Email is one of the most cost-efficient marketing tools you can use. Although it requires quite a bit of time and effort, it really is worth investing in. According to The Direct Marketing Association, every £1 spent on emails returns approximately £40 in revenue!!
Another report, this time conducted by Datran Media, found that over 80% of marketers find email is their strongest marketing tool.
Personally, I believe that the main reason to start emailing your customers and prospects is to build a relationship with them. If you build a relationship with your reader, then they will be a lot more likely to want to purchase from you.
An important thing to remember about emails, however, is that they MUST be permission based. If you rent or buy a list, this will not leverage more sales. If anything, word of mouth will start spreading that you are a spammer. And no-one likes a spammer.
Using emails to produce an e-newsletter is probably the most efficient way of interacting and building a relationship with your customers. Your Newsletter shouldn’t contain sales messages all the time though, they should be relaying free information and advice to your readers (to a certain extent, of course!). If you do this, they will start to trust you and, again, this will increase the likelihood of them purchasing from you in the future.
And there we go, a very brief overview into the world of emails. For more information on emails, you have a variety of options! You can read some of my other email related posts, leave me a comment, or email me at ben@keepers.info. I hope this was useful. See you next time!