I have found there to be considerable disagreement in my circles about the use of email marketing for small business. Is email marketing still a good bet?
On the plus side, email remains highly affordable (even free in most circumstances), easy to use, easy to customize, and easy to respond to. On the minus side, email can be very impersonal and many consumers have abandoned email in favor of texting and other formats.
Email lists are also not hard to build. Adroit use of web site, requests to customers at time of purchase, and social media offers can quickly build substantial lists. These solid, opt in lists make for especially promising ROI.
I am not especially concerned about reports of email's demise. This has been the claim for some years now and email remains a widespread channel, albeit one that is inconsistently read by quite a few consumers. Moreover, in replacing email we would want something with greater or equal reach, and that has not yet happened.
However, email boxes are quite full for the average consumer, so getting inside with the right subject line and offer is critical.
Bottom Line: Email marketing will continue to be a strong choice for small business. This channel has a meaningful return on investment and enormous reach, and can be customized quite well. But it is important to use appropriate and appealing messaging.
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