Email Marketing in 2019 
So many who are reading this are already saying to themselves “E-mail marketing doesn’t work I never look at those things”. This is the fatal error of most people when it comes to marketing. Just because they don’t do something they assume that no one does. Marketing should be one part data and one part creativity, leading with the data of course and this should be what drives marketing decisions, rather than gut feelings or personal experience.
E-mail marketing DATA
Speaking of data, here are the most recent stats I pulled on email marketing San Diego, I think these statistics will paint a picture for the rest of this article.
Statistics pulled from http://www.emailisnotdead.com/
- 80% of content marketers use email marketing – CMI “B2B Content Marketing Research” (2014)
- 55% of companies generate more than 10 percent of sales from email – Econsultancy “Emailmarketing census”(2014)
- marketers consistently ranked email as the single-most-effective tactic for awareness, acquisition, conversion, and retention. – Gigaom Research “Workhorses and dark horses: digital tactics for customer acquisition” (2014)
- Email is almost 40x better at acquiring new customers than Facebook and Twitter – McKinsey & Company (2014)
- 42% of businesses say email is one of their most effective lead generation channels. And for B2B marketers, 88% say email is the most effective lead generation tactic � Circle Research (2012)
- DMA research puts the ROI of email marketing in 2014 at US$24,93, almost double that of search advertising and better than any other direct marketing channel – DMA UK “National client email survey 2014”.
- Email Marketing is the biggest marketing channel on Black Friday, driving 25.1% of orders. Email marketing was the biggest in sales on Black Friday. While sometimes behind online search (free and paid), on Black Friday email marketing was the primary channel. – Custora E-Commerce Pulse (2015)
- 88% of marketers say email marketing is bringing them a positive ROI. � ExactTarget �2014 State of Marketing�
Long story short, the email marketing San Diego businesses need works. As a matter of fact, it has one of the highest ROIs in the digital marketing world. The major problem? People are doing it wrong or are scared of it.
E-mail marketing 101
Newsletters are not email marketing…well not really.
Most people are comfortable sending out monthly newsletters as they view this as less intrusive and the expectation of the end user. Not to make too bold of a statement but this is not truly email marketing and in turn, typically does not work or lead to business.
Why you ask? Well, most newsletters I receive are loaded with a ton of content, usually pulled from other sources, and are not formatted to speak to the end users need. This shotgun approach helps in some scenarios, but most people move right past these monthly newsletters. If you want your business to be successful you have to focus on email marketing San Diego residents actually care about. How do I know…experience and of course data.
You are not emailing enough…
When I discuss email marketing San Diego clients find that this is one of the biggest hurdles to get over. Again, most people are a bit gun shy about email marketing. Why you ask? Well, the most general response I get is that it is annoying.
My personal opinion is that this thought process is based on emails people constantly receive that are VERY self-promotional. People subscribe to a list to gain further value from your organization, so give it to them and give it to them often. E-commerce might have emails about deals that are now going or new content that people might be interested in. B2B emails might include industry news, opinion articles (written by the organization sending the email), or any other slew of information. Keep in mind, people choose to be on your list and so long as you are complying with CAN-SPAM laws they can choose to stop receiving communications at any time.
Adding Value via email…
So again the key concept is to add value via email and do as much as you can to target content to end users via automation etc. Adding value is a wide concept based on industry, but if you use the 80/20 rule that is a good place to start. Meaning – 80% of content should be content that is valuable to your list and the other 20% can be a bit more self-promotional.
Don’t go from 0 to 60 overnight…it will blow up in your face
If your list is not used to receiving email from you or only used to a monthly newsletter, don’t start sending an email a day out of the blue. Pick a number that you want to get to and scale up slowly. Get people used to receiving emails and show them that you are adding value not just SPAMing them or constantly trying to sell them something. This is VERY important!
E-mail marketing trends for 2019
While there are many great resources out there, in my research I really like this one.
http://www.emailmonday.com/email-marketing-future
This outlines in detail many of the Email Marketing San Diego trends for 2019 and I will outline some below based on my own experience and research.
Automation will be key
Automation is the future/present of email marketing and does things other than just save you time. This is the thing, in my experience, that many people are scared of. Honestly, this is one of my person favorite areas of my business to work within. You can get SUPER creative with automation to not only save you time but also add value to your list by following up based on engagement and areas of interest. It certainly can be a bit cumbersome at first, but once you get it…you get it…
Mobile First other platforms second
All the stats floating out there show that the majority of emails are read on mobile. With this in mind, the time is now to design email marketing campaigns around mobile first and then worry about desktop. Most people in 2019 will be interacting with your content first on mobile, while most conversions will happen on desktop still (especially ecom), so keep this in mind when putting your campaign together.
Use creativity and keep it interactive when possible
As email lists grow so does competition. Not only is adding value important but creativity and interactivity are key. Make sure that you are using your voice to differentiate yourself. If you are laid back (like me :), make sure that is portrayed in your campaigns.
E-mail Marketing Take Away
If you don't take anything else from this article take this. START EMAIL MARKETING! Email Marketing San Diego results will speak for themselves and if you are doing it right, not only will you not be “annoying” people will be thankful for the content you provide and put it to good use. Remember you should be thinking about adding value not selling your services, this is the path to successful email marketing campaigns.
Nick Bennett – Co-Founder
Local Blitz Marketing