Optify’s 2012 Marketing Benchmark Report correctly predicted that 2013 would be the year of the eNewsletter. Their findings are based on impressive numbers:

• The conversion rate for email newsletters is 81% higher than the average marketing channel’s conversion rate.
• The conversion rate for email newsletters is also 42% higher than the next best lead generation channel: Referrals.
• Email-generated Web traffic only accounts for 0.8% of total Web traffic generation, but email lead generation is 9% — meaning that email marketing is more than 10 times more effective for lead generation than it is as a Web traffic source.

Solid conversion rate stats for an even brighter future
These trends don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. The Optify report and other studies support the view that email marketing will continue to dominate the B2B marketing industry in 2014, as it consistently offers a significantly higher conversion rate than other marketing channels. Consider these figures from the 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report and the Epsilon Email Marketing Research Center:

• As a channel, email marketing was the third overall lead generation source for marketers in 2013, producing 13% of all leads.
• Email marketing produced an above average conversion rate for 27% of marketers in 2013.
• Despite certain prognostications that email marketing is dead or dying, open and clickthrough rates have remained stable.

Take advantage of a great conversion rate
To achieve a consistently high clickthrough rate and conversion rate, marketers increasingly need to deliver much more personalized and relevant content. It’s more important than ever to know precisely what information your readers are looking for to help them make a purchasing decision.

If you’re wondering how you can make your email newsletter content more finely targeted and relevant to readers, there’s good news: Proven Systems can do the hard work for you. Because we’re experts in email marketing, we know how to get the results you’re looking for — including better quality lead generation and an increased conversion rate like the ones reflected in these surveys.

2013 was a banner year for the eNewsletter, and 2014 is forecasted to be just as good or even better — provided that email marketers follow the trends and personalize the content they send to customers and prospects. If you missed out on a year of successful email marketing in 2013, don’t miss the boat in 2014!