• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 24, 2013

According to the Experian Marketing Services market survey addressing email acquisition and engagement tactics, 44% of total opens occur on mobile devices; 52% of marketers have used animated gifs in their email campaigns; marketers are seeing strong survey completion rates, regardless of offer; email is a strong performer as a generator of both website traffic and revenue; email marketers are testing subject lines and creative more than any other factors; 78% of brands use sales associates to collect email addresses.

Email marketing continues to be the hub and a driving force in cross-channel integration, says the report, as marketers’ email strategies act as connectors to Website, mobile, social and in-store channels. The study surveyed email marketers across eight verticals about their email-marketing initiatives.

Peter DeNunzio, general manager at Experian Marketing Services CheetahMail, says, “... more email marketers (are) testing new engagement strategies to expand their reach into other marketing channels... (as) a spearhead... towards true cross-channel optimization...”

The continued efficacy of email marketing makes email address acquisition a prime tactic for high return on investment (ROI). Today’s email marketers are using multiple channels to acquire new subscribers. Key findings show that:

• 22% of brands utilize pop-up windows on their Websites; nearly one in four Websites
• 36 % of brands collect email addresses on paper, exposing brands to a higher potential for bad addresses and input errors
• More marketers are implementing e-receipts to provide marketers and customers with benefits, including up-sell and engagement opportunities
• 30% of marketers make no fields in a registration form mandatory, focusing first on acquiring an email address and then using other tactics, such as preference centers and surveys, for acquiring more information about customers later

Marketers can no longer blast their list with irrelevant messaging without experiencing negative consequences, both from customers and ISPs, says the report. Email marketers are adopting more tactics to track behaviors and acquire subscribers’ preferences and interests in order to market to them more effectively:

• Regardless of the offer, marketers are seeing strong survey completion rates
• Email is still a strong performer as a generator of both Website traffic and revenue
• Email marketers are testing subject lines and creative more than any other factors
• 52% of marketers have used animated gifs in their email campaigns
• While 98% of marketers promote their Facebook page in emails, only 32% promote Pinterest
• More than 50% of email marketers currently optimize or plan to optimize emails for mobile viewers

In 2012, Experian Marketing Services recognized new trends and tactics in three channels of email address acquisition: point of sale, Website and sweepstakes.

Subscriber acquisition practices at point of sale of email marketers whose brands operate brick-and-mortar locations:

• 78% of brands use sales associates to collect email addresses
• 36% of brands collect email addresses on paper
• 73% of marketers source and track email addresses acquired at point of sale differently than other addresses
• 33% of marketers report that more than 25% of their customers are willing to provide their email address at point of sale

The extensive report concludes by noting that “whether you are looking to grow your list through organic subscriber acquisition, or create more engaging campaigns that produce higher ROI, the study findings provide a benchmark to help gauge which programs would work best for your business.

To sign in for the complete study as a PDF file, please visit Experian here.