I love getting emails.
No seriously. Maybe it’s because I rarely get snail mail anymore, but I love newsletters, notices, and reminders in my e-mail inbox from my favorite blogs and brands. I look forward to these newsletters because of the useful information and the thoughtful messaging. It shows me they want to actively build a relationship with me by making their content valuable and worth opening.
I also am not a huge fan of social media.
I prefer to use it more for monitoring friends’ baby photos and sharing personality quizzes than staying informed. Seriously…I can’t tell you how many webinar signups or special discounts I’ve missed out on because the constantly changing Facebook and Twitter algorithms don’t get the info I actually want into my newsfeed.
I need the visual reminder of an email ( and follow ups!) so that the info I need is in the place I need it. And it turns out I’m not the only one – email marketing is SIX times more effective than social media at reaching your audience.
Despite what the gurus say about people’s inboxes overflowing, email still allows you to reach people in the most direct way – and people open their email. In fact, valuable, transactional emails have 8 times more open rates than other types of email, with the possibility of 6 times more revenue because of it (report over here).
That means I find your message about buying your new coaching class more interesting than the latest note from my Grandma about her orchids – at least your email doesn’t make me feel guilty for not calling so much!
With almost everyone having access to email on a mobile device – 66% of emails are opened on smartphones or tablets – your message is going directly to your biggest fans. With longer word counts than social media, graphic appeal, options for attachments and embedding video, delivering coupons – you name it, email has a wide spectrum of customizing your marketing to fit your needs and business goals.
It can help drive sales and business in a way that quick, casual social media platforms cannot. I’m too lazy on Facebook to stop scrolling through my feed to click through from your brand’s ad or post to see what deal you’re offering.
Honestly. If you want to get me to buy something, you better put it in my personal inbox.
With so many mailbox and contact management systems out there (MailChimp is our preferred method at thinkCHARM), it’s easy to personalize your email marketing and to hit certain sectors of your audience.
I personally love that these services allow you to set up your email preferences so that you choose what time of day to receive email– helps you boost maximum impact and the messages get to me when I’m most likely to read it. I especially like it when it says “Hey Kristen” in the subject line (this might be a sign I need more in-real-life friends).
Email marketing gives you the opportunity to make social media even more stellar. Newsletters and emails that feed into social media activities tell me that a brand cares about their customers, their ideas, and input. That makes me more likely to care about a product or have a desire to join the conversation than generic advertising.
Okay, I will confess that there are times when it feels like there are more things ‘to read’ in my inbox than not, but that doesn’t mean you should abandon email marketing. But the thing that keeps me opening is value. When that email comes from yet another life coach telling me I should quit my day job, I want to know that the message will be personally engaging and is an attempt to build a bond with me.
Give me something to like, to ponder, something to add to my day.
Make me feel like you wrote it just for me- that’s how you make your email marketing awesome.
Questions? Leave a comment below!