Anyone who ever said email is dead is crazy! Email marketing is a powerful tool these days – and if you do it right, it can set your small business apart from your competitors. How? Timing, segmentation, personalization, and automation are just some of the ways email can be used to reach your target market and customers at the right place, at the right time. Did you know that 91% of internet users check email at least once a day on their smart phones? We’re willing to bet you fall into the category.

Contrary to popular belief, email marketing does still work. In fact, 74% of consumers say that they would prefer to receive commercial promotional offers through e-mail. Although it may seem old fashioned, there are a few things you can do to optimize, and in the long run, benefit from your emails.

With all of the new technology that exists in marketing nowadays, it’s easy to overlook one of the most effective marketing tools around: email. While many have passed email off as outdated and on its way out, an email marketing strategy is more important than ever – in fact, 76 percent of marketers say they use email more now than they did three years ago.

We’re all familiar with email marketing, aren’t we? Most of us probably have an inbox that is a little fuller than we would like, and some of you may have given up on cleaning out your inbox entirely because of the sheer amount of emails you get. If you have a negative perception of email marketing and are thinking it isn’t for your business, you may want to think again. You may be surprised by the benefits of email marketing.

All emails have a similar goal: to be opened. It doesn’t matter if you're trying to convert a lead to a customer, or to delight a current customer, they all have a goal in common. If you send an email that isn’t opened, what's the point of spending the time and money to create an email campaign? This is where an email marketing consultant can help you get the most out of your emails during the holidays. Here are a few email marketing tips from consultants to help you get those emails opened.

When you’re using email marketing to target your audience, getting an email address is the first step. This is done either by placing an option on your site to opt-in or by specifically requiring an email address in exchange for a valuable content download that is free of charge. But once you have the email, what’s the best email marketing strategy to re-engage your leads and continue the customer relationship? Here are a few things you can do to keep communicating with your audience.

In honor of National Coffee Day, I’m drinking coffee and using words like “perks” in my blogging titles. I didn’t even know it was National Coffee Day until I opened my email this morning and saw subject lines with phrases like “Espresso Yourself” “15 Things Worth Knowing About Coffee,” “6 Excuses to Drink Coffee Every Day of Your Life” and “Here’s Where to Score Free Coffee on National Coffee Day Today.” That got me thinking – the businesses that sent me emails know what they’re doing, or are working with an email marketing agency that knows what it's doing!

While I don’t have any free coffee for you I do have some free advice. Here are 4 P.E.R.Ks of working with an email marketing agency.

The subject line of your email could make or break your entire email marketing strategy, and there’s proof. The words and phrases that appear in the subject line are the only touchpoint you get with your email subscriber before they decide to either open, forget, or delete your email. Email marketing can be a powerful tool for a small business, and the subject line for each email you send can be the difference between success and failure. Here’s why.

Do you have an email marketing consultant that you work with as part of your marketing? Do you have a healthy relationship with them? While most people are aware of the dynamics of an unhealthy relationship in their personal lives, when it comes to business relationships it can be a little harder to know what is to be expected. You may be getting the short end of the stick and it may be time to move on.

Here are a few signs that it may be time to break up with your email marketing consultant:

Email. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to communicate to a mass audience, and the majority of people still check their emails first thing in the morning. Your business probably has a marketing strategy for email, but is that strategy helping you or hindering you? Let’s learn how to segment your list to create a targeted email marketing strategy!