For some of those non-believers out there - you know the ones, those inclined to turn up their nose at the very thought of an email marketing newsletter – think that email marketing is a silly waste of their precious time and talents.
They are totally and irrevocably missing the point of email marketing.
Email marketing isn't a full stage show at amateur hour. Email marketing isn't a waste of time. Email marketing isn't an ineffective way to communicate directly with customers.
Yes, there are some pretty awful examples of "email-marketing-gone-horribly-wrong" floating around out there. Yes, we all have been on the receiving end. And, yes, we may have been the culprit a time or two.
Just like any other practice, there are some bad apples, but it doesn't necessarily mean they spoil the whole bunch. Do you know how email marketing works and why it is effective?
Here are some amazing reasons why email marketing must be a part of your multi-channel marketing strategy:
Because email marketing works
There's a reason why every business – from small business owners to billion-dollar-per year giants – relies on email marketing: it works. Not only does email marketing keep you in constant touch with your customers, it changes the way we perceive business-to-customer relationships.
Other, more traditional, forms of advertising like print, radio, and TV, don't directly address the customers individually but address the entire population as a whole.
Email allows you to tailor each email (without much effort) so it addresses each customer's habits and needs.
Because email marketing is interactive
Email is an amazing marketing platform. Though there are some other online rivals out there, email marketing is possibly the best example of how interactive marketing takes your message to an entirely different level.
Customers can forward your email to friends, click on your links, add your products to their shopping carts, access their accounts, update their subscription, read your blogs, follow you on Twitter and post to your Facebook page – all from a single email you sent out.
Another reason why email marketing is fantastic? You can't click on a newspaper ad.
Because it can be as cheap as you want it to be
The beauty of email marketing is that at any price point it is equally effective. No other form of marketing can actually say that.
Taking the newspaper analogy a step further: there is a significant difference in effectiveness between a full page ad and an ad the size of a business card. Price matters for that type of marketing.
What that means is that an entrepreneur, just starting out and without a lot of money to play with can reach their customers the same way a conglomerate can with oodles of marketing money.
For every budget, there is a way to do email marketing, and, even more important, spending less never means compromise.
Are you taking advantage of the power of email?