Does email marketing still work?
Compared to AI-driven content marketing campaigns, video streaming, and social media, email marketing can seem pretty outdated. Of course, just because something is a little old doesn't mean it's not useful. Email still has power as a promotional tool.
We send around 102.6 trillion emails every year, and the average user gets about 13 commercial emails in their inbox each day. Plus, despite the rise of social media, about 75% of teenagers consider email a crucial part of everyday life.
Approximately 99% of people (of all ages) check their email every day, and some even check their messages up to twenty times per day.
How Effective is Email Marketing?
According to NextAfter, donor retention increases by 29% for offline donors when you have their email address. 48% of donors cite email as their preferred method of hearing updates and appeals from the organization.
35% of those nonprofits that send email fundraising appeals raised the amount of money that they expected, 34% raised more, and 31% raised less than they expected (Nonprofit Tech for Good Report).
The statistics indicate that email marketing is still as powerful as it ever was. However, the best results come when you know how to use email correctly. Email marketing isn't just about sending updates and information to donors on a regular basis. The best email campaigns are personalized, relevant and donor centric.
Your emails need to keep the objectives of your target audience in mind.
Quick Stats About Email Marketing
The reality is that email marketing is still among the best tools you can use to reach any target audience. Email marketing helps companies build relationships with clients over time. With automated campaigns, you can even turn one-time donors into loyal supporters and advocates.
Let's look at some of the stats showcasing the potential of email marketing:
74% of nonprofits send an automated welcome email after joining a newsletter and these messages have an average open rate of 202% higher than traditional email campaigns.
63% of nonprofits use personalization in their email marketing.
Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.
Personalized calls to action convert 202% better than default calls to action.
Nonprofits have an average open rate of 28.59% and an average click rate of 3.29%.
Email marketing is effective because it offers a targeted and reliable way to reach your audience. You can segment your donors with email marketing tools and send personalized messages to different donors/supporters.
You can also track the results of your campaigns, test different strategies with A/B testing, and optimize your efforts over time.
Email marketing also gives you a chance to build brand recognition. The more donors see your emails in their inboxes, the more likely it is that they'll have a sense of familiarity with your organization.
Use the right content, tone of voice, and stories, and you will build relationships with donors that turn into continued support.
You can even use email to get a second chance at converting donors/customers. If you sell goods on your organization's website, abandoned cart emails can pull customers back to their carts after they get distracted.
The Future of Email Marketing
As a measurable and highly engaging form of promotion, email marketing isn't going anywhere. Email provides you with an easy way to connect to your donors wherever they are and no matter what type of device they are using.
Email marketing is also extremely cost-effective. Even small organizations can often afford to set up automated campaigns. Many of the email marketing tools available today come with free trials, less expensive packages or nonprofit discounts.
Going forward, emails will only continue to evolve, as new technology emerges. You can now send your donors dynamic videos and GIFs in emails and make content more interactive for donors on the go. Reports show that adding videos to your email can increase click-through rates by up to 300%.
The key to true success with email marketing is finding out what works for your audience. With regular metric tracking and analytics, you can gradually enhance the performance of your campaigns. It's time for you to discover the benefits of email marketing. To schedule a FREE 30-minute Exploration Call to see how I can help you with this, click here.
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