Does Email Marketing Still Work? Short answer: Heck yes.
It might be hard to believe, but email marketing has been around for nearly 45 years. During the late ‘70s, the first mass email campaign was launched to 400 people promoting Digital Equipment Corp. That campaign generated $13-14 million in sales.
Fast-forward to today, when public relations, content marketing, search engine marketing, social media, and video have pushed into company promotion strategies. Does email marketing still work with so many heavy-hitting options to choose from?
Top Three Reasons Email Marketing Still Works
1. Email Marketing ROI is Unbeatable
Even 40-plus years after the first mass email campaign was launched, email marketing still holds the highest return on investment–period. Studies show that for every $1 spent on email marketing, the return is $42. That’s a 4,200% ROI.
BY COMPARISON: Marketers say that an “extraordinary” social media campaign has the potential to garner a 300% ROI. The difference between email marketing and social media ROIs is jaw-dropping.
2. Emails Have the Best Reach and Engagement
Aside from an enviable ROI, email marketing can bring the most eyeballs to your business. There are four billion active email users globally. Ninety-nine percent of those users check their email daily, and many check it up to 20 times a day. Email is necessary for society–both from a personal and professional standpoint. That necessitation fuels email users to check in on it more regularly than social media. Your analytics will reflect the behaviors above as you grow your email list.
Email is the best way to nurture and engage your audience. You can build a relationship and boost customer loyalty. Start by providing good content and client incentives like discounts and coupons. Keep it simple and consistent.
BY COMPARISON: On average, emails are delivered to 90% of your list. Instagram delivers your posts to roughly 6% of your followers and Facebook delivers your posts to only 2% of your fans.
3. You’re In Control
Email addresses you acquire via a sign-up sheet, offering a freebie or coupon in exchange for a person’s email, are yours to keep. Your email list is a commodity of your business. You’re in control of how you use this asset to promote your business, build relationships with customers and prospects, and stay top of mind.
BY COMPARISON: If you have 1,000 Instagram followers and Instagram goes down (Hello, October 2021) or disappears completely (Hi, MySpace and Vine), that list of 1,000 followers goes with it. If the network is gone, there’s no way to connect with those individuals.
The evidence is clear that email marketing is most definitely not dead but rather thriving. During the pandemic, email marketing became the number one way many retailers and small businesses communicated with their customers causing an 86% jump in email-generated revenue. Email marketing should not be considered a “nice to have” but more as a “need to have.”
Start building your email list today.