You’ve probably heard it a million times already – email is apparently dead as a means of communication and marketing strategy. But is it? Or is it just changing to accommodate how the world itself is changing?
Just because a new technology is emerging, doesn’t mean that the old one will cease to exist. We’ve seen this time and time again with TV, versus old video rental stores. What used to be a physical storefront for renting out videos has now become a digital one – Netflix, Stan, and Quickflix are some of the pioneers in that field. Sure, they’re not the same, they’ve just reinvented themselves and email is no different.
Social media sites don’t offer a good alternative to email. Why? It’s in the name – social media. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are good for posting photos of your dogs, or for engaging in friendly banter, or even for sharing links to your website for your followers and friends. But as for crafting individualised messages that reach out to the customer personally, that they’re likely to see? There’s no better way than through a well organised email marketing system.
And customers agree, too. In a 2015 study, a startling 72% of consumers chose email as the preferred method of communication with companies. And that is, in part, due to the fact that people view social media as something they can use for enjoyment and to keep in contact with family and friends, not to use as a business resource. So while social media plays a significant part in marketing campaigns, it doesn’t have the chops to completely replace email.
By far, one of the biggest benefits is the data offered by one UK study – for every $1 spent on email marketing, the ROI is likely to be around $38.
Other benefits include the ability to personalise and customise emails, to keep records and organise emails into systems, and trackability – especially with apps like MailChimp.
Of course, benefits aside, the greatest rule of thumb to remember is that you can’t just send whatever emails you want to customers and expect to get a return from that. The key to thriving email marketing is to be smart about it. It’s about planning a campaign that engages your customers in a way that makes them want to buy from you. That’s why we thought you might appreciate the top 6 tips for creating engaging emails.
6 tips for engaging email marketing
Be trustworthy – You don’t want your emails wind up in the spam folder, right? If they do, your customers are more likely to think of your business as disreputable, which is exactly what you want to avoid. That’s why it’s important to follow spam regulations and deliver to your customers in a way that they’ll appreciate, not report.- Have a conversation – don’t draft emails like financial reports – remember that one of the benefits of email is a good balance between casual conversation and business talk. Formality isn’t as important as familiarity with your customers. For example, if it was your birthday coming up and a company remembered to send you a message, wouldn’t that make you more likely to not only think of and engage with the brand, but also see what the company has to offer?
- Stay relevant – relevance is a key concern for email marketing – it’s important to know who your customers are and what they want, so you can tailor your marketing campaign to suit them as individuals. Another important way to be relevant is have a customized landing page so your emails can redirect customers to the site you want them to go.
- Make use of mobile – Of course, its also vital to keep in mind that mobile device usage is on the rise. Nearly 53% of marketing emails are opened on a mobile device, and that number is set to rise. So, if you can adapt your email marketing strategy to suit the mobile market, you’ll have a huge advantage.
- Coordinate across channels – again, this takes us back to the importance of landing pages. If your email leads your customer to the page of the product or service you’re offering, they’ll be more likely to actually engage in business operations. Remember, one of your goals as a business is to make yourself as accessible to potential clients as possible.
- Be strategic – being smart about your emails means not only the content within, but the layout, the time of day you send it and everything in between. Why not engage in some analytics or research to figure out when exactly your customers are reading emails? That way you can do your best to target them at times convenient to them.
Of course, if you’d like to know more about email marketing, we’d love to chat. You can always call us on (02) 9994 8005 or drop us a note.
