When you think of e-commerce sites and what you need to be successful, many people think of Amazon- style Web sites with coupon codes; free shipping deals and more products than a single consumer could ever browse in a single day.

While many retail sites use a number of the popular e-commerce tools to increase sales, like digital coupons, and Google SEO; one company is finding success by using consumer-focused content and direct digital marketing as the driving force behind turning a profit.

The PetPlace.com site has a number of opt-in opportunities for capturing e-mail addresses to grow its subscriber list. (Click for larger image).

A History Embedded in Content

Founded in 1999, PetPlace.com is one of the top-ten online pet Web sites (according to Nielsen NetRatings). The site offers a vast library of pet-focused articles and medical expertise from 85 veterinary contributors.

According to the company’s President, Diego Saenz, when the site first launched, Pet Place provided the content for a number of channels, including AOL and Netscape—back in the day when those were the popular content publishers.

Over the years the company’s business model changed, but throughout its 10-year history, the company maintained a firm grasp on the content-focused PetPlace.com property.

Marketing as More Than a Delivery Tool

In 2005 PetPlace.com re-launched with a much stronger advertising presence and a focus on driving profits with e-mail marketing. 

The new goal was to effectively reach the right person, at the right time, with the right marketing message. To do this, PetPlace.com invested in the ExactTarget platform, which offered new ways to interact with customers and to segment their marketing lists for better targeting.

The new marketing efforts brought forth bigger-brand advertisers, which was a big boost to PetPlace.com

Adding a Retail Aspect for Big Profits

In the third quarter of 2008 PetPlace.com began testing sales and promotions via its newsletter campaigns.  “We started testing our product promotions with a product called Perfect Litter,” recalled Saenz. “Within three e-mails we sold our entire inventory.”

The company then invested in a third-party warehouse facility and started buying product direct. It then launched PetProductAdvisor.com, an online retail site for its vet-approved products. 

Using targeted and focused ExactTarget e-mail marketing campaigns, the new e-commerce business went from zero to $1 million in online sales in less than 12 months, however the company sees the majority of its sales as a direct result of successful e-mail marketing.

Keys to Conversions and Profitability

According to Saenz, PetPlace aims for campaigns that are a fifty-fifty split between knowledge and e-commerce.  The company cites its use of highly effective landing pages as a key element to conversion.  “In the newsletter we sell the problem”, said Saenz. “Then our targeted landing page sells the solution.”

An example might be an e-mail discussing “How to bathe a dog in less than five minutes.” Consumers can click-through to a special landing page with compelling sales copy and a video tutorial of a bath product being used. The landing page also includes the cart function so shoppers can purchase immediately instead of being redirected to the main PetProductAdvisor.com retail site.

How Many E-mails Does it Take to Reach 1M in Sales?

The simple answer is 10 million e-mails per month over a 12-month period.

But the answer really isn’t quite that simple because you can’t just spam a large subscriber list with any old e-mail newsletter and hope for the same success. To be successful, Saenz said that you must segment your lists, and do your A/B testing. “Then,” he added, “you have to target the right people with the right message at the right time.”

The company uses data from Google Analytics, combined with a customer’s identified type of pet, and then uses Exact Target’s Enterprise Edition automation tools to select the best content and product offers. The e-mail newsletter that a subscriber receives is based on his or her activity on the site, recent clicks in e-mails and previously identified interests. 

The company can measure engagement, consumer behavior and can also segment their subscriber list into any number of smaller, focused lists. The lists are monitored daily for things like open rates, and link analysis is used to determine the best placement for landing page links in the e-mail. 

The company also uses these tools for price testing. For example, one landing page may have a price of $29.99 and another set to a $39.99 price point. Based on consumer responses to these landing pages, Petplace.com is able to launch new products in the Web store at exactly the right price to maximize profits.

Petplace.com has a high e-mail conversion, mainly because the e-mails sent to subscribers are relevant and received by the consumer at the time they are looking for that specific information. Since the e-mail campaigns are so highly targeted, Saenz says the company also has a low unsubscribe rate.

Going forward, the company plans to do more cross-promotion between its PetPlace.com and PetProductAdvisor.com sites.  Currently the company is also investing in social media.  Dr. Jon, the main veterinary voice behind the professional advice on the site, uses Twitter to answer questions and communicate with pet-owners.  

Vangie Beal is a veteran online seller and frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com. You can tweet with her online @AuroraGG.