The global recession is creating havoc in the Internet advertising market,
Spending fell in the second quarter by 5 percent, the second consecutive quarter of declines.
Growth has been better this year than last, says AWeber Communications
During the period, all major ad types saw decreases, says IDC. Display advertising tumbled a startling 12 percent and classified listing were down 17 percent.
One category of advertising that appears to have weathered the tumult more easily than others is e-mail marketing. According to AWeber Communications, a Pennsylvania company catering to small businesses, company growth this year has been better than last.
The 43-person firm added about 16,000 new customers so far in 2009, outpacing the 20,000 it brought on board during all of 2008.
Justin Premick, director of education marketing, says customer desire to save money makes e-mail marketing an attractive alternative to radio and television promotions.
Meanwhile, companies continue to discover the category for the first time in an increasingly wired world.
“I think there is growth across the (e-mail marketing) industry,” Premick told TechPulse 360. “Based on what I am seeing, I do expect (the market) to continue to increase.”
In fairness to agencies serving the market, not all e-mail marketing is spam. AWeber, for instance, only helps companies send promotional e-mail to people who sign up to receive it.
Premick says response rates in the industry have improved for the most sophisticated e-mailers who try to segment their audiences into groups with different interests.
Click-through rates can be an impressive 20 percent – and much lower, too, he says. “It’s all about being relevant.”
In these tough times, doing business is all about saving money. In that sense, e-mail marketing might be a useful barometer of economic sentiment. Growth in the market may suggest a desire not to spend more on advertising elsewhere.
Posted by Mark Boslet 
