Have you ever thought about why email marketing is so effective? Apart from the obvious fact that so many people use email in their everyday lives, that's just the tip of the iceberg. In this post, we'll dive a little deeper into what puts email at the top of the list for most business' digital marketing strategies and how to use email most effectively in your own business.
For starters, most of the world's internet users are interacting with their email regularly. In fact, 91% of internet users check email on their smartphones at least once a day. 4.3 billion Email accounts send 196 billion emails every single day. And 64% of world’s decision makers read email.
Getting the best results from email marketing requires some skill and lots of learning though. Here are a few tips to get you started:
Be Brief
Most of us get dozens of emails sent to our inboxes on a daily basis. Not all of them are interesting, but they all call for our attention and demand to be read. If you come so far that you’ve actually gotten a person to open and start reading your email, you don’t want them to tire of it halfway through and move on to the next. That’s why should focus on delivering your core message in a clear, concise manner. Don’t fill up your emails with content that no one has the time or energy to read anyway. If you must include lots of content, it’s much better to just write a teaser and link to it from the message.
Write For Your Readers
To get the best results from email marketing you must put yourself in your readers’ shoes. What do you think they would like to see in your emails? Do you really think they’re happy getting 15 promotional messages in a row with no actual content in them? Probably not. Try to always add something valuable to your emails and you’ll see much better results.
Include a Powerful Call-to-Action
As an email marketer, most of your emails will be sent out with the clear intention of persuading the reader to do something, whether it’s registering on a website or purchasing something online. The “call to action” in your emails is the part where you actually try to convince them to do that, and much energy should be spent on trying to get it perfect. It’s usually best to keep it as simple, reducing friction and requiring as little effort as possible from the user.
Split Test Your Subject Lines
To get the highest possible open rates you need to learn how to write effective subject lines. The best way to do this is split testing different variations against each other to see which one your list prefers. The more subject lines you test on your list, the better you’ll know what they like and respond well to.
Not Yet Convinced of Email's Awesome Powers?
Hopefully, the above tips will put you on the path to profits via email marketing. But if you still need that extra push to step up your email marketing game, consider the following stats compiled by the folks over at Website Builder.
Consumer behavior proves that email marketing is the right investment for most businesses. 77% of consumers prefer email for marketing communications. 71% of mobile purchasing decisions are most influenced by company emails. 44% of people who received targeted emails acknowledged buying at least one item because of a promotional message.
…And that's why 89% of marketers say that email is their primary channel for lead generation. So it probably won't surprise you that 85% of US retailers consider email marketing to be one of the most effective means of customer acquisition.
Moreover, emails convert three times better than social media. According to Mckinsey, email delivers an ROI at least 3 times that of social media, with a 17% higher average order value than social channels.
The marketing potential for email is much greater than most businesses might think. So if you're thinking about growing your list and leveraging the opportunities that email marketing offers, it's time to move forward.
And if you're not yet convinced, well, then, check this out…
