The benefits of email marketing for small businesses are not always obvious. Email marketing is being used by thousands of organizations to promote their businesses and to grow revenue. If you’re on the fence about email or overwhelmed with information, we want to help you get started. Here are five benefits of email marketing for small businesses.

1. Reaching The Right Audience

This is perhaps one of the biggest benefits of email marketing for small businesses– it allows you to hit your target audience wherever they are. People are more programmed than ever to ignore billboards, recycle printed promotional materials, and fast-forward through commercials. Email is another story.

In fact, research has shown that people spend 30 percent of their time at work and 50 percent of the time working from home on checking email. That’s a lot of time spent in the inbox! Email marketing software can help ensure your email gets to those people and gets opened.

This isn’t to say you should send emails every day, but you should be sending innovative, creative, and effective emails. Why? For the simple reason that your network is interested in hearing from you.

Market research firm MarketingSherpa found that 91 percent of adults in the United States enjoy receiving promotional emails from companies with which they do business. As a result, not only do people check their email frequently, but they also want to receive email.

Email marketing software allows small businesses to quickly and easily reach an audience that is already interested in what they have to say.

2. Monitoring Metrics Over a Period of Time

Knowing what works is extremely beneficial. You have the opportunity to build on your previous success. It is equally important to recognize areas in which you can make improvements. While it is easier (and more enjoyable) to concentrate on the positive, recognizing areas where improvements can be made will help you to improve your products and services. By tracking conversion and click-through rates, email marketing software makes it simple to collect this type of information from customers.

Whenever you come across an email with a high click-through rate, use it as a template for future emails. For example, if you notice that an email with an image performs exceptionally well, include a compelling image in the following email.

It is important to understand that not every email will be a rousing success, despite the fact that we would prefer it to be that way all the time. And that’s fine with me. Furthermore, it is completely normal! Because of that reality, take the same amount of time to look at emails that didn’t perform as well as you hoped. Make sure you have clear calls to action, your links are all working correctly, and the content is interesting.

3. Consistent Outreach & Increased Awareness

Staying top of mind isn’t always in the lists of benefits of email marketing for small businesses, but it’s a big one. Email marketing is an easy way to stay in touch with your network.

This consistent outreach translates into people more easily thinking of your business when they need your services. The key word here being, “consistent,” not, “irregular.” If you email your network once or twice a year and it’s only ever to promote your business, you’ll likely see very low engagement. There’s not much in it for them, only for you.

Consistent communication with content that is interesting and relevant to your audience should be your primary focus. Are you a real estate agent? You can discuss topics like DIY home projects, how to landscape on a budget or even financial tips on down payments. Make sure your contact information is easily accessible so that anyone who feels compelled to reach out can do so quickly.

By providing applicable and relevant information, you’re positioned as an expert and show your audience you care about them beyond making a sale.

4. A Cost-Effective Method

One of the most appealing benefits of email marketing for small businesses is affordability. The return on investment in email marketing has always increase year-over-year. A 2016 study by Campaign Monitor found that every $1 invested in email marketing equalled a $44 ROI. And that’s an increase of almost $10 from the year prior!

So for small businesses on a limited budget, getting the most bang for your buck means using email marketing.

Printing and mailing flyers, attending conferences, and hiring help are all expensive ways to market your business. They certainly have their value, but they aren’t something most small businesses can do on a regular basis. Email, however, is what you can do on a regular basis.

Your emails can reach hundreds or thousands of people at a minimal cost to you. A joint study from Shop.org and Forrester Research found that 85 percent of US retailers consider email marketing one of the most effective customer acquisition tactics.

Low cost + high ROI = a small business win.