With the Internet spreading its wings so rapidly over the years, it is only a matter of time before everyone in the world is connected.
It has become the main medium for carrying information and it has surpassed its competition in more than one way. It is only natural that, for this reason, many businesses (mostly successful ones) have decided to replace the promotion and marketing over the physical mediums (such as TV and radio) for various types of online promotion.
There are a few ways in which you can promote online, as I mentioned in the last sentence. You can use the social networks towards your promotion (also known as the Social Media Marketing, or SMM).
You can also hire an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) consultant, who will work towards optimizing the search engines to make sure that your website comes out on top when searching certain keywords that are related to your business.
The third option is to promote your business via email, through various types of mailing lists. Here, I will talk about email promotion, since the first two are being greatly discussed nowadays and everyone seems to forget about the good old option of email marketing.
The importance of email marketing
Email marketing is important for many reasons. For example, it is important because it is highly adaptable. You can make the emails that you send to promote your business so that they suit any need that you might have.
You can target many different social groups and adapt the content accordingly. Since the business world is constantly changing, you have to be able to respond quickly to any changes that the marketing experts present.
Also, another reason why this kind of marketing is important for any business and should not be ignored and forgotten is that it is very inexpensive.
You can incorporate it into any kind of marketing plan that your business might have, without having any additional costs. This way, if you get anything from email marketing, you will, basically, get something for nothing.
Creating profit, without spending any money, is something that every serious business will take into consideration.
Why email marketing is crucial in digital strategy
Of all the marketing techniques mentioned, email marketing is often ranked as the top contributor to a successful digital strategy. Here’s why.
Email offers an unbeatable ROI.
Marketers gravitate towards email marketing because it’s effective and cost-efficient. Research shows email marketing generates $38 for every $1 spent, and some companies see an ROI as high as $76 for every $1 spent.
Email ties all your marketing techniques together.
Every marketing effort you make can be promoted via email. Creating content for your blog? Share it with subscribers via email. Launching a social media contest? Invite subscribers to join with an email invitation. Want to drive traffic to your website?
Send a product email to subscribers and follow it up with a retargeting ad through paid search. As you can see, no matter what kind of marketing you do, email is at the center or it.
Email connects with more consumers than social media.
Social media use is growing. No question about it. However, it still doesn’t outpace email use. More consumers use email and rely on it daily to communicate. OptinMonster offers research to support this:
Email messages have a longer lifespan than social posts.
Email provides a credible, long-lasting way to connect with subscribers. Sure, you can reach subscribers with a Facebook meme or a tweet, but the lifespan of social posts fade quickly. Research shows a tweet’s lifespan is 18 minutes, according to Moz.
Your tweet lasts for mere minutes and then disappears into the newsfeed abyss, never to be found again. An email is different. It gets prominent placement in an inbox and is easy to reference later on.
Email offers a way to send tailored messages to new and existing customers.
Advances in email automation have made it easier than ever for marketers to personalize their messages. Personalization goes way beyond adding a subscriber’s name to the subject line.
Now you can segment emails, create tailored messages, dynamically change content based on the subscriber’s preferences, and insert more personal fields like job titles and locations.
This kind of personalized marketing is the best way to attract new customers and delight existing ones. Knowing your customer and sending relevant messages has become the ultimate benchmark of a successful marketer.
What you need for email marketing implementation
Fortunately, there are dozens of email marketing tools that can aid your digital strategy. Here are a few tools to explore:
Email and data collection
Make sure customers can join your email list in several ways. Include a signup form on your website and consider adding popups that collect contact information too. You can also gate content.
To gain access to the content, customers must provide some personal information like their job title, location, and email address.
Email automation
To juggle timely email marketing demands, you’ll need email automation tools. Tools that allow you to pre-make emails and schedule them, or deliver emails to subscribers based on their behavior.
Email integrations with CRM software
If you’re using CRM (customer relationship management) software, look for email marketing tools that sync with it. As data comes in from contact forms, for example, it will flow seamlessly into your CRM.
This not only helps you build more detailed customer profiles, but it helps keep data organized, accessible, and useful. Too often, brands collect customer information but don’t utilize it. Connecting your email service provider and CRM gives you a one-stop data shop.
EMAIL MARKETING BY THE NUMBERS
49% of consumers said that they would like to receive promotional emails. (Statista)
49% of emails are opened on a mobile device (IBM)
Adding video to your email marketing increases click rates by 300% (Martech Advisors)
Personalized subject lines provide 50% higher open rate (Lifecycle Marketing)
Average open rate for a “Welcome” email is 82% (GetResponse)
Every $1 spent on email marketing generates an average return of $32 (DMA)
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