The majority of people have access to emails. Emails are accessible on both smartphones and desktops. Email marketing statistics show that it has the highest return on investment (ROI) when compared to the other marketing channels. A business will send emails, and these emails will be opened. It’s a great way to build a relationship between a business and its customers.

Two different ways to send emails

1. Transactional email

These emails are usually sent to the customer after business has been conducted with the company. It is, for example, triggered by the customer making a purchase. These emails have high open rates and are therefore a great opportunity to highlight any promotional messages. It’s sneaky but acceptable. You can even include a field for the customer to subscribe to the company newsletter.

2. Direct email

The primary purpose of direct emails is to send out promotional material like special offers, announcements or product catalogues. Companies will usually have a database of their own and use it to send relevant (this is important) information.

Advantages of email marketing

• The price. Sending an email is not expensive at all, so it is a popular form of sending out information amongst businesses to customers.
• Emails can be tracked. Customer journeys can be tracked – from how many people have opened the mail, to how many people only browsed through the mail and for how long.
• It is easy and fast. Sending out physical letters or sticking pamphlets in people’s post boxes can be slow. It can’t be guaranteed that the homeowner will open the letter or even take a glimpse at the pamphlet. So you may end up killing a lot of trees unnecessarily. Email marketing, on the other hand, is easy to set up and your emails can be sent in a matter of moments.
• People have signed up to receive information from your company, which means that they are most likely interested in what you have to offer. That’s just great because you want to talk to the right people.

Email marketing tips

• Build a list of customer emails. Buying a database is a waste of time, don’t do it. It’s illegal.
• Share information about your business. Don’t just send out specials offers. People would also like to know more about the business or certain tips and insights that will be of value.
• It is important to stick to a schedule. Subscribers like to know when they will receive their newsletter. Will it be a weekly or monthly communication?
• Keep your database safe. The people who have subscribed are trusting your business to keep their names and email addresses safe.

Get more subscribers added to your database, legally. This will lead to more people on your database, but, more importantly, it’s people who are getting informed by your company, and they want to receive it. They signed up for a reason. Don’t spam them though.

If you want to get started, we suggest you have a look at Mailchimp – it’s a great platform to start your email marketing on. Don’t waste time and paper! Save the trees and rather send emails!:-)