Is Email Marketing Dead? | Get Fact Up #60

Is Email Marketing Dead?

Once we start having this conversation about any form of marketing (eg. SEO, SMM, Google Advertising) I believe a method of marketing has reached a level of maturity that it’s no longer able to be used as a separate strategy to all your marketing activities due to it being overused and abused by marketers.

This same conversation happened with SEO approximately 5 years ago and while SEO is still used as a term it has been integrated into marketing activities like what we do here at MeMedia and somewhat re-branded as Content Marketing.

But what do the statistics say? According to Hubspot:

- Three-quarters of companies agree that email offers "excellent" to "good" ROI.

- 86% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails from companies they do business with at least monthly, and 15% would like to get them daily.

- Two-thirds of emails are read on either smartphones or tablets.

So email marketing isn’t dead but the way it’s now being used is less about direct marketing and more about nurturing potential customers and communicating with existing customers via email automation.

This sentiment is also shared by Blogger Aaron Agius who shared in his article late last year that;

Emails effortlessly nurture leads.

A nurtured lead increases sales 20 percent more than a cold lead. At 33 percent less cost than other lead-generating mechanisms

Aaron says that nurturing via email follows a simple strategic formula:

- First, raise awareness. (Inform customers about a product.)

- Second, stimulate a desire for acquisition. (Tell them where to get it.)

- Third, guide the reader toward conversation. (Transform prospects into customers.)

- Fourth, create customer retention. (Sell them related products.)

So you might be asking. How am I going to do all that with every potential customer I deal with?

Enter: Email Automation.

If you’ve been keeping a close eye on email marketing software and the proliferation of products to hit the market then you may have noticed that email automation has become an essential feature when choosing your software.

And if you haven’t been watching… PC Mag has.

PC Mag lists a comparison of The Best Email Marketing Software of 2016

When we’re looking at this table we find here is that all bar one of these applications have custom auto-responders capability. Which is an indicator that this software might be what we need to help us nurture leads.

But many of you may still be asking:

What is an Auto-Responder?

The first use of an Auto-Responder email is normally when a new email address has been subscribed to an email list. This is when a pre-created email template automatically sends a response to the subscriber saying thank you or welcome.

Auto-responders are used in many scenarios like joining up to a website and paying for a product or service online - not just when the subscriber specifically subscribes to an email list.

But not all Auto-responders are created equal. In-fact there is a next level solution called Email automation.

Auto-Responders vs. Email Automation

Email automation is commonly referred to as an auto-responder but it’s important to note that a one-off auto-responder isn’t really what we would call email automation. This is really only the beginning of the automation process.

Email Automation is when an organisation crafts a series of response emails that activate based on particular actions by the email recipient. Triggers which might fire off emails might include:

- Signing up to a website

- Buying a product

- Not buying a product

- Navigating particular areas of a website

- Responding to an email

- Not responding to an email

- Opening and email

- Not opening and email

The list can go on and on!

And Like Aaron Agius said:

"A nurtured lead increases sales 20 percent more than a cold lead."

So if we want to use Email Automation to Nurture Your Customers we need to do a quick rundown on which software applications you might need to compare before making a start.

Email Automation with INFUSIONSOFT

Infusionsoft has become the software most well known for email automation, in-fact they may have even invented the term.

Promoted as a THE software for marketing automation, sales automation including ecommerce sales it’s easy to see by looking at screenshots of it’s campaign builder interface that Infusionsoft is a force to be reckoned with.

Getting started with any email automation campaign requires setup of not only your templates but also your campaign workflow. This can be a little daunting for the uninitiated which is why Infusionsoft offer various services via the partner network such as;

- Training/Coaching

- Access to Infusionsoft Partners;

- and even the Infusionsoft marketplace where you can search and install FREE pre=configured campaigns to help you get started.

Infusionsoft pricing is based on contacts and the number of emails you wish to send per month and ranges from $199/mth for 2,500 contacts to $599/mth for 20,000 contacts. You can also request once of custom startup packages or discuss custom plans.

Infustionsoft integrates with many of the most popular ecommerce and website platforms which allows for you to leverage all types of customer engagements.

Email Workflows with CAMPAIGNER

Campaigner refers to their email automation as workflows which are not unlike those we showed for Infusionsoft.

Workflows enable you to setup conditions.

Services which are also available from Campaigner include:

- Custom Template Design

- Email Marketing Strategy Development

- Campaign Implementation

- And you can even request a Dedicated Client Success Representative

Campaigner pricing which gives you access to workflows starts from $549.95 / mth for up-to 100,000 contacts. Higher volume pricing plans are also available.

Campaigner also integrates with many of the most popular ecommerce, website and CRM platforms.

Email Automation with MailChimp

If you’ve been playing around with email marketing for sometime you’ve surely heard of MailChimp. If not it’s widely known for making email marketing easier and more cost effective and it also integrates with all of the most popular ecommerce, content management system software and CRM software like:

- Shopify

- Magento

- Neto

- Wordpress

- Salesforce

- And more

Mailchimp also has email automation as part of it’s features but put plainly it pales in comparison to the capabilities of Infusionsoft and Campaigner.

In saying this it may be the perfect entry level automation for your business given that it’s set up with several preset options for you based a variety of industries and events.

If you’re already using a program like Campaign Monitor then there is no reason to jump ship to try MailChimp’s automation capabilities, because they are much the same.

Pricing for MailChimp’s automation features incur a monthly $199 ProMarketer subscription on top of your number of subscribers you may wish to send to.

For example if we look at 100,000 subscribers you can send up to 1.2 Million emails for $475 / month plus a $199 / mth.

Email is far from dead

So email is far from dead when it’s being used for good and not for evil. And being a good marketer means you’re nurturing.

If you have an advanced problem to solve then Infusionsoft would be our recommended email automation software.

If you’re problem requires a less complicated solution then MailChimp or Campaign Monitor would be a good place to start.

And if you’re looking to get subscribers to actively signup to your newsletters then please don’t stick popups in their face. Just create amazing content and explain what people will get and when they can expect to get it when they subscribe to your emails.

See you next month!!

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