10 Reasons to Fall in Love with Email Marketing Again
Have you lost that loving feeling for the work you do in email? Sometimes all the challenges we face during the daily grind of writing, designing, developing, and strategizing cause us to forget about the benefits of email marketing.
At Email on Acid, we’re just as guilty as everyone else. A lot of the articles here on our blog feature complaints about email problems (and how to fix them). Sorry for being such a Debbie Downer.
Let’s not forget, there is a whole lot to love about email!
In a personal relationship, you put up with annoyances like snoring and smelly feet because of all the important things you love about someone (at least I hope that’s what my wife thinks).
So, for just a minute, let’s stop talking about what we can’t do in email and focus on the positive aspects of what we all do.
Table of content
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01
The most-lovable email marketing benefits - 1. Email is everywhere you want to be
- 2. Email is a versatile digital marketing channel
- 3. Email marketing encourages creative thinking
- 4. Email marketing is personal
- 5. Email doesn’t have to be loud and pushy
- 6. Email delivers delight to subscribers
- 7. Email is an unsung marketing hero
- 8. Email marketing creates connections
- 9. Email geeks have created a community
- 10. Email keeps you on your toes
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02
The benefits of email testing
The most-lovable email marketing benefits
To help rekindle your email marketing passion, we reached out to some people who design and develop emails as well as marketers who use the channel to help businesses grow. We didn’t want to hear the usual stuff about email being cost-effective. We want to know why it’s a joy to work with.
Here’s what they told us they love most about the benefits of email marketing.
1. Email is everywhere you want to be
Email has plenty of haters. And sure, it’s not perfect, but those haters are always prematurely proclaiming the “death of email.”
The truth is, email is way too omnipresent to die. Or, as Customer.io Director of Partnerships Kyle Kramer explains, “email is ubiquitous” and a medium that easily adapts to disruption.
“Tech and the way we communicate have evolved so much, especially over the course of this pandemic. One thing that hasn't changed though is that email is ubiquitous. It's where our most important communications go, and where work really gets done between organizations.
What has changed is the amount of noise in the average person's inbox. This makes it increasingly important to make sure your communications with your intended audience arrive at the right time, with the right content and context.”
~ Kyle Kramer, Customer.io
Email addresses are directly tied to your online identity. One of the biggest benefits of email marketing is the valuable asset you build as you grow your list.
Of course, we’re not saying email is future proof by any means. As Kyle points out, it’s up to email geeks like you to make sure email retains its value, which means using it purposefully and responsibly.
Speaking of the long-awaited death of email… have you checked out the podcast Email’s Not Dead from Sinch Mailgun? Listen in as host Jonathan Torres and Eric Trinidad dive into the email underworld to interview industry thought leaders.
2. Email is a versatile digital marketing channel
Not only is email everywhere, but it also offers a lot of flexibility and opportunities to connect.
Senior Deliverability Strategist Nathan She of Blueshift Labs says one of the biggest benefits of email marketing is how powerful it can be in the right hands. You can use email for crisis management, or to wish a subscriber a happy birthday. It can work quickly or it can be used to nurture email subscribers over time.
“What I love about email is that it is quite literally a blank canvas to be used as the sender sees fit. Email can be personal or impersonal, artsy or neutral, all images or no images, and everything in between.
Email is a way for me to communicate my thoughts 1-on-1 to my loved ones, or it can be a journey to help me promote my business. Not all email is created with love, and honestly, not even a fraction of it is, but all successful emails have at least a pinch of it sprinkled in.”
~ Nathan She, Blueshift Labs
Are you sprinkling a little love into your email marketing campaigns?
3. Email marketing encourages creative thinking
One of the many ways to put some love in your email marketing strategy is through design. And ActionRocket Design Lead Sophie Eggs has a special place in her heart for the creative freedom of email marketing.
“As a designer what I love about email is that, unlike a webpage, each email can be a unique stand-alone piece of design. This gives me the creative freedom to try new ideas and experiment with different techniques, such as interactivity and animation. I’m always looking to try something I haven’t tried before.
I also enjoy collaborating with a fab team of developers who can really enhance my designs and bring ideas to life.”
~ Sophie Eggs, ActionRocket
When email developers and designers work well together, digital marketing teams really do build amazing things. Coding and designing both require a creative approach. But Email Marketing Manager Julia Ritter from Sinch Mailjet reminds us that, in addition to creativity, this job requires analytical thinking too.
“Email is unique because it's both left- and right-brain oriented. We use data and analytics to identify the interests and behaviors of our audiences, but we design campaigns that are creative and fun so that we can make an impact and grow relationships. It's fun for the whole family.”
~ Julia Ritter, Sinch Mailjet
Someone needs to look at those open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates. But, Julia knows that understanding email metrics can lead to creative ideas.
4. Email marketing is personal
One of the more advanced ways to design a relevant inbox experience that subscribers will love is through dynamic content. Brooke Grief is a content marketing manager at Iterable, and she sees dynamic content as a way to take email’s versatility to new heights with advanced personalization.
“We’ve all heard the legend of its impressive ROI, but that’s not the only reason why email is touted as a powerful marketing channel. Something that I’ve always appreciated and admired about marketing emails is the ability to add dynamic content. Customers like it when emails are customized for them.
No one else is getting the email that shows everything they just browsed. That’s just for them. As a marketer, being able to include dynamic content in emails gives teams the ability to create content that connects with each customer on an individual level. And dynamic content goes beyond just pulling in products. Using customer data like zip code, time zone, etc., brands can create emails that are hyper-personalized, without manual effort. Voila!”
~ Brooke Grief, Iterable
The report Inbox Insights 2022 from Sinch Mailjet includes a survey result that found 84% of best-in-class marketers are using dynamic email content – one-third say they use it extensively. Sometimes falling in love again requires trying new things to keep the romance alive. Maybe dynamic email content is exactly what you need!
5. Email doesn’t have to be loud and pushy
Yet another thing that separates email from other channels is that it is “permission marketing”, which is a term the legendary Seth Godin coined back in the ‘90s. Email is not traditional interruption marketing. Assuming you’re not a spammer, your email subscribers signed up to hear from you. They want your emails. They don’t want YouTube pre-rolls.
Nathan She sees this as a benefit of email marketing for recipients as well as senders.
“We live in this age of infinite digital media that encourages non-stop hasty digestion of content but email is in the back of the room saying: ‘Take your time, you can read me at your own pace, I'm not going anywhere.’"
~ Nathan She, Blueshift Labs
It’s a great point! You pass a billboard on the highway and it’s gone. You skip a video ad, mute the TV commercials, and ignore 99.9% of banner ads. But subscribers choose to open and engage with your emails. That’s saying something.
6. Email delivers delight to subscribers
Perhaps one reason there are so many email marketing benefits is that subscribers never really know what to expect when they open a new message from your brand. A good subject line sparks their curiosity, and then email marketers can deliver delights.
ActionRocket Senior Designer Sam Beddoes appreciates the power of the unexpected email experience.
“I love that email is a medium that you can still surprise people with. When you talk about email, people imagine boring text-based work emails or some kind of unwanted spam. This gives us great space to create something really surprising for people – whether it's a full-screen impactful poster-style image, a bit of suave GIF animation, or super-cool interactive content, there's a lot of stuff you can use that most other people sending out emails would never even think of.”
~ Sam Beddoes, ActionRocket
Need a little inspiration? Check out ActionRocket’s work, explore the collection at Really Good Emails, or scroll through our list of B2C email designs. Even business-as-usual emails can surprise your subscribers. Why not try some transactional email design that delights?
7. Email is an unsung marketing hero
While it’s not entirely clear who invented email, we do know it’s been around for decades. Email has become such an integral part of our everyday lives that it’s easy to forget how powerful it can be.
ActionRocket Content Marketing Manager Bex Highfield says one of her favorite benefits of email marketing is how it’s almost like a secret weapon that gives brands a competitive edge.
“I love how so many people completely underestimate the power of email. Other marketing channels such as social media, print, and TV advertising are so much more mainstream and understood. People are quick to use email personally but forget the potential it could have for their brand.
It’s so rewarding for us when we’re working with new clients to get under the skin of their brand and they don’t fully understand what is capable within email. When we get to create their strategic plans, and design and build beautiful email templates, showing them what is possible at the end is extremely gratifying.”
~ Bex Highfield, ActionRocket
The benefits of email marketing aren’t a secret to best-in-class marketers at all. Mailjet’s Inbox Insights 2022 report found a whopping 97% of respondents say an email program is critical to the success of their overall marketing strategy.
8. Email marketing creates connections
A good relationship is based on trust, and a strong email marketing program is built on the same thing. An email inbox is a personal place. Brands that continuously provide value and display authenticity will get the most out of their efforts.
Natalie Jackson leads demand generation at CBIZ, which provides a variety of tax and accounting services to businesses. She realizes that relationships are just as important in B2B communications as in B2C – maybe even more important.
“I love that email is such a great relationship builder – there's no marketing channel that better allows to you create hyper-custom, timely experiences at scale while being respectful of the recipient's time and interest.
You can personalize your messages to every person on your list, populate their email with things that are relevant to them, and still be a responsive, good listener if they choose to respond. Email is such a great way to build a trusting, long-lasting relationship between your brand and your audience!”
~ Natalie Jackson, CBIZ
No matter which industry you’re in, email automation helps build brand awareness and nurture relationships with new customers and potential customers.
**New podcast alert**
Don't miss a new podcast for email geeks hosted by Natalie Jackson and Jen Capstraw. Humans of Email covers the people, ideas, and accidents that drive email forward. Discover the human side of email marketing!
9. Email geeks have created a community
Speaking of connections, let’s not forget the helpful network of email marketing peers.
Meeting friends and family marks a big moment in a romantic relationship. For email marketers, however, there’s no fear when it comes time to meet the whole gang. The well-established email geeks community is ready to welcome you with open arms and answer all your questions.
Jen Cain from ActionRocket tells us she definitely feels the love from fellow email geeks.
“From a more personal perspective, I love how much of a community we have built for email – that we are always sharing ideas and fixes for any issues we come across, it’s such a welcoming industry to be part of.”
~ Jen Cain, ActionRocket
Mailjet’s Julia Ritter is also impressed with the support and passion of email geeks around the world.
“The community, in general, is astounding. There are Slack groups, organizations, Twitter feeds, and events devoted to not only sharing insights but supporting one another. If every industry is lucky enough to have this, good for them, but I think ours is pretty special because it's such a unique field.”
~ Julia Ritter, Sinch Mailjet
If you are new to the world of email marketing, apply to join the Email Geeks Slack channel, follow Email Geeks on Twitter, and check out their job board.
10. Email keeps you on your toes
If you’re an email developer like Anne Tomlin of Emails Y'all, the challenges this medium presents can also be viewed as opportunities.
Anne found that learning to navigate email’s complexities has made her a valuable asset. But she also loves the way it feels to overcome an issue and build something amazing.
“The sense of accomplishment when I finish coding an email is like no other. We all know email is extremely difficult to code and even more difficult to code perfectly for all major email clients. Take into account all the crazy hacks you have to store in your brain. Knowing that you’re accomplishing something that very few people can do is great! Plus, people think you’re a wizard.”
~ Anne Tomlin, Emails Ya’ll
If you’ve made it as an email geek, you probably agree with Sr. Developer Megan Boshuyzen of Sinch Email on Acid. She’s learned to love the things that can also drive us all crazy.
“I love the challenge of designing and developing for all the different email clients. With the possibility of hundreds or even thousands of different rendering outcomes, it’s a unique challenge to see what we can create and how to make the email look the best it can, no matter how it's viewed.”
~ Megan Boshuyzen, Sinch Email on Acid
Whether you’re coding campaigns, working on email list segmentation, or improving deliverability, the ever-changing channel of email always keeps things interesting. The good news is, that’s why it pays to specialize in email marketing. Find out more when you get some email marketing career advice from industry veterans who’ve been in your shoes.
The benefits of email testing
Every relationship takes work to maintain. And the same goes for optimizing your email marketing program. What happens when you put it to the test?
While there are plenty of email marketing benefits, the job also comes with complexities. Sinch Email on Acid seeks to simplify those things so you can hit the send button with confidence.
Our state-of-the-art preview engine shows you how email marketing campaigns render across dozens of clients and devices. Plus, Campaign Precheck offers an automated email checklist that covers everything from inbox display and link validation to accessibility and deliverability.
Sign up for a free trial today. You never know. Email on Acid’s unlimited testing could help you fall in love with email all over again.
Simplify the Email QA Process and Deliver Perfection
What’s the best way to run through your pre-send checklist? With Sinch Email on Acid’s Campaign Precheck, we’ve simplified the process and set everything up for you. Use it to double-check your content, optimize for deliverability, ensure accessibility, and preview how campaigns look on more than 100 of the most popular clients and devices. All before you hit send!
