In today’s crowded digital marketing landscape, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of channels out there and their constant algorithm changes (ahem, Facebook). But one communication tool that’s worth your time is EDM marketing.
EDM marketing means “electronic direct mail”, or email to you and me. In a modern communications context of social media and messenger bots, you might think that email is dead. Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
In this blog post, I’ll explain why EDM marketing is as valuable as ever — particularly for small business. I’ll also reveal my top tip for making your email communications slicker and simpler…
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photo credit: MorseInteractive Entrepreneur Macbook Pro via photopin (license)
Why EDM Marketing Is Super-Important
Currently only 2-6% if your Facebook fans are seeing your content. And that’s set to decline even further as more features and algorithm changes are rolled out.
For example, last month Facebook started testing a new format for the Newsfeed — a radically different approach to how Facebook users will see information from businesses.
Facebook said: “We are testing having one dedicated space for people to keep up with their friends and family, and another separate space, called Explore, with posts from pages.”
These changes affect significantly the way you’re able to reach your customers.
*** UPDATE: Facebook is now rolling out these changes across its platform, so you can expect your brand’s organic reach to drop significantly. Gone are the days of Facebook as a free promotional tool. It’s now paid advertising space.
Owning Your Email List
By contrast, your email communications will always be received by your contacts. For as long as they are subscribed to your email list, you have the opportunity to reach them. (It’s up to you to make sure your emails get read! Although, if you need some help with that just send us an email.)
No email provider can stop a message from landing in your contact’s inbox. (Although, you can of course be blacklisted as spam if you don’t follow good EDM marketing etiquette — more on that HERE.)
You own your list of email contacts — nobody can take that away from you. With email marketing, you’re in control.
Getting Personal
I’m not saying that by sending a bunch of emails to your contact list, you’re instantly going to get an uplift in sales. In fact, according to this study by Litmus, only 21% of consumers reported receiving a memorable promotional email in the past two months.
In fact, “drip campaigns” — a series of emails to a large contact list — see low engagement rates and are expected to be a dead marketing tactic by 2019.
However, with email personalisation, you can seem less like a robot and more like a friend, making your EDM marketing stand out from the rest.
Here are 13 examples of effective email personalisation.
How To Streamline Your EDM Marketing
Email marketing takes time. But businesses can actually streamline and automate this process.
MailChimp’s automation feature helps you streamline your communications and makes sure your contacts get the right emails at the right time. Choose from pre-set automations with defined triggers and timelines, or fully customise your messages. Learn more about this HERE.
However, beware of overloading on marketing automation. Your content and communications should always be a mix of planned and reactive.
*** AND FINALLY, if you don’t know which way to turn with your marketing, register for our FREE How To Win In The 2018 Marketing Landscape training session — just click the banner below to get started!
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