Did you know the first ever mass email was sent to approximately 400 clients back in 1978? The email was sent by Gary Thuerk of Digital Equipment Corporation who claims to have generated $13 million worth of sales as a result, revealing the high potential of email as an effective marketing tool.

Today, email marketing is one of the most efficient methods for promoting brands and engaging with a target audience and client database. Since Thuerk's first email, campaigns have evolved over the years from mass email blasts to strategic, highly targeted messages. In this blog, we’ll dive into what email marketing is, as well as how you can use it to build engagement and growth within your business.

What is email marketing?

Email marketing is an effective digital marketing strategy that involves sending emails to an emailing list filled with prospects and customers. This form of marketing can be used to drive conversions, promote products, or generate interest and loyalty in your brand. Email is a key strategic channel for nearly every industry and is one of the most effective ways to convert members of your target audience into paying customers.

What are the benefits of email marketing?

Their main benefits of email marketing include:

• Promoting your products or services
• Driving traffic to your website
• Building engagement with your brand
• Turning visitors into paying customers
• Turning one-time buyers into loyal fans

Because email is a direct line of conversation with your customers, it has advantages over other forms of marketing communication. First, in some cases, people are more likely to see an email than a social media post. Sometimes social media posts may not appear in the feeds of your customers. Second, emails let you send different messages based on the individual. Compared to one-size-fits-all marketing campaigns, this targeted form of communication is far more effective in generating conversions as it adds that personal touch.

Tips for building your email marketing list

There are a few ways to build an email marketing list, all of which fall under the umbrella of treating your customers right. They are:

• Don’t buy email lists - Many email marketing companies have a strict, permission-based policy when it comes to email addresses, which means that sending to purchased lists is disallowed. Instead, you need to concentrate on encouraging folks to opt into receiving messages from you by using lead magnets. This can be done by offering a discount on your customers' first orders when they sign up for your email list via a custom made signup form on your website. Other ways you can encourage people to join your mailing list is to offer new subscribers free shipping on their next order or give them a chance to win a prize when they join your list.
• Use email to have a conversation with your customers - Email is a great marketing tool, but it can help your business in other ways you may not have considered before, too. Try taking the occasional break from your regular marketing content to send out surveys or tell your customers how much you appreciate them after buying from you. You can also send an email to follow up after an abandoned cart, or just simply go old school and say hello. Not only does it give you valuable feedback from your customers, but it also allows them to get more insight into the person behind the business. Again, that added personal touch.
• Be aware of national (and international) email regulations - Make sure you always adhere to any legal requirements and applicable laws in your area when sending automated emails (i.e., the Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union for the treatment of personal information etc). These kinds of regulations are based on both your location and the location of your subscribers, and it’s your responsibility to know which laws apply to you.
• Don't spam your audience with too many emails. Once someone has trusted you with their email address, don’t abuse that trust. Spamming your customers’ inbox with emails will cause them to lose interest or unsubscribe. The exact opposite of what you want to achieve. Focus on sending them engaging emails about the subjects they find interesting, and they'll be loyal for a long time to come.