Email Blast or Email Segmentation?

What is an Email Blast?

An email blast is a method used in email marketing that involves sending a single email to many recipients at the same time. This approach enables you to reach a wide audience without the need to send individual emails to each contact on your list. Email blasts are commonly used for promotional purposes, such as announcing new products or providing updates on important information. They can also be used for sending newsletters or any other communication that requires the same message to be delivered to all recipients.

However, while email blasts can be an effective strategy, they can also be perceived as impersonal, promotional, and untrustworthy. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that the email blast delivers value and is welcomed by your contacts. It’s essential to avoid exploiting your audience for your benefit and being perceived as such. Due to this risk, many modern marketers consider email blasts to be outdated, and instead, they use more advanced techniques like email segmentation, where contacts are categorised based on their information.

What is Email Segmentation?

Email segmentation involves the process of dividing an email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, interests, behaviour, or purchase history. This approach enables email marketers to personalise and target their email campaigns, meaning that each segment receives tailored and more relevant messages based on their unique characteristics. Essentially, it’s the opposite of email blasts.

Segmenting your email list can have numerous benefits, including increasing engagement and conversion rates, building stronger relationships with subscribers, and enhancing the effectiveness of email marketing campaigns. Even for smaller lists, it’s generally a good idea to use segmentation to maximise engagement and revenue. Email segmentation can be accomplished either manually or using automated tools.

When to Use an Email Blast

Email blasts are most useful when providing informational updates that apply to your entire audience, such as important company announcements, industry news, or general information about your products or services. They can also be helpful for promoting a sale or new product.

However, it’s essential to be selective with what you send to your entire email list, as irrelevant or random messages can lead to inbox fatigue and potentially cause people to unsubscribe or mark your emails as spam.

Let’s take a look at five examples of good times to use an email blast:

1. To announce a significant company milestone, such as an anniversary, product release, or new partnership.
2. To share important news with your customers or subscribers, such as changes to your business, hours, or policies.
3. To promote a limited-time sale, discount, or special offer to your email list.
4. To distribute a newsletter or other regular content to your subscribers, such as a weekly roundup of industry news or a monthly product review.
5. To send a holiday or seasonal greeting to your email list, such as a Christmas or New Year’s message.

It’s crucial to make sure that the information you provide is relevant and valuable to a large group of people on your list, and that you deliver a clear and concise message.

If you could prefix your email blast with ‘Oyez Oyez Oyez’ and shout the content to your audience through a town crier, without it sounding weird, then it’s likely the message is suitable for an email blast.

For more advanced marketing needs, it’s time to consider email segmentation and more personalized email campaigns.

When to Use Email Segmentation

Although email blasts have their uses, the safe cases for them are limited. Therefore, it’s a good idea to use email list segmentation whenever possible, even for smaller lists. By segmenting your email list, you can divide your contacts into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, behaviour, history, or interests. This, in turn, allows you to create more targeted and personalized email campaigns that are more relevant to each group’s unique characteristics, which can increase engagement and return on investment from email marketing.

Segmentation is particularly useful for larger lists, as it enables you to tailor messages to separate sub-groups that might otherwise go to your general list, meeting your customers where they are. If your business has a sales team, multiple products or services, or a diverse customer base, segmentation becomes even more critical to send targeted emails based on buyer personas and/or differentiated customer journeys. By doing so, you can create campaigns that are tailored to the specific needs and interests of your subscribers, which can ultimately lead to better engagement and conversions.

How to Send an Email Blast for Best Results

If you plan to send an email blast, it’s crucial to do it well to get the best results while minimizing any possible negative consequences. Here are some tips to help you achieve this goal:

1. Choose a reputable email marketing service provider that offers high deliverability rates, easy contact management, detailed reporting features, and a user-friendly email editor. Keep in mind that tools with these features are typically not free.
2. Regularly clean your contact lists by removing inactive or uninterested contacts. Most email or CRM tools can do this automatically.
3. Select the appropriate content and occasion for your email blast, ensuring it’s relevant and valuable to a large group of people on your list while passing the “Oyez” test.
4. Define a single goal for your email blast, and ensure that all text, images, and call-to-actions move readers toward that desired result.
5. Personalise your email blast as much as possible, using merge tags or other personalisation tools to capture your recipients’ attention.
6. Send the email blast at the best time, based on your provider’s data or industry best practices.
7. Analyse email blast reporting and statistics to determine its success and to make necessary adjustments. Most email or CRM tools offer analytics data to help with this.

By following these tips, you can create a more successful email blast that engages your audience and achieves your marketing goals.

How Much Does It Cost to do an Email Blast?

The cost of an email blast can vary, depending on several factors, such as the size of your email list, the email marketing service you use, and the complexity of your campaign. Most email marketing services charge based on the number of contacts on your email list, with prices typically starting at around £10-20 per month for smaller lists and increasing for larger lists. Some services also offer pricing tiers that include additional features, such as automation or advanced reporting.

Apart from the service fees, you may also incur costs associated with creating the content and design for your email blast, such as hiring a copywriter or designer. However, if you are using a template or creating the content yourself, these costs can be minimal or even free.

Another cost to consider is building or buying your email list. Nevertheless, overall, the cost of an email blast can be relatively low compared to other marketing channels, which is a significant part of its attraction.

Is Buying an Email List a Good Idea?

No, buying an email list is generally not a good idea. Here are some reasons why:

• Low quality and relevance: Most purchased email lists are of low quality and have little relevance to your brand and message. These lists often contain outdated or inaccurate contact information, and the recipients may not be interested in your message.
• Risk of being marked as spam: When you send emails to a purchased list, many of the recipients may not have opted-in to receive your messages. This can result in a high number of spam complaints and unsubscribes, which can harm your sender reputation and make it more difficult to reach the inbox of your intended audience.
• Violation of anti-spam laws: In many countries, including the United States, Canada, and the European Union, it is illegal to send unsolicited marketing emails without the recipient’s permission. Purchasing an email list can put you at risk of violating these laws and facing legal penalties. In short, you’ll violate the rules of consent under GDPR.
• Ineffective and costly: Sending emails to a purchased list can be ineffective and costly, as many of the recipients may not be interested in your message and may not engage with your emails. This can result in a low return on investment and a waste of time and resources.

Instead of buying an email list, it’s far better to build your own list of subscribers through opt-in methods, such as website sign-ups or lead magnets. This will ensure that your emails are going to an audience that is interested in your message and has given you permission to contact them. It may take more effort and time to build a list this way, but it will be more effective and sustainable in the long run.

What are the Alternatives to Buying Email Lists?

Rather than buying an email list, there are several alternatives that can help you build a high-quality email list:

1. Use opt-in forms on your website: Add opt-in forms to your website to encourage visitors to subscribe to your email list. Offer an incentive, such as a free guide or discount, to entice them to sign up.
2. Use social media to promote your email list: Promote your email list on your social media channels and encourage your followers to sign up. You can also use paid social media ads to reach a larger audience.
3. Attend events and collect email addresses: Attend relevant industry events and collect email addresses from attendees who are interested in your brand or message.
4. Partner with other businesses: Partner with other businesses in your industry to cross-promote each other’s email lists.
5. Run contests and giveaways: Run contests and giveaways that require entrants to provide their email address to enter.

Although these methods may require more time and effort than purchasing an email list, they will help you build a high-quality email list of subscribers who are genuinely interested in your brand and message.

In Summary

An email blast is a single email sent to a large list of contacts, all at once. Although it can be an effective way to reach a lot of people simultaneously, email recipients are becoming more discerning and sceptical, especially with marketing emails. Thus, it is essential to know how to send an email blast the right way.

To achieve the best results, choose a reputable email marketing service provider, clean your contact lists regularly, choose the right content and occasion, define a single goal, personalize your email blast, send it at the best time, and analyse email blast reporting and statistics. By following these tips, you can create a successful email blast that engages your audience and achieves your marketing goals.

However, while email blasts have their place, email segmentation is generally considered a more effective and personalised approach. Email segmentation involves dividing an email list into smaller groups based on specific criteria, which enables a more targeted and personalised approach to email marketing.

Email Marketing is a Bigger Subject Than You Think

Email marketing is a big subject, there is a lot to take in and it can often become overwhelming, even for the more technically minded, so you may be looking for some help.

The articles published on the social:definition website are about everyday subjects that we deal with. We’ve done all the hard work, read the documents, and put everything into practice. We’ve learned a lot ourselves through continued research, our own development and practical experience. All this experience goes into the work we carry out for our clients, so, if we can help, we’d be only too happy to.

If you are looking to raise your email marketing game, need help getting started, or your email marketing isn’t delivering against your goals You can contact us directly through the form on this page or using any of the details throughout our website.