Is Email Marketing Worth the Investment?

Posted on December 8, 2021 in Blog

Email marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing tools available to businesses of all sizes. It offers brands a personal and direct way to communicate with thousands of past, present, and would-be customers.

The first step to successful email marketing is understanding the benefits and ROI that it can provide for your business.

Why Invest in Email Marketing?

Not only is email an excellent way to build brand authority and generate repeat business, but it also can generate valuable data that can be leveraged in other marketing and business areas.

The top email marketing benefits include:

Strengthening relationships through personalization, segmentation, and conversation
Generating more traffic to your website
Allowing you to collect feedback through surveys
Creating cost-effective campaigns
Providing a forum for self-promotion
Improving your brand visibility and trust

Finally, one of the biggest benefits of email marketing is that it’s one of the last few digital marketing channels that you (as a business owner) can still own and control. Facebook and Google are tools, but they want data; they aren’t looking out for your best interest.

Solely building on them will prove to be shaky ground, since they can (and will!) change algorithms and rules in the interest of their own business goals. They exist to make money. Email marketing removes these profit-driven gatekeepers.

Email Marketing Return on Investment (ROI)

One study found that ROI on email marketing generates $42 for every $1 spent. It’s also versatile. By personalizing content, email is effective at addressing all levels of the sales funnel. Email is one of the most cost-effective forms of digital marketing:

Email is 40% better than Facebook or Twitter for converting.
21% of emails are reportedly opened within an hour of delivery.
About 40% of B2B marketers say their email newsletter is an essential part of their content marketing strategy.

At Oneupweb, email campaigns have been key to successful inbound marketing. it’s a valuable part of our own business strategy as a marketing agency, and we’re constantly experimenting to pass the best ideas and tactics along to our clients.

Get All the Benefits of Email Marketing

Effective email marketing drives more than conversions. Leverage the power of the inbox to learn more about customers, share news and offer a personalized experience that improves brand loyalty.

1. Email marketing strengthens relationships.

The most difficult part of email marketing is building an email list. Convincing people to willingly share their email addresses can be tricky but isn’t impossible.

We suggest attracting email signups by creating helpful resource content, prioritizing SEO and offering free downloadable resources.

Then, you can use email to strengthen your relationship with your audience, like this:

Honor the trust your subscribers have in you. Always comply with the CAN-SPAM Act. (Aka: always offer a way to unsubscribe.)
Personalize messaging as much as possible. For example, adjust content based on the user’s industry or what stage of the sales and marketing funnel they’re likely in. To reap the benefits of personalized email marketing, you’ll need good forms (but not too long!) and thorough account-based notes in your CRM.
Segment lists further as you collect behavioral data. For example, maybe you have subscribers who are only interested in sales and promotions, while others are interested in a monthly newsletter. Serving content users want to see in their inbox is the best way to build trust and not cause them to remove themselves from your list.
Have conversations with your audience. At Oneupweb, we often include a call-to-action asking the user to reply to the email with questions or ideas. Showing your willingness to directly chat with someone indicates that your business is serious about keeping prospects happy and informed.

Just getting started? Our email marketing FAQ resource should help.

2. Email generates website traffic.

If you’re implementing SEO and producing great content for your website, you can use email marketing to make sure your hard work is recognized.

If you’re using email as an outbound marketing tool, ensure you’ve explored different ways to identify the email address of your target prospects and always segment your outreach by:

Type of content
Industry
Whatever makes the most sense for your business goals

If inbound marketing is your focus, start with an email newsletter. In our email newsletters, we find ways to promote old content and provide exclusive, new content to our subscribers.

Not enough bandwidth to manage a weekly or monthly newsletter? Try starting a quarterly special announcement email – and rely on automation tools available in your email marketing platform. If you don’t use an email platform or you’re looking to upgrade, check out this guide that compares top email marketing solutions.

Don’t forget to support your email strategy with other marketing channels. For example, share new content on social media. Then create videos and designed assets to re-promote old content through both email and social (including YouTube and TikTok). Each channel will help drive clicks to your website, resulting in:

More brand awareness
Increased number of subscribers
Greater conversion metrics

3. Email helps you collect feedback.

A big benefit of email marketing is collecting feedback through regular surveys or questions. It makes your subscribers feel special. And nothing’s better than feeling special, right?

For example, you could set an initial email sequence which directly asks what information the user is seeking and how you can best provide it. As a result, your audience will put more trust in you, and you’ll be seizing an amazing research opportunity.

To get the most of this aspect of email marketing, narrow down your list to the most active subscribers. These people are more engaged with your emails, so they will hopefully provide constructive feedback.

4. Email is a tool for cost-effective campaigns.

Get more eyes on your campaign messages for less money! Research shows that cross-channel marketing campaigns are more effective than single-channel efforts.

If you’re running a promotion through display ads or social media, reflect that information in your email marketing (relevant contact lists only) and link to the same landing page.

5. Email marketing is a forum for self-promotion.

Before Oneupweb had an email newsletter, we polled our email marketing audience and found that 88% wanted to get our insights in a weekly newsletter about digital marketing trends.

Chances are good that your current email audience is curious about your business and willing to learn. Seize the moment! Then keep building that list.

6. Email marketing improves brand visibility and trust.

When you effectively use email marketing, your business stays top-of-mind for a growing list of people. An email strategy allows frequent touchpoints and personalized communication that improves your subscribers’ trust in your brand.

These days, people are expecting businesses to use email marketing. 73% of millennials want communication from businesses to come from emails. And over 30% of Gen Z report they want to receive brand emails a few times a week, with 27% saying they’d prefer daily emails.

When you lift your brand up with email marketing, email marketing lifts right back.

Why Use Email Marketing Services?

The benefits of email marketing may be obvious, but the best approach to achieving them varies by business. Are the advantages of a professional email marketing partner greater than handling it in-house?

Hiring the right email marketing service is like growing more (invisible) arms. This partner, whether an individual or an agency, can integrate email with the rest of your inbound marketing strategy, allowing you to continue focusing on your day-to-day tasks and decision-making.

Use Every Tool in A Very Big Toolbox: Ours

We’re a fully integrated digital marketing agency. Working with Oneupweb gives your brand access to professional photography, brilliant designers, amazing web development and creative strategists. From email marketing to SEO, we use every tool we have to drive results. If you’re interested in learning more, reach out online or call 231-922-9977.