By Arin Reyna, Stirista

Anytime someone mentions mail, “E” or traditional, it seems to date them. Email has been around for ages, though most people associate it with work, online sign-ups or to receive confirmation notices. But maybe that’s why it’s even more relevant today. Data-driven marketing can thrive with all the information that is attached to a single Email address as it links back to nearly all online accounts owned by a single consumer. Whether it’s social media, online member rewards accounts, or just a newsletter they signed up for and forgot about – the Email can be traced back to a single person. This is why Email, and having a strong Email marketing database, is still very important to your overall marketing plan.

Email marketing is designed, mainly, to contact consumers and facilitate mutual communication. With more and more of the world becoming centered around digital life this is extremely important, not to mention effective. Email campaigns still have the highest ROI with the lowest cost per acquisition compared to other methods of advertising. In comparison with other traditional advertising channels such as CTV, OTT, etc. the costs involved with email marketing tend to remain the same over time. Even with the introduction of new promotional channels and social networks, email marketing is still very much in the lead, with over 85 percent of US retailers naming it as the most effective lead generator.

Email marketing strategies usually rely on giving consumers a gentle nudge to remind them that product/services/businesses exist. This is why using it as a 2nd or 3rd touch point in a CTV campaign can really be beneficial. Many consumers might not use the same platforms that a CTV campaign is being run on, but still may be interested in and/or subscribed to receive emails related to the campaign. Being sent an email that links consumers to a video from the campaign or even an email that makes them aware that a campaign is occurring, will generate more leads than the CTV campaign on its own. Additionally, and where email really shines, is that marketers can use information previously attached to the address (location, income, hobbies, purchase patterns, etc.) to uniquely personalize these “nudging” messages to better attract and interest consumers.

This high level of personalization that email offers allows you to ensure a strong and personal relationship with each of your current and potential clients. By having the option to speak directly to them through their inbox, marketers can be more friendly and accommodating with their cadance to their particular needs at a time of their choosing. Personalization of Email format has become an important aspect in raising open and click-through rates as well as overall conversions. Consumers find it far more enticing to see their name in the subject line, according to a recent poll by HubSpot^[1].

Personalization is one place where email succeeds and other forms of advertising sometimes struggle. You can show the same advertisement over and over on different CTV or online platforms, but after one consumer has seen it a few times, it becomes repetitive. People are more aware and tired of having ads forced on them. CTV and online ads have too long a lifespan these days. Some people can even recognize an advertisement within a second of hearing it play.

Email can play off this. Despite having seen one email a few days earlier, you can still send another without it overwhelming your consumer base. And enticing email copy will help encourage consumers to at least re-visit the site. Having the ability to retarget past consumers by sending emails with coupons, discounts, or gift codes is much less effort than running advertisements through CTV or online. And playing to consumers’ frugalness can be beneficial. Emails with promo codes boast 14 percent higher open rates, 34 percent higher click rates, and 48 percent higher revenues than emails without them^[2]. Some marketers also offer a slight discount or coupon just for signing up for their email mailing list or newsletter.

Anyone who uses email daily has likely Pavlov-ed themselves into interacting with the messages they receive. Whether they are replying to a message, forwarding a message, clicking-through a message, or even organizing their emails, we all look at them - even the ones we might plan on deleting. This is in part due to basic human curiosity, but more so caused by the fact that email marketing is transactional in nature. It interacts with subscribers, enticing them to have some reaction and hopefully respond/interact. Using email to direct traffic back to your website/product/brand is a tactic that continues to help businesses grow and nurture a good reputation in the long-term.