Business owners often overlook email marketing in favor of social media or Google Ads; however, it’s a valuable tool. Email marketing offers a direct line of communication to people who are already interested in your product/ service or who have opted into your company emails. An ad may be what first gets you noticed, but email is what keeps customers coming back to your business again and again. It’s a relationship that you build with your subscribers. If you handle that relationship right, it can give you the most significant return on investment.
What’s So Great About Email Marketing?
Cost-Effective Marketing
The email itself is free. You may pay for email automation or email marketing services; however, the email itself, unlike online ads, costs nothing and goes out to your list of subscribers. There are many email automation platforms out there that are cost-effective for your business, and you can pay monthly or annually: MailChimp, Constant Contact, and ActiveCampaign are a few of the most popular email marketing platforms for business owners.
Customizable & Specific
Just because you can send out the same email to thousands doesn’t mean you should. No one likes to get emails that seem like they could be speaking to anyone. With email marketing, you can personalize and segment your emails. If one customer bought shoes and another customer bought jewelry, each email can make personalized recommendations or discuss those products more in-depth. With the right email marketing tools, personalizing your business emails is an easy way to make your customers feel valued and unique. You can segment your subscribers into groups and create several slightly different emails that target each customer based on their likes, interests, products/ services purchased, and more.
Establishes Your Authority
Email newsletters are a great way to keep your customers in the loop about what’s happening at your company. An email can let your subscribers know about your latest products and services. Plus, email is a great way to establish yourself as an authority in your field. Whatever your industry or field, you can use email as a way to provide your subscribers with valuable content.
Creates Buzz For New Products
Whether your company is promoting a new service or product, email is the perfect way to offer your customers and prospects special promos. Think of your own experience using email. When you open an email and see a coupon from your favorite store sitting in your inbox, it’s a bit like winning the lottery.
Many companies also use email for loyalty reward programs. Customers get emails whenever they earn points from their purchases. After they’ve gained so many points, they get reminders to use their rewards before they expire.
It’s Provides Data to Analyze
Whichever email marketing software you choose to use for your business, you will be able to access and analyze data to show you how your email performed. You can see how many people open the email, how many click-throughs to your business website, if people unsubscribe, and if any emails bounce back.
These concrete numbers let you know what does and doesn’t work for your email campaigns. If you see something with a low open rate, you can modify the subject line to be more enticing. Suppose you see your unsubscribe rate is going up. In that case, you’ll know you need to look at the value of your content; however, unsubscribes aren’t necessarily bad as you don’t want to waste emails on people who aren’t interested in your company.
The Data Backs It Up
Almost all of your emails reach your recipients, whereas Facebook and other social media platforms limit how many times your posts appear in followers’ news feeds. Plus, when you send emails, it’s to people who chose to give you their email – they want to hear from you! You have a much better chance of converting someone if they are already receptive.
For every $1 spent, email gives a $40 ROI. And, according to the Direct Marketing Association, targeted emails generate 58% of business revenue. On top of that, 91% of adults in the U.S. say they prefer email promotions. These impressive stats show that email is a heavy-hitter in the world of digital marketing.
With such a high ROI, email marketing is a treasure trove for companies. Email marketing is simple once it’s set up as it’s easily automated. You can craft your emails in advance, then set them to go out as needed or when customers perform a specific action, such as placing something in their cart, making a purchase, or filling out a contact form on your website.
The Bottom Line
Once you’ve legitimately gained a subscriber, that’s your chance to make them a loyal customer. If your initial welcome email offers something they want or need, they’re more likely to open your next set of emails. Email is a valuable marketing tool, but only if done well. Once you’ve built a subscriber list, treat your subscribers with respect and courtesy. They gave you their email because they thought your company was worth it. Now, it’s up to you to prove that it is.