Yes, I know it’s old! And yes, I know the Internet is clogged with spam! But the recession is giving email marketing new life! Why the new life? The answer is simple. Businesses are turning to cost-effective proven programs that get results. Email marketing fits this bill perfectly.

First, email is one of the most cost-effective direct marketing methods. Email campaigns can be fully implemented at a fraction of the cost of direct mail campaigns. Unlike direct mail campaigns every element of an email campaign is trackable including open rate, click through rate (to a landing page, if one is used in the campaign), and recipients’ response rate. This allows the return on investment (ROI) to be easily calculated. Lastly, it’s fast. Email campaigns can be quickly developed, precisely launched (including targeting and timing), and 80% of the recipients will respond (i.e. either take action or ignore it) within 48 hours.

Retailers in particular are embracing email marketing along with their shift in focus to customer retention in the current recession-era market. Longer-term marketing programs are being shelved in favor of low hanging fruit. The fact is email is low hanging fruit. According to a Shop.org study, 64% of the retailers increasing their advertising spending are putting more dollars into email marketing. That same study indicated that 96% of those retailers decreasing their advertising spending are still maintaining their email advertising budgets.

We have done countless email campaigns at TMA E-Marketing, for start-ups to enterprise companies. We were there when email was the hottest Internet marketing arrow in the quiver. We saw it decline as spam clogged email in-boxes and as search engine marketing became king. Now, it’s making a comeback and with good reason. When done properly, it is capable of yielding amazing results. There’s the catch. What does it mean to do it properly? Here are the three top rules we consider important:

1. The list is the most critical element. The only list that will work is a targeted opt-in list. If it’s not targeted, the results will be hit and miss. If it’s not opt-in, it will not comply with the Can-Spam law. The best list is a company’s in-house opt-in email list. This is a list where the company’s clients and prospects have agreed to accept email messages from them. We are generally able to routinely get 25-50% open rates using in-house opt-in lists.
2. The second critical element is the offer. The offer needs to be compelling. Finding the right compelling offer is far from easy and generally requires careful testing of different offers.
3. Everything else is tied for third! This includes email design, copy, landing page, etc. In short, if you don’t get the first two elements right (i.e. the list and a compelling offer), nothing you do from that point on will matter.

Obviously, tracking every element of the email campaign is essential. With careful tracking you will be able to segment the list, test different offers, and test other elements of the campaign. Ultimately, tracking will enable a return on investment to be calculated. Doing an email campaign without tracking is equivalent to driving with a blindfold. The results are likely to be disastrous.

One last point that is often overlooked is email’s branding power. Email is generally viewed as a direct response marketing tool. However, email provides an opportunity for a company to raise brand awareness and to maintain its brand. Even those recipients that don’t take action are still exposed to the company’s brand and messaging.

The recession has required companies to pinch pennies and focus on what works. Guess what? They are rediscovering that email is cost-effective and works!