Newspapers, Local Media Missing E-mail Revenue Stream

Every day stories surface about local media firms laying off staff or closing up shop all together, but many may be missing out on a large, untapped revenue stream: e-mail advertising. Among the oldest form of online advertising, e-mail has yet to be fully adopted by local media firms or local advertisers. However, according to a new report from Borrell Associates, it's poised to grow significantly in the next few years. Just a fraction of e-mail marketing revenue is local, says Borrell. While the e-mail market reaps $12.1 billion, only $848 million of that is local. However, the local media research outfit predicts big growth for local e-mail spending. By 2013, Borrell expects local e-mail revenues will exceed $2 billion, increasing 150 percent.