Latest Trends in Bulk Email Marketing

Article from July, 23rd, 2003.

Let's start out with a few facts and numbers.

Jupiter Communications reports that email marketing will become a $7.3 billion business by 2005 Over 50% of consumers were communicating via email in 2002 according to Forrester Research. eMarketer reports that by year-end 2002, there were 111 million email users in US alone. Email volume has already eclipsed postal mail.

Here are some interesting key findings from extraVision 2002 marketing survey:

74% of respondents said that they were considering email marketing in the medium/long term future only.
27% were actually collecting and managing email addresses at the present time
26% admitted failing to collect any email addresses at all at present.

Over three quarters currently spend a large proportion of their marketing budgets on traditional methods such as direct mail and telesales, however half of these companies admitted that response levels were low and they found it difficult to establish ROI. The survey also answers the questions why so many companies shy away from using e-mail as a marketing tool:
36% cited a fear of being perceived as a spammer.
34% admitted that they simply did not have enough email addresses.

Obviously these two points are obviously critical. How can you set yourself apart from spammer, while building your e-mail base? Simple! Personalization, quality content and morphing your newsletter.

The first two points were talked a lot about. What does "newsletter morphing means?" Kathleen Goodwin, a well known e-mail strategist, uses this turn to explain what you can do with your newsletter to achieve better sales. Here is what she says your newsletter should be used for:

• Product launches,
• Virtual trade shows,
• Event promotion and invitation,
• "Just for you" offers,
• Sale cycle enhancement,
• Product tips and support,
• As a subscription enhancer.

Here is some reasoning behind all this. Most companies view newsletters primarily as a marketing or promotional tool. In tough economic times, a newsletter can provide product support, technical tips, and other information commonly requested via phone or online support. Also, if you want to increase newsletter readership or circulation of other printed vehicles, create a special bulletin that focuses exclusively on "tell a friend" benefits. Chances are, your readers know others who can benefit from your product or service. And certainly a good idea is to create a stepped newsletter approach to target each stage of sales cycle. For example, level one is for prospects who have inquired about your product, level two for those who had an initial conversation with a sales rep, level three for those who have had demonstrations, and so forth.

Relevant links:

    • Making your bulk email marketing campaign more effective
    • Software for collecting email addresses
    • Software for sending bulk mail

Next week: Tips for improving your sales
Prev week: Email Marketing Statistics and Measuring Tools

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