Your email list is one of the most undervalued marketing assets in your business. It’s the audience of people you can talk to for free at any time. You may think that you can also speak to your audience any time on social media. But social media platforms control your followers, and their algorithms control your visibility. You never know who will see your latest post or whether you may have disappeared from a prospect’s feed.
Having to adhere to strict and often overwhelming multimedia posting schedules to maintain visibility is a full-time job, making it even harder to maintain consistency and stay in front of your prospects. And if the social media platform tanks or your account gets suspended for any reason, it’s all gone forever. Years of work building up a following can simply disappear in the blink of an eye. In contrast, your email list is an audience over which you have full control, and email marketing provides many benefits over social media.
Email marketing has a much higher user base than social media
Email has a higher user base and a higher conversion rate than social media. There are over 8 billion email accounts in the world and 3.9 billion global email users. According to OptinMonster, 44% of users check their email for a promotion from a company they know, compared to only 4% checking for those same promotions on Facebook.
Email has a higher engagement rate
Email also has a higher engagement rate than social media, reaching about 85% of the people to whom you send your email. This rate is called the inbox placement rate, and it measures where your email ended up in the end user’s email, with your email making it into the inbox of 85% of your list. Once your email makes it to the inbox, it has an average open rate of almost 23%. Compared to the engagement rate for social media, which is 0.58%, it’s a no-brainer to put more time and resources into your email marketing.
Of course, these numbers are averages, and you can do a lot better than average if you put in the effort. There is a big difference between email marketing and marketing emails. Taking the time to build a targeted list through lead capture and develop a well-thought-out digital marketing strategy helps you take your email campaigns to the next level and leads to open rates on the higher end of these numbers.
Email has a greater return on investment (ROI)
With a return on investment of $42 for every $1 spent, email marketing has the highest ROI of any digital marketing tactic. Year after year, it’s one of the most economical and most successful pieces in any digital marketing strategy. Email helps you stay top of mind with your prospects but it’s also an effective way to nurture the relationship you have with your existing customers. It costs seven times more to attract a new customer than to retain one you already have. A strong email marketing strategy helps keep you continue to nurture that relationship and provides you with the opportunity to increase the customer lifetime value (CLV) of your existing customers.
Email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention
Email marketing is one of the best ways to nurture leads and pull prospects further into the funnel, increasing sales and conversions. It helps you stay top of mind and provide information a prospect or customer needs to make a purchasing decision. So, when they’re ready to make a new purchase or expand their services with you, you already have a relationship with them.
Social media and PR are great tools for awareness and an excellent place to build connections and build up your email list. However, email is designed to SELL or RETAIN. People go to social media to catch up with friends and family and for entertainment. But when they’re ready to do business, they’re much more likely to interact with you via email. Talking to your prospects in their inbox allows you to create a more direct relationship with them. You have the opportunity to educate them, send them valuable offers, and stay top of mind. When they’re ready to do business, that’s where they’re going to go to find you.
All the best,
JP Clement
CEO
