Is Email Marketing still relevant as a marketing strategy?
Email marketing has a long history in marketing strategy. It has had some shining moments over the years as well as some not-so-great uses. Think spam, Nigerian prince scams, “forward this email in the next 5 minutes and your childhood crush will fall in love with you” email chains.
These types of practices, plus the prevalence of social media and other digital channels, might leave marketers wondering whether email is still a relevant marketing strategy at all.
Although its reputation may be questionable (I’m still waiting on my crush from 2002 to call), it’s clear that email is still alive and well as a marketing tool. According to HubSpot’s list of 2021 email marketing statistics, “4 out of 5 marketers said they’d rather give up social media than email marketing.”
This means email is still an effective tool for reaching and nurturing customers. “In fact, email generates $42 for every $1 spent, which is an astounding 4,200% ROI, making it one of the most effective options available,” HubSpot says.
As powerful as email marketing is, though, without the right strategy, it’s not a surefire way to get your target audience to take action every time. However, when paired with an inbound marketing strategy, email can be an effective channel that fuels your marketing efforts.
How to do Email Marketing the Inbound Way
Traditional outbound marketing methods involve placing messages in front of potential customers to convince them to purchase a product or service. Unfortunately, it’s usually general and interruptive in nature. In contrast, the inbound marketing methodology attracts potential customers to your website by providing targeted, helpful, relevant content specific to your industry via search engines, social media, and blogging. It’s a natural way to provide your customers with solutions to the questions they are already asking.
So how do you execute email marketing with an inbound marketing strategy in mind?
- Build an audience that wants to hear from you –
Make it clear what your contacts will receive when they sign up for your emails and only send to people who have opted-in to your lists. - Make your content targeted and relevant –
Use personalization and what you already know about the contact (think past behavior and interests) to craft an email that feels like it was made just for them. - Be helpful and add value –
Create emails that your audience will find interesting, useful, and even delightful. Provide value instead of simply asking for the sale each time. - Allow people to opt out and clear out your unengaged contacts –
Make sure you have a way for contacts to indicate that they no longer want to receive your emails. This is the legal way to do email marketing, plus it keeps your list and email reputation clean.
When you approach email marketing using the inbound methodology, you’ll see more engaged customers, better lead conversion rates, and increased revenue.
The Best Tools for Email Marketing
If you’re ready to dive in and take your email to the next level with an inbound marketing strategy, there are three things you need to put in place:
- Forms and landing pages on your website where people can opt-in to your email lists
- A way to manage your contacts and their preferences
- An email sending platform to deliver the emails in bulk
There are many tools out there that can help you accomplish this, but the best we at Soulheart have found for email marketing with an inbound strategy is HubSpot.
HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing software that integrates your marketing efforts and tracks your contacts across multiple channels. It has powerful automation tools, analytics, plus contacts and list management. Most importantly, it has the support and tools you need to implement a successful inbound marketing strategy for your organization.
If you’d like to learn more about HubSpot and the ways Soulheart can help you utilize it to boost your email marketing efforts, check out more information here.
Soulheart can Help you Build a Successful Inbound Email Marketing Strategy
As we march even further into the digital age of marketing, email continues to be an essential part of a successful inbound marketing strategy. It will be important for organizations to not only utilize email, but do it well, connecting with their prospects and customers in meaningful and personalized ways.
We at Soulheart are passionate about seeing nonprofits and mission minded companies succeed in their email marketing efforts. Let’s talk about ways we can help you make a positive impact on the world.
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