Emails are one of the earliest forms of digital marketing. Even with the advances of social media and digital advertisements, they are still a huge and formidable source of generating sales leads. Throughout this article we will dive into why cultivating a strong email presence is important and how it can help you grow your business.
6 Reasons Email Marketing is Important
- You are able to reach a large number of people.
Emails give you a great chance of reaching all those who want to hear what you have to say. Because people voluntarily give you their email address, they have given you permission to contact them. Through tactics like opt-in ads and redirects from your social media accounts, you can easily reach a large group of people
- With email marketing, you can establish a personal relationship with your customers.
Instead of broadly targeting customers through social media posts, you can personalize emails for different groups of people. This allows you to not only reach customers but to keep them and see sales come through.
- Email marketing can help when other methods fail.
One thing you may not realize with marketing is that you don’t own many of your assets. Take Facebook for example. If you have cultivated a strong community on Facebook with thousands of users who follow and interact with your page, you should be proud. That is a big accomplishment, but what if Facebook goes away tomorrow or they decide to change the way you are allowed to interact with users.
Would your marketing strategy be halted because you have lost your audience? With email marketing, you own your contact list. If other forms of marketing go away or become expensive, the contacts will still exist and emails can be sent for free. You own your list and you make the rules for how it can be used.
- Email marketing is easy to measure and optimize.
With email marketing tools like Mailchimp or HubSpot you have the ability to track what happens after you have sent out your email. These tools allow you to see delivery, bounce, open, and click-through rates. These help you to understand how your audience is responding to the content you are sending out.
If you notice that certain content is performing better than others, readjust the content going forward. If you find that customers open emails more at specific times, try scheduling emails going forward for that time. Don’t ignore the metrics that are provided because they are a valuable resource that can greatly improve your marketing campaign.
5. Email marketing allows you to specifically target groups of people with your messaging.
Most likely you are turning to email marketing because you are trying to increase your sales. Email nurture sequences can lead to profits when done right and when targeted to a specific group.
It is important to realize that your customers are coming to you at different stages in the buying cycle. Some may be coming purely as a researcher, hoping to gain the insights you offer for a project they hope to accomplish in the future. Others may come already in the ‘ready to buy’ stage which would make them the perfect candidate for a sales funnel.
You can create these groups by identifying buyer personas through conversations, surveys, and looking at how they interact on your website. Once you have accurately identified the groups of people you are engaging and sent them content that matches where they are in the sales funnel, they will come to value the relationship you have. You are not wasting your time sending content to people that won’t read it, and the reader will see content that actually applies to them. A win for both!
6. Email marketing allows you to present your company as an expert in your field.
With emails, you are allowed to present a large amount of information over time. Statistics, services, and credibility can be added to your email nurture sequence to add credibility to who you are as a company.
While presenting authority in your area, you are also letting the reader know that you empathize with the problem they are experiencing. Statements like, “I feel your pain” and This is why that is wrong,” go a long way in building trust with the reader.
What not to do with email marketing.
Emails can be a very powerful sales tool, but they can also deter people from wanting to do business with you? Just like any form of media, emails have a long list of dos and don’ts. Here are a few things to avoid when sending out your email campaign.
- Don’t rush the relationship.
When someone signs up for your email list, they are hopeful that it will be a meaningful relationship. Just like not proposing after the first date, you want to make sure that you aren’t bombarding the reader with multiple emails within the first month. Take time to cultivate the relationship and make it a meaningful experience for both parties. Try offering something of value to the reader such as a downloadable worksheet or free eBook to build trust.
- Don’t send emails to people who unsubscribe.
Not everyone will be engaged with your email list, and that’s okay! When a user unsubscribes from your list, don’t re-add them. They have chosen to leave, but you still have a list of engaged readers who you can invest in. If you keep the content on your social media pages and website up to date they might choose to come back.
- Be aware of laws and make sure you can send people emails.
Before you begin your email campaign, it is important to brush up on the laws surrounding emails. Ensure you have permission to send certain types of emails whether in the US or abroad. Also, make sure to always include an unsubscribe link. Here is a good resource for understanding email laws.
- Don’t have an unclear call to action.
One way to lose readers is to have an unclear call to action. If you are inviting readers to take the next steps by setting up a call, don’t make your call to action button “Learn More.” Instead, try “Schedule a Call.” This is an easy way to increase sales and make the process easier for your customers.
What’s stopping you from getting started?
Email marketing is a great means of connecting with your current and future customers and is an easy way to see measurable results. Get started crafting your message and stay tuned for our next article where we share tips on how to build your email list!
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