June 24th, 2010
Every so often, someone in the online marketing world ignites a kerfuffle about the future of email. The argument goes that the advent of devices like iPhones and Droids that make it easy to quickly delete emails without even looking at them, plus the spreading reach of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, plus the email overload many people experience in their inboxes equals the demise of mass email lists as a productive tool. Facebook’s COO recently revived the debate, saying that because young people don’t use email the demise of email is imminent.
Perhaps she’s right and email will soon join the rotary phone in the dustbin of communications history. But for now, email remains an important and effective commuications tool, albeit one that could use some strategic rethinking.
Three things to consider about your organization’s email list:
1. Size matters, but not as much as you think.
It’s axiomatic that the more people you have on your email list, the more productive that list can be for fundraising, advocacy, education, or almost anything else you’re working to inspire people to do. Of course that’s true, but focus on building as big an email list as possible often comes at the expense of focus on building as strategic an email list as possible.
It should be equally axiomatic that who’s on your email list matters as much as how many. 1,000 deeply committed activists from your target Congressional districts is better than 100,000 vaguely interested people scattered across the country. 500 people with the means to contribute something and personal connection to your organization is better than 5,000 people who are on your list just because they thought they could win an iPad if they consented to getting email from you. 100 people engaged, committed, and inspired enough to talk to their friends, family, and colleagues about your cause or organization may prove more effective than any other list you’ve got (so long as they’re the right 100 people).
So, size matters, but strategy matters more. Think about your approach to building your email list and make sure you’re looking at who you’re building relationships with, what you’re hoping to inspire them to do, and whether they’re the right people to move your mission.
2. Content matters, even more than you think.
Not very long ago, the state of the art thinking on email communications was that they key was consistent communication to keep your organization, cause, candidate, issue top of mind for the people on the email list. The conventional wisdom was that the people on your email list were kind of like moms – we just love to hear from you, even if you don’t really have anything specific to say. - So the priority was establishing a regular calendar, then filling it in with content.
For some lists at some times that might be true, but statistics on open, click-through, and conversion rates point to a new conclusion: what you say is more important than how often you say it. Assuming you’ve recruited the right people onto your list, more important than regular communication is compelling communication. Send an email when you’ve got something of value to offer or some truly important, efficacious way for the people on your list to engage.
3. Email matters. Make it more effective by integrating other channels.
Email is decidedly not dead. Not even mass email.
A few weeks ago a study revealed that 58% of people check email first thing in the morning, before doing anything else online. And mass email lists remain a critical and even growing component of many organization’s fundraising, advocacy, and education program – one that still delivers results.
However, that same study showed that more than 10% of people log onto Facebook first thing, 20% start with a search engine or portal site, and 5% head first to online news. By and large people still check their mailbox on most days and answer their phones. Be creative and test ways to engage your email audience in other channels. (Read the details of the study here: http://bit.ly/cFHXxW.)
Email is dead! Long live email! Every so often, someone in the online marketing world ignites a kerfuffle about the future of email. The argument goes that the advent of devices like iPhones and Droids that make it easy to quickly delete emails without even looking at them, plus the spreading reach of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, plus the email overload many people experience in their inboxes equals the demise of mass email lists as a productive tool. Facebook’s COO recently revived the debate, saying that because young people don’t use email the demise of email is imminent.
Perhaps she’s right and email will soon join the rotary phone in the dustbin of communications history. But for now, email remains an important and effective commuications tool, albeit one that could use some strategic rethinking.
Three things to consider about your organization’s email list:
1. Size matters, but not as much as you think.
It’s axiomatic that the more people you have on your email list, the more productive that list can be for fundraising, advocacy, education, or almost anything else you’re working to inspire people to do. Of course that’s true, but focus on building as big an email list as possible often comes at the expense of focus on building as strategic an email list as possible. It should be equally axiomatic that who’s on your email list matters as much as how many. 1,000 deeply committed activists from your target Congressional districts is better than 100,000 vaguely interested people scattered across the country. 500 people with the means to contribute something and personal connection to your organization is better than 5,000 people who are on your list just because they thought they could win an iPad if they consented to getting email from you. 100 people engaged, committed, and inspired enough to talk to their friends, family, and colleagues about your cause or organization may prove more effective than any other list you’ve got (so long as they’re the right 100 people).
So, size matters, but strategy matters more. Think about your approach to building your email list and make sure you’re looking at who you’re building relationships with, what you’re hoping to inspire them to do, and whether they’re the right people to move your mission.
2. Content matters, even more than you think.
Not very long ago, the state of the art thinking on email communications was that they key was consistent communication to keep your organization, cause, candidate, issue top of mind for the people on the email list. The conventional wisdom was that email lists were like muscles – use them or lose them. So the priority was establishing a regular calendar, then filling it in with content. The idea was that people were kind of like moms – we just love to hear from you, even if you don’t really have anything specific to say.
For some lists at some times that might be true, but statistics on open, click-through, and conversion rates point to a new conclusion: what you say is more important than how often you say it. Assuming you’ve recruited the right people onto your list, more important than regular communication is compelling communication. Send an email when you’ve got something of value to offer or some truly important, efficacious way for the people on your list to engage.
3. Email matters. Make it more effective by integrating other channels.
Email is decidedly not dead. Not even mass email. A few weeks ago a study revealed that 58% of people check email first thing in the morning, before doing anything else online. And mass email lists remain a critical and even growing component of many organization’s fundraising, advocacy, and education program – one that still delivers results. However, that same study showed that more than 10% of people log onto Facebook first thing, 20% start with a search engine or portal site, and 5% head first to online news. By and large people still check their mailbox on most days and answer their phones. Be creative and test ways to engage your email audience in other channels. (Read the details of the study here: http://bit.ly/cFHXxW.)
[...] Email is Dead! Long Live Email! [...]
[...] Englin Consulting added its voice to the “Email is Dead” discussion by blogging: “…the advent of devices like iPhones and Droids that make it easy to quickly delete emails without even looking at them, plus the spreading reach of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, plus the email overload many people experience in their inboxes equals the demise of mass email lists as a productive tool. Facebook’s COO recently revived the debate, saying that because young people don’t use email the demise of email is imminent.” [...]