Back in August, Hollis Thomases published a great article on the topic for Inc. magazine, entitled Email Marketing Isn't Dead (Yet). She reference a Marketing Sherpa survey that indicated that 54% of respondents were increasing their budgets for email marketing from 2011 to 2012, and while that is significant, what she didn't talk about was the fact that three other marketing methods topped that list:
- Website development - 65%
- Social Media marketing - 61%
- Content marketing (webinars, blogs, etc.) - 59%
So, while email marketing isn't dead, it isn't the only tool businesses are using, and there is a good reason for that. Bad email marketing is deadly.
We've all been victims and the unprofessionalism that plagues the industry has the potential to hurt the reputation of all. Thomases offers some good advice on hoe to manage one's own email marketing strategy.
- Give your prospects a choice when it comes to signing up.
- Get personal.
- Test your content, timing, everything.
- Be aware of how your emails look on smartphones.
- Carry the experience across channels.
In its white paper on interactive marketing, "US Interactive Marketing Forecast, 2011 To 2016", Forrester Research predicted email marketing spending would continue to increase at an annual rate of 10%. But it was at the bottom of the list, with Social Media coming in at 26% and Mobile Marketing topping off at 38% per year, with Display Advertising and Search Marketing going strong at 20% and 12% respectively.
So, what's a savvy marketer to do?
- Build a strong team of talented and creative relationship managers. Marketing is not a spectator sport, but it is a team sport. All members of the team need to know what the others are doing and that requires management and oversight.
- Focus on relationships, not sales. Getting a great response to a call-to-action is only half the work. Building a relationship with each prospect will help convert that prospect to a customer. Growing that relationship with each customer will generate new leads and referrals.
- Get personal. People relate to personal stories, case studies, real events, personalized messages.
- Use the tools you have. Social media, like LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ are constantly enhancing the platform offerings to keep people engaged and interactive. It doesn't take much time to take advantage of these tools to build and strengthen relationships. (Check out the skills endorsement feature on LinkedIn for an example.)
- Go small without teasing. Attention spans are short, so email messages should be as well. Give enough information to satisfy and then offer more. Don't tease with a long description of what you will tell them if they click. Tell them, and then offer the option to come back for more.
There are many talented people out there who can help you. If you have the time, you can find the best talent for each and build your own team. Or, we can do that for you. We assess what you are doing today, show you how to maximize its effectiveness, and build a process you can manage without breaking the bank.
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