Is Email Marketing Still Effective?

Is Email marketing still effective? This is a question that has been posed by many different companies who may want to find a cost effective method of getting their company's name out to the public. While many people will argue that it simply isn't worth it, there are countless others that would bet their bottom dollar that sending email marketing promotions to their customers, has indeed benefited their company greatly.

As a whole, email has become something of a staple in nearly everyone's homes. Whether it is for business or for pleasure, most people will have access to at least one email address. Though, with the increase of "spam" or "junk" email throughout the years, email clients have taken a new course of action, by adding in heavy-duty filters to try and keep out unwanted email for their consumers. Although this may seem daunting, that isn't the case. This simply helps people who do not want these emails, to not receive them.

Companies are now turning their sights on to opt-in email lists or open email lists for consumers who do want to receive marketing emails from companies like yours. Although some other companies have given up on email marketing altogether in favor of things like blogs and social networking sites, they are losing out on an advertisement avenue that has been proven time and time again to be a great means of cheap or free marketing for businesses.

On the other hand, if a company chooses to send out blind emails, they will likely be sending them for no reason at all. Many people have opted into the spam or filtration systems that their emails provide.However, with that said, an opt-in email list cannot be replaced by any type of other media. Which, will be argued that RSS (Really Simple Syndication) has taken over the place that email marketing holds, this simply isn't true. Yes, RSS feeds are very popular, but many people will still go to a website and opt into mailing lists, especially if they have shopped with them before.

Another means of offering an opt-in email list is through affiliates. This means that you're going to be touching several potential clients, without having to do all of the work. The consumers will do it for you, giving themselves the opportunity to get their hands on the great savings and promotions that are often times included inside of marketing emails.

On this same note, companies are also able to utilize email safe lists. Just like telephone call safe lists, or physical mailing lists, email safe lists mark out those people who wouldn't mind receiving an email or two from a company who wishes to market their products.

Even if you own or work for a company that doesn't believe in email marketing, there are a few lessons to be learned from the past. Companies as a whole never want to drive away their clients. So, if someone opts out of emailing, it is usually best for the email chains and automated emails to stop being sent. Just like telephone calls, emails can become a nescience to the consumer, and can give the recipient a means of providing negative word to mouth, just as much as positive when they do enjoy the promotional emails.

As with any other form of marketing, email marketing needs to be done with a little bit of forethought. This will help a company from making volatile mistakes that can ruin their credibility with consumers. Always follow a few simple rules when utilizing email marketing. These are:
- Never send emails to blacklisted emails.
- Do not send marketing emails to consumers who have asked to be taken off of the program.
- Using opt-in lists will help to minimize frustration by the consumer.
- Using an automated system is a great thing, but make sure that every mailer is double-checked for errors before it is sent out.
- You should always opt for a text and html based email format. This allows all customers to read your email, without having to worry about follow up due to the recipient not being able to see html coding.