Email 'a key marketing tactic in 2009'

Email marketing looks set to be a key campaign for businesses in 2009, according to MarketingSherpa.

Announcing the findings of a survey conducted in partnership with Ad:Tech and Babcock & Jenkins, the marketing site revealed that house list email marketing is set to remain a high-performing tactic for return on investment in the eyes of advertisers this year.

However, the research also found that budgets for web analytics and testing are beginning to fall among email marketers.

MarketingSherpa said businesses should note that another study it conducted recently found that tests for landing page content, landing page design, subject lines and email offers were viewed as the most effective tests by email marketers.

Meanwhile, other findings from the latest research suggested that email marketing is increasingly being seen as a key way of generating leads.

"Email can be the primary vehicle for a marketing campaign or an enabler of campaigns in different channels. Email messages support event registration, content downloads, newsletter subscriptions, community membership and interaction and more," MarketingSherpa said.

Last month, a study by StrongMail Systems revealed that email marketing will be a key focus for three-quarters of firms intending to spend more on online advertising in 2009.