HFTB Marketing Blog

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I remember a certain social media/blogging conference I attended in 2006. The mantra of which was, “email is dead.”

Of course, this was in the context of online marketing. In other words… no one answers email, especially commercial email, so what’s the use.

The solution, which most, if not all, of the presenters put forward to the unwashed masses (read-in “attendees”)…

Stop emailing.

So given the “death of email” prognostication, where are we in 2009? Is email marketing truly dead?

Resurrection

Sonia Simone at Copyblogger doesn’t think so. In her post, Why Email Marketing is Dead (And How to Bring it Back to Life), Sonia explores some of the reasons email is not, in fact, dead… contrary to the post’s title.

So what were the gurus at the new media conference basing their predictions on back in 2006? Well, for one, technology.

The argument was that because of RSS and the public’s limited bandwidth to filter through the enormous number of emails that present themselves in inboxes daily, people would simply stop using email for commercial communications. RSS would step in to allow for more efficient screening of what is, and isn’t, wanted.

So has this happened? Not really. Email remains an extremely effective method of reaching a target audience. But there’s a rub.

It’s the Content, Stupid

It happens that email was not the problem. BORING email was the problem. And by boring, I mean email that really doesn’t provide value to the intended audience.

What’s interesting here is that the same can be said for all types of new media. If the content doesn’t deliver, don’t blame the technology; blame she who misuses the technology.

Wasting people’s time through blanket emails that are sent to purchased email lists or unsolicited recipients isn’t email’s fault. It is, however,  the fault of he who doesn’t take enough time to build a following through consistent and frequent valuable contributions.

Take a look at Sonia’s post here. She lays out the case for effective email use and some tips to help you keep the medium in good health.

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Email Marketing Email Marketing, new media strategy, Online marketing, Simone, Sonia

A good opt-in email list is worth its weight in gold.  And most good lists are the result of long running campaigns and continued customer relationships.

But the work is not done once you get the sign-ups.  No, maintaining the list is just as important as building it in the first place. After all, the “U” word lurks in the back of the mind of any email marketer.  Unsubscribes can quickly kill an email list.

So why do people unsubscribe to content they were initially interested in?  Marketing Sherpa released an interesting chart this morning on just that subject.  The chart lists the top 6 reasons subscribers choose to become unsubscribers.

Check it out here.

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Email Marketing customer relationships, Email Marketing, email newsletters, opt-in email, subscribers, unsubscribes

Should content always be free, or can you spare an email address or two?

In David Meerman Scott’s work “Lose Control of Your Marketing,” he makes the case that offering content on your site that requires some user information is an old tactic which is ineffective in the world of new media.  Of course I paraphrase, but this is the general gist.  He goes on to say that to be an effective new marketer (my term, not his) one must give up control.  This includes putting your information out there for anyone to access… no strings attached (or info requested).  While I agree in principle with the giving up control part, I’d ask you, how valuable is your email address?

Of course, I have a couple addresses that I consider extremely valuable.  But then I also maintain addresses that I use for content offers.  As a marketer myself, I’m more than happy to play the game.  I figure that if someone can get my attention through email, great.  But I want to know how they did it.

In other words, it’s not just the content that is interesting.  I also study their methodology and tactics.  We all know how crowded the email space has become.  But there are still those that stand out.

Scott’s idea that all information should be free is fine.  But for the majority of the content that I request online, I don’t mind providing an email address. With CAN-SPAM I can always unsubscribe if I find I don’t like the content showing up in my inbox.

The idea of giving up control where measurable marketing ROI is concerned I largely agree with.  If you are putting out bait pieces strictly to grow your list, bad idea.  The content must be relevant, valuable and timely, or I would suggest not putting it out there in the first place.  But assuming these criteria are met, why not ask for a name and an email address?

While Scott assumes this is an ROI tactic relegated to CMOs intent on pleasing CFOs, I advise my clients to simply use an email address as the first step to a longer relationship.  A relationship that is not sales-based until a certain level of expertise and trust has been built up.

I get the idea that if you provide compelling, valuable content people will come back to your site.  Think it’s a great idea in fact.  But quite frankly, there are a lot of very good sites out there putting out very valuable info.  I don’t have time to get to all of them on a consistent basis.  But if they are willing to remind me of their content, and every once in a while their products, in an unobtrusive and convenient way that I agree to first, my email address is not all that much to ask.

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Email Marketing, Social Media content, Email Marketing, marketing ROI, new media