If you wonder why your inbox always seems to be full, did you know that 300 billion emails are sent daily?
Nearly every store or website you visit asks for your email address. They might offer you a discount code or free shipping in return for that valuable piece of information. Even though social media and mobile marketing have grown, email marketing has remained a top marketing channel for decades. Yes, decades — email has been around for roughly 40 years!
Why is email marketing so important for businesses? Because when you build your email list, you own it. In contrast, you could lose 40,000 Instagram followers in an instant. If your account is banned, hacked, or disabled, you can’t contact those followers. This is because you don’t own the social media platform.
So as old hat as email marketing might seem, it’s very much still thriving. Here are four reasons for its unparalleled success and why you should pay it the attention it deserves.
1. Email Marketing Helps Retain Customers
Imagine a customer walks into your brick-and-mortar store. They look at a few clothing racks, then turn around and leave. In the real world, there is not much you can do about it. In the online world, there is. Once you’ve captured their email address on your website’s landing page, you can send them targeted emails.
If they abandon their cart, you could email a discount code to lure them back. Oftentimes, customers just need a slight nudge to complete their purchase. When you effectively employ retention marketing techniques, you increase revenue and convert lukewarm shoppers into loyal customers.
They might be on the fence about buying, or they simply may have forgotten to check out. An extra 10% off could do the trick. Or you could use a scarcity tactic email with a subject line like “Last day for free shipping.”
2. Email Marketing Yields a Great Return
Emails are not only a great way to retain existing customers. They are also an effective method for attracting new ones. You may have to entice people to sign up for your mailing list by giving them a free printable or e-book. But once they have subscribed, few people unsubscribe — especially if you send out useful (and not repetitive or spammy) content.
According to industry statistics, email marketing earns a return on investment of more than $35 per dollar spent, making it a no-brainer. Part of this success is due to its ease of personalization. When an email starts with, “Dear Sandra,” Sandra feels like she’s being individually addressed. The customization may help complete the sale even though she knows that it’s actually software magic.
Another reason emails yield a great return is because they are easy to forward. If your initial prospect doesn’t need your offering, they can pass your promo email along to someone who does. As a result, you can get the message to more people without any added expense. In contrast to ubiquitous email, prospects can only forward a social media post to friends who are on the same platform.
3. Email Marketing Is Affordable
One reason why email marketing’s ROI is so awesome is because it doesn’t require a hefty investment. Many email list services offer free plans for small businesses with fewer than 500 contacts. Some may even offer a free trial period for their premium plans that have all the bells and whistles.
Even with a larger list, sending out mass emails for a monthly fee is still cost-effective. For a couple of cents per email, your message has a high probability of landing in your target audience’s inbox. A catchy subject line and expectation of useful content will determine whether people open the email. But at least it is there when they want to read it.
In comparison, Facebook or Instagram may technically be “free.” However, thanks to their ever-changing algorithms, only a fraction of your audience members will actually see your post. You can pay to promote posts, of course. However, you can’t compete with the success rate of email marketing for arriving in someone’s inbox.
4. Email Marketing Is Easy to Use
Along with being easy on the pocketbook, email marketing is easy to do. You don’t need to hire specialists to send out emails to your prospects. It’s nearly as simple as sending an email to a friend. Yes, you should make sure there are no typos and that links work, but that’s not hard to do.
Furthermore, email marketing platforms make it a snap to determine how your campaigns are faring. You can see how many people actually opened the emails, which links they clicked, and so on. You can track who unsubscribes and tailor your subsequent marketing accordingly.
Such tools also enable you to target specific segments of your email list. For instance, you could send “We miss you” promotions to customers who have not made a purchase in the last three months. Or you can send an email with a thank-you coupon code to those who have recently shopped at your store.
Remember the 3 C’s
For best results with your email campaigns, remember these C’s. Start with a catchy subject line so people actually open the email. Keep the body of the email concise, as attention spans keep dwindling — you’re competing with five-second TikToks, after all. And always end with a call to action, so readers know how to order. With these tactics in mind, you’ll be able to craft campaigns that show why email marketing is still a force to be reckoned with.