There’s been quite some noise around email marketing and whether it is still effective. The simple answer to that question is, yes, email marketing is still one of the most popular and effective marketing channels for upcoming brands and business enterprises.
If you think we are kidding, we are not. With over 4.26 billion email users in the world, marketers need solid reasons to ditch email marketing in favour of other marketing channels. To be honest, we can’t think of any. The most compelling reason that makes email marketing so appealing is its impressive return on investment (ROI). With an ROI of around $36 to $42 for every dollar, email is the most valuable and affordable marketing tool out there.
A few email marketers have managed to churn out even more returns through their email marketing efforts, and there is no reason why you can’t do the same.
This article explains what is email marketing and how to maximise the ROI of your email marketing campaigns. It also turns the spotlight on the different types of email marketing.
What is Email Marketing?
Email marketing is a digital marketing channel that allows brands, influencers, and businesses to email their products and services. It typically involves creating a targeted email campaign strategy, building an email list, and several other strategic elements to interact, engage, and nurture leads.
Different Types of Email Marketing
There are two major types of email marketing; inbound and outbound email marketing. All email marketing campaigns come under these two categories based on various factors such as audience, objectives, campaign voice, and messaging approach.
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Inbound Email Marketing
Here’s an exercise for you. Log in to your email account and click on ‘Promotions’ if you are a Gmail user or ‘Sponsored Mail Ads’ if you use Yahoo. What do you see? You are most likely seeing promotional emails from brands you have either bought something, subscribed to their newsletters, or interacted with them in some way. As a result, they are harnessing the power of personalised email campaigns to shower you with offers and content tailored based on your past behaviours and preferences. This is inbound email marketing.
Now, let’s turn our attention to outbound email marketing.
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Outbound Email Marketing
Outbound email campaigns are more bland and sound quite ‘salesy’ compared to inbound marketing campaigns. Additionally, outbound email campaigns aren’t as creative as inbound campaigns since they follow a standardised structure and format. The objective is to reach a wider audience based on generic interests and preferences as opposed to reaching a niche audience using targeted campaigns.
Points to Consider While Crafting an Email Marketing Campaign
Remember! Every email campaign is different and crafted for a specific audience based on their interests, campaign objectives, budget, and desired results. That said, there are a few common points you should consider incorporating in your tailored email marketing campaigns.
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Write a Catchy Subject Line
The subject line of your email campaigns plays a crucial role in influencing your chances of success as it is the first thing recipients notice. Writing a catchy and concise subject line is important, especially when nearly 64% of email recipients decide whether to open an email or not based on the subject line.
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Clear CTA in Email Marketing
Let’s assume your audience liked the content of your email. What next? What are they supposed to do? This is where a clear call-to-action (CTA) enters the scene.
The CTA in email marketing campaigns acts as a guide, instructing them to take action after reading your email. Additionally, it is imperative to create a prominent CTA button with concise text to encourage the recipients to click on it, increasing the click-through rates of your email campaign.
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Professional Email Signature
A professional email signature is a testament to your company’s working style, professionalism, and values.
A well-designed and professional email signature typically includes your name, your job title, company name, contact information, and links to your website and different social media platforms.
Pros and Cons of Email Marketing
Before you decide to include email marketing in your marketing plans, it is a good idea to take a look at its pros and cons.
Let’s start with the good stuff.
Pros of Email Marketing
- Email marketing has a higher ROI compared to other marketing channels
- It is automation-friendly
- Opens the doors to tailored and targeted campaigns
- It is one of the most effective ways to improve lead generation
- Results and performances are easy to track and measure
- Email marketing is typically more affordable than other marketing channels
Cons of Email Marketing
- Your promotional and marketing emails may end up in your recipients’ spam or junk folder
- You have little time to grab your reader’s attention since they are bombarded with marketing emails every day
- It is easy for your contacts to unsubscribe
- Cold emailing can result in higher bounce rates if your email list is outdated and unverified
- You will need to hire a specialised email marketer to ensure your email marketing campaigns perform well, adding to costs.
What is ROI in email marketing?
ROI in email marketing is a simple concept. It is nothing but the amount of money earned with the amount of money spent on email marketing.
Here is the formula to calculate your email marketing’s return on investment.
(Gained – Spent) / Spent = ROI
Strategies for Improving ROI for Email Marketing Campaigns
If you are wondering how to maximise the ROI of your email campaigns, it is a good time to look at these tried and tested strategies.
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Audience segmentation
It is vital to segment your email list based on their preferences, interests, and behaviour to create tailored and personalised email marketing campaigns, catering to their specific requirements.
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A/B Testing
Create at least two versions of your email marketing campaign and measure the performance of each campaign to determine which campaign performs better and resonates with your target audience.
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Email Automation
Email automation is the best way to stay connected with your audience on autopilot. You can schedule email campaigns based on your target audience, build customer relationships, and boost brand awareness, all while tending to other important tasks.
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Mobile Optimisation
Since a majority of your audience will open and read emails on their smartphones, it becomes important to create mobile-optimised email marketing campaigns for better open and click-through rates.
Conclusion
Believe it or not, email marketing is still relevant even in 2023 despite social media’s growing influence in today’s marketing ecosystem. It is not only an affordable marketing channel, but also one of the most effective tools to nurture and build customer relationships.
If you haven’t yet explored email marketing and email marketing services, now is a good time to start.
FAQs
What is an email?
An email is short for electronic mail that is delivered to a recipient’s digital mailing address via the Internet.
How can I start email Marketing?
You can start email marketing by defining your audience, setting clear expectations, identifying the campaign type, building an email list, and using a reliable email marketing service.
Do I need email marketing tools to execute an email marketing campaign?
Yes, with a range of robust features and automation capabilities, email marketing tools become a necessity to craft and execute a successful email marketing campaign.
What is email marketing delivery?
Email marketing delivery is the number of emails successfully delivered to your recipient’s inbox.
How important is email marketing?
Email marketing is one of the most valuable marketing tools as it allows you to reach out to potential customers and nurture existing customer relationships without spending