E-Mail Performance Steady

E-mail marketing metrics have stayed largely steady during the past couple of years, according to Epsilon data released in January 2009. The company said deliverability rates were almost exactly the same in Q3 2008 as they were in Q3 2006. Open rates and click-through rates dipped during the same period, but only slightly.

"Despite concerns about the declining effectiveness of advertising and the challenging economy, e-mail continued to perform consistently in 2008," said Kevin Mabley, senior vice president at Epsilon, in a statement. "We anticipate increased reliance on this highly measurable and engaging method of customer interaction [in 2009]."

Epsilon said e-mail drove an average of $0.14 in revenues per delivered message, so e-mail still gets results.

Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst at eMarketer, said marketers should not let e-mail's low cost and high ROI lull them into complacency. "Those who employ segmentation and personalization techniques to make their e-mails more relevant have the opportunity to significantly increase their response rates," he said.

E-mail remains a staple of nearly every digital marketing campaign, although its low cost puts it behind other tactics in terms of spending. eMarketer estimates spending on e-mail will rise to $488 million in 2009, up from $472 million in 2008.