Let’s face it: Email marketing hasn’t always had the best reputation.
Some people love to make exaggerated comparisons between email and unsolicited telemarketing. This was amplified with the advent of the CAN-SPAM Act and the idea that “no email is good email,” but it isn’t very accurate.
Email is nothing like an unwanted phone call at dinner. Good email campaigns are permission-focused, and even emails that miss the mark simply can’t be as interruptive as a cold call. When done correctly, email marketing has tremendous potential.
Let’s look at some ways a good email marketing campaigns stand out:
Email May Have the Highest ROI of Any Digital Marketing
Widely-reported research originally by Venture Beat indicates email marketing ROI can run as high as $38 for every $1 spent. Email combines a remarkably low cost with the ability to iterate quickly and learn what content resonates with the target audience. Performed consistently – and backed by the right products and segmentation – email marketing can power the entire digital strategy.
Email is Virtually Free
One component of email’s massive ROI, of course, is its low-impact budget. Modern email marketing platforms allow you to touch thousands of prospective customers at a cost of a few pennies per message. Although there are other methods that can connect with highly-specific target audiences, none of them are quite as economical as email marketing.
Email Can Be Automated (Beautifully!)
Today, businesses of all sizes are using email marketing. However, there’s a good reason why email has long had a reputation as the royal road for entrepreneurs to scale up online. Even the most complex email campaign can be automated from beginning to end, taking sophisticated twists and turns aligned with the buyer journey as customers take action on your website.
Email is Easy to Learn
Since email can yield near-immediate results, understanding and applying lessons learned is far easier than with, for example, Facebook advertising or AdWords. Equipped with the right tools and support, email marketing professionals have the opportunity to tackle the learning curve and produce growing results quickly. That’s good for both your bottom line and your team’s morale.
There’s More Time than Ever for Email
The rise of mobile technology has made email marketing more timely and relevant. According to Litmus Software, email represented 54% of all email opens in a 2016 sample of more than 17 billion opens. People, including sophisticated B2B buyers, are using mobile to make sure they are never far from their email inbox during their “downtime.”
One last great thing about email marketing: It is never too late to get started. You can on-board your prospects and customers any time, so give it a try!