Orders per email delivered were 0.35 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004, an all-time high and much higher than the previous records - 0.30 percent - achieved during the first and second quarters of 2003, writes Internet Retailer, reporting on DoubleClick figures released yesterday. Click-to-purchase conversions also soared, to 4.8 percent from 4.2 percent in 2003's fourth quarter. That's close to the 4.9 percent record, reached in the fourth quarter of 2002. Despite the rise in orders, revenue per email delivered has remained stable over several years; retail and catalog marketers earned 26 cents per email in the fourth quarter. Email marketing remained stable as bounce-back rates fell to a record low of 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter, according to DoubleClick. Open and click rates declined slightly to 32.6 percent and 8 percent, respectively."

Orders per Email Reach Record 0.35 Percent in 2004 - MarketingVOX

Posted by: DTB at 11:54 AM  |  Permalink

America Online is launching yet another free product - an ad-supported email service tied to its AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), according to an AP story. Users will be able to send and receive mail with "aim.com" addresses using their AIM screen names. Users need the latest version of AIM software, available as a beta download today, but eventually they'll be able to use the service from any Web browser. A key difference between the subscription-based AOL mail and free AIM mail will be in ad placement. Ads appears on the bottom for paid AOL accounts, but on top in the free AIM service
AOL: Free Email for Everyone Posted by: DTB at 8:38 AM  |  Permalink

Some 67% of respondents found spam annoying, compared to 77% last year, according to Pew Internet & American Life Project survey.

Faced with a growing amount of spam, E-mail users have resigned themselves to the torrent of unsolicited commercial messages. A new report from the non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that even as spam volume continues to increase, E-mail users mind it less.

The report, based on a nationwide phone survey of 1,421 Internet users between Jan. 13 and Feb. 9, suggests that the amount of spam reaching inboxes continues to rise despite some claims to the contrary. Among those with personal E-mail accounts, 28% say they are receiving more spam than a year ago, while 22% say they're receiving less. Among those with E-mail accounts at work, 21% report more spam, and 16% report less.

Learning To Live With Spam Posted by: DTB at 9:24 PM  |  Permalink