Email increases in popularity with direct marketers

Snail mail isn't the best option for direct marketers, or at least it is no longer the most popular. According to a recent survey from Direct Magazine, email has become the most popular contact medium. Just over 70% of those polled said they contacted customers via email.

by Kristina Knight

That is a 10% increase from 2007. About half of the direct marketers polled replied that they contact prospects via email. More than half of direct marketers expect to increase their email budgets for the coming year.

Snail mail continues to be important for direct marketers, though not as popular as email options. 66% of direct marketers use snail mail in addition to email (4% decrease from 2007) and 59% also use snail mail to contact sales prospects.

After snail and email, most direct marketers are focusing on search (39%).

"In addition, 37% of those companies plan to spend more on mail to customers in 2009, and 39% on mail to prospects," was written in the report.

Advertising on other websites and affiliate marketing are also increasing in popularity but it seems that contacting potential customers directly - either by mail or email - is still the best option for most direct marketers.