I here the statement all the time that email marketing is dead and buried.

Is this the case or is there still a heartbeat for email marketing as a promotion and traffic-generating tool?

Look at it this way email marketing in terms of spamming is indeed out. With new spam blocking tools becoming more powerful it makes it harder and harder to even get your message to the reader so dont waist your time. Besides showing up in some ones inbox with out an invitation can create a negative affect for your business and turn potential customers off.

You want to get customers to come into your website not running away from your site.

Opt-in Email marketing is the way to go.

What is op-in email?

This is the process of a visitor to your website sign up to receive more information about your website through a newsletter to their email. Another words they invite you to send them more information.

How do I get visitors to op-in for a newsletter?

By providing free tools along with subscription sign up is a great way to build your newsletter list. Having subscribers invite your news, articles, etc. into their inbox keeps your business in their mind by reminding them youre your website still exist.

Studies show that it takes some visitors 5 hits to your website before they will ever by. This is said to be a good amount of visits that build trust for your business and website.

Provide more value to your site with quality newsletters on a targeted subject. Reports show that an average of 2% - 5% of your total visitors will purchase first time. So you need to use a subscription opt-in email marketing to promote to the 95%, again focusing on the 5-visit theory to eventually converting to buyers.

Note: It is a good idea not to advertise to your customers in every single newsletter or in every message. Customers are advertised to all day long so you may want to build a more valued relationship by proving quality content Vs ad, ad, ad.

If email opt-in is done correctly it is indeed an important piece to your overall Internet marketing strategy.