You will probably have seen the suggestion of the $100 billion flotation of Facebook, their major asset being, it is assumed, their 800 million subscribers. Whilst you are looking at the returns from you email marketing software, working out which subjects are most important, spare a thought for those on the massively subscribed social network sites.

How much are your email marketing lists worth? Each individual has probably very little intrinsic value. Whether one person prefers cycling to driving is of little consequence. However, how much better if you know the preferences of all of your subscribers to a greater or lesser extent.

A point to remember is that email marketing software does not require any direct input from the subscriber. If they buy white wine at a ratio of 10:1 with red then there is no argument. They prefer white.

There is the classic case of the newspaper which asked its readers what they preferred and the answer came back that they wanted more sophisticated material. The change to the content to reflect the replies nearly broke the paper. Email marketing software bypasses the individual’s professed likes and instead goes for what they have shown they prefer.

The old saying, it is in the detail, was never more true than when applied to email marketing. The fact that one particular subscriber might have picked a DVD of a television costume drama means little on its own. A thousand such subscribers means that you have the start of a very lucrative email marketing list. If your company also provides themed holidays you are probably already booking the coaches and looking up the filming locations.

The valuation of Facebook, if it is correct of course, gives a value of $125/£80 for each individual subscriber. Email marketing software should ensure that the subscribers to your email list will return a great deal more than that.

There are always tough times ahead. That is the nature of business. However, when considering where to invest your money then think about increasing your email marketing list. Whether the social networking sites are a long lasting phenomenon or not need not worry you.