Email marketing is one of the most profitable marketing channels, but aside from copywriting and visual design, it also requires a strategic mix of testing, measurement, and automation for success. In this article, we'll go over all the basics of email marketing to help you get started.
Why is Email Marketing So Profitable?
As rare as it is to receive a physical, hand-written letter from a friend, it’s 100 times rarer to get a promotional email that you actually enjoy. And it’s not because email is dead, it’s oversaturated and more often than not — not executed well. Over 144 billion emails are sent out each day, and marketers cite that email marketing is by far one of the most profitable marketing channels today. In fact, marketers who are sending out personalized, well-written, and targeted emails cite an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent on email.
So what makes email marketing so profitable? We’ll dive into all the ins and outs you need to not only understand what email marketing is all about but to come out as an email expert to start generating more revenue for your business.
What is Email Marketing?
Email marketing is a direct marketing strategy that uses email to promote a business’ products and services. Email marketing allows you to send information directly to your target customers without an advertising middleman.
In a world where organic social media marketing is increasingly becoming more difficult and digital advertising costs are rising, there’s nothing more valuable than owning your own distribution channel to speak directly to your customers. In fact, the cost per click on Facebook is up 13% in 2022 compared to 2020, and the average organic reach of a Facebook page post is only 5.2%! That means if you have 1,000 followers on your Facebook page, you’re likely to only reach 52 people on average!
The History of Email Marketing
In 1971, engineer Ray Tomlinson sent out the very first test email. A year later, Larry Roberts invented the first email management system, which allowed users to select, forward, or respond to emails. The first email blast recorded was in 1978 by Gary Thuerk, which according to reports generated $13 million in sales. In 1989, AOL launched with the iconic “you’ve got mail” sound bite.
Email became ubiquitous in the 90s and is largely email as we know it today. In 1998, Microsoft developed Internet Mail which later became Outlook. Hotmail was also launched in the same year, which became the most popular and most accessible form of digital communication.
One of the greatest milestones for email marketing was the introduction of HTML in 1998 to improve the visuals and experience of emails. It enabled marketers to add fonts, colors, graphics, and images as internet access and speeds began to improve. In 2009, responsive emails emerged that optimized emails for desktop, mobile, and tablets. We’ll dig into why this is important later in this article.
