Ever since our dear marketing friend ‘social media’ came into existence, people have made an assumption that email marketing is dead. But is it true or is it a myth?
Email has been around since we entered the modern technological world. If you look at the numbers, the fact is the number of emails being sent each day is INCREASING. The number of emails being sent daily is expected to rise to nearly 350 billion by 20231. I would say email marketing is far from dead!
Email Marketing is Alive
Email is something that has become engrained in people’s lives. I mean think about it, what’s one of the first things you check every day? I’m going to guess email is one. Whether it’s a colleague asking you for a favor or you’re waiting for that cute top to go on sale, email is one of the first things most people check on a daily basis.
When smartphones launched, it made it so much easier to access email anytime, anywhere and as many times as you want. Speaking of which, make sure your emails are mobile-optimized. Otherwise not only could you be missing out on sales; you increase chances for getting marked as spam – all because your email didn’t render properly on a smartphone. Yikes!
Own Your List
One of my favorite reasons for how I know email marketing isn’t dead is that when you build your email list you OWN it. Social media definitely has its place, but at the end of the day you never actually own your social media account/followers. Many accounts, including top influencers with millions of followers, have had their accounts disappear overnight. Poof! Can you imagine?!
When you build your own email list, you are free to communicate with them (atleast until they unsubscribe) because you have their contact information. But you will be the one in control. Not an algorithm and not some other company.
Email Evolves
Just as technology changes, so does email and email marketing practices. It’s a constant evolution. Gone are the days of impersonal messages, privacy invasion, and not tracking or optimizing based on metrics. What is becoming especially important (and growing more important by the day) is the subscriber experience. NOW is the time to start focusing on your email journeys!
Email marketing is very much alive! Not only is it alive, it’s essential! And you need to make sure it’s a fundamental part of your growth strategy.
