When it comes to marketing campaigns, email isn’t always the first idea many spring towards. “It’s so old now,” some say. “Social media is where it’s at,” say others.

Yes, email marketing did exist before the rise of social media. But we can assure you that is still very much a ‘thing’. Don’t believe us? Here’s why email marketing is still alive and kicking in 2019.

Everyone uses it

Things people deem to be ‘old’ tend to not be as popular as their newer counterparts – but that’s not the case with email.

Facebook boasts an impressive 2.27 billion users and Twitter an equally commendable 326 million users. Both offer huge opportunities to connect with potential audiences, but do you know how many people use email? 3.8 billion.

That’s a whole lot of people to engage with. And do you know what else? Research shows that 99% of us check email every day, with some of us doing it up to 20 times a day. Add in the fact that most people have their smartphone set up to receive emails as they come in, and you’re left with an avenue of marketing that’s ripe for generating leads and sales for your business.

Getting those emails

To begin, you’re going to need some people to email. You may have some previous contacts already that you can begin using, but you’re also going to want to entice some new customers to sign up to your mailing list so they can receive all the wonderful emails you have for them.

How do you get people to sign up? It’s all about offering them something they want. A discount voucher or the promise of regular helpful content could help convince someone to part with their email address. Make sure the contact form contains the relevant fields though, – these will be useful later when it comes to targeting your emails correctly!

Once you have some contacts, input them in a spreadsheet and update them accordingly, or use email marketing software such as Campaign Monitor to help make the process easier. Ensure that whatever process you use, you strictly adhere to GDPR regulations around the storage and processing of peoples’ data. This is not something that you want to get wrong.

Crafting the perfect title

Now you have some contacts, it may be tempting to start firing off those emails immediately.  However, doing so without a plan means people will be unlikely to even open your email, let alone read it.

People get flooded with emails on a daily basis. You’ve got a short window to impress your contact with a title or subject, before they decide whether to open your email, send it straight into the delete folder, or worse, mark it as spam.

What makes an effective title? Relevancy. Make a title that people simply can’t afford to ignore. Keep it short, put the most important bits first, and use people’s names if possible to add that personal touch.

Keep it relevant

At this point, you’re likely thinking (and if you’re not you should be): “What if what I’m promoting isn’t relevant for everyone?”

Your emails shouldn’t be relevant for everyone. Generic ‘send all’ emails are unlikely to get the responses you want because people are interested in different things. If you’re a sports shop and want to promote your new range of men’s running shoes, it may make sense to focus on sending the email to your male contacts, as they are likely to be the most interested.

It’s also important not to bombard your contacts with the same email repeatedly, in an attempt to get them to convert. It may have worked for Professor Dumbledore when he sent hundreds of letters to Harry Potter – but in the world of email, it’s a surefire way to end up in your contact’s spam folder.

Does email marketing really work?

The real question, though, is even if you do all this, is it going to help your business in the long run?

Put simply, yes! Optinmonster found that email marketing can outperform social media in every area, aside from sharing. When it comes to direct mail, Chief Marketer says the ROI of email marketing is 28.5% better than for direct mail.

Putting an exact number on how much your business could make through email marketing is difficult, due to the huge number of potential factors, but some industry know-it-alls have discovered that, on average, every one pound spent on email marketing has an ROI of £38 pounds.

So yes, email marketing does work – and it’s still alive and kicking in 2019. Want some additional help, or still not sure whether you should be giving it a go? Feel free to get in touch – we love making friends.