With the rapid advance of social media, many marketing "experts" believe that email marketing is a thing of the past. Yet, quite to the contrary, email marketing continues to be a highly effective, inexpensive, and thriving medium for businesses large and small. So what are the benefits of this type of marketing and how can you make it work for you?

Small business owners should first recognize that the cost of bulk email campaign  is a small fraction of the cost of traditional direct marketing campaigns. Newsletters, dynamic ads, and subscription services can be sent to a massive number of potential customers without incurring the costs of postage. More importantly, because of the ability to reach a mass audience almost immediately, even a one percent response rate from an campaign can have a massive impact on your bottom line. Yet, the most effective email marketing campaigns routinely achieve response rates of up to 5 or 10 percent.

Some recent statistics released by DoubleClick following an email customer study found that nearly three quarters of online shoppers have made purchases as a result of email marketing campaigns, and almost 60 percent of email recipients were enticed to make in-store purchases. The power of this type of online campaigns is undeniable.

Email marketing programs can be utilized in a number of ways. You can keep your clients updated on news and special promotions; you can send direct emails to potential clients with links to your home page; and, you can promote products and services. Ultimately, the goal of email campaigns is to increase traffic to your website, improve conversion rates, and increase your return on investment (ROI).

Still, regardless of the effectiveness of these marketing techniques, how can you make emails work for you? When developing an email campaign, it is always best to consult with a professional internet marketing firm. A solid internet marketing firm will

Identify your target market,
Develop a plan for and track the success of your email marketing campaign,
Integrate 3rd party email marketing services and social media,
Develop email sign-up forms for your website,
Design email templates,
Create and manage your email list, and
Track and analyze website traffic as it relates to your email campaign.
There are many reasons that is effective. First, we have already mentioned how easy it is to reach large numbers of potential clients through email, but these campaigns can also be specifically targeted to your most motivated market. Moreover, these campaigns are both data and direct sales driven, while also giving you an opportunity to build relationships and loyalty with new and existing customers. Finally, it can help you generate more traffic to your website and even physical locations.