Email marketing may seem like a thing of the past, but sending an email blast can still be a great strategy in 2020. Read this article to find out how.

There's a pervasive rumor going around that email is dead.

Some worry that such marketing techniques will be written off as spam. Others simply think that in today's age of social media, there's no need for email marketing anymore.

People who neglect email marketing are making a grave error.

Email marketing can be an incredibly profitable tool in your marketing strategy. Bringing in an ROI at about 40 to 1, the ability to reach out directly to people who want to hear from you cannot be understated.

Don't believe us? Let us convince you.

Benefits of Email Blasts

There are plenty of benefits to sending marketing emails. The statistics and advice from experts prove it.

Here are just a few reasons that you should be incorporating email blasts into your marketing strategy:

Blasts are cost effective.

Statistics show that you make around $44 for every $1 spent on this marketing campaign. It takes very little effort to put together, and the reward outweighs the cost that goes into it.

For this sort of value, an email marketing should be an obvious choice. You get far more than what you put into it.

Information gets out immediately.

While social media also does this, email blasts have the added benefit of being sent directly to someone.

Think of what you do when you scroll through Twitter or Facebook. Do you carefully read every post on your feed? Probably not. You probably just pick and choose the names that sound interesting to you, or maybe the first couple words catch your eye.

Email is different. People will, at the very least, give your subject line a read before opening the email or deleting it. This direct kind of contact works well. And because it's delivered directly to their inbox it works quickly.

You can learn more about your audience.

Email blasts are a great way to gather data about your subscribers.

If they're signed up for you, they already have some interest in who you are and what you do. Now is the time to ask them questions and let them give you feedback. Even seeing who bothered to open the email will tell you a lot about your demographic.

Use analytics and get data from your email sends to use them to their full potential. (We discuss that a bit more later.)

Email blasts are just getting stronger.

Far from dying out, email marketing is continuing to grow and change to suit the times, just like the rest of the technological world. Most experts agree that the time of email marketing is just beginning.

Some predictions include the idea that data marketing will take the lead, that email design will start to become revolutionized. The behavior data gathered from email marketing will be key in getting a leg up on competitors.

These predictions are coming from people who truly know what they're talking about. So the next time you hear someone claiming that email marketing is dead, remember that the people who do this for a living say otherwise.

Email blasts are going to continue to be important because they are part of the technological world. And because that world is always changing, the blasts are going to change with it.

How to Make an Effective Blast

So, let's say that we've convinced you. You're ready to give email blasts a spot in your marketing campaign. But how do you even begin to craft your message?

We've talked before on this subject, but here are some more tips for making your email blast as effective as possible.

Get personal.

Studies show that 70% of brands do not use personalization in their marketing emails, even though they show 6x higher transaction rates!

Instead of saying "Hello, John," most just say "Hello." Putting a personal touch on your email campaigns can help you stand out from the competition, and make your customers feel like you're addressing them personally.

If you want to take your email blasts to the next level, address your readers as an individual, instead of as a group.

Master the conversational tone.

Subscribers don't want to feel as though you're lecturing them. They'll also balk if you're too promotional.

You need to be very careful with your tone. A conversational tone is best because then it will feel more like a personal message, rather than a thinly veiled sales pitch.

Email blasts can be great for fostering that important emotional connection between you and your readers. But only if you talk to them like you want to establish that connection.

Go mobile.

Most people use their mobile devices to check their emails.

In fact, computer usage is falling. 20% of Millenials went mobile-only last year, and that number may grow. Even if it doesn't, it's likely that mobile use will only continue to grow.

For this reason, it's more important than ever to make sure that your emails are optimized for mobile use. It doesn't matter how pretty your formatting looks on a desktop — if there isn't a mobile option, many people will never even read it.

Let subscribers reply.

There's a sort of suspension of disbelief that goes on when people read your emails. They know you've sent this message out to several people, but they want it to feel personal.

Sending them an email from donotreply@email.com ruins this suspension of disbelief. And, they won't be able to give you any personal feedback this way.

Sending your emails through a real reply address will make things more personal, and make it easy for your subscribers to get in touch with you when they need to.

How to Get the Most out of Your Email Marketing

We've touched on a lot in this article, and hopefully, now you're convinced that email blasts have an important and effective role to play in your marketing campaign.

But, you may be wondering: how do you get the data that's so important to making them effective?

EMAILZIPCODE is a great tool for figuring out your demographic, and how to best reach them. Contact us today.