Basics of digital marketing - Email marketing

The first marketing email, sent in 1978, generated $ 13 million in sales and spawned one of the most widely used marketing channels to this day.

Due to its four decades of history, email is not as flashy as other newer channels, including instant messaging services, but it is still a very effective way to have an engaged audience that generates good results.

The email has not ended. It is one of the few marketing channels that we can use to create an authentic connection with the people who keep our companies going.

You should use this tool to enhance existing relationships with all members of your list by offering them valuable and relevant information to help them achieve their goals. Remember that the important thing in email marketing is not your company, but your customers.

If you can focus your attention on them, subscribers will not only read your emails, but will be eagerly awaiting the next updates from your company.

Let's take a look at why email marketing is one of the most important elements of your marketing strategy and how you can use it responsibly and effectively.

Email marketing

Email marketing is, in essence, sending emails to your target audience as part of a campaign with specific goals in mind. It is a strategy by which companies establish a communication link with your subscribers by sending emails.

The forms that this content takes can be newsletters, special announcements (such as new products or contracts), promotional information, news articles (in the case of the media), questionnaires, discounts ... the list is very long. And let's not forget that, as with any other content, email marketing is an effort to build trust and credibility with a user (or potential customer).

Carrying out a mailing campaign is a way of strengthening the existing bond with the subscribers of the newsletter.

It must be considered that the databases of this type of campaign are configured voluntarily; it is individuals who register in the form of a website or fill out a paper giving their authorization to receive these communications framed within email marketing. This is what is called Permission Marketing; it is the user who gives his consent to receive commercial emails. Many times, this is achieved by offering a lead magnet.

Gone is the time when mass mailings were made without any criteria. The effectiveness of these practices was very doubtful and the annoyance of the recipients of the very common newsletter, they barely saw those newsletters in which they had no interest.

A key piece of email marketing is the contact database, which are the people who will receive the email. This database can be generated by you, your clients, from a public yellow pages type database or you have bought it from third parties. It is preferable to have a database that is smaller in number but of quality (they include real names, e-mails are up to date, we also have the more data the better of each person, only the name or also the surnames and their place of residence, about what product they have been interested in our business). If the database is of poor quality, the bounce rate (mails returned just when sending the mailing) will be very high. It is important to clean the database to update the emails that are no longer operational as you use it.

Effectiveness of email marketing

There are 3.8 billion email users worldwide; therefore, if you are looking for a good way to reach your customers, this is the perfect way to do it. On average, email generates $38 for every dollar invested, representing a return on investment of 3,800%.

Here are some data that demonstrate the great effectiveness of email marketing:
 

• Email is good for your business. You can remind distracted customers about their shopping cart with emails, ensuring up to 69% more sales.
• By conducting a lead qualification process, it has been shown that up to 52% of leads are not of quality, so nurturing through emails and with additional content will increase the chances of conversions and sales.
• As for customer acquisition, it is convenient to remember that email is much more effective than social networks, since they have greater qualities to generate brand awareness.
• Plus, since you own the channel, you won't have to worry about external compliance standards. You will have complete control of the channel and will be able to determine how, when and why you contact your subscribers.

Unless, you have the people, time and the capital necessary to establish personal and individual relationships with each of your prospects and clients. Therefore, email should be your best marketing ally.

Advantages of email marketing

The main benefit of Email Marketing without a doubt is the direct connection with your potential client; it is that almost personal contact with a person that can be converted into a sale. Other benefits of this digital marketing tool are:

It is cost effective

There are many platforms, which we will talk about later, in which mass mailing is completely free, as well as templates, etc. So, the cost of an email marketing campaign is very low compared to other digital marketing techniques.

Ease of segmentation

Email Marketing allows you to accurately segment who you will send each message to. So if you know very well who your Buyer Persona (audience) is and what they want to read, or what you need to know, what interests them, what are their needs, daily challenges and objectives, etc. you will be able to make 100% personalized content, which means that you will be very close to generating a conversion.

It makes room for immediacy

In a world where audiences want everything for yesterday, Email Marketing becomes your ally, because once you have defined your strategy and your segmentation, only a few minutes will pass between clicking the send button and receiving the email of your potential client.

Email marketing is measurable

One of the points in favor of email marketing campaigns are the possibilities of measuring results in real time and instantly since there are many platforms that allow you to analyze the campaign in detail. We must bear in mind that most likely the expected results will not be obtained the first time, it is possible that not in the short term, so a little patience, perseverance and a lot of previous work are needed to achieve an effective email marketing campaign.

So, to understand if your targeting is fine or your message is working, you just have to let a day go by, and you can straighten the wheel.

You reach any corner of the world

Sometimes it is very difficult to get clients in other countries, but with Email Marketing you break down geographical barriers and you can reach any corner of the world with just one click. Long live globalization!

It is ecological

Although this benefit is not direct for your company, it is a benefit for the whole world, when you send an email you save millions of tons of paper annually, which contributes to the care of the planet, and stops the deforestation of our parks.

Helps you build your credibility as a business

One of the biggest hurdles a small business has to overcome is building its credibility.

The reason people trust a big name largely comes down to credibility and this has a very close relationship with brand recognition marketing - they are familiar with brand names; therefore, they trust more.

By using email marketing, you can keep your brand and their name on the minds of your customers and build credibility by being in constant contact with your customers.

The more they learn about your business, the more they hear about it and its products, the more they will trust your business.

Email Marketing is an ideal strategy to generate direct contact with the client and that if you do it constantly and strategically, it can create stronger and lasting relationships over time.

Doing an email marketing campaign needs dedication, although it is easily adaptable to your business and needs, you just need to have a little creativity. Thanks to the Smartphone, users read email more and more, although for this reason they are also more demanding. The cost of a campaign is low, so it becomes one of the best tools that the company has to do direct marketing.