What are the benefits of email marketing? If your company or business isn’t utilising email marketing, should they? The answer is probably yes, as email is consistently cited as one of, if not the marketing channel that consistently delivers the highest ROI.
Email marketing is used by thousands of businesses of all sizes across the globe. Those who are unfamiliar with this method of marketing may not immediately understand why it is so popular among companies in a variety of industries – but here are ten reasons why email marketing is seen by many as the most effective marketing channel.
1. Low costs
One of the most obvious advantages of email marketing is its lower cost compared to mainstream marketing channels. There are no print or postage costs and no fees paid in exchange for exposure on a certain billboard, magazine or television channel. Email marketers might consider investing in specialist software to automate, track and evaluate their emails. Granted, there may be a small overhead for sending thousands of emails at a time, but these costs are far lower than what you would expect to pay using other marketing channels.
2. Reach an already engaged audience
Email marketing is one of the only channels that consumers ask to receive. The majority of businesses using the platform only send messages to those who have signed up to receive them. This can allow for much higher conversion rates as a business is only targeting those who already have an interest in their brand.
It is, of course, possible to send unsolicited email marketing messages, but this is only likely to annoy consumers and result in a damaged brand image. As a company that offers email marketing software, we strongly suggest that you don’t use purchased lists for your email marketing – the results you’ll see from growing your list and acquiring customers organically will lead for far stronger results.
3. Deliver targeted messages
Most marketing professionals would happily pay to ensure they were only spending money targeting those who were interested in their brand. Email marketers can go one step further though, by only sending emails to subscribers who meet certain criteria.
If a franchise only has an offer on in certain areas of the country, it can easily arranged for emails to be sent only to those living in certain areas. If there is a sale on sports goods, it can be arranged for only those who have shown an interest in sports to receive an email.
Email list segmentation works fantastically for brands who gain information about their subscribers. Studies have shown that marketers who use this tactic often boast improved engagement rates as a result. The old ‘spray and pray’ method of sending the same email to every subscriber or customer no longer works, and the companies that see the best results from their email marketing are segmenting data and campaigns to ensure that they’re sending the most relevant message to individuals.
4. Drive revenue
Marketing Week reports that email generates around $40bn retail sales annually.
Email marketing is great for taking advantage of impulse buying. There aren’t many other marketing platforms which allow customers to go from witnessing an offer to purchasing an item within two clicks of a button. With a tempting call to action and a link straight to the checkout, email newsletters can drive sales like no other channel.
5. Easy to get started
Email marketing doesn’t necessarily require a huge team or reams of technical nous in order to be successful. It’s certainly possible to jazz up an email campaign with fancy templates, videos, images and logos. Yet, some of the most successful campaigns utilise simple plain text emails, suggesting that it’s the content of an email that is the most important thing.
Many email marketing platforms, ours included, offer Drag & Drop Editors, which allow you to create stunning campaigns, quickly and easily.
6. Easy to measure
Another key benefit of email marketing is that it’s easy to see where you’re going wrong. Most email marketing software will allow you to track open, click-through and conversion rates, making it simple to spot how a campaign can be improved. These changes can be made almost immediately too, whereas print or broadcast advertising requires quite a bit of effort to alter.
7. Easy to share
Subscribers can forward brilliant deals and offers to their friends at the click of a button. There aren’t many other types of marketing that can be shared as easily as this. Before you know it, subscribers could become brand evangelists; focused on introducing your business to a new market.
More and more we see brands cleverly utilising this tactic, and social proof has become a huge influence for online selling in recent years.
Gain global reach with your email marketing
8. Reach a global audience
What other marketing platform lets you instantly send a message to thousands of people across the world? Sure, social media can help you spread the word among a global audience – but there’s no telling who’s actually reading your content.
Alternatively, you can always get hyper local using one of the other ten benefits – segmentation.
9. Instant impact
Due to the immediacy of email, a business can start seeing results within minutes of its emails being sent. A 24-hour sale is a brilliant marketing ploy that can be utilised by email, as it creates a sense of urgency and convinces subscribers to take immediate action. Businesses typically have to wait weeks until they see sales come in as a result of print or broadcast campaigns and, even then, how can they be sure what was responsible for the purchase?
10. Unrivalled return on investment
In the business world, results are arguably all that matters. With this in mind, the main reason that most businesses invest in email marketing is the fantastic return on investment. According to the DMA, the return on investment for email increased from an estimated $40.03 (approx.) for every $1 spent in 2016 to $42.28 (approx.) in 2017.
It’s clear to see that email continues to be the most effective marketing channel available to every business. Perhaps it’s time for your business to start making email marketing a priority.
Check out our own email marketing platform and learn how we’re helping thousands of brands deliver big results from email marketing.
