This is my first post, and I did not find a thread about this yet....

I am just starting up my business from home. I have a website, blog and facebook page. I have an extensive personal email base that I want to send out an introduction email introducing my business, and basically give them the option to get on my official business customer list, or opt out of any future email correspondence. I plan to promote monthly specials via email, but I dont want to wait for people to 'sign up' on my website via a contact list generator.

Do you have any suggestions on how to word my email? What is ok to say (shameless promotion here!) and what I should stay away from? I want to say hi, I am starting a business, would you like to be on my customer list to receive promotion emails, and here is my current promotion for reading this email and placing an order. I also want to note I will throw in an extra promotion if they forward my email to their friends and have them sign up for my customer list.

Any suggestions are welcome, I am terrible at writing!

TIA!

If I were you I would avoid spamming your personal email list and stick to an announcement on Facebook (which all your personal contacts should see anyway).

You may also want to reconsider setting up an email mailing list, I've found that a Twitter feed (or just posting on FB) works better since you can quickly send any number of ad-hoc communications to customers without having to wait for the next monthly email.

I agree with Jason. There is a reason why sites invite you to join a mailing list. This insures that your emails are wanted by the recipient. This setup also allows them to unsubscribe. If someone solicits me without my permission, I usually unsubscribe and am irritated that I had to go to the trouble. Think about your own habits.

Something very profound I learned in a college marketing class many years ago: Copy the big companies. They have spent millions on understanding the market. Your gut feeling has no merit compared to the $$$ spent by major companies. They ask permission... then you should ask also.