Basically email marketing is the use of email to promote products and/or services. But a better definition of email marketing definition is the use of email to develop relationships with potential customers and/or clients. Email marketing is one segment of internet marketing, which encompasses online marketing via websites, social media, blogs, etc.
Much of the spam email we all get proclaiming ‘deals’ on this and that is a good example of email marketing at its worst; the mindless email barrage.
Someone somewhere buys an email list (or several!) and sends an email along the lines of “Get (the product name) for only $! (the amount) to everyone on the list – sometimes repeatedly. All this does is annoy everyone and give email marketing a bad name.
At its best, email marketing allows businesses to keep their customers informed and tailor their marketing messages to their customers.
The Advantages of Email Marketing
The two big advantages of email marketing are price and ease. Emailing is an inexpensive way to advertise your company and its products and/or services compared to many other types of marketing. It’s also extremely easy to set up and track an email marketing campaign, making it a very accessible type of marketing for small businesses.
Newsletters can be sent to the email list you’ve built from the people who provided the necessary information on your website, for instance, providing these potential customers with news updates about your company, upcoming events and/or special offers – and, of course, reminding them that your business exists and that maybe it’s time for another visit.
Source: Thebalance