• by November 15, 2002

Alongside a recent study by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) showing strong growth in the use of email by brick-and-mortar direct marketers, a parallel trend shows a shift from outsourced email delivery services to in-house. Rather than hiring email ASPs to deliver their email on a pay-per-email basis, an increasing number of firms are bringing the process home -- and saving a bundle in the meantime.

Email marketing software developer Arial Software is experiencing the impact of the shift, posting a nearly 200% increase in sales for YTD 2002 over 2001. "There's strong demand in professional email marketing software," explains Mike Adams, the firm's President. "And much of that is related to cost savings."

When firms shift to in-house email marketing, they make one-time investments in software, equipment and network infrastructure, but they subsequently pay no per-email or per-campaign fees to deliver their messages. Even within the first year, the one-time investments pay off in cost savings, says Adams, and he has the data to prove it: a newly-published white paper at ArialSoftware.com compares first-year operating costs of in-house vs. outsourced solutions and shows in-house email delivery to come out ahead, even after considering infrastructure expenditures.

"There's little doubt," says Adams, "that the trend is on. Firms are increasingly realizing they can do this themselves." Forrester Research, who watches the email marketing industry closely, appears to see the same trend. An introduction to a recent Forrester report states, "Most marketers hope to bring email delivery in-house by 2003."

Whether firms ultimately decide to go with in-house or outsourced email solutions, the increasing reliance on email marketing as a viable direct marketing medium is obvious: 71% of DMA members reported an increase in the use of email marketing over last year, and Jupiter Research says expectations of industry growth remain strong.