According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing yields an estimated 4300 percent ROI, says entrepreneur.com.
Most new bloggers are slow to adopt email marketing because they think it is a slow and time-consuming process. Most would change their mind if they knew email marketing was the best way to connect with, and retain, customers. You get to land directly in your reader’s inbox and no other channel can get your business more visibility. People may not check their social media sites every day but they will certainly check their emails. With the prevalence of smart phones, people tend to check their emails several times a day. In fact, it is likely the first thing every person checks in the morning.
When you post on social media sites, you have to compete with other content to be seen. Moreover, social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest can change their algorithm any time, which might limit your reach.
For example, Neil Patel mentions on his site (neilpatel.com) that on June 2016, the Organic Reach of a Facebook Page fell to a mere 2%. My friend’s DIY blog was hit severely by this update and her traffic plummeted overnight. Her Facebook page with 500K followers would reach only 10,000 people each time she made a post and only 200 of them clicked through to her blog. That is when she started to focus more on building an email list. She now has a list that is 50K strong. Every time she sends out an email, 30% of the people open it and 15% of them click through to her website. For example, just one email she sent out brought 6300 visits to her Crochet Baby Blanket Roundup post and earned her $150 in ad revenue in just one day. The bigger your list, the more revenue you can generate from it.
The saying “never put all your eggs in one basket” is not just true for your finances, but for your business marketing as well. Your email list is the only audience you will never lose to changes in ranking systems, which can plunge your traffic overnight on other channels.
How to Build an Engaged List
Your email marketing efforts will fall flat if you don’t have an engaged list. You have to warm your list and form a connection with them. The best way to do this is to write on a personal level. Start every email with a personal story but keep it short. People are more likely to buy from someone they know and trust. Be that person. For example, I have been sharing my struggles during this pandemic with my audience and that has really helped strengthen my bond with them. Write to them like a friend and not a salesperson. Do not sell in every email. Only 20% of your emails should be sales emails and the rest 80% should provide value to your readers.
Another way to engage your audience is to ask a question. I asked my audience what their biggest struggle was with managing money. If people respond to your emails it can increase your open rate and your emails are less likely to end up in their spam folders.
You can also ask questions that help you plan content for your blog. Ask them what they would like to see on your blog. The responses can give you valuable insights for future blog posts. When you publish the content they requested, it will help foster an even greater bond with your readers.
Formatting your emails properly is also key to the success of any email campaign. Make your links big, bold and easily clickable. Most people check their emails on mobile devices and a tiny font can make it harder for them to click. When you link to your new article, link to no more than 3 related articles. Stuffing your email with links is not a good marketing practice.