The pros
Speed and affordability are the two main selling points for an email campaign. Your message
is delivered to customers in seconds, with options to instantly reply to your offer. You
also don't have any of the costs associated with physical mail such as addressing or postage
although that could soon change
(see the section on Email marketing services pricing).
Email campaigns, more so than any other marketing channel, allow you to understand the
behavior of your target audience beyond whether or not they placed orders. You can get
real-time reports detailing every aspect of your email campaign: from the number of
successfully delivered emails to sales made. This information helps you learn if your
email campaign was successful, how to uncover areas for improvement, and how to lay the
groundwork for future mailings.
BuyerZone's Marketing Manager discusses 5 great tips for your email campaigns
Targeting is another advantage: you're not locked into sending the same message to
everyone on an email list. You can cost-effectively customize your message based on
customer demographics or interests and send one offer to part of the list and another
offer to others.
With email campaigns, you can send greater quantities of email for much less money than
direct mail. However, in a medium that has to contend with email filters, spam blockers,
virus concerns, and low response rates, email marketing can require a large sample size
of 100,000 or more emails to get a meaningful response.
The cons
The number one issue with an email campaign is that your email may never reach its intended
recipient. Having your email lumped with true spam bulk emails sent without permission
is the biggest roadblock for email marketers. Even if a customer agrees to receive
mailings from you, spam-filtering programs might flag your message as spam or blacklist your
address entirely, just based on the content of the message. Not surprisingly, email campaigns
typically have very low response rates of 0.25 to 0.50 percent or less.
BuyerZone's Marketing Manager details how to get your emails delivered and make them look right
You must also comply with the federal CAN-SPAM Act, which can be cumbersome. The act
prevents marketers from sending unsolicited messages and sets rules for email marketing
behaviors. For example, you must include unsubscribe or opt-out links and a physical
mailing address in every message. When someone requests removal from a list, you must
comply quickly usually within 10 days. You also need to stay on top of constantly
changing state laws.
Finally, while emails are relatively easy to send and the results are almost instantaneous,
those two elements aren't always positive. If you rely too heavily on email, it can be a
detriment to your business: some people consider it impersonal and unfriendly. Also, if
you're too quick to send your message out and overlook a mistake, it's impossible to get
the email back.