If anyone thinks that email marketing has gotten easier in the past few years, they couldn't be more wrong. For starters, the majority of people get a lot of SPAM in their e-mails every day, making them more aggressive with the DELETE button (even with legitimate offers and newsletters that they've elected to recieved). And of course CAN-SPAM compliance issues make the entire web-based e-mail marketing process "easier said than done" to say the least. That's why choosing an e-mail marketing service should be done with a bit research and a lot of care. Here are a few things to look for while you seek out your ideal service.

1. Easy Set-up and Management. Your ideal service will be easy to use, maintain and configure, with enough options to give you what you need from the very beginning. Be sure that there's adequate customer service and support available to you when you need it.

2. "Smart" Tracking Features. This is mandatory feature, enabling you to know instantly which autoresponders and messages are pulling in the most, as in direct marketing you really need to be able to track everything you possibly can. This way, you can easily figure out which offers and messages are working the best and eliminate the ones that aren't performing.

3. Database Access. The ability to access and manage your database of prospects is imperative to any successful e-mail marketing plan. You should be able to add subscribers, view removals, update messages, etc. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (when it's convenient for you, not your service provider).

4. The ability to "get it in". Messages from many e-mail marketing solutions will have a tough time getting through ISPs, let alone staying out of the "bulk" folder. The best email campaign on the net won't do anyone any good if it gets deleted before it can be read. Ensure that any prospective solution actually gets a high percentage of messages through to recipients.

Of course there are other features you'll certainly want, like CAN-SPAM compliance (to keep you and your autoresponder out of legal trouble), SPAM-Check (to analyze your message and tell you how to improve it so your message gets to the recipient's inbox, not their bulk folder), and the ability to attach files to your messages. While these special features might not seem critical to you now, one day in the future they may just be a necessity, so be sure that your e-mail service can expand to meet the needs of your growing business.