Bugger it–the lack of respect for email.
Outside of the email marketing world, and probably a good amount of the social media marketing world (roughly ~57%), the process of a solid email is greatly disrespected.
For those marketers who do use email marketing (not those that I mentioned above, there is a huge, distinct difference), a great deal of under appreciation happens day in and day out. Tight deadlines, lure of ROI, obliviousness to laws, obliviousness to recipient needs / wants, budget pressure. These are just some of the many excuses those who do not respect email use.
And while I can understand why some of these lead would lead to perhaps less $$$ spent on hardened email strategy and development, I can’t understand why there is still a great belief that email is easy and quick.
It is neither easy, nor quick.
If you, as a direct marketer, were getting ready to send a 10,000 piece postcard, would you not plan for how to track the results? Would you not test two creative variants? Would you not want to maximize the effectiveness of it’s small, but powerful 4” x 6” landscape? Would you not want to make sure that all the variable data gets inkjetted correctly and in the correct spot? Would you not want to ensure that all the colors printed correctly and look their very best?
So, why then, would you want to send an email campaign to 10,000 recipients without taking the time to get your strategy in place? It is unacceptable, now a good way through 2010, to not have at least a decent understanding of how email marketing should be.
There are plenty of FREE resources available nowadays–obliviousness is no longer, if it ever was, a viable excuse for not respecting the power of email.
Do not just see an email address as $$$, this is the absolute worst way to. Respect the person behind the address as you would want to be treated, embrace them, engage with them, and the power of email will become even more apparent to you.
If you’re active on twitter, do youself a favor and follow these people: @retailemailblog, @markatemr, @stylecampaign, @mailchimp, @campaignmonitor, @litmusapp, @bronto, and @blueskyfactory.
