Is Email Marketing Dead?

Before email began communicating to the masses in the early ‘90s, the major forms of advertising were print, outdoor, television and radio. 

Fast forward 30+ years later and marketing messages hit you from all sides and senses. Some are more effective than others, some are more affordable than others, but email marketing is one strategy that has stood the tests of time and technology. 

And for certain, email marketing isn’t dead. 

Don’t Build on Rented Land

How much of your company’s website referral traffic comes from LinkedIn or Facebook?  

For B2B businesses, LinkedIn is the equivalent of attending a networking event 24/7/365. You can show authority as a thought leader in your industry while keeping followers updated on company news through posts and articles.  

Facebook is suited well for B2C businesses, with a tremendous opportunity for connecting on a more personal level with consumers. 

But consider this: How might it look for your business if either LinkedIn or Facebook was to close up shop tomorrow? Would your referral traffic take a dip or a nosedive? 

There’s a saying, “Don’t build on rented land,” which is the modern-day equivalent to “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Businesses that rely too much on social media for website traffic, leads and sales could face disruption at a minimum or a full-blown disaster if their channel of choice dissolves. 

Do you really “own” your social media channel?

Social media platforms can be seen as “rented” or borrowed. While “owned media” supposedly includes social media channels, in truth, companies don’t “own” anything on social media platforms … They simply utilize the service of hosting a business page, accessing potentially millions of people at little to no cost.   

Email lists on the other hand are owned. If everything else goes “poof!” tomorrow, you will still have your email list from which to build upon.

How do you create an email list?

Developing an email list starts with a web form, possibly in your website’s footer or in another highly visible spot (ideally in multiple areas). By asking users to opt in via your subscribe form, they are giving you explicit consent to email them. Explicit consent helps your marketing emails avoid spam filters and have a higher likelihood to be delivered into inboxes. 

The legality around consent should also be considered, ensuring your email marketing strategy complies with the Federal Trade Commission’s CAN-SPAM Act and the CAN-SPAM Rule. 

More benefits to email marketing

There are additional reasons why companies should include email marketing in their overall marketing strategies. 

 

1. 1. It’s affordable. Once an email list is built with quality leads, the only expenses are your monthly CRM subscription to deliver messages and the professional tasked with copywriting and creative.  

 

2. 2. It’s (almost) immune to the algorithm. The “a” word can make marketers cringe with the feeling that our hands are tied – “do this, don’t do that” – for fear of social media reach being deprecated. With a few caveats, such as don’t use a lot of sales-y language and watch how many links your email includes, emails have a good chance of success in reaching the intended user’s inbox. 

 

3. 3. It’s accessible and drama-free. How many of your friends take a moratorium from social media during election time? It’s safe to say every adult with access to a computer has an email account.  And while nothing beats an old-fashioned phone call, the customer connection of email marketing is real, especially for small to mid-sized businesses who say that email marketing is their most important online tool for customer retention.  

5 Tips to Improve Your Email Marketing Strategy

Email marketing isn’t dead, but your campaign could fall flat unless you follow these tips: 

1. 1. Make your message personal, clear and concise. The adage “know your audience” reminds us that tone – casual or formal – is important in email copywriting. 

2. 2. Subject lines matter. Draw attention so the customer wants to open and read your message. Try A/B testing with different subject lines to see what performs best. 

3. 3. The “when” is almost as important as the “who” and “what.” Again, do an A/B test with delivering your email different times of the day and different days of the week to see when your campaigns get the most opens. 

4. 4. Use clear CTAs, and make them obvious. Use bold and/or colored font, have plenty of white space around it, and use actionable language such as “Buy Now,” “Click Here,” etc.). 

1. 5. Analyze the results of your campaign, and make adjustments to improve results. Factors to look at: 

• • Open rate 

• • Bounce rate 

• • Click-through rate 

• • Conversion rate 

• • Number of unsubscribes 

This analysis is important to determine why a campaign was or wasn’t successful and what you can do to improve results.  

Good Aim Communications’ team has the experience and knowledge to help small to mid-size businesses in Indianapolis and surrounding areas with their email marketing strategy. 

Email marketing is far from dead. In fact, it’s thriving and can produce impressive results when done right. Reach out to us to help your business remain relevant by developing strategic email marketing campaigns that convert.