It seems in these tough times, most executives just want their email marketing programs to act as the inbox cash register -- without putting that much time, effort, or strategic thought into the overall direction of these efforts and the resulting impact (good and/or bad) on their business. Even with a full-blown recession staring us down, most companies refuse to acknowledge that email can reduce substantial costs in other operational and marketing areas. We just want to send more emails that sell stuff. Stubborn bunch, aren't we?

Well, I wanted to jump to the front of the line to tell you that email marketing works in other ways. You may be thinking, "Didn't he tell us that before? And by before, I mean every month in this space on iMedia Connection?" That may be the case. But today, I'm speaking from the real email user side of things.

After all, if email marketing didn't work wonders, would I be going to Italy in April?

It all started innocently enough. Travel + Leisure's email newsletter showed up in my inbox during a moment of self reflection. I glanced at the article headlines and romantic images. (Don't worry, I enabled them, as otherwise the red X filled email would have ruined my moment of potential bliss.) I noticed a few text advertorials, and one actually grabbed my attention. So what does a good email subscriber do? Click!

I read about a great offer to Barcelona, and images surfaced in my winter head about sipping wine and enjoying tapas on an ancient rooftop terrace overlooking the sea. This got the travel juices flowing, and gradually my wife and I created an itinerary that had nothing to do with Spain, Travel + Leisure, or the operator offering the deal.

At this point, I will go ahead and state the argument that many will be thinking just about now: The email didn't help sell any trips on behalf of Travel + Leisure or its advertisers, therefore, they received no economic benefit.

Who cares? This article is about the power of email marketing and what it can do to build relationships, loyalty, and other great things outside of driving revenue. (And yes, those other things matter even in an economic downturn.) This article is (hopefully) illustrating and highlighting the fact that email has the influence and power, based on a line of text, to launch a trip to the Amalfi Coast of Italy that I had no intention whatsoever on planning, much less booking in a short time frame.

I call that a pretty powerful email. And I don't recall any 30-second Super Bowl commercial (price tag = $3 million) accomplishing anything close to that. (That being said, here's some fodder to help you to drown in your beer: $200 million was spent on this year's Super Bowl commercials, which is 20 percent of what is spent on email marketing annually.)

So what can you borrow and learn from this tale of azure seas, rugged cliffs, and busy inboxes?

1. Cross promotions and sidebar content shouldn't be a throwaway item.

2. Secondary content can be incredibly powerful.

3. You should test calls to action on ads and content (and not just the main ads and content).

4. Subscribers have different needs. Don't give them a do-or-die email featuring just one piece of content or offer.

5. Ads don't have to be a giant image and hit your subscribers over the head. Subtle can work if it is relevant and valuable.

6. Newsletters are awesome. There. I said it. (Well, I also said it years ago.) Don't give up on these old-school unsung heroes of the digital messaging world.

7. Use your data for better emails.

8. Use your data for better selling and relationships with your advertisers.

9. Your email subscribers may be getting a lot more from your email than you think. (Clicks and opens don't even begin to tell a large part of the story.)

10. Remarket to subscribers while delivering content relevant to what they clicked on. In my example, if I were Travel + Leisure, going forward, I would email me more content about Spain, including links to a preference center where I could read and sign up for newly relevant content and newsletters.

11. Not all ads should be image based. Due to image suppression, half of your audience won't see image-based ads. For example, check out the email below. The large empty ad space on the right doesn't provide much value for the advertisers or readers. (Alt tags anyone?) But the text ad beneath it does deliver value even with images turned off. You need to guide your advertisers on best practices and inbox realities.

Back to what the original question: What did Travel + Leisure get from me? How about loyalty and a stronger relationship with me and, likely, thousands of other email subscribers? Maybe even some money down the road in various forms, including another annual subscription. Regardless, the short term win is a valued subscriber who may even share content with friends and on social networks in the future, which can translate to more relationships and, just maybe, more revenue.

Ciao.

G. Simms Jenkins is founder and CEO of BrightWave Marketing.