Email has been around for a long time and it’s still a great way to keep in touch with friends and family and touch base with clients and coworkers. I know I rely on it for everything from organizing backpacking trips to working with clients that live on different continents.
But is email an effective online marketing channel? Or are social media and CPC ads where you should focus your efforts?
The reality is, email is currently beating out social media marketing for ROI. And as any good business owner knows, maximizing your ROI is just, well, good business.
In fact, if done right, I believe Email can be one of the most impactful marketing tools (in a good way of course!). And I’m not the only one. Check out these stats:
- According to Email Monks, email has an average ROI of 122% which is 4x higher than all other marketing medians including: social media, paid search (i.e. Google CPC) and direct mail.
- Welcome emails have an 82.6% open rate according to Get Response
- And over 50% of marketers say email is their biggest ROI according to Emma
Simply put, email is still performing wonderfully for many businesses of all sizes. But like all marketing mediums, just because it works extremely well for some doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for you.
Read on and you will discover if it’s a good fit for your business and if it is you can also learn the 4 steps to building your own email list.
Is Building and Email List Right for Your Business?
Building an email list takes time and money. Both are investments as a business you have to monitor carefully, after all they come in limited quantities. So, before you go head over heels for email marketing you need to know if it really will be a good investment. Will you really see a ROI of over 200%?
While I can’t promise you will see a big ROI, I do know you will see some level of ROI. And this relies on a couple of things:
- The investment you put in
- What kind of business you are
The Investment Required
I am a firm believer that you will reap what you sow (within reason).
Basically, if you just throw up a subscription box on your website and email out the odd (possibly spammy?) email now and again, you won’t see a return as you didn’t put in any effort.
However, if you take the time and effort to build a good lead magnet and autoresponder series and then take the time to continuously deliver value then you can experience a ROI and a good one at that!
As to how much money it will cost you? That depends on what you decided to handle yourself and what you decide to subcontract out. According to WebFX a medium sized business can expect to spend $9 – $1000/month.
What Business Are You?
While email marketing can be used for all businesses, there are certain types that will benefit more than others.
If you are an online business that sells a service and/or product(s) then because your customer could come from almost anywhere on the globe, your market is that much bigger and the potential ROI of building an email list is that much larger. Email is a great way to reach and grow your contacts in that market and a highly ideal marketing channel for you.
If you are a local business that needs physical access to your customers (i.e. a contractor), then email marketing can help your business by building your brand awareness. It can also keep your business on the edges of their mind so you are thought of when they need someone with your skills. However, because your market is that much smaller, the returns may be as well.
There are many ways email marketing can help businesses of all sizes. Just do your homework before you invest your time and money into this marketing channel as you should for any marketing channel.
If you decide it’s right for you, then the next step is to build an Email Marketing Plan.