Digital Impact Launches Collaborative E-Mail Network

Digital Impact Inc. launched Email Exchange, a cooperative system through which clients work together to expand their opt-in email lists.

Email Exchange was designed to support the growing interest of online marketers in building quality, opt-in customer databases and consumers’ increasing desire for control over what companies they do business with on the Web, the company said.

The first companies to join Email Exchange include Tower Records, Omaha Steaks, garden.com, Virtual Vineyards, iGo (formerly 1-800-Batteries) and FogDog Sports. Digital Impact said it expects more than 25 partners to be part of Email Exchange by early fall. The competition includes NetCreations, which runs an opt-in network, among others.

Members of the Email Exchange network include a link in their outbound emails asking their customers if they’d like to receive information from other companies. If so, they are taken to the Email Exchange Web site to choose which e-businesses they want to communicate with.

“We want our clients’ email marketing strategy to be as comprehensive and effective as possible. That means delivering qualified email addresses as well as personalized emails,” said Ray Kaupp, vice president of marketing at Digital Impact.

Digital Impact sends more than 28 million email messages a month on behalf of various Internet marketers. The company is a member of both the TRUSTe Privacy Program and CAUCE, the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email.