In digital marketing, trends come and go. But there are certain strategies that stand the test of time. One that stands head and shoulders above the rest? Email marketing.

That’s right. Email.

It may not be flashy. It may not get as much press as some newer strategies. But when you look at the stats, there’s no doubt that email marketing is incredibly effective:

• 91% of people want to receive promotional emails.
• 72% of consumers prefer that companies communicate with them via email.
• The conversion rate for email is twice the conversion rate of social media.
• Email marketing is number one when it comes to driving acquisition and retention.
• For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $42.
• 59% of businesses report that email is their biggest source of ROI.
• Email marketing has a median ROI of 122% — 4x higher than all other digital marketing channels.

In a rush? Check out our infographic that covers the highlights from this article.

Why Email? 

What about blogging? Social media? Paid ads? Is email really better than all of them?

On average, yes. Significantly better.

Why? Let’s do a quick comparison with social media as an example. 

In both situations, people opt in to your content. Why isn’t it enough just to post a Facebook update and reach them?

Because unless you pay to advertise an update, your post will only be shown to around 2-6% of your followers. 

Why? Blame Facebook. Their algorithm prioritizes posts from friends and family over business posts.

So if you want your content to actually be seen by the following you’ve built, you have to pay for a “boost” ad — which costs about $1 per post at minimum.

That’s not too bad. But even having that ad will not mean that every follower gets a chance to see the post — the percentage will depend upon your particular audience and your ad budget.

And again, that’s just seeing the post — not necessarily interacting with it.

With blog posts and general paid ads, you’re blindfolding yourself and throwing darts. Some of them may hit their mark. But the vast majority aren’t likely to.

In contrast, when you send an email to someone who has signed up, you already know they have an interest in you and they are very likely to at least see the subject line of your message. Oh, and stats say that somewhere between 10 to 25% of them will actually click through to read the email.

Additionally, with an email address, you have the opportunity to personalize the content. You can see exactly who clicked on what link. And you have the option of directly reaching out to them.

This is why collecting an email address is so much more valuable than getting a “like” or “follow” on a social media account. 

That prospect is now yours. You don’t have to pay to reach out to them. You have more control over the entire process of communicating with that individual.

This means that you can develop a relationship with your subscribers. Help them get to know your business. What you do. Who you are. 

And you can help them overcome any concerns they might have about taking the leap to hire you. 

Will this therapist really get my problems? Does this lawyer really understand my type of case? Will this esthetician really make a difference for me?

That is the power of email marketing.

But Email Doesn’t Work in a Vacuum

As powerful as it is, email marketing rarely works alone. 

After all, you have to find ways to build that email list over time. And then to convert those subscribers into paying clients.

That’s where social media and blogging come in.

How Blogging Supports Your Email Marketing  (and Vice Versa)

Your newsletter requires content. 

And it just makes sense to use that content on your blog and in your email newsletter.

(If you’re just sharing content in a newsletter, then you’re missing out on the SEO benefit of sharing that content on your website.)

Plus, when you feature a blog post in your newsletter, it drives traffic to your website — where they can learn more about your business and what you offer.

And since you’ve been nurturing your relationship with the subscriber over time, they are more likely to reach out and turn into a new client.

Your blog will drive organic traffic.

Organic traffic means visitors that come straight to your site from a Google search. 

These are new potential leads. They have an interest in a topic related to your blog post — and presumably your business.

This can help you build your email list. 

There are a number of ways to convert website visitors into email subscribers. 

The simplest, of course, is to simply add a newsletter sign-up form. But you can also create an offer to entice visitors to share the email address.

A few examples…

• Offer a free ebook 
• Give a discount
• Share a free course
• Conduct a survey

Once they become an email subscriber, you can start to develop a relationship with them.

How Social Media Supports Your Email Marketing (and Vice Versa)

You can directly invite your followers to subscribe to your newsletter.

There’s not really much more to say about this one. It really is that simple. 

Send out a post inviting people to subscribe. Mention your newsletters in posts where it fits. 

Each time, you may gain a few subscribers. And over the long haul, that number will just keep building.

Your social media strategy expands the audience for your blog posts — and your newsletter.

“If you build it, they will come” does not apply to digital marketing. You cannot simply create a website and just assume that people will find it. 

Now, if you regularly add quality content optimized for search to your site — usually through blog posting — you will see an increase in organic traffic over time. 

But Google isn’t in the business of promoting businesses’ new content to see if it resonates with searchers.

Instead, they favor content — and sites — that have “authority”. They want to deliver search results that they already know people want to see. That’s why they tend to favor sites with established reputations.

One way to build your site’s reputation is through social media.

And as more people go from social media to your blog post, some of them may also sign up for your email list.

You already understand why that is so valuable.

When Blogs, Social Media, and Email All Work Together…

The truth is blogs, social media, and email marketing all work best when used together. They each support the growth of the others.

When used well, these three digital marketing strategies help your business’s message to reach the most amount of people. And they empower you to develop relationships with those that are most likely to want the services you offer.