In 2017, the world had 3.718 billion email users. Just one year later, the world population of email users increased to 3.823 billion users. The global email population continues to increase with each passing year — by 2022, Statistica expects that there will be 4.258 billion email users worldwide (“Number of email users”). What does this mean for email marketing ROI?
Given the increasing popularity of email in society despite increased volumes of spam email and email attacks such as phishing, digital marketers recognize the numerous benefits of email marketing for return on investment, brand recognition, and automation and continue to search for tested methods and optimized email strategies to compete among a sea of email advertisements from hundreds of businesses in consumers’ inboxes.
Increasing ROI for Email Marketing
According to Matt Blumberg, the Co-Founder and CEO of Return Path, “Email continues to be the number one digital channel for ROI.” In another study conducted by the Data and Marketing Association (DMA), “Email has a median ROI of 122% – over 4x higher than other marketing formats including social media, direct mail, and paid search.” For comparison, the next highest median returns are for social media with an ROI of 28% and direct mail with an ROI of 27% (“Email Continues to Deliver”).
There are a handful of reasons why email marketing can drive such high returns, including lowered costs of going digital, increasing sales, and creating greater brand recognition (Email Marketing ROI). “According to one report from DBS Data, businesses can expect an average return of $38 for every $1 they spend on email marketing” (Top 25 Benefits). In comparison, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) generates approximately $23 per $1 spent on the channel (Email Marketing ROI). Businesses can automate the email process to its customers, including.
Email Marketing Metrics
In a world that is becoming increasingly data-centric, it is important for businesses to gather a range of email metrics to continue to optimize and inform their operations. These instant metrics give businesses the power to analyze their marketing campaigns and tweak their strategies to target their customers more effectively and ultimately generate the best leads possible. This means that the success and utility of email marketing increase with the ability of businesses to track exactly where their website traffic is directed from and which type of content peaks customers’ interest.
Strategies to Improve Email Marketing
The greater population of email users implies a greater potential for customers that businesses can target via email. Emails that are optimized to maximize the greatest chance of the customer opening and viewing the email increases with various personalizations and customizations, including emojis, subject lines reading “urgent,” emails sent from someone the customer might know or recognize, the time of day an email is sent, the volume of emails sent out in a certain period of time, and the day emails are sent out.
Top strategies include:
- Testing subject lines to see which types best resonate with your audience
- Offering discounts
- Creating loyalty programs
- Affiliate programs
- Themed newsletters
- High-quality content
- Utilizing influencer marketing
- Including bold visuals in the form of videos and images
- Offering incentives, such as free samples
- Providing useful content specifically designed to provide solutions to problems your audience may have
- Offering a webinar and educational series
There are many strategies for effective email marketing. The sky is the limit! Above all, keep in mind that content is queen. Provide your users with an email they will want to read.
Email Marketing Compared to Other Digital Marketing Methods
Email Marketing is easily accessible via smart phones and other mobile devices, especially given the fact that emails are usually optimized for various platforms. However, the same is true with social media content and advertisements.
What sets email marketing apart from social media marketing is the greater reach of each platform, as email users are far greater than social media users. Email accounts for approximately 3.8 billion users, while Facebook, the most popular of all social media platforms, accounts for approximately 1.9 billion users (Kindness). Both platforms help generate increased brand recognition and higher conversion rates. However, email generates a “click through rate of 3.57%,” while Facebook generates a click through rate of 0.07% (Kindness).
Even with the three other major social media platforms — Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat — their combined reach is not likely to surpass the impact of email marketing. Additionally, “72% of U.S. adults prefer to receive email communications from companies. This is compared to only 17% of U.S. adults who prefer communication through social media channels” (Sean). Thus, email marketing proves to be much more beneficial to businesses in terms of revenue, reach, and conversion.
Email Marketing is Here to Stay
Even with the popularity of various new channels in reaching customers, email marketing has and will continue to make a large imprint on consumers and the business marketing process. As the general world population continues to become more tech-savvy amidst the developments of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities, email marketing and other digital marketing channels will continue to gain traction and generate high returns for businesses who understand how to correctly utilize these channels and analyze the data to effectively improve their email campaigns and strategies.
So, if you haven’t already, it’s time to start email marketing! It can be hard to stay on top of email marketing so don’t be afraid to reach out for help finding a firm.
Have you encountered similar trends through your experience with email marketing? What are some trends in email marketing that you believe will become increasingly widespread in the next few years? Let us know what you think!
We’re the digital marketing agency San Francisco trusts to focus on the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Based in the Bay Area, close to Silicon Valley, we’re the team with the sneak-peek into the future of digital marketing. If you’re ready to work with San Francisco’s first and only full-service B Corp-Certified digital marketing agency, drop us a line to schedule a free digital marketing strategy session!
Sources
“Email Continues to Deliver Strong ROI and Value for Marketers.” EMarketer, 12 Sept. 2016, www.emarketer.com/Article/Email-Continues-Deliver-Strong-ROI-Value-Marketers/1014461.
“Email Marketing ROI: What Is the True ROI of Email Marketing?” Digital Marketing Blog, LYFE Marketing, 10 Jan. 2018, www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/email-marketing-roi/.
George, Kevin. “Email Marketing Statistics to Guide Your Email Strategy in 2018.” Triggered Email Infographic, Influence Your Marketing Automation, 18 May 2018, emailmonks.com/blog/email-marketing/email-marketing-statistics/.
“Number of e-Mail Users Worldwide 2022.” Statista, www.statista.com/statistics/255080/number-of-e-mail-users-worldwide/.
Kindness, Joe. “Social Media Marketing vs. Email Marketing: Who’s the Winner?” 7 Instagram Metrics to Measure Your Campaign’s Success – AgencyAnalytics, 22 Aug. 2017, agencyanalytics.com/blog/social-media-vs-email-marketing.
Sean. “Top 25 Benefits of Email Marketing – LYFE Marketing.” Digital Marketing Blog, LYFE Marketing, 7 Nov. 2017, www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/benefits-email-marketing/.