Before getting to the details if this article I would like to explain to all who read my posts why you haven’t heard from me recently. I had major surgery on my neck on March 1 and have been unable to move my head enough to do any typing. I am still restricted in the amount of time that I can spend at the computer; therefore, will be limited in my activity for several more weeks. I must wear a stiff neck brace 24/7 to allow time for healing which will be followed by physical therapy.I trust this article will be beneficial as you advance your internet marketing career.

Email marketing as a primary customer engagement and sales tool has often been under siege in recent times as being an outdated method of marketing. Currently, social media marketing is the chief contender. There are both benefits and drawbacks to social media, which makes comparing it to email marketing an appealing task.

It will be much easier to compare both options and decide which one is going to be the best for your business. if you can understand what social media marketing has to offer. Let’s take a few moments to look at a few differences between the two and see how it affects their overall value.

Reasons Email Marketing Is Still the Best Option

1. Social Media Isn’t Scalable on Every Platform

So you understand the term: in electronics (including hardware, communication and software), scalability is the ability of a system, network, or process, to handle growing amount of work in a capable manner or, its ability to be enlarged to accommodate that growth.[1] For example, it can refer to the capability of a system to increase total throughput under an increased load when resources (typically hardware) are added.

One of the primary problems with social media is that it still isn’t scalable to the level that email marketing is. This is particularly true on certain platforms. You can easily get thousands of followers on Facebook and Twitter, but niche social media sites such as LinkedIn isn’t going to be as scalable for networking purposes. On the other hand, no matter how small your niche is – email marketing will always be able to grow as long as you are generating leads.

2. Individual Messages are Temporary

An email that has not been deleted is always available to be read again. With social media your messages won’t in front of your audience for very long. In some cases, it may only be for a few minutes.

Also, with email and an autoresponder such as Aweber or Get Response , you can create a set of 10 or 20 or more emails that will be sent automatically to every single prospect who signs up. With social media you will constantly have to generate new content.

3. Social Media Isn’t a Direct Line of Communication

With most social media platforms there isn’t a good way to directly communicate with an individual person or group of people. Even though interacting through comments is still possible, the one-on-one setting isn’t. With an email, you are speaking directly to one person, regardless of how many people you are sending it to. social media can make it much more difficult to build a deeper relationship with anyone, outside of a group setting.

Reasons Why Social Media Could Surpass Email Marketing

1. Subscribing is Easier

Facebook. doesn’t require any personal information and it takes only a few seconds for someone to follow you. It only takes one-click to get a Facebook follower, but much more to get someone to opt into your list.

2. You Don’t Need to Give Anything Away

Getting everything set up for an e-mail marketing campaign takes more time and effort than setting up a social media profile. Most people will only sign up to your email list if you are giving away something of value. They will follow you on Facebook and Twitter. because they find you interesting or fascinating.

3. There is no Training Involving Your Followers

With e-mail marketing, it is important that you get your followers into a routine. If you send a newsletter you need to do it on a regular schedule.On the other hand,with social media marketing,  they will be shown your message regardless of whether or not they are looking for it.

1.    Establish yourself as a trusted expert. People search online for information and will look to you, as a subject matter expert, to provide it to them. Every week (or whatever schedule works) provides an opportunity to build on this, while reinforcing your brand.
2.    Build a relationship with the people on your list. People like to buy from people they like. By using an online newsletter or ezine to connect with readers in you can develop a relationship of familiarity and trust. You can help this process by sharing a little about yourself from time to time, whether it is an anecdote or some interesting event.
3.    Keep in touch with prospects and clients. Consideration should be given to eventually developing two ezines: one for prospects and one for clients, as each require different information. This is a great way to notify your readers of weekly specials or upcoming product launches.
4.    Drive traffic to your website or blog. As noted in #3, remember to call attention to new blog posts or other changes to your website with links directly to those pages. Remind readers of your online newsletter archives. Promote special sales (maybe with discount coupon codes only for subscribers) with a link to the sales page. Use links to turn your ezines and newsletters into ‘silent salespersons’– driving traffic to your website and building your lists around the clock.
5.    Build content on your website. Make a habit of adding your ezines and newsletters to your website in an archive area. This serves a several important purposes:
o    Visitors can read an issue or two to determine if your ezine will be of interest to them, which could help to increase sign-ups and potential sales.
o    If you optimize your article placements, you will not only make your website meatier, but you’ll also bring new traffic from the search engines.

Email marketing can be profitable for any business, no matter what kind of product or service you offer. It is significantly cheaper than other advertising methods and, if done right, helps build loyalty and trust with customers. As a result, you will earn at home with more sales and more profits!

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