What does your email marketing campaign look like? 

Is it amazing? Mediocre? Non-existent? 

With the recent rise of social media, email marketing has been somewhat pushed aside to make way for its younger, flashier sister – social media marketing.

With the recent rise of social media, email marketing has been somewhat pushed aside to make way for its younger, flashier sister – social media marketing.

Should you still be putting in the effort to build your email marketing list?

Is email marketing even still relevant? 

The answer is a resounding YES. 

Email marketing is still one of the most effective marketing tools, even more so than social media. In fact, one survey suggests that around 60% of customers subscribe to a brands email list in order to receive promotional deals, while only 20% of customers follow a brand on social media for the same reason. 

Around 60% of customers subscribe to a brands email list in order to receive promotional deals, while only 20% of customers follow a brand on social media for the same reason. Click To Tweet

Now I’m not saying that you should abandon social media altogether. Facebook alone has over 2.7 billion monthly users. It’s a growing market and offers a wider reach than your email list. 

You need to be utilising both these forms of marketing in order to create a truly dynamic business. Social media is where you introduce yourself to your target market, while email marketing allows you to build a relationship with them.

As Erik Harbison said,

“If social media is the cocktail party, email marketing is the ‘meet up for coffee’. The original one to one channel.”

Erik Harbison

With just a little bit of time, research, and practice your email marketing can become one of your best marketing assets. 

Still not convinced?

Here are just a couple of reasons why if you’re not utilising email marketing, you should be. 

There is a High Return on Investment (ROI)

With every marketing strategy, you need to spend money in order to make money. Email marketing is no exception. You will have to invest something in it, whether that be time or money. But the ROI is well worth it. Most marketers agree that every $1 you spend on email marketing has the potential to earn you between $38 and $44, which makes it one of the most effective messaging channels out there.

Your Marketing Messages are Actually Seen

While you can build a huge following on social media, most of your followers won’t ever see any of the content you post on there. And that’s not your fault, social media algorithms make it very difficult for small businesses to gain a foothold online. Email marketing, on the other hand, is much more direct. Yes, there is still the possibility that your emails may end up unopened or in someone’s spam filter, but chances are your subscribers are going to see it, open it, and pick up what you’re putting down. 

While you can build a huge following on social media, most of your followers won’t ever see any of the content you post on there.

And the more you grow your email list, the more people you will be able to reach and build a relationship with.

For tips to help you build your email list, get our FREE ebook, 11 Ways to Spice Up Your Email Marketing & Stand Out in the Inbox.

You Own Your Email List

When someone follows you on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you don’t own that follower and you can’t easily access their contact information. If you can’t easily access your audience’s information, you’re at the mercy of the platform you’re using and they have complete control over your audience.

If they suddenly decide to change their policies or remove your account, you lose your audience completely and will have to start all over again. Your email list in comparison, won’t be so dramatically affected by the whims of other businesses. You can export your email list at any stage and move from email marketing provider to email marketing provider. This is one of the biggest benefits of email marketing, that list is all yours.

You’ve Found Your Perfect Customers

While social media allows you to reach a wide audience (when done properly), a lot of these people are never going to buy your products/services. A lot of them will Like your page and then forget about it. Other followers might just be supportive family and friends who follow you for moral support. And others still are time-wasters, who have no intention of ever buying anything from you.

It takes more effort to join someone’s email list than to follow them on social media. 

Your email list is going to be made up of people who have either actively asked to be put on it, bought something from you, or downloaded one of your freebies. This means that they are interested in your brand and in your products and services. When done right, everyone on your email list will be part of your ideal target market and they will be far more likely to actually pay attention to your marketing messages. 

When done right, everyone on your email list will be part of your ideal target market and they will be far more likely to actually pay attention to your marketing messages.  #emailmarketing Click To Tweet

So, who takes the crown?

It’s important to build a presence on social media as we advance further into the digital age, however, email marketing has existed for over three decades, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.  

Email Marketing still offers many unique advantages for the small business owner and so it’s important that you find a balance between your email and social media marketing. 

So, for the moment, they can share the crown. But if you’re running a small business and not currently focusing on building your email list, now is the time to start. 

You can Become an Email Marketing Queen!

To get you started you can get our FREE ebook 11 Ways to Spice Up Your Email Marketing & Stand Out in the Inbox, which will help you learn how to take your email marketing to the next level!

And if you’re completely new to the world of email marketing, you can get started with our beginner’s course, Getting Started with Email Marketing: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough. It will teach you everything you need to know about email marketing and help you get started with one of the biggest email marketing platforms, MailChimp.  

You can go from email marketing novice to Email Marketing queen – Get started now! 

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Ready to start learning how some actionable tips to make your email marketing as amazing as possible? Watch this video to learn some of Marnie’s top email marketing tips!

And if you have any questions or comments please leave a message in the comments section below. xx