Does email marketing still outperform everything? It used to, but we’re now in a post GDPR world. Is email marketing still the go to method of communicating with audiences to achieve conversions? Should it be? And how can you create emails that convert to sales - we tell all.

Eighteen months on from the flurry and dismay around GDPR and we’re looking at how it affected our email lists. The feeling, despite the initial panic, is one of positivity. Not only do we have cleansed lists, we know we’re talking to people who want to hear from us and identify with us. And that makes us feel good. It isn’t too much of a stretch to say that when marketers feel good about what they are doing, they produce better work.

Does email marketing still outperform social media activity?

Short answer - yes, and then some. The stats will give any business that is ploughing all its energies into social, pause for thought. We think of a good open rate on an email as 20-30% - that’s above average for the travel sector. On Facebook, you’re lucky to achieve 2-5% reach - i.e. only 2-5% of your audience will see your post organically (without paying to boost the post or taking an ad).

There’s much rhetoric around the decline of Facebook reach like this example presented by Wordstream and this one from Hubspot. And arguably if you don’t have much budget or resource, you may be best to consider focusing it on your earned content channels. Unless, that is, you have someone who’s s*** hot at creating engaging social media content that your fans want to interact with.

When it comes to click throughs, you could average around 3% click throughs from an email. Whereas it’s a lowly 0.5% click through from Twitter. So you’re 6x more likely to get a click from an email, than from Twitter. 

Two things that will make your emails lead to sales

Consider two things before you start: 

1. what is the intended purpose of this email? 

2. how does it help your customer better understand your value to them?

It’s the twin peaks of marketing in a nutshell - know your business goals, and know your audience. 

But to fine tune this, you’ll need to tie up all the departments (even if you are all the departments!) before you begin. 

• Is the goal of this persuasion and sales, or is it building brand, community, and trust?  

• What does your audience crave? What answers do they want to hear? 

• What made them subscribe to your list in the first place? 

• Why will reading this make them need you more? 

• How will you measure success or failure of the campaign?
  

What’s working for our clients

French inland cruise specialists, French Waterways find email marketing the most effective channel. They enjoy above industry average open and click through rates, consistently. We’re honing this to help recipients better differentiate between the salesy and ‘nurture’ (brand-building) content while maintaining a regular and transparent flow of communication with them. 

For Cornish textiles distributor, The Wool Company, we’ve been producing weekly emails with excellent open rates. They include a clear call to action - to read the latest blog we’ve also written for them or to take up a discount - useful information about wool (perhaps how to wash mohair) and some related funny or uplifting story from the world of wool. 

Following on from that, we’re developing a supplemental newsletter with a far broader remit. It is branded slightly differently to the sales newsletter to clearly delineate itself from this - and to see if this affects open rates. Inside, there are stories, videos and images that inspire The Wool Company’s founders. This insight into their personal motivations and drivers is designed to build customer trust, to break down the company-customer wall, and to inject personality into the brand. We’re excited to see how this develops in the coming months, and will keep you posted on the results.

Email v social: fight night

Consider this. You’re at home, relaxing on the sofa after a hard day’s slog. The TV is on. You’re tracking a show’s hashtag on Twitter to keep up with the banter. Your work email notifications keep dropping. WhatsApp notifications are pinging. Insta and Facebook promise endless scrolling opportunities - your Granny’s friend’s cat has never been so appealing. And your personal email inbox is being topped up regularly with sales emails from brands. 

In the social media world, your company’s posts are competing with up to 1500 others at any given time. Emails compete with around 30 others on a daily basis. In your customers’ inboxes, they all get equal shelf space and the scroll factor is far less than that of a social media news feed.

But despite all this, most likely because of this, we love a personal outreach. When a brand addresses us personally, and promises to entertain, or solve a problem we actually have, we’re interested. This is where email consistently stands out and where few brands have nailed social media. 

Grab attention and keep it

So go where the pickings are rich and use direct emails, but ensure your customers understand why they want to read yours. With 56% of emails languishing unread, or in spam folders, marketers have to work hard to grab attention. Imparting a sense of urgency, a fear of missing out (FOMO), or a promise of a challenge solved will move that finger to click Open (rather than Spam).

Why invest time in your email lists

Segmenting your lists is something we recommend right from the start. Gather all the customer data you can and ensure they are in the right list on your email blaster. Segment by age, gender, location, interest to start with and drill deeper when possible - product preference, activity level, purchase history. This way you can send the right information - the desired information -  to the right people at the right time. 

Make it relevant or it will be binned - and all your future efforts are likely to go the same way too.

Longevity matters

The longer a customer stays subscribed to, and reading your emails, the more invested they will be in your business, and the more likely they are to buy. It’s simple. 

Retaining their loyalty is not, so keep fulfilling your promise to entertain, inform and share. Don’t overdo it either - no more than one email a week will keep your customers sweet. Big brands and certain sectors dare to dabble at a higher frequency but open and click through rates are lower. Don’t risk turning the relationship sour.

So why are we still all on social?

Good question! Hopefully because you’ve defined which channels your audience hangs out on, when and why… That’s a whole other topic though…

Use your social channels to encourage followers and their friends to find out more about your brand, click on the link in your bio, share what they like with their friends and followers. 

Make use of the content you create for your email marketing across your other channels, including social - but then you’re already applying a cohesive and fluid cross-channel comms strategy - aren’t you!

Social media is also a good place to drive newsletter sign-ups (or data capture in marketing jargon terms). Facebook pages have the option to add a tab dedicated to this through an integration with Mailchimp.

How to use social and email marketing together

The blend is what matters here. Every person enjoys and gravitates towards a different medium to get their questions answered. So if you’re just as present on Facebook answering customer care questions, as you are relevant in your emails, and keeping people up to speed on Twitter, this seamless approach will double the value and reliability of your brand to your customer.

Of course, you’re also building the brand, and widening brand awareness through your social channels. And every time customers discuss your amazing afternoon teas, or your beautiful burritos on your social media page, they are bringing your brand to life. Even better when they discuss the newest product, book, or offer you’ve presented in your latest newsletter.

Copywriting for email marketing

Catchy and relevant content matters. Whatever marketing channel you’re using. But if your audience responds better to your email content than your social media content, play where your audience plays. 

Once people have signed up or agreed to receive your emails, your next challenge is getting them to open them. After that, the copy has to tease them to click. From there, your website copy has to finish the job of converting them to a paying customer. 

The one constant? Effective copywriting that reflects your brand voice and values.

> Find out more about effective copywriting

Data capture for email marketing

For visitors to your website, it is now commonplace to serve them with a pop-up or slide-in overlay that asks, encourages or lures them to hand over their email address. Some push strongly (with discount incentives or a promise of useful, interesting material) to sign up. There are SEO considerations on the timing of the pop-up, so do your research.

In the post GDPR world, we’ve been busily rebuilding our lists and this time, we can be sure that they are stuffed with willing customers. What better start to that relationship than by being transparent about what they’re signing up for, how frequently they’ll hear from you and how you’ll reward them for their loyalty.

A final thought: quality wins over quantity every time. Something that will make any marketer’s heart sing.