There’s a reason just about every online marketing guru’s website dangles a “subscribe to our newsletter” popup: old-school email newsletters are still the most reliable online marketing method.

In a post answering the question Does WordPress Email Marketing Actually Work? business tech blogger Brenda Barron says yes.  Emphatically!

You should read the whole post yourself but three excerpts — a quote, a chart, and a list — make the case that mailing list marketing is effective and no more difficult than blogging or social media marketing.

“Phrases like 40 times better, 4,300% ROI, 50% more leads, 33% lower cost etc. is nothing to sneeze at. This is enough to demonstrate that email marketing works and that it should be a part of every company’s marketing efforts.”

Mailing-list marketing has a very high response rate

And she makes the case that effective email marketing is neither a dark art nor rocket science!

Some Last Minute General Tips for Email Marketing

• Include sharing buttons in the email. Give them a reason and a way to share your content.
• Make sure the email opens correctly. You only get one chance at this. If it doesn’t open on the first try they’ll likely trash it.
• Use an interesting headline. It doesn’t have to be overly catchy. It just needs to give them a reason to open it.
• Focus on mobile. Your emails should be targeted to their mobile devices. The design should be responsive. Take the smaller screens into account when you send out images, use fonts that are easy to read, and test your templates on your own mobile device before sending out your first newsletter.
• Use personalized promotional mailings.
• Automate your email marketing. Use tools to help you as much as possible.
• Build nice forms and strategically place them on your site for the best performance. Every site is different so it might require some experimenting.
• Entice readers to join by giving them something free.
• Send emails that are value added and have a purpose.
• Keep a consistent schedule. This will train your readers to look for your newsletters and they’ll be even more likely to open them because they’re expecting them.

Source: Brenda Barron, WPMU.COM

Make the case well enough, in fact, that after helping dozens of clients promote their own mailing lists I’m finally decided to take the plunge myself!  (The cobbler’s children are always the last to wear shoes!)