You’ve Got (Marketing) Mail

You’ve got mail. Whether that makes you think of the bygone era of AOL, or the 1998 movie with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, the phrase brings back feelings of nostalgia. But is email as a marketing tool really as antiquated as that once common phrase?

The short answer is no! At Black Tie Digital Marketing, we know that digital marketing is continuously growing and changing. We constantly challenge ourselves to innovate and adapt, for the success of our clients and their businesses. But we also know that some things are fundamental pillars of Internet marketing – and email is one of them. Sure, social media is super and PPC advertising is powerful, but email is not extinct.

The discrediting of email began with the proliferation of spam. Back in the ‘You’ve Got Mail’ era of AOL, Meg Ryan, and dial-up, emails were still primarily a means of personal communication among friends, co-workers, and long-distance acquaintances. With the boom of the Internet, companies started wising up to the power of an email. This new means of correspondence offered quick communication and marketing messages, with no postage to pay. Legitimate brick-and-mortar stores, Internet businesses on the upswing, and scammers looking to make a quick buck all became email emigrants. As a result, email went from being an instant means of personal communication to an instant means of solicitation.

With the personal touch all but lost, inboxes have become a dumping ground for mass mailers and calls to action targeting the credulous. What is a business to do to overcome this paradigm shift in email communications? Be personable, and then make your message valuable. Your company’s identity should be authentic and your culture should be palpable, even from the inbox. Your email marketing efforts should bear such a unique stamp of who you are that customers actually look forward to seeing what you have to say, as well as what opportunities you have in store for them.

Wondering where to start? As digital marketing natives, we have a few ideas! Pick our brains on email marketing, branding, and more. We’d love to help your business bring its email strategy from 1998 up to 2015 and great.