Every marketer in today’s fast-paced digital world is keen on establishing an effective marketing strategy, and email is considered one of the most lucrative of them all. However, with the rise of various social media platforms and the changing customer demands, there is talk that email marketing may be dying. Even in the financial advising space. Some are claiming that “email sucks” and it’s “dying a slow and painful death”. But is it true? Is email marketing on the verge of extinction, or is it still a critical tool for marketers to use? 

To answer the question of whether email marketing is dying or not, we need to look at some hard statistics. The very first email was sent in 1971 and since then, over 4 billion people worldwide have used email and this number is expected to grow to 4.48 billion by 2024 (Statista, 2021). Despite the unprecedented growth of social media in the past decade, email has proved its durability as an effective marketing tool. Email marketing has been observed to have an ROI (return on investment) of up to 3200%, which is still significantly high compared to other marketing channels at an average return of $42 for every dollar spent. (DMA, 2019). So in terms of success rate, email marketing is not dead yet. With a high ROI value, email marketing cannot be ignored as a viable marketing strategy.

However, it is also important to note that email marketing is not as effective as it once was. With an increased number of emails delivered to people daily, several marketers send emails that are irrelevant to the recipient, leading to low open rates and click-through rates. There are also more requirements to become compliant and avoid the dreaded spam folder. To overcome this, marketers must personalize their emails, segment their target audience, and craft engaging content that aligns with their audience's interests and needs. Plus, increase the functionality of your emails such as easily accessible unsubscribe links, branded sender domains, email authentication for your domain, and check your spam rate to make sure you’re on the right track.

Although email marketing still holds value as a marketing tool, its effectiveness relies on other factors, including the approach used. For instance, the use of automation tools like automatic drip campaigns and scheduled emails can help personalize content and ensure that customers get relevant communications at the right time. This also helps ease the burden of compliance. Creating a compliant email template you can utilize every time you want to send an email ensures that your spam rate will be relatively low, your email will be delivered where its meant in a timely manor, and people will feel comfortable clicking on your email or links within it.

Another reason why email marketing still thrives is that it allows for easy measuring and tracking of a marketing campaign's success. For instance, you can track open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, allowing for continuous optimization and improvement of the campaign. This is a huge benefit you should be utilizing if you are not already. It can help you better understand what clients are interested in. For example: 50% open rate on an email about taxes versus 10% open rate on an email about legacy planning. This can tell you that people are more interested in learning more about taxes right now and you should tailor future email campaigns to that topic, or host a webinar about it, or bring it up in future meetings. This information helps you stay relevant with clients and potential clients who want an advisor that understands their interests.

In conclusion, email marketing is not dying, but it's evolving, and marketers must adapt to the changing times. It is still a beneficial tool for marketing campaigns when used strategically, creatively, and with personalization capabilities. Consider investing in automation tools and personalization technologies to generate high open and click-through rates. If you are interested in our well-performing email templates and automated funnels, go here.