Email marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using electronic mail email.

In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send ads, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and any email communication that is meant to build loyalty, trust or brand awareness. Email marketing can be done to either cold lists or current customer database. Broadly, the term is usually used to refer to:

sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business, sending email messages with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately, adding advertisements to email messages sent by other companies to their customers

Researchers estimate that United States firms alone spent US $1.51 billion on email marketing in 2011 and will grow to $2.468 billion by 2016[1].
Contents
[hide]

1 Types of email marketing

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1.1 Email newsletters 1.2 Transactional emails 1.3 Direct emails

2 Comparison to traditional mail

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2.1 Advantages 2.2 Disadvantages

3 Opt-in email advertising 4 Legal requirements 5 See also 6 References

[edit]Types

of email marketing

Email marketing can be carried out through different types of emails; [edit]Email

newsletters

Email Newsletters are direct emails sent out on a regular basis to a list of subscribers, customers. The primary purpose of an email newsletter is to build upon the relationship of the company with their customers/subscribers. [edit]Transactional

emails

Transactional emails are usually triggered based on a customers action with a company. Triggered transactional messages include dropped basket messages, purchase or order confirmation emails and email receipts. The primary purpose of a transactional email is to convey information regarding the action that triggered it. But, due to its high open rates (51.3% compared to 36.6% for email newsletters [2]), transactional emails are a golden opportunity to engage customers; to introduce or extend the email relationship with customers or subscribers, to anticipate and answer questions or to cross-sell or up-sell products or services[3]. Many email newsletter software vendors offer transactional email support, which gives companies the ability to include promotional messages within the body of transactional emails. There are also software vendors that offer specialized transactional email marketing services, which include providing targeted and personalized transactional email messages and running specific marketing campaigns (such as customer referral programs).

[edit]Direct

emails

Direct email involves sending an email solely to communicate a promotional message (for example, an announcement of a special offer or a catalog of products). Companies usually collect a list of customer or prospect email addresses to send direct promotional messages to, or they can also rent a list of email addresses from service companies. [edit]Comparison

to traditional mail

There are both advantages and disadvantages to using email marketing in comparison to traditional advertising mail. [edit]Advantages Email marketing (on the Internet) is popular with companies for several reasons:

An exact return on investment can be tracked ("track to basket") and has proven to be high when done properly. Email marketing is often reported as second only to search marketing as the most effective online marketing tactic.[4] Advertisers can reach substantial numbers of email subscribers who have opted in (i.e., consented) to receive email communications on subjects of interest to them. Almost half of American Internet users check or send email on a typical day[5], with email blasts that are delivered between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. outperforming those sent at other times in open and click rates [6]. Email is popular with digital marketers, rising an estimated 15% in 2009 to 292m in the UK. [7]

[edit]Disadvantages A report issued by the email services company Return Path, as of mid-2008 email deliverability is still an issue for legitimate marketers. According to the report, legitimate email servers averaged a delivery rate of 56%; twenty percent of the messages were rejected, and eight percent were filtered. [8] Companies considering the use of an email marketing program must make sure that their program does not violate spam laws such as the United States' Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CANSPAM),[9] the European Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, or their Internet service provider's acceptable use policy. [edit]Opt-in

email advertising

Opt-in email advertising, or permission marketing, is a method of advertising via email whereby the recipient of the advertisement has consented to receive it. This method is one of several developed by marketers to eliminate the disadvantages of email marketing.[10] Opt-in email marketing may evolve into a technology that uses a handshake protocol between the sender and receiver.[10] This system is intended to eventually result in a high degree of satisfaction between consumers and marketers. If opt-in email advertising is used, the material that is emailed to consumers will be "anticipated". It is assumed that the consumer wants to receive it, which makes it unlike unsolicited advertisements sent to the consumer. Ideally, opt-in email advertisements will be more personal and relevant to the consumer than untargeted advertisements. A common example of permission marketing is a newsletter sent to an advertising firm's customers. Such newsletters inform customers of upcoming events or promotions, or new products. [11] In this type of advertising, a company that wants to send a newsletter to their customers may ask them at the point of purchase if they would like to receive the newsletter. With a foundation of opted-in contact information stored in their database, marketers can send out promotional materials automaticallyknown as Drip Marketing. They can also segment their promotions to specific market segments.[12] [edit]Legal

requirements

In 2002 the European Union introduced the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications. Article 13 of the Directive prohibits the use of email addresses for marketing purposes. The Directive establishes the opt-in regime, where unsolicited emails may be sent only with prior agreement of the recipient.

The directive has since been incorporated into the laws of member states. In the UK it is covered under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003[13] and applies to all organisations that send out marketing by some form of electronic communication. The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 authorizes a US $16,000 penalty per violation for spamming each individual recipient. Therefore, many commercial email marketers within the United States utilize a service or special software to ensure compliance with the Act. A variety of older systems exist that do not ensure compliance with the Act. To comply with the Act's regulation of commercial email, services typically require users to authenticate their return address and include a valid physical address, provide a one-click unsubscribe feature, and prohibit importing lists of purchased addresses that may not have given valid permission. In addition to satisfying legal requirements, email service providers (ESPs) began to help customers establish and manage their own email marketing campaigns. The service providers supply email templates and general best practices, as well as methods for handling subscriptions and cancellations automatically. Some ESPs will provide insight/assistance with deliverability issues for major email providers. They also provide statistics pertaining to the number of messages received and opened, and whether the recipients clicked on any links within the messages. The CAN-SPAM Act was updated with some new regulations including a no fee provision for opting out, further definition of "sender", post office or private mail boxes count as a "valid physical postal address" and definition of "person". These new provisions went into effect on July 7, 2008. [14] [edit]See

also

Internet marketing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

Internet marketing

Search engine optimization Social media marketing Email marketing Referral marketing Content marketing

Search engine marketing

Pay per click Cost per impression Search analytics

Web analytics

Display advertising

Contextual advertising Behavioral targeting

Affiliate marketing

Cost per action Revenue sharing

Mobile advertising

Marketing
Key concepts

Product marketing

Pricing

Distribution Service

Retail

Brand management Account-based marketing

Ethics Effectiveness

Research

Segmentation Strategy

Activation

Management Dominance

Marketing operations

Promotional contents

Advertising

Branding

Underwriting spot Direct marketing

Personal sales Product placement

Publicity Sales promotion

Sex in advertising Loyalty marketing

Mobile marketing Premiums

Prizes

Promotional media

Printing

Publication

Broadcasting

Out-of-home advertising

Internet Point of sale

Merchandise

Digital marketing

In-game advertising

Product demonstration

Word-of-mouth

Brand ambassador Drip marketing

Visual merchandising

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Marketing

Internet marketing, also known as web marketing, online marketing, webvertising, or e-marketing, is referred to as the marketing (generally promotion) of products or services over the Internet. iMarketing is used as an abbreviated form for Internet Marketing.[citation needed] Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope[citation needed] because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketingdone via e-mail and wireless media. Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (ECRM) systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing. [1] Internet marketing ties together the creative and technical aspects of the Internet, including design, development, advertising and sales.[2] Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), banner ads on specific websites, email marketing, mobile advertising, and Web 2.0 strategies.[citation needed] In 2008, The New York Times, working with comScore, published an initial estimate to quantify the user data collected by large Internet-based companies. Counting four types of interactions with company websites in addition to the hits from advertisements served from advertising networks, the authors found that the potential for collecting data was up to 2,500 times per user per month.[3]
Contents
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1 Types of Internet marketing 2 Business models

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2.1 One-to-one approaches 2.2 Appeal to specific interests 2.3 Niche marketing 2.4 Geo-targeting

3 Advantages and limitations of Internet marketing

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3.1 Advantages 3.2 Limitations

4 Security concerns 5 Usage trends 6 Effects on industries

o o

6.1 Internet auctions 6.2 Advertising industry

7 See also 8 References

[edit]Types

of Internet marketing

Internet marketing is broadly divided in to the following [4] types:

Display Advertising: the use of web banners or banner ads placed on a third-party website to drive traffic to a company's own website and increase product awareness. [4]

Search Engine Marketing (SEM): a form of marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in search engine result pages (SERPs) through the use of either paid placement, contextual advertising, and paid inclusion, or through the use of free search engine optimization techniques.[5]

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results.[6]

Social Media Marketing: the process of gaining traffic or attention through social media sites.[7] Email Marketing: involves directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using electronic mail. [8] Referral Marketing: a method of promoting products or services to new customers through referrals, usually word of mouth.[9]

Affiliate Marketing: a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts.[10]

Content Marketing: involves creating and freely sharing informative content as a means of converting prospects into customers and customers into repeat buyers. [11]

[edit]Business

models

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

Internet marketing is associated with several business models:

E-commerce: a model whereby goods and services are sold directly to consumers (B2C), businesses (B2B), or from consumer to consumer (C2C) using computers connected to a network.[12]

Lead-based websites: a strategy whereby an organization generates value by acquiring sales leads from its website.[citation needed] Similar to walk-in customers in retail world. These prospects are often referred to as organic leads.

Affiliate Marketing: a process wherein a product or service developed by one entity is sold by other active sellers for a share of profits.[citation needed] The entity that owns the product may provide some marketing material (e.g., sales letters, affiliate links, tracking facilities, etc.); however, the vast majority of affiliate marketing relationships come from e-commerce businesses that offer affiliate programs. [citation needed]

Local Internet marketing: a strategy through which a small company utilizes the Internet to find and to nurture relationships that can be used for real-world advantages.[citation needed] Local Internet marketing uses tools such as social media marketing, local directory listing,[13] and targeted online sales promotions.

[edit]One-to-one

approaches

In a one-to-one approach, marketers target a user browsing the Internet alone and so that the marketers' messages reach the user personally.[14] This approach is used in search marketing, for which the advertisements are based on search engine keywords entered by the users. This approach usually works under the pay per click (PPC) method.[citation needed] [edit]Appeal

to specific interests

When appealing to specific interests, marketers place an emphasis on appealing to a specific behavior or interest, rather than reaching out to a broadly defined demographic. [citation needed] These marketers typically segment their markets according to age group, gender, geography, and other general factors. [citation needed] [edit]Niche

marketing

Niche and hyper-niche internet marketing put further emphasis on creating destinations for web users and consumers on specific topics and products.[citation needed] Niche marketers differ from traditional Internet marketers as they have a more specialized topic knowledge.[citation needed] For example, whereas in traditional Internet marketing a website would be created and promoted on a high-level topic such as kitchen appliances, niche marketing would focus on more specific topics such as 4-slice toasters.[citation needed] Niche marketing provides end users of such sites very targeted information, and allows the creators to establish themselves as authorities on the topic or product.[citation needed] [edit]Geo-targeting In Internet marketing, geo targeting and geo marketing are the methods of determining the geolocation of a website visitor with geolocation software, and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as latitude and longitude, country, region or state, city, metro code or zip code, organization, Internet Protocol (IP) address, ISP, and other criteria.[citation needed] [edit]Advantages

and limitations of Internet marketing

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

[edit]Advantages Internet marketing is inexpensive when examining the ratio of cost to the reach of the target audience. [citation
needed]

Companies can reach a wide audience for a small fraction of traditional advertising budgets. [citation needed] The

nature of the medium allows consumers to research and to purchase products and services conveniently. [citation
needed]

Therefore, businesses have the advantage of appealing to consumers in a medium that can bring results

quickly.[citation needed] The strategy and overall effectiveness of marketing campaigns depend on business goals and costvolume-profit (CVP) analysis. Internet marketers also have the advantage of measuring statistics easily and inexpensively; almost all aspects of an Internet marketing campaign can be traced, measured, and tested, in many cases through the use of an ad server.[citation
needed]

The advertisers can use a variety of methods, such as pay per impression, pay per click, pay per play, and pay

per action. Therefore, marketers can determine which messages or offerings are more appealing to the audience. [citation
needed]

The results of campaigns can be measured and tracked immediately because online marketing initiatives usually

require users to click on an advertisement, to visit a website, and to perform a targeted action. [citation needed] [edit]Limitations However, from the buyer's perspective, the inability of shoppers to touch, to smell, to taste, and "to try on" tangible goods before making an online purchase can be limiting. [citation needed] However, there is an industry standard for ecommerce vendors to reassure customers by having liberal return policies as well as providing in-store pick-up services.[citation needed] [edit]Security

concerns

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2011)

Information security is important both to companies and consumers that participate in online business. Many consumers are hesitant to purchase items over the Internet because they do not believe that their personal information will remain private. Some companies that purchase customer information offer the option for individuals to have their information removed from their promotional redistribution, also known as opting out. However, many customers are unaware if and when their information is being shared, and are unable to stop the transfer of their information between companies if such activity occurs. Additionally, companies holding private information are vulnerable to data attacks and leaks. Internet browsing privacy is a related consumer concern. Web sites routinely capture browsing and search history which can be used to provide targeted advertising. Privacy policies can provide transparency to these practices. Spyware prevention software can also be used to shield the consumer. See also: Internet security, Spyware, and Internet Privacy

Another consumer e-commerce concern is whether or not they will receive exactly what they purchase. Online merchants have attempted to address this concern by investing in and building strong consumer brands (e.g., Amazon.com, eBay, and Overstock.com), and by leveraging merchant and feedback rating systems and ecommerce bonding solutions.[citation needed] All these solutions attempt to assure consumers that their transactions will be free of problems because the merchants can be trusted to provide reliable products and services. [citation
needed]

Additionally, several major online payment mechanisms (credit cards, PayPal, Google Checkout, etc.) have

provided back-end buyer protection systems to address problems if they occur.[citation needed] [edit]Usage

trends

Technological advancements in the telecommunications industry have dramatically affected online advertising techniques.[citation needed] Many firms are embracing a paradigm that is shifting the focus of advertising methodology from traditional text and image advertisements to those containing more recent technologies like JavaScript and Adobe Flash.[citation needed] As a result, advertisers can more effectively engage and connect their audience with their campaigns that seek to shape consumer attitudes and feelings towards specific products and services.[citation needed] [edit]Effects

on industries

The number of banks offering the ability to perform banking tasks over the internet has increased.[citation needed] Online banking appeals to customers because it is often faster and considered more convenient than visiting bank branches.[15] [edit]Internet

auctions

See also: Online auction business model Internet auctions have become a multi-billion dollar business. Unique items that could only previously be found at flea markets are now being sold on Internet auction websites such as eBay. Specialized e-stores sell a vast amount of items like antiques, movie props, clothing, gadgets, and so on.[16][17] As the premier online reselling platform, eBay is often used as a price-basis for specialized items. Buyers and sellers often look at prices on the website before going to flea markets; the price shown on eBay often becomes the item's selling price.[citation needed] [edit]Advertising

industry

In addition to the major effect internet marketing has had on the technology industry, the effect on the advertising industry itself has been profound. In just a few years, online advertising has grown to be worth tens of billions of dollars annually.[18][19][20] PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that US$16.9 billion was spent on Online marketing in the U.S. in 2006.[21] This has caused a growing impact on the United States' electoral process. In 2008, candidates for President heavily utilized Internet marketing strategies to reach constituents. During the 2007 primaries candidates added, on average, over 500 social network supporters per day to help spread their message. [22] President Barack Obama raised over US$1 million in one day during his extensive Democratic candidacy campaign, largely due to online donors. [23]

Several industries have heavily invested in and benefited from internet marketing and online advertising. Some of them were originally brick and mortar businesses such as publishing, music, automotiveor gambling, while others have sprung up as purely online businesses, such as digital design and media, blogging, and internet service hosting.[citation
needed]

[edit]See

also