Email marketing is more important for your business than ever before and here is why.

As a business owner, you have so little time to dedicate to your marketing. You need to focus on what will help your business the most in the least amount of time. While there are a lot of things you could do, focusing on email marketing is the best marketing activity you can do to grow your business and sell more of your services with ease. 

In this digital age, social media (looking at you TikToc…) may be the shiny new toy, but don’t be fooled. Email is still the cornerstone of any successful marketing strategy. It is the #1 way to build meaningful relationships with your audience and nurture those relationships and turn them into customers.

Since you sell services, your business strategy isn’t all about high volume, like an e-commerce store. But you still need to focus on having a steady stream of leads for your services and that is where email marketing can be your powerhouse!

As an email advocate for all my clients and StoryBrand Certified Guide, I have seen email marketing do some amazing things for businesses. So today, I want to talk to you about your email strategy and why it’s more important now for your small business than ever before. Let’s dive in!

5 Reasons Why Email Marketing Is Still The Best Thing You Can Do For Your Business 

Email Marketing is Personal

When you send an email to someone, you’re reaching out to them directly. You’re not just sending a message out into the void and hoping someone will see it. With email, you have the opportunity to speak directly to your audience in a way that feels personal and authentic.

According to a survey by Campaign Monitor, 72% of people prefer to receive promotional content through email. Compared to just 17% who prefer social media. When you send an email, you’re speaking to people who have already expressed interest in what you have to offer. This means that you’re more likely to get a response, and that response is more likely to be positive.

You are building a personal connection with each and every member on your list. Speaking directly to them and adding value to their life. This opens the door to your relationship with them. Making it so much easier for them to take the next step toward your services.

Email Marketing is Cost-Effective

Don’t have $3k per month to spend on your marketing, don’t worry. As a small business owner, you’re probably working with a limited budget. Email is a cost-effective way to reach your audience. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing has an ROI of 4300%. That’s a pretty impressive return on investment!

A good email marketing platform can be free but I would budget around $25 – $50 per month to invest in a platform that isn’t a P.I.T.A. It is a very minimal cost that will really be worth the money. 

Compare that to social media advertising, which can be costly and may not yield the same results. With email marketing, you can reach your audience without breaking the bank.

Email Marketing is Trackable

One of the best things about email marketing is that it’s easy to track your results. You can see who opened your email, who clicked on your links, and who took action. This means that you can adjust your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not.

A lot of digital marketing activities have some pretty dodgy tracking. I like to see results from what I am doing and most email marketing platforms have great reports. These reports can help you understand things like – what types of content people like most, what types of offers people click on when my audience opens their email, or just the ability to A/B test content. You can use this information to help refine your marketing strategy and business as a whole.  

You can also use this information to segment your audience and send targeted messages. For example, if someone clicks on a link to a specific service, you can send them more information about that service in the future. This kind of personalization can go a long way in building strong relationships with your audience.

Email Marketing Builds Trust

When someone gives you their email address, they’re giving you permission to communicate with them. They’re saying, “I trust you to provide me with valuable information.” This trust is crucial when it comes to building relationships with your audience.

By providing your audience with helpful and relevant content, you’re building trust and establishing yourself as an authority in your field. When it comes time for them to make a purchase, they’ll be more likely to choose you because they know and trust your brand.

Remember the key to building your business is to ensure people know, like, and trust you. Email marketing can help you accomplish all these things simply.

Email Marketing is Easily Mobile-Friendly

More and more people are accessing their email on their mobile devices. In fact, Litmus found that 46% of all email opens happen on a mobile device. I would bet in your world, that number is even higher. This means that your emails need to be mobile-friendly in order to be effective.

Luckily, most email marketing platforms make it easy to create mobile-responsive emails. This means that your message will look great on any device, whether your audience is reading it on their phone or their desktop.

Bonus: Email Marketing is YOURS

Honestly, this is quickly becoming one of my #1 reasons to love email marketing. Unlike social media, SEO, Ads, or other digital marketing strategies – with email marketing you have a lot of ownership and control.

Your email list is YOURS and they can’t take it away from you. You choose who is on the list and how often you communicate with them. You can take it with you everywhere you go. 

With email marketing, you aren’t subject to the sh*ty whims of social media algorithms that can instantly upset your entire marketing strategy.  Or have to deal with constantly changing formats and content types.

Yes, things are always changing in the marketing world so you will need to ensure your email marketing strategy aligns with modern best parties but it honestly isn’t that hard. 

My final take:

Email marketing is more important now for your small business than ever before. It’s personal, cost-effective, trackable, builds trust, is mobile-friendly, and you retain a lot of control over it.

If you’re not already using email marketing to connect with your audience, now is the time to start!

And to help you get started, I’ve put together a free download called Where to Find Great Images To Use In Your Marketing. This amazing resource will help you find great images that will make your emails really stand out. Just click the link below to get your copy and start building powerful relationships with your email list today!