6 Email Marketing Myths That Are Hurting Your Brand

By Julia Koh & Syira Junaidi
May 2020

You might have some idea what email marketing is. It’s email, what could be so complicated about it? But do you really know how it works when it comes to marketing to the audience? Are you convinced of the efficacy of email marketing?

Today, we’re looking at some common myths that surround email marketing and what you’re missing out on this cool marketing tool:

Myth 1: Email Marketing Is Dead
It’s 2020 and nobody reads emails anymore, right? It’s just DMs, PMs, and Whatsapp messages today.

Actually, email marketing is alive and kicking as we speak. Emails are very effective in targeting customers to push sales, promotions and campaigns. They are even more effective in lead generation for both B2B and B2C brands. In fact, emails can bring back a 4,000% ROI!

What makes emails so effective is partly because it’s so easy to access them. Consumers check their emails mostly on their smartphones and apps like Outlook and Gmail made it super easy for them to read, archive, reply, or delete emails.

Myth 2: Sales Emails Always End Up in Spam
Spams are unsolicited emails akin to an annoying salesman who won’t let you close your door on them. No doubt, people hate spam.

So, you should not be sending spam. Instead, create a well-designed and thoughtful email backed by a well-planned marketing strategy. To ensure that your email does not end in spam, use reputable email software such as Mailchimp, SendInBlue or Omnisend that contains the right algorithm that your recipient’s inbox will accept.

Myth 3: Email Automation Is Too Complicated!
There is no way you’re manually sending email to all your contacts. But email automation software sounds too daunting.

What if we tell you that email automation is one of the simplest automated software in the business. Services such as Mailchimp and SendInBlue make it deliberately easy for users with no IT background to create, send, and organise emails. Email automation is our no.1 marketing tool for clients!

Myth 4: Unsubscribe Is The Worst Thing That Can Happen
When someone unsubscribes, it hurts a little. It can feel like you fail as a marketer. By law, you have to provide an opt-out link in every email you send so there’s no way for you to trick or force your subscribers to stay.

In reality, unsubscribers actually help you trim your customer base so only people interested in your brand stays. This, in turn, can improve your open and click rates. High rates of unsubscribers can tell you if your emails are underperforming or in need of something new. They can always come back and subscribe again when they are in need of your brand.

Myth 5: People Hate Emails
Their inbox is already so full with work emails, e-bills, news, shopping promos and so many more. Why would they pay attention to your newsletters?

That’s how a strategic email that is straight to the point and has clear calls to actions will stand out against the other sales emails a recipient receives. Your email newsletters don’t have to just forward discount offers, but it can also provide value to readers through brand story and other content.

Myth 6: Sales Emails Are Boring
Firstly, sales emails are only boring when they’re not written and/or designed well. Secondly, it is incorrect to think that only sales emails are sent to the audience when there is so much more content to share via email.

People’s attention span is cruelly short in this digital age. Most emails are short to retain this attention, but they can be lengthy and detailed too when the topic covered is of interest to the reader. Email marketing is more than just pushing promos, discounts and sales. They can be an effective communication channel that amplifies your brand’s voice.

In Conclusion

Email marketing is a wonderful tool that smart marketers use to expand their reach, generate and convert leads down the funnel, and establish their brand presence in the competition. As part of an integrated marketing strategy, we often use email marketing to help our clients grow their business. Whether their goal is to get more social followers, raise brand awareness, get traffic to web or physical stores, email marketing has helped many small, medium, and large brands.