What is the most effective digital marketing and/or advertising strategy?

That’s a question marketers have been asking themselves since the first time the internet became known as the ultimate driver of marketing success.

And, while there are many factors that determine the overall success of a marketing and/or advertising campaign, it’s become clear that one strategy has separated itself from the pack.

That strategy is email marketing.

How is Email Marketing More Effective Than Other Marketing & Advertising Channels?

For most organizations, the true value of a marketing strategy is determined by the ROI it provides.

According to a study from VentureBeat, email marketing yields $38 in ROI for every $1 spent.

That number puts e-marketing ahead of every other potential digital marketing and advertising strategy utilized by organizations throughout the world.

In comparison, let’s take a look at some return-on-investment figures offered by other popular digital marketing strategies:

•      Content Marketing. While this is difficult to measure, content marketing guru Neil Patel estimated that he achieved $10 in ROI for every $1 he spent on creating great content.
•      Social Media Marketing. According to a survey by SmartInsights, only 20% of businesses feel that social media marketing yields a high ROI. Also, the survey found that only 48% of marketers were confident that social media provided any ROI at all.
•      Paid Search. The ROI of paid search varies wildly depending on the industry, although WordStream produced a study showing that the average cost-per-action in Adwords is $59.18 for search and over $60 for display.

As you can see, e-marketing significantly outperforms all three of the strategies listed above.

But reaching the astounding level of ROI provided by email does not just happen because your organization decides to utilize email marketing services.

To reach that level of ROI, or even surpass it, there are a few tactics that you’ll need to focus on.

The 3 Tactics That Lead to Email Marketing Success

While there are many factors that go into succeeding with e-marketing, there are a few tactics that have proven to provide the most significant impact. They include:

1.     Segmentation
2.     Personalization
3.     Automation

Fortunately, many email marketing services provide tools to aid you in maximizing the potential of each of these tactics.

1. Segmentation

According to the Data & Marketing Association, segmented email campaigns result in a 760% increase in revenue over a one-size-fits-all campaign.

And while it makes sense that segmenting would lead to higher conversion rates and success, 760% is a staggering number that makes it clear that segmentation is a necessity.

The reason for this is simple.

By segmenting your email list into specified groups, you’re able to better target your subscribers in a way that makes them feel as if you’re talking directly to them while catering to their unique wants and needs.

2. Personalization

Personalized subject lines increased email open rates by 50%.

But including a name in a subject line isn’t the only way to commit to personalization through email.

As KissMetrics contributor Emma O’Neill outlines, there are several other techniques that you can utilize.

They include:

•      Ask specific questions related to the actions taken by the subscriber.
•      Develop multiple customer personas to better understand the behaviors of subscribers.
•      Use location and time factors to your advantage.
•      Utilize marketing automation to create automated behavioral trigger emails.

While using personalization in your subject lines can lead to higher open rates, the techniques above can produce the increased click-through and conversion rates that lead to true email marketing success.

3. Automation

As Marketo outlined in their ebook about Strategies for Sustaining Success, 91% of successful marketers say that marketing automation is “very important” to the overall success of their marketing strategies.

Automation is particularly important in the world of email marketing, as HubSpot identified that relevant emails sent through marketing automation software drive 18x more revenue than those sent through email blasts.

The important point to take from these statistics is simple – when identifying potential email marketing services to use, make sure you’re honing in on platforms that offer advanced automation tools.

Combining Segmentation, Personalization, and Automation

When combined properly, the three techniques outlined above provide a powerful combination capable of helping you reach, or even exceed, the $38 to $1 ROI that e-marketing offers.

It’s important, however, that they’re looked at as a team of techniques that need to work together.

Using each on their own can certainly lead to success, but combining them effectively is where the real potential lies.

Using Email Marketing with Other Marketing Strategies

In the same way that e-marketing works best when the techniques outlined above are used in unison, e-marketing is most successful when utilized in combination with other marketing strategies.

This is particularly true as you work to build your email list. After all, it will be extremely difficult to achieve success through email if you don’t have a list to target.

To get the most out of your email efforts, you’ll want to design your content marketing, social media marketing, and email marketing strategies to work in harmony.

A few strategies for making this work could include:

•      Use your emails as a way to distribute targeted content to the right people at the right time.
•      Use social media and your blog as a way to encourage visitors to sign up to your email list.
•      Use social media to create customer personas that can help you better segment and personalize your emails.

Bringing It Altogether

It’s hard to argue the power that email marketing has when it comes to the ROI it can provide for your business.

But to truly maximize your potential, it’s important that you allow your marketing techniques and strategies to work together as a team.

What about you? What are some ways that you’ve combined email marketing with other marketing strategies to maximize the ROI provided to your business?