We thought that our readers might find this interesting. Last week we put out a press release about how despite the general economic situation here in the U.S., Internet businesses in general, and the email industry in particular, is booming. So many of our colleagues, and our own customers, are so busy that they need to hire just to keep up with the pace and demand!
The below is an abbreviated version. I’m not going to copy the entire release here, but here are the highlights, and there is a link to the full release at the bottom, if you would like to read it.
The Institute for Social Internet Public Policy (ISIPP) has seen an almost explosive growth in email marketing and related industries despite a full-blown recession and an uncertain future for some of the world’s largest industries such as the auto industry, mortgage companies and lenders, wireless companies, and even some Internet Service Providers.
“What we’re seeing is that the email industries are exploding with growth. In fact many companies are actually hiring. We’ve been saying all along that the Internet industries would be the growth industries in the next economic cycle, and it makes sense,” says Anne P. Mitchell, CEO of the Institute for Social Internet Public Policy (ISIPP).
While email marketing and related industries have already grown tremendously in popularity and sophistication over the years, this is not the only reason these industries seem immune to the perils of recession. The proactive business practices of certain types of companies in these industries have naturally immunized them, and made them essentially recession-proof.
“The Internet companies that we are seeing that are doing very well are the ones who have taken no outside venture capital or other investments, and have been kept private. They are lean, and light on their feet, and so in every way are able to respond to the changing economy and market demands,” says Mitchell.
John Brogan, whose Global Intellisystems sends out email on behalf of companies such as Garden Center News, Cruise Division, and many Fortune 500 companies says, “While it’s true that the economy is generally hurting, that sure doesn’t seem to be the case for Internet businesses. We’re so busy right now that I’m having to hire on more staff just to handle the influx!”
Dave Taylor, noteworthy Blogging Consultant and Founder of Intuitive Systems says, “While for many the economy may be dropping like a lead weight, thanks to my business being built on the Internet, I’m not only floating, I’m moving into the best period of the year, with a visible uptick in both traffic and revenue.”
“We’re so busy at ThisIsTrue.com that we’ve not only had to hire more staff, but we’ll be paying out a year-end bonus for the increase to our bottom line. And, since the recession was officially declared, we’ve had an upswing in ad sales too,” says Randy Cassingham, author of the best-selling Stella Awards, and publisher of the popular online newsletter, This is True.
According to Leo Notenboom, founder of the popular tech site Ask-Leo.com, “Both traffic and revenue continue at such a steady growth that even though I keep expecting it, so far seems unaffected by the state of the economy – business is good.”
“Our Internet business is prospering more than ever,” says Joel Comm, CEO of InfoMedia, Inc., a Loveland, CO new media firm. “I’ve never seen so much opportunity to enter the marketplace by embracing the online world. Creativity and innovation are a must, but the rewards are both immediate and significant.”
Shawn Collins, who runs the popular industry trade show, Affiliate Summit , said that “Business has been amazing, and we’re continuing to grow. In fact for our upcoming January 2009 Affilliate Summit, the exhibit hall is 17% bigger than for 2008, and our attendee registration numbers are up 10%!”
And Derek Scruggs, Vice President of Sales and Business Development, SurveyGizmo, exclaimed “We’re rocking! We’ve had record revenue each of the last three months, and an overall growth this year of nearly 700%!”
Concluded Peter Shankman, founder of the incredibly successful newly-founded Internet business HARO (Help a Reporter Out), “Having just won the Mashable 2008 Open Web Award in the social news category is a testament to the power of something as old-school as email. To be able to change the playing field of how news sources are found whule making a living at it shows the true ability of good ideas to thrive online.”
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Of course, the release we sent out didn’t have so many quotes in it, but these are all the quotes in the full release on our site.
So what are you seeing? Is it the same where you work?
The link to the full press release is here.
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One response
Hi Anne,
While there always seems to be a market for strategy, I’ve been seeing an uptick in data integration, program implementation, and deeper segmentation.
I’ve also seen an influx of traditional direct marketers that haven’t seemed to bother learning the difference between email marketing and direct mail marketing.