Is Email marketing still effective?
In this time of search engine changes, particularly with Google, email marketing remains a much more reliable and effective way of marketing.
“Stop relying on the search engines for traffic and sales. Leverage the subscribers and followers you already have with email.”
With email it doesn’t matter what the search engines are doing, you can simply go around them by building an email list and using it as a resource for connecting with customers and making sales. I actually prefer that.
Email marketing effectiveness depends on how it is used and your intentions for how to use it. It is still effective and offers big benefits but if your intentions are solely to make a sale, you may be sorely disappointed.
The Methods of Email Marketing Effectiveness that benefit everyone
1. You have a targeted focus
You first have to find your target market. Who are the people you are trying to sell to? Then target your focus for them.
Your emails have to reach the people most interested in what you have to offer. Sending emails to your email list about how to do rose gardening when they have daisies won’t solicit response. You also risk losing readership.
2. You can easily connect with your reader
This is where you have a chance to gain your reader’s trust. Help your reader become familiar with who you are and what you do. Prove to them that you’re about what you can do for them, not what they can do for you.
3. Brings your visitors back to your website
Email gives you the opportunity to bring your readers back to your website. News you have about new products or new information you place on your website is a reason to email your list and ask them to pay your site another visit. It’s OK to direct them where you want them to go but make it worth their while. Provide good information first, create a sense of need and add a call to action.
OK Liz, I still don’t buy it, I’m going to need some solid benefits for using email marketing.
That’s what I said in the beginning too, but here are the real benefits of email:
Email marketing is affordable!
Notice I said affordable, not free. But it’s not expensive either.
In order to create, organize and deliver your emails and collect your email addresses, you need an email autoresponder service.
Autoresponder services are not expensive. Some services are even free, however if you’ll be running a business I don’t recommend a free service. You run the risk of spam as many ISP’s don’t approve of free autoresponder services. Also your emails will have advertising in them which is not a professional look.
One of the industry’s favorites is Aweber’s remote autoresponder service, which is what I also use. Aweber is a remote autroresponder service that costs me about $20 a month. I prefer a service as opposed to downloading a software product to my own server.
A quality autoresponder will let you create and send emails regularly and automatically as an affordable way to stretch your marketing budget. There are no production costs, materials or postage expenses. Gotta love that 
Email Marketing gives you the opportunity to build trust and Offer Value
Getting in front of your visitors and customers on a regular basis isn’t simply about promoting your stuff.
Yes, email marketing is a promotional tool but how you promote is key. You have to first build trust before you can expect to sell anything, and that’s where marketers often get it wrong.
How To Implement an Effective Email Marketing Strategy
Here’s how to get started Creating an email list and building trust with Your Subscribers
Build your own Opt-in List
Don’t buy email lists, they’re a waste of money. These lists aren’t targeted to what you are selling, and most email addresses aren’t even valid.
Building your own list is how you will create a loyal and targeted email list.
Creating your own list isn’t that hard, just follow these simple steps:
- 1. Give something away for free
The process starts with offering something of value to your readers that is free; a free guide or a simple how to course or a tips and tricks guide. This gives your reader the opportunity to taste what you are about and should demonstrate your authority and experience in whatever your niche topic is.
I prefer to create simple ‘how to’ guides loaded with tips and ideas. You can easily create a 10-12 page guide in just a couple of days.
If your are a dog trainer for example, offer a free guide with some of your best tips for how to train you dog.
- How to Lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks
- Easy recipes that take 5 minutes
- Whiter teeth in 3 days
2. Create an opt-in in box
An opt-in box is basically a sign up form that you place on each page of your website or blog, similar to the one I’ve created on the right. Within this signup box you will place an ad, if you will, for your free guide or tips. Below is the request for your reader’s email address.
3. Use an Autoresponder service
In order to capture names and email addresses from your opt-in box, you need a service to do it for you. That’s where email autoresponders come in.
Using a quality email autoresponder will allow you to send unlimited emails, unlimited campaigns, automatically collect email addresses for you and send immediate welcome messages, it will include reporting, guard you against SPAM complaints and tons more all for just a few dollars a month.
Also a good email autoresponder will have a tool that will create an opt-in box for you and give you step-by-step instructions for how to set it up on your website or blog.
Let me caution you on using a free email autoresponder, it’s simply not worth it. The last time I used a free autoresponder it was exceptionally unreliable. Some of my emails went out,some did not.
I had no idea my emails were not going out until I switched to a reliable autoresponder like Aweber, which was my actually my first choice. After I began using Aweber my email recipients were actually responding to my emails, questions came in, people were thanking me for my emails; it was great.
Free autoresponders also attached free advertising to my emails, because of that other email servers labeled my email as SPAM 
, not to mention it’s simply unprofessional to send email with advertising splashed all over the top and bottom of my emails.
3. Don’t Spam your list
You may not think you’re spamming but you could be. For instance if you have a website about how to train your dog and you send your list emails about dog grooming you could be labeled a spammer. It’s off topic and it’s a sure way to get your subscribers to opt out.
Emailing your list is about offering useful tips and strategies, delivering news about your niche, time sensitive specials or savings is certainly acceptable, but sending irrelevant information or pushy ‘buy now’ tactics is a sure sign of spam. But don’t over do your emails either. Too many notifications can be annoying and subscribers will opt out.
Test and test some more
Use your email autoresponders reporting features. Watch for how many of your emails get opened. If too many go unnoticed this might indicate that your email subject line is weak.
Split testing is a great way to measure this. You could create 2 or 3 subject lines and test them. For instance, if you have 100 people on your list, split test by sending 10 people an email with one subject line and send ten more with another subject line. The title that gets the most opens would be the one you use to send to the remaining 80 people on your list.
Additionally other forms of testing can help you know what day and time to send your emails, what topics, promotions and offers get the most clicks.
A Few Last Words…
If your still doubtful about email marketing effectiveness, here’s a challenge for you…
Next time you are surfing the web take a look at the websites and blogs that have email opt-in boxes. How many did you find? Lots! With all those sites using email, I think it’s safe to assume that marketers find email most effective.
What about you? What are your thoughts about email marketing, is it effective for you or not? What email methods, strategies or tips do you recommend or don’t recommend…
Blessings,
P.S. Use my free email marketing tips and quickly build a list of targeted email subscribers that will trust you and buy from you. Grab your email tips here. http://www.simpleways2profit.com/email-tips.html
Twitter: john_nicolelong
on January 21, 2011 at 11:22 am said:
Thanks for the detailed information for email marketing and how it is still effective today. Its great to have different outlets for our marketing efforts and time conscience – thank God for aweber
You are very welcome Robert
Thanks for this tip! Sounds great.
Hey Robert, great job on getting more sign-ups. Try writing a few good articles with a resource box that points to your email sign-up page and submitting them to ezinearticles. That will boost your sign ups as well. Thanks for your feedback
Hi Liz,
Really liked this article. I was just researching some information on email marketing and I found it all here. Giving away an ebook works really well on my German site. I am having a couple of sign-ups daily compared to a couple of sign-ups per month before I had the ebook.
Take care,
Robert
One thing that makes this online marketing strategy stand out from all other marketing strategies is that it provides you with a way to contact your customers directly. There are many ways that you can monetize your opt in e-mail list, so it is worth producing an effort to grow your list and construct a good connection with your members. Video email is a more efficient means of reaching prospective customers, of promoting your products, services or events
Hey Monyelle, You’re so right, people often think social media takes the place of email but that’s not true. They both serve a very distinct purpose. Thanks for your feedback
Twitter: MonyellesMKTG
on January 17, 2011 at 6:32 pm said:
Hi Liz,
Thanks for the great suggestions. Many people think since social media is so large today that we don’t need to communicate via email anymore. You’ve gone through the reasons why and how to continue to actively interact with your email list.
Thanks again.
Monyelle
Twitter: wpkube
on January 17, 2011 at 8:15 am said:
Excellent advice liz. Email Marketing is still one of the effective way to build trust.
Email marketing is something that no blogger should miss.
Thanks for sharing this great post Liz.
Lisa, yes, your readers have a choice, that’s an excellent approach to take, thanks for your feedback
Hey Robert, please do share your experiences. Email marketing can be very rewarding, in more ways than on. It’s also not expensive, I use Aweber and for $20 a month I think it’s the best tool out there.
Twitter: friendlyblogger
on January 16, 2011 at 11:48 pm said:
Liz:
top notch tips you give here. I have to say that spamming your list is the number one way to lose it quick! If you say you wont send a gazillion emails a week…then don’t! I always try to remember that my list is not the only one my readers are on. This helps me to keep in mind the tons of email they will be receiving at any given time.
All the best,
Lisa
Twitter: GrowOnlineBiz
on January 16, 2011 at 7:19 pm said:
Hi Liz,
What a value-packed post!
Email marketing is still alive and kicking
The key is to provide value, without spamming your subscribers with one offer after the other.
Thanks for sharing your insights, Liz.
All the best,
Mavis
Twitter: robertdstrong
on January 16, 2011 at 2:39 pm said:
Hey Liz,
It is so funny that you make this post and I read it today, I am deciding on whether I want to go into the ezine marketing arena and as you know it revolves around email marketing, but very targeted. While I am looking at becoming a member of a community that does much of the leg work for you, there are still costs involved running from 20.00 to hundreds of dollars.
When I get into it I will share my experiences and results.
Thank you again, you made some good points here!
Twitter: prfuller
on January 16, 2011 at 9:56 am said:
I agree 100% email marketing is not dead, at least not the targeted kind
Great post Lizm very informative
Peter
Hey Susanna, I love the email connections I’ve made, I wouldn’t have met these folks if they didn’t subscribe. Thanks so much for your feedback
Twitter: RyanBiddulph
on January 15, 2011 at 2:37 pm said:
Hi Liz,
Excellent pointers here and all the more reason to grow an email list.
I’ve devoted more energy to growing my list over the past few months. I invested in an aweber account and placed an opt-in form on my blog. As my list grows I see the value in maintaining relationships.
Maintain a list to help your subscribers remember what you have to offer them. Provide your list with value on a consistent basis. As you note, green email marketers tend to be affected by “Pitch Frenzy.” With experience it becomes easier to add value and include a subtle yet direct call to action for your product or service.
Thanks for sharing your insight Liz.
RB
Hi Liz,
Amazing the value you just shared in this post. You’re right, it’s not even close to dead.
The thing I like is that it’s such a wonderful chance to build a relationship with so many people all at once. You’re right though, we’ve got to be providing free value along the way. No spamming.
I could go on and on about your points, but I’ll stop there. I really enjoyed this.
Susanna
Twitter: luckyoliver70
on January 15, 2011 at 6:12 am said:
HI Liz,
pretty cool tips, thanks for sharing. I’m glad that you point out that it has to serve the reader first and foremost. How many are just claiming that they’re serving their readers and include sales pitch after sales pitch in their email campaigns ? At the end of the day, it’s the reader who decides if they are being sold or served.
Take care
Oliver
Great informative post. I must agree with John, email marketing works fine for me. Been doing this for almost a year now and I’m seeing a lot of results. Thanks for giving more info about it Ms. Liz.
Email Marketing is still effective for me. As I can see, there’s a lot of opportunities in this field. Just one click a way you can have your 100% opportunity to bring you back interested people about your niche.
John, honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without my email list, they are such a great bunch of folks and I’ve actually learned a lot from them as well.
Thanks so much for your feedback