is find websites that are poorly designed..as in not even ranking in search engines for there own company name, no keywords..have tables to layout there site and stuff like that. After I find a site, I'm to describe why there site needs to be redone and how it could benefit their business (in the email). And as far as what I have, right now I don't have anything at all. I don't know how to start / end the letter. I assume its better to stick to the straight facts when dealing with a business though right?

[Karri]

Might I make a suggestion?

What if you just worked on your networking strategy online? i.e. getting to know people at forums like this. Promoting your company in your sig line. Sharing helpful tips and advice with those who ask for it. Joining some social networking sites like LinkedIn or FaceBook (not my fave for biz networking but you never know). Maybe even give Twitter a try. Or start a blog.

Sending out emails like this isn't going to work I'm afraid. You could try a direct mail campaign but it has to be that: a campaign. You will have to conduct repeated mailings to generate what may not be a satisfactory response in the end anyway - there's an art to this too.

I've no idea what your marketing budget is/could be, but for now, try leveraging that which you are knowledgeable about and comfortable with. As a web designer you must use the web a fair bit, no?

Karri

[DeenaEsq]

Technically, it's not spam. The CAN-SPAM Act only covers emails to consumers, not B2B, but it's still not a good idea...

Deena Burgess
__________________________________________________ ___________

Any opinions are offered without knowledge of the specific law of your jurisdiction and with only the limited information provided in your post. No advice given here should be reasonably relied upon by you or any third party without consulting an attorney who is aware of all of the facts and law surrounding your situation. Any advice given here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship in any way.