Stamford, CT—Some marketers have had difficulty making e-mail prospecting work, but Queensboro Shirt Co. isn’t one of them. During the past year, the Wilmington, NC-based cataloger of business apparel has shifted much of its prospecting away from print mailings in favor of e-mail, founder Fred Meyers explained during a session at list firm MeritDirect’s Third Annual Business Mailers’ Co-op and E-mail Marketing Conference. The conference runs July 11 and 12 at the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
In 2001, Meyers said, e-mail promotions generated 5% of Queensboro’s revenue from prospects; last year, that jumped to 80%. At the same time, Meyers began reducing catalog circulation two years ago, partly in reaction to the sluggish economy. Traditionally, however, the cataloger used a two-page letter, rather than a catalog, to prospect.
As for the creative of the prospecting e-mails, Meyers said that in tests so far, an e-mail version of the two-page letter has performed better than an HTML version of a space ad that Queensboro has run in magazines.