Why Should You Start Email Marketing Now?

Let's say I asked you for a dollar, promising to give you forty-two dollars back. How would that sound? Great deal, right?

Well now, here’s the thing: What if there was a way you could do that right now?

Because the latest studies show that for every dollar you spend on email marketing, you’re likely to get anywhere from $40-44 back.

E-mail marketing is the most profitable form of marketing in the world, which is why most small businesses rely on it. More than 66% of businesses use email marketing to "promote their businesses or communicate with leads or customers."

If email is not yet a central part of your marketing strategy, it's time to rethink that decision. Take a look at this breakdown on email marketing and why you should launch the campaign as soon as possible.

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is the process of sending emails to a list of people who have signed up to receive information from you. These people sign up for your email list either through an online form on your website or by using an app like MailChimp to subscribe via email.

You can send out one or more emails per week to this list, depending on the type and amount of information you want to share with them. The goal is not to bombard your subscribers with too much information, but rather to give them enough useful content so they feel like they're getting their money's worth.

Understanding Inbound and Outbound Email Marketing

To get started, you should figure out what type of email marketing you're doing.

• Are you sending out emails without people having subscribed to your list, (inbound email marketing)?

• Or are you sending out emails specifically to people who have signed up for them (outbound email marketing)?

Let's take a look at the two types of email marketing and when it's the right time to use each one:

Elements That Makes Up Inbound Email Marketing

Inbound email marketing is when you send an email based on what a customer has done or is doing on your website.

For example, if someone signs up for a free trial on your website, you could send an email thanking them for signing up and offering them some tips on how to get started with your product. This is referred to as "inbound," because it involves engaging customers based on their own curiosity as they explore your business.

1. Audience & Engagement

Inbound emails give you the opportunity to build a highly engaged and targeted audience. You can segment your list into groups and send personalized messages to each group, which allows you to get the most out of your marketing efforts. In fact, email marketing had an open rate of 21.5%, across all industries in 2021, 3.5% increase from 2020. Which means, when done right, your email content will always have an audience waiting for it.

2. Reach & Speed

With inbound email marketing, you can reach your target audience and build a relationship with them in a matter of minutes. What’s more, you can test and optimize your emails to increase conversion rates and ROI.

3. Cost

As the name suggests, inbound email marketing is a form of marketing that pulls people in. And hence it does not cost much. It is also one of the fastest ways to deliver information because it is personalized, so you can send content to each customer on an individual basis.

In addition, inbound lists are generally less in number. So, email service provider costs tend to be lower, since they charge by number of email sends.

Elements That Make Up Outbound Email Marketing

When you send outbound marketing emails, you're contacting potential customers or clients who have not yet interacted with your business. These are the people who might be interested in what you have to offer, but haven't been exposed to your brand yet.

Outbound emailing is a way for you to reach them and let them know about your company, products, and services.

1. Audience & Engagement

Outbound emails are sent out to random people who haven’t necessarily signed up for your list. They don’t know who you are or what you do. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be persuaded to become customers! You just need to know how to approach them in the right way and get their attention long enough for them to take action.

2. Reach & Speed

Outbound mails can be sent out to hundreds or even thousands of people at once, so you don’t have to wait for someone to come to your website or store. You can also send follow-up emails if something isn't working for you and re-engage with customers who may have forgotten about you.

3. Cost

The Cost of Outbound Email Marketing includes all of the expenses associated with buying marketing lists, designing and sending out the email messages and tracking their effectiveness. Outbound email marketing is an entire campaign rather than a stand-alone figure and thus, costs more than inbound marketing.

In fact, outbound marketing only works for about 18% of customers and it is much more expensive than inbound marketing. It does not convert many recipients into customers, so the ROI is lower.

What’s Right For Your Business – Inbound or Outbound Email Marketing?

Both inbound and outbound email strategies have their place. Inbound emails are sent by you, the business, to a subscriber who has opted-in to your email campaign. Inbound emails let you focus on building relationships with your customers and prospects.

However, inbound marketing doesn't work without outbound marketing. Outbound emails are one-way messages that marketers send to website visitors, people who have requested information from your company, or to potential customers who do not subscribe to your emails.

Outbound emails allow you to expand your reach beyond those who have already expressed interest in what you offer. The essential point of both strategies is that they are targeted, which means that marketers will know exactly who they are sending the message to, and will use this information to tailor it for maximum effectiveness.

Whether you run an inbound or outbound email campaign, there is one thing that you always should keep in mind: don't be "spammy." Nobody likes being spammed and it won't work anyway if you are sending irrelevant or untargeted messages.

6 Reasons Why You Should Start Email Marketing Now

Inbound or outbound, it's never been easier to get started with email marketing!

With all the tools available, you can send out custom-designed emails in minutes without needing any technical knowledge or special tools. There are tons of easy-to-use platforms that allow you to create beautiful newsletters quickly — some are even free!

Still not sure if you should start an email marketing campaign. Here are 6 reasons to help you take the call quickly:

1. Cost Efficiency (0.01 cent per email)

Think about the price of a stamp to do direct mail. And now compare that to 0.01 cents that it costs you to reach one contact with email marketing. Compare it to other digital advertising channels, such as Google AdWords or social media. And it's still cheaper.

Plus, you don't have to pay for each click or "impression" like you do with other types of online ads — every recipient receives your message whether they want it or not.

What factors affect the cost of email marketing campaign?

The cost of email marketing depends on how your company deals with the customers. If you are sending emails to customers who have already purchased products from you, then it is very easy to maintain the cost of sending emails.

However, if you are sending emails to people who have not purchased anything, then it becomes very expensive for you as you will have to create a list of new people each time.

The other factors that determine the cost of email marketing are:

• The number of subscribers.

• The size of your list (the larger the list, the more expensive it is to reach each individual subscriber).

• The number of emails sent per campaign. A monthly newsletter, for instance, costs less than a weekly promotional email. But with automation, you increase subscriber engagement and streamline your workflow.

• Whether you're sending plain text emails or well-targeted copies, which can affect how many people open and click your links.

• The frequency at which you send emails. For example, if you send out monthly newsletters with links to new articles on your website, the cost will be lower than if you send out weekly newsletters with fewer links in each one.

2. Channel With Extensive Reach

Email marketing is a tried and true method of driving sales and increasing engagement. The channel has undergone a dramatic shift in recent years, as consumers have become more

accustomed to digital messaging and less reliant on email. Despite this shift, email channels still have extensive reach. According to the Radicati, emails are five times more likely to be seen than Facebook posts.

In addition, the average click-through rate for emails is over 6x higher than social media posts (9%). So if you want people to see your content, then email is the way to go!

Ways To Reach More Customers Through Email Marketing:

• Send announcements about new products, services and promotions

• Set up automated welcome emails when someone subscribes to your list

• Ask for customer feedback

• Offer discounts and special offers during holidays, festivals, and other special occasions

• Make it easy for customers to unsubscribe from your list by including an unsubscribe link in each message you send out.

3. Return on Investment (42:1)

Email Marketing is incredibly effective because it allows you to target customers at different stages of their journey and build relationships with them over time and across channels.

That said, email marketing is not a silver bullet for generating sales. It's important to establish a strategy and follow best practices, before you start sending promotional emails.

Here’s How You Can Boost Your ROI Through Email Marketing:

• Use your data to target the right people with the right message

• Send relevant emails at the right time

• Make sure all links are trackable

• Don’t skimp on design

• Use A/B testing for subject lines, call-to-action buttons, and content formats (such as video, GIFs, etc.)

4. Quick Setup And Deliverability

Email campaigns are fast and easy to set up because they’re built on existing technology (email). You don’t have to worry about creating a website or building a social media strategy — just design an email template and start sending it out!

Here are some tips on how to improve email deliverability:

• Make sure the subject line of your email contains the most important keywords related to the offer or campaign. This will help make sure that your message gets through to subscribers' inboxes.

• Use a consistent format for all messages. Don't use different characters, fonts and styles in every message as it can affect the readability and overall effectiveness of your email campaign.

• Don't send bulk mailings. Bulk mailings refer to mass emails sent out by marketers who don't know their audience at all and just send out generic messages without any personalization or segmentation.

• Ensure that all links in your email are clickable and don't require recipients to copy and paste them into their browser's address bar.

• Check your list against blacklists, such as the Senderbase blacklist, which identifies IP addresses and domains known to send spam or phishing emails. If you find any matches, remove them from your list immediately.

5. Real Time Metrics And Reporting

Email marketing offers instant data on how well your campaigns are performing. You can immediately see how many emails were opened, which links were clicked on and even which emails were deleted without being opened.

Most email marketing services also offer detailed reporting so you can see how many people opened an email, what links they clicked on, where they came from and much more. This allows you to constantly tweak your campaigns to optimize performance based on real time feedback from your customers.

How Can You Improve Reporting and Analytics?

You can even schedule reports or alerts based on time of day or week so that you can quickly see where opportunities exist.

And with the addition of data visualization tools, such as graphs and charts, you'll get an idea of how your customers are responding and how they behave over time. This leads to better results over time and fewer wasted efforts on your part.

6. Ownership Over Your Database And Reach, No Algorithms Or Third-Party Dependence

Email marketing is a direct line of communication with your customers.

With email marketing, you own your database and you can reach customers on their terms — whenever they want to hear from you, no matter what device they are using. You can send personalized messages based on past purchases or browsing behavior without asking for permission first (something you can’t do with social media).

And unlike other forms of digital advertising like display ads or remarketing campaigns, email is an opt-in channel where users have given their consent (either directly or implicitly) to receive messages from the sender.

Time To Boost Your Business With Email Marketing Now

Email marketing has never been better, and it's a diligent process that anyone can put into practice. The thing is, you can only start your email marketing campaign after you decide to adopt a compelling copywriting strategy in the first place.

Tip #1 – Keep it simple

Keep text neat and simple with the main message upfront. Use short sentences with lots of paragraph breaks. Save those verbose-thick pieces for your blog.

Tip #2 – Know Your Audience

Write for your audience. Use segmentation to deliver messages specific to the audience’s interests.

Tip #3 – Keep it friendly

Write in a friendly one-to-one style. This isn’t just a good way to treat your customer but it also helps your emails from getting tagged as spam.

And ofcourse, you'll want a good back office to help you with the whole process as well.

Empower them in some way, give them something of value in return for their time and attention, and make sure that your email is not just a one-time thing. Make sure you follow up with more valuable content on a regular basis – preferably every week – so they stay invested in what you're doing.

Tiny tweaks like these can make a huge difference. When it comes to email marketing, sending valuable content in a compliant format to users who you know want to receive will allow you to execute successful campaigns for years to come.

Happy email!

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