View our new email marketing product, SageList for a comprehensive list of what we can do for your email marketing needs.

People unfamiliar with effective and affordable e-mail marketing often wonder what all the fuss is about. Didn’t spam kill email as a marketing vehicle? And if spam didn’t kill it, what about blogs, Twitter and all the other clever ways we can communicate online? Isn’t e-mail marketing outmoded?

Those wondering about the benefits of affordable e-mail marketing in today’s ever-changing online and marketing environment will find the answers below.

E-Mail Marketing works

Businesses engage in effective e-mail marketing because it works. And works well. Here are the numbers:

• According to research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association, small business e-mail marketing generated an ROI of $43.62 for every dollar spent on it in 2009. The expected figure for 2010 is $42.08. As such, it outperforms all the other direct marketing channels examined, such as print catalogs.
• The Ad Effectiveness Survey commissioned by Forbes Media in Feb/March 2009 revealed that email and e-newsletter marketing are considered the second-most effective tool for generating conversions, just behind SEO

Why E-Mail Marketing works

E-mail marketing works for a variety of reasons:

• It allows targeting
• It is data driven
• It drives direct sales
• It builds relationships, loyalty and trust
• It supports sales through other channels
• And best of all, it is affordable

Modern effective e-mail marketing services and solutions support database integration, segmentation and various other tricks and techniques for improving the targeting of outgoing messages. Advanced methods generate on-the-fly emails customized down to an individual recipient basis.

And every e-mail marketing campaign you send out generates a heap of actionable data you can use to refine your approach and messages.

Email promotions and offers generate immediate action: sales, downloads, inquiries, registrations, etc. Informative email newsletters and other emails send people to offline stores and events, prepare the way for catalogs, build awareness, contribute to branding, strengthen relationships, encourage trust and cement loyalty. And best of all? E-mail marketing is affordable.

Bottom line? Affordable small business e-mail marketing is an important part of the entire picture when it comes to reaching your customers. Using it with a combination of a web page, social media and in-store promotions is a winner, no matter how you look at it.

[hr]