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SCORE ExpertANSWERS Alert from SCORE.org.  The pointers below come from SCORE mentor Simms Jenkins.  Since establishing Brightwave Marketing in 2002, Simms Jenkins has become one of the leading experts in the fast-growing email marketing industry. His new book, The Truth About Email Marketing, will be published by Pearson Education in August 2008. Here, he discusses some of the ways email marketing can benefit small businesses.


Q: How widely used is email marketing today?
- Email has achieved almost universal penetration. Studies show that 97 percent of consumers use email. And where consumers are, marketers want to be. Last year, 82 percent of marketers planned to use some form of email marketing.


Q: Why should a small business consider an email marketing program, if it doesn't have one already?
- Email is one of the most cost-effective ways to communicate with customers and prospects about your products and services. It's a "great equalizer" for small businesses because they can build a relationship with them as easily as a Fortune 500 firm can. Then there's the fact that email marketing can generate an ROI of more than $48 for every dollar invested.


Q: Everyone receives dozens of emails during the day. How can a small business prevent its communications from being lost in the clutter?
- You need to pay attention to your FROM and SUBJECT lines so that customers will immediately recognize what the email is. Not enough people put much thought into them, but they definitely affect whether the email will be read.


Q: Aside from having the customer's permission to send them the email, what are the most important elements of the message itself?
- Relevancy is essential. Customers have certain expectations when they sign up. If you veer off into other areas, you're not delivering what you promised. And, you need to make your point early. Emails are scanned, not read. You have to catch the reader's eye almost immediately; otherwise, the message will be deleted.


Q: How do you deal with obstacles such as spam filters and stringent email blocking settings?
- This is a big challenge, as nearly 60 percent of online customers routinely block images. The key is to code and format the email so that your brand and call to action get across, even if other elements are blocked. Not all small businesses have the resources or expertise to do this, which is why it's helpful to partner with a consultant.


Q: What metrics are most helpful in evaluating an email campaign?
- There are several-click-through rate, delivery, revenue, and so forth. But you should choose metrics that directly relate to your business goals. For example, tracking the number of people who open your email is a good index. But if nobody is clicking the links or buying your product, it's really not helpful.


Q: As an industry leader, what future email marketing trends are you watching?
- Text messaging and the use of mobile devices are very strong because they complement nicely with email marketing, especially among young people. They will increasingly use their cellphones as a one-stop platform for communication as the devices become more sophisticated.