Well, well, I always knew the day would come, but I never actually thought I would live to see the day that E-mail marketing would finally overtake Direct Mail efforts.  In a recent report from Gifts and Dec Magazine they state that, "when it comes to the most effective increased marketing efforts, email and direct mail are tied for first place, each claiming 21.88 percent (of their responders)."

As a web developer it makes me smile to read a report like this, especially in the retailing industry.  I am proud to see that retailers are seeing, believing, and most of all experiencing the benefits of email marketing.  I myself do not do any direct mail campaigns and have a secret hope they will go away entirely soon enough, (if I get one more letter from an organization where I attended one event asking to be a donor, I will just explode!)

I also think this news comes at a critical time because now is the time to increase your marketing efforts and I would suggest beefing up your E-marketing as opposed to your direct mail.  Also, if you only have direct mail at this time and have been thinking to start an E-campaign, now is the time to make that leap!

Retailers are seeing the return on investment with their E-marketing initiatives.  It is a much cheaper, better way to track effectiveness, and now more than ever we need to promote, but promote smart since our dollars need to stretch further. Therefore, instead of expensive direct mail campaigns, email, email, email! If you need help getting started with an E-campaign you can check out some of my previous posts on Web Marketing here.