Every time we send out an e-mail, we can track and see the direct result. By 2004, Forrester predicts, U.S. marketers will send almost 210 billion e-mails a year. Many marketers, wary of being stigmatized, are focusing the bulk of their e-mail efforts on customer retention rather than on prospecting. It'll take another couple of years before we get all the privacy issues straightened out. The names are culled from several places.
Consumers registering for on-site steak giveaways are another prime source.
The company also purchases opt-in names from list builders WinFree and MyPoints. Less than 1 percent of these self-targeted consumers opt out, Healy says. Digital Impact , an outsourcer whose other clients include Macy's and eBay, handles the campaign and tracks its results. Still, e-mail remains just one element of her marketing strategy, Healy notes. Clickthrough rates for e-mail average 10 to 15 percent, according to Michele Slack, an analyst with Jupiter Communications.