Despite its age, email still stands out as one of the main marketing cornerstones for businesses today. No matter if you’re working B2B or are focused on B2C, email is still one of the main avenues of client correspondence and can greatly enhance the engagement of your client base and remains one of the best sources of sales.

Unlike social media, where marketing campaigns are largely “to whom it may concern,” email has a personal feel to it, and can be targeted directly to your clients. Not only does this allow you to tailor your marketing campaigns for each subscriber, but you can also create more interpersonal connections with email campaigns that can greatly impact user retention.

While email marketing can seem overwhelming at first, going at it with a comprehensive plan can greatly improve your return on investment. While the dollar amount assigned to email marketing campaigns varies depending on the source, some sources put the return on investment as high as a 1:40 ratio, meaning that for every dollar you spend on email marketing campaigns you will generate, on average, $40 of revenue.

Since we know email marketing can seem complicated, and that it’s easy to get bogged down by statistics, we’re going to break down everything you need to know about email marketing, and how you can create an email marketing campaign that will grow your business and boost your overall client engagement.

Email Marketing at a Glance

• Email marketing shows a 1:40 investment ratio, with $1 of email marketing generating an average of $40 in profit
• Subscribers respond best to weekly newsletters
• The best time to send emails is at 4 AM for opening, and 6 PM for clickthrough
• Monday/Wednesday/Friday are the ideal days for email marketing campaigns, however, there are benefits to weekend deals and updates
• Emails can be useful to remind subscribers of cart items or to recommend products

Email Newsletters: What to Know and How Often to Send

Email newsletters allow you the space to update your subscribers on the status of your business, without being constrained by the character limits and format of social media. Regular updates not only offer a personal connection to your subscribers but also keep your business at the forefront of your subscriber’s brains, leading to more sales.

Of course, on the flip side, too many email updates will send your subscribers scrabbling for the “unsubscribe” link, or even worse, lead to them marking you as “spam” and going about their day. So how can you boost subscriber engagement without turning into the email version of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” during the holiday season?

The first thing to keep in mind is that a majority of consumers find user-generated content (UGC) more interesting, and more engaging, with studies showing up to 62% of email subscribers prefer the content. This not only allows you to create a sense of community within your subscriber base, but it can also pique their interest in your services, and act as a resume of sorts as to the effectiveness of your products and services. After all, who doesn’t like visible proof that there are other people also using the same products or purchasing the same services?

On average, 61% of email subscribers wanted to receive promotional emails once a week, with a smaller percentage (38%) preferring more frequent engagement. What this means is that having a promotional or newsletter email go out once a week, with intermittent deals offered in between newsletters, may help increase overall engagement and clickthrough interaction.

As far as when to send out your emails, most people check their email early in the morning, with the highest open rate at 4 AM. On the other hand, the highest clickthrough rate is around 6 PM, when people get home from work. Of course, with email scheduling programs, aiming for these timestamps is easier than ever.

As far as what day of the week to send out emails, Monday/Wednesday/Friday seems to have the most engagement, however, people complain less about receiving emails over the weekend, meaning there are fewer unsubscribe candidates with weekend deals.

Understanding Open Rate and Clickthrough

Planted Marketing clients see around a 50% clickthrough response rate, which is overwhelmingly positive compared to other marketing trends. However, even with an overwhelming amount of clickthrough, there is still the issue of abandoned carts and a lack of product purchases. However, integrating cart reminders and follow-up reviews, as well as product recommendations may help drive buyers back to your site, and will help you get the most out of your email marketing plan.

While email marketing may seem daunting, by creating a multi-pronged email marketing plan, you can increase your client engagement, connect with potential sales and clients, and help keep your brand in the mind of your consumers without over-investing in advertisements. Can your business benefit from email marketing?

Planted Marketing is a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in educational marketing and community building. We are experts at building email automation, email journeys, and writing newsletters that not only get opened but lead to sales! Want more info? Send us a message at info@plantedmarketing.com. Talk soon!