Email marketingis directly marketing a commercial message to a
group of people usingemail. In its broadest sense, every email sent
to a potential or current customer could be considered email
marketing. It usually involves using email to send ads, request
business, or solicit sales or donations, and is meant to build
loyalty, trust, or brand awareness. Email marketing can be done to
either sold lists or a current customer database. Broadly, the term
is usually used to refer to sending email messages with the purpose
of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or
previous customers, to encouragecustomer loyaltyand repeat
business, acquiring new customers or convincing current customers
to purchase something immediately, and addingadvertisementsto email
messages sent by other companies to their customers.Madison
Logicposted global data in April 2014 that claimed 122 billion
emails are sent every hour.
Advantages[edit]Email marketing is popular with companies for
several reasons: An exactreturn on investmentcan be tracked ("track
to basket") and has proven to be high when done properly. Email
marketing is often reported as second only tosearch marketingas the
most effective online marketing tactic.[4] Email marketing is
significantly cheaper and faster than traditional mail, mainly
because of high cost and time required in a traditional mail
campaign for producing the artwork, printing, addressing and
mailing. Advertisers can reach substantial numbers of email
subscribers who have opted in (i.e., consented) to receive email
communications on subjects of interest to them. Almost half of
AmericanInternetusers check or send email on a typical day,[5]with
email blasts that are delivered between 1 am and 5 am local time
outperforming those sent at other times in open and click
rates.[6][7] Email is popular with digital marketers, rising an
estimated 15% in 2009 to 292 m in the UK.[8] If compared to
standard email, direct email marketing produces higher response
rate and higher average order value fore-commercebusinesses.[9]
5 Reasons You Should Start An Email Marketing Campaign:1. Email
Marketing is TargetedEmail marketing solves all the inherent
problems of non-targeted marketing. Gone are the days of placing an
advertisement on television, on a diner placemat, or in a
periodical with no control of who will see it. With email
marketing, you have the ability to control exactly who sees an
email by segmenting your contacts based on their lead status,
demographics, location or any other data. Targeting emails ensures
that your audience receives content suited specifically to his/her
needs. Email marketing makes it simple to customize your message
for each customer, fostering a higher conversion rate.2. Email
Marketing Increases Brand AwarenessWith each email sent, consumers
are exposed to your business and your brand. With strategic
planning, smart design and targeted content, your business will
consistently build value. In doing so, you stay top-of-mind with
your audience. Then, when a customer needs products or services,
your business stands a much better chance of turning those leads
into clients and clients into loyal customers.3. Email Marketing is
Easily Shareable.There arent many forms of marketing as easy to
share as email marketing. With the simple click of the forward
button, subscribers can share your deals, offers and news with
their friends. Subscribers who share your emails are acting as
brand advocates. Therefore, when a subscriber shares an email with
friends, your brand gains more exposure and credibility.4. Email
Marketing is MeasurableAnalytics are indispensable to measuring the
success of any campaign. Many marketing channels present ambiguous
and estimated results. Email marketing, on the other hand, draws
precise and valuable metrics, including delivery rates, open rates,
click-to-deliver rates and subscriber retention rates. Even better:
these metrics are more than just numbers and percentages. They are
insights about your customers behaviors and interests. Use your
email marketing campaign as a tool to monitor which information
your consumers are most responsive to. From there, you can further
target your marketing strategy towards more successful campaigns
and topics of interest.5. Email Marketing is Cost effective.Perhaps
the most appealing advantage of email marketing is the return on
investment. No print costs, no postage fees, no advertising rates.
Email marketing is as affordable as marketing gets. According to
the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing brings in $40 for
every $1 spend, outperforming search, display and social
marketing.Email Marketing is a must.In todays ever-changing digital
world, email marketing tends to take a backseat. However, if you
havent considered email marketing for your business already, now is
the time. Email marketing is a targeted, shareable, credible,
measurable, and cost-effective tool overlooked by many. Working
with a trusted marketing advisor makes the process simple and
cost-effective. With a strategic approach, proper guidance and a
strong message, your business is sure to benefit from email
marketing.
The Top10 Benefits of Email MarketingEmail Marketing
eBook|Kevin,CEO & Founder of Comm100Why does email marketing
present such a benefit over other more traditional forms of
marketing? Why does it drive better returns on investment and
customer engagement metrics than other marketing techniques? Why
would you invest the time and resources to develop an email
marketing program at all?In this article, Comm100 presents you the
top tenemail marketing benefitsto your business compared to other
forms of marketing, including:Email Marketing Benefits No.1:
Reduced Time & EffortTake a moment to think about the time and
effort involved in structuring a direct-to-consumer or direct
business-to-business campaign using one of the two most common
offline direct marketing communications techniques: Print Postal
Mailings:You'll need to allow time for a designer to create the
mailing, typically through several lengthy revisions. Then you'll
need to allow time for the print mailing to be printed, cut and, if
necessary, stuffed into envelopes. There will be time while the
marketing collateral is being transported via the postal system and
then time while you wait for the consumer to retrieve it from the
mail box. Telesales Campaigns:In addition to having to construct a
telesales script, you'll have to wait the time out while your sales
agents dial through cycled call attempts to all of the sales leads
or customers on your target list.Withemail marketing, however, you
can turn a marketing communications piece out in typically less
than two hours.Using recurring email templates, all you'll need to
do is to approve the copy for the email and any changes to
graphics, use easy database list queries like those available in
the Comm100 system to decide whom to send to, and then just hit
send. Weeks' of work can be accomplished in just a few hours and by
a single employee.Email Marketing Benefits No.2: Real-Time
MessagesAs we talked about above, with a print mailer or telesales
campaign, you'll need to select marketing campaigns and specials
that have a "long tail" because of the extended period of time
between campaign development and implementation. Because a
marketing email can be completed in just a few hours, you can
literally send "day-of" messages to help reduce stock or promote a
limited time special as needed. You can even send unique real-time
messages to customers that arrive on their birthdays or
anniversaries. With email marketing, short time frames are your
friend, not your enemy.Email Marketing Benefits No.3: Personalize
MessagesBecause print mail campaigns, telesales campaigns and even
print, television and radio advertising campaigns must be done in a
mostly "one-size-fits-all" format, it's difficult for you to speak
directly to your consumer in a personalized way. However, email
marketing presents many dynamic opportunities. Not only can you
sendpersonalized emailwith your user's name or login name, but many
email marketing solutions offer the ability to feed in personalized
information such as sales or purchase history. Also, because
creating separate email sends is significantly less challenging
than creating separate postal mail, print mail or advertising
campaigns, you can segment your customer list into smaller lists
and send very personalized messages. For example, you can select
all of your users or customers who are from New York City and then
write your email marketing copy to speak directly about New York
City. With email marketing and communications, you can easily speak
to your customers in a very personalized and intimate way that is
not possible with other marketing channels and avenues.Email
Marketing Benefits No.4: Segment User and Customer Database
InformationAs noted above, because you can segment your database of
customers or users with email, you can send extremely targeted
marketing campaigns that will result in increased sales conversions
simply because they are so specific. For example, if you sell
flowers, you can find everybody in your database who ever bought
daffodils and then send them an email in April when the first
daffodil shipments come in. You're then using your customer
database to put the most relevant message in front of the customers
who are most likely to respond to it, and that's what good
marketing is all about.Email Marketing Benefits No.5: More Frequent
CommunicationsBecause email takes less time to create and send than
other marketing and advertising channels do, you can communicate
with your customers more frequently. Instead of only being able to
send them a flyer or catalog once a month or once a quarter, you
can easily send them offers once a week. You could, of course, send
them email even more frequently than that if their email activity
supports making that decision.You may want to note, however, that
it's one of the typicalemail marketing best practicesto not send
customer emails more than once a week. However, gone are the days
when you were lucky to get a message in front of your customers
once a month. Via email marketing, you can communicate with
customers weekly or even daily!Email Marketing Benefits No.6: Test
Marketing MessagesGood marketing always means being able to test
things!With email marketing, it becomes incredibly easy to see what
graphics, headlines, offers and even colors your users and
customers will respond to.It's incredibly simple to simply send one
version of an email to one part of your list and a second version
of an email to a different part of your email list. Then, through
the very precise tracking tools that email marketing offers, you
can figure out which marketing message worked better to convert
sales or user actions. We'll talk in detail about both the great
tracking tools that email marketing offers as well as common types
ofemail testinglater on in this book.Email Marketing Benefits No.7:
Information SpreadingWhen was the last time that you saw a customer
hand over a postal mailing that they'd received to a friend who
might be interested? Or have you have seen somebody clip an ad from
a magazine and send it to a family member who may want that product
or service? However, forwarding an email with an enticing or useful
offer or piece of information only takes seconds and many users
will do it. That means that your marketing effort has not only a
wider reach but also a networked reach with people who, by
forwarding the email, are now acting as your brand advocates.Email
Marketing Benefits No.8: Reduce Overhead CostsEmail marketing can
be done at a very low overhead cost! You don't need a ton of
employees, designers, or marketing analysts. You don't need to pay
for printing, postal mailing costs, phone lines, or advertising
rates.In fact, there are services, such as Comm100 Email Marketing,
that allow you to host your email marketing using
professionally-designed templates that you can then just alter to
your own needs. An effective email marketing program only needs a
great email marketing platform or service and a good marketer who
knows how to put the right offers and the right copy and graphics
in front of the right portion of your user or customer list. There
is no marketing channel in which you'll spend less to get greater
returns on your investment than email marketing.Email Marketing
Benefits No.9: Exponentially Better Ability to Track Sales and User
EngagementThere may be no better marketing channel from which to
draw precise and usable tracking information to help you figure out
what's successful and what's not than email marketing.
Well-developed email marketing platforms such as Comm100 Email
Marketing can provide tracking information onhow many people opened
an email, how many people clicked a link in an email, which
specific link within the email was clicked, how many people
complained that an email was spam or unsubscribed and, of course,
whether your email even made it into your recipient's inbox.Combine
that with a business's ability to track sales back to a source and
you can identity customer engagement and response through an entire
cycle with clear, easy-to-understand metrics.Email Marketing
Benefits No.10: Save the Planet with Email Marketing!It may seem
like a minor part of the big picture, but we're all trying to be
more environmentally friendly these days! When you optimize email
marketing as your primary customer communication and
direct-to-consumer or direct business-to-business marketing method,
you'll help save the planet by reducing the number of trees killed
for print marketing pieces. We all want to help save the planet,
and making a responsible decision about your marketing tools can
help you to do just that while also improving your business's
success.Those are a lot of measurable benefits of email marketing
over other marketing channels! Of course, we recommend that email
marketing be an important part of your marketing mix not the only
ingredient in it. However, as you can see, if you're not
incorporating email into your marketing plan, then you're missing
out on a number of benefits that can improve your overall sales and
user engagement for a very low overhead cost and, in many cases, a
very limited amount of time and effort.
The Benefits of Email Marketing CampaignsbyBarry
SaundersonOctober 11, 2013inGeneral,LatestE-mail marketing
campaigns have becoming increasingly popular as of late. This is
because there are so many benefits to engaging in email marketing.
In this post I outline some of the benefits of email marketing
campaigns.Helps Bring Repeat BusinessSending regular email updates
to a companys customers keeps them engaged with the company and
lets them know when sales and special events are taking place. This
encourages them to shop with the business more often than they may
have otherwise.Upselling and Cross SellingE-mail marketing
campaigns often encourage upselling and cross selling. People who
are already willing to purchase from a company to begin with can
often be persuaded to purchase additional goods or services.Sales
Conversions IncreasePeople that only visit a companys website once
may not be likely to do business with that company. However, people
that receive email campaigns are often directed to the website to
find out more about what the company has to offer them. Enticing
people to do business with a company is a huge part of any email
marketing campaign. For that reason the campaigns are designed to
make people feel like they must have the goods or services a
company is selling.Cost EffectiveE-mailmarketing campaignsare
always more cost effective for a company than any other type of
marketing campaign. Not only is it cost effective it saves time as
well. Marketing through traditional means is a much more time
consuming process than a simple email marketing campaign.Global
Internet UseMany people that use the Internet check their email
every day. This means that it is easier to reach people through
email marketing than direct marketing, which involves sending
physical mail to people. Since the Internet makes many things
easier to do, people are more willing to read the messages that get
sent out as part of an email marketing campaign.Opt-In Marketing Is
EffectiveWhen people agree to receive the types of emails that stem
from email marketing they are opting in. This usually means they
are more receptive to purchasing products and services from a
particular company. Re-establishing relationships with former
customers is harder and more time consuming than keeping customers
engaged with a company so that they remain loyal to the
company.Spurs CompetitionIn 2012 a survey was performed that
determined that 87% of companies that use social media engage in
email marketing. Of the 87% that do, 93% of them reported that they
would continue to those efforts and would increase the number of
email marketing campaigns run. This means that another benefit of
an email marketing campaign is that it allows companies to compete
with other companies. Those companies that do not use email
marketing campaigns may reach the point where they simply cannot
compete anymore. This can seal the fate of any business.For all
these reasons, it is smart for businesses to engage in email
marketing campaigns. Keeping up with the changing times is crucial
in the business world.
1. Its SimpleIts easy and its simple. Anyone can do it anytime.
This method allows you to use the mailing list which gives you the
ability to distribute information to a wide range of specific,
potential clients at a low cost to you.2. Low CostIt allows you to
eliminate the cost for design, testing, executing, and sending
printed newsletters. Also, many people like using email marketing
because it supports the green initiative and is paperless.3. Its
Easy to TrackA user can track user via analytics, bounce messages,
un-subscribers, click-throughs, etc. These can be used to measure
open rates, positive or negative responses, and correlates sales
with marketing.4.Opt in or Unsubscribe OptionsEmail contains opt in
or opt out options this helps you short list your prospects. People
that want to hear your message will happily give you their email
address. When they are tired of your message, they can unsubscribe
at their discretion.5. Fast ResponseLets face it direct mail is
slow. It can take anywhere from 7 to 10 days to get a response.
Email Marketing however has a response in anywhere between 1 and 3
days, or instantaneous when youre looking at online sales. It can
reach a substantial amount of email subscribers in a short amount
of time who have consented to receive emails that interest them.6.
It has a Global ReachNo matter where you are or when you need to
reach people, targeted emails can reach their targets. There are no
boundaries with email marketing. Advertisers are able to get repeat
business affordable and automatically.7. Highly PersonalEmail
allows you to personalize, greet, and target every person
personally. By using email marketing segmentation, you can send
messages to smaller groups within your larger list to improve
results.8. Measurable ResultsSpecial tools are available to you
that accurately measure click through rate, conversation rate, how
someone arrived at your site, and more. It is reported only second
to research marketing as the most effective online marketing
tactic.9. Targeted MarketingYou can target a specific audience
based on geography, age, income, or whatever suits your needs. Want
to send a coupon to the 30-35 year old females in a specific zip
code for no extra cost? You cant do that with print marketing..10.
InteractiveFinally email marketing is interactive. You can initiate
campaigns using videos, graphics, music, quizzes, a game, or
anything that will get your targeted client drawn in. Email
marketing lets you push a message to your clients, as opposed to a
website that waits for customers to come in.All in all, email
marketing is a great way to get the most bang for your buck!
BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING #1: TARGET YOUR CUSTOMERSAs a
business owner or marketer, I am sure youve heard of target
marketing. In a nutshell, not all segments of your customer
basewant the same thing. If youre a local retailer that sells mens
and womens clothes it probably doesnt make sense to promote dresses
to male customers. Or it may not make sense for a business with
multiple locations to market a weekend special at its west side
store to its east side customers. This problem can be solved with
email marketingOne of the benefits ofemail marketingis that it
allows you to segment your list based on any demographic, interest
or behavioral data you may have collected on your customers. Most
email service providers these days allow you to easily segment your
subscriber list so that you can send updates on new dresses to your
female customers or weekend specials to your west side customers
only.BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING #2: LEARN WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS
WANTA second benefit of email marketing is that it can help
understand what types of content, products or services customers
want. Lets return to our example of the local retailer marketing to
women. If the retailer sends an email to its female subscribers
about a new dress and shoe line and finds that the link to the
shoes received no clicks but the link to the dresses received all
the clicks, its fair to say the customers are interested in
dresses.This can not only help the local retailer with its email
marketing efforts by suggesting to the business to only send its
female subscribers information on dresses, but it may also help the
retailer make purchasing decisions next season when it is stocking
its store with new clothes. That is quite a powerful tool.BENEFITS
OF EMAIL MARKETING #3: STAY TOP OF MINDMany business owners or
marketers worry about overwhelming email subscribers. The reality
is, consumers have opted-in for your email. They have given you
permission to market to them. Dont miss this valuable opportunity
to follow through and provide what they asked for.Even if they are
not in the market for your product at the time they receive the
email, your companys brand or product is going to stay top of mind
so that when they are in the market to buy they think of you
first.On the other end of the spectrum are those business owners or
marketers who let their subscriber lists go inactive. This is the
worst thing you can do. This is only going to lead to unengaged
subscribers who will eventually drop from your list and potentially
as a customer. Dont let this happen and stay top of mind by using
the most of your email marketing.BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING #4:
DRIVE SALESWhether you sell products online or products and
services in an actual store, email is great at driving sales.
According toExactTarget, 50% of online users bought something as a
result of an email which is higher than any other marketing
channel. To me, that is one of the most important benefits of email
marketing for a business since the ultimate goal is sales. By
having immediate access to customers through email a business can
advertise sales and promotions or highlight a new product line. If
the email is crafted correctly, these timely marketing emails will
drive customers to your website or store and eventually lead to
sales.BENEFITS OF EMAIL MARKETING #5: BUILD LOYALTYConverting leads
into customers is an important step in the customer lifecycle. But
it is not the end. Turning a first time buyer into a lifetime
customer is a crucial step all businesses must achieve. But more
often than not, businesses become too focused on acquiring new
customers and forget about its current ones. Building loyalty
requires time and a willingness to invest. One of the most
effective ways marketers can build loyalty is through email
marketing.As an example, once a customer purchases something from
you, email can be used tosend them a thank youfor their purchase.
Later, your business can use email to send your customer
information on how he can get the most out of the product he just
purchased. Or you could use email to send him a coupon on his
birthday or anniversary. And lastly, you can use email to remind
your now loyal customer to purchase from you again.Building loyalty
doesnt happen overnight but by usingemail marketingbusiness owners
and marketers can feel confident in reaching this goal.BENEFITS OF
EMAIL MARKETING #6: METRICS, METRICS, AND MORE METRICSOne of the
benefits of email marketing that often gets overlooked is that so
much can be measured. As a business owner or marketer, justifying
your investment in a marketing channel is indispensable. And
knowing the outcomes of your marketing is the first step in this
process. Email marketing allows you to see those outcomes and
compare it against your investment.Email marketing metrics go
beyond metrics such as open rates and click throughs (which are
still very important). But processes can be put in place that help
a local business track how well an email worked.For example, if a
local restaurant sends a $5 off coupon through email, the business
can collect all the coupons that are redeemed at the store,
aggregate the total sales that the coupons brought in and compare
the sales to the investment in the email and the coupons. If the
investment is higher than the sales, it may be time to try
something new. However, if the reverse is true, continuing to use
email marketing only makes sense.I hope these six essential
benefits of email marketing have convinced you that email marketing
should be an integral part of your marketing mix. Ignoring this
important marketing channel is a risk I assume you are not willing
to take.
Getting StartedA good starting point is to get hold of an email
marketing and communication system that has the ability to publish
a large number of emails to a specified contact list, store
demographic data, and track the results from your campaigns. Im
partial to the InSite Message Information System (IMIS) because it
does everything youd expect an email campaign system to do plus, it
generates instant reports on relevant information such as send
rates or link-through rates, and it ties all of your campaign data
back into contact information and message history.InSite Messages
is a heaven-sent solution whenever I manage online marketing
campaigns for survey participation. We also used it to help bring
in registrants for our spring and fall conventions, product
releases, publication sales, and weekly newsletters to our members.
The only thing to remember about bulk emails is this: be mindful
about sending meaningful information. Don't inundate your customers
inbox with emails containing unnecessary messages.Why Email
Marketing and Communication? It doesn't clog your company mail
server It's extremely cost-effective and sometimes even FREE
Outbound emails can be scheduled and sent automatically Take
advantage of email message templates for a professional look Manage
your contacts, distribution lists, and subscription links Edit your
content directly or insert content from external feeds Easy to
read, up-to-the-minute reportsBeyond the BasicsBeyond basic email
marketing communications, many news services are now using email
campaign management software to send news and bulletins to
subscribers. A good email campaign management system will allow you
to insert RSS feeds directly into the page that will be emailed to
subscription lists. All you have to do is indicate what feeds you
want included on your page. You can then schedule when the message
or bulletin will be sent, and the feeds will be emailed on a single
page to your subscribers.Of course this works well if you have a
list of subscribers. If you are using a tool like InSite Messages,
you can manage contacts and subscribers and assign contacts to any
number of lists. Once your contacts are in the system, you can
easily set up unsubscribe links in the body of your messages. If a
contact no longer wants to receive emails from you, he can simply
click the unsubscribe link and the email campaign software will
remove him from future mailings.Below, I have outlined a summary of
a few ways businesses and organizations use email campaign software
to communicate and market to their stakeholders.Customer
Newsletters & Bulletins:Online e-newsletters and bulletins are
a great way to connect with customers on new programs, products,
and services, as well as communicate other important information
about your organization.Employee Newsletters &
Bulletins:Internal communication is an important and often
overlooked function. Email blasts to employees on new programs,
initiatives, products. and services can be a very effective way to
communicate what is going on in your organization.Email Marketing
Campaigns:Email marketing campaigns are a great way to market new
programs, products, services and communicate other important
information to your customers.News Services and Announcements:Email
event notifications and announcements are also important to
communicate to your customers and prospects.Press & Media
Releases:Public Relations companies have really picked up on email
campaign software to streamline the design and distribution of
professional press releases. With a click of a button media
contacts can be notified immediately.Whichever direction you decide
to take your email marketing, you are sure to keep your customers
in the loop and up-to-date on what is going on in your
organization. And at the very least it proves you are alive and
well and flowing with the ever-changing tides of technology.
ril 9, 2015InEmail Strategy00Email marketing is utilised by
thousands of businesses of all sizes across the globe. Those who
are unfamiliar with this method of advertising may not immediately
understand why it is so popular amongst companies in a variety of
industries but here are ten reasons why email marketing is seen by
many as vital marketing tool.10. Low-costOne of the most obvious
benefits of email marketing is its lower cost compared to
mainstream marketing channels. There are no print or postage costs
and no fees paid in exchange for exposure on a certain billboard,
magazine or television channel. Email marketers might consider
investing in specialist software to automate, track and evaluate
their emails. Granted, there may be a small overhead for sending
thousands of emails at a time, but these costs are far lower than
what you would expect to pay using other marketing channels.9.
Target fans of your brand The Simplified Guide to Email
StrategyEmail marketing is one of the only channels that consumers
ask to receive. The majority of businesses utilising the platform
only send messages to those who have signed up to receive them.
This can allow for much higher conversion rates as a business is
only targeting those who already have an interest in their brand.
It is, of course, possible to send unsolicited email marketing
messages, but this is only likely to annoy consumers and result in
a damaged brand image.8. SegmentationMost marketing professionals
would happily pay to ensure they were only spending money targeting
those who were interested in their brand. Email marketers can go
one step further though, by only sending emails to subscribers who
meet certain criteria.If a franchise only has an offer on in
certain areas of the country, it can easily arranged for emails to
be sent only to those living in certain areas. If there is a sale
on sports goods, it can be arranged for only those who have shown
an interest in sports to receive an email.Email list segmentation
works fantastically for brands who gain information about their
subscribers. Studies have shown that marketers who use this tactic
often boast improved engagement rates as a result.7. Calls to
actionEmail marketing is great for taking advantage of impulse
buying. There arent many other marketing platforms which allow
customers to go from witnessing an offer to purchasing an item
within two clicks of a button. With a tempting call to action and a
link straight to the checkout, email newsletters can drive sales
like no other channel.6. Easy to createEmail marketing doesnt
necessarily require a huge team or reams of technical nous in order
to be successful. Its certainly possible to jazz up an email
campaign with fancy templates, videos, images and logos. Yet, some
of the most successful campaigns utilise simple plain text emails,
suggesting that its the content of an email that is the most
important thing.5. Easy to trackAnother key benefit of email
marketing is that its easy to see where youre going wrong. Most
email marketing software will allow you to track open,
click-through and conversion rates, making it simple to spot how a
campaign can be improved. These changes can be made almost
immediately too, whereas print or broadcast advertising requires
quite a bit of effort to alter.4. Easy to shareSubscribers can
forward brilliant deals and offers to their friends at the click of
a button. There arent many other types of marketing that can be
shared as easily as this. Before you know it, subscribers could
become brand evangelists; focused on introducing your business to a
new market.3. GlobalWhat other marketing platform lets you
instantly send a message to thousands of people across the world?
Sure, social media can help you spread the word amongst a global
audience but theres no telling whos actually reading your
content.2. ImmediacyDue to the immediacy of email, a business can
start seeing results within minutes of its emails being sent. A
24-hour sale is a brilliant marketing ploy that can be utilised by
email, as it creates a sense of urgency and convinces subscribers
to take immediate action. Businesses typically have to wait weeks
until they see sales come in as a result of print or broadcast
campaigns and, even then, how can they be sure what was responsible
for the purchase?1. Return on investmentIn the business world,
results are arguably all that matters. With this in mind, the main
reason that most businesses invest in email marketing is the
fantastic return on investment. In 2011, the Direct Marketing
Association estimated that email marketing typically returns 40 for
every 1 invested. A number of sources have suggested that this is
better than any other platform.When you take into account, the
points made above, its easy to see why. Perhaps its time for your
business to start taking this marketing platform more seriously
Email marketingis a way to reach consumers directly via
electronic mail. Unlike spam, direct email marketing reaches those
interested in your business area of expertise. The information is
sent out more like a laser-guided missile than a bomb: No matter
what youre selling, it is a way to reach thousands of potential
customers directly at a relatively low cost when compared to
advertising or other forms of media exposure. It brings your
business message through an attractive mix of graphics, text and
links directly to people who may have never heard of your business
or considered your products, but are knowledgeable and interested
in your business area of expertise. Once you understandwhat is
email marketing?you can start to implementing these practices to
reach more customers.Email marketing also provides an easy way to
track how effective it is. By keeping track of how many hits your
website gets after a mass mailing, its easy to gauge whether this
technique works for your company. Its also a good way to guide
existing customers back to your business. Many companies also
provide an unsubscribe option for viewers in an effort to focus
only on interested potential customers. Also, your company can opt
to have a feedback mechanism where potential customers can tell you
directly what they liked and disliked about a particular
advertising campaign.Email marketing is a popular way for
businesses to reach customers. According to the Direct Marketing
Association, research firms spent over $400 million in 2006 on
direct email marketing.Email marketingcan be more than just text,
rich media formats can provide images and give your product or
service texture and flavor. In email marketing, you have the
complete attention of the potential customer. Pop-up ads or other
internet advertising often get in the way of what the potential
customer is looking at: The content. But with direct email
marketing the advertising is the content.The internet is the most
popular way for people to gather information about products and
services he or she is interested in. Maximizing your business
capability to appear in internet searches through press release
distribution and email marketing are effective tools in reaching
your current customer and potential customers with essential
information about your products or services. Its a technique used
by businesses worldwide and it can help your enterprise grow and
establish a presence on the web.Email NewslettersEmail newsletters
are an effective means of keeping your client base informed about
the products and services your company offers. The email newsletter
can be in the form of a press release, or it can include graphics
and information about purchasing a product. Some email newsletters
feature a coupon to entice customers to come back or take advantage
of a special offer. It can be a regular way for your business to
stay in contact with customers.Email SurveysAn email survey is
material sent to your clients or potential clients asking for their
feedback. Its a great way to test a new product, service or idea.
Its also a great way to show the customer that you care about their
opinions and are willing to work with them.Top of Form
Email marketing has become an essential tool for business ever
since the introduction of the Internet to the world, however some
campaigns that make it through to our inboxes are absolute rubbish
that we dont take any notice of. This article seeks to explain what
email marketing really is, why companies should use it and how they
should go about doing so.
Email marketing is a form of direct marketing that uses
electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or
fundraising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every
email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered
email marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to:
Sending emails with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a
merchant with its current or previous customers and to encourage
customer loyalty and repeat business. Sending emails with the
purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers
to purchase something immediately. Adding advertisements to emails
sent by other companies to their customers.Email marketing has
several key advantages over traditional mail marketing, including
the following: An exact return on investment can be tracked and has
proven to be high when done properly. Email marketing is often
reported as second only to search marketing as the most effective
online marketing tactic. Advertisers can reach substantial numbers
of email subscribers who have opted in to receive email
communications on subjects of interest to them. Over half of all
Internet users check or send email on a typical day. Email allows
marketers to reach out to consumers with personalized, relevant,
dynamic messages. Transactional emails allow businesses to respond
automatically to important consumer events like purchases or
shop-cart abandonment.The disadvantages of email marketing surround
the rejection/spam rate of the emails by the consumers email
program, negatively affecting the delivery rate of the emails. This
has somewhat been eliminated with the idea of Opt-in emailing,
where the consumer consents to receiving the emails and therefore
eliminates the idea of receiving unsolicitated emails Ideally
maintaining emails that are relevant and appropriate to each
individual recipient.So the questions arewhyandhowshould one go
about email marketing? Well here are a few thoughts on the
matter:Why? Cost Email marketing is CHEAP, there are no two ways
about it. Whether you do it yourself, or through an email marketing
agency, marketing to hundreds of consumers via email is going to
cost you tiddlywinks compared to other channels of advertising.
Success -Emails can be targeting specifically to the ideal
consumer. With this concept in mind, along with email
cost-effectiveness, its no wonder that email marketings ROI often
blows other direct marketing strategies out of the water The trick
is that you have to get it right! Measureability and Flexibility
With the analytics available today its easy to track responses to
your emails exactly, in order to work out what parts of your
campaign are working and what parts arent. With this knowledge, you
can then react instantly to modify your campaign strategy if need
be.How?Dave Chaffey from Marketing Insights offers an experienced
view into the success factors of email marketing, using the
mnemonic CRITICAL: Creative This refers to the overall design of
the email (layout/images/colour). Specifically, it is a good idea
to ask each customer whether they would like the emails in text or
HTML as there is often a great preference for one over the other.
Relevance Targeting, targeting, and more targeting. Make your
emails relevent and personalised to each recipient if you want that
response rate to rise. Incentive -Recipients look at emails and
think WIIFM?, i.e. Whats in it for me??. Theres no such thing as a
free lunch right? Well Offer the recipient a free lunch for
participating and they will be more likely to respond. Timing Dont
send out an email that recipients will receive overnight, let it
pop up in their inbox during their working day. This also expands
to selecting certain days, months and even years. Remember You can
test and measure what timing works best for which email.
Integration Companies can not just rely on one method of marketing,
nor can they rely on several methods of differentiated marketing.
Instead, best marketing practices utilise integrated marketing
communication (IMC) where all aspects of their promotion work
together to create a whole. Email marketing must be including here,
therefore your emails must carry the same image and message as your
entire operations. Even the timing of the campaign must work in
with other aspects of your marketing mix. Copy When considering the
copywriting for your email you must consider all aspects of the
language, from subject line through to your mail signature. With
emails, not all links should be saved for the last sentence, pop
them in early to grab that impulsive customer! Attributes Here Dave
talks about the email header, with attributes including the subject
line, from address, to address, date/time of receipt and format.
Once again, testing your campaigns can rule out the attributes that
customers consider spam and highlighting the attributes that will
work best for your business. Landing Page Want those emails to turn
into sales conversions? Dont just hyperlink your customers to your
home page; show them exactly where you want them to go and make it
quick and easy to complete any forms!So yes Email marketing is a
vital component in many industries, especially for creating those
important customer-firm relationships. Learn to use it well and it
will definitely bump up your companys success.Just try not to send
out another email that goes straight through to my spam folder.
And, if the email does manage to make it through to my inbox Make
it worthwhile to read!