You may have heard that email marketing is dead.
Let me set the record straight- it’s not.
Email marketing is still the most effective way to communicate with your customers. In fact, multiple studies continue to find it to be more effective than social media, website advertising, and even in-person interactions.
And because of Covid-19, it’s become even more important.
As the pandemic started, we began to shop more online. 75% of people now shop online and ship to their home CIT. And email marketing can fuel that shopping frenzy.
And that’s not the only change the pandemic triggered. According to a study by GWI.com, it seems that people have become a lot more focused on their purpose and what makes them happy. More people today have started to care less about being careful with money, and consumers are optimistic about their personal finances.
Why Email? Here Are the Benefits:
Since email marketing is used to communicate with customers who have opted in (so you know they want to hear from you) it’s a great way to build relationships. It can be used to send newsletters, promotions, or send individualized messages to customers. But beyond anything else, a good email campaign should offer lots of value and show your brand personality–both reasons why they should stay subscribed and learn more about how you can help them.
In the Trail to the Sale™ email marketing becomes important in the Consideration stage. That’s the point where your customers start thinking a little more seriously about what you have to offer and how you can solve their problems. It’s the point where you can help them get to know, like, and trust you.
But why email instead of other forms of digital marketing? Here’s why email stands out:
1. Cheapest
Email is still the most cost-effective way to reach your audience, with a lower cost and a higher click-through rate (CTR) than any other form of digital communication–including social media. In 2018, email marketing accounted for over 51% of all online marketing spending (and that was before the pandemic).CIT
2. Effective
You’re communicating with people who have asked to hear from you or have downloaded something of interest to them related to your product or service, so you know they are already interested in your product or service.
3. Fast
It only takes minutes to send an email out, and 23% of emails are opened within an hour of receiving it. CIT
4. Customizable
Testing and customizing your email campaigns can tell you what information your customer wants and how often they want to hear from you. Data tell a story.
Emails that Work
In 2022, it’s estimated that 333.2 billion emails will be sent out. CIT Your customers’ inboxes are busy places, so here’s how your emails can stand out from the competition:
1. Personalization
88% of email recipients say that they are more likely to respond positively to an email that has been created specifically for them, and 62% of emails are opened because of a personalized subject line. But personalization goes beyond using their first name. It’s also about segmenting your list so they hear about what they’re interested in. Segmented emails have a 50% higher CTR than non-segmented campaigns.CIT
What is segmentation? Most email service providers will allow you to create ways to mark or tag people who click on certain parts of your email, making it possible to mark what people are interested in learning more about. For example, if you sell household products and your customers click on lamps in an email or a landing page, you know they are probably interested in lighting products and can be tagged and segmented as such in your email program for future emails about that product.
But stay tuned. Apples’ new update includes their Mail Privacy Protection, which keeps business owners from learning if the email has been opened, what people have clicked on, or where they are located. This is a win for privacy, but a loss for online marketers. This means that marketers will have to find a new way to be able to get this data until a workaround is found.
2. Frequency
The number one reason why people unsubscribe to an email is they are getting them too often.CIT So how often should you email? Although that depends on you, your customer, and the business, I recommend emailing your list weekly at a minimum–more often during a promotion or special event. Your objective is to keep your product or service top of mind and give them value. If you do this enough and develop a relationship with them, they will overlook additional emails during a launch or a promotion.
But in marketing, testing is always key. Test various schedules to find out what works best for your business.
3. Talk to One Person
Before you write anything to your list, make sure you have your best customer avatar in place. Why? Because part of personalizing your email is the way you write. We all write with different “voices” and you want to make sure you are writing as though your avatar is your friend–as though you’re sitting down for coffee and having a [written] conversation with them. That will make the difference between a dry, boring email and one that your audience looks forward to reading. If they are not your person, then they will unsubscribe (and that’s okay). But writing to everybody means you’re really writing to nobody in particular.
4. Value
I have an email for a restaurant I get at least weekly. I love the restaurant, but each week they send me a photo of one of their dishes. That’s it. I keep opening it, hoping that this will be the week they will send me a coupon, or something special for being a subscriber. But no. So yesterday, I unsubscribed. There was no value–only promotion.
So what’s my final tip for email marketing? It’s as simple as sending emails that your customers want to read–they want to receive emails that have value. That might be information, discounts, or something else your customer wants to receive. Don’t know what that is? Ask them.
Just Getting Started with Email?
If you’re not using email yet for your business, it’s not too late to join the party. Stay tuned for next week’s article on how to get started in email marketing some tips to grow your list in 2022.
Sources
- www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/why-marketers-should-keep-sending-you-emails
- www.npr.org/2022/01/12/1072057249/new-business-applications-record-high-great-resignation-pandemic-entrepreneur
- www.gwi.com/connecting-the-dots/pursuit-of-purpose
- optinmonster.com/online-shopping-statistics/
- snov.io/blog/email-marketing-statistics/
- www.superoffice.com/blog/email-open-rates/
- blogs.constantcontact.com/what-is-the-roi-of-email-marketing/
