In fact, it can be one of the best marketing tools for engaging leads and converting them into customers, especially during this weird COVID time.

You’re probably thinking, “That’s a BIG statement.” It is, but it’s also a true one. And we’re prepared to prove it to you.

Email Marketing is Alive and Kicking Butt

2020 has been quite a year. And we haven’t even reached election time yet (gosh, that’s a scary thought). When COVID-19 hit, we all cringed as we watched the stock market fall. But not all was lost during that unprecedented time.

According to data collected by Mailchimp that compared email engagement during March and April of 2019 versus 2020, the averages this year were better than last year. Click rates and open rates were up, and unsubscribes were way down.

Mailchimp also found that people wanted to hear from their favorite businesses more frequently – like every week. And smaller companies saw a more dramatic increase in engagement than larger firms. How cool is that? We’re all about encouraging small businesses as much as we can right now because, let’s be honest, this year’s been ROUGH.

If you still think email is dying out, check out Adobe’s 2019 Email Usage Study. They surveyed over 1,000 people in the U.S. and found that consumers spend about five hours a day checking email. FIVE. HOURS. A DAY. They also said people prefer receiving offers via email over social media, direct mail, and other popular marketing types.

Why Email’s Still One of the Best Marketing Tools for Growing Your Business

In 2019, the average adult spent around 3½ hours using the internet on their phone. Just imagine how much that’s increased during the pandemic. I know it has for me because my iPhone sends me regular phone usage reports. Ouch.

While this can feel depressing and unhealthy in a sense, it creates a big opportunity for email marketers and online businesses. Here are six reasons email is still at the top of its game.

1. People will check their email anywhere at any time, several times a day.

Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you checked your email? Or better yet, how many times have you checked your email today so far? And where all have you checked it? LOL.

If you’re an average American, the answer is a lot and pretty much everywhere – at work, during a Zoom meeting, at the dinner table, in the bathroom, in bed, even behind the wheel. Email has become an integral part of our daily lives.

Our job, as marketers, is to be in our customers’ inboxes regularly with messages that grab their attention. Figure out the best send times (when the most people on your email list are opening and engaging), then send them content they’ll love.

2. You can build trust through authentic relationships.

Engage with your audience. Be sincere and authentic. Personalize your emails so your contacts feel valued. Spend some time allowing your audience to get to know you – your personality, your quirks, and what you care about in the world.

Later on, when it comes time to sell your product or service, you’ll have a list of loyal followers who are ready to buy from you! That’s good stuff.

3. Email is cheap and has an amazing ROI.

Seriously, the ROI is insane. For every buck you spend on email marketing, you can recoup $42. That’s a 4200% return on investment!

4. You can segment your lists.

Mailchimp found that segmented campaigns have a 14.31% higher open rate and a 100.95% higher click rate than unsegmented campaigns. Unsubscribes are 9.37% lower, and bounces are 4.65% lower, on average. Those are some pretty dope reasons to segment your lists.

When you split up large contact lists into smaller segments, you can make your emails more specific and engaging for different groups of people.

5. You can automate emails to magically send on their own.

Need to send out a “welcome series” to new subscribers? Want to remind people who abandoned their shopping carts to finish checking out? Do you have blog posts you’d like to send to a specific list regularly?

Email automation allows you to engage with contacts in your sleep. You can create a workflow that sends out a series of emails or a single email to specific people based on certain criteria. Automation has the power to save you time while increasing engagement and sales.

6. Track, analyze, test, and improve performance.

Another awesome benefit of email is the ability to track and measure results. Watch your open and click-through rates to see how you should tweak send times, subject lines, body copy, calls to action, and contact lists.

A/B testing allows you to test two versions of the same email to see which one performs better. This insight can then help inform future campaigns.

Does Your Email Marketing Need a Little TLC?

Are you frustrated, confused, or at a loss when it comes to email? You don’t have to do it alone.

If you need help with email marketing setup, strategy, or implementation, Fingerprint Marketing would be thrilled to help. Book a consultation with us today!