Most smaller marketing departments are strapped for time and can't focus enough time on developing truly effective email promotions. But a great place to start is by comparing email to existing direct mail channels to find similarities and difference. This comparison can serve as an outline for developing your first strategic email campaigns.
How email compares to postal mail
Email |
Postal Mail |
From line & Subject line & Preview pane serve as a way to grab the initial attention of the recipient |
With direct mail the role of attracting initial attention goes to the outer envelope or catalog cover |
Email content is usually brief and to the point but can be more involved in the case of a newsletter. The primary goal is to get the reader to click to read more on the website. |
Direct mail content is usually very involved with long copy and multiple creative elements. The copy has to overcome a great deal of inertia to stimulate purchase of response. |
The primary call to action for email is to click a link to a landing page for each product or offer. |
Direct mail uses a combination of order form, 800 numbers, and website URL to stimulate response. |
Few images are used in email |
Direct mail uses lots of images especially if you are mailing a catalog |
| Email promotions can be developed very quickly. Often in a matter of hours. | Direct mail can take weeks or months to prepare. Time must be allocated for design, printing, list procurement, lettershop, and postal delivery time. | Email is low cost.
| Direct mail requires a significant expense. | | Email is easy to test but the results are hard to read and project. | Direct mail is difficult to test but results are easier to project for planning future promotions. | | Email delivery is not reliable or guaranteed. | Direct mail consistently deliverable and virtually guaranteed.
| | It is difficult to achieve consistent "look & feel" to email promotions due to multiple software readers used and different rendering methods | Direct mail will deliver a consistent look and feel. |
Email’s Strengths & Weaknesses
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The strengths of email as a marketing tool include: speed, low cost, high ROI, easy personalization, easy testing.
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The weaknesses of email include: unreliable delivery, unreliable rendering of HTML and CSS in email reader software, low volume of response makes analytics difficult and unreliable.
Email marketing has the highest ROI of any marketing channel
according to many studies. So, should you consider shifting more of
your marketing expense to email instead of postal mail? Email may
have a stunningly high ROI but many businesses find it hard to generate
the gross volume of sales they need using email alone. Core marketing
channels like direct mail continue to drive the gross sales numbers but
direct mail continues to decline in overall efficiency.
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