4 Myths of Email Marketing That Are Still False
Just like letter-writing campaigns are essentially extinct, people assume that email marketing is a thing of the past. That is a myth. In actuality, email marketing is very much a thing of the present and, if utilized properly, can be making your business thousands.
MYTH 1: Email Marketing Doesn’t Work Anymore
It’s simple. Email marketing works. There’s no need for us to try and prove it; the numbers speak for themselves.
- Email marketing yields an average of 4,300% return on investment on average. (Direct Marketing Association)
- 58% of people check their email before they go on social media, the news, or the internet. (Optimonster)
- Segmented campaigns can lead to a 760% increase in revenue. (Campaign Monitor) Convinced? We sure are.
MYTH 2: Sending Emails Annoys Your Audience
If your client signs up for emails, it means they want them! In fact, be sure to send your emails often enough so that they don’t forget why they were interested in your business or newsletter in the first place.
If you feel like your customers are getting annoyed with you (maybe your unsubscribe rates are spiking, or your open rates are down) then you could try cutting back on the amount you send… but the volume of emails is likely not the root cause of the issue. We would not recommend sending emails any less than once a month at a bare minimum.
MYTH 3: There is Only One “Best Time” to Send Campaigns
It’s common practice to send business-related emails during business hours. But some people try to boil down the timing to, say, 2:07 pm on the third Tuesday of each month. It doesn’t have to be that specific.
Here are the stats: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the most effective days of the week. Thursday is technically the best day, but the difference is marginal. The best time of day can depend on the metric you are focusing on; 8:00 am produces the highest open rate, while click-throughs were higher at 5:00 pm.
Our advice is to collect your own data and base your timing on your unique results. Your business is special; don’t take shortcuts and assume what works for someone else will work for you. Remember, you want your emails to stand out in your clients’ crowded inboxes. Switching up the timing—within reason—might actually help with that.
MYTH 4: You Need a Gigantic Master List
Before we talk about the myth, let’s talk about the truth. Are big email lists good? Yes, of course, and growing your master list should certainly be a goal.
But do you need to postpone email campaigns until you have 1,000+ emails? No! Should you just add random emails or buy lists? Please don’t do that.
The myth here is that the size of your master list is the be-all-end-all. In reality, the quality of 1) your campaigns and 2) the emails on your list are way more important than the raw quantity of inboxes you end up in.
Here’s what we’re really saying: Use email marketing. Don’t hesitate to actually send emails. Sending them on days that aren’t Tuesday is okay. Say what you need to say in your subject line. And don’t wait to accumulate masses of emails before you begin email marketing. Now that you can differentiate between marketing myth and marketing You can learn more about the ins and outs of email marketing by checking out the rest of our series here.