If you’re looking to grow your small business in 2021, do you really need to focus on email marketing campaigns? Haven’t tools like Facebook Ads and Google Ads made email marketing obsolete?
The answer is “no!” Email marketing remains extremely effective in 2021 – both for small businesses and enterprise companies of all sizes. Email marketing campaigns are great ways to reach your target audience, move them through the customer journey, and market your services and products more effectively.
Why? Read on and find out in this blog. We’ll discuss the basics of why email messages are so effective, provide some data that backs up this claim, and explore how you can use email content and the latest email marketing trends to build a better email marketing strategy.
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Email Marketing Remains One Of The Best Ways To Reach Customers In 2021
Email marketing is an extremely good way to reach customers and advertise your products and services in 2021. Don’t believe us? Let’s take a look at a few quick statistics and some basic information about the state of email marketing in 2021.
- 4.03 billion people used email in 2020. That’s more than Facebook and Instagram combined!
- On average, emails have an open rate of between 17.8% and 22.15%, depending on the industry, with a click-through rate of about 3%. In contrast, most PPC (pay-per-click) ads have a click rate of 2%.
- The average ROI (Return On Investment) of email marketing is $42 per $1 spent, making this one of the most cost-effective ways to market your products and services.
- 87% of marketers use email as a primary method of distributing content and promotions, making it one of the most commonly-used marketing channels in the world.
- 81% of small businesses rely on email as a primary way of acquiring new customers and providing information to existing customers.
- 47% of marketing professionals say that email is the “most effective” marketing channel, compared to 39% for social media, 33% for SEO, and 33% for content marketing.
Our world has changed rapidly in the last decade or so, particularly when it comes to the world of digital marketing. But while email may seem like old technology, it’s still in use by just about everyone. So if you’re not using email to promote your products and services, you’re missing out on a lot of sales. It’s just that simple.
Why Is Email Marketing Still So Effective?
So, we’ve discussed a few numbers behind the power of email marketing. But that doesn’t explain why this digital marketing strategy is so effective – even in 2021. So let’s take a look at a few reasons why email messages are such a great way to market your business.
- Email marketing is cost-effective – On average, it costs less than $ 0.012 to send a single email. That’s barely a penny. And depending on how you reach customers and the tools you use, the cost could be even lower. That means email marketing provides an excellent return on investment (ROI). Because the cost of building an email list and sending out emails is so low, you’re sure to get a solid return on the cost of your email marketing campaigns.
- Everyone uses email – Email may be old technology. But everyone uses it – and that’s not going to change any time soon. More than 300 billion emails were sent in 2020 alone – and this is expected to reach 360 billion or more in 2024. The fact of the matter is, your customers are using email! So if you’re not
- It’s easy to market to different audiences & market segments – With email marketing, you can split your target audience up by industry, income, and other information they provide when they sign up for your emails, and send personalised emails to individual market segments and audiences. This can help boost open rates and conversion rates quite a bit.
- It integrates well with a variety of advertising strategies – You can use email marketing alongside other marketing channels. For example, you can send emails that encourage customers to follow you on social media, or link to a blog post or video created as part of your content marketing strategy. The possibilities are endless, especially with modern email tools. Speaking of which…
- Modern email tools have made it easier to make quality marketing emails – Tools like MailChimp and other email newsletter and marketing services provide small business owners with the tools they need to make dynamic content, build interactive emails, create eye-catching subject lines, and stay up-to-date with the latest email marketing trends.
Quick Tips & Advice For Better Email Marketing Results
Now that we’ve discussed why email marketing is so effective in 2021, we’ll also provide you with a few quick tips and some advice that you can use to improve your own email marketing efforts.
- Use eye-catching subject lines – This can be difficult to master. Email subject lines have to be about 9 words or 60 characters to fit into a user’s inbox properly – and research suggests about 41 characters is the best length. Try your best to create interesting, eye-catching, and appealing subject lines that fit within this limit.
- Find ways to collect more email addresses – The bigger your email list is, the more effective your email marketing strategies will be. So we recommend finding new ways to get more email addresses – providing a coupon if someone signs up, giving away an eBook or whitepaper in exchange for an email address, and so on. Think of ways you can broaden the reach of your emails, and your business is sure to benefit.
- Always provide value to readers – If readers who open your emails don’t find them to be valuable or worth their time, they’ll stop opening them, or may even unsubscribe. So always provide value to readers by sending helpful content, information about sales and promotions, tips and tricks, and other content that your market niche may find valuable.
- Don’t overdo it – You never want to spam your customers. If you send too many emails too frequently, they’re likely to get annoyed and unsubscribe, even if you’re providing them with valuable information, coupons and sale details, and other such useful content. We recommend sending 1 – or maybe 2 – emails to customers each week. If you send more than this, they may unsubscribe, which is counterproductive.
- Know when to turn to the pros – Email marketing is effective in 2021, but it’s not easy. Building an email list, writing impactful emails, and boosting conversion rates is a task that’s sometimes better left to the professionals. If you don’t like managing your own email list and handling your own marketing strategy, it may be time to turn to a dedicated marketing agency.
Working with a marketing firm lets you take a more hands-off approach, yet still ensures you’ll continue to build your customer base. You can also focus more on what you’re good at – for example, if you’re a plumber, you can spend more time on building your plumbing business, rather than writing emails.
Need Help Integrating Emails Into Your Marketing Strategy? We Can Help!
At Australian Internet Advertising, we know that email marketing can be intimidating, particularly if you’re a solo entrepreneur or a small business owner with a tight schedule, lots to do, and minimal knowledge of the marketing world.
The good news is that you don’t have to go it alone. AIAD is here to help. We specialise in marketing for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) throughout Sydney and the rest of Australia. If you need help making sense of modern marketing technology and best practices, you can trust us to help.
Using our knowledge, skills, and expertise, Australian Internet Advertising can help you improve every element of your marketing strategy – from SEO to social advertising, pay-per-click (PPC), email marketing and more. So don’t wait. Contact us now to schedule a consultation and see how we can help your business thrive!