Email marketing as one of the most powerful sales drivers

Email marketing is a digital strategy that involves sending emails to potential and existing customers. Remember the lead form you’ve integrated onto your website? Lead database gathered there can now be used as the audience to receive your special offers and notifications! These emails are designed to build trust, nurture relationships, promote products, and encourage repeat business. For dropshippers, it’s an essential tool to stay connected with customers, improve customer lifetime value, and build a strong brand presence.

When we talk about email marketing, we’re discussing the art and science of reaching out to potential and existing customers through their inboxes. In the digital era, emails serve as intimate letters to our audience, offering insights, updates, promotions, and more.

It drives results. Be it traffic to your site, brand recall, or actual sales, strategic email campaigns have proven to be powerful triggers.

To give you a sense of its potency, as of 2021, every dollar spent on email marketing brought back a whopping $42 on average. Consumers were found to prefer promotional communication via email compared to other channels, and automated email sequences alone accounted for a significant chunk of email-driven revenue.

In 2023, email generates $36 for every $1 spent, meaning email marketing ROI is 3600%. 18% of companies achieve email marketing ROI greater than $70 per $1 invested. 59% of marketers believe email is over twice as effective at generating leads than channels such as PPC and paid social media.

81% of B2B marketers say their most used form of content marketing is email newsletters! EIGHTY-ONE, I REPEAT!

For those in the dropshipping realm, this isn’t just another strategy; it’s a lifeline that bridges the gap between one-off purchases and loyal customer relationships.

Email marketing starts by fostering a community. This isn’t about randomly sending out emails but rather curating an audience genuinely interested in what you have to offer.

This community is typically built when people sign up via your website (remember we talked about lead forms?), during the checkout process, or when they opt-in for a promotional offer. Remember, the key here is consent; always ensure your subscribers have willingly chosen to hear from you.

Once you have your community, remember that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. Just as in a physical store, every visitor has unique interests and preferences. So, you’d cater to these nuances by segmenting your email recipients.

Whether it’s based on their purchase history, location, or behavior on your site, segmentation allows you to personalize your approach.

Next comes the soul of the email – its content. What message do you want to convey? Perhaps it’s a sneak peek into your latest product range, an exclusive discount, or simply sharing exciting news about your brand.

Pair this content with engaging designs that echo the aesthetics of your brand. This isn’t just about making emails ‘pretty’ but ensuring they resonate with your audience and look great on any device they use.

But crafting the perfect email is just part of the story. The magic often lies in timing and consistency. This is where scheduling and automation tools come in. Think about the journey of a customer.

Once they purchase an item, they could receive an appreciative thank-you email, followed days later with tips on making the most of their purchase, and perhaps, down the line, an exclusive offer just for them. This seamless flow is achieved through automation, ensuring you’re there at every step of their journey, without overwhelming them.

Lastly, just as a ship’s captain adjusts the sails based on the wind, a smart marketer adapts based on feedback. Dive deep into the metrics. Understand which emails resonate the most, which ones drive traffic back to your store, and which ones might need a tweak.

Now, why this focus on email? While there’s a myriad of marketing avenues today, email stands out for several reasons:

• It’s personal. An email nestles quietly in your subscriber’s inbox, waiting for their attention, unlike a fleeting social media post.
• It’s efficient in terms of costs. The return on investment for email marketing has traditionally been high, making every penny count.
• It’s a relationship-builder. Regular, meaningful communication through emails nurtures the bond between a brand and its audience.

In sum, for dropshippers and businesses at large, email marketing isn’t an optional add-on. It’s an essential pillar that supports brand awareness, customer loyalty, and sales. As with any strategy, it demands effort and refinement, but its potential payoffs are enormous.