Email marketing has been an important way of corresponding with consumers since it was first introduced. It has extensive reach and it’s effective at its job of providing a direct form of communication between entities.  

While there are about a gazillion marketing strategies to engage audiences, like traditional marketing (newspaper ads, TV commercials, radio spots) or digital marketing (social media, texts, PPC), email is where it’s at. And, you must admit, because we understand its power, it does consume us as marketers. We plan out strategies months in advance, attend and host workshops that touch on various aspects of email, and have specific email strategists tasked with optimizing our campaigns.  

We dedicate a good amount of time to email and while that understanding of importance is behind each of our actions, it’s just as easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and forget our “why.” We’re here to remind you that you’re on the right track, the work you put into it is worth it, and email is still our best friend. 

Is Email Marketing Effective?

If email marketing’s longstanding history doesn’t convince you of its effectiveness (did you know it’s actually a few years older than the internet?) then maybe you’ll be convinced after hearing that email marketing is the top marketing channel with a higher ROI than social media.  

Its capabilities are much to behold. Did you know: 

• Almost 100 percent of email users check their inbox every day with over half checking as soon as they wake up (OptinMonster, 2020) 
• There are four billion daily email users and that number is estimated to grow by another .6 billion by 2025 (Statista, 2021) 
• 78 percent of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last year (Litmus, 2020) 

Value of Email Marketing

As many of us know, email marketing is a channel for digital marketing that involves an email list of people interested in hearing from a business and content that that business creates to send to those on the list.  

While that sounds straightforward, we also know that it goes beyond that simple description. This is a valuable marketing tool because it allows us to get in touch quickly and easily with our customers, alerting them of new products, special events, and last-minute sales. It gives brands the opportunity to connect with their consumers and build relationships that can span decades and even generations.  

When someone signs up for your email list, you know they want to hear from you. If they don’t, it’s as easy as hitting the unsubscribe button. This means that those on your list are people who were interested in engaging with your business and will most likely engage with your business in the future.  

In addition, emails are easy for you to keep track of. Just like you’re able to get information on subscribe rates, you can also monitor what happens after that point. Email marketing tools give you the ability to look at delivery rates, bounce rates, open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates. These metrics give you insight on what works and what doesn’t, and keeps your email list relevant for your marketers.  

Let’s recap. Email marketing allows us to contact, engage, and connect with audiences. It’s easy to measure, allows us to create targeted and segmented campaigns, and has high usage—all of which still sounds extremely valuable to us as marketers.  

Email Marketing Tactics

Now that we’ve touched on the present impact of email marketing, let’s delve into the future. We wouldn’t be email marketers if we weren’t in tune with what’s upcoming. You may already be incorporating these tactics into your strategy but if you haven’t yet, jot down some notes. We think this will be helpful for elevating your campaigns.  

Personalization

The future of email lives in personalization, especially as society evolves towards a digital world that knows exactly what each of us is up to. While scarily accurate is an understatement, many of us have come to expect brands to know us well. Getting pitched an ad that’s completely irrelevant to our interests? That has become a bit of a turn off.  

Personalization helps you stand out and strengthens relationships you have with your customers. It shows them that they’re not just another email address on your list, but rather an important relationship that you’re focused on nurturing. Everyone wants to be seen as an individual and your subscribers are no different.  

Mobile-Friendly Emails

Would you believe us if we told you that there are still email campaigns floating out there that aren’t optimized for mobile devices? It’s true and we’re hoping to help marketers nip that in the bud by sharing this frightening reality. 

Mobile-friendly emails are a great way to improve the performance of your campaigns and increase your click rates. If you’re checking your email on your phone, think of the billions of others that are doing the same. And the last thing we want our consumers to scroll through is a disjointed email that is messy to scan and gets cut off in awkward places, especially when you’ve already dedicated so much of your and your designer’s time towards perfecting the look and functional layout of your emails. 

Accessible Design

Accessibility sits at the core of user experience. By keeping this at the top of your priority list, you ensure that everyone can understand your message. Sometimes this means ensuring that screen readers or other assistive devices are getting your message loud and clear. A few things to consider include color, copy, and accessible content like clickable links, ALT attributes, and a variety of zoom levels.  

You don’t have to sacrifice quality for accessibility, just a bit of time out of your day. The result? An impactful email that is enjoyed by all.  

Interactive & High-Quality Content

This is the fun part. The possibilities are endless when it comes to content. The first thing to keep in mind is to ensure that whatever you’re putting out there is high-quality. If the content doesn’t make you excited, it probably won’t for the person on the receiving end either.  

With technology advancements these days, we can do a lot when we build our emails. Make it as fun for your audience as it is for you by including interactive content to capture their attention. Examples of this include countdown timers to announce new releases, videos that go through the “how-to” process of your product or service, live shopping carts, quizzes, polls, or even a well-placed GIF.  

The Takeaway

Email marketing is not going anywhere. In fact, it’s proven that it ages beautifully and continues to play a bigger role in marketing strategies each year. This is a trusted channel of communication if it’s used appropriately. Beyond that, email is engaging, it is personalized, and as you’ve learned or were reminded through this blog, it is important.  

Eager to stay informed about where email marketing is headed? Download our report on The State of Email Marketing here.