E-mail ROI Still Stunning, Still Slipping: DMA

Another year, another Direct Marketing Association economic-impact study claiming e-mail’s return on investment far outshines the ROI of other marketing channels, but is slowly slipping.

Commercial e-mail returned a whopping $43.62 for every dollar spent on it in 2009, according to the DMA’s just-released Power of Direct economic-impact study—an effort the trade organization publishes every year at its annual fall conference.

For comparison’s sake, the second highest marketing ROI came from Internet search advertising, which returned a healthy $21.85 for every dollar spent on it in 2009, according to the study, done by financial-analysis-and-forecasting firm Global Insight on behalf of the DMA.

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Stupid Marketing Watch: Cold Calling My Cell!?

So I’m standing in my local computer repair shop attempting to pick up our just-fixed laptop.

I’m trying to have a half coherent conversation with the guy behind the counter while at the same time getting my jumping, spinning, thinks-he’s-a-ninja six-year-old son under control so he doesn’t smash into a display.

And then my cell phone rings.

I look in disbelief down at my pants pocket in the direction of the noise.

My cell phone hardly ever rings.

Why? Because I hate cell phones. I hate the lag in signal during conversations. I hate it when inconsiderate jerks start loudly talking on them in public. When I see people using them and driving, I want to smack them.

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Non-Profits Shine on 'Welcome' E-mails, Lacking Elsewhere: Study

Sixty two percent of non-profits in a recent study sent new e-mail subscribers a welcome message, according to Return Path.

The figure far surpasses commercial mailers’ track record in this most basic of best practices, according to Return Path.

But moving beyond the basic "welcome" message, non-profits aren’t so stellar, according to Return Path.

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Message Systems Announces "Adaptive Delivery"

E-mail technology provider Message Systems announced it has developed a tool called Adaptive Delivery which “auto-tunes” the parameters that affect marketers’ e-mail deliverability to maximize the percentage of messages that make it into recipients’ inboxes during the campaign.

"Historically, e-mail marketers have only been able to resolve deliverability
issues at the conclusion of a campaign after suffering potential damage to both their reputation and results, and the process for resolving such problems has been frustratingly costly and time-consuming with no assurance they won`t reoccur," said Dave Lewis, chief marketing officer of Message Systems, in a statement. "With the auto-tuning capabilities of Adaptive Delivery, marketers can now avoid deliverability train wrecks. They can proactively protect their reputation, optimize their delivery rates and focus on the essential tasks at hand-building customer loyalty and generating revenue."