I’m not sure who the brainiac is who let slip that “email marketing is dead” but I’d sure love to have a word with them to set some things straight (and hit them upside the head, lol).

I know it can be hard to get excited about email. It doesn’t have novelty or intrigue like a chatbot or hot new messaging app. But that’s no reason to trash talk it! And frankly, that’s what I am seeing out there right now.

I was at a marketing conference recently with a room full of entrepreneurs and small businesses where I heard the speaker say it again, “email marketing is dead!” as if to hammer in the final nail in the coffin.  And given the times, it’s such a disservice to entrepreneurs and small businesses to say it like that — because these entrepreneurs and small businesses BELIEVE THEM!

I guess he must have seen my face because he quickly corrected with “unless you are Kim Albee. She does amazing things with email marketing” so I had a good chuckle at that.

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I suppose it’s not your fault when the nature of what you have been conditioned to chase is the latest thing and get instant ROI.  But if you’re tired of investing in those one-off tactics, have wasted a lot of money, then keep reading… because there is something you can do – ESPECIALLY in the times we find ourselves in.

The reason a lot of experienced marketers are lamenting the demise of email is because in the past three to five years, the email marketing landscape has shifted. People were used to getting instant ROI on their emails with fast cash grabs and that just doesn’t seem to work so well anymore.

Unfortunately, that’s why many people have given up on email, thinking it’s just dead, rather than the way they are doing email marketing being what’s dead.  They’ve given up on the ONE TACTIC that still delivers far more ROI than social media (to the tune of 4000%) at turning a lead into a customer.

So, because you may have believed them, or because you just don’t know what to do with your email or how to set it up to get you the results you need, you don’t invest your time, you do the bare minimum and you don’t get results. Ergo you continue to conclude “email is dead”.

If you’ve been following the Genoo blog or participated in one of our courses, then you will know exactly why email marketing works so well.
But in case you need a reminder, here are a few powerful arguments that back up the fact that email marketing is alive and well — and in these times, it may be the one thing to get sorted out in your digital arsenal.

It’s the First Thing People Check

We all know we are living in a plugged-in society where the average person spends 5 hours or more of screen time a day.  That has likely INCREASED in recent weeks, with us all at home in some level of lock-down.

A lot of that time might be spent on the internet or social media, but email is still the first thing on people’s minds when they wake up.

According to Opt-In Monster, 58% of people say that email is the first thing they check (only 14% say it is social media). It’s plain to see we are pretty attached to our email, with 99% of us checking it every day.

Engagement Rates Beat Social Media

I bet you have never heard “social media is dead” have you? The world is hooked on social media – even those who never update their profile still spend hours each week viewing content. No one in their right mind would ever say that social media is dead, but did you know its more ‘dead’ than email?

Opt-In Monster states that the average organic engagement rate across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is just 0.58%. Imagine if that was your email open rate, you’d be rightly peeved!

On the other hand, email is sitting pretty at an average open rate of 22.9% across industries. The email clickthrough rate according to Opt-In Monster is just 3.71% – which in my opinion is extremely low as I like to see clickthrough rates of at least 12% or more. What this shows me is that there is massive room for improvement – if only people could only give their email marketing a fighting chance.

People Don’t Hate Email

The idea that people hate email is a bad hangover from the ’90s when terrible spam emails were rife. Email service providers have come a long way since then to make sure only quality emails make it to your inbox.

In many parts of the world, the laws also make it illegal to send unsolicited emails to people – for better or worse, the US is a little different in this respect — so far.

So, what this means is that people trust email, and accept it as a part of daily life. The rarely acknowledged fact is that many people love receiving email from their favorite brands, publishers and thought leaders and make it a ritual part of their week. It’s true for me, I don’t read the paper with my coffee; I catch up on my email – and no it’s not always work-related.

But when it does come to business, 73% of millennials say they prefer communications from business to come via email (Not Another State of Marketing, 2020).

It’s time to pay attention to your Email Engagement System

In my closing my argument supporting email marketing, I leave you with this fun fact. The tide is turning with 78% of email marketers reporting an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months (Not Another State of Marketing, 2020).

People have started to realize that the way there were doing email for all these years has been wrong.

As a result, many companies are investing in better email platforms, content strategies and focusing more on long term value rather than flash in the pan tactics.

Would you like your best next step to get moving with Email Marketing?

I’ve assembled an assessment – it’s all online and free, and you will receive instant results at the end totally tailored to YOU and YOUR SITUATION — if you don’t believe me, take it a few times and vary your answers.  It may open your eyes, and give you some ideas about how to move forward.  It’s a step you can do right now…  Out at our Email Expert Academy site.

Take the Email Marketing Assessment Now      << Click Here