Why Email Marketing Matters To You

It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is or how much advertising you have in front of people, email marketing is still the best way to let potential customers know about your latest service or product – this is why email marketing matters to you, or should.

On average, email marketing tends to earn $42 for every $1 spent on it, that’s an ROI nobody can scoff at.

Over half of the planet, more than 4 billion people, claim to check their email on a daily basis.

In a study by the Direct Marketing Association, it was found that 70% of the respondents found emails from a brand (about offers, discounts, new arrivals, etc. ) relevant and valuable. Email marketing is an important part of any business’ advertising strategy.

Reasons Email Marketing Matters

If you’re looking for a way to bring more customers to your business or website, email marketing might be what you need. It’s a tried and true marketing method that has been proven effective at generating leads and boosting conversions.

The single most powerful marketing channel

The average open rate for marketing emails is 20%, and the click-through rate is 11%. Like all marketing, it is a numbers game, and based on these averages it means having an email list of about 5,000 subscribers can land you 100 visits to your web page or offer each time you send a single email. That’s a broadcast reach that really adds up.

The costs with email marketing are next to nothing compared to all other types of marketing, even content marketing through your blog, after all, it takes minutes to write and send an email off to tens-of-thousands of subscribers, as opposed to hours or even days to create a single piece of traffic attracting content.

The bottom line, it’s the most powerful marketing tool you will have to reach people on a large scale with a shoestring budget.

Building Brand Loyalty

Email is personal, in-fact the baby boomer generation–highly coveted by most marketers for their spending habits and levels of disposable income–rates it as the most personal way to communicate with businesses at a whopping 74%.

This sets email marketing up as the best way to establish and cultivate brand loyalty. Customers are more likely to return to an establishment that has been good to them in the past.

When people have had a good experience with your business, they tend to feel more loyal to you and the products you offer. This means that if you have an email marketing strategy in place, you’ll start to see more traffic coming in from existing customers and potential customers.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing has been around for decades, and it’s the cheapest form of marketing. It’s also the most common form of digital marketing, which is why email marketing matters to you. Email marketing may be one of the oldest forms of marketing, but it’s also still one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to reach people with your marketing messages.

What isn’t email marketing?

Blindly sending marketing messages to thousands or millions of people who haven’t asked to receive your emails, period. This is SPAM, it’s not just illegal, but is unethical and while it may have been effective decades ago when email was still a “new” thing for people so they were likely to open messages from strangers and follow links, that’s just not the case today so don’t do it.

Spend your time and resources on marketing to the right people, the ones who want to hear from you, that’s where the ROI’s are.

Why does email marketing work?

Email marketing works because it’s personal and is a simple and straightforward way to reach the most people in your target market. You also get a lot of real-time data back about how the campaign is performing, as well as who has seen it and when they opened it, which allows you to refine your strategies with future campaigns.

When should you use email marketing?

When you have a message to convey. For most businesses this should be from day one of operations, but until you have a strong marketing message and story to tell, just sending email blasts out to disrupt people’s days and say “hey click this link and look over here” isn’t going to prove very effective for you.

Getting started email marketing

Start with an email list service that lets you sign-up subscribers with a simple form on your website, this is how you build an email list for your business. (See who I recommend and why at the bottom of this page)

Most of the established mailing services have free starting plans and only begin to charge you after you’ve reached several thousand subscribers, making email marketing a free channel for you to begin with.

Once you’ve got your first subscriber, begin sending occasional messages out that are helpful and useful. Even if you only have a single subscriber, treat your list like you have a million, treat it like your business life depends on it, give without asking in 80% of the messages you send to it.

Measure the success and health of your email marketing

All mailing services (such as Aweber which I personally use) will provide you with metrics for your list(s) and mailings. Track open rates, track the click-through rates, keep an eye on new subscribers as well as how many unsubscribed.

Constantly ask yourself “why?”

Why did this email only get a 13% open rate when I normally see 19%? Was it the title? The day or time I sent it?

This is how you monitor the health and success of your efforts and improve on them constantly.

Will email marketing die?

Email marketing isn’t dead or dying at all. In fact, it’s very much alive and kicking. With billions of emails sent every day, it’s the most popular form of digital marketing for a reason.

I’ve actually been hearing that “email is dead” for over a decade now, and yet each of the marketing lists I keep for my business and websites is larger and more responsive today than ever before.

Ignore the “WHATEVER is dead” crowd whenever you hear them, they’re usually just trying to sell you on something else they claim is better, not because there’s evidence to prove it, but just because they took the time to create their little course.

My Favorite Tools & Services

The tools and services below, some I’m affiliated with and some I am not, are exactly what I recommend to paying clients based on value and quality.

WordPress & Web Hosting: BanProNET – Fast, secure, reliable web hosting for personal sites, small businesses, and national organizations since 2002.

Domain Names: NameSilo – I’ve had accounts with just about every domain registrar on the planet over the years, NameSilo by far is my favorite for simplicity and pricing, hands down.

Email Marketing: Hands-down I’ve found Aweber to be the easiest and most economical solution for the email marketing needs of my business, and believe me I’ve tried everyone over the last 20+ years.