The problem with email is real. For many marketers, email performance is declining. Many wonder, should we just give up on email? Is direct mail back? If email is dead, what is the new workhorse of marketing?
From MDR’s perspective, we can say that email marketing as it was originally conceived is a dead-end for marketers. The days of batch and blast email marketing are obsolete. Recent trends in Open, Click-Through, and Conversion Rates confirm that the old-style, mass email campaigns are failing. In fact, our results show emails deployed to a list over 100k have 60% fewer opens and clicks.
It’s not necessarily out with the old and in with the new when it comes to campaign channel selection. We don’t believe in replacing email marketing with social media marketing, for example. However, we do believe in leveraging a multichannel approach, with the right message, at the right time.
Understanding your audience, the content they consume, and when they are interested in viewing it are critical. Lots of people are struggling with inbox penetration; we struggle with it, too. But there are techniques that can give email campaigns the best opportunity for success. So, whether your current program is still going strong, or showing signs of declining performance, continually improving your email program is a necessity.
Best Practices: Giving Email Marketing New Life
As the leading provider of email deployment services to the education market, we’ve learned which elements contribute to successful email delivery, open, and conversion. Email marketing is so different than it was even two years ago. Now, especially in the education vertical, it has to be part of a nurturing campaign. Email campaigns today need to be subsidized with web advertising, social advertising, and social pushes to wrap around the email.
Email best practices are a big topic, and every aspect of email marketing needs to be addressed to achieve the reinvigoration today’s marketers are looking for. Look to these related posts for deep dives into improving campaign performance with:
- Audience Segmentation
- Personalization
- Persuasive Copy
- Smart Email Design
- Good Email Citizenship
- A/B Testing
- Integrated Campaigns
Want to dive even deeper? Take a minute to review our Email Best Practices webinar which has tons of tips for getting better email results!
