"Oh! So you're the person that's spamming me..."
When I got my first job out of college and explained to friends that I was working in email marketing, that was often the response. And my technical response was ....okay well, people give us their email address, ya know, and they did check the every-so-tiny box agreeing to receive emails sooo, actually no, I'm not spamming anyone. Also, I'm really smart now.
Fast forward a few years into my position at a digital agency and the CEO's soap box started with, "spam is any email a customer doesn't want."
Agh. So, if I've spent hours designing, coding, copywriting and segmenting my email but it reaches a customer's inbox with no relevance, timelines or interest then, yeah, it's spam.
Spam is no longer definitive. As emails and inboxes have evolved, so has spam. Someone does not have to click the icon to classify an email as spam. Now, spam is subjective and personal and often not reported -- which could be worse. They're hating on your emails behind your back.
This is depressing. I thought we were talking about email being cool.
But let's get back to the point. Listen closely. Email is cool because -- look at me -- your subscribers have already told you they like you. It's passing the note during social studies and asking them to check-yes-or-no.
They've already given you their email address. They've checked yes.
I'm not giving my home address to someone I don't want at my house. I'm not giving my phone number to someone I don't want texting me and Kelly didn't give Jim a birthday mug because she knew he wouldn't appreciate it.
The case can be made for the 'shadow inboxes.' The people who have a whole separate email address for promotions and spam. To that I say: why are you the way that you are? Who has time to manage another inbox? These people are few and far between.
🥇 Email is the #1 preferred way customers want to hear from brands + businesses.
📧 72% of adults prefer to hear from brands through their inbox.
👀 99% of users check their inbox at least once a day, and
📰 58% check their email before social media or the news.*
Email is the golden ticket. People can use it on their own time. It's not fleeting. It's comfortable. It's reliable and it's very, very cool.
_Kara