What’s in it and how much?
The guide comes in at a whopping 293 pages with almost 200 charts, tables and graphs. At that size I was pleased to see just how easy a read the report actually was. When you consider the value of the data in MarketingSherpa’s 2010 eMail Marketing Benchmark report, it’s a steal at just $447.

Who should read it?
While this report is by no means a beginner’s guide to eMail marketing, for the more experienced, it may well be the best thing to happen to the 10 AM management meeting since donuts and coffee. The report will help you answer questions which might come up and it’s sure handy for presentations. We could call it the eMail marketing bible but, a better description might be to refer to it as the Encyclopaedia Britannica of eMail marketing statistics.

What we like about it

This is the “mac daddy” of guides. We think MarketingSherpa provides great data and research with easy to understand insight. They present complex trends and data with easy to understand analysis on each page and they do it in concise, plain English. We also like that MarketingSherpa offers a 30 day money back guarantee on the publications.

Download the Executive Summary Excerpt here!

Major reports of interest:

2009 eMail Marketing Benchmark Survey
1,493 real-life marketers from a range of business and consumer-focused firms responded to the survey in August and September of 2009.

Special Report on Social Sharing
The big buzz now is about the best platform for direct marketing, both now and in the future. Taking a quick glance at the chart I started to feel a bit of dread that the ostrich effect might be taking hold and yet the summary from MarketingSherpa accompanying the data was excellent and will probably go down with many eMail marketers as would a warm cup of cocoa on a cold December eve.

Special Report on Consumer Attitudes
How marketers see spam and how consumers see it are two different things.

Focus on Business to Business eMail Marketing
B2C and B2B eMail marketing are two different things. Are your eMail marketing tactics demonstrating an understanding of the prospect’s needs? According to the findings here, that is critical.

Year Two of Sherpa’s International eMail Study
No major surprises in this report. How much eMail marketing you do outside of your home market depends on how big you are and if you are B2B or B2C. However the numbers seem to suggest a potential opening for companies willing to take the time to attack foreign markets with targeted marketing in the native tongue.

Notes From The Field
17 case studies share real world experiences of eMail marketers such as: “How to Build a Subscriber List Inexpensively Using Blogs and Contests”.

Glossary
The report once again includes a huge glossary of terms related to eMail marketing.

Download the Executive Summary Excerpt here!

Takeaway: MarketingSherpa has certainly provided the interpretation and the insight. That makes this a very effective reference tool for planning your marketing strategy and well worth the price.

A sample from the index

We think one of the best ways to demonstrate some of the value of the report is to provide an example from the index so that you get an idea of what to expect. Here’s the index for the chapter on social media:

Chapter 7: Special Report on Social Sharing — an Emerging Email Tactic …………….. 189

Why Email and Social Media Are Made for Each Other ………………………………………………………….. 189

7.01 Email Marketing Goals That Social Sharing Helps You Accomplish ……………………………. 189

7.02 What Social Sharing Accomplishes, by Organization Size ………………………………………… 190

7.03 What Social Sharing Accomplishes, by Target Market ……………………………………………… 191

7.04 What Social Sharing Accomplishes, by Organization Type ……………………………………….. 192

Marketer Insights on Social Sharing ……………………………………………………………………………………. 193

7.05 B2C Marketers Share Insights on Social Sharing …………………………………………………….. 193

7.06 B2B Marketers Share Insights on Social Sharing …………………………………………………….. 194

Overcoming Obstacles to Social Sharing ……………………………………………………………………………… 196

7.07 Barriers to Adopt Sharing Email Content With Social Media Sites………………………………. 196

7.08 Major Barriers to Adopt Social Sharing, by Organization Size ……………………………………. 197

7.09 Major Barriers to Adopt Social Sharing, by Target Market …………………………………………. 198

7.10 Major Barriers to Adopt Social Sharing, by Organization Type …………………………………… 199

7.11 Email Is More Important Than Social Media, by Target Market ………………………………….. 200

7.12 Number of Marketers Who Agree That Social Media Will Become a Standard Tactic Like

Email, by Target Market ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 201

Notes From the Field: Promotional Email Inspires Interaction and Drives Social Sharing ……………. 202

Integrating Email and Social Media ……………………………………………………………………………………… 204

7.13 Status of Social Sharing Strategies in 2009 …………………………………………………………….. 204

7.14 Integrating Social Media Into the Marketing Mix ………………………………………………………. 205

7.15 How Well Does Social Media Fit With Other Marketing Tactics? ………………………………… 206

Notes From the Field: How Social Sharing Buttons Increase Email Interaction ………………………….. 207

Why Email Needs Social Media ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 210

7.16 Marketers Planning to Use Social Sharing as a List Growth Tactic, 2008 to 2009 ………… 210

7.17 Where Buyers Receive Information About Your Brand, Products and Company…………… 211

7.18 Visitors to Social Media Sites Are More Likely to Spread What They Find …………………… 212

Why Social Media Needs Email ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 213

7.19 Email Is the Most Acceptable Channel for Permission-Based Messaging ……………………. 213

7.20 Acceptability of Messages Sent via Email Vs. Social Networks ………………………………….. 214

7.21 Email is Social, and it‟s Not Going Anywhere ………………………………………………………….. 215

Click below to order your copy of MarketingSherpa’s eMail Marketing 2010 Benchmark Report!

Takeaway: If you have never read it buy it – there is a 100% money back guarantee. This is the book that you need to buy this year and will want to buy every year there after.