Sure, the kids think email is for “old people” (read: people who watched Seinfeld before it hit syndication), but when it comes to building your business, email marketing trumps social media every time.
Email is arguably the most important tool in your web marketing toolbox. Here are six reasons why you need to start paying more attention to building your email list today.
1. You don’t own Facebook.
(Mark Zuckerberg: if you’re reading this you can skip to #2.)
Or Twitter, or LinkedIn or Pinterest. When you build an audience on another platform, you’re working their land, not your own.
I’m not talking about whether Instagram owns your photos, I’m talking about that every piece of content you share, you’re building their platform, often at the expense of your own.
With email marketing, you’re building your own list and creating value for your own business.
Even if you use an email service provider, like Constant Contact, Aweber, or MailChimp, you still own your list and can take it with you whenever you like.
You should be using social media platforms to engage your audience, but then bring them back to your own website and encourage them to sign up for your email newsletter.
2. No one sees your tweet.
If you tweet and have 10,000 followers, you’re lucky if 100 people see it. Send an email to 10,000 opt-in subscribers and it will make its way into about 9,000 inboxes.
Even if most don’t “open” that email, they’re reminded of your company and that they need your products and services.
Ignoring your email is impossible; it requires at least clicking the delete button. Ignoring a tweet just means blinking.
3. Email is personal.
Through the magic of mail merge, your email missive begins with your prospect’s first name. That’s a one-on-one message, not like a Facebook status update or a blog post. Think that’s not important %firstname%? Think again.
“There is no sweeter sound to any person’s ear than the sound of their own name…” – Dale Carnegie
4. Email is mobile.
Did you know that we spend 38.5% of our mobile Internet time on email? That’s about 23 minutes of each hour checking, reading and responding to emails.
With so many of your customers and prospects holding a mobile device in their hand, delivering content via email is critical to engaging them.
5. Email is the “little yes.”
It’s a proven sales technique that by getting prospects to say “yes” to a small question or request, they’re more likely to say “yes” to a bigger request, such as to buy.
Need to see an example? See how researchers moved the needle from 17% to 76% buy-in from homeowners to place an ugly “Drive Safely” sign on their front yard.
Getting someone to sign up for your email newsletter qualifies that they are ready to move down the sales funnel.
6. Email is a sales tool.
Email drives online and in person sales. It delivers digital coupons, which are redeemed at 10 times the rate of traditional coupons.
It warms leads, establishes expertise and builds loyalty when done right.
Takeaways
By no means do I suggest you stop using social media. Or search engine optimization. Or traditional marketing and advertising.
Rather, you should be using these tools and channels to drive traffic to an email capture page and begin building your business…one email address at a time.
Rich Brooks