Emails are here to Stay
Although email has been around since the mid 70’s, it’s importance in our daily lives shows no signs of slowing down. To the contrary, these days over 56% of the worldwide population has internet access and according to Hubspot, 99% of consumers use email every day. Also, 58% of consumers check their emails before moving on to anything else online (OptinMonster).
Furthermore, Radicati estimates that by the year 2022, 4.25 billion people will use and maintain 1.86 billion email accounts around the globe. This number is an increase from 2019’s 3.9 billion email users. All this shows that now, more than ever, using email is essential to maintaining a successful business.
Email Marketing and it’s Benefits
What’s so great about email marketing? Emails put you in direct contact with your audience. Think of it as having a billboard that you paid close to nothing for, with the ability to reach every single one of your clients when, where, and how you want it to. It’s a great tool if you rely on repeat customers because a constant email campaign will allow your business to always stay in your customer’s view. For businesses in the trades such as electricians, plumbers, and HVAC techs, being able to constantly reach out to previous customers is paramount for success.
Email is especially effective for small to medium sized businesses because there are countless platforms out there that allow them to create emails with a level of sophistication, professionalism, and polish that rivals that of a much larger company, all while staying within budget and not having to learn coding.
Consumers value businesses that are involved in their communities. By using email marketing you could keep your audience well-informed and up-to-date on local issues and events affecting the community and your company. Hosting an event or webinar? Email your clients and let them know!
These emails not only reach all your customers, but they connect them to other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, not to mention the most important one, your company website.
Emails can also be shared very quickly, making it easy for your customers to send your information and promos to their friends and family, or post them online. You can embed videos and customer reviews in emails, allowing you to leave a better, longer lasting impression on your customers.
Email marketing, it’s all permission based. This means that the customer needs to be okay with what they’re being sent, and if they aren’t, they can easily opt out., Seventy-seven percent of people enjoy the permission based aspect of email, as opposed to social media advertising, in which people seldom have control over what is advertised to them and when.
Email platforms also provide many other great features like segmentation and A/B Testing. Segmentation is function that allows the targeting of groups of clientele based on a certain criteria, while A/B testing, in the context of email, is the process of sending one variation of your campaign to a group of your subscribers and a different variation to another group of subscribers, to evaluate which campaign yields the best results.
Last but not least, emails are highly trackable. This allows a business owner to, not only, know how many emails were sent, delivered, and opened, but also be able to track clicks and other forms of engagement. Polls can be sent which allow you to gather valuable data to help you refine and retarget your , marketing efforts to customers who are sincerely interested in your products or services.
Still not convinced? Here are some quick facts
On average, for every $1 spent, email marketing generates $32 in ROI. (Oberlo)
Conversion rates for emails are higher than social media, direct traffic, and search. (Smart Insights)
81% of businesses say that email drives customer acquisition, and 80% use it for retention. (Emarsys)
Email offers lead to shoppers spending 138% more on their purchases. (Disruptive Advertising)
How to get Started
Now that you know all the wondrous benefits of the email world, how would you get started? Easy. There are many email platforms to choose from these days such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, Emma, Hubspot Email Marketing Software, Sendinblue… The list is endless. The key is to research which platforms work well for you and your company. Each platform has different features, prices, and aspects to their service that may or may not suit your business. . Most of these services are free to get started, and fees get added as the need for more features increases.
Once you’ve chosen an email platform, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the dashboard and the various features of the tool. Read up on best practices for emailing customers. It may be tempting to just get to work, bang out an email, and deliver it to 3,000 people, but it is much more prudent to start off on the right foot by making sure you’ve taken the proper steps , and chosen the right kind of content.
So you say you don’t have time to purchase your supplies, produce your goods or service, manage your staff, (in other words run your business), AND create and manage email campaigns? You may want to consider hiring a marketing agency that will take care of your email marketing for you while you continue to do what you do best, run your business.
Quick Tips to get you Started:
Marketing Sherpa’s survey research states that 45% of people unsubscribe from mailing lists because they feel that they’re being spammed (either by a particular brand or in general). Another 91% of people unsubscribe because they either don’t care about, or can’t connect with the message, or feel as if they're being oversold. This is important to note because emails should really lean in more on the side of being informational and sincere instead of promotional and “salesy”.
This is where blogs, podcasts, and webinars come in. Emails are much more successful when the audience feels that the business cares about them, their interests, and needs.
It is also important to keep in mind that internet use is significantly mobile now. Making sure emails are properly optimized for mobile use is exceedingly important.
Up to 60% of email opens are on mobile, depending on the industry. (Campaign Monitor)
75% of Gmail users are using their mobile devices to access their email. (Backlinko)
42.3% of consumers will delete an email if it isn’t optimized for mobile. (Backlinko)
Email Marketing Trends in 2020
As mentioned earlier, optimizing your emails for mobile screens is a must.
Think about optimizing your emails for dark mode. Dark mode allows mobile devices to save battery life, and is becoming increasingly prevalent settings on the internet. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter all have these settings and email has followed suit. Although this setting isn’t new, Apple, Gmail, and Outlook have each recently introduced dark mode settings on their platforms.
Keep in mind that less is more in today’s world. People want to see less copy, more pictures and videos, and simpler design.
Social media integration in your emails is also important. Firstly, make sure you’re active on social media. Secondly, connect all your emails to your social media pages. The platforms you use should offer this function. Lastly, encourage user-generated content. Whether through contests or fun “challenges”, encourage your customers to take pictures, post videos and use a specific hashtag that you’ve created related to your business when they post this content. This strategy will increase sales through “social proofing” or the proof that others are exposed to when they see the people they follow are promoting or identifying with a brand.
Set up automatic feedback requests to be sent through email. Over 90% of internet users read business reviews. So it’s important that you have them as well. Automatic feedback requests will make it easy for a customer to write a quick review without going through too many steps.
Use brand storytelling to reinforce emotional ties with your customers and help them connect with your business’ mission. This is done by talking about the origins of your brand, what you stand for, where you’re going. Tell a story!
Stay Ahead of the Game
The simple fact is: Email marketing is here to stay. Businesses that don’t take advantage of this unique tool in this unique time will fall behind their competitors and always be playing catch-up. Don’t let this happen to you.