The power of email, and why it surprises people

Email is dead. It is the single biggest misconception in digital marketing strategy today.

Reach the most people in the shortest time and you are done! Facebook, WeChat, WhatsApp, Twitter and the rest certainly achieve those two things — but is that all our marketing strategy is asking for? Absolutely not. What we want is to reach target customers, build long-term and meaningful relationships, and nurture existing customers into advocates who bring a continuous stream of new business.

Ten facts about email that may surprise you

We should make good use of email, because:

1. Email still carries the highest level of online activity.
2. The number of email users is still growing quickly.
3. Email tooling has matured considerably, and works on mobile devices.
4. Email is now regarded as a professional document for distributing information.
5. Email can go out in a warm, personalised format, which makes it easier to get opened.
6. Compared with other digital media, email finds the right audience more effectively.
7. Compared with other digital media, email offers proper length to express content.
8. With an effective platform, you can review recipient responses and use them for analysis and prediction.
9. Email users are happy to share valuable information with like-minded friends by email.
10. Email is low cost and high return: an ROI of 1:38.

Email is the communication tool we use every day. Use it well and it produces real revenue.