This is possibly the most important post I’ve published about why email marketing is important for business. Let’s get right into it, shall we?

Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets have certainly become important avenues for online marketing campaigns, but good old fashioned email marketing still holds a great deal of value for organizations and businesses of all sizes.

Why Email Marketing is Still Important for Business

Did you open an email today? Of course you did! Enough said.

Seriously though, email marketing even has a number of advantages over some of the more “cutting edge” marketing techniques that some tend to focus on, including social media. Here are a few of the top reasons why email marketing is important for businesses today.

Email Marketing is Personal

Email is a personal and direct way of initiating a “one to one” conversation with prospects and existing customers. You are landing in an individual’s inbox, as opposed to being a piece of a social media feed that moves at the speed of light.

Based on the information you request on a sign-up page in addition to the email address, you may be able to make sure you’re targeting that individual most appropriately.

For example, you might ask a prospect to check boxes indicating their areas of interest while signing up, and then use this information to decide what types of email messages to send to them later.

Related Article: How to Build a List of Email Subscribers (and Keep Them)

Email Marketing Lists Belong to You

Let’s address the big hairy elephant in the room. You own your email marketing list. You DO NOT own any social media platforms. Excuse me, I meant to say, unless you are Zuck, you do not own anything about social media. You do not own your page, profile or followers. If the social media platforms decides to shut your page down and you do not have an email list, a way to communicate with your fans, You. Are. Screwed.

Q: Why is email marketing still important for business? A. You do not own your social media account. Click To Tweet

Email Marketing is Trusted

Since reputable businesses only engage in email marketing to individuals who have signed up to receive emails, this marketing channel is inherently trusted by the recipient. The individuals you’re marketing to have already decided that your business is one they’re interested in hearing more from – that’s why they signed up for your email list. (Don’t be tempted to send unsolicited emails to people who haven’t signed up with you; you may find yourself on a spam list, and getting off that list can be very difficult.)

Related Article: Email Marketing Cheat Sheet [Infographic]

Email Marketing is Measurable

 

Because the action items in each email generally consist of links back to your website, you can set up special landing pages in order to measure the “click through” rates for each of your communications. On average, click through rates are generally in the 4%-5% range, so being able to measure your response rates and improve performance even slightly can have a significant benefit to your bottom line.

In contrast to other marketing vehicles, you do not have to wonder who is opening your emails and clicking through your links.

Q: Why is email marketing important for business? A: Did you open any emails today? Click To Tweet

Email Marketing is Affordable

In relation to the benefits you’re likely to receive back, email marketing is one of the most affordable methods for marketing your business. If you have a very small list you may consider administering it manually. However, I strongly advise against this.

For an entrepreneur it’s a time drain that’s completely unnecessary. If cost is a factor, you can consider using a provider like MailChimp or Mailerlite, which offer free services for people with small lists. You want to use the features a professional email list management service can offer. Most of these services are quite affordable, and provide you with a variety of pricing options.

Email Marketing Works

This is perhaps the most important factor for a business to consider when deciding whether to use email marketing is its effectiveness. Industry surveys continue to confirm that email marketing generally has the highest return on investment of all other marketing tactics. Simply put, email marketing works.

Ciao,
Miss Kemya