Tuesday, March 20, 2007

The Wham! Bam! Thank You! Email Marketing Glut

It's one thing to say there's too much email coming into your inbox, yet quite another to ask are you sending too much.

Why is that? Because email is digital marketing and digital marketing is email. The two are one and the same, when you get right down to it. There's really no end of people who want useful content, something to buy if priced right, something to admire, an interesting story, news about new products (or current products), reviews, tips, ideas.

Busy as it may be, cluttered beyond belief, over burdened to the point of denial, there happens to be an insatiable appetite for content well done, no matter how much much traffic in the channel.

So you shouldn't worry about the Email Glut. Unless you just don't 'get it' with regard to content. Then you may end up having more than your fair share of trouble. After all is said and done, you need to think about what you're sending. The message must have value, or the permission to send won't survive. You'll end up struggling endlessly with delivery. Blacklists shall loom large.

Now, that's not to say that a certain sector isn't going a bit overboard with excess. The frenzy for seemless contact with customers is nearly insatiable inside the retail market. Per David Baker, "especially in the trigger happy retail and entertainment spaces..."

Borders Rewards seems to have it down quite well. Once or twice a month for books that you might like. Very nice. But other marketers can't seem to get enough of the Blast. It's like an addiction for them. Just hit the button and... wham! Fifty thousand emails...

Is that how it is for you?

Do you have a digital voice that's unique to your brand (the oranization's unique personality), or do you have a commodity message that mirrors all of the other "stuff?" A me-too message full of "content" that anyone could be sending (and is sending all too often).

If you can't answer this question affirming the uniqueness of your online message, you may be at risk. Of course, you may focus on great coupons or discounts with each email. Is yours a deal that's too good to pass up? Then it's not so important to find that originality of voice. Your customer is not really expecting it. Just give us the good deal. Yes, that works just fine.

But what if your business is built upon a carefully crafted propositon? Something different? A brand apart?

Then it may be time to make original use of the three most important ingredients of email marketing...

Content. Content. Content.

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