Why Email Is Still the Best Marketing Channel

In a recent survey, 46% of people said that they were unable to clear their email inboxes during a workday. If you want to use email marketing effectively, it's important to learn about the right techniques for customer engagement without becoming another spam message in their inbox.

That's why you need to use data analytics and other forms of digital marketing to understand your target demographic. So, you can write compelling content and make the most of email marketing for your brand.

We'll cover the following topics in this guide for emailing for business:

• What Is Email Marketing?
• Key Components to Writing a Good Email
• Three Steps for Creating an Email
• Benefits of Email Marketing in the Modern World
• Types of Email Marketing and How to Use Them
• Why You Need Automated Email Tools

So, after reading this article, you'll have a better grasp of email marketing strategies and why they are still relevant in the business world.

What Is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is the strategy of selling products, promoting brand awareness, and increasing ROI through email messages. For most companies, this is one of the most successful marketing channel for turning browsers into buyers.

But email marketing is no longer about making a sales pitch to your customers and hoping for a purchase or investment in your services. This form of content is great for personalizing your content for individual users and giving readers the opportunity to provide feedback to your company.

The first thing you need to know about email marketing is that you have to treat it like talking to someone face-to-face. Therefore, there are a few things you need to include in your email marketing campaign.

For instance, you should always make your title engaging. The first thing a reader sees when they open their inbox is the subject line, so you want to stand out here and write something interesting.

Key Components to Writing a Good Email

It's important that you think carefully about what information you want to place in the subject line. You want to make it clear that you're not just another business trying to sell a product or service. So, keep it short and interesting. Some people like to use the personal approach of writing, "Are you new here? Let us help!" or "Welcome to our community!"...

But, the decision will also vary based on your brand and the main objective of the email. For example, you need to decide why you're writing the email. If you want to build up a subscription list, it's a good idea to link blog posts and other resources that are useful to the reader.

That way, they won't mark your messages as spam, and you'll stay active in their inbox.

Write a Concise and Short Message

The last thing people want at the end of a busy work day is to open their email and see three pages of text on their screen. If the message is too long, the reader will most likely exit the browser and get on with another task. The second component of a great email is to keep the message simple and concise.

In general, your paragraphs shouldn't be more than a few lines. And the language should be friendly and conversational. Unless you have a formal tone for your brand, then you can write more formally when addressing your readers.

You should keep in mind that many users don't read their email on a laptop or PC. Nowadays, it's common for people to read their emails in between work commutes on their phones. So, you want to ensure that your emails are easy to read from any device.

It's important that you check the readability before sending emails to clients or customers, as this will avoid any missing text blocks when the message is gone. When your email has lots of blank space in the main section or there is no contact information at the end of the email, it can make your brand appear unprofessional.

Don't forget to test out your messages on several devices, as this will prevent any disasters in your email campaign.

The CTA Is Crucial

A CTA (call to action) is the key component of your email that will encourage readers to visit your landing page or make a call to your team. If you place the CTA at the very beginning of your message, the user will view the content as a sales pitch. So, it's vital that you consider where to place the CTA without being too obvious.

The best place for a CTA is at the end of the email after you've provided helpful information to the reader. This shows that you care about adding value to their life before promoting your brand. This way, if they are impressed with the content, they are more likely to want to find out more about what you have to offer.

The main thing is that you view the email campaign as similar to meeting with a client in an office or having a conversation with a customer in a store. If you put care and attention to detail into your emails, you can't go wrong with this kind of marketing.

Three Steps for Creating an Email

Once you've decided that you want to start an email campaign, you need to outline your email list. This is a type of document that provides you with a list of the people who have agreed to let you send them emails. For instance, it could be made up of previous customers or new users who have stumbled across your website.

Regardless of the type of subscriber, the most important thing is that you have a list to work with when you start your campaign.But, if this is your first time creating an email campaign, you might be thinking, how do you get subscribers for your email list?

Organize an Email List

Thankfully, there are a few simple strategies that you can implement in your marketing. One of the common ways that people get new users onto their lis by putting a pop-up icon on your homepage. Here are some other examples of how to inspire new users to add their information to your email list:

• Collect email addresses in person
• Include an email link on your social media pages
• Add chatbots to provide email information
• Create surveys and give email option
• Make your content engaging

It will take time for your email list to grow, but with a consistent plan, you'll see the numbers increase day by day. You need to be committed to a long-term strategy, especially if you're a small business with few loyal customers.

Pick an Email Provider

After you've organized your email list, it's time to think about the email provider. The email provider is also called ESP, a software that allows you to create a customized email address and send out multiple emails. Ideally, you want to work with a company that helps you create several campaigns and execute them professionally.

Unlike other forms of marketing, email campaigns are extensive and can take a long time to complete. You need to frequently update your content on the messages and keep track of previous and present users on your emailing list. Therefore, it's essential that you pick the right email service provider from the beginning.

You should start by researching the market and comparing the different email features on each platform. If you're a small business, it's important that you don't spend all of your annual budget on an email provider. So, check the costs and evaluate if the service is worth the money.

It's also good to contact the customer service team to ask about other costs in the package. For example, there might be an additional cost for your domain name. Or, they might charge extra for managing an email campaign. You should clarify all the individual expenses before signing up for to the contract, so you don't have any unexpected fees.

Define Your Goals

As already mentioned, your email campaign needs to have a strong objective. You can't start your campaign wanting to focus on building brand loyalty and suddenly switch to increasing sales. This is why you need to be clear about your goals and share them with your marketing team before starting an email campaign.

Besides building brand loyalty and increasing sales, other reasons to use email marketing is to keep your engagement rates up, generate new leads, and develop more awareness for your brand. You can also use several email campaigns at different times to create a range of outcomes.

But, each email campaign needs to be centered on one goal so you can write clearly and target specific readers. In this case, it's a situation where you can't please everyone. You should pick a goal and stick to it to succeed with your email campaign.

In the marketing world, there are so many options for promoting your brand and connecting with users, so why is email still a worthwhile strategy for business?

Benefits of Email Marketing in the Modern World

Email is one of those platforms that has been used in households for years; most of us grow up watching your parents answering emails. When you start running your own business, you quickly realize how vital an email address is to setting a professional tone for your brand and reaching out to new clients.

Without an email, it's hard for a new business to gain a good reputation. But one of the main reasons that people use email isn't because it's nostalgic. It's also cost-effective.

Cost-Effective Marketing Option

Setting up an email campaign costs are relatively low compared to other advertisement options. Once you have a domain name and a personalized email address, you only need to find an email service provider. Compared to sending out physical flyers or printing other marketing material, email is one of the most affordable choices for new businesses looking to grow.

You also don't need to pay for professional photoshoots and high printer costs; you can place a couple of colorful emojis and send your readers a personalized message in a few hours. Plus, as long as you have a reliable copywriter and trustworthy software, one person can complete the job.

So, you can save money on labor costs too.

If you're looking for a cost-effective marketing strategy that doesn't require hours of writing and planning, email is the best option for you.

Better Communication With Your Readers

Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are designed to be fast-paced environments where content can be easily forgotten. You could spend three hours making a reel for Instagram, and someone can swipe past it in two seconds. Therefore, you need to be careful that you're investing in the right tools to talk with your readers.

Email gives you the opportunity to write longer messages and personalize the content. You're not restricted by word limits or the volume of likes and comments. Instead of posting a fleeting image, email allows brands to build personal connections with their users.

When they open an email, it feels like they get a personal message from your brand. If a customer feels appreciated by your company, they will be more likely to buy from you or use your service in the future.

Another reason that email is still relevant is that you can reach other users who don't use social media. Although, it's important to have other social media platforms available for younger generations who spend more time on them.

Depending on your target demographic, you should use email and social media to engage with your audience. But, email will play a more significant role throughout the year as marketing decreases and businesses are assessing their annual budget. It's crucial that you keep sending out emails frequently to keep engagement rates high.

Tools for Receiving Feedback

Getting feedback from your clients can be hard on social media as there is a lot of information in a small space. Therefore, email is a great way to ask for feedback to individual users and gives people an easy option for completing a survey. Readers don't have to scroll through several pages; they can quickly click on an email link and fill out a survey.

Plus, this also gives people the option of providing feedback on their phones or tablets. So, they don't need to be sitting at a desk to write a review for your brand. Accessibility is vital if you want to have users actively writing feedback, and email is a great way to encourage new users to give recommendations to your business.

You can send surveys for recent purchases, annual checking to loyal customers, or tips for making the UI better on your app or website. All of these elements will either make or break your email campaign, so you want to ensure that they are always of high quality.

And that's where your customers come in. They can give you feedback based on their experience using your website and give you tips for making it better.

Drive More Traffic to Your Website

The truth is if you've just opened a new business and set up a homepage, you're probably not ranking #1 on Google yet. It's important that you find ways to direct users to your website as soon as possible. The more people see your content, the higher the chance that you'll be able to get in front of more people online.

So, it's crucial that you direct readers to your website using subtle techniques. One way to encourage people to browse your website is to include a link in an email. You should wait until the end of the email and place your link in the CTA.

That way, people will have a chance to read through the information in the email before making the jump to the website.

Easy to Use in the Workplace

All businesses are made up of different employees, which means you want to use tools that can be easily learned when you onboard new staff members. Luckily, emailing is easy to use, so you can ask employees to start sending emails on their first day.

Of course, there's an option to optimize your emails with the software, but that's not essential. The email's content will leave a lasting impression on the reader. So, you want to focus on writing great content that is going to be relevant to your target demographic.

If you want a little extra help, you can also use software tools that allow you to share customer information with your colleagues and track deadlines on your system. This is a perfect tool for small businesses who are looking for guidance with their email campaign.

And using software eliminates the need for an employee to sit down and track all the different messages coming into your company inbox.

Automated email software can also send out feedback surveys and schedule follow-up emails, so you don't have to.

Customization Potential

Many brands want to be able to customize their marketing material; this way you can keep building on customer profiles and send targeted emails to your contacts on the email list. But, without the correct information, you can't monitor their buying behavior or engagement rates.

For instance, email allows you to separate email list contacts in order of location, browsing activity, and previous investments. So, you can draft and send emails according to the type of customer that appears on the list.

Otherwise, you could end up sending emails to a customer about local sales, and they don't live in the nearby area. It's important that you have a marketing platform that is customizable, and email is one of the best ways to organize your client lists!

Guaranteed Readership

Email is a guaranteed way to have people reading your content, as most people don't mind receiving updates from a company in their inbox. Social media is typically used for personal reasons as well as business opportunities, so people want to keep their feeds as relevant as possible, so they don't have too many posts to read.

As email campaigns are based off users opting into an email newsletter, you know that your readers want to know more about your brand. You don't have to force engagement; you just need to build on that initial interest and grow from there with your community.

Instead of wasting time making other content, you'll know that your time is well spent writing emails to people who are looking forward to hearing from your company.

Social Media vs Email: Which Is Better?

There's no denying that social media is taking over a lot of marketing departments, as billions of people use these platforms every day. But, there is still a need for emailing despite the rise in the popularity with social media apps.

For example, social media is designed to be more open and broad in terms of reaching audiences. It's difficult to get people to notice your Facebook post because so many people compete for attention online. From a business perspective, this means that you need to invest in advertisement options if you want to boost your chances of getting seen online.

On the other hand, social media is an excellent way for brands to personalize their content and connect with users. The content is visual, making it easier to portray a brand message and promote your community through these platforms.

Although, email is better for getting engagement and driving traffic to your website. So, the choice between social media and email will come down to your goals for your marketing strategies. If you want to drive sales and retain loyal customers, email is a time-tested marketing technique.

Social media is ideal for sparking interest in your products and services while staying relevant, so both forms of advertising are helpful when you're building a small company or looking to expand your business.

The good news is that both types of marketing are low-cost, meaning you can experiment with both to increase your brand awareness and create more interest in your business.

Types of Email Marketing and How to Use Them

When deciding what type of email to send to your users, you need to research the different options available. One popular style of email is a new content announcement. This is one of the most successful emails that marketers use to build anticipation for a new release or inspire readers to share their content.

And it's an effective way to get people to read your emails. Everyone loves hearing about their favorite brand releasing a new product. But you can also write about discounts and seasonal sales in a new content email. So, it can be applied to many different scenarios.

This versatility is why many businesses use new content emails in their content plan.

Business Update

Business updates can impact customers if you're planning to move location, open a new office, or have implemented new policies. Even though a lot of this information will be irrelevant to your users, it's essential that you include occasional update emails in our marketing.

People want to feel that they are part of your business community, which means they want to be up-to-date with your internal processes. You should keep updates short and simple but include the most important information at the beginning. So, if people want to get a summary of your changes, they can read through it first.

This kind of email is particularly important if you run a business that operates in technology. As new developments and algorithms are released, users like to be informed into how to use them and if it will upgrade their experience.

But, if you run a small business that provides household services, you can simplify the email with photos showcasing the changes.

Newsletter

Almost all companies use email newsletters to promote their brand, as it allows you to get creative with the content. You can include links to videos, GIFs, photos, or personal stories from recent reviews. Depending on the time of the year, you can also edit the content to make it seasonal for your readers.

The best way to create an email newsletter is to make it visually appealing and catch the attention of the reader quickly. Then, it's all about hooking them with the main body of the email and directing them to your website in the CTA at the end.

Here are some other examples of emails for marketing:

• Invitation to an event
• Transactional emails
• Thank you emails
• Follow-up subscription emails
• Welcome to the community email

You can always add a new email idea or create a brand-specific campaign if you prefer. These are just examples to help you get started!

Why You Need Automated Email Tools

Similar to other online platforms like social media, email has also evolved with technology. You can find automated email software online that allows you to schedule the send times for emails, track customer responses, and manage team emails in one place.

In other words, you can get on with another work task in your office without thinking about sending that thank you email to your new client. These automation tools will ensure that every user receives the necessary email by a certain time.

Businesses use email automation to speed up their email campaigns by combining metric data and targeting their demographic with more detail.There's still a need for a human writer to craft the content, but the sending and receiving functions can be automated.

For the most part, people use email automation for daily interactions like event notifications, checking in on loyal customers, or abandoned cart alerts. All of which would be time-consuming if you had to allocate these tasks to your employees.

Other Benefits

Even though email might be an old marketing technique, you don't need to use old methods to succeed on this platform. Automated email tools will help you save money and increase engagement with your readers. But you don't need to worry about obsessing over every detail of your email campaign.

You can let technology help you by creating distribution lists for your email contacts and making groups for important email contacts.

Your first months as a new business are crucial for the rest of your career, which is why you don't want to make a bad impression with poor processes and slow replies. Likewise, if your brand has been around for years, it's vital that you keep your loyal customers happy with predictable and personal emails.

Sometimes, it's easy to make a mistake and forget to send out a holiday email at the end of the year. That's why automated email tools are there to help you keep track of dates and send emails when scheduled. So you can keep getting those amazing reviews you want for your website.

Another reason to use automated email tools is that you can reduce the number of errors in your content. For example, these tools can help you write relevant content and eliminate grammar mistakes. You can also include other team members in the email, so there's more than one person looking over the information.

Email automation tools are easy to implement and will make a massive difference to your business. They reduced work costs and increased productivity.

Start Using the Latest Automated Tools for Email

This guide to email marketing provided a breakdown of the structure of email content, the benefits, and how automated tools can help you improve customer engagement. But if you're still confused about email marketing methods, you're not alone.

Our team is ready to assist you with using the latest email automation tools in your workplace. You can schedule a demo to try our UI and test the layout before you make a commitment.

In the meantime, let us know if you have any further questions about email, and check out our resources online.

You can chat with our team here.

We're looking forward to hearing from you!