Amanda Clark
Email marketing has long occupied a strange place in the content marketing landscape. It is perpetually underrated, perhaps because it’s not as flashy or simply not as new as Facebook marketing, Pinterest marketing, YouTube marketing, and the like. Underrated though it may be, study after study confirms that email marketing is an essential tool for small businesses—and that in fact, it may be the most potent online marketing tool of them all.
Of course it is only potent when used properly, and to that end Search Engine Journal has a great new read: Some essential points about email marketing, gleaned from some thorough HubSpot data collection. The points made in the article are all worthwhile, but, for all the small business owners out there, we will affirm the following points in particular:
- Mobile matters. How do most people check the bulk of their email? Through their smartphones. Mobile use has increased 400 percent since 2011 alone, making it a must for marketing emails to be formatted for mobile.
- HTML is the way to go. When using an email platform, it’s preferable to use an HTML base rather than a text one, as it allows for emails to include bold, italicized, and colorful text; a majority of consumers prefer these more eye-catching emails.
- Consumers are using email filters more and more. Knowing what the filters look for is essential.
- Consumers don’t necessarily reject all marketing emails, but they are picky about what they save and what they delete. Offering attention-grabbing subject lines that convey immediate and actual value is the key. Make it clear that you’re not just talking up your brand; you’re offering something customers might truly be interested in.
For small business owners, email marketing is a must—and you can perfect your email marketing measures by checking out all of this impressive and illuminating data.
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