There is speculation that direct email marketing solutions will not continue to be as worthwhile as they were 4 or 5 years ago. The economics of email marketing for customer retention and acquisition will likely be different in the future. However, one thing will continue to be the de facto standard in email marketing – permission. For positive email campaigns however, more will be required. As one email marketing solutions founder said, "permission has become so mainstream now that while in the past there was a real difference between acquisition email lists harvested from newsgroups and permission-based lists, being permission-based is no longer the differentiator it used to be for either the marketer or the user."

In the present online marketing field, only permission-based email campaigns that have a high ‘inbox visibility’ degree provide worthwhile and positive Return on Investment to marketers both on the acquisition and the retention fronts. Today’s email marketing solutions are aimed at improving inbox visibility through implementation of practices that are related to crafting email subject lines and strategies of the sort. However to attain sustained inbox visibility, email marketing solutions strategies will need to go deeper. Implementing strategies that insulate one from the shifting market dynamics in email marketing will give any company the real competitive advantage.

What email marketing solutions strategies will prove successful? Directly anticipated email communications. By and large, directly anticipated emails will prove immune to growing inbox invisibility since their arrival is anticipated by the recipients. These campaigns can be run through email newsletter campaigns. Other strategies include gathering emails of individuals interested in particular products and delivering such information immediately to the individuals. It is becoming increasingly difficult to overcome the problem of inbox invisibility but email newsletters seem to have a better chance of overcoming this problem as well as other email marketing solutions that move away from direct email strategies.

If you’ve got an offline business, don’t underestimate the powers of email marketing. You can definitely use it to your advantage. It will give your business the mileage that it needs, regardless if you own a website or not.

To remind your customers that your business is always there to answer their needs, these are the five email marketing tips that you should follow:

1. Inform your past, present, and future customers about store specials through email.
What’s the best form of announcement of a sale or store event other than through a special invitation arriving at your customer’s inbox? Not only would you give your customers first-hand information about the upcoming special at your store. You will also allow them to prepare for the event that you have especially prepared for them. A big sale and a good package deal offered for a limited time are good enough reasons to send emails to your customers.

2. Send your customers holiday greetings through email.
You don’t have to email your customers just because you want to invite them to your store to buy something. Sending them a little Thank You note for their purchase, a Christmas card, or a Birthday card are enough to show them that you truly care for them as an individual and not just for the profits that you make from them.

3. Create informative materials or newsletters for your customers.
People are getting tired of the junk and the marketing materials they receive in their mail. If you are truly dedicated to superior customer service to your clients, you won’t add up to the clutter they are getting everyday in their emails. Instead, you make sure that you send them news, features, and items that they can be truly interested in. A regular newsletter would allow you to keep in touch with your customers for a long period of time. Try to get their permission for this.