Your Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing in 2021

In the second decade of the 21st century, new marketing techniques have been springing up like mushrooms after the rain. However, email marketing is still going strong, providing an impressive 4400% ROI.

As companies enter the third decade with COVID-19 in tow, they need to adjust to the global shift toward digitalisation and the ever-changing consumer preferences. Top-notch email management is the key to staying on top of your game next year.

Many Consumers are Growing Accustomed to Using Digital Services

The growth of internet users this year alone is looking to completely dwarf the numbers of preceding years. In the SEA region alone, 40 million new users started using the internet this year, as opposed to 100 million between 2015 - 2019. 1 in 3 of these users picked it up due to COVID-19 lockdowns necessitating a change in lifestyle.

Source: Google, Temasek and Bain, e-Conomy SEA 2020: At full velocity — Resilient and racing ahead, Nov. 2020.Source: lead squared

Education topped the list as schools and other learning institutions pivoted towards digital classrooms. Groceries and other day-to-day needs came in second, as household shoppers opted for their produce to be delivered straight to their homes.

Digital Adoption is here to Stay

As consumers grow increasingly savvy with a digital world catering to their needs, there is an opportunity for you if you are looking to reach out and lock in these new audiences. Through this, email marketing continues to play an important role towards guiding them to the purchase decisions and other affirmative actions that matter to companies.

In this guide, you'll learn:

Why email marketing is imperative for your campaign.
The key benefits of email marketing in 2021.
How to build and grow your email lists in 2021.
Things to look out for when planning your 2021 email marketing campaign.

Statistics to Keep In Mind

In 2021, email marketing continues to be the focal point for businesses looking to reach out to customers. These statistics can help you structure your email marketing efforts next year.

73% of millennials prefer to get information from businesses via email. (HubSpot)
Automated emails can generate 320% more revenue than non-automated messages. (Campaign Monitor)
59% of consumers say that emails influence their purchase decisions. (HubSpot)
Email marketing can have a 4400% ROI.(Clutch.io)
Email marketing provides a higher conversion rate than social media marketing (Entrepreneur)
Adding a social sharing button to emails can increase the click-through rate by 158% (Entrepreneur)
More than 90% of consumers would like to receive promotional emails (Marketingsherpa)
Millennials spend more than 30 hours per week using email (study by Adobe)

The right approach to email management coupled with new marketing techniques can yield excellent results in 2021 and beyond. Whether you are looking at growing your customer base, crowd sourcing the funding you need to get your next dream project off the ground or getting the word out about a new product launch, email marketing continues to play an important role towards realising these needs.

5 Key Advantages of Email Marketing

With social media marketing, SEO, and paid search on the agenda, many companies don't pay enough attention to email. Their ignorance can bring your business a competitive advantage. Other benefits of implementing a solid email marketing strategy in 2021 include:

1. Building Strong Customer Relationships

Unlike the rest of the marketing channels, email remains the most personalised way to reach both potential and existing clients. It contributes to building trustworthy relationships and powers your retention efforts.

2. Establishing Your Authority

Email is a direct channel to prospects and clients. You can establish your authority as an industry leader by sharing high-quality educational content. Meanwhile, by providing valuable information continuously, it's possible to build credibility and increase brand awareness.

3. Improving the Competitive Edge

By implementing top-notch email management strategies, small companies can compete with large businesses. When it comes to email, the chances of converting a prospect are equal regardless of the business size.

4. Optimising Time and Budget

With an extremely high ROI, email marketing is a cost-efficient solution for converting and retaining clients. Our suite of ready-made templates ensures that you never have to worry about designing that perfect message from scratch, while giving you the flexibility to change and alter visuals and copy to your business needs. Email automation options also allow you to save time while focusing on other aspects of your marketing campaign.

5. Supporting Other Marketing Tactics

A well-structured email marketing campaign can boost your other marketing efforts like SMM and SEO. Emails with social sharing buttons help promote your products and services on social media. Meanwhile, embedding useful links increases the traffic to your website.

In short, emails can reach the right people at the right time, making them a highly powerful marketing channel.

How to Grow Your Email List from Scratch in 2021

Offer valuable content — on your landing pages and in paid search ads, offer valuable content (case studies, videos, white papers, guides) in exchange for an email address.
Use social media — host a contest or a giveaway to collect email addresses from your social media followers. Use social media accounts to promote pages with valuable content.
Implement effective exit popups — a message with an offer and an email sharing form can pop up on the screen before the visitor leaves the website.
Collect at checkout — when a customer makes a purchase or fills out a contact form on your website, make sharing an address mandatory.
Add a link to email signature — hyperlink your (and your employees') email signature that leads to a landing page where consumers can sign up and leave their addresses.
Encourage sharing — include social sharing and "email to friend" buttons in your emails so readers can turn into brand ambassadors.
Collect addresses offline — post QR codes inside your brick-and-mortar locations for quick signups. You can offer discounts at the register in exchange for membership signups.
Keep it clean — once you have a robust email list, make sure to keep it clean. Addresses can be abandoned while clients may decide that they don't want your content anymore. As a result, your messages bounce or end up in spam folders. By removing such addresses, you can keep your reputation clean and bounce rates low. Enginemailer helps you achieve this through its Automated Email Cleansing service, eliminating unwanted addresses for your list heath.

An email list isn't just important for your email marketing efforts. It's a robust list of contacts you can't get with any other marketing tactic.

On social media, all you have are followers that come and go. If your accounts were to disappear due to a glitch, you could lose all your contacts in seconds. People aren't as careful with their social media accounts as they are with email addresses, which can stay intact for decades.

Email Marketing Tactics to Implement in 2021

These tactics can power up your email marketing campaign next year.

Include a Video

Videos are gaining impressive popularity across all channels, and email isn't an exception. Today, 85% of businesses use videos as a marketing tool. Consumers enjoy videos. They combine entertainment with education without taking up too much of the viewer's time.
Videos can help you connect with your clients on an emotional level, increase loyalty, and build trust. As a bonus, a video in an email can increase the open rate by 19% and boost the click-through rate by 65%.

Implement Email Marketing Automation

Email marketing automation doesn't just cut campaign costs and free up time, it can improve your strategies tremendously. Here are a few tactics to consider in 2021:

Review your marketing automation tools to ensure top-notch output.
Use AI-powered tools to design customer profiles with information gathered from their on-site behaviour, social media presence, and purchasing habits. This data can help you design automated emails.
Take advantage of automated re-engagement emails to generate interest in your old clients without being aggressive.
Implement an Email Response Management System to simplify your email management efforts.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning can help you gather important information about your clients and analyse it to streamline your email marketing campaign. In 2021, email automation isn't just a nice option, it's a necessity.

Beef up Your Content

Your content must show that you are interested in your customers. In 2021, make your emails deeper and communications relevant.

Consider implementing dynamic content based on consumer behaviour. Email marketing platforms can help with that. Today, leads nurtured with personalised content produce a 20% increase in sales opportunities.

Keep your email content as short and precise as possible. The readers' attention span is getting shorter every year due to the lack of time.
Delete all phrases that don't carry value.
A/B test CTA text and placement to get the best click-through rates.
Include only one idea per paragraph.
Be extremely careful with punctuation and grammar.
Be consistent with your brand's tone and voice across all emails.
Use phrases that capitalise on FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).
Lean toward a conversational tone to get more personal with the reader.

Here are a few 2021 email design trends to go with stellar content practices:

Bold text is winning over images.
Colours, videos, and images should evoke an emotional response.
Muted colour pallets are gaining popularity due to the serious eye strain consumers experience when working with devices.
3D images in emails are becoming trendy.

Without high-quality content, the rest of your email marketing practices are nearly useless. That's why it's imperative to invest time and money into boosting its integrity.

Pay Special Attention to Performance Reports

While you are reaping the benefits of your solid email marketing campaign, it's imperative to analyse your efforts. By monitoring the KPIs and adjusting your strategy dynamically, you can get close to achieving the 4400% ROI.

Depending on your marketing goals, you can choose specific email metrics to track and use analysing software to gain insights into the future of your campaign.

Focus on Customer Experience

In 2020, COVID-19 brought more consumers online, pushing companies to beef up their marketing efforts. Lockdowns forced customers to spend free time on the web, making them pickier about the experience.

In 2021, all your email marketing efforts should be designed with a top-notch customer experience in mind. Whether you are gathering addresses, sending follow-up emails, or asking for feedback, the recipient should enjoy a highly personalised and customer-oriented interaction.

Today, 88% of consumers expect companies to improve their digital initiatives due to the latest events. Your goal is not to disappoint them.

Enter the New Year with a Robust Email Marketing Strategy

In 2021, email marketing will still be going strong. By adjusting your email management efforts to fit the latest trends you can gain a competitive edge and improve your company's bottom line.

Do you need help with setting up a top-notch email marketing campaign in 2021? Sign up to Enginemailer today.

Our Forever Free plans allow users to send up to 10,000 emails a month and can be Upgraded and Downgraded according to their campaign needs. Don't hesitate to contact our team if you have any questions.