Email marketing is the foolproof way to build a business. Just listen to companies like ConstantContact that market directly to business owners touting the simplicity and beauty of do-it-yourself email marketing.

I disagree. I believe email marketing can be loaded with dangers that can harm the reputation of otherwise solid brands. So before you take on email marketing as a do-it-yourself activity, here’s just a few questions you need to answer:

What do you hope to accomplish via email marketing?

If your goal is to find new customers, email marketing is probably the last thing you should consider. Email marketing is about creating customer loyalty and goodwill among your current customer base. There are far better options for lead generation.

Are you certain that your email list is in compliance with opt-in best practices and the CAN-SPAM act?

There are no shortcuts to building an opt-in email list. Plenty of seemingly reputable vendors will sell you an email list. My advice is to stay far away! In fact, most email marketing services like ConstantContact and Vertical Response will not let you to use purchased lists. If you are planning on sending messages to a purchased list from your own server, you will probably wind up being blacklisted. That is an ugly mess you can’t afford.

How will you represent your brand as unique and superior?

Successful business owners invest a lot in their unique brands. So how will you address the design and layout of your email messages so that it conveys your brand correctly? Every major email marketing service provides dozens of nifty templates. But doesn’t the brand that you’ve worked so hard to build deserve something better than a template designed by someone who’s never even heard of your brand? I bet it does.

How will you reach different segments of your list with uniquely appealing messages?

Unless you plan on speaking to your email audience in the broadest terms, chances are a single message will not appeal to your entire list. Have a plan for segmenting your list so that you can reach different types of customers with messages that directly appeal to them.

How will you track the success of your program, and how will you use tracking to improve it?

It’s very easy to track an email campaign. But without an accurate frame of reference, the numbers contained in these reports are meaningless. The difference between a good open-rate and a great open-rate could mean the difference between a profitable campaign and a time-waster.

My point here is this: Email marketing services have made it easy to physically execute an email marketing campaign. Unfortunately for the do-it-yourself business owner, great email marketing is not so easy. It requires specialized skills and experience.

I’ve been on the receiving end of messages form some otherwise great businesses, but because they bought into the DIY email hype, their campaigns actually harmed their brand and reputation.

That’s my opinion. What’s yours? Have you ever received an email message that made you wonder if it had been prepared by a first grader? Or are you a business owner who can shred my contention? Either way, let me know.