You might’ve been under the impression that email marketing is dying, slowly being replaced by the constant innovation and the growing number of resources that can be utilized for nurturing leads and influencing consumers’ purchase decisions.

Perhaps you’ve heard that email marketing is already dead.

But that right there is a myth – an urban marketing legend. Sure, some strategies might be a bit outdated, but the channel?

It’s alive and well – and thriving, might we add.

Email remains a powerful channel – and no other form of digital marketing seems to be able to offer the same longevity as email marketing can. Our goal today is twofold.

One, we hope to prove that email marketing is anything but dead. And two, we want to encourage businesses to re-introduce email into their digital marketing strategies and implement it the right way.

Here’s how email can help your business grow.

The Truth – And The Numbers – Behind Email Marketing

We figured the best place to start would be shutting down rumors about email marketing – and, more specifically, its death. You’ll hear it every once in a while:

Social media killed email – and with it, down came email marketing, too. Our take on this is slightly different.

Email is still an integral part of people’s lives and online communication. As long as that remains the case, marketing through email isn’t going anywhere.

But to show you just how alive email marketing is, we will go over some recent stats that reveal an interesting truth:

• By 2023, it’s expected that 4.4 billion people will be using email.
• The number of emails sent daily is predicted to reach 350 billion by 2023.
• More than 99% of people report they check their email at least once a day; roughly half of them will check emails more than ten times a day.
• Click-through rates for email average at around 3.7%, with open rates averaging at just under 23%.
• Around 50% of consumers report buying from a marketing email at least once a month.
• As many as 72% of surveyed consumers say they prefer receiving promotional content through email.

Some will try to convince you otherwise, but email remains a popular communication tool for Internet users worldwide – despite the rapid rise of social messaging apps.

And that means that email still holds its position in the digital marketing landscape – even though many were quick to predict its death.

Why & How Email Marketing Can Help Your Business Grow

When you’re just starting a long – and quite possibly turbulent – journey of marketing your business, it’s easy to get caught up in the more advanced concepts, such as AI-powered audience segmentation, social media marketing, or omnichannel marketing automation.

And yes, these are all compelling means of diligent digital promotion.

However, email marketing still stands as one of the most effective tools and a core tactic of any successful digital strategy.

Here’s why an email campaign deserves a spot in your marketing mix.

1. Larger Reach

The latest reports indicate that the current number of email users worldwide clocks in at a staggering 4.1 billion – a number that is predicted to grow by approximately 100 million per year over the next three years.

Facebook’s 2.89 billion users suddenly don’t sound as mind-boggling, huh?

Anyone currently online will have an active email address; it’s the key to the digital world. So, in that sense, no channel offers a broader reach than email.

2. Spreading Your Message

If you had to pick between a new social media follower and an email subscriber, which one would you choose? You’d go with the email subscriber, right?

That’s because, deep down, you already know that email is a force to be reckoned with when getting your message in front of your target audience.

These people already signed up for your email list; they want to hear from you and your business. So, you’ll spread your message among people who want to receive it, instead of shouting into the void of social media, hoping you’ll pop up on the right News Feeds.

3. Driving Conversions

Let’s not beat around the bush.

Driving conversions – as in, turning potential into paying customers – is the ultimate goal. Everything you’ll do, from developing a drip marketing campaign to creating content and using email automation, leads up to that moment.

It’s the focal point of all your efforts. And there’s no better way to drive conversions than through email. Recent email marketing examples show that the click-through rates for email campaigns average at around 3%; pretty impressive for a supposedly dead channel, huh?

4. Higher ROI

Given that return on investment (ROI) is what keeps you in business, you will be glad to learn that a well-crafted, targeted email marketing strategy can be an incredibly effective money-maker.

As in, you can expect an average ROI of $42 for every marketing dollar spent.

Email allows for hyper-targeted, relevant, and highly personalized messages – and that relevance drives click-through rates, conversions, and general ROI of your campaigns.

Granted, email marketing practices – and, in turn, results – depend on a range of factors, including your subject line, how well you’re following MailChimp best practices in your campaign, and the best time to send email. Since we already mentioned MailChimp, here are some other tools we’d recommend:

• HubSpot
• SendinBlue
• Drip
• Benchmark Email
• Klaviyo
• GetResponse

But in terms of how email stacks up ROI-wise, things are looking insanely impressive.

5. Preferred Communication Channel

Yes, yes, we live in an era of social media and social messaging apps – and yet, email remains the preferred communication channel for a vast majority of people. What’s the catch?

People will use social media to stay in touch with friends and family; they’re there to check out updates from people they know.

Email has always had a reputation as a “more professional” medium. That explains why people would much rather receive promotional content and information about products and services there.

6. Open Platform

The issue with social media platforms is that they’re owned by third parties, meaning you’re pretty much left at the mercy of the platform when you’re trying to market a business. Even more so, many networks are switching to algorithm-controlled feeds – which further sends your reach on a downward spiral.

Meanwhile, emailing services are sitting there as open communication platforms.
You can leverage your email mailing list and use the best emailing service without a third party limiting its effectiveness.

7. Consistent Growth & Longevity

Imagine investing a considerable chunk of your resources into growing your audience on a particular platform – and then watch it turn into a ghost town a few years down the line. We saw it happen to MySpace already; who’s to say it won’t happen again?

But if email has shown us anything over the decades, it’s stability, consistent growth, and staying power. The business world without email is pure fiction. So, rest assured that the email list your business is building will prove to be a stable, long-term investment.

Email Marketing & Business Growth: Conclusion

Email marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all glove; don’t try to wear it as such. Your approach and the strategy you develop will depend on your marketing budget, audiences, industry, paid or free emailing marketing services you’re using – and much more.

It’s a long – but rewarding – journey.

Ready to see how email marketing can help your business grow? Get in touch with Pastilla today to learn how we can help!