Email Is Still the Best Marketing Channel – Here’s Why (and How to Do it Right)

When half the planet seems to be talking about the Metaverse, it’s feels kind of odd, or at least anachronistic to be talking about email. We all know it already and we use it every day, so why bother talking about it?

And herein lies the key.

Everyone checks at least one email account every day. If you can make your way into that account, you’re golden.

Let me rephrase that: if you can come up with a good reason for people to subscribe to your newsletter and good email copy, you’re golden. People aren’t going to read just any emails; but they’ll read the good stuff.

I believe this strongly enough that I recently launched a business that relies almost entirely on email. My newest website is the place where I dissect the future, analyze trends, and teach my subscribers how to prepare for them. And I’ve bet on email as my primary marketing channel for everything.

The statistics are in my corner.

Email Will Stay Relevant in the Future – a Data-Backed Statement

Email marketing is easy to use, affordable, and suitable for any business. Plus:

Email marketing ROI stands at an impressive $36 for every $1 spent. Beat that, Mertaverse!There are currently 4 billion daily email users in the world and their number is expected to grow to 4.6 billion by 2025.Email marketing revenue is nearing $10 billion in 2022 and will grow to $17.9 billion by 2027.37% of brands are increasing their email budget and only 1.3% are making cuts.In B2B, 81% of marketers say that email newsletters are the type of content they rely most on.99% of users check their email every day and some do it even 20 times a day! (I’m “some” too!)Email is the most personal way to receive communication: 74% of Baby Boomers, 72% of Gen X, 64% of Millennials, and 60% of Gen Z agree with this statement.

If you look at all the statistics and projections above, you’ll see that email is still (!) growing. If you were planning to get serious about email marketing, now is your chance – everything gets over-saturated at some point.

And email isn’t far from that point.

People spend less time reading brand emails. They used to spend 13.4 seconds per email in 2018, then 11.8 seconds in 2020, and only 10 seconds in 2021.63% of businesses reduce their emailing frequency based on the level of engagement.

Since brand emails and promotions have become ubiquitous in our inboxes, it’s only natural that users reduce the time allocated to each email. After all, there are more and more of them fighting for the same attention span.

This is where quality comes into play. GOOD emails will continue to be read. Bad emails will be deleted without ever being opened – yes, even if you add a discount code to your subject line.

Remember how I said that my newest business will rely almost entirely on email? Well, here’s how my emails stand out in crowded inboxes (and get results).

How I Create Emails that Subscribers Read and Act Upon

Most emails are sent to sell something. That’s perfectly alright, after all this is how a business can survive.

The only problem is that recipients see right through this. Pushy and sleazy email campaigns looking to instill FOMO above all else (if you don’t buy NOW, you’ll lose this chance you never asked for) don’t fare so well anymore.

Readers need content (and that includes emails) that sparks a human connection. Yes, everyone knows that we use automated tools to send emails to thousands of recipients at once.

But you can still make every email feel personal. Here’s what I do before I hit Send in ConvertKit (my email marketing platform):

I use a story to capture attention. My stories typically get personal. It’s nothing creepy or NSFW, but it’s personal enough to create a real connection between me and my reader.I offer them something valuable: an analysis, an interesting point of view, entertainment, a memorable or an inspiring story – every newsletter I send has one of these ingredients. This way, even if they’re not interested in what that email pitches, at least they know they didn’t waste their time reading it.I emphasize the human aspect of every email or business transaction I pitch them. For instance, I’d never say “here’s a coupon code for 25% off”. Instead, I’ll explain why I chose to offer a coupon – why now, why this amount, why to them, and so on.

Briefly put, I bring the human factor back into what has become an impersonal means of communication. I think it’s a shame that we have stripped email of all human touches. And I plan to right that wrong.

Since I started out on this journey with a bit of bitterness at the current state of email, I’ve also put together a digital download for my subscribers. You know, as a way to help spread good emails to as many people as possible.

If you have a product or a service to launch soon and if you want to try a different, more human-centric approach in your email marketing, this ready-to-send sequence of 5 emails will be right up your alley. All you need to do is download it, add your own details (product name, elevator pitch and so on) and hit send. It takes less than a minute per email to send out something truly worth reading.