You have a simple website where you offer helpful information about how to train pet birds to behave well or talk.  Through that site you promote one or more affiliate marketing programs.  Maybe you link to a CD that helps teach birds to talk and you make profits (or hope to) from the sales your link generates through affiliate marketing.  Or maybe you link to a pet shop that sells bird supplies and you get a small commission on each person that clicks through or registers on their website.

Whatever type of affiliate marketing you have in place, as long as you have visitors to your site looking for information, you can generate affiliate marketing leads by using your own mailing list. It’s easy to get started.

There are many different software programs available online to help you manage a mailing list, from expensive programs with all the bells and whistles to free online programs.  Choose one that fits your budget and your anticipated demand.  You won’t need to spend  a lot of money when you’re first starting out and if the operation expands dramatically you can always transfer your list to a higher-end provider later.

Once you have your mailing list software or service ready to go, it’s time to get affiliate marketing leads to go into it.  If your site is about birds, as mentioned above, then you’re obviously providing information about birds to draw visitors there to click on your affiliate links.  Simply ask people to register at your site, or to sign up for a mailing list or occasional mailings, with more of that great information.  You can’t just throw a register box in there and hope, you have to entice a person to want to sign up.  Maybe when they do, you’ll send them 10 tips on how to keep a bird from biting, or tips on the best way to make a quiet bird talk.  Find something of value to your specific customers that you can offer to get them to sign up, or opt-in, to your list.

Once people opt-in, you have a ready-made audience for your affiliate marketing links.  You no longer have to wait for them to visit your site.  Write an article about birds or bird care, put together some tips, even just tell a bird story, include links to the programs you want to promote, and deliver it straight to their inboxes. This is an excellent way to generate affiliate marketing leads of people who are receptive to the products you’re selling.

Try a simple email newsletter. The reason for this is a recent report by Nielson Norman Group, the average e-mail user only reviews and Internet newsletter for an average of 50 seconds.  Whereas, marketing campaigns boarded by e-mail only hold the reader’s attention for around four seconds. As you can see the newsletter format will hold your average readers attention 10 times more than the normal email. Which in turn brings us to the actual design of the newsletter or the e-mail.

It’s important to create a simple email marketing design that both captures the attention but also keeps the attention.  The simple truth is that most consumers and e-mail users only read a fraction of the e-mails they receive.  The rest of the e-mails that they actually open are merely scaned for content.  Depending upon the individual, different advertising dynamics are found appealing.  For this reason, you’re e-mail newsletter or advertisement should appeal to each of these demographics.

Aside from simplicity, an effective email marketing campaign will utilize ASIC principles of design.  By promoting contrasting colors to draw the eye and call readers to action over the amplification of certain statements.  You may also want to consider the very e-mail inboxes from standard for e-mailing sources. For example Hotmail and AOL both offer varying standards when it comes to opening e-mail.  It’s a good idea to use colors and fonts that will be visually appealing in any e-mail genre.

Most e-mail forums have moved on to the concept that design segment should not contain more than 200 to 300 pixels.  This means that your e-mail design should not be disproportionate.  Try to ensure that you’re marketing design has a smooth flow and is distributed evenly for the entirety of the content.

There have been countless studies on how most Internet users read e-mail and various documents throughout the web. Your  desire should be to gain reader attention and you can be sure to do this by using an e-mail marketing design.  The most effective design is constructed around a five second view of any page.  That means any information put on your page should be readable/scanable within a five second time constraint.

It’s a good idea to use your knowledge. When it comes to marketing and media, to ensure that your message takes up less real estate than standard e-mail advertisements.  If your e-mail add takes up too much space or comes across too spammy, most ISPs will automatically filter it out as junk.  The imagery you placed inside your e-mail should convey a rapid message, don’t make the mistake of using photos and logos for mere beautification.  To make the most of your marketing campaign ensure that your pictures says something besides “I’m pretty”.

E-mail marketing is a rapid response industry.  This means you must be certain to give your potential clients every opportunity to make contact with you.  You can be easily contacted via contact information placeed within your messages.  Be sure to include links to your site, your address information, your phone numbers, your fax number and any other information that can be used to contact you on a daily basis, in every e-mail that you send to potential clients.

Let’s face it! Without the proper email marketing design your email camapaign may well be predestined to fail. Knowledge is power! Use what you have learned here and from other resources well and your email campaign will stand a much better chance of adding profit to your bottom line.