MARKETERS TO SPEND $2.1 BILLION ON E-MAIL

By: Sid Ross More People Use E-mail Than Surf the Web


(Mediaweek.com) Just a few years ago, getting mail at the office was an event. During these
pre-Internet days, an office messenger would deliver letters and
packages directly to your cubicle. Nowadays, the frequency of
snail-mail deliveries have decreased, receiving mail is no longer
an event, and workers retrieve mail without ever leaving their
workspaces.

This is possible, of course, through e-mail, the killer app that,
according to a new study, most people check as soon as they log
on. According to the May 2001 E-Mail Marketing Report from e-
Marketer, a research company based in New York, more people log
on to use e-mail than to surf the Web.

Marketers are taking advantages of consumers' addiction to e-
mail: By the end of 2001, marketers are projected to spend more
than $2.1 billion on e-marketing efforts, a 110% increase over
2000. And who can blame them? According to the study, e-mail
marketing is significantly cheaper than traditional marketing
schemes, and recipients respond much faster to e-marketing
messages than to traditional messages. Of course this isn't
surprising: a swift click of a mouse is easier and more inviting
than shuffling through papers and stamping envelopes.

DATA POINTS:

Almost 88 million people in the United States use the Web, but
more than 96 million people use e-mail.

80% of e-mail marketing messages are responded to within two
days compared to a period of 6-8 weeks for traditional direct
marketing methods.

The clickthrough rate for opt-in e-mails: 3.2%; clickthrough
rate for banner ads: 0.3%

Average cost per message Telemarketing: $1.00-$3.00; Direct
mail: $.75-$2.00; Opt-in e-mail: $.20; Banner ad: $.05

Source: May 2001 e-Mail Marketing Report from e-Marketer/U.S.
figures



Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.