• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, November 25, 2001

A recent Jupiter Media Metrix study concludes that neither is email problem-free, nor will it replace mail delivery marketing pitches as reported by Marty Beard, writing for MediaLife. However, spending on email marketing is expected to grow dramatically in the next five years as it gains increasing acceptance among consumers. Total spending on email marketing is projected to reach $9.4 billion in 2006, compared to $1 billion this year. Spending on email marketing campaigns to keep existing customers should hit $4.7 billion in 2006, up from $580 million this year.

About a third of companies surveyed by Jupiter Media Metrix say that more than 5 percent of their overall marketing budgets was allocated to email marketing this year. But, according to the Jupiter Media Metrix study, in 2006, the average user will receive 1,400 spam messages, with some 206 billion spam messages sent out over the year. Opt-in emailing is superior to spam, but one problem Jupiter points out is that a lot of consumers have a hard time distinguishing between completely unsolicited marketing email and marketing email they opted into.

Jupiter says that marketers need to keep three caveats in mind in order for an email campaign to be effective. Emails should not go out too often, they should be relevant, (a relevant email is one that goes out to a highly qualified list of consumers who have ideally already bought something from the company, and pertains to something the consumer already has), and consumers should have opted to receive them.

Thirty-four percent of consumers say they’d like to receive email solicitations weekly, 21 percent monthly, and 10 percent less than monthly. Just 9 percent want email messages daily.

Read the whole story here.