It’s said that 77% of consumers prefer email for marketing and communications from businesses, and almost half the people who received targeted emails will admit that they have bought at least one item because of a promotional message. In other words, email marketing is alive and well, and continues to be the most effective form of online advertising.
The Popularity of Email Marketing
Why is email marketing so popular? There are a variety of reasons.
- Email is ubiquitous. Email is everywhere, and nearly everyone has access to email in some capacity or another. There’s no electronic medium more effective at reaching audiences than email.
- Email is available at all hours of the day. Consumers can check their email all day long if they want, and many will check their email throughout the day as more messages arrive.
- Email is an excellent medium for delivering messages about sales. Not only is email effective for advertising products, but it is also useful for delivering information about sales and specials, thus saving consumers money.
- Email can be easily crafted to garner higher open rates. Analytics software enables email marketers to determine whether or not an email was successful with consumers. By determining which emails are most popular with consumers, marketers can choose a format and method that is likely to be opened by recipients.
Keeping Audiences Engaged
If you’re an email marketer, maintaining audience engagement is critical. Using best practices can help you keep your audience subscribed to your emails and opening the content. Some methods for improving the success of your email marketing campaigns include:
- Offer creative, engaging content. Audiences appreciate personalized emails with unique content. Even emails that fail to advertise a product are still good for a brand, provided that the audience is loyal to that brand and the content of the email is of good quality. For example, a hardware store chain that provides tutorials about DIY projects can help keep audiences of homeowners engaged, and can promote brand loyalty even if the email makes no specific mention of products sold at the store. Put some production value into your email design and layout as well. Here are some email design ideas.
- Make transactions simple. Ease of use is of importance to all audiences. Emails that are designed to sell products are most effective if the transaction is easy to make. Obvious buttons for purchase, fast-working links and a lack of unnecessary information can help guide customers to make their purchases.
- Only send relevant emails. To a point, sending fewer emails with more relevant content is better than sending too many emails with un-engaging content. One of the best ways to avoid sending emails your customers will ignore is to plan your email marketing campaign in advance. Following a plan and crafting your message in advance can help improve the quality of your emails while also ensuring that the message will be relevant to your audience. That said, sending the occasional email based on current, changing conditions can also be a smart way to trigger engagement in an audience. For example, an email that references recent stormy weather, or that capitalizes on recent changes in the town where the business is located, can help customers feel engaged with the business sending the emails.
Work With ProFromGo
At ProFromGo we help businesses craft a smart marketing message through electronic channels like email. If you’d like to start an email marketing campaign of your own but aren’t sure how to get started, give us a call at (412) 530-5027. We can help your business to craft a smart message to be sent to the right audience.
