FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Postage Increase Spotlights Cost Benefits of Email Marketing

Cody, WY -- July 9, 2002 -- The recent increase in postal rates has direct mailers once again evaluating the cost advantages of email as a delivery medium. Developers of email marketing software, likewise, are upbeat over the renewed interest in their technologies, but the best way to reach customers and engage them in a dialog, according to one email software company CEO, isn't about trying to replace one medium with the other. Instead, says Mike Adams, CEO of Arial Software, LLC (www.ArialSoftware.com), smart marketers understand the strengths and weaknesses of each medium and use the two in a partnership that multiplies their combined effectiveness.

"Successful direct marketing combines the flair and impact of direct mail with the cost-effectiveness and timeliness of email to build a lasting, trusting relationship with customers," says Adams, also known as the "Email Doctor." In a newly published feature article on his site, www.EmailDoctor.info, Adams offers details on why this latest round of postage hikes doesn't mean the beginning of the end for the U.S. Postal Service.

Consumers still respond to direct mail, he explains, and so mailers will continue to use it. The rate hike only means that mailers will have to be slightly more selective in who they mail. Adams also explains that most consumers appreciate physical catalogs, magazines and newspapers, and even if they later use the Internet to place orders and read email updates from merchants, it was the traditional media exposure that usually got them interested in the first place.

"Traditional media and electronic media," he says, "work best as partners that share a common goal: to create a meaningful conversation with customers that ultimately benefits both parties."

Adams' own company, Arial Software, has been selling email marketing software to corporations and non-profits for more than eight years. In that time, Adams has seen email marketing evolve into a foundation of modern marketing. "Email marketing is here to stay," he explains. "And for the foreseeable future, so is direct mail."

Background: As the Email Doctor, Mike Adams publishes free feature articles for marketing professionals on EmailDoctor.info. Adams is the founder of Arial Software and has served as its CEO since 1994.

An evaluation version of Campaign Enterprise 8 is available at: http://www.arialsoftware.com/sw_download.asp

About Arial Software

Founded in 1993, Arial Software is widely considered the industry leader in comprehensive software designed exclusively for relationship marketing through personalized e-mail messaging.

The company’s products are implemented by large and small organizations to send personalized emails to customers, prospects, members or subscribers. Arial’s mission is to be a universal provider of software tools to automate, personalize and measure meaningful email communications. Company information can be found at the Arial Software Media Center, http://www.arialsoftware.com/presscenter.htm.