Is Email Marketing Holding You Back in 2023?
You might think the marketing department always has everything ready and they’re always playing it cool “no stress, we’ve got this” is often the vibe that comes off. But let me tell you from a marketing perspective… that’s not always the case!
For the past couple of years the industry has had a major concern as to whether email marketing will become zilch, nada… over! The biggest factor in this was, well, social media. The rise of Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest etc made that area of marketing boom and had us wondering whether our audience would still check their mail for business updates. With so much effort and resources being plugged into email marketing and so many skill-sets, potentially going to waste, we were shuck.
However, drum roll please…
I’m pleased to tell you that that's not the case. And in fact, we’re starting to see a rise in email marketing popularity again! Hoorah! Let me chuck you some geeky facts for a second…
73% of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email
99% of consumers check their emails everyday
35% of marketers send their customers 3-5 emails per week
There are 4 billion daily email users
89% of marketers use email as the primary channel for generating leads
As business owners, we can not ignore these facts! Yes, social boomed and we saw a rise in popularity. We know for certain that customers' buying habits changed, for example, our audience would now prefer to shop and checkout all on one platform rather than be taken from an image, to a secondary landing page, to a checkout page on another website. I’m not in denial, this happened. And honestly thank god because my business wouldn’t be here without social media. I’m kind of a pro. (Speaking off, if you want to grow your brand on social media and are looking for the girl to do it, I'm right here! Drop me a message at Amelia@kindcomarketing.com).
But what we can take from this is that our audience looks to social for cool content, to be entertained and for inspiration. Your audience looks to their email to receive brand and business updates. Meaning, you need to be doing both.
Maybe you’re now wondering why I'm shouting from the rooftops about email marketing and automation when I’m a social media whiz (thank you) but honestly, I couldn’t recommend email marketing enough. It’s your baby, your bread and butter. Your email list will always remain yours. Whilst we struggle with annoying situations such as social media hacks, platforms deleting accounts for no reason (cry) and people disengaging with a platform and moving over to another platform when you’ve just spent years building up your network on said platform! Email will ALWAYS REMAIN YOURS.
If i’ve not already convinced you to put more effort into your email marketing strategy or give you a kick up the bum to grow your email list, this next section is going to be for you. It’s going to turn you into an email geek, like myself.
I’m going to walk you through 8 Benefits of Email Marketing and why your business should have been doing it yesterday.
Communicating with your audience
When your audience feels like they connect with you, they’re more likely to keep coming back to you and recommend you to a friend. They feel like they trust you as a brand and come to you as a market leader.
You want your audience to enjoy opening that mail you sent. They read, they may even laugh. The content and communication were top-notch and no way do they want to unsubscribe or put you in the dreaded ‘spam’ category. Email can add a personal touch point for your audience, keeping your audience engaged and ready for more.
2. Generating traffic to your website
This one is really a no-brainer!! Sending traffic from your email over to your website is great for building organic SEO. When you create great content, don’t just share it on social media. Repurpose that content and format it to email. Email is a fantastic way to add value to your audience. Maybe you’re giving your audience tips on how to take stunning photos, or maybe you are boasting about your latest product launch. Either way, having strategic CTAs through your email, and guiding your audience to specific landing pages is an absolute must!
3. Creating personalised content
Customise your email campaigns and you’re set for a winner.
You can do this in various ways ranging from simple to more complex. Start off by adding the contact's first name into the subject line and email. Then when you’re ready, start segmenting your audience and send them through a marketing email funnel. This way the right audience sees the right content at the right time.
You can vary your emails with different headers, images, and text to increase your engagement. Maybe you want to send an email to past customers with a unique discount code as a thank you the next time they shop. Not only are you driving traffic back to your website but you can now track the sales from the code you supplied. These analytics will be crucial in any future marketing campaigns.
Having a successful email marketing strategy isn’t always easy and I know some of you may be a little overwhelmed. Honestly, if you’re sitting there nodding your head, don't be ashamed. I see you! Many of my clients were in the same position until I came along and helped them see the light. Drop me an email at Amelia@kindcomarketing.com or click here and fill out your details. We can have a quick 15 minute chat and see how I can help your business.
4. Collecting feedback
Ask your audience what they think of their shopping experience. Is there anything they would change? Do they have any recommendations or suggestions? Honestly, listening to your customers is the best way to grow your business. You can easily find out what they’re looking for, their pain points and their objections. When you know this, you can tailor your plan to suit your customers’ needs.
You can also build a strong review process! Ask your audience to leave you a customer review (I always recommend TrustPilot for this), people check out more often when they read a 5 star review.
5. Sending timely campaigns
Marketing campaigns are often planned in advance and whilst you can set up automations or schedule email campaigns to go out at certain times, you also have the option to send out email campaigns at short notice.
Just realised it’s World Kindness Day?
First of all, where have you been? And secondly you sound like you need a content calendar building my friend. BUT you can quickly whiz up an email of kind feedback you have received over the months and stay on top of those marketing dates.
6. Owning your media and contact list
I shout about this a lot and I’m aware I've already mentioned it earlier on. So one more time… just for the people in the back who might have not been concentrating…
YOU DO NOT OWN YOUR FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS.
Typically the content and your follower list are owned by the social media platform.
Let’s just sit and think for a second.
What’s your biggest following?
Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest?
Imagine if that platform was taken away tomorrow. Mark Zuckerberg was like “screw it, I throw the towel in” and is now permanently vacating in Hawaii.
What would you do?
I’ve got the sweats for you.
Building your email list is incredibly important. You can communicate with your audience no matter the emailing platform. That list is yours and no one else's.
7. Improving sales and increasing leads
We’ve already established that communicating with your audience via email is a no-brainer. But how can it improve sales?
You can send email updates on new featured products or a service that you are running. Create a tailored email automation for cart abandonments to encourage your customer to complete their purchase, you could even deliver a personalised email talking about a special offer or discount code for them to use.
How can it increase leads?
This is where you need to nurture your audience. How many of you have come here via lead magnet? Not all of you for sure, but a lot of you will have downloaded one of my lead magnets (otherwise known as Whitepapers) and from there checked out my blog.
If for example, someone downloads your lead magnet on ‘how to be prepared for your wedding day’. You then, as a wedding planner, drip feed them emails nurturing them in your services, how you can help them, why they need you. They then book a free consultation call with you to learn more about your services. This will improve your quality of leads. You know you’re going to ace that phone call and therefore you’ve transformed a cold lead into a boiling hot I NEED YOUR SERVICES NOW LEAD. Go you!
8. Having a forum for promotions and competitions
Launch a new competition by sharing with your email database first. Not only will they appreciate the first-look access, but you’re also offering entertaining content for them to interact with.
When you post on social media, sometimes the content can get lost in the day's work. It depends where you’re appearing on your audience's feed as to whether they’re going to see you or not. With your email, you know it’s leaving your laptop and landing right in their inbox.
So now we’ve established that email marketing is one of the best ways to get in front of your audience and retain your customers. We know that you own your data and no one can take that from you. We know that 99% of consumers check their emails every day and 73% of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email. We just need to get you started.
Let the expert automate your email campaigns, and create engaging and entertaining newsletters, all whilst building your email list. Get in touch now to book your spot for next month.
2023 Email Tips from Kind Co
Email click-through rates improve by 200% when interactive elements are added
Sales emails with 200-250 words witness the highest response rate of 19%
When text in a call to action button is changed from a second-person viewpoint to a first-person viewpoint, clicks improve by 90%
Add personalisation in the email (subject or text) to increase the open rate
Hire a marketing expert to transform your email marketing!!