It was the year 1972, and a guy named Ray Tomlinson invented the email system we use today. While working for ARPANET, he used the @ symbol to send a message from one computer to another. It seems like forever we have used email systems. It didn’t take long for savvy marketers to understand email possibilities.
The first email blast was sent in the year of 1978. Gary Thuerk sent an email blast to 400 people promoting his company’s computers. The result was $13 million in computer sales. Fast forward to today, and you’ll see that using email provides you with many possibilities. I’ll talk more about it next.
What is email marketing?
It’s one of the most effective ways of using email to capture and nurture customers. You can turn your prospects into customers in a consistent way. Its return on investment (ROI) is one of the highest compared to other forms of marketing. This ROI can be as high as 4,400%
Email marketing is a digital marketing tactic. Keeping customers happy happens naturally when you use this tactic correctly. You can make your prospects aware of discounts, new content, products, and services.
It can also become an education channel. Before making an offer, you’ll often find that you must make your prospects aware of its benefits. However, education can take time, and if you don’t have this resource, you’ll find that making sales is not easy. With email marketing, you can automate this learning. This way, your prospect understands what you offer while you make the best use of your time.
Forecasts indicate that active email users will be around 4.3 billion worldwide in 2023. It means it is a ubiquitous way of communicating. The costs to reach a broad audience are relatively low. This makes email marketing a tactic, no matter the blog size. It is also related to database marketing.
Why is email marketing important?
After analyzing email marketing, I can explore why it’s crucial. So many businesses have used it with much success, even when social media takes the spotlight on many news outlets and the media. When spam is a reality, email still stands as an effective way of communication.
The right way to do email marketing is very different from spam, which is sending non-appropriate messages through the internet to many recipients. This means that spam is junk mail since it’s unsolicited. Instead, the correct email marketing campaign begins with the user soliciting more information from the individual or company with an offer.
Email marketing is essential because around 99% of consumers check email daily. Other communication channels have the arduous task of competing with these statistics. However, email is here to stay by being present in prospects’ and customers’ lives.
An email list is a database of consumer information. This list is an asset for any blogger or business because no matter if a social media account is deleted or suspended, the list will always belong to you.
Conversion from email is outstanding, and people who buy from email-related promotions spend 138% more than people who do not receive offers through email.
One powerful way to use email marketing
You’ve explored what email marketing is and why it’s essential. The question of how to use email marketing remains. Although each blog or company may have different ways to use it under their needs, it’s also critical to mention best practices.
Email can be part of a marketing funnel, which distinguishes the customer journey from the awareness stage to the purchase.
You begin by acquiring your prospect’s email addresses. How can you do this? You can exchange value. You can provide a lead magnet, a free service, or an item given away in exchange for contact details. You can offer a list, a sample, a white paper, free consultation, etc. Once the prospect is on your list, you can continue emailing them. They are now part of your email list.
Once they are on your list, you can send them the links for the latest articles on your blog, or you can make them part of an automated sequence where they learn or where they are being sold one or many of your offers.
Your list members will be happy to communicate with you through email, especially if there is a fit between your offer and their needs.
Choosing an email marketing service
You’re now convinced that you need email marketing for your initiative. What to do next? Choosing an email marketing service is the next step. You have many options adequate to your needs.
An email marketing service is an online software designed to help you reach customers efficiently, aligned with how you do business. For example, some companies will be the best fit if you do affiliate marketing, and others just don’t like to service affiliate marketers.
If your blog is not for profit, and you just want to communicate to your readers the publishing of a new blog post, there is a service for you.
You may be wondering how much does it all cost? You can begin investing an average of $10 monthly for your first contacts. However, there is good news for you. Some providers offer free trials, where you can have a specific number of contacts, and once you surpass that number, you pay a subscription. Usually, when you reach a certain number of subscribers, you’re already monetizing your blog. This way, you can reinvest in a paid account.
The price of an email marketing service is usually tied to the number of emails you send and your contacts.
Conclusion
You have explored the beginnings of email marketing, then you read what is email marketing? Once you understood some of its essential elements, you checked out why email marketing is important? You then analyzed one decisive way to use email marketing, and finally, you saw some crucial aspects of choosing an email marketing service.
As more and more people use the internet, email stands as an essential and helpful service for the virtual majority of web users. Your blog can survive and thrive with the proper use of email marketing. It can be a central part of your marketing funnels. This way, you’ll ensure that you benefit both now and in the future.
