There are still many benefits of email marketing. With all the new means of communication we have at our fingertips, many people have written off email as a “dead method of communication.” While that may be the case for snail mail, it certainly is not for email. The fact remains that email is still considered the main professional method of communication in the workplace. It is more than just an effective business communication tool. It has also proven time and time again to be an effective way to drive traffic to your sites and stores.

Benefits of Email Marketing

The biggest benefit (in our humble opinion) is that you own the list. We’ve seen in the past, companies or individuals that put all their eggs in the same basket fail. For example, there was once a time where Facebook was the best place for artists and businesses to gain a following. However, once Facebook introduced paid advertisements, the ability to reach a new audience organically went out the window. FYI, this is starting to happen on Instagram as well. When you own the list, you cannot be forced into having to spend money to reach your audience.

The privacy that emails provide is also huge. You are able to reach out to customers without broadcasting your offers publicly. This allows you to present your highly engaged and dedicated customers with exclusive offers. This makes your subscribers happy as they’ll feel their subscription is worthwhile and that they are a valued customer. They may also spread the word to their family and friends, resulting in more subscribers. Customer loyalty and word of mouth are a big deal, as they remain the most effective form of marketing.

Don’t Be Pushy

Have you ever been to a store and been asked for your email? Of course you have. Maybe you said no, or maybe you fell for the “I can’t put the sale through unless you give an email” schtick. If you chose the latter, you probably received an email from this pushy business shortly thereafter and went in to hit the unsubscribe button. This will usually be the result if you force someone onto your email list or add them without consent. However, if you implement a proper strategy, you will reap the rewards.

Collecting Emails

The key is to set up a system where people join your email list voluntarily. For someone to do this, it shows that they are interested in your business and are potentially willing to spend money with you again in the future. It’s not just about having a large number of subscribers. Essentially, you should be striving to create a highly engaged cluster of subscribers. This will lead to higher conversion rates and greater overall success for your email marketing campaigns.

Consider these strategies when attempting to get people to join your email list:

• Offer a gift or a discount for signing up
• Strategically place email subscription forms throughout your website
• ASK people at points of purchase if they’d like to join your mailing list
• Inform customers that subscribers receive exclusive offers that are unavailable to the public
• Utilize a pop-up on your website NOTE: For SEO purposes, we’d suggest not using more than one pop-up on your website. Also ensure it is easy for customers to close the pop-up. Being too pushy or intrusive will drive traffic away.

Marketing to your Subscribers

 Your work is far from over after acquiring new subscribers. The average open rate for email marketing campaigns is about 15-20%. The average Click-through rate is about 2.5%. If you’ve done a good job attracting highly engaged subscribers, you’ll likely exceed these numbers. Consider the following while marketing to your subscribers:

• How often should I be sending emails? – Don’t annoy your subscribers by oversharing
• Is this something my audience will respond to?
• Have I created an eye-catching subject line?
• Does the email structure promote an action?
• Is my email template attractive and on-brand?
• Is my email design mobile friendly?

Get the Most Out of Email Marketing

Take advantage of the statistics provided by your email marketing platform. They can provide valuable insight into what may be working for you and what you should tweak. We use Mailchimp and are happy with their services. Within the platform you can manage lists, create email templates, schedule blasts, view analytics and more. Putting the extra time into created a nice email template that promotes action will go a long way. Not sure where to start? Contact us today and we’ll happily point you in the right direction.

Thanks for reading and have a great day! 🙂