Having an email address plugs you into the digital world. Email is central to EVERYTHING you do online. You need an email address to sign up for things like newsletters and promotions, to order items online and you even need an email address before you can sign up for social media services like Twitter and Facebook.

“Anyone without an email address is the digital equivalent of homeless“
Dela Quist - CEO Alchemy Worx

Email marketing has always been popular within digital marketing because it’s trackable, measureable and relatively cheap. Arguably, it is often reported as second only to search marketing as the most effective online marketing tactic but is that still the case? The power of social media and effective content only seems to have been realised over the last few years as a great way to engage with customers and this year, we have noticed a strong rise in content marketing and social media roles.

Email is the ultimate direct marketing method; from the creative to the data, the campaign to the results, it follows a straight forward process which has been popular since the advent of the internet. With software like DotMailer, Exact Target and Mailchimp, email marketing is now also very sophisticated – geomap segmentation, SMS & social media integration, technical reporting, drag & drop image uploads and campaign feeds are just some useful features available.

So how does Email compare to the biggest social media sites? Based on recent figures we can see that email is still well ahead of even the large social media players:

• Email users – 3.8 billion
• Facebook users – 1.44 billion
• Twitter users – 302 million
• Linked In users – 364 million

Email marketing done well is a powerful tool, however, it is often not used to its full potential due to issues around design, user targeting and deliverability. Every business is unique and will therefore need an email strategy which is particular to them. I suppose it’s like parenting – everyone will have advice on how to bring up your children and what is best for them but really your own methods will be best. With a well-executed email campaign, it is possible to achieve £20-30 return for each £1 spent.

Here are 8 top facts to help you maximise the success of your email campaigns:

1. Emails with social sharing buttons have a 158% higher open rate
2. 33% of email recipients open an email based on the subject title
3. 69% of subscribers say that too many emails is the number one reason they unsubscribe from email
4. People who buy products marketed through email spend 138% more than people that do not receive email offers
5. The most popular time to send emails is 2-5pm on a Thursday
6. 64% of decision-makers read their email on mobile devices
7. 91% of people check their email daily
8. Triggered email messages yield 71% higher open rate and 102% higher click rates than non-triggered emails

Regardless of how strong the other elements of digital are becoming, email marketing will always be an important part of online marketing because of its targeted approach and measurability. As long as you look after your data, understand the customer and their requirements, set clear goals and measure success against these goals, you will reap the rewards.

Guy Walker is an experienced marketer specialising in Marketing & CRM / Email recruitment at Forward Role Recruitment. If you are ready for your next role, or would just like to chat through some new opportunities, then you can contact Guy on 0161 914 8499.