It's not sexy and it's not dead, so where is email marketing right now? From marketers to ad tech platforms, Pippa Chambers hits refresh on this age old marketing technique to see how it's stacking up in this three-part series.
In addition to Part One: Email is the 'workhorse' of marketing, we asked a handful of adland execs what's the biggest myth about email marketing? What's their favourite email newsletter and why? and personalised emails v mass email blasts – what's their stance?
Q1: What's the biggest myth about email marketing?
Marketing director Asia Pacific, Marketo, James New: How often you should email your database! I’m always being asked how often you should email nurture your prospective clients or customers before your response drops off and unsubscribes go up. The answer is, if its timely, relevant and personalised it can be beneficial to email more often.
Vice president, Marketing Cloud, Salesforce, Jeremy Smith: The biggest myth is that email is dead. The truth is - email is the workhorse for many digital marketers and is required when people transact or sign up to just about anything digital (mobile app's, ecommerce, social accounts).
Adobe APAC director of marketing Paula Parkes: The biggest myth about email marketing is that it’s a dying practice. In reality, it’s still an extremely critical channel. Especially with the rise and fall in popularity of many other marketing channels, email marketing still has an important role to play for today’s marketer.
Vice President Sales, APAC, Oracle Marketing Cloud,Will Griffith: The more you send the more you make!
Q2: What's your favourite newsletter in your inbox and why?
Adobe APAC director of marketing Paula Parkes: Mine is the Chief Marketing Technologist by Scott Brinker. The content challenges the status quo and surfaces thought provoking angles for those in marketing tech. Simple graphics and clean copy.
RedBalloon CEO Nick Baker: Concrete Playground. I find it instantly both useful and interesting, and I always click on something.
Chief marketing officer, HCF, Jenny Williams: There is no single newsletter I read regularly. I usually select what I read based on topics that are most relevant.
Marketing director Asia Pacific, Marketo, James New: Being a MAMIL (middle aged man in Lycra) overseas bike accessory retailers are certainly after a share of my wallet, and are at least sending me product offers based on the local weather conditions and local events on the cycling calendar.
Vice president, Marketing Cloud, Salesforce, Jeremy Smith: I recently signed up to Grammarly and love their weekly insights email. It has a very clean and concise layout with distinct areas. It provides gamification by ranking you against others in their network, personalisation around your activity, provides you with 1-2 weekly top mistakes which you can digest easily and also informs you of the other networks they integrate to to offer you a better all-round service.
Vice president sales, APAC, Oracle Marketing Cloud, Will Griffith: I love the offers I get from JetStar partly because I think they are engaging and partly because I know how much effort they put into personalisation using my history of flying with them. I've been really enjoying emails from Spring Free Trampolines - they've nurtured me from pre purchase through welcome and now after care.
Regional Director APAC at Return Path Theo Noel: Qantas Frequent Flyer newsletter is inspiring about so many things I love: destinations, food and wine... QANTAS is about lifestyle, it is not only an airline.
Jenny Williams, Chief Marketing Officer, HCF: There is no single newsletter I read regularly. I usually select what I read based on topics that are most relevant.
Q3: Personalised emails v mass email blasts – what's your stance?
Regional Director APAC at Return Path Theo Noel: Definitely personalised! Aside from offering your client a unique experience with your brand, the metrics prove a stronger return on personalised campaigns:
Chief marketing officer, HCF, Jenny Williams: Personalised. Or more specifically customised emails.
RedBalloon CEO Nick Baker: Relevancy to our customer is always the dream, however striking the right balance between high level and personalised messaging is influenced and often limited by what we know and understand about our customers. We do not want to appear to know too much about our customers, but we need to know enough to give them a great experience – it’s a fine balance.
This voxpop-style breakout article originally appeared in AdNews Magazine.
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