Given up on email marketing? You’re missing a trick.
Remember the 24th and 25th May? We grimaced as our inboxes groaned beyond belief. Privacy policy updates and eleventh-hour requests for consent ahead of GDPR kicking in. Has the EU just killed off email marketing? Not likely – and nor should you. Here’s why.
GDPR has been confusing to say the least. With many different approaches taken to reach compliance, I’ve seen clients reduce their email lists from 20,000 to 4,000; 3,000 to 500. The crash in revenue for email platforms must be horrendous!
But it’s not over. Far from it.
You’ve just found your best friends
If you’re in this boat, you might be forgiven for concluding that 500 email contacts is “just not worth the effort”. Think again.
You’ve just identified your warmest contacts – they actually want to hear from you. They’re waiting to listen. Amongst a large pile of often outdated contact information, you’ve just found the golden eggs.
An opportunity to build better relationships
Email marketing has no end of advantages. It’s cheap. It directly appeals to all ages, reaching them on many devices. It works 24/7. It suits any style you like. It’s measurable, flexible and extremely quick to set up.
Email marketing is powerful. Why wouldn't you embrace it?
With the right campaign, the right message and the right creative, you can develop your profile and relationship. Be it a customer or a prospect, you can provide them with information that is valuable and motivating.
Don’t only see email marketing as a sales tool (though it certainly is). See it as a communication tool too. Get into the boots of your target audience. What questions can you answer for them? What information is of value to them? What communication would strengthen your relationship?
Now get on with it!
The worst that can happen is you experience a low open rate or a low click through rate. So change your message – try something different. Results are instant with email marketing; you can develop the plan as you work on it. Fine tune it until the cows come home if you like.
Quality not quantity
A word from the wise. Deliver good quality emails, at sensible intervals and let them look forward to it. A particular clothing store has recently emailed me about their sale no less than ten times. I know they have a sale. I’ve looked at it. I don’t want anything. Their relentless persistence is just damaging my relationship with them.
Leave poor quality emails to other businesses, not yours.
And finally. Email marketing will seldom meet your objectives in isolation. It should be just one part of your marketing communication – all singing from the same song sheet.
Do you need to refresh your email marketing? Would you welcome some guidance and an experienced copywriter to liven up your message? Please get in touch – maybe I can help?