A shocking 60% of companies in a just-released study by Return Path did not send "welcome" e-mails to new subscribers. Of the 40% that did send a welcome message, only 33% sent it
within 24 hours. The remaining 7% took anywhere from two days to three
weeks.

Other findings include:

• The shock of the missing welcome
  messages was compounded by the astonishing number of companies – 30%! –
  who didn’t send any email within a month of sign up. While the majority
  did start sending email soon after subscribe, engagement – which is key
  in the first 30-days – was lacking.
• 70% of companies asked for a lot of
  data (name, address, birthday, and so on) at subscribe, and the bulk of
  them – 75% – never used it. This "just in case" mentality is not a good
  experience for subscribers that are forced to complete long forms and
  preferences when the potential benefit is never realized.
• Even across four very different
  industry verticals, the marketing offers (Free Shipping! Discount!
  Sweepstakes!) were surprisingly the same. Often these types of offer
  strategies are self-fulfilling and addictive. Why not use valuable
  content to drive readership and stand out from the crowd?

Find out more about this study here and watch the associated webcast. When you sign up for the webcast you will receive an email with a link to the full study.