What is Email Marketing?

What Is Email Marketing? 

Email can be regarded as one of the earliest channels of communication and arguably the most reliable marketing channel existing. 
Over the years, several more methods of communication between brands and their target audience and customers have come into play. However, with a user base of over 6 billion people, email remains the most effective marketing channel in existence.

Why? With the birth of many new channels, e-mail still remains king of all over social media , SEO or referrals.


WHY BRANDS STILL USE EMAIL MARKETING.


Regardless of the popular social mediums like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok, brands still trust and rely on email the most. Besides, every brand must be able to discover the medium it’s target audience issues the most. If not what’s the point of reaching out to people who do not exist on a certain medium?
With email being a prerequisite for creating an account on a social medium, it means that almost everyone has an email address which is the very first step to reaching out.

According to HubSpot, four out of five marketers say they’d rather deactivate their social media accounts than delete their email addresses.
This means that building successful email marketing campaigns is more reliable than other types of campaigns.


REACH OUT!


We can agree that many brands haven’t been running email marketing the right way, you see it in the what to dump in your mails.

Email marketing is such a long study, let’s not bore you out, lol. But you certainly need to know the tips and strategies for building an email list, creating a captivating email that users want to read, automating campaigns—and above all, monitoring all your efforts. 



THE RIGHT START.


Fundamentally, email marketing is a marketing strategy that brands use to reach out to their desired audience like sending promotional mails to prospective customers in bulk. Brands use it to generate sales by sharing promotional offers, nurturing leads, or useful customer centric information.

THE ABC!

Be open minded, these tips will get you the very best results of your email marketing campaign. 



• Be Human: Everyone uses email marketing—this means it is super competitive. Don’t sound like a broadcast list, rather speak directly to your users, use their first name, and let them see the human side of your brand.
• Use Engaging Titles, not like a pop star : You would want to read the contents of an email when the sender used an interesting subject title, it is necessary if you want to increase email open rates, but just make them topics and not spammy. A user might feel deceived and unsubscribe or mark your message as spam, which destroys every other possibility of converting him/her into a customer.
• Short Messages Please: 85% of emails are read on mobile devices, so keep your message very brief and to the point. Use web links to direct users to a blog post or landing page if you need to share a lot of information.
• Always Include CTAs at the Top and Bottom: On landing pages, CTAs should always be included above the fold—use the same strategy with email by including strong CTAs after the first paragraph and again at the bottom. Never forget “TOP and BOTTOM”!
• Over Deliver : Never ever ever buy email lists—that is illegal in most cases and won’t deliver ROI anyways so why buy? If you offer a honestly good deal or quality content then make sure you deliver high-quality content or offers. Simple!
• You are just a random brand: 
People could feel disturbed by interruptions, offers, and ads everywhere they look.
To you, your email is unique, but to the reader, your email is Waco and can’t wait to unsubscribe from your mailing list- sorry, didn’t meant to burst your bubbles.
This is why it’s necessary to be courteous and use good mannerism.
Access to a prospective customer’s email address is not a right and so you should not take their time and respect for your for granted.

HOW EMAIL MARKETING WORKS. 


Email marketing is arguably the most effective marketing strategies most brands use, because it’s very flexible and can be automated. 
It also supports other marketing channels like lead generation, content marketing and sales.

Three essential elements are necessary for every effective email marketing campaign:


1. An Email List:
This list is a database of email addresses of subscribers that have agreed to receive your emails. 
This list is super important to build any successful email campaign, this email list must be active and engaging.  

There are different ways to build an email list, but the most popular method is to create a lead magnet (an offer) that you’re sure your target audience will be interested in, like a coupon, in exchange for their email addresses.
2. An Email Service Provider:
An email service provider (ESP), is a platform that helps manage your email list. It can also help with designing and automating email campaigns.
Using an ESP, you can create automatic triggers when your audience completes specific actions, like sending a cart reminder if a user adds an item to their cart and doesn’t checkout. This way, you can personalize interactions, which improves engagement and open rates.
3. Clearly Defined Goals:
Executing email campaigns help brands achieve a variety of business goals, like: 


• Drive more sales
• Increase brand awareness
• Generate leads
• Engage customers
• Increase customer loyalty and lifetime value
To execute an effective email marketing campaign, your email list, ESP, and goals must align. If you really want to get it right. 


STEPS

• First of all segment your email list according to subscriber demographics or actions. Especially actions.
• Next, properly design a series of emails prompting your subscribers to do something (your goal). Don’t forget to include your CTAs.
• Finally, use your ESP to send emails and monitor the campaign diligently.

PROS and CONS



Every marketing channel has its pros and cons. Let’s briefly dive into some of the more specific ones regarding email marketing:


Advantages.


So many benefits but keep these few in mind.


1. Email Is Privacy-oriented: The opportunity of sending emails to your customers email addresses shouldn’t be taken for granted, it just might be your only opportunity to really express yourself as a brand which increases your chance of engagement and conversion. Please take it serious.
2. Direct Access to Target Audience:
On like social media, email marketing efforts are even more measurable, which means you can communicate directly with subscribers on their schedules. Most people take emails more serious than social media contents, your message has more chances to be seen.
3. Email gives you More Control :
You’re doomed if social media networks ceases to exist, all your hard work is gone. Your reach could be drastically reduced whenever they update their algorithms. 


Disadvantages 


Email just isn’t a bed of roses. It has its own downsides but great strategies can reduce the effects of its shortcomings:

1. Tough Competition
It could be very challenging to be unique. You need to be creative to ensure your emails get opened.
2. You Need an Email List:
You just can’t run any successful email campaign without an email list. Building an email list can be really stressful and time consuming.
3. Rules and Regulations:
There are several laws governing the use of email for commercial purposes. Like GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CCPA. All of these restrict brands from sending unsolicited emails. 
Unfortunately, some subscribers might report your emails as being spam even if they subscribe. As a result, your sender’s brand image can be tampered with.