What is Email Marketing?
Email marketing uses emails to advertise your goods and services. Businesses use it to drive sales, nurture leads, and engage customers with the latest news about their company . It’s a powerful way to build relationships and encourage action, with the potential to connect your business to 4.5 billion email users worldwide.
Benefits of Email Marketing
Since its inception in 1978, email marketing has proven itself as one of the most effective communication strategies of all time. Emails allow you to:
- Share Long-Form Content. While social media favors soundbytes and 30-second videos, email allows you to convey substantial and complex messages regarding your mission, values, products, and services.
- Customize Your Presentation. Flexible layouts allow designers to incorporate colors, images, and text that capture attention, guide readers, and convey important information, all while reinforcing your brand.
- Segment Audiences. Email marketing software can break down users based on location, demographics, and purchase history ‒ enabling you to tailor communications based on customer needs and behavior.
- Optimize Messaging. A/B testing allows you to refine your subject lines, content, and CTA in order to connect with customers more successfully.
- No Prior Consent. According to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, companies do not need express permission to send marketing emails, making it easier to build subscriber lists. However, the emails can’t contain misleading information or subject lines and need to be clearly identified as advertisements. They also need to contain your postal address and must clearly explain how recipients can opt out of future emails if they’re no longer interested.
While it no longer dominates digital communication, email remains one of the most profitable marketing channels. For every dollar invested, companies can expect an ROI of $41-43!
Drawbacks of Email Marketing
Despite its potential returns, email campaigns are not without their share of challenges. Companies need to worry about:
- Spam Filters. Marketers need to follow best practices for trust, relevance, and engagement to prevent emails from getting flagged as spam.
- Deletions. Emails need to be carefully crafted with professional copy backed by striking visuals to stand out against the dozens of other emails that arrive in our inboxes every day.
- Marketing Resources. Long-form content is good at capturing attention but takes significantly more time to create.
For these reasons, the response rate to marketing emails is only around twenty percent ‒ decent but not spectacular. Readers normally respond to emails after about twelve hours, better than standard mail but still sluggish compared to other marketing channels.
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing sends text messages to phones and other mobile devices. Besides advertising products and services, companies also use it to confirm orders, renew subscriptions, and raise awareness about special offers. With over 6.8 billion smartphones on the planet, it has the potential to significantly expand your reach and impact.
Benefits of SMS Marketing
While the first text message was sent in the early 1990s, SMS marketing didn’t gain traction until the mid-2000s. Since then, it has proven itself as one of the most reliable methods for:
- Immediate Notification. The average person spends almost five-and-a-half hours a day on their smartphone, and checks it once every ten minutes, meaning text messages are read and acted upon almost instantly.
- Affordable Outreach. Composing an SMS marketing message takes only a few minutes, reducing the amount of time and effort required to communicate with your customer base.
- Up-to-Date Insights. SMS marketing campaigns can be tracked in real-time, providing feedback that allows you to quickly tailor messages to match public sentiment.
- Two-Way Communication. Texting is the preferred method of communication for smartphone users, making it a natural way to establish a dialogue with your customers.
SMS messages have an open rate of 90-95 percent, making them one of the most dependable forms of communication. Their ROI is even higher. For every dollar invested, businesses can expect to earn $71 in return.
Drawbacks of SMS Marketing
Like all marketing channels, SMS has limitations. Businesses who engage with it need to consider:
- Limited Character Count. SMS texts are limited to 160 characters, including letters, spaces, and punctuation ‒ forcing marketers to be concise.
- Lack of Visuals. Because SMS only supports plain text, businesses can’t utilize their normal branding elements when talking to customers.
- Legal Restrictions. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 placed tight restrictions on SMS marketing. Consumers have to provide express consent before receiving marketing texts and can only be contacted from 8 a.m.–9 p.m. Businesses also need to identify themselves and include a clear opt-out feature (e.g. “Reply STOP to Unsubscribe). Failure to comply can lead to fines and other legal penalties.
Keep in mind that crafting an effective SMS campaign takes more than clever messaging. Customers only provide their contact information to companies they trust, so building a large subscriber base requires a considerable amount of time and effort.
When to Use Email vs. SMS Marketing
Email and SMS are powerful tools for nurturing interest, converting leads, and engaging consumers. Because each offers unique strengths, you need to know when to deploy them in order to create meaningful dialogue and guide people from awareness to action.
When to Use Email Marketing
Due to its flexible format, email is a great way to present complex, multi-tiered content to your audience. Companies rely on emails when onboarding new customers, re-engaging old customers, or generating enthusiasm for upcoming events, such as sales, fundraisers, and product launches.
When to Use SMS Marketing
Because it specializes in brief communications, SMS is great when you have a simple message you need to get out fast. Businesses use them for last-minute sales, limited-time offers, and other time-sensitive events such as appointments and reservations.
When to Combine Email and SMS Marketing
While email and SMS are effective on their own, they’re better together. Multi-channel marketing lets you harness the strength of each approach, creating a positive feedback loop that amplifies your message across every touchpoint. For example, you can:
- Send emails encouraging people to sign up for text notifications. Many companies offer a discount, exclusive offer, or some other incentive to everyone who joins their subscriber list.
- Use SMS to announce upcoming email promotions. Once people know about the incoming email, they’re more likely to check their inbox, improving readership and click-through rates.
- Follow up with another text the day the promotion starts and another right before it ends. Customers who have read your emails won’t need much explanation to act on your message when it arrives.
Customizing content enhances its impact even further. Email and SMS platforms let you tailor content based on customer profiles and behavior. They can even generate automatic replies and follow-ups to help sustain the momentum of your campaign.
Connect with Customers Through Email and SMS
When used correctly, email and SMS marketing can dramatically improve customer outreach. Whether you want to tell a story or deliver a timely message, understanding when to utilize each channel helps keep your audience engaged. Contact YPM to learn more about how our email and SMS services can help you drive growth and accelerate your business!
