Email marketing. Remember that? Chances are you’ve totally forgotten email marketing’s potential in the current atmosphere of hype around social media channels, or you view it as a time-sink that yields very little return on your investment. The key question, of course, is whether you are correct in that assumption! Zebra 360 Online takes a closer look at email marketing and what (if anything) it can do for your brand.

What is ROI again?

ROI stands for ‘return on investment’. It’s a key phrase in the digital marketing industry, as it’s the way to measure whether your advertising efforts are yielding results. It’s been common in the last few years to write email marketing off as too much work for too little effort- but is that attitude correct?

Not entirely.

It is true that sophisticated spam filters and a general mindset against ‘intrusion’ into the private inbox space have banished archaic forms of email marketing to the back-burner… but that only makes the format redundant if you were happy with delivering low-quality, spam-like content to your target audience in the first place. Email marketing does still have a key role to play in the digital marketing space- if done smartly and with an eye to ROI.

Personalisation is key

Email marketing content that delivers a good ROI is that which is personalised and interesting to the reader. Why? Because that’s how you avoid your hard work ending up unread and languishing in the spam box. How personalised should it be? As much as possible. This isn’t an arena where operating blind will work. You need to harness the power of your CRM data, databases and analytics to structure content that counts. Think beyond mundane details like location, industry and name, and dig down further. What does your consumer like? What content do they interact with? What parts of your industry matter to them? Generating a high ROI with email marketing hinges on getting the pitch right and enticing the reader to click onward, so they more personalised the content, the better.

Consistency counts too

Successful email marketing campaigns are also those that market consistently to the reader. If every mail you send to them jumps across your brand offerings without a structured plan, you’re going to get it wrong. Mention previous content in your follow up mails. Be consistent in the concepts you introduce to your audience. Lead them logically from email a through email b and email c… and you could well net sales on all three items.

While email marketing can produce a decent ROI when well structured and consistent, it’s unlikely to be your only advertising channel. As well as ensuring consistency through the email campaign, ensure your inbox-based marketing efforts are consistent with your brand message and social media channels too.

Work with technology to drive ROI

Email subscribers can be up to 3 times more likely to share content than other visitors…so make it easy for them to do so. Include that share button in each email! Harness the power of marketing tools, analytics and popular trends to help you create savvy, attractive content without an over-investment in physical man-hours to help you balance out the ROI you receive through this channel.

Value matters over everything

There is no ‘quick trick’ when it comes to creating email marketing with a punch. Content is king, and you have only a short subject line to sell it in. People will judge the relevance of your email before it’s even opened- so make sure they can expect excitement, interest and value in their own lives if you want to make this work for you. Deliver meaningful, jargon-free content that creates value in the reader’s life, and keep your focus targeted.

Email marketing can still deliver a ROI that’s meaningful in your advertising efforts- but it hinges on creating campaigns that interlace seamlessly with your other marketing efforts. Be certain that your content is personalised, attractive and relevant to the reader if you want to see results. Remember, the Zebra 360 Online experts are always on hand to help you make the very best of your digital marketing strategies, too, so don’t hesitate to reach out today.