If Email Marketing Dies, I’ll Eat My Shoe
Written by Alice Seba
A few weeks ago, I gave you some encouragement when you just don’t feel like blogging (it’s OKAY!), And in that post, I honed in on an area that deserves plenty of your attention…and that’s email marketing.
And a little later, in my sheer frustration at people who claim email marketing is dead or at least dying some slow death, I asked social media enthusiasts to look at the big picture.
In that post, I mentioned that email runs across all platforms (i.e. you don’t have to be on Twitter to get your messages…people have choice of pop3s, Gmail, Hotmail, etc.) and for the online business owner, it also provides:
- Private communication: It’s how your customers can ask questions and get support. And even if you use a ticket system, it’s still in conjunction with email. And yes, while some companies provide basic help to customers through Twitter and other platforms, detailed and private help comes directly through you.
- Privileged communication: Let’s face it, our customers should be treated in a privileged manner. They’ve shown they’re interested and that they are willing to spend money. You want to give them special offers, advanced access and other perks you don’t give to just anyone who becomes a Facebook fan. You can make a TON of cash, just by treating your customers better than everyone else.
- Direct communication of any length: No 140 character limits with email. Say what you want and how you want to say it…no extra clicks to the sale required. THAT is priceless.
- Continuous access: Not everyone checks email every day, but you can bet that IN GENERAL the consistency with the average individual checks it is more consistent than with social media accounts. Of course, there are exceptions for those who live and breathe social media, but we’re talking about the general public here. And yes of course, you need to understand your own market to know what is best for you and for them.
But if that’s not enough for you, here are a couple more reasons why email isn’t going anywhere:
- It’s how people often communicate when more depth and detail is needed. And for many, it’s the only or main way they communicate online.
- It’s how people are notified of their new messages in social media and other collaborative sites. You can bet social media sites are sending out a TON of automated notifications via email each and every day.
For some reason, people feel lower delivery rates (due to aggressive spam filters) has somehow put a nail into the coffin for email. While deliverability is an issue, you have the same issue when it comes to social media sites (not everyone will see your tweet, update, etc.) and many will never drop by or open their RSS feed to read your blog post.
The fact remains, despite some challenges, email is an important part of just about every net savvy person’s life…
Even Facebook is Getting in on the Email Game
You may have heard that Facebook is rumored to be launching its own web-based email application. For the blinded-by-the-light social media starlets this may just seem like further proof that social media is taking over.
But for the shrewd business person, it’s a clear indication that Mark Zuckerberg and the gang understand the power of email. They know this is how people communicate and it’s the missing key to getting all the Facebook addicts completely locked on to their site. 
So it’s up to you if you want to believe the hype or not. I recommend building your mailing list, building your RSS subscribers and making tons of “friends” on the net. Then let’s see what brings the best and most consistent results and what really fuels all your marketing, generates new sales and repeat sales. If I’m wrong, I’ll take a little salt and pepper and perhaps a nice glass of Cab Shiraz with my shoe.
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Regina Baker says:
Good info Alice. Communication will always be the #1 way to receive feedback, sales or to create long lasting relationships. A huge percentage of my communication is either via email, social networking platforms and via my blackberry.
The power of email is astounding! Waking up to emails that read: “You’ve just a made a sale” is a result of sending an email earlier that day or as far as six months prior.
Melissa Ingold says:
I completely agree with this post Alice, and am just as astounded by the whole “email marketing is dead” thing.
Social networking serves its purpose and it can lead to a lot of traffic and sales, but at the end of the day, I believe email is still the preferred method of communication.
Social networking sites like Twitter are limited and can be very distracting, and in most cases, people need more than 140 characters to make a decision about something
Anita DeFrank says:
Well said Alice!
We could create quite the list of all the things we’ve been told are “dying” over the years that the last time I checked weren’t quite dead … the things that are living and breathing quite well if I might add.
If places like Twitter are taking over things like newsletters then why is that so many people use Twitter to let their followers know that their newest issue is available for reading?
My advice for those who should know better but choose to say differently is this: You go right ahead and drop your newsletters. You go right ahead and tell all of your subscribers that if they want to hear anything more from you they’ll have to follow you on Twitter. You go right ahead and make social networking your only option to keep in touch with the lifeblood of your business.
In the meantime I’ll keep my lists, keep emailing them and keep building new ones. I’ll take care of your subscribers quite nicely
Thanks!
Hmm … How many times has Adsense died now?
Anita DeFrank says:
Good point Melissa! I guess that means the long sales page is dying too then, right?
I also forgot to mention Alice … you take the right foot and I’ll take the left. (Unless of course you prefer the left … I’ve heard it tates better anyway.)
Regina Baker says:
I agree Melissa, 140 characters is not enough to get your message across and most of the time, people don’t take them serious.
Every method of communication has it’s purpose, it’s how we properly utilize them that produces action-able results.
Sydney Johnston says:
There is so much garbage that masquerades as genuine knowledge – and unfortunately, lots of people simply accept what others say. Just today, for example, I’ve read or been told:
1. Social marketing is dying! That’s a great one. I remember a story about a small town fair somewhere around 800AD. Isn’t that social marking, 9th-century style? As long as people are on this planet they will gather in groups and talk.
2. Article marketing is dead. As long as those people mentioned above are alive, they’re going to want information. Content, in some form, will ALWAYS be around. The medium and delivery systems will change, but info hunger never will. It’s eternal.
Anita DeFrank says:
@Sydney – Those are two great starters for the five mile + long list of everything that was supposedly dying.
@Regina & Melissa – Yes! Most of the time you need those 140 characters just to write the call to action.
You know, I personally don’t usually buy things from someone who tells me everything thing they did over the weekend (sometimes every hour on the hour). I also don’t usually follow someone on Twitter who has nothing to say but blast me with their ads all day long.
My point is, while I have nothing against social networks and I am an avid user … I just don’t use them for strictly business purposes (as a consumer or as a merchant). There needs to be a happy medium between the personal Joe and the business Joe. You can’t show me those two sides (not fully like it should be) strictly on a social network. Email marketing allows you to do this.
Social networking should be sprinkled over the top of your marketing plan to add a little sweetness or color. It shouldn’t be the whole sundae.
Alice Seba says:
Thanks everyone. You all make some very good points. And it’s true Sydney, people are always saying something is dying. I guess it depends o…
Alice Seba says:
…Oops sorry, ran out of characters.
Back to my point.
I guess it depends on what the flavor of the day happens to be. Sometimes, it’s done as a thinly disguised sale pitch and other times, I think it’s a lack of a rounded perspective on running an online business.
Anita, I am left-handed. It would be easier for me to reach the left foot if that’s okay.
Laurie Neumann says:
I much prefer email marketing to social networking. I know each has its place, but to be honest, I don’t find social networking all that helpful. I am mainly on twitter, but find everyone is pretty much just promoting their own things, and I don’t find too many “conversations” going on.
Peggy Baron says:
Hey Alice,
“…Oops sorry, ran out of characters.
”
haha! I love it!
Thanks for the post. I agree that people are being short-sighted and not looking at the bigger, longterm picture.
Cheers,
Peggy
Marya Miller says:
I hate to be the lone voice in the wilderness, but email is deader than a doornail for me. I’ve unsubscribed from just about everyone, and there are only a very select few people, with whom I have a personal connection, whose mail I will bother to read. I’m really busy, night and day; and a few moments on Twitter every 3 or 4 days is all I can manage for “catching up”… or looking for trends or new information. I find Twitter lightning fast and easy to scan, compared to the nightmare that is my inbox.
That being said, perhaps I’m different in that I have all the clients I need and then some… but I think for people who depend on lists, email is still vitally necessary.
That being said, I’m, uh, writing this in response to your email, Alice.
Alice Seba says:
Marya, you make a good point about preferences and while it’s something I didn’t directly talk about in my post, it’s something I considered in my opinion. It’s true that some people just won’t sign up for newsletters anymore or they’ll send all the messages to a junk email address (raises hand), but generally speaking, I wouldn’t say we are such a norm that it devalues the power of email marketing. Not that you said that…I’m just commenting.
But the same issue goes for social media. People (outside of the Internet marketing set of people who just want to build lists) are discriminant about who they follow and whose updates they actually pay attention to. The noise is loud everywhere and we have to work hard to be follow or subscriber worthy.
But minutes to dollars, it’s my opinion that email still perfoms better. I can get a LOT more out of a few hundred strong subscriber or customer list than I can get out a considerably larger social media following. I don’t dispute the value of social media, but if you want conversions…email is still tops in many (most?) cases.
Anita DeFrank says:
@Laurie Neumann
I found myself in the same situation a while back ago. Everyone was telling I needed to get on Twitter. Finally one day I broke down and joined. I gave it a try for a few solid weeks – probably a good month even. I was not impressed. I too seem nothing more than what looked like a bunch of permitted spamming.
It didn’t take me long to give it up. To me it really seemed like a waste of time. I didn’t need another way to get bombarded with spam. Somewhere along the lines I managed to make it back. I took a real good look at who I was following and let me tell you, I dropped a lot of them.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind seeing a link here and there from someone. But to me, they call it SOCIAL networking for a reason. Make sure you sprinkle in some conversation here and there too.
So all that said to say, maybe it’s time to take a long hard look at those you’re following? Take a look at their pages, scroll down through their messages and if it’s nothing more than a bunch of links of things you’re not really that interested in … hit the unfollow. Take a look around and see who some of your friends are following – see if some of them might be of interest to you.
There’s a lot you can tell about a fellow Twitter by simply looking at their past 10 – 15 tweets
Sorry! Didn’t mean to take this over to a different topic!
Laurie Neumann says:
Good tip, Anita. Thanks!
The Center of Your Content Marketing : Contentrix – Content Marketing says:
[...] you’re not convinced, perhaps the many reasons email marketing is alive and well might [...]