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By: Lisa Evenson
Green Eggs and Spam
Direct Marketing in the Electronic Age
by Lisa Evenson
Seventy-eight percent of online shoppers have made a purchase after following an email link, and for every thousand emails sent, more than two purchases result with an average order size of $133.65, according to DoubleClick’s Q3 Email Trend Report, Nov. 2002.
That’s a hard statistic to beat considering electronic direct marketing is extremely inexpensive and easy. eMarketing has come a long way. Even large eCommerce firms such as Eddie Bauer and Abercrombie and Fitch are offering opt-in email.
So, why the bad rap? What’s the difference between spam and electronic direct marketing? Legitimate eMarketing campaigns are sent from a working email address and end with clear direction for opting-out. The preferred and most responsive method is through opt-in email subscription. However, I wouldn’t discourage a small amount of unsolicited advertising. After all, the viewer only needs to click the delete button. The 4 a.m. solicitation phone call and overstuffed mailbox full of unsolicited catalogs are far more intrusive.
Spam typically cloaks its return address and offers no opt-out option. This is clearly bad business practice.
Similar to traditional direct marketing methods, targeting is as big factor in eMarketing conversion rates. Know your audience. If you plan to spend a few hundred dollars on an email list, target the right audience to get the most bangs for your buck.
Traditional and electronic direct marketing both require strong format and design emphasis for successful campaign results. HTML formatted emails performed markedly better on average and generated clickthroughs of 11 percent, compared to only 6 percent for text (DoubleClick).
In addition to email format, consider sending communications from your main email account with a discount or news related subject line. 60 percent of respondents cited the from line, while 35 percent cited the subject line in motivating them to open an email. While men are more apt to open news related subject lines, women are attracted to discounts.
An astonishing 70 percent sited a discount, as the most compelling motivational factor for making an immediate purchase after clicking an email (DoubleClick).
Finally, consider the day you distribute your eMarketing campaign. Many viewers check their email on a regular basis and will receive it exactly after it’s sent. You’d like your recipient to be in an interested, comfortable mood. Monday, mail is typically piled up from the weekend, while mid to late-week is typically crammed with deadlines.
According to DoubleClick, Tuesday was the most common day of the week to send emails. Retailers/Catalogers and Consumer Products and Services are the only exception to this, with Retailers preferring Wednesday and Consumer Products & Services preferring Thursday. Mail volumes are light on weekends. Again, think about your audience and their computing patterns.
Although considered the evildoer of the Internet, direct eMarketing is extremely effective, efficient, and inexpensive. Follow a few best practices and you’ll see. You’ll really like it, Spam I Am.
Copyright 2002, Lisa Evenson, http://www.visualcontent.com, Burlington, Vermont. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
About the Author
Lisa Evenson earned her B.A. in English from California State University, San Bernardino. She’s taken additional MSA courses in finance, public relations and total quality management from Saint Michael’s College and business writing from Jones International University. Lisa is co-founder of Visual Content, www.visualcontent.com, offering custom web design to small to mid-sized businesses. Her career experience spans Investor Relations, Corporate Communications, and Marketing.
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