Why Email Marketing is a Great Way to Grow your Online Business
The art of entrepreneurship has always required a good bit of savvy, hard work, and a robust, well though-out business plan. In the increasingly competitive economy in which we live, it should come as no surprise then that the Small Business Administration (SBA) estimates that about two-thirds of businesses with employees only survive a maximum of two years, while only half survive past the initial five years of operation.
However, the advent of the internet, e-commerce platforms, and online advertising mechanisms have allowed millions of small business owners to create direct connections with an enlarged customer base. While this certainly doesn’t erase the challenges and risks that come with starting a business, it can help small businesses thrive in competitive environments. Email marketing should be a foundational component of every online business. While much attention has been given to social media marketing, the role of influencers, and other aspects of running a successful online business, email marketing continues to be one of the most effective strategies to help online businesses grow.
One of the Most Trusted Forms of Communication
Recent research published by Oberlo finds that the number of active email users is forecasted to reach 4.3 billion in 2023. Incredibly, over 293.6 billion emails are sent and received each day. Simply put, well over half of the world´s population relies on email as one of their primary sources of information. While social media accounts are generally used for impersonal communication, email continues to be seen as a more “serious” form of communication for business-related interests.
Increased Conversions
As any online business owner knows, increasing your conversions is foundational to designing and implementing a successful online marketing scheme. However, the general public is bombarded by advertisements. Recent research estimates that the average person sees about 5,000 ads per day, many of them on their social media platforms. Just as people have learned to “tune out” TV and radio ads, more and more people are effective ignoring social media based advertisements.
Email marketing, however, continues to successfully arrive to targeted consumers. The research mentioned above finds that the average open rate for a welcome email is around 82 percent. Because email marketing campaigns can be more personalized and targeted, it allows online businesses to better approach potential customers.
Improved Return on Investment
Email marketing is also one of the most cost-effective ways to get into contact with your customer base. In terms of economic benefit, the average expected return on investment (ROI) for an email marketing campaign is around $42 for every $1 spent, which is considerably better than traditional marketing channels. Because email is a form of owned media, you won´t have to pay any fees to intermediaries.
Increased Control of Advanced Metrics
Email marketing also allows businesses to follow the advanced metrics regarding the effectiveness of a given campaign. Instead of simply guessing the best way to capture the interest of your audience and convert those opened emails into website clicks, email marketing software tools can give you an enormous amount of data to help you better design and implement future marketing campaigns. You can check out the metrics you need to track to help best design a successful and compelling email marketing campaign.
Opportunities for Personalization
Lastly, internet-based businesses can also utilize emails as a way to personalize their marketing schemes. While many email users will shy away from emails that refer to their names (due to the vast amount of phishing and other online scams on the internet), businesses can track and keep records on their frequent customer purchases and needs in order to create personalized emails that will appeal to specific audiences.
