“Do more with less” is the mantra, all marketers go by in today’s time and age. Not only does one need to connect with their audience personally but also be mindful of the budget. Reports suggest that of the many marketing tools and techniques there are, none has the power and longevity of emails. Modern marketing will have several new facets to it but email marketing would always be the ‘golden goose’.
Well, you may wonder the why’s and how’s of it but before we list that, let’s delve into what exactly is email marketing.
What is Email Marketing?
Simply put, using emails to promote your products and services is Email Marketing. Whether you own a fashion blog, a lifestyle website or you are a travel junkie, emails are the most widely used method to reach your target audience in the digital world.
Why should brands use email marketing?
There are not one but several answers to this question. Let’s take a look at them one by one:
- Larger Reach
More often than not, you come across stats like Facebook has a DAU of over 1 billion users while Twitter is close to 255 million users and so on. This gives you the belief that these platforms are the best promotional tools ever.
What they are not telling you is that there were over 7 billion email accounts in 2017 and the number is expected to reach 6 billion by 2020.
Think about your own experience, emails are the easiest way to sign up on any platform, all that is happening anywhere and everywhere is in your inbox. It is the currency of the web. So when it comes to connecting to your consumers/ prospects in the easiest and the most personalized way, emails are your go-to tool.
P.S. There are 3x more email accounts than there are Facebook and Twitter accounts combined.
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Delivery
Given a choice between adding a subscriber to your email database and gaining a new Facebook fan, what should you pick? The email subscriber, of course.
To elaborate, 90% of the emails get delivered to the intended recipient’s inbox whereas only 2% of your Facebook fans see your post on their feed. This means of the 10000 Facebook fans you have, only 200 will see an update that you post whereas of the 10000 subscribers you send an email to, 9000 will receive it in their inbox.
Moral of the story, an update is 45 times more likely to be seen on an email than on Facebook.
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Conversions and ROI
When it comes to conversions, look no further than emails. The CTR of an email campaign is around 3% while that from a tweet is 0.5%. You can spot the difference. Emails help you turn your potential customers into paying customers. With emails, you can deliver highly personalized and relevant messages, unlike the social platforms where you get notified for every activity which you may or may not be involved in.
Emails are here to stay
While the other platforms may fade with time, emails will be there forever. Nobody remembers Orkut, MySpace, Hi5 or Yahoo Messenger anymore but emails were there then and they are here now. Thus, having a cohesive email list is a better investment which will yield results in many years to come.
Take note of these email marketing hacks
Coming to the second issue there is, what are the odds that the consumer would actually take notice of your email?
What are your business objectives?
You must have a clear idea of what you want to achieve as an influencer for your business. Predefine your goals and plan the email content accordingly. When you know your goals, it’s easier to achieve them. These goals can be to get more email signups, better traffic, better CTR, etc.
What’s your design?
Always remember that no one is attracted to the things that aren’t appealing to their eyes. Your email should be visually attractive and should justify your brand value. If you have a logo for yourself (as a brand or as an individual), don’t forget to incorporate the logo colors and other specific elements that your product/ service stands for in the email. Your email template shall in a way, depict your identity. Design your email campaigns carefully and remember these points:
- Clean and simple design offers great visibility
- Using images creates a better visual impact
Perfect Subject Line – Smart Content
Will you open up an mail with a boring start? Exactly! Your Subject line is the first focal point of your mail. Try keeping it interesting and humorous. Thirty-five percent of email recipients report opening emails based on the subject line alone.
Begin with something like, “Coffee’s For Closers” or “These Work Better Than Medicines”
Now, with a perfect subject line, you must know how to keep the reader engaged throughout the mail. Think of what you would like to read as a reader and what would keep you hooked till the end. Don’t focus on just selling your services, but focus on the interest of the reader and find out what works well! Be real and be simple.
Unsubscribe non-readers and hear the readers
Every business wishes of having a huge number of subscribers on their lists but is this actually relevant? Unsubscribe the ones who are not interested and engaging with your content. Such subscribers lower your metrics at the end of the day and are not relevant to your business.
Be sure that the feedback and the comments of your readers are heard and replied. Don’t delay a reply to the reader’s feedback. This is what helps you improve your email marketing content and prospects in the future.
Now, enough said.
Go on, (e)mail your way out.
