When considering what marketing and engagement strategies are best to invest in, you may be asking yourself if email marketing is worth it. While email marketing has been around a long time, I am here to tell you that it is still a valuable tool to make a part of your marketing strategy. The key is to employ the right practices for your business.
Where are Do the Numbers Point?
Statistics are important to businesses. They show what works and what doesn’t. Email marketing currently provides a potential return on investment of up to 4400% and remains one of the best ways to attract and retain customers. The average email subscriber can receive more than a dozen emails a day. Despite social media usage, email is still accessed regularly among its users ranging from 15 to 65 years of age.
It is important to note that 99% of people check their email every day! As frequently as 20 times a day. With the rise of the mobile user, access to email is easier than ever. More than half of internet users check their email first while less than 15% gravitate to social media at first light. The key takeaway here is email remains a great way to reach your audience.
What About Social Media?
There are many myths surrounding the idea that social media is replacing email. This is false. Secondly, email marketing remains one of the most cost-effective ways to reach consumers. With email marketing, you can launch targeted campaigns that segment your audience and trigger a response by a direct call to action. The average value of an email is three times greater than that of social media with a higher return on investment. Email is also 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers versus social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. An important side note to remember is that email subscribers are three times more likely to share content via social media. Social media becomes a more effective tool for sharing content and building brand identity over anything else.
Best Practices for Email Marketing
If you want to create a winning email marketing campaign for your business, follow these best practices.
Personalise Subject Lines: Target your customers by creating content that directly identifies with them. Customise your subject line to the consumer by using an emoji or other visual element to show that you took the extra time to connect with them. Make your subject line relatable to the season whether it is summer or Christmas. Keep your subject short and focused on the key takeaway.
Follow GDPR Standards: In a nutshell, make sure you remain in compliance with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) to keep your marketing emails legal. These standards were created to ensure consumers know that their data is protected by brands that are entrusted with their data. Using a good email marketing provider will ensure you remain protected, and every marketing message is compliant with current requirements.
Emails Must be Mobile Friendly: Knowing that most people are accessing their email regularly on mobile devices, your emails must be optimised for mobile use. If not, you will receive a high bounce rate due to a poor user experience. Many email automation applications will show you mobile previews for your draft email design. Make sure you navigate through all potential pitfalls to avoid a poor response rate.
Use Metrics: Tracking metrics such as email open rates will give you insight into subscriber behaviour. Metrics give marketers a plethora of details to pay attention to. Collect as much data as possible on the way your readers interact with emails ranging from who they are and how long they remain engaged for future marketing decisions.