Email marketing is dead.
At least, that's what some people will tell you.
We live in a world dominated by social media. It seems you can't do anything these days without sharing it with your closest 500 friends.
So it's reasonable to assume that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are going to make email marketing obsolete. But the smart internet marketers know that's not true. They are the ones who are still building their business around email marketing.
Not only is email marketing alive and well, it's growing and making money for the people who know how to use it effectively.
Here are 7 reasons why you shouldn't write off email marketing just yet:
1) More people use email than social media
Over 94% of internet users or an estimated 2.9 billion people use email. That's almost 3 times more than Facebook and Twitter users combined.
2) Email marketing is very cost effective
It costs almost nothing to reach your target customers through email marketing. And using automated tools such as email autoresponders makes it even more efficient.
3) Email marketing delivers results for businesses
According to a study by ExactTarget, 66% of people made a purchase decision as a result of an email that they received vs. Facebook (20%) and Twitter (6%).
4) People pay attention to their email
People pay attention to their email and will check their email frequently throughout the day. If your message in their inbox, you'll get a lot more attention from them.
5) Email lets you deliver personalized marketing
Use email marketing software, you can learn about what your subscribers like (and don't like). And you can segment your lists and target specific and personalized messages.
6) Email helps you build a relationship, authority and trust
Communicating regularly lets you build a relationship with your subscribers and stay top of their minds. And by providing information you can build authority in your market.
7) Email creates ongoing marketing opportunities
With paid search and SEO you often get one shot at marketing to your site visitors. But email marketing allows you to communicate with people even if they never come back to your site.
So is email marketing more effective than social media?
Well that's the wrong question. It's not about whether you should use email marketing or social media. But rather, how you can use email marketing and social media together. When implemented correctly, the two can actually work very nicely together as part of your overall marketing strategy.
And it goes without saying, none of the above matters unless you’re delivering value to your email subscribers. Start spamming them with useless offers and you’ll kill the value of your email list fast. Create value for your subscribers and you will build long lasting success for your business.
