Maybe you’ve heard rumors that email marketing is dead. I’m not sure how these rumors get started. Possibly it’s by email marketers who are trying to reduce competition in their readers’ inboxes.
Email marketing is far from dead. Just as direct mail isn’t dead. Nor advertising on TV and radio.
This is a tangent, but it’s worth mentioning: New technology doesn’t always replace old technology. In many cases, it exists side by side with the old way of doing things, offering more options and alternatives.
Which brings me to my point. Some people may try to tell you that social media is replacing email. But nothing could be further from the truth. The two complement one another, working together to round out a well-integrated marketing plan.
Social hasn’t replaced email. It’s simply changed it, giving it social elements that weren’t possible in its early days, when it was seen as nothing more than digital mail.
From digital mail to social touch
I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but it’s worth repeating. Marketing has changed. You can’t simply talk at your prospects and customers anymore. You have to engage them, allow them to talk. And above all else, you must listen to what they say.
Even if you haven’t fully bought into social media, you can’t deny that marketing is a social process.
Social media has given people a voice, and they want (and expect) to exercise it.
Social media has give people a voice, and they want
to use it. Make all your marketing social.
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As a result, your email needs to incorporate elements that we think of as social. Things like…
- A conversational tone, as if you’re talking directly with your reader instead of spouting your approved corporate-speak.
- Topics that are relevant and interesting to your readers, so they’ll choose to join the conversation.
- Social buttons that let people connect with you easily.
- An understanding that you’re open to continuing the conversation. (This can be spoken or unspoken, but it needs to be there.)
Creating relationship as a foundation for sales
The reason marketing has changed is because consumers have changed. They’re smart. They know when you’re trying to sell them on something. They recognize your persuasive tricks from a mile away.
If you can establish relationship first, then soften the sales pitch to something more akin to a friendly request, you can still make the sale. They key is to build a relationship based on trust.
That’s why social is so important. Every aspect of your marketing plan needs to become relationship-oriented. Including your email.
Needless to say, it helps if your email server provides the tools you need to make your emails more social. That’s one of the reasons I recently switched to MailChimp.
In addition to playing nicely with other vendors, which makes my life a lot easier, MailChimp really seems to “get” the social thing.
They always answer my questions quickly. It doesn’t matter what I need help with, they’ve got a ready (and friendly) answer.
And they provide all sorts of ways for me to promote my lists, so I can be as creative (and social) as I need to be. Every list has a QR code, code to embed the form on a Web page, and a URL for the sign-up form, in case I want to link to it from Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
These days, this is the minimum you should expect from your email provider. Marketing has changed, and your vendors need to keep up.
But so do you
Using MailChimp as a case study, making your brand more social is a great way to win friends and influence people to buy. It’s not that hard, either:
- Be accessible to people.
- Answer their questions quickly.
- Make their life easier.
- Give them the tools they need to succeed.
Do it well, and they’ll not only tell people how great you are, they could become your biggest fan. In my book, that’s what social is all about.
The bottom line in email marketing — and all marketing — is that you have to connect with your people before you can sell to them. That means you need to integrate every social element possible, not just through technology, but permeating your entire business.
Have you managed to make your brand more social? What’s worked best for you? Take a moment to share your ideas. I appreciate the comments.
