I remember in 2010 when Facebook’s COO, Sheryl Sanders announced that email was dead. I thought that was funny because you still need an email address to login to Facebook. While there is no doubt that social media has changed how we communicate, email is far from dead – especially business email and Email Marketing.
The most significant benefit of Email Marketing is the ability to follow up. It’s no secret that following up with email increases conversion rates of a marketing campaign or promotion. It’s also used effectively for client or patient retention and it helps build referrals as by product at the same time. Of course, like everything else, there’s a right way and a wrong way to do Email Marketing.
One wrong way I see small business owners using Email Marketing is trying to copy how the big companies do Email Marketing. The big companies have big budgets and spend a lot of money on testing, so there are things you can learn from the big brands, but Email Marketing is most effective for small businesses when you can engage your subscribers on a personal level. This is how you can take your Email Marketing to the next level because your subscribers will be interested in what you have to say. This is easier said than done because it requires work. So most people take the easy way out by blasting out an email just to get something out there. But this is a sure way to shoot yourself in the foot and lose your subscriber’s interest and trust.
