What is email marketing?

Everyone understands what email is but not everyone knows what I mean when I say email marketing. Picture the blank look of a relative when I respond to the standard "what does your company do?"

After a little explaining, they have an ah ha moment and say "oh you mean spam!"

So close...

Email marketing is about using email to deliver newsletters, promotions, news and other messages to people who have asked to receive them.

Email marketing builds on the experiences of traditional direct mail but it adds two major factors.

First, permission. Email marketing without permission is spam. Simple and clear. This simple fact has changed the rules of marketing forever. The consumer is in control of the relationship.

Second, technology. Instant delivery. Instant response. Customized message to every recipient. Everything is measured in realtime.

So what is email marketing?

Using technology to deliver information in a timely, cost effective and measurable manner. It is paperless. It is targeted and it effective.

the trouble with email...

email is a phenomenal tool. it allows for low cost one-to-one communication with contacts. it is timely. it is measurable. it is nearly universal in its usage. but it comes at a cost...

beyond the concerns about spam and widespread abuse, the basics of marketing need to be considered when doing any campaign.

just because you can send emails for pennies does not mean that you should just fire off anything you like.

what is this rant about? good marketing.

my focus is mainly in the B2B space, but i do have some b2c clients in the retail fashion industry.

here is the problem - if you send an email that is so artistic that you can't create a text version of it, what is the message of the email really about?

when creating an email campaign always start with a goal. since email is measurable - make sure the goal is too.

think of the audience - whats in it for them? what is the offer? it is so easy for someone not to read your email, make sure that you give them a good reason to.

ask yourself - is this email about me or the recipient? if there is nothing in it for the recipient - why are you sending it to them? they won't care about it any more than you would like to hear about their summer trip with the kids to see aunt whatsherface.

getting to the point... a low cost of delivery for a campaign does not mean that you should sacrifice good planning and marketing rules that have been proven for decades.

the attention span of someone reading your email is less than 5 seconds - they won't stick around to try and figure out whats in it for them.

tell them whats in it for them in the subject line.
make the offer relevant to them
make it timely
set a measurable goal up front ( you cant improve if you don't measure it )
and last, but no least - TEST IT!!