Email marketers should use behavioral targeting, concludes a recent Jupiter study on promotional messaging, writes MediaPost. Jupiter's "Promotional Email: Driving Sales Through Behavioral Targeting" suggests that factors such as pages viewed, time spent per page, and shopping cart abandonment be used.

The study found that in 2004 some 10 percent of the 2,229 online consumers surveyed opened email and immediately made a purchase, and 17 percent have opened email and later made a purchase; 73 percent also say they have deleted some promotional emails unopened, and 42 percent have unsubscribed from marketers' mailing lists.

Some 67 percent of those who made purchases after receiving emails said they decided to buy because the message mentioned a sale price; 55 percent said they did so because the marketer offered free or discounted shipping. Only 6 percent said a personalized greeting or subject line influenced their purchase decision.