The Benefits of Email Marketing

What it is, how it works, and why your business should utilize email marketing

“You’ve got mail,” was once an exciting sound in the early days of the internet. In today’s world, our mail notifications are much more likely to stress us out, especially since the average person receives around 121 emails per day. Outside of work emails, we receive messages from businesses as well. While you may think of these as just another addition to your growing inbox, the truth is that there are several benefits of email marketing that these businesses are reaping day in and day out. And if you are a business owner, you should be doing the same.

Other marketing strategies may appear to be more useful, but the fact is that email generates the highest return on investment compared to all other forms of online marketing. The average ROI for email marketing is $36 for every $1 spent, which is incredibly high compared to other strategies such as Meta or Google Ads. There are a few simple reasons why email marketing is so much more effective:

1. You have a captive audience with your customer base.

While email lists can be purchased, most recipients of your email marketing media will be previous or potential customers. By sending emails to them, you are able to directly grab the attention of customers who have shown interest in your brand.

2. You can speak directly to your customers with complete control over your branding and messaging.

Through custom eNewsletter templates, you are able to control all elements of the marketing campaign. You have the final say on the design, copy, links and more to ensure your brand’s image and intent come through exactly as you want.

3. There are no rules or regulations over email marketing campaigns, unlike Google or Meta ads.

While Google ads or Meta ads require you to follow their advertising policies, email marketing in general does not have specific rules or regulations. There are some best practices, which we will outline below, but there is much more freedom in email marketing campaigns.

4. The cost of email marketing is nominal compared to any other form of marketing.

Compared to other forms of advertising, email marketing is virtually free aside from the small fees paid out for design or copywriting services or the use of an email marketing platform.

5. To start an email marketing campaign, it’s as easy as asking a customer for their email address.

Whether you gather email addresses in person or online, all it takes to begin an email marketing campaign is acquiring customer email addresses. If you have an online sales platform that collects customer contacts or a promotion on your site that collects this information, you can quickly start marketing through email.

In essence, email marketing is the definition of “work smarter, not harder.” With very little upfront cost, very few hours of work required and such a high ROI, incorporating email into your marketing strategy is a no-brainer. At Riverworks, we specialize in email marketing campaigns and can ensure yours is targeted, optimized and successful for your customer base. We can help you get the benefits of email marketing so you can spend your time focused on your business.

Riverworks Utilizes Your Choice for Email Marketing Software

When we start email marketing services for a client from the ground up, we utilize Constant Contact as our preferred platform. Within Constant Contact, we can archive your email lists, create custom eNewsletter templates, schedule send times, A/B test creative and subject lines, measure the campaign’s success and more.

Outside of Constant Contact, there are several email marketing platforms that our team has extensive experience with. If you have an existing platform and email template, we can easily work within your parameters. Riverworks has worked within the following platforms and others:

• Mailchimp
• Salesforce
• Hubspot
• ZenReach
• Chamaileon

If you are new to email marketing or are not sure which platform may be best for your unique needs, our team can help guide you to the best software for your purposes.

Our Team Creates Unique, Branded Content That Drives Engagement

The most effective marketing emails will stand out and intrigue recipients to interact with your promotion or site. Our design team and copywriters are experts in creating graphics and messaging that will promote engagement and visibility for your brand.

The Riverworks design team can create custom email templates for your various campaigns that include any existing brand assets you would like showcased. Our designs will always be targeted for your particular brand and promotion, whether that is through custom graphics highlighting an upcoming sale, seasonal banners or something completely original. Our clients always have final approval on all email designs and content, ensuring the tone and style are on the mark for the campaign and brand.

While it may seem more beneficial to include lots of images, there are several email services that prevent images from being displayed automatically or block them entirely. Because of this, Riverworks uses a healthy text-to-image ratio in the emails we produce. This is where creative and strategic copywriting comes into play. A savvy subject line is crucial for enticing recipients to open a marketing email. Unique and branded copy in the email content is essential for persuading a reader to interact with the content further, hopefully by clicking a link to your site.

We Proof, Test, and Measure Email Campaigns for Success

While creating a beautifully designed email with intentional copy is an important step of the process, testing the email is essential. Email testing includes checking the formatting on various devices, mailbox formats, and browsers. At Riverworks, we use a software called Litmus to test all client emails before sending them out. This software allows us to view the subject, preview and content of the email from different platforms to ensure all of the graphics and copy are well-formatted.

Riverworks also employs a multi-layered proofing process for all marketing emails. We have multiple team members review the email content in rounds to ensure no typos or stylistic errors are present. The last person to proof is always the client – this allows our clients to have full creative control over their marketing emails. If any issues arise from the final proof, our team will go make any needed adjustments per the client’s feedback.

Once the emails are tested and proofed, it’s time to send them out to your email list. We take your targeted audience into account to determine what day of the week and time is best for sending marketing emails. For example, if your target audience is construction workers, it would not make sense to send your marketing email in the middle of the day while they are hard at work. Sending in the early morning may be a better strategy.

Our work does not end once the emails are sent, though; after emails are sent, we measure the success of the marketing campaign through reporting. We utilize UTM tags to track the click-through rate of the campaign. UTM tags are like tracking devices that can be added to the end of a URL linked within the marketing email. These tags allow us to determine the exact number of clicks a URL in your marketing email received and even allow us to track further clicks on your site, including potential transactions.

In addition to UTM tags, we also perform email heat mapping. Email heat mapping allows us to view what areas of the marketing email received the most attention via clicks and other interactions. The data gathered from heat mapping allows us to understand what is working well and what could be improved for your email marketing strategy.

Riverworks Can Help You Navigate Authentic Email Marketing

At Riverworks, we understand what makes an effective marketing campaign. When it comes to email, there are some tricks of the trade that we utilize to ensure our clients receive all the benefits of email marketing and avoid any potential pitfalls.

While there are no concrete rules or regulations for email marketing, there are some best practices to keep in mind. One of the most important factors to consider is your IP reputation. IP reputation refers to the trustworthiness and authenticity of the sender’s IP address. There are a few actions that senders and recipients can take that affect IP reputation.

For example; if you send out an eNewsletter and too many receivers unsubscribe from your email list, this can result in your IP address being marked as spam. Being marked as spam lowers your IP reputation score, which can eventually lead to your IP address becoming blacklisted. An email blacklist keeps track of IP addresses that are known to send spam, and email server providers (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Outlook) use these lists to prevent emails from blacklisted IPs from coming through.

It is more common for email IPs that have purchased email lists to become blacklisted. This is because people on the purchased list may not be interested in the marketing content being sent, resulting in higher rates of unsubscribing. This is why Riverworks recommends gaining email lists from your existing customer base, or potential customers who have interacted with promotional materials on your site. By doing this, you can be assured that your content may actually strike interest and lead to more conversations (transactions).

Unlock the Benefits of Email Marketing with Riverworks

In today’s digital landscape where our inboxes are constantly inundated with messages, it’s easy to underestimate the power of email marketing. However, emails present a golden opportunity for businesses of all sizes. The benefits of email marketing are numerous, and considering how cost-effective and simple it is to create a campaign, there’s really no reason to not include emails in your marketing strategy.

Riverworks not only believes in the power of email marketing – we’ve seen its efficacy through our clients’ campaigns and reports. We’ve made it our mission to be experts in email marketing so our clients can have continued success and further engagement with their customers. If you’ve been wondering how you can further your marketing efforts, we would love to discuss our email marketing services with you. Our team is ready to get to know your brand and craft a well-rounded email campaign that drives more customer interactions and success for your business.