Marketing has evolved in the past few years, as technology has given marketers new avenues of reaching their audience.
One great marketing strategy that has helped businesses, non-profits, and even hobbyists reach their goals is email marketing.
What makes email so powerful is that it commands ROIs of up to 4400% is the fact that it is an effective form of permission marketing.
What is permission marketing?
Permission marketing is a term that was coined by marketing guru, Seth Godin, back in 1999. He believed that the traditional forms of marketing, also known as invasive or interruptive marketing, were losing their effectiveness as consumers were gaining more control of the information they consumed.
Permission marketing has solved this issue.
Permission marketing is a form of marketing whereby marketers request their audiences’ permission to send them marketing material. This is usually done by means of a double opt-in subscription.
What are the benefits of permission marketing?
What gives permission marketing the edge over traditional marketing like TV, billboard, and radio ads?
Higher engagement and conversion rates
The biggest advantage that permission marketing has over traditional marketing forms is that it has higher engagement rates. This is due to the fact that your target audience is already interested in what you have to offer.
Every marketer knows that an engaged audience is easy to turn into a paying customer. Due to the fact that engagement is high, conversion rates are also higher in permission marketing than other forms of marketing.
Lower operation costs
Permission marketing is targeted at only those who are interested in receiving your promotional material. It also employs low-cost online tools like email to disseminate the marketing material, making permission marketing a very inexpensive method of marketing.
Long-term relationships
Repeat customers make up the bigger chunk of every business. Permission-based marketing gives you an opportunity to build long-term relationships with your customers, turning them into repeat customers.
Examples of permission marketing
Examine the following examples to give you a clearer picture of what permission marketing really looks like:
Opt-in emails
This is where a subscriber has signed up for your emails.
Source: Campaign Monitor
This is permission marketing at its best. Not only is the email sent to subscribers, but it offers a great incentive for them to buy: a promo code.
RSS feeds
Really simple syndication, or RSS, feeds are a great way of employing permission marketing. This is a way of letting your subscribers know about your latest promotion or content by way of sending them a notification.
Loyalty cards
Loyalty cards are another great way of putting permission marketing into action. In signing up for your loyalty program, subscribers give you their information and give you permission to use that information to send them promotional material.
Source: Really Good Emails
Does Permission Marketing really matter?
Since traditional marketing is losing its allure and effectiveness and customers are taking control of the information they consume, it’s time to employ some permission marketing strategies.
Remember, permission marketing:
- Has high engagement
- Produces high ROI
- Results in higher conversion rates
- Helps you build solid relationships with your customers
For the wise marketer, permission marketing does matter.
What now?
Now that you understand what permission marketing is and its benefits, it’s time to add it to your marketing strategy. One of the easiest and most effective forms of permission marketing you can start implementing right away is email marketing.
If you’re not sure how to get started on your journey to permission marketing, here’s an article we created to help you get started with email marketing the right way.