Turn Bulk Email into Targeted Communications

To learn how to turn your bulk email program into a targeted campaign, click here.

Marketers who focus on blasting out bulk email need to recognize that such practices no longer suit today's online consumer demands. Worse yet, sending bulk email with little or no personalization or relevance may actually be undermining campaign success. Email marketers must avoid bulk email campaigns in favor of operate under the new rules governing how to build customer lists, manage those lists, target customers and measure campaign effectiveness.

While consumers are going online in record numbers and online sales continue to grow, the email channel suffers from spam and deliverability issues, many of which can be caused by bulk email campaigns.  Not only are inboxes flooded with spam, they're also filled with countless well-intentioned but poorly conceived messages that fail to connect with recipients.

Email is best used to strengthen existing relationships, not start new ones. With bulk email filling inboxes with what recipients consider spam, it's now critically important that companies send only relevant messages to customers and prospects. To do otherwise is to waste time and money and potentially harm the image of your brand.

Recent research has indicated that there is a finite number of companies consumers will agree to receive email communications from, and once they hit that magic number -- averaging around 16 -- they're unlikely to be moved to register to receive messages from other companies. Consequently, marketers who send only bulk email messages will find it ever more difficult to obtain space in their customers’ inboxes.