Oh, the never-ending debate: is email marketing still effective? Let’s put it to rest once and for all.
What’s the one thing you did this morning before anything else? Maybe even before you brushed your teeth, popped your coffee pod into your Nespresso, or headed out for your run? Here’s a hint. Your neighbor did it. Your colleague, your dog walker, your personal trainer–they too did it. Yep, that’s right. You and more than half of us who have email accounts (59% to be exact) checked our email. The latest reported number of email users in 2021 exceeds 4.1 billion–that’s billion with a “B”. And according to a recent study, about 99% of us check our email every day and some of us check it 20 times per day. Um, yeh, so if we’re asking, is email marketing dead? The answer is heck NO.
Does email marketing make money?
So we know people are still using email on the regular, but is it still effective in making you money? Well, think about why you join an email list. Maybe it’s to stay up to speed on current events and industry news but most likely it’s to be in the know on a deal or promotion from your favorite brand. In fact, 60% of consumers join an email list for that very reason (compared to only 20% of Instagram users who choose to follow a brand).
Open and click-through rates can differ drastically depending on your industry, but the average open rate is between 15-25% and the average click-through rate is approximately 2.5%. With Facebook, that click-through rate is a deplorable 0.07%.
Engagement on email is clearly higher than social media where only about 14% of social media users check-in before they make their AM smoothie. That’s a serious discrepancy from email to social. Additionally, the algorithms for social are constantly changing, leaving that super cute selfie of you and your AM smoothie hanging out in the “never to be seen” social space. Bottom line: email reaches most of the people you send it to and your social media posts might never get there.
I’m not advocating you toss social media out the window. It’s incredibly effective as a tool to grow your email list. But email marketing is still effective and hands-down far superior in generating revenue.
How to not get lost in the “noise”
Proving the strength and resilience of email marketing is perhaps the most recent stat which states that roughly 306.4 billion emails were estimated to have been sent and received each day in 2020. That’s a lot of emails. We know from our own experience that sometimes, it’s not that we don’t still love a brand or need a service, it’s just that there are too many emails. So how do you not get lost in all that “noise?”
Personally, when I write an email, I’m writing with my ideal client in mind. What is she/he looking for right now? How can I provide an easier, more manageable solution, or even a fun way to solve a problem, level up their business, or give them an edge? Write emails that are juicy and jam-packed with intel. It could be as simple as a round-up or even an entertaining story. In supplying your subscriber with your knowledge and sage advice, you’re building a “know, like and trust” factor that will eventually lead them to buy when the time comes. Emails are an ideal way to communicate and share with your list to foster a robust relationship.
Your email subscriber list is worth money
It’s said that every email subscriber is worth $1 in revenue and that for every dollar you spend on an email marketing campaign, it has the potential to be worth $38. That’s an insane ROI. Take it with a grain of salt though. Your email subscribers have to be opening your emails. You need to provide real, captivating content that they need or want. If you create emails primarily thinking, “how do I make money with this email,” versus “how can I serve my list,” your revenue-generating potential will drastically decrease. Write from a place of service and the money will follow.
Quit procrastinating on writing your welcome emails
That welcome sequence you’ve been putting off? It’s costing you. Welcome emails have on average 4x the open rate and 5x the click-through rate of promotional emails, according to Wordstream. Welcome emails account for 3x the revenue per email. That’s a pot of literal gold waiting for you. So if you have an email list that you haven’t served in a while, this stat alone should push you to pull out your laptop and get going.
What if it’s been months–or never–since you’ve written to your list? I would encourage you there’s no better time to start right now. Start by approaching the list with a fresh mindset. I’ve seen a lot of my clients get hung up and even paralyzed by not knowing what to say to a list they’ve never spoken to or have it ignored for weeks. Put the timeframe you’ve been out of the game aside and ENGAGE. Yes, a subscriber might not remember signing up for your list or no longer need what you’re offering and choose to unsubscribe but that’s no reason to keep ignoring them.
In the digital marketing world, we like to throw around the phrase, “Set it and forget it.” As in, once you’ve done the work you can walk away and let it all miraculously happen. But in many cases as with social media which requires ongoing engagement, the “set it and forget it” approach just doesn’t work. However, with your welcome sequence–it can! You can develop one welcome sequence of say 3-4 emails, set your triggers and timeframes on your email service provider platform, and leave it to work magic for you. All without you doing another thing. I would, however, make a note to update that sequence or at least have a look at it with fresh eyes once every few months.
Finding the time for effective email marketing
As an entrepreneur, finding the time and space to fire up your email marketing game can be challenging. With our own businesses to run, we’re wearing multiple hats every day. It can be overwhelming…if we let it. Schedule yourself one hour–just one hour–to kickstart your email marketing. And if you need a little help, check out my Smart Starter Pack for Email Marketing. In it, I give you 3 super easy steps to creating and writing 4 emails. The idea is to walk away with a month’s worth of emails ready to go.
Email marketing may seem old school, but it wins the debate every time.
