It’s 13 years this week, since I got my first ever email address! At the time, even though I only knew a few people who used email, it was clear to me that email had massive potential for me and what was then, my new business.
Now that pretty-much everyone uses email, it’s interesting to me that so few businesses and entrepreneurs use email marketing effectively!
For example: Buying email lists & sending ads
When you buy an email database, it’s often just a list of people who are getting SLAMMED with junk mail and spam. Why? Because the same people, who are on the email list that YOU just bought, are on all the other lists too! As a result, they will have either changed their email address or they will only accept email from their ‘white list’ of approved contacts. In either case, your latest offer is NOT going to reach them!
By contacting a stranger with an advertisement, you miss the point totally! That’s because the ‘average’ person these days is not as stupid as some marketers seem to think – far from it.
In fact, the marketplace has never been better informed or more hacked-off at the amount of advertising they receive, than they are today! If you want to gain the trust of a prospective client or customer these days, you need to engage them first; rather than just throw more adverts at them.
If you want to REALLY succeed using email marketing, it’s my experience that the best route is to build your own list of subscribers, and contact them using an informative, valuable newsletter. In fact, I have a few tips for you here; based on my own newsletter, which is read by thousands of people from more than 100 countries. This newsletter generated over a hundred thousand pounds for my business in its very first year – starting with an initial readership of just 29 people!
By the way, the free newsletter guide I mentioned earlier is part of a series I am planning. If you have any questions regarding newsletter marketing, either contact me here or leave a comment.
I guess it was about 13 years ago I got my first email address too. On Compuserve. What did we do before? Thanks for your blog posts. Enjoy them.
Joe,
With email such a BIG part of our lives today, it’s hard to imagine being without it now isn’t it?
I totally agree with your point about buying lists versus building your own list.
Marketers need to remember they are engaging real people not just an email address. Ask yourself if you would do the same thing standing in front of me before sending that email add.
@Jim,
So very true. I am proud to say that I practice these principles with my own newsletter.
Jessie Ann Heekin
Mihai,
I love how you said; “Marketers need to remember they are engaging real people not just an email address.” Excellent!
Jessie,
Good to hear that you are working along similar lines to myself.
I remember getting one with America Online. Geez I remember hearing “You Got Mail!” Good memories.
My first email address was January 23, 1989! Some coming up to my 20th anniversary. I’ve got a little blog post anecdote coming up about what happened when my wife got hers soon after that…
David,
I’m guessing that, as a Scientist, you already knew quite a few email users – even back in 89?
Yes, we were on the UK academic network, but it wasn’t quite as widely used as you’d expect, we were still faxing research papers back and forth for quite some time after ’89. All scientific correspondence is done by email these days; that and FriendFeed, it seems
going to study your newsletter marketing ideas more, jim. then put them into play for my project to strengthen readership return rates. until it sinks in their new content daily.