In today’s world, email and mail marketing are the digital equivalent of the classic letter and postcard. But while most people think of letters when it comes to mail marketing, the options for effective marketing via postcard and email are more plentiful than ever.
If you’re looking to stand out among your competitors, develop a distinctive voice, and connect with your audience, then you can’t go wrong with email marketing. But if your goal is to grow your business, attract new customers, and make sales, then you should probably consider using mail marketing.
Which One Should You Use?
Let’s compare the pros and cons of using email versus mail marketing to grow your business. Before doing so, it’s important to understand what each one means. So let’s begin with the basics.
What Is Email Marketing?
Put simply, email marketing is the process of sending messages to people via email in order to promote a business or product.
The term ‘email marketing’ was first used in 1978 by Joy Tweedie in a book on business marketing management. Back then, email marketing was referred to as ‘digital mail’. Since then, email marketing has been used actively in various industries, including business, marketing, and eCommerce.
The key differentiator between traditional mail and email marketing is that the latter uses digital communications channels such as email to transmit messages. When a business sends out a letter or brochure via traditional mail, the customer truly receives the message quicker than when it is delivered electronically.
What Is Mail Marketing?
Put simply, mail marketing is the process of sending messages to people via mail in order to promote a business or product.
The term’mail marketing’ was first used in 1940 when the U.S. Postal Service started using it as a way to track the opening of its letters. Since then, mail marketing has been used actively in various industries, including business, marketing, and eCommerce. In general, mail marketing is considered to be the grandfather of email marketing.
If you’re new to the world of marketing, you’ll want to consider using mail marketing. The key differentiator between conventional mail and mail marketing is that the latter uses postal services such as mail and email to transmit messages. So, even though it may seem like email marketing is the more ‘modern’ option, it’s actually the opposite. Email marketing was born out of the need to efficiently market products and services via the burgeoning number of smartphones and digital devices.
With traditional mail, a marketer generally needs to consider what type of paper and envelopes to use. When it comes to email marketing, the type of paper used is generally less important than the content itself. Even more crucial is the question of whether to use a template or not. Using a template makes it easy to create new campaigns and re-use content. This is especially beneficial if you’re starting a new business and don’t have the time to develop content for each new email campaign.
Advantages Of Email Marketing
Let’s move on to the advantages of email marketing.
- It is a widely-recognized and accepted form of marketing.
- It is relatively easy to set up compared to other forms of marketing.
- Email marketing provides you with a target audience that is much smaller than the general public.
- Email marketing allows you to build a relationship with your audience.
- Email marketing is easy to measure and prove to your boss or business partner.
On the other hand, mail marketing has the following advantages:
- It is a proven and accepted form of marketing.
- Mail marketing provides you with a larger audience than email marketing.
- There are no restrictions when it comes to the type of content you can use (provided you have enough pages to make it worth while).
- Mail marketing allows you to connect with your audience through one-to-one correspondence.
- It is easy to set up compared to other forms of marketing.
- You don’t need to consider the type of paper and envelopes to use because they are already known.
Disadvantages Of Email Marketing
Now, let’s move on to the disadvantages of email marketing.
- It is a widely-recognized and accepted form of marketing. However, some people may find it less personal than other forms of marketing.
- If you’re looking for quick results, you may find it harder to get them with email marketing.
- Email marketing was originally designed to be a one-way street. In other words, you’re trying to build a list of subscribers who will receive your messages without any expectation of reciprocity.
- Because it is a relatively new form of marketing, some people may find it difficult to understand what is and isn’t appropriate. This can lead to misuse or abuse of the platform.
- It is easy for businesses to get overwhelmed by the amount of data collected through email marketing. This can lead to inaccurate analysis of results and potentially dangerous consequences.
As you can see, there are both advantages and disadvantages to both email marketing and mail marketing. While the former has been widely used for over 40 years, the latter has become more popular in the last decade. If you’re new to marketing, it may be a good idea to start off with mail marketing to see how it works and to find out how you can put it to the best use for your business.