E-Mail Marketing Comparisons
Undoubtedly
you have assumed that email marketing is less expensive than direct
mail marketing, print advertising, broadcast advertising and just
about any other kind of advertising except word-of-mouth. And
you would be correct. But just how much does it cost to put on
a professional email campaign?
Our Assumptions
For
the purpose of this article we are going to assume that you would
normally send a nice, 4-color newsletter to at least 1,000 customers
on a regular basis. We are assuming this because, on the web,
4-color pages do not cost any more or less than black and white
pages. So, since our email campaign is going to feature beautiful,
4-color news items and photos, it is only fair to compare it to
a similar newsletter or brochure.
Because we
are going to assume the newsletter is being professionally created
and printed, we will also assume that your email newsletter is
going to be professionally created. This will give a better cost
comparison of the creation of the newsletter. Naturally, the more
work you do yourself, the less expensive the email campaign. However,
bear in mind that while you are toying around with the newsletter,
other projects and tasks are being neglected - don't forget to
factor in that cost.
Here's
our Comparisons
| Item |
Cost
for Direct Mail (1,000 pcs) |
Cost
for Email Campaign (1,000) |
| Newsletter
Creation |
$500-$1,000 |
$500-$1,000 |
| Printing
Cost @ .25/newsletter |
$250 |
$0 |
| Postage*: |
$245 |
$0 |
| Envelopes: |
$20 |
$0 |
| List
Maint. Cost |
$250 |
$250*** |
| Time
to Arrive |
2-3
days |
immediate |
| Return
postage for reply |
$245 |
$0 |
| Time
to measure response rate |
2-3
weeks |
1-2
days |
| Average
response rate** |
1%-4% |
4%-12% |
* Postage
is based on first class carrier sort. Cost shown is for one mailing
of 1,000 pcs. All prices shown are as of 2001.
**Average
response rate is based on targeted lists for both direct mail
and email (opt-in). See below for response rates on other types
of mailings.
***This figure
includes the actual mailing of the newsletters to the email list-
based on 1,000 names.
Response
Rates
Below
is a comparison of typical direct marketing response rates:
| .05%-.2% |
Bulk
Email (spam) |
| .2%-.5% |
Bulk
Direct Mail (junk mail) |
| .5%
- 1% |
Banner
Ads |
| 1%-4% |
Targeted
Direct Mail |
| 4%-12% |
Permission
Email (opt-in) |
In Conclusion...
A
well-planned email marketing campaign, done professionally can
only help your business. For the best results you will want to
have a clean list of email addresses, preferrably from those who
have requested to be on your list. In addition, you will want
a nice looking and informative piece to send to that list. Try
not to waste your prospect's time with trivial items. This newsletter
is meant to sell, so talk features and show benefits. If possible,
make sure you have a built-in response feature so that the recipients
can quickly send for additional information.
