MIMA - The Future of Email Marketing

On Wednesday a few students joined me at the MIMA (Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association) event on Wednesday, Inbox Insanity with Jeffrey K. Rohrs. Honestly, I couldn't think of any positives to email marketing. The first things that pops into my mind when I think of email marketing is: annoying, spam, useless and more. Jeff shifted my opinion, now I see applications for it when its used correctly.

Thinking of all the ways there are to communicate with each other it can be quite daunting. Jeff had about 25 forms of communication whether it be cell phones, email, facebook or twitter. Even though there are dozens of vehicles for communicating most have email tied in. Twitter alerts you of new messages and LinkedIn emails you when you have new messages or followers.

Email is the #1 use of the internet; of the people who use the internet 91% have at least one email address. No wonder why email is one of the preferred ways of communication of marketers. Just because you communicate with them doesn't mean you should be though.

The key is getting people's permission to send them an email first, not by lists of emails and send out thousands of emails hoping a few might bite. If you can show you have relevant information for people and have them voluntarily request the emails people will be much more receptive. Jeff mentioned Amazon being a prime example of sending update emails on items you've purchased beforehand or might be interested in, but doing it in intervals that don't overwhelm you. Not EVERY day like some do, instead only occasionally.

Three things to make me happy about getting emails from you:

1. Get my permission to email me
2. Don't email me every day, limit it to only when I need it
3. Don't make it hard for me to request information