For e-commerce site owners, online marketing can be an intimidating part of running your online business. The phrase "e-mail marketing" itself is enough to send shivers down your spine — especially for small businesses that need to find in-house talent to handle the campaigns.

There are many reasons why you need to invest in e-mail marketing, one of which is the high return on investment, or ROI. According to the Direct Marketing Association, e-mail marketing yields, on average, $ 43.62 for every dollar spent, so it makes sense to invest.

Getting Started: Learn E-mail Marketing Lingo

Like any technology, when you dive into the thick of it, you’ll realize there is a whole new world of words and standards to learn. Learning e-mail marketing lingo is important — it will help you understand exactly what vendors are offering. To get you started, here are ten e-mail marketing terms you should know, courtesy of Webopedia.com.

• A/B split
• Software as a Service (SaaS)
•  Acquisition cost
• CAN-SPAM
• Conversion rate
• Direct digital marketing
• Event triggered e-mail
• List hygiene
• Open rate  
• Traffic sources metrics

Ecommerce-Guide Tip:  You can find hundreds of e-mail marketing terms in Webopedia’s Electronic Mail and Online Advertising categories.

Why Use an E-mail Marketing Service Provider?

With an e-mail program and a list of subscribers you can start marketing to your clients, do-it-yourself style. While this option won’t cost you a dime, it is not the best option for a business.

There are regulations and standards to follow, plus you have to design layouts and ensure compatibility between different e-mail clients. Not to mention the fact that managing subscribe and unsubscribe requests by hand is going to be time-consuming and leave room for error.

Instead, you should consider using an e-mail marketing service provider — or vendor.  The exact services each provider offers will differ, but for the most part the essentials will be the same.

In this buyers’ guide we’ll discuss some important features and options you should look for when choosing an e-mail service provider to manage your marketing campaigns.

Ecommerce-Guide Tips:  How to Start E-mail Marketing, The Top Five E-mail Mistakes to Avoid