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A report by Opt-in News on the email marketing industry from
1999 to Q1 2002 concludes that only one per cent of media
buyers claim to send unsolicited bulk email. Legitimate marketing
messages, says the report, come from 95 per cent of media
buyers who say they practise permission based email marketing.
The report predicts that non-permission-based methods will
become obsolete within three years, as media buyers will demand
a higher return on investment (ROI) and privacy concerns will
dictate opt-in methods as the industry standard.
200
US media buyers were surveyed before the report was compiled,
out of which 64 per cent favoured the double opt-in method
for gaining permission. 31 per cent were in favour of the
single opt-in email marketing process, while a mere four per
cent preferred the opt-out or pre-check data collection.
The report, released recently,
says that 77 per cent of those surveyed claimed that audience
interest was the most important form of profiling while planning
business-to-consumer (B2C) e-mail campaigns. 18 per cent of
those survyed ranked demographics as the most important, while
five per cent selected geography as the most important. The
scenario is completely different for business-to-business
(B2B) e-mail marketing campaigns, however. 67 per cent choose
demographic and geographic targeting as most important, while
33 per cent felt that audience interest was a priority.
Opt-in's study found that more than half (53 per cent) of
all media buyers use search engines to locate third-party
e-mail list rentals from managers, publishers or brokers.
Google was the favourite (33 per cent), followed by Yahoo
(24 per cent) and Lycos (18 per cent). 27 per cent of the
respondents rely on e-zine and direct mail ads; 11 per cent
use industry specific directories; 5 per cent turn to portals;
and 4 per cent rely on other methods. Opt-in's respondents
ranged from direct marketers, advertising agencies, and corporate
media purchasers via e-mail, telephone, fax and web-based
surveys.
Opt-in also found that almost half (47 per cent) of media
buyers surveyed prefer cost-per-click pricing options when
purchasing opt-in e-mail ad space. 59 per cent of media buyers
receive less than three per cent click-through rates on opt-in
e-mail campaigns. 73 per cent feel that e-mail is the most
responsive form of marketing available, garnering better results
than television, radio, print and direct mail. 54 per cent
of those who participated said that they primarily rely on
websites for e-mail marketing news and information; 43 per
cent use newsletters; and three per cent count on radio, television
and print.
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