Last updated on April 17th, 2024 at 06:24 am
If you’ve been in this digital marketing for some time, you must have heard a lot about email marketing. Some true, some blatant lies!
Today will take a jab at some of the most common email marketing myths. And then dissect them and bring out the truth.
Is email marketing dead?
Email is far from dead. In fact, it is one of the most important marketing channels for small businesses. According to a study by the Direct Marketing Association, email has an ROI of 4,300%.
There are a number of reasons why email is so effective for small businesses.
First, it is affordable. Email is a very cost-effective way to reach your target audience.
Second, it is easy to track. You can track who opens your emails and click-through rates with most email marketing platforms. This allows you to see what’s working and what isn’t so you can make necessary adjustments.
Third, email is personal. You can segment your list so that you are only sending relevant information to people who will actually care about it. This means that you’re not wasting your time and money sending out information that no one will read.
Most importantly, email marketing can be effective. If you know what you are doing, it can be a great way to get your name out there and build your customer base.
Myth #1: Email is spammy
Email marketing is often vilified as being “spammy.” But is this reputation deserved?
This is probably the most common myth about email marketing. And it’s understandable why people might think this. After all, we’ve all been inundated with unwanted emails from companies trying to sell us something.
But the reality is that email marketing can be an extremely effective way to reach your target audience. When done properly, it can be a highly targeted and personalized form of communication.
Myth #2: Email is old-fashioned
With the rise of social media, some businesses here in Canada have been led to believe that email is an old-fashioned way to reach customers.
However, this simply isn’t true. Email still remains one of the most effective ways to reach and engage with your audience.
Here are a few reasons why email is still relevant:
For one, email has a much better performance than social media. While social media platforms have billions of users, email actually has a larger global reach.
There are over 4.1 billion email users worldwide, compared to 2.77 billion Facebook users. This means that you have a better chance of reaching more people with your message via email than through Facebook alone.
Another reason why email is still effective is that it allows you to build relationships with your subscribers.
On social media, it can be difficult to stand out and get noticed. In an email, however, your message goes straight to the recipient’s inbox, where they are more likely to see it and engage with it.
Email also allows you to segment your audience and send targeted messages.
With social media, you can target your audience to some extent, but you are limited in terms of what you can do. With email, however, you can segment your list and send highly targeted messages to different groups of people. This ensures that your message is relevant to the recipient and that they are more likely to engage with it.
In short, email is not old-fashioned!
Myth #3: Email is hard to do
This is another common myth perpetuated by people who don’t want to do it. But the truth is, it’s not that hard. You just need to be organized and have a plan.
In fact, here are a few tips to make email marketing easier:
- Keep your list clean and up-to-date. Remove bounced addresses and unsubscribers regularly.
- Write great subject lines. This is what will get your emails opened, so take some time to craft them carefully.
- Personalize your messages where possible. Add the recipient’s name or company in the subject line or body of the email for a more personal touch.
- Make sure your emails are mobile-friendly. More and more people are reading their emails on their phones, so design your messages accordingly.
- Test, test, test. Before you send out a mass email, send it to yourself first to make sure everything looks right. Then, send it to a few friends or colleagues to get their feedback.
- Use analytics to track your results. See who opens your emails and clicks on the links. This will help you improve your future campaigns.
- Stay compliant with the law. There are laws governing email marketing, so make sure you understand them before you start sending messages.
Email marketing doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little planning and effort, you can create successful campaigns that will engage your subscribers and help you achieve your goals.
Myth #4: You need a big list to succeed
If you are just getting started with email marketing, you might think that you need a big list of subscribers to see any results. But that’s not true! You can absolutely succeed with email marketing, even if you have a small list.
In fact, having a smaller list can actually be an advantage. With fewer subscribers, you can take the time to get to know them better and segment your list so that each person is getting emails that are relevant to them.
So don’t be discouraged if your list is small right now. Just focus on growing it organically and providing value through your emails, and you’ll eventually see the results you’re looking for.
Another myth associated with this one is that you need to constantly be adding new subscribers to your list in order to see results.
Again, this isn’t necessarily true.
While it is always good to grow your list, it’s not necessary to add huge numbers of new subscribers on a daily or weekly basis. Just focus on adding quality subscribers who are likely to be interested in what you have to offer.
And then there are some people who believe that they need to send out multiple emails every day in order to be successful. This couldn’t be further from the truth!
A great email marketing campaign is one that sends out a few emails per month, not multiple emails every day.
Remember, the goal of your email marketing campaign isn’t to send as many emails as possible. The goal is to send emails that will get your message seen by as many people as possible and convert them into customers.
Myth #5: Email isn’t worth the effort
It is a common misconception that email marketing is a waste of time. But the truth is, email marketing can be a highly effective way to reach your target audience.
With email marketing, you can control who sees your message, when they see it, and how often they see it. You can also track how many people open and click through your emails.
Email marketing is an affordable way to reach a large number of people with your message. It’s also a great way to stay in touch with your customers and build relationships with them.
In fact, it is a well-known fact that for every $1 you put into your email campaigns, you get up to $42 back!
Mind-blowing I know, not even Facebook ads can get you such results!
And get this: email is not going away anytime soon. In fact, the number of email users is expected to grow to more than 4.6 billion by 2025.
Other myths:
Inactive users aren’t valid
This is a myth! Inactive users can be valuable contacts if you take the time to engage them.
After all, there are a few reasons why an email user might become inactive. Maybe they subscribed to your newsletter but never read it.
Or, they may have made a purchase from you but never opted in to receive promotional emails.
Whatever the reason, don’t write them off as lost causes! There are plenty of ways to re-engage inactive email users.
Here are a few tips:
- Send them personalized emails.
- Reach out to them on social media.
- Offer them exclusive deals and discounts.
- Host a contest or giveaway.
- Send them helpful content that they’ll find useful.
With a little effort, you can re-engage your inactive email users and turn them into valuable contacts.
Keeping a formal tone in the email
A lot of people think that they need to use a formal tone in their email marketing, but this isn’t necessarily true.
You can actually use a more casual and conversational tone in your emails, and you’ll probably get better results.
People are more likely to respond to an email that sounds like it’s from a friend than one that sounds like it’s from a corporate entity. So if you are trying to build relationships with your customers, it’s best to use a friendly tone.
Of course, there are times when you’ll need to be more formal. If you’re announcing a major change or sending an important update, then it makes sense to use a formal tone.
But in general, don’t be afraid to sound like yourself in your emails.
There’s one perfect day to send emails
While it is true that certain days and times may be better for open and click-through rates, there is no one perfect day to send an email.
Every list is different, and what works for one list might not work for another.
The best way to determine the best time to send your emails is to test different days and times and see what works best for your audience.
In brief
In spite of the ever-growing popularity of social media marketing, email is still a powerful tool that should not be overlooked.
Although it may seem old-fashioned, research has shown that email continues to be one of the most effective forms of marketing.
In fact, a recent study found that email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter combined.
So why exactly is email so successful?
One reason is that emails are personal. They are sent directly to someone’s inbox, which feels more intimate than seeing a post on a social media platform.
Emails also have high click-through rates, especially if they’re well-designed and relevant to the recipient.
Another key advantage of email marketing is that it’s easy to track results. If a company has a database of email addresses, it can easily see how well their promotional emails are converting. Email marketing is also inexpensive. All you need is an email client (like Outlook or Gmail) and a basic email account.
Email marketing is an important tool for any business, small or large. If you’re not already using it, now is the time to start!
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