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.

**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. Speaking of which, if you would like to more information about having us prepare a professional email campaign for you, please click here.