In the recent past, e-mail marketing quickly became the preferred method of contact for businesses looking to cut expenses, connect with buyers and increase profits. In a matter of minutes, it was possible to use software programs to blast thousands of e-mails to prospective clients. E-mail campaigns could be deployed quickly and tested in a very cost-effective manner. Personalization options were plentiful and cheap. However, as the dynamic world of marketing has progressed, analysts are have encountered some disadvantages to e-mail marketing that have made other alternatives like direct marketing campaigns or text campaigns look more appealing.
Deliverability
Now that many service providers have sophisticated junk-mail filters, it can be really hard to ensure that your e-mails are getting through to the intended targets' inboxes. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that individuals will bother reading an e-mail from someone who is not in their contact list. This is increasingly becoming a drawback of e-mail marketing.
Engagement
It's difficult to keep subscribers actively engaged with your company in the long-term. Recipients are most responsive when they first begin receiving your e-mails and their interest tend to taper off as time goes by, eventually unsubscribing. The top reasons people unsubscribe is that they feel the content is irrelevant, they're sick of your messages, they fear their e-mail is being shared with other parties, they don't remember ever signing up or they are concerned about their privacy.
Limited Creativity
E-mail marketing messages need to be short and infused with calls to action. You can't spend time coaxing or explaining. You need to wrap up your purpose in a few brief paragraphs. While you may desire a message with color, graphics and links, not all browsers will support these "unsecured" items. In the end, your message will end up looking so mangled, that the recipient will immediately close the window or you will have to just settle for the drab all-text e-mail. This is another severe limitation of e-mail marketing.
Expense
Congress passed the CAN-SPAM act in 2003, which imposes a $16,000 fine per violation for sending out spam mail. While this law remains largely unenforced, there have been several high-profile cases where perpetrators have been sentenced with 70 days to five years in prison, and charged fines ranging from $10,000 to $1.3 million for violations. Even though e-mail marketing is very inexpensive to propagate, the outcome could wind up costing a lot more if a judge deems your messages "useless spam."