Email marketing has become one of the most popular techniques used to promote a brand online. Whether you have a physical location or solely an online business, there are a host of benefits you can enjoy from utilizing email marketing software.
To fully understand how this strategy can work for you, it is important that you know the basics of email marketing. What is it? How does it work? How does it fare against other marketing strategies? Why choose to run email marketing campaigns rather than more traditional ones? The answers are quite simple. And like with learning anything new, you’ll need to start at the very beginning.
The 411 on Email Marketing
You don’t need an MBA or even an undergrad degree in Business or Marketing to understand what Email Marketing is and how it works. It is plain and simple, a way you can promote your business by going straight to the end user, your customer. If you sold prom dresses, then it’s communicating with the high school seniors directly to tell them about the great gowns you have on stock. You don’t spend money on hiring models and a director to create a TV Advertisement. While advertising on television has been proven effective, it can eat up your marketing budget and is not quite ideal for small to medium businesses.
You simply send out emails to your prospects to let them know about what’s going on with your business. Are there new styles in the catalogue? Is there a discount on expedited shipping if they purchase days before the prom? It is these kinds of details that you can share directly with your target audience.
Obviously, the success of an email marketing campaign will depend on the contact list and how well you create your correspondences. Building this list will require a lot of research or good email marketing software. Aside from sourcing emails straight from the customers, you can also hire the services of a marketing company that can provide you with prospects or leads.
When a customer agrees to get emails from you, either by providing you their address or ticking the check box that say they are allowing you to send emails, this is called opt in. According to an article on hubspot, an online marketing resource, there is a 4.300% ROI on Email Marketing. Simply put, for every dollar a company spends on email marketing strategies, the return is $43. This is the reason why 60% or marketers believe that this technique is one of the most cost efficient ways to spread awareness about a brand.
Email marketing covers all forms of correspondences with a customer that encourages him or her to make a purchase. Newsletters or catalogues with the latest models or designs of a product sent out is considered a marketing email as well. Another example is coupon booklets being emailed for free shipping or free gifts with purchase.
Email Marketing Versus Other Techniques
With all the other similar marketing techniques available, why should you choose to use an email marketing strategy? To have a clearer picture of how marketing your brand via email is a more profitable option, it is best to have a look at the other techniques. In the end, it will all boil down to which strategy can give the best ROI.
Social Media Marketing
According to Statista, a statistic portal website, there are over 2.3 billion social network users worldwide. This number is expected to go up to almost 3 billion by the year 2020. The site also states that 78% of Americans have at least one social network profile. With such a large number of users who spend an average of over an hour surfing social networks, marketing on this platform is sure to guarantee an increase in profits. This is exactly why 32% of companies worldwide use social media sites such as Facebook to promote customer loyalty. In 2014, advertising through social media reported a revenue of $16 billion with an expenditure of $7.5 billion. While this number looks impressive, it shows an estimated ROI of just over 50%. Notice that this number is shown as just an estimate. This is because marketers have difficulty measuring the ROI for social media marketing. In addition, almost half of the folks who use social media find managing it too time consuming.
In contrast, according to The Radicati Group Inc, a market research firm based in California, there are over 3.6 billion email account holders worldwide with varied demographics. Out of all these users, 91% of them check their emails at least once a day. In addition, the ROI for email marketing campaigns is much easier to track because of email marketing software. And as discussed previously in this article, the ROI is at 4,300%
Direct Mail Marketing
Direct mail works the same way email marketing does. The huge difference is that instead of receiving the virtual promotional materials, the customer gets these through regular mail. These are leaflets, flyers, coupon magazines and brochures that are stuffed in mail and PO boxes. This type of marketing has been around for decades. It is actually the inspiration for the more modern email strategy. While it does still get a lot of response and create sales, the cost of running it has a great impact on the ROI.
In a comparison done on hubspot, the amount of revenue generated by direct mail and email marketing did not look much different. The former even had a higher average purchase or order value of $71 vs. email marketing’s $67. However, once the cost of the printed materials and postage were added into the equation, email marketing had a much higher ROI at $2,600 vs. $30 from Direct Mail.
Ten Efficient Email Marketing Tips
With the host of benefits email marketing brings, your business can thrive and increase profits. Below are ten great tips that you can use.
- Email Marketing Software.
With your company’s success on the line, you should only trust the best email marketing software for your business solutions. Take your time in selecting which one to use and do your research. You can get a lot of helpful information from reviews on email marketing software. These often contain feedback from other clients. Use their feedback to decide on which provider can best address your needs.
- Work With a Permission-Based List
There are two different types of marketing emails, unsolicited or SPAM and permission based or opt-in. The difference is already quite obvious from the names alone. By creating a relationship with your prospects first through getting their agreement to receive your mail, you can create loyal customers rather than irritated respondents.
- Emailing With Purpose
Have a clear goal in mind for what you want to achieve with your marketing strategy. When you have this set, you can start creating your email marketing templates to work towards this goal. Sending out marketing emails with no end in mind is like shooting hoops with blindfolds on. You will never know if you’re successful because you don’t know what you want to achieve.
- Add a Personal Touch
Avoid canned messages that sound too gimmicky or impersonal. Consumers nowadays respond to a more personal approach because it makes them feel valued. Your emails may be templates but these should be written with your customers’ needs in mind.
- Freedom from Free
Consumers have become exhausted with spam mail that promise so much on the subject line and deliver little in the content. The fine print has been a trap that a lot of online customers have fallen prey to. So, leave out the word “free” as this will just turn customers away and your email will either be deleted or junked.
- The Perfect Balance
According to figures from a survey done by Hubspot, 65% of consumers prefer emails that are mostly images or pictures, while the remaining 35% like emails rich in content or text. It would be difficult to figure out which of the folks on your list prefers which. So, to address this, create emails that will satisfy both preferences. Have high quality pictures with well written descriptions that are guaranteed to catch attention regardless of what type the customer is.
- A Clickable Subject
It is human nature to always need to know how one is going to benefit from something. So, to stand out from the rest of the emails in the customer’s Inbox. Create a title that is guaranteed to intrigue and excite. Shy away from texts that claim it is their “lucky day” or that they have been “chosen” to receive something free.
- Maximize Your Email Marketing Software
You chose your software carefully to make sure that it has all the features you need. Don’t forget to use these features. Do a preview of the email you will be sending to make sure that it is easy to read in whatever platform they use. In addition, check if you have included all the information the customer needs.
- Analyze Your Data
Your software has report functions that you can use to check how successful your campaign is. Don’t ignore these figures. Use the data you have to create promotions and emails that your customer’s will enjoy so that you can generate more profit while keeping them happy.
- Hyperlink Powers
Usability is a major factor in the success of your email marketing. Studies show that customers who have difficulty navigating a site or email message generally lose interest quickly. By using hyperlinks at the top of the message, your customer can jump to the section that interests them without having to scroll down for a long time.
Email Marketing is certainly a tool that you can use to increase profits and customer satisfaction as well as spread awareness about your brand. Finding the right email marketing service to provide you needs is the key to your success. Learn more about the best email marketing software and service on by checking the list on CrowdReviews.
Jeev Trika
Latest posts by Jeev Trika (see all)
- 5 Reasons to Use Compliance Software for Business Management - November 25, 2016
- How to Find Reliable Reviews of Video Conferencing Software - November 24, 2016
- Why You Must Read Best Business Intelligence Software Reviews - November 23, 2016