Don’t count email marketing out just yet. Sixty-nine percent of businesses use it regularly in their overall marketing strategy—contradicting some industry predictions that “email is dead” as a marketing tool, according to a new survey from business news and how-to site The Manifest.
“Email is far from dead,” said Ada Chen Rekhi, founder and COO of Notejoy, a collaborative notes app for the workplace. “It’s one of the highest-performing channels because someone has already given you permission to be in their inbox.”
Because customers must opt-in to receive emails, email marketing presents a GDPR-compliant opportunity to reach those who are already interested in a particular product or brand.
Businesses send emails daily or weekly
Most businesses’ email marketing strategies include sending emails regularly, the survey finds.
Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of businesses send emails frequently, either daily (32 percent) or weekly (41 percent).
The ideal frequency for sending emails varies by business, experts say.
“If you’re a plumber, I’m pretty sure your customers don’t want to hear from you daily,” said David Mihm, founder of newsletter generator Tidings. “If you’re a fashion, restaurant, or hospitality company, your customers do want to hear about daily trends or weekly specials. You have to think about the business that you’re in.”
When creating an email marketing campaign, businesses should consider the distribution frequency that makes the most sense for their subscriber base.
Emails vary in format
Businesses typically send subscribers different types of marketing emails. The most popular are product/company updates (69 percent), promotional emails (69 percent), newsletters (68 percent), and event invitations (65 percent).
Businesses should be transparent about the types of emails they will send when customers sign up.
“The types of emails you send really do depend on who your audience is and what you told them before you started emailing them,” said HubSpot Demand Generation Marketing Manager Tova Miller. “If you have someone who subscribes to your blog and you tell them you’re only going to email them blog updates, then don’t consistently email them promotions.”
Overall, the survey indicates that most businesses value email marketing and will continue to use it to reach and engage consumers.
The Manifest’s 2018 Email Marketing Survey included 501 digital marketers from U.S. companies with more than 100 employees.
