It is a truism in email marketing that you should experiment, changing an aspect and then studying the returns from the email marketing software to see whether it gives a greater return on investment. It is another truism that you should not risk losing subscribers to your email lists. You should bear these two restrictions in mind all the time. So when a medium priced software manufacturer sends marketing emails on a daily basis in the three week run up to Christmas you have to wonder if desperation is a motivator.

One of the major complaints of subscribers is too frequent sending. It might not be the major cause of unsubcribes, but it is up there amongst the leaders. However, it would appear that far from bombarding everyone on their email marketing lists with the daily offer, they have been partial in their choice of recipient. Those favoured have been good customers in the past but over recent months have been inactive.

There is something of the band on the Titanic about the ploy. In both cases they were taking a big risk, offering of their best to those who were, to say the least, otherwise preoccupied. There is the feeling that they should have been concentrating on different matters and looking after their own interests.

Continuing with the analogy both discovered whether or not the experiment was a good idea in a relatively short time: the band within a few hours, and the company as soon as the returns from the email marketing software arrived, so even quicker.

We too will know whether the daily marketing emails were worthwhile but not, probably, until this time next year if they again send out daily emails, or not as the case may be.

Care will be needed when extrapolating the results as the email marketing list was specific. But the balance between profit and subscribers will be clear enough.

There is something awe inspiring about the brave abandon demonstrated by the company and a sneaking admiration was my first response. Sensible experimentation is the key to success in our craft. Email marketing software will provide the answer as to whether this should be called sensible.