Can Email Marketing Work Today, Or Is It Dead?Can Email Marketing Work Today, Or Is It Dead?
There are those who believe that email marketing is dead. They point out that email marketing worked in the 1990’s, or even at the beginning of this century. But in 2010 or beyond, it may not work. With the hundreds of spam that we receive, and the anti-spam policies, the effectiveness of email marketing has gone down remarkably – they report. They may have a point. However in reality, email marketing is anything but dead. Yes, to make it successful, you must do it differently today, but it can still work for you. It can be said that email marketing has evolved – it is not dead.Email – A Great Leveler
Everyone today has an email address. Well, almost everyone at least. From Bill Gates, to the President of the US, to that fisherman in Alaska, or the girl at the mall, technically you could reach any one if you knew the email address. There is hardly anything else that is such a great leveler. This of course is a great opportunity for a marketer.Email marketing remains a great solution because it allows you to communicate with a person individually, unlike other mediums such as television advertisements and mailers, where you address the mass. So it is possible to personalize your message and address the needs and concerns of the person. Thus when used properly, email marketing can work even today.
How To Make Email Marketing Effective?
- Do not spam!
Remember there are spam filters today and because of them, many unsolicited emails are often blocked. Even if they seep through, they almost always end up in the spam folder and the receiver never actually sees them. So never try spamming. Those mailing lists that companies used to purchase before are now a thing of the past.
- Make your own mailing list.
Generate free leads from your website by collecting the email address of visitors. You may even want to give away a free bonus (such as a free e-book or subscription to a newsletter) in exchange of such information. And once the person has subscribed, he or she agrees to receive your email, and your email is not considered as spam anymore.
- Software?
There are some email marketers who use software to send their emails to thousands of receivers. This is not a good idea because filters are able to detect the use of software. Your emails will be blocked and your campaign will fall through. However in truth, manually sending all these emails is not just impossible, it is impractical as well. So if you must use software, send those emails in small blocks – perhaps 1000 emails at a time. This strategy will surely take longer, but it will work.
- Customize the subject line of your email
The chances of the receiver reading it will increase. Try to keep the body of the email short. People are tired of the long sales letters, and if the body is too long, the receiver will probably delete the email. A good approach is to make an announcement about something new – perhaps a press release kind of email. Make the receiver interested and get that click to your website.
