Five email marketing myths debunked
Posted: Thu 16th Jul 2020
You may be using email marketing already and recognise its value in enabling you to keep in contact with your customers, while at the same time generating more opportunities for your business.
But you may be new to email marketing, sitting on the fence or even sceptical because it's 'old tech'. Maybe you have had some bad personal experiences, or heard things that have put you off.
There are some bad practices out there, but when done well, and ethically, email marketing can really benefit your business. So, let's tackle some of the most common email marketing misconceptions.
Email marketing is spam
You may have been on the receiving end of people or organisations sending you unsolicited email, which may have made you reluctant to try email marketing for yourself. That's understandable. Why would you want to risk your reputation or the reputation of your business?
Good email is delivering professional email communications to an interested audience with information the recipient finds valuable that looks great in any inbox.
Above all, it's sending information to people who have self-selected or signed up to receive your messages. If you're doing anything else, you're likely to be alienating the people receiving your emails, and breaking quite a few data protection regulations as well.
People don't like receiving emails
Really? Well, research carried out in the US by MarketingSherpa found that 91% of those surveyed like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with, while 86% said they like to receive promotional emails at least monthly and 61% at least weekly.
If you think about yourself as a consumer, there are likely some emails you receive and rarely open, but there's a good chance there are a few people or businesses and that you do appreciate hearing from on a regular basis.
Receiving a regular email lets you stay up to date with what's going on in a way that's convenient for you. And if you ever decide you want to opt out, you have the ability to do that, no questions asked.
People can't unsubscribe
One of the biggest benefits of email marketing is the control you give to your customers and contacts. You give them the ability to opt in to receive your messages; you also give them the ability to opt out at any time.
Every email you send should contain an unsubscribe link. This makes it really easy for people to opt out when they want to.
You need to be a marketing expert to get the best out of email marketing
That's not true.
What you need is to use an email marketing platform that provides you with a large selection of professional looking, highly customisable, mobile-responsive templates.
These templates should be designed so it's quick and easy for you to get your message out to your audience, and make sure you look professional when it lands in the inbox.
But things can go wrong and you may need help. Make sure the email marketing platform you choose also has dedicated support (online and/or phone), as well as support videos and documents that teach you how to make the most impact with your email marketing.
Email is old-school and not as effective as social media
Today, small businesses have access to low-cost, far-reaching marketing channels that they could only have dreamed of 20 or 30 years ago. But because there seems to be something bright, new and shiny almost every other day, some of the more established marketing methods get pushed to one side.
Social media can be highly effective, but you don't own your network and your reach can be hit and miss. Let's take Facebook as an example. A simple comparison shows that email gets delivered to its target destination (into the inbox of your customers and potential customers) more than 90% of the time, whereas your Facebook posts reach about 2% of your fans.
In marketing terms, it's not a question of either/or, but a question of multiple methods and multiple channels.
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