E-mail marketing executives talk incessantly about the importance of relevancy. And rightly so.

But they often also talk about relevancy like it’s new and unique to e-mail. It’s not. It’s related to a direct marketing concept that’s as old as, well, direct marketing: The good old 40/40/20 rule.

According to this rule, a DM campaign’s likelihood of success is determined 40% by the offer, 40% by the list or target it reaches and just 20% by the creative approach employed.

The CEO of a business-to-business catalog firm I wrote copy for once mercilessly seared the concept into my brain, and I’ve never forgotten it.

E-mail marketing executives talk incessantly about the importance of relevancy. And rightly so.

But they often also talk about relevancy like it