Are you considering email marketing but not sure it works? Maybe you have been using it but you just aren’t seeing the results that you want. After all, email marketing has been around for quite some time even though it seems everything else in the digital world changes on a nearly daily basis.
But does email marketing really matter in today’s day and age?
And what exactly does the data say?
And if it does matter, how can it be done better?
It Matters!
Despite the quickness with which everything else in the digital world changes, email marketing still works! Why? Because in 2019, there were 3.9 billion daily email users. With most users checking their inboxes daily or even multiple times a day, you have the ability to reach people where they are, including on their mobile devices!
Think about it. Your target audience may be on Facebook. Or maybe they are on SnapChat. But no matter what social media platform they are on, they more than likely have an email account that they check daily. That really is a colossal amount of reach!
One of the other great things about email marketing is that it is not as intrusive as other forms of marketing. People who receive an email can read it at their leisure, making it a more welcome form of communication.
Let’s Dive into the Data
You’re probably thinking, “That’s great so many people check their email daily, but does it work for me?” The answer is yes. Email marketing delivers a strong return on investment (ROI). For every $1 you spend, you can expect an average ROI of $42!
According to small and midsize businesses, email is the main source for customer acquisition and customer retention. According to Emarsays (2018), 80% of small businesses rely on email as their primary source of customer retention. This means that using email is a great way to reach new customers and stay in contact with existing ones.
Beyond that, nearly half of consumers want to receive promotional emails from their favorite brands on a weekly basis. This means that consumers are happy to hear from you via email and ready to spend money when you give them an incentive to do so!
Some Best Practices
Despite all the great stats, you can still use email marketing and not really get much out of it if you aren’t using some best practices. So, let’s take a look at some things you should be doing if you want to get the most out of your email marketing campaigns.
Be Upfront: Let your subscribers know just how often they should expect an email from you. Then make sure you follow through with that promise.
Schedule It: Create an email marketing calendar, just like you would for your other marketing strategies. Plan at least 3 months in advance to help give you plenty of time to avoid rushing to create good content.
Brand It: Make sure that all of your email campaigns use the same branding as on your website and socials. You want users to instantly recognize that an email is from you.
Personalize It: According to Yes Lifecycle Marketing (2017), emails with personalized subject lines have a 50% higher open rate. So personalize your emails to include individual names.
Prompt Them: Each email you send should have a call to action. Never send an email without a link or you’ll just be wasting your time.
Make it Engaging: Your emails should be engaging but also easy to scan. Interactive emails are on the rise and adding videos to your emails can increase click rates by 300%! Some other interactive elements include sliders, collapsible menus and GIFs. But don’t forget to optimize for mobile devices as well!
Use Cart Reminders: Use emails to remind consumers of abandoned online shopping carts. Don’t think it will work? The data shows that sending three abandoned cart emails can result in 69% more orders than a single email (Omnisend, 2018).
Not Mutually Exclusive: It’s important to remember that social media and email marketing are not mutually exclusive. In fact, cross marketing can really pay off. Be sure to include links to your social channels in every email and use your social channels to drive email signups.