With over 4 billion email users across the globe, it’s no wonder 87 percent of marketers consider email marketing pivotal to business success. While it may seem like social media marketing has dethroned email marketing as the top promotional strategy in recent years, this is far from the truth. Email marketing proved a staple digital marketing tool in 1978 when the first-ever marketing email brought in a whopping $13 million in sales. Its strength as a promotional instrument persists as the global value of email marketing is projected to reach $17.9 billion by 2027.
Fortunately, email marketing is a strategy anyone can implement with minimal time and money. Keep reading to learn how to use email marketing to connect with your audience and multiply sales.
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is a type of digital marketing that promotes a business’s products or services via email. The goal of email marketing is to increase brand awareness, build stronger customer relationships, and most importantly, boost sales. This is accomplished by targeting current and potential customers of a brand through personalized content, discounts and special deals, and educational materials designed to turn interest and engagement into transactions.
The Benefits of Email Marketing
- It’s cost-effective.
Plain and simple, email marketing delivers an incredible return on investment (ROI). For every $1 spent, email marketing generates $36. The act of sending an email is free, meaning you could potentially enact an email marketing campaign for no cost at all. But even for those who use email marketing platforms like Mailchimp or Brevo to manage their campaigns, subscription prices are generally reasonable. When it comes to cost-effective marketing strategies, nothing beats email marketing.
- It keeps customers engaged.
Even in the age of social media, email is still one of the best communication methods for staying connected with consumers. By sharing interesting, informative content and offering discounts from time to time, you can develop relationships with new buyers and re-establish connections with previous customers. Sending weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly newsletters ensures that customers don’t forget about you, even if they haven’t purchased in a while.
- It provides valuable data.
The results of your email campaigns are easily measurable. Many email marketing platforms provide you with data about metrics like your open rate, clickthrough rate (CTR), conversion rate, and list growth/loss rate. The open rate tells you the percentage of recipients who open a given email. In contrast, the CTR tells you what percentage of recipients clicked on at least one link in a given email. The conversion rate indicates the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link and performed a desired response (in other words, the percentage of recipients who heeded a call to action (CTA)). The list growth/loss rate tells you the percentage at which your email list grows or declines. These analytics reveal critical information about your customers’ behavior, allowing you to adapt your email marketing strategy to their preferences and needs.
Types of Marketing Emails
There are several different marketing emails, all of which serve a different purpose. Here are some of the most common types of marketing emails you can use to engage your customers:
- Welcome Emails
Compared to regular promotional emails, welcome emails are 42 percent more likely to be opened by recipients. This means your welcome email is your best shot to draw customers in and keep them hooked so they continue to open your emails in the future. Making a positive first impression is key to maintaining long-term customer loyalty!
- Promotional Emails
Who doesn’t love a discount? Promotional emails are the perfect opportunity to remind consumers what your brand has to offer! Send out coupons to thank recipients for being valued customers, or shout out a seasonal campaign to highlight a specific product or service that aligns with an upcoming holiday or time of year. Not only do promotional emails help advertise your business but they also serve to strengthen the relationship between your brand and your customers.
- Newsletter Emails
While newsletter emails don’t typically contain overt promotions, they do help showcase your brand in other ways, namely by featuring news, blogs, how-tos, and other relevant content. This content should entertain, educate, or add value to your subscribers’ lives, thereby establishing trust and renewing consumer interest in your brand.
- Cart Abandonment Emails
Cart abandonment emails remind shoppers who put items in their cart but didn’t check out to complete their purchase, and they’re effective: 45 percent of cart abandonment emails are opened, and they earn your business an average of $3.65 per recipient. Sometimes consumers just need that extra push to go through with a transaction, and cart abandonment emails are a simple but proven way to persuade them to make a purchase.
Tips for Using Email Marketing to Promote Your Brand
- Find balance.
You don’t want to constantly bombard your subscribers with promotions and new content or else you’ll increase your loss rate, but you also don’t want to go radio silent on them for more than a week. Instead, it’s best to find a middle ground where you can send a monthly or weekly newsletter and regular promotional deals without annoying the consumers you’re trying to attract.
- Include a clear CTA.
All marketing emails should include an easy-to-understand CTA. For promotional emails, this might be an encouragement to take advantage of your latest deal; for newsletters, this might be to check out your brand’s socials or read your latest blog. CTAs are the key to conversions, so make sure they always stand out from the rest of your email’s content.
- Focus on personalization.
When it comes to fostering that brand-consumer relationship, a little personalization goes a long way. Be personable and friendly, use the recipient’s name in the subject line or greeting, and send customized product suggestions based on your subscribers’ previous purchases. These simple gestures make customers feel understood and listened to, which will keep them coming back.
Across all industries, digital marketing is essential for any successful business. Digital marketing establishes a strong relationship with your target audience and increases your brand’s awareness, allowing your company to reach a wider audience. To grow your business, start by evaluating your current digital marketing strategy to determine what’s working and what still needs improvement.
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BlueTickSocial is a woman-owned and women-led digital marketing agency. We focus on building your digital presence to generate sales, increase engagement, create brand awareness, and take your company goals to the next level.
Other Sources:
Email Marketing: The Ultimate Guide (Expert Tips + Data to Know)
What is Email Marketing & How to Run an Effective Campaign
