Email is consistently rates as the most used application on the Internet. According to Epsilon International via Econsultancy Blog in June 2009:
Email is used more regularly than social networking for personal communication. 79% of respondents use email as their primary mode of communication, only 10% use social networks.
Email has long been used as a form of marketing, but if you’re new to the email marketing game, you may be unsure as to how to use it and what results you can expect. So here are our top five uses of email marketing:
1. Newsletters
You can create newsletters to send to existing customers and prospects on a regular basis. Some companies opt for weekly, others monthly. If you’re really keen, you could even send them daily (as long as the content was high quality). Sending email newsletters is a very effective form of communication and helps to further enhance your brand. The more you can keep your name and logo in front of customers and prospects, the more likely you’ll be top of the list when the customer wants to make a purchase.
Newsletters can contain a variety of information – new web pages you’ve added, new articles, changes to your business, new product lines – anything goes, as long as it is of value to the person you’re sending it to.
2 Promotions
Many organisations like to use email marketing to send out coupons/codes or to promote a special offer they are holding. Offering exclusive coupons to mailing list subscribers has also shown to be an effective way of growing your email marketing list. If people are already engaged in your company, what better way to reinforce the relationship than providing them with their own special offers?
3. Event invitations
Email marketing is a fantastic way of promoting events you may be holding. Not only can you send out emails informing customers and prospects that you are holding an event, you can also use email to invite people directly. Email marketing tools are highly sophisticated and are able to be personalised which makes them great as an invitation tool. It also cuts down the cost of printing and postage of traditional invites.
4. Promote blog posts
If you create a regular blog, you can use email to promote each new blog post. Some people may prefer to get a direct email containing your blog post, rather than having to visit your site directly. Alternatively you can send a weekly or monthly email containing a summary of all your recent blog posts, and use that as a way to drive traffic to your site.
5. Business updates/press releases
If you’ve launched a new product, taken on a new member of staff, or have any other kind of newsworthy announcement, email marketing is a great way to communicate this to your mailing list. You can also use email marketing to send out press releases in bulk to your list of journalists.
The main benefits of email marketing are:
- Speed
- Flexibility
- Low cost
- Ability to measure results
These benefits make it a useful tool for all businesses large and small. The low cost of entry means that virtually anyone can get involved and start using it.
Top Five Uses of Email Marketing
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