Email as a service hasn’t changed much over the last few years. But what has changed is the way we use it. Since most people are currently working from home (and it looks like they will be for the foreseeable future) email has become one of the best channels to advertise on.

media update’s Taylor Goodman takes a look at how email has become the new ‘go-to’ advertising platform.

Chances are, you’ve opened up your emails today and it is filled with a great deal of communication from your favorite brands. As consumers, we have been conditioned to expect emails from brands, whether they are newsletters, promotional deals or brand updates.  

According to Ana Gotter, 72% of consumers prefer communication with brands via email. But it's not just about the consumers' benefits. Email marketing allows brands to nurture leads and convert them into loyal customers, building familiarity and trust in them along the way. 

People across the globe have fled communal offices for the safety of their at-home workspaces. This means that many of the traditional means of advertising just aren’t feasible anymore. While this isn’t great news for brands heavily-invested in OOH adverts, it is good news for email marketing!

Why, you ask? Well, this tweet from Bridger Winegar pretty much sums it up:



Gone are the days of ‘Inbox Zero”; consumers are always online and the likelihood of that changing is slim.

Email marketing versus social media marketing

I know what you’re thinking: ‘Social media is huge right now, surely it has overtaken email as the most favoured digital marketing strategy?’

Well, not quite. According to Elna Cain, 77% of consumers prefer marketing emails over social media ads. 

Email marketing is an ‘old faithful’ — something consumers have come to expect from brands. They visit your website, are incentivised into subscribing (‘sign up to our newsletter and get 10% off!’), and just like that, they are welcomed by the brand via email. 

A classic saying comes to mind when reflecting on the popularity of email marketing: If it isn't broken, don't fix it. 

Social media ads tend to be just a blimp on a potential customer's radar — seen one moment gone the next. Emails, on the other hand, reach consumers ‘up close and personal. It’s a tried and tested method that has stood the test of time. 

Email is the perfect in-betweener; it is not as impersonal as a billboard, but not as over-friendly as a direct WhatsApp. It does not stand at the forefront of the consumer’s social media feed and scream ‘Look at me!’, but rather, it waits in their inbox until they are ready to engage. 

A strong email marketing can be beneficial to your brand because of:
  • Segmentation: Email marketing enables you to segment and market to your consumers based on insight gathered on how they interact with your brand. This means that you can ask subscribers what kind of information they’d like to receive and email personalised content
  • High return on investment: Email marketing is relatively affordable and generates a great deal of capital. For every $1 that is spent on email marketing, there is an average return of $44. 
  • High conversion rates: A strong email marketing strategy converts 208% higher than a regular email newsletter. 
In 2020, there are expected to be around 4.2 billion email users — all of which are potential customers. 

By thinking of email holistically, brands will be able to build a powerful email marketing strategy that can position them as a fixture on their readers’ daily schedules. 

This can be done by ensuring that your email content varies, your brand can diversify their content by sharing the following via email: 
  • Newsletters 
  • Promotional deals 
  • Blogs 
  • Guides
  • Welcome emails
  • Updates and Announcements, and
  • Net promoter feedback (surveys, questionnaires)
It is advisable that you allow readers to subscribe to the type of content they want to avoid overwhelming them. By doing this, your readers receive the content they desire and you have actionable insight into what consumers want to see. 

Would you consider email marketing the preferred method for your brand? Let us know in the comment section below.

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While there are many types of email marketing content, newsletters are a firm favourite. Find out  Why newsletters are an effective content-sharing tool.
*Image courtesy of Vecteezy