Is Email Marketing Really Dead?

I often get asked whether or not I believe email marketing is really dead. My first thought (accompanied by an exaggerated eye roll) is: unfortunately, no. While I do believe email itself is still well alive and kicking, I am convinced this type of marketing is definitely dying down. With such an increase in creating a personalized user experience, it’s hard to imagine mass email marketing thriving much longer.

In just the past holiday season, how many of you were bombarded with useless, irrelevant emails that claimed, “you may be interested in this…”? Now, how many of those emails did you actually open? If any at all, I can be almost certain it was not the ones that told you what you would be interested in. What used to be considered interesting, innovative and creative has now turned into junk or even worse, spam. Here are a few reasons why:

You’re Getting Caught Up in The Wrong Crowd

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to reach out to current and potential clients through email, as everything in this world has turned digital. However, sending out a generic, automated and impersonalized email to your entire email list is very, very wrong. Not everyone on that list is interested in what you have to say and it’s important to know that. Make sure you have personalized targeted lists and only send them personalized information based on the list they are in. For example, your Manufacturing prospects should not be receiving information on “Digital Marketing for Healthcare in 2015” or a webinar invitation for “SEO Best Practices for Real Estate” and vise versa.

Humans Want to Talk to Humans

Your prospective client is a human before anything else, and they want to be treated as such. How many times have you tried to reach a customer service representative and had your finger ready on the number zero to reach an operator? It’s the same with email. That means the tone of your email should sound like you are speaking over the phone, because that’s exactly what it is taking place of. Also, many ‘reply to’ email addresses are often associated with an email that the company very rarely checks, like info@yourcompany.com. So when someone does read your email and replies directly with a question or concern, more often than not it goes unseen and unanswered. Don’t rely on your email campaigns to take place of a human representative of your company.

Texting is The New Email

Just as the Internet as taken place of face-to-face meetings, and email has taken over phone conversations, text messaging is becoming the quickest and easiest way to communicate (some even believe messaging services are taking over social media). Because texting is direct and to the point, individuals feel they are getting a personalized, human experience. Like hitting zero for an operator, users can reply with ‘stop’ or another simple and quick code that prevents any further messaging. That makes it much more easier than scrolling down a long boring email to find the ‘unsubscribe’ button and sometimes having to wait 3-5 days before actually being removed.

Case in point? Email Marketing isn’t dead, but it definitely is dying down. Use Email Marketing wisely and with a specific goal and targeted audience in mind, like an invitation to an industry based webinar or event. If you don’t have interesting and relevant information to send out, don’t send it. Your audience will appreciate it more than you think!