Why Newsletters Always Have Been – and Always Will Be Powerful

"Email is the original social media." – TechCrunch

Social media can be an absolute battlefield for your attention, and while social vehicles are very important platforms to broadcast your content, there's a lot of competition for your attention. And while this war rages on, e-mail newsletters have consistently been there as a way to get to more eyeballs – by invitation only.

If you look at most major publications on the web – from Inc. Magazine to Fast Company to TechCrunch – they all have huge sign-up forms for their newsletter on every page. Why is this? Because they understand the inherent value that newsletters hold – and they have the data to back it up.

There's a greater sense of intimacy and connectedness between publishers and readers in the form of an e-Newsletter and it gives publishers more control by owning their mailing list.

Now before we dissect the anatomy of why newsletters still remain the constant in a marketing strategy, let's backtrack a bit here and look at how marketers once abused their power in the first place – which led to sweeping changes in the industry.

Never Take Your Mailing List for Granted

You might have heard in recent years about both the Canadian and U.S. governments taking strong action against deceptive marketing tactics used in email communications.

The CAN-SPAM Act in the United States is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, giving recipients the right to have you stop emailing them. And the Canadian counterpart is an anti-spam legislation (CASL) that is in place to protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace – but also spells out tough penalties for violations. Organizations need consent from their recipients and must always allow them to opt-out of any and all communications at any time.

It's important to touch on a bit of the history here and to give some context because it shows how marketers have taken advantage of their database to push their marketing messages. And these penalties are some of the strongest of their kind and have flipped the script on why we should never take our mailing lists for granted.

With that being said, let's break down the three key reasons why newsletters are still (and always will be) a powerful marketing tool.

1. More Attention Is Given to Email

The most difficult part is to actually get the email address in the first place, and once the grunt work is done, readers are much more likely to pay attention to the content that is being pushed to them. You get a much higher open rate because your audience has given you direct access into their inbox – and better access to their attention span.

2. It's an Effective Way of Keeping in Touch

The tactic is very effective at helping business owners and consumers stay connected. Consumers often seek out email marketing campaigns from their favorite brands and businesses because they want to know first-hand what's going on. Better yet, a 2013 study by the Relevancy Group found that marketers who add video to their email campaigns saw an average rise in revenue of 40 percent. Mobile-friendly video content is a phenomenal way to cut through an already cluttered inbox in an intimate way.

3. It Connects with the Mobile Audience

Mobile digital media time is now higher – at 51 percent – and emails opened on smartphones now make up over half of all emails opened. Over 75 percent of people will delete emails if they aren't optimized for the device they are reading them on.

When crafting your e-Newsletter, it's important to keep in mind that most people will be viewing this on a smaller screen. This means making key touch points and memorable experiences that are snackable. When you look at your email marketing through a strategic lens, you also have the ability to identify the hot leads within your database to help you nurture and convert faster than ever before.

That's the name of the marketing game: Create, Distribute, Measure and Optimize.

To view the original article, visit the IXACT Contact blog.