Substantial Potential as "the" Advertising Tool The statistics show that individuals and companies are opening their minds to the growing necessity called the Internet, enabling Email marketing to be significantly more efficient than nearly any other form of marketing. Jupiter Communications estimates that online media advertising revenue will grow at a compound annual rate of 67%, from $1.9 billion in 1998 to $4.4 billion in 2000. Concurrently, direct marketing revenue is projected to increase from $86 million in 1997 to $632 million in 2000, a compound annual growth rate of 94%. Since direct marketing by Email is available at a fraction of the cost of traditional direct marketing, the growth of Email as a direct marketing tool is expected to be significant.

Source: Jupiter Communications

Explosive Market Growth
Electronic mail has become the Internet's killer app, utilized by 97% of all Internet users. Email is one of the most widely used forms of business communication as well as a preferred means of personal communication. In 1998, there were 77 million Email users in the United States sending 246 million Email messages a day. By 2002, it is estimated that this will escalate to 131 million users creating 576 million messages a day on the Internet.

Recent research by International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that the installed base of electronic mailboxes (LAN, UNIX, Internet, and Midrange/Mainframe) is forecasted to grow to over 247 million by the year 2000. A full 66% of the total number of electronic mailboxes in 1995 were based in the United States, suggesting that the worldwide penetration of Email is still in its todler stage. Email is a highly flexible platform with the potential to facilitate Internet commerce, and also to provide an alternative means of interpersonal communication. A study by Forrester Research predicts that by 2001, the typical Email consumer will participate in 8 to 10 commerce-related exchanges per week.

Source: IDC
Source: EMMS

Emergence of E-business Applications
It is estimated that 80% of all Email accounts in use today are issued by employers and are intended exclusively for business use. Moreover, it is estimated that 70% of America Online subscribers use the $21.95 per month service exclusively for Email. The promise of email, the Internet’s most pervasive and most widely-used application, is the ability to build a relationship with your customers, clients, employees, members and other important people. Email is simply a better, faster and easier way to talk, to get your message across to the people who want to hear it. But because you may need to talk to thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people, you need tools to make the cost-effective communication possible. You need a powerful commercial e-mail system.

Estimated Traffic and WebPage Stickiness
Successful individuals and companies using Commercial E-mail Tools, must be capable of sustaining high levels of repeat traffic, a characteristic known as "stickiness." The higher the stickiness of a Web site, the more frequently it is revisited by your customer, or Commercial E-mail recipient. It's important to note: Upon logging onto the Internet, a full 70% of Internet users check their Email before doing anything else. The recent acquisition of Email providers by Yahoo and Microsoft is evidence that online media companies recognize the value of Email's ability to generate stickiness.

"Generation Now" Relationship Building Tools
Many online media companies have come to recognize that Email advertising is a key part of a comprehensive Internet marketing strategy, as well as a likely platform for Internet commerce applications. The Business-to-Customer, Business-to-Business Commercial Email industry has recently received substantial attention in the press. The related press coverage has significantly increased public and investor awareness of the Internet Commercial Email industry.