By Richard Buss

Email marketing makes use of electronic email as a direct digital method of advertising to both consumers and business associates (such as affiliates).

Many companies make the mistake of thinking email marketing is not important, not effective or costs too much. The exact opposite is true: Email marketing is the most effective way to reach the end consumer and is also extremely cost-effective. It’s quick. It’s target-specific and helps to build both brand and customer loyalty.

It’s also environmentally friendly, because no trees are killed to produce email.

Let’s discuss the most important reasons email marketing rocks.

Nearly twice as effective as social media

Social media is an extremely important tool in any marketing strategy. Social media marketing seems more personal than other contact methods, but the channel has a number of major drawbacks. There are many social media platforms —Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, LinkedIn — and not everyone is on every social platform. Consumers in your target market have email, though, and they check their email daily.

Low cost

Traditional advertising methods such as radio, TV and printed material can be expensive. Newer and more advanced methods such as social media and traffic buys are both expensive and riddled with potential fraud. Marketing via email carries no risk and has minimal cost. It’s been estimated that email marketing provides a 3,800-percent return on investment.

Control your message

When marketing via email, you can send a highly detailed message tailored to a segmented list of your customer base, ensuing the message is relevant to the recipients. Although the message is broadcast to a large group, you can address the individual recipient by name, even in the subject line. This allows you to easily target the customers who are most likely to buy your product or service and do so with a customized, personal message.

Email is an important — perhaps the most important — means of reaching a massive audience with a personalized message at a reasonable cost and with good return on investment. Leaving it out of your marketing plan costs you not only money, but also an opportunity to create a better relationship between customers and your brand.

Richard Buss is the senior account manager for YNOT Mail and director of products and services for YNOT Group LLC.