Email Marketing - Does it Really Work?

[mdnur08]

Email Marketing Is Just Like Ice Cream

As kids we instinctively know the truth about ice cream!

We know that if we want one we have to ask, and ask, B2B Email List and ask and keep asking until we get one. Or we get grounded for driving our parents nuts. But we do it because we know it works.

And every time our parents give in and we get an ice cream they reinforce that truth. As an adult we still know the truth but it's no longer the polite thing to do. Especially if we want to be liked. And being liked as an adult is a powerful driving force.

As much as wanting an ice cream is for a kid.

But not wanting to be pushy, and not taking no for an answer can be a problem when it comes to selling yourself or your business.

Surveys tell us it takes 5, 8 or even 10 requests for the sale or visits to our website before people will buy from us. But can we really ask people to buy or to visit B2B Email List our website that many of times? It just doesn't seem polite.

What if there was software that could do it for us? What if we didn't actually have to do the asking ourselves? What if there was a way to keep people coming back to our websites 5, 8 or 10 times? And what if it was all done automatically?

Wouldn't that software be great?

Permission Based Email Marketing

Permission Based Email Marketing (which for brevity I'll call EM from now on) is software that does just that. It helps us sell over and over again. It allows us to keep asking people to come back and visit our website way more times than we'd be comfortable doing in person.

If you've spent any time browsing the web you will have seen the many Newsletter Sign Up boxes.

"Sign up here for our latest newsletter"

or

"Sign up here to get the latest deals delivered to your inbox."

This is EM doing the job of asking for an ice cream.

The idea is simple.

Instead of trying to sell to our customer the very first time, which usually entails them parting with their money, we simply offer them something for free, something of value, to entice them on to our list.

Then once we have them on our list we can send a carefully written collection of emails designed to encourage our customers to come back and see more. And eventually after the 5th, 8th or 10th time perhaps they'll buy from us.

EM is pretty simple to set up. It's cheap too. In fact it setting up an email campaign with EM can usually be done quicker and for less money than setting up your website

And it's usually much easier than asking mom for an ice cream!

Is Email Marketing Really This Good?

Email Marketing could be the secret to your success that you haven't tapped into yet.

Email Marketing could be the secret to your success that you haven't tapped into yet.

Ask yourself these simple questions -

What is the first thing you do B2B Email List when you turn on your computer and connect to the internet?

Do you check your email? And how many times during the day do you check it?

Most surveys say we check our email at least 5 times a day. I know I check it more than that.

In fact perhaps you are you addicted like 15% of Americans...

15% of Americans describe themselves as "addicted to email". AOL 2007

And those are just the ones that will own up to it! Let's take a look at some more statistics to see just how popular email actually is:

In 2009 Email's Return On Investment was $43.52 for every dollar spent on it - Direct Marketing Association 2008

According to a 2007 email marketing consumer survey, nearly half of email subscribers make at least one offline purchase every year that was influenced by an email marketing offer. - JupiterResearch

As of April 2008, 40 percent of online consumers in the United States opt in to receive email newsletters. - JupiterResearch

In 2006, 49 percent of all personal communication in the United Kingdom was written via email. - Forrester

Sixty-nine percent of users said that they look forward to receiving at least one e-newsletter, and most users said the e-newsletter had become part of their routine. Jacob Neilsen, E mail Newsletter Usability 2006 60 percent of business decision makers said Internet and email are the best ways for advertisers to reach them. - Jupiter Research 2007

75% of daily social media users said email is the best way for companies to communicate with them, compared to 65% of all email users. - MarketingSherpa 2010