Even email marketing established itself as a valuable marketing branch, providing a considerable return on investment while continuing to grow. Some companies may not invest much time and resources into their email marketing campaigns, leading them to miss out on plenty of potential sales. Some companies may invest many resources into their email marketing campaigns but not see the desired results. However, for either, integrating first-party data can immensely increase the value of your email marketing, improving the number of clicks you get and sales you make.
Learn more about first-party data and how to incorporate it into your email marketing campaign below.
Recapping First-Party Data
Numerous types of data are available to assist marketing, and they bring different benefits. First-party data is data your company collects about your subscribers and customers. Some companies rely heavily on third-party data, which is collected and distributed by another company or entity. It may not be as helpful as the data you could collect on your own because it does not necessarily pertain to your customers. Though its scale makes it invaluable, third-party data offers you less control and direct insight into your customers.
First-party data, on the other hand, allows you to collect and control information about your customers' preferences, income, location, and different critical demographics to better tailor your email marketing campaigns to people likely to purchase from your company. It also ensures your customers' data is secure, which is increasingly vital as more privacy regulations prevent third-party companies from collecting and sharing data.
Email Marketing Is Growing
Although there have been many innovations recently, email marketing continues to dominate the playing field by providing a direct path to nurturing leads and getting in touch with customers. Having a direct link to customers is crucial in an increasingly less connected and more impersonal world. Email marketing continues to grow substantially every year, and it offers your business an opportunity to develop that personal connection.
In 2018, there were approximately 3.83 million email users worldwide. When divided by the number of email users, this results in an email-account-per-user ratio of 1.75. The Radicati Group predicted that by 2022, the email accounts per user ratio would be 1.86, indicating the total number of users grew and the number of email accounts each user possesses.
That provides an unprecedented opportunity for your company to reach more people by email than was possible, allowing you to reach people you couldn't previously.
Email Lists Are First-Party Data
Because your company collects a customer's or user's email address, and other associated information, your email lists become first-party data. However, people must voluntarily opt-in to your marketing emails to comply with laws. You can encourage people to sign up by running other types of marketing campaigns or including calls to action on your website. It sometimes helps to offer promotions or discounts to those who sign up for your email list.
Your email list can provide data that may be even more valuable than that collected through your company's social media pages, as your company owns that data. Email marketing data can't be manipulated by other outside factors or put at risk by changing trends in social media companies, making it more reliable in the long run. As you collect more data, you can form a clearer picture of your most dedicated customers.
Build Followers with Your Data
It can take some trial and error to figure out the best way to collect email addresses for your email marketing campaign list but finding an effective solution can help your email list grow quickly. Word may spread about your company on its own when you gather enough subscribers, or you can also encourage your current subscribers to tell their friends and family members to subscribe. Using radio ads or event booths to collect email addresses in exchange for prizes, promotions, or as part of a contest is one of the fastest, most reliable ways to build your list.
Once you build an email list with more than a few users, you can analyze which types of email subjects, times of day, and content yields the most clicks and sales. The multitude of other data you can collect as email analytics helps you paint a better picture of your customers, helping you create more targeted emails that better appeal to your followers. That will encourage more people to open your emails and buy your products or services.
First-Party Data Can Help Your Business Grow
As data collection becomes subject to more regulations, collecting and using first-party data should be a bigger priority for businesses moving forward. This valuable information can give you incredible insight into what your customers like and want to see from your company in the future. It also gives you more control over the data you collect, and you can use some of the data from your email marketing campaign to grow other aspects of your marketing strategy.
