The Importance of Email Marketing

While the dawning of direct message and text messages has overshadowed that of the emailing world, there are still so many untapped opportunities available for business owners to take advantage of when it comes to emails! Today, we are going to be talking about the importance of email marketing and how to utilize it! 

Welcome to the Creative Consulting blog, reader! A special hello and shout out to our Summerville friends, local businesses, and customers. We are so glad you found your way here today, and we hope you're doing safe and well! Today we are going to be talking about emails and the power of email marketing. We know you might be rolling your eyes because you have hundreds of unread emails just sitting in your inbox that you're dreading going through. Plus, isn't email an old and outdated tool? Well, no matter what you've read, email and email marketing is still around and it still has so much to offer.

Just like any good tool, there is a reason why email marketing has lasted so long. Well-designed marketing tools grow and develop over time due to their needs and demands. Emails and the power of email marketing are no different. According to one of our favorite marketing tools, Hubspot, the first marketing email was sent in 1978, so the idea and the use of email marketing inst a new one. That one email lead to $13 million in sales revenue and launched this incredible marketing tool that millions use every day. Forbes goes on to say that email marketing is still delivering the highest ROI of any marketing platform, it is earning companies $42 for every $1 spent. Hubspot reports that 73% of millennials prefer to stay in contact with businesses through email and 99% of consumers check their email every day! With powerful numbers like that, it looks like email marketing is doing more than just hanging on, it's leading the charge. The big question now is not only if you're using it but if you're using it correctly. That is what we will be talking about today, along with giving a few tips on how to utilize this powerful tool! 

Over the last year, we having all been glued to our electronics, companies have been forced to do a pandemic pivot. Many companies have turned to emails to keep communicating with their customers about new deals, opportunities, and changes, and many consumers have turned around and gone haywire with unsubscribing and getting annoyed with the number of emails in their inbox. While we understand this reaction, that doesn't change the importance of email marketing, it is still relevant and it is still working. Regardless of these sometimes harsh reactions don't give up on email marketing. Instead, maybe it's just time to look at your email marketing in a brand new way than you have before!

Using email as a marketing tool lives in its own very strange limbo and these professional emails live in a category all their own. They aren't personal emails from a friend or family member, and they are not spam. Even today, giving out one's email is still given with hesitation, thanks to the amount of cyber-crime and influx of emails you can get every time you give it out. You need to respect those who do sign up and trust you with their information. When you go out to create an email blast for your list of recipients, it's not just for a sale. You need to focus on building a relationship with this audience and continue to nurture it as time goes on. 

The email you are creating and sending needs to be about your customer, don't make it directly about making a sale, about the company, or about you. Subconsciously your audience will enjoy the email and will look forward to the next email you send out! While it would be amazing to have a one on one relationship with every single customer, that's just not possible. Email can help you create that feeling along with saving you time, You can also nurture your relationships with your customers, stay in touch with them, provide them with important information, give them something to learn, give them something to apply to their life right now, or give them something to look forward to (i.e. a sale or a new product!). 

Using Email As A Tool
Now that we know that the power of email marketing isn't dead, how do we go about using it as an effective tool? 

• While email is a very inexpensive way to stay in touch and spread the word about your company, don't get too trigger happy and send them off whenever you feel like it. While they might be practically free for you to send, any email is taking up valuable real estate in your customer's inbox. You need to put purpose behind the send button. Providing content that is engaging, fun, and well-written is what the customer wants. Make it worth their time and make it worth the time you spent writing it. If you're new to the world of email marketing, Forbes recommends sending an email about once a week, while if you're a veteran to the idea, once a month is sufficient. Don't forget to pay attention to the email stats! Just as you monitor your social media and website statistics, it's very important to do the same for your email. How many people are subscribing and unsubscribing? How many are being opened? If these numbers aren't great, keep testing new approaches! 

• Create a marketing plan, just as you would with all of your marketing platforms! Make sure you have very clear goals, and just like you do when approaching social media, define your target audience! If you have more than one, create an automated eblast for each audience. Each email will provide the same information but in a way appropriate for that target audience. Use the information about what you know about them to market to them properly and customize your emails, go beyond just using their first name. This can look too automated and very spammy. Target what that group of people loves about your company and use that as a way to open the communication, it'll catch their attention because you are paying attention! 

• Give your audience more control of the email than what you might think is needed. Letting them choose how often they hear from you and making it easier for them to unsubscribe won't lose customers en masse. When someone doesn't feel backed into a corner or forced into your content, the less likely they'll be to jump ship. 

• Consistency is key! Just like with social media, staying on top of posting consistently and keeping your account active, you need to do the same with your email marketing. Once you've landed on what works for you and your company, stick with it and stick with a schedule. Don't be shy with adding in a call to action too, not just to follow through with what information you're giving your audience, but encourage them to follow you and receive your emails. 

• Create a focus on the content that you're creating. Make sure it's personalized, targeted, relevant, and simple. Always make sure the design of the email is on brand, that it stands out against other emails your target audience is receiving in their inboxes, entices people to read it, and utilize the power of the call to action. Make sure all of the content is simple, accessible, and easy to understand and use. Always double-check your work and put yourself through the email through your customer's eyes, not through your professional business eyes. If something could be even the slightest bit confusing, try to simplify it even more! 

• Use the email to your advantage as much as possible. While the email is for your customer, make it worth the time you spent writing it. Feedback options and surveys are a great tool to use in email blasts. It allows your customers to have a safe forum to share their experiences and their opinions and it gives you a free opportunity to collect this data to improve your sales and your overall approach. 

• Don't forget, email marketing can help you increase your sales. You can excite and entice customers with upcoming sales, items they left in their cart and didn't get at checkout, or give them special offers for being apart of your emails. You can also automate your emails to keep your customers up to date with every change that happens in your company every time you make updates on your website. You are also more likely to make sales to individuals who have opted into your emails, since they already want to be apart of the blasts, they will be more likely to buy a product. Always invite your audience to visit your website and make it very clear where else they can find you on social media every time you send out an email! 

The great thing about email marketing is that so much of the work you need to do is very similar to what your team already does for the rest of your social media platforms and marketing plans. While you continue to build up and perfect your social media marketing strategy, your email marketing can continue to grow stronger. Keep using this tool and keep working with it until it works for you! Are you at a loss with social media marketing and the future of email marketing? We can help with that! Until next time, stay safe and caffeinated Summerville!

Looking to learn more about email marketing? Check out this free download from Hubspot.com! Use this template to strategically organize your email marketing. Available for Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets.
https://offers.hubspot.com/email-marketing-planning-template?hubs_post-cta=anchor&hsCtaTracking=a7d79d5b-7a5d-4ce7-a057-81068f1fdac9%7Cc4094e0e-fbc6-4e8e-9b91-5332921ca599

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