Is Email Marketing Dead?

The short answer to the question is “no.” Email marketing is not dead, and if anything, it’s finding resurgence in popularity and effectiveness. To say that people hate email is a gross oversimplification. What they hate is receiving emails they don’t want. 

With the rise and proliferation of inbound marketing tactics, many companies are finding that email is not only an important part of their strategies, but that it is also one of the most effective. The days of spam are long over (did spam ever work?) and the rise of targeted, opt-in email marketing is proving to be a healthy contributor to a company’s overall success. 

Here are some reasons why email marketing isn’t dead, likely won’t be for some time to come, and should absolutely be part of your company’s marketing strategy.

Mobile Phones

When the only place to get email was on your desktop computer—maybe a laptop, if you remembered to bring an Ethernet cable with you—people wanted certain things from it. Ironically, now that email is available in your pocket 24/7, people have expanded their definition of a quality email. 

Through email marketing, your company can get quality, directed communication to a variety of potential customers. Texting and instant messenger services are often only for friends, but email can be read just as easily and dealt with quickly while on the go.

Coupons and Information

People like to stay informed about things that interest them, like when your company is launching its new product, but few people spend the time going back regularly to websites to stay up to date on a company’s happenings. However, they will head to your website if something informs them there’s a reason to visit. Like, say, a recent email with a coupon to get 10 percent off by pre-ordering your new product today. 

The key to being a positive information source, rather than an inbox annoyance, is opting-in. Don’t bother sending email to people who haven’t already told you they’re interested. This way, you maximize your efforts on an audience that’s more likely to make a purchase.

Part of the Strategy

Email has the ability to seamlessly integrate into any inbound marketing strategy, from social media to guest blogging. Email easily shifts to fill gaps, creates interested buyer lists, and provides information. 

Email works with your blog to share recent posts; it can amalgamate your most interesting social media posts for an audience uninterested in being on social media directly; it can alert people to webinars, deals, and approaching offer deadlines; it can even connect to your influencer marketing campaign. 

So long as you’re messaging a list of recipients who opted-in, you’re committing time well spent to an interested audience.

Emails Don’t Cost a Thing

Email marketing is incredibly affordable, especially when compared to its direct-mail cousin, let alone considering the costs of radio and television. If a campaign underperforms, the cost is easily absorbed, corrections are made, and the next evolution can be sent out. 

With email marketing, revenue can be won but is rarely lost and is easy to explain to your boss.

People Are Still Checking

The number-one reason to keep using email marketing is that people are still checking their inboxes. Interest comes and goes in relation to social media platforms, but email consistently shows a high ROI for every dollar spent. Every day people are checking email, at least once. Many even spend their working hours with their inboxes open. 

If your marketers have been considering abandoning email strategies, then you need to get them to stop! Email marketing is here, and it will stick around as long as email is still the cheapest, fastest, most effective way to share information quickly. Start building your opt-in list today, and tomorrow you can be marketing to interested consumers.