5 Reasons Email Marketing is Thriving

Spam and social media have not killed email marketing. In fact, marketing experts agree email marketing is having a Renaissance. Why has this “old technology” remained a reliable and effective way of reaching and moving your target audience? Here are five good reasons why email marketing still works.

1. Customer intimacy

   One of email’s biggest strengths is its capacity for personalization. Aside from merge fields with names, you can tailor a message to speaking directly to the reader. Tracking their behavior on your website or even, more simply, their clicks within your email message, allows for the further refinement of messages, offers, and incentives to move the reader into the sales funnel.

2. Control of incoming information

   Readers report feeling increasingly overwhelmed by their newsfeeds in social media and are returning to the inbox, there they have much more control over what they see. There they can better manage incoming information. Sorting tools like the gmail promotions box have actually helped, despite early fears, because people can chose when to engage with you and will read your message when it best suits them.

3. Email marketing is free

   OK, not exactly free, but once you’ve selected the right platform and signed the contract, you have a reasonably low fixed cost for this marketing channel. And there are plenty of platforms like Mail Chimp that offer free plans to start, and you can scale up as you grow your list, ramp up to add paid features or increase your email quantity, list size, or feature. I like Reachmail for their large list size and excellent customer service and human support.

4. Results are trackable

   At the very least, you can track open rates and click through rates to get valuable information on which subject lines get opens and which offers or messages drive website traffic. In a more robust email marketing platform, you can measure conversions and track sales using their reporting tools, which will help you spell out your ROI.

5. Meaningful conversation

   In an email you have more than 140 characters to use. You can paint a word picture, engage your reader with thoughtful content, and appeal to them as a human being. The quality of your interaction is much higher and potentially much more meaningful. When you take the time to build relationships this way, you open a dialogue and create a relationship that can be fruitful for all involved.