Debunking the 4 Most Common Email Marketing Myths

Let’s call out the email marketing boogiemen and yetis for what they are: pure fiction.

In email marketing, rumors spread as fast as middle school gossip. One outlet might write something inaccurate about email marketing best practices, and before you know it, it’s spread around the blogosphere like a bad game of telephone. The worst part? Real email marketers suffer when they believe these email marketing myths.

Today, we’re debunking these misconceptions.

Don’t believe these email marketing myths.

1. Unsubscribes are always a bad thing.

Good email list hygiene is essential to improving email deliverability and campaign success. When users unsubscribe from your emails, they’re actually doing you a favor by scrubbing your list for you.

Many unengaged subscribers simply ignore your emails and never get around to unsubscribing, leaving you with a number of email addresses that are just taking up space in your database and hurting your campaign performance. But when a recipient removes himself from the list, it improves your engagement rate and, in turn, sender reputation. As long as your unsubscribe rate is under 1 percent, there’s nothing to worry about.

Pro Tip: Give your subscribers more choices. Provide options for opting down in addition to opting out.

2. Marketers can’t send the same email twice.

You put a lot of time and energy crafting relevant, high-quality marketing emails. So when only a quarter of your audience opens your message, it can sting a little.

Don’t give up. Rather than spending time writing and designing a brand new email to communicate the same message, you can just resend the original. However, there are three caveats to this:

• Change the subject line before resending
• Wait at least 72 hours to resend
• Resend the email only to subscribers who didn’t open it the first time.

Most importantly, don’t take this approach with every single campaign. Only resend emails for your highest potential campaigns.

3. Email marketing doesn’t bring in new customers.

If you have someone’s email address, then either

• They’re an existing customer, or
• They’ve already expressed an interest in your brand.

For individuals in the first group, the goal of sending emails is to encourage repeat purchases and inspire brand loyalty. And for those in the second, the goal to drive them to become part of the first category. Either way, your emails aren’t bringing in new customers, right?

Wrong – another email marketing myth.

Your subscribers will forward your emails to their friends and family who aren’t already in your database. They’ll also share your messages on Facebook or Twitter. Both of these actions allow you to reach new consumers who may not have otherwise been introduced to your content. Be sure you make it easy for subscribers to share your emails by including forward and social sharing buttons.

By the way, this also applies to B2B companies. Email marketing isn’t just for nurturing leads already in your database; it’s great for generating new leads, as well. Just be sure there’s a lead-generating call-to-action in your email.

4. Email marketing is obsolete.

We’ll end with the most prevalent email marketing myth: It’s going the way of the dinosaur. Millennials and Gen Z-ers have Instagram and Snapchat – and they’re leaving Facebook by the droves. Why would they like email?

Here’s the cold hard facts: Customers of all ages love email.

• Younger consumers have actually increased their email use in the past few years, according to a study by SendGrid and Egg Strategy.
• Email is universal and global. 3 billion people worldwide will use email by 2020, according to Radicati Group.
• 72% of US adults across all demographics said email was their preferred means of communication with companies, according to Marketing Sherpa. Less than 20% preferred social media.

“Newer” doesn’t always mean “good,” and “older” doesn’t always equate to “bad.” Email marketing may have been around for a while, but it’s constantly evolving, and when used correctly can be a great tool for growing brand loyalty and generating revenue.

Were you tricked by any of these email marketing myths? Never fear!

What other email marketing myths have you heard recently?

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