5 Benefits Of Combining Email And SMS

Brands from every industry are taking advantage of email marketing. From small, family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies, it’s becoming increasingly rare to find a brand that doesn’t have some sort of email marketing strategy in place.

After all, with a 4,400% ROI, email marketing is one of the most powerful digital channels a brand can use. Email also has a worldwide user base that consists of billions of people, so it’s only natural that brands use email to reach audiences regardless of where they might be in the world.

There is no doubt that email marketing is a channel that you should leverage for your business. That said, you can maximize your email performance by combining email and SMS.

In this post, we’ll walk you through five benefits you’ll see when you combine email marketing and SMS.

1. It’s Effective At Getting Your Messages Read

Customers today use their smartphones for everything, not just sending text messages. Mobile devices are used to shop online, order take-out, pay the bills, and check emails.

According to data, an average of 68% of email opens occur on a mobile device.

Since most of your subscribers will likely check their emails on a mobile device, this offers a perfect opportunity for you to throw SMS into the mix.

Whenever you send out an email, try sending a summarized version of the same message through SMS. That way, you ensure that your subscribers will read at least one of your messages.

2. Everybody Owns A Smartphone

Look around you during your daily commute—while you’re having coffee at the nearest café, or even while you’re browsing in a store, it’s near impossible to see someone who isn’t looking down on their smartphone.

Statista reports that there are around 2.7 billion smartphone users as of 2019.

Your subscribers most likely own smartphones, so why not use it to your advantage? Additionally, outside of emails, SMS is one of the best alternatives you can use to keep in touch with your audience.

3. SMS Is Permission-Based

The only way you can email a subscriber is if they opt into your list. Users have to sign up to your list by entering their name, email address, and other information on one of your sign up forms. If you use the double opt-in method of confirmation, you have to send users an email asking them to confirm their subscription. Only once they complete this action will they be added to your list of subscribers.

This also applies to SMS marketing. Before you can even start sending text messages to your subscribers, they first need to confirm they want to receive these messages from you—which is a simple process.

The next time you send out emails, try including an SMS opt-in message in the copy of your email. In your email footer, you can have a short CTA such as “Want to receive SMS updates on our latest offers? Text the code UPDATE to 12345.

4. You Can Use SMS To Remind Subscribers Of The Emails You’ve Sent

When subscribers text you the code, then you already know they are interested in receiving text messages from you.

You can now start integrating text messages into your email marketing campaigns.

For example, you just sent your weekly email newsletter that promotes a brand-new article on your website. You can send text messages to those who haven’t opened the email but are subscribed your SMS list, as well. In your text message, you can include the link to your new blog so that subscribers have easy access to it.

5. SMS Is Always On

No matter what type of email you send, you can never guarantee that 100% of your subscribers will open and read that email. It’s just the nature of email marketing.

Not only does reading emails require a steady internet connection, but some people also don’t check their email accounts every day.

SMS doesn’t have these limitations. Smartphone users don’t need to have their data turned on to read text messages, which means they will always receive your SMS. Moreover, since users always receive a text message, it’s much more likely to be read compared to your email message.

Wrapping Up

Email marketing is unquestionably one of the most formidable channels in a brand’s digital marketing arsenal. The level of return it offers is incomparable and it is a channel that is used by virtually everyone on the planet.

As impressive a channel as email marketing is, there are definitely ways it can be complemented.

One of the best ways is combining email marketing with SMS marketing.

Both email and SMS are read on smartphones, so it’s a no-brainer. Furthermore, a text message acts as a great complement to your email campaign. When you send an email to your subscribers, not all your subscribers will open and read it. Sending subscribers a short summary of your email via text is a great way to keep them in the loop about important brand updates, new products, and exciting promotions and offers.

By merging two marketing tactics into one cohesive strategy, you have the chance to take your branding to the next level and stand out from your competition.

Author Bio: Ash Salleh is the Director of SEO at Campaign Monitor, where he works closely with content, copy, and analytics teams to improve site-wide optimization. Prior to his time at Campaign Monitor, he also provided SEO and digital marketing expertise at Zappos and Axiata Digital.