Why Email Marketing Continues to Thrive Amid New Technologies

Even though you are most likely blogging and building your social media platforms, #emailmarketing provides the best channel for direct access and segment target marketing.

• By 2013, there were over 3.6 billion email accounts. (Radicati)
• 91% of consumers check their email on a daily basis. (ExactTarget)
• 66% of consumers have made a purchase online as a result of email marketing. (Direct Marketing Association)
• 76% of emails are opened during the first 2 days of being sent. (Direct Marketing Association)

You know how social media timelines work. Your news and tweets often roll on and off people's newsfeeds before they have a chance to see them. Also, they have the option to turn off notifications even if they follow and friend you. You can't send all of your followers a direct message without it being considered spam.

People use social media in a variety of ways. Some hop on and check it several times a day, while others are only on once a day, and some may go several days between logging on. Email marketing offers another way to by-pass these challenges on social media. Whether you distribute your newsletter on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, your subscription list gives you tangible names and emails of people who have an interest in what you're providing. If they weren't interested, they would not opt-in to receive your email newsletters. This is your target audience. Your newsletter is delivered directly into their inbox and is less likely to be missed like on social media. It feels more personal to consumers when they have something delivered and addressed to them.

A social media post is only limited to 140 characters on Twitter and a few extra lines on Facebook. You can post 1,000 - 2,000 words in an email newsletter, including photos and videos. It will sit in a person's inbox until they have time to read it in detail with focus and attention, after the kids go to bed, early in the morning when getting their coffee, or after they return from vacation. It isn't rolling off a timeline. The sense of urgency isn't as demanding as it is with social media.

If you use an email newsletter service, you can see how many people click to view it, which links they click on, the number of bounces, how many subscribe and unsubscribe. You can view an overall report on what topics and posts appeal to people the most and target future emails accordingly. You know your conversions and ROI.

Below is a link to a great infographic from HostPapa.

Email Marketing Knocks Out Social Media in 5 Rounds

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