My email inbox has become a “junk drawer.” If the term is new to you, please allow me to explain.

The junk drawer is a uniquely American phenomenon. It’s that one undefinable storage space where you can discover almost anything. Usually, the junk drawer is tucked away in the recesses of a workshop cabinet, home office or kitchen, and it can harbor everything from screwdrivers and flash drives to aspirin and mystery keys.

Thank you for accepting this mission. Before we begin, let’s go over the essentials.

Marketers often spend months dissecting the results of their holiday retail marketing efforts to ascertain how to refine the next holiday season's marketing plans for greater impact. Those who are studying the results of the 2014 holiday retail season are uncovering some insights that could have a tremendous impact on their plans for 2015.

In digital marketing, customers’ needs should always be the primary focus. Not only do all customers have needs, but those needs should be met in the most expedient and fulfilling way. Modern customers are discerning. Confronted with large volumes of messaging at all sides, they know how to get what they want and they will always go down the path of least resistance. Marketing your company successfully involves supporting the customer journey on their terms and considering their key decision points.

“We can measure anything.” That’s the mantra when it comes to email marketing. And it’s true.

Email marketing is one of the more successful channels for communicating with consumers. With over 91% of consumers using email at least once a day,¹ and with an average return of $44.25 for every $1 spent on email marketing,² it makes sense to target consumers through their digital inbox. But it's not enough to just send an email blast out to a targeted list. With over 51% of email opens occurring on a mobile device,³ it is important to develop mobile optimized emails.

Email performance is generally equated to open, click-through and conversion rates. While some sources have reported a decline in the basic engagement metrics, it appears that email is trending toward great productivity among those users that do engage. Revenue per email, return on investment and other performance metrics show promise with upward trends. Here are 6 email facts and associated insights that can serve as benchmarks and direction for email marketing efforts.

Email is a growing tactic being used by marketers in all industries. If you take the time to look into email marketing facts, you will find that this form of marketing is rapidly growing, with millions of people checking their email each day and a recent HubSpot survey stating that over 50% of respondents report reading most of
their email.¹ Utilizing email marketing allows utilities to effectively and efficiently reach a huge captive audience of potential customers. The most important thing to remember is that email can be used in many different ways and can achieve many different goals.

Many have hypothesized that email will replace direct mail. When you think about the best ways to develop and maintain communication channels with prospects and customers, what comes to mind? With the Internet being such a vital part of life and work for many, developing a successful email marketing plan is one of the top go-to tactics for many marketers. However, even a successful email marketing plan is only one part of the full marketing picture. For many firms, a multichannel marketing approach is the best way to get those amazing results you desire.

Successful email marketing is a goal for many companies. It is easy to see why email marketing is ramping up, with over 70% of mobile purchasing decisions being influenced by promotional emails.¹ In order to achieve successful email marketing, it is necessary to have an email list
with a large number of prospective customers in the right target market. However, according to HubSpot, only 27% of marketers bought an email list this year.²

Although it might be tempting to buy a ready-made list of email addresses, purchasing email lists is generally a bad idea. The following is a list of potential problems that can be caused by purchasing email lists.