The Internet continues to be among the most effective and most profitable avenues for businesses looking to improve their brands recognition. Of the many ways to market a business online, email marketing continues to be one of the most popular – and for good reason.

To see the potential that email marketing still brings, one only needs to look at the average return on investment for email marketing campaigns. In 2008, the return on investment (ROI) for every dollar spent on email marketing was $45.06. The numbers for 2009 are expected to drop slightly to about $43.62 with about that same average projected for 2010.

It’s no surprise that a majority of large multinational companies have announced that they plan to increase their email marketing efforts. However, this is not exclusive to just large companies. Businesses of all sizes are implementing this method and finding great success. With such a high ROI, it is becoming practically a necessity for most businesses.

Email marketing campaigns allow for multimedia and interactive elements and allow the marketer to run ads on their own schedule, as opposed to the traditional advertising methods which are designed to run on someone else’s schedule. It also allows the marketer to test and track their ad campaigns.

The ability to personalize and target email marketing campaigns contributes to the high ROI. Since it is an extremely personal and direct form of marketing, marketers are able to send personalized messages to customers and even accept replies. This two-way communication is an amazing way to create a loyal and dedicated client base. And since it requires that the subscriber opt-in to receive these messages, the emails should be reaching a receptive and targeted group.

Once a company has good sized email list, they are able to send this list company updates, new releases, industry news, special discounts, and more. They can segment their subscribers into separate lists in order to send different emails to different subscribes. For example, they might want to send follow-up or up-sell opportunity emails to previous clients while sending emails that are more informative in nature to prospects.

Since their lists can be so targeted, a business has a higher chance of a good return than if they were to use more traditional forms of marketing. Since the messages can be highly personalized without being intrusive, prospects are more likely to look at what is being offered. With the low overhead, reliability, speed, and overall efficiency of email marketing, it’s plain to see why it continues to provide such a high return.

Even though it’s been proven over and over again as one of the most effective ways to market a business online, many marketers keep saying that its effectiveness is waning. The average return is slightly down, but this is more likely attributed to the fact that overall spending numbers are down due to the current economic conditions.

There is little doubt that email marketing is still an effective option and will continue to be a profit generator. The strategies will continue to evolve over time, but the general principles, and profit margins, will likely remain.

Author Bio: Warren Miller is the Lead Marketing Consultant for Logic Path, a ‘new media’ marketing agency that delivers customized solutions through new technologies. This includes full-service marketing solutions, search engine optimization services, membership programs, and more. Their Marketing Blog is updated daily with essential business marketing advice and tips.

Category: Marketing
Keywords: direct marketing, e-mail marketing, email marketing, internet marketing, marketing campaigns, market